Pop Montreal: Day One

10/02/08 1:15pm

by Erik Leijon (CHARTattack)

MONTREAL — For the uninitiated, Pop Montreal is a music festival unlike any other. Nearly every bar, club or available space along Saint Laurent Boulevard in downtown Montreal takes a respite from their usual schedule from Oct. 1 to 5 to house a variety of acts who've been deemed "the next big thing" by at least someone within the tightly woven local music scene.

Although big names like Hot Chip and Burt Bacharach will perform in larger venues and operate largely outside the original Pop Montreal mantra, every night is spent hopping from venue to venue, looking for a new favourite band to champion to your friends, or to find out if all that word of mouth hype is warranted. It's also a week where sleep comes in short supply, as may be evidenced by my report from Wednesday, the first day of the fest:

6:15 p.m.
Pop Montreal's main base of operations is located at the historic Notman House on Sherbrooke Street. It's a thick concentration of what the whole week will consist of: free grub, live music and hipsters as far as the eye can see. At the nearby Montreal Pool Room, there's an opening party for media, performers and volunteers with free poutine and beer. It's a far cry from the expensive cocktail parties of Pop MTL past, and witnessing a DJ performing on the Pool Room's famous green tables along with beer kegs definitely feels more appropriate.

8:40 p.m.
Earlier today, Montreal's Hot Springs officially announced their break-up, which means they've cancelled their show. Frontwoman Giselle Webber says all four members have new projects planned that will be revealed later. The free Duchess Says show tonight was also cancelled.

9:20 p.m.
British dance rockers Hot Chip take the stage at Metropolis armed with a new live drummer named Leo Taylor. If show opener "One Pure Thought" is indicative of anything, it's that the group have dramatically rearranged their live set since their Montreal show earlier this year.

9:35 p.m. to 9:55 p.m.
The Warning's "And I Was A Boy From School" and "Over And Over" sound nearly unrecognizable with the full live set-up. That album was largely written by frontman Alexis Taylor and synth player Joe Goddard in Goddard's bedroom, so the songs are louder and more elaborate with six musicians. The intro on "Over And Over" is terrific. The venue is nearly full on the floor, but rather spacious in the back.

10 p.m.
The group plays a new track called "Alley Cats." It's not quite danceable and not quite a ballad, but expect the group to experiment with the song before they release it.

10:20 p.m.
Could "Ready For The Floor" be the perfect pop song?

10:43 p.m.
Segueing "Nothing Compares 2 U" into "In The Privacy Of Our Love" is a stroke of genius.

11:15 p.m.
Hot Chip are over, but Montreal singer/songwriter Camaromance is revving at Les 3 Minots. Although the name might suggest Chromeo-esque electro-pop, Camaromance is actually Martine Groulx, an electric guitar-strumming folk-pop artist. She laments (as everyone has around these parts) Stephen Harper's proposed arts funding cuts between songs. I could only imagine how sparsely attended the 2 a.m. shows would be if we all had to get to well-paying nine-to-five jobs.

11:45 p.m.
I receive word that an authentic Atlanta-based hip-hop group are pouring some crunk juice at the Coda Club. While the first part is correct — rap trio Supreeme come from one of hip-hop's hottest locales — they seem more in line with the current backpack movement than Lil Jon and his Thrasher-loving cohorts. That being said, a good hip-hop show is always appreciated, even if nothing will match the magnitude of the electric Bun B show at last year's festival.

12:30 a.m.
There's a veritable treat tonight at the Portuguese Association, where two of Canada's best acts are performing back to back. Vancouver's The Clips play a mix of math rock and The Bends-era Radiohead with spatial keyboards and complex arrangements. The venue is packed to the point where three Montreal police cars pull up and start asking about the commotion. Nothing appears to develop, but, most importantly, no one bothers to lower the volume.

1:50 a.m.
Toronto duo and show headliner Woodhands finally take the stage, and the crowd hasn't thinned at all despite the time. Vocalist/synth player Dan Werb is incredibly pumped in his own inimitable style. He's cursing up a storm, and every track from Heart Attack is laced with random screams. The live adaptation of "I Can't See Straight" is extended from the album version, and it's one of this year's true concert highlights.

2:10 a.m.
The nerdiest stage dive in history happens when some thick-spectacled young man in a red sweater very carefully lands in the arms of the crowd below. The stage diver appears to be moving in slow motion, since I don't think anyone involved wanted to drop their cellphones while carrying him.

2:15 a.m.
Aleks Andra Tomaszewska from Aleks And The Drummer (the Chicago-based opening act) joins them on stage to sing a song in near-operatic Polish. At this point, Werb and lightning-quick drummer Paul Banwatt can do no wrong, as a good chunk of the remaining patrons are dancing with more fury than at the Hot Chip show earlier in the evening. The set approaches 3 a.m. before keeping track of time becomes an impossible task. I wholeheartedly recommend catching either Woodhands or The Clips when they perform in your town.

Stay tuned for a report on day two tomorrow.