Bran Van 3000 Return To Live Performing

05/29/08 5:00pm

by Erik Leijon (CHARTattack)

MONTREAL — Montreal music collective Bran Van 3000 will make their triumphant return to the hometown stage after an eight-year hiatus on July 1 in conjunction with the Montreal International Jazz Fest. In a style befitting the group's party-hearty antics and their revolving door cast, the show will be a massive free outdoor concert.

Hits like 1997's "Drinking In L.A" made the collective — led by multimedia mastermind James Di Salvio — the forerunners for the Montreal music scene's resurgence. But most of their ardent local supporters more fondly remember their manic live shows. They were an anarchic mix of hip-hop freestyling, old-fashioned rock 'n' roll, disco beats and electronic flourishes, and featured a cast of musicians so numerous that they could barely fit together on stage. The Bran Van crew performed their first major concert at the Montreal Jazz Fest in 1997.

The reunion show promises to be a block party for the ages, or at the very least a superb trip down memory lane. The group's current lineup, who released their third album, Rose, last year, features Di Salvio, Sara Johnston, Stephane Moraille, Steve "Liquid" Hawley, Rob Joanisse, Nick Hynes and Gary McKenzie.

One can expect even more guests to take the stage with Bran Van 3000 on July 1, but you can also see the band here:

June 14 Toronto, ON @ Yonge-Dundas Square (NXNE)

June 27 Beauce, QC @ Woodstock En Beauce

July 4 Trois-Rivieres, QC @ Le Festivoix De Trois-Rivieres

July 11 Alma, QC @ Festirame