Dears Are Redeemed In Montreal Church

St. James United Church

Montreal, QC

on Jan 31 2009

Erik Leijon (CHARTattack)

02/03/2009 3:30pm

One of the most obvious signs of Montreal's transition from a staunchly Catholic centre to an underground arts capital has been the conversion of its many picturesque, but largely crumbling, churches.

They sit idle in every neighbourhood and, while many are protected heritage sites (despite suffering from decades of neglect), others are being transformed into condominiums or whatever's needed to cater to each rapidly changing city block.

There was a dearth of quality venues when Pop Montreal came on the scene, and organizers were wise to turn these acoustically ideal halls of worship into the type of classy joints where Burt Bacharach or Patti Smith could perform.

A recently rejigged Dears — only frontman/songwriter Murray Lightburn and wife/keyboardist Natalia Yanchak remained from the group who recorded 2006's Gang Of Losers — performed at the historic Masonic Temple during last year's Pop Montreal. This time, the new Dears septet performed at the recently refurbished St. James United Church on busy Ste. Catherine Street West in support of 2008's Missiles.

It wasn't just a big moment for the band and venue. The 14 prepubescents who comprise the Every Kid Choir performed some choral favourites. The show raised funds for the choir, a joint venutre between the Montreal City Mission and the church to give children an opportunity to sing where they otherwise wouldn't.

The children returned before the headliners took the stage to sing Missiles closer "Saviour." Lightburn sat hunched over in one of the pews and gave as stirring a confessional as any Catholic church in the city might have ever witnessed, passionately repeating "I'll make it right" as he and the group emerged on stage.

The current Dears lineup — and the three most recent albums that comprised the entirety of the set list — truly bear little relation to the artistic troubadour Lightburn was during The Dears' early days. Lightburn is still an emotive poet with his heart perpetually on his sleeve, as evidenced by the performance. But his conversion from Orchestral Pop Noir Romantique (an album title that perfectly defined his style) to all-out rock star is complete.

Guitarists Jason Kent and Christopher McCarron shredded through the more rocking numbers of Gang Of Losers — particularly "There Goes My Outfit" and "You And I Are A Gang Of Losers" — with confidence and skill that in no way suggested this lineup was still finding its legs.

For longtime fans, the absence of older favourites "Heartless Romantic" (complete with Lightburn singing through a megaphone) and "Hollywood Bedtime Story" could be viewed as a disappointing revision of the group's history — although those more artsy tunes might not have fit with the new rock star, black leather jacket aesthetic. Even 2003's No Cities Left was largely neglected until the encore, although "Lost In The Plot" was played during the original set.

One thing The Dears have managed to develop with recent albums is the musical relationship between Lightburn and Yanchak, which translates with far more potency in concert. Most of the songs ended with a repeated phrase or hook they'd sing together while often looking at each other. One highlight included the two of them singing "Don't let me down" at the conclusion of "Crisis 1 & 2." Gang Of Losers cut "Hate Then Love" was equally stirring.

Lightburn affectionately referred to their child Neptune as "The Dears baby" as he introduced "Lights Off," although the song was preceded by a spectator losing his mind and going into an expletive-laden tirade before being forcibly removed by security. It resulted in this zinger from the confident Lightburn: "Wow, getting kicked out of a church. Tonight, we have definitely seen it all."

If faith is about getting second chances, then the resurrected Dears have received the blessing of their fans, even if the band have exorcised their still beloved early albums from their live set. Still, Lightburn and his new gang of losers shall continue to spread the gospel, undeterred.

Here's the set list:

"Saviour" featuring Every Kid Choir
"Money Babies"
"Demons"
"There Goes My Outfit"
"You And I Are A Gang Of Losers"
"Lost In The Plot"
"Berlin Heart"
"Disclaimer"
"Crisis 1 & 2"
"Dream Job"
"Whites Only Party"
"Hate Then Love"
"Meltdown In A Major"
"Lights Off"

Encore:
"We Can Have It"
"Who Are You, Defenders Of The Universe?"