Think About Life Debut Family Live

Theatre Plaza

Montreal, QC

on May 28 2009

Erik Leijon (CHARTattack)

05/29/2009 4:31pm

On a night intended to celebrate the terrific and near flawless summer party starter that is Montreal trio Think About Life's latest album, Family, the group's great set was bested by opening act tUnE-yArDs' greater eclectic set, and then dwarfed by another local act, electro-shockers The Cougarettes' greatest set a few blocks westward on a rainy Beaubien street.

Don't assume lauding the opening act or The Cougarettes is in any way an indictment of Think About Life's breezy, bouncy and danceable performance. Far from it. If anything Think About Life were uniquely guilty in this situation of having a pedigree to live up to, whereas tUnE-yArDs' could have shown up barefoot with a taped up ukulele and patrons would have instantly assumed Montreal had finally scrapped the bottom of the musical creativity barrel. And that's precisely what unassuming Merrill Garbus a.k.a. tUnE-yArDs did, sauntering on stage with a wide grin, looking not unlike Arrested Development's Ann with war paint. She started her set overdubbing herself by recording her various screeches and wordless vocals via foot pedal and then played them back. One could have assumed Garbus was more into performance art than actual music, but then her voice kicked in and the room went silent.

Not to compare her to recent web celebrity Susan Boyle, but what earlier had seemed like an overly quirky attempt at making African-influenced indie pop music was actually a showcase for a dynamic, multi-faceted singer and songwriter with an adept ear for creating unique sounds using the most basic of tools. Her singing would duck and weave from tribal shouting to soulful introspection to all-out giddy passion. She was eventually joined by a full band, doubling up the thundering percussion and giving her minimal, homestyle concoctions some much needed live concert kick. Her ukulele as well had a distinct, thick and simple plucking sound that seemed as equally perfect leading the charge in a living room jam or blending seamlessly into a busy Mauritian street market. The set was paced brilliantly, and Garbus' mini-epics ended by her wailing with reckless abandon, her backing band clapping their hands and dancing in approval. Although a solid first effort, the only song on her album that approached the thrill of seeing tUnE-yArDs live was "Fiya."

A lot is made about how Miracle Fortress frontman Graham Van Pelt is one of three musical minds behind the sample-heavy, effervescent party band Think About Life, but in watching the trio live it's clear singer Martin Cesar is the primary cog in the wheel. Cesar has an infectious stage presence, as he could possibly be one of the goofiest, self-effacing and relentlessly energetic frontmen in music today. In a very similar manner to Phil Collins, Cesar is nerdish and awkwardly charismatic in-between songs, but he's a man transformed when it comes time to sing, blending soulful vocals with very au courent indie rock-style shouting. Even though the album had only hit stores on Tuesday, the knowledgeable crowd was already singing along effortlessly to sure-fire good time anthems "Havin' My Baby" and "Set You On Fire." Cesar was the man responsible in getting the crowd to wave their hands in unison and dance along to Think About Life's mature dance music.

The group were joined by a horn section and female vocalist on Family opening cut "Johanna," and the latter never left the stage, adding a great playful dynamic with Cesar. Cesar and Van Pelt both handled the samples, each occasionally stepping up to their gear setup to press a button mid-song. It was a good system that allowed the bandmates to move around and not be encumbered by a bulky kit. The chipmunk samples worked well, and drummer Matt Shane was machine-like in his playing, but the sense throughout the show was how musically there was little difference seeing them live compared to listening to the record. Cesar was the one unpredictable aspect of the set, and his performance was what saved Think About Life from a sense of lifelessness.

The night didn't end with Think About Life, though, as a fateful text message sent me hurtling down the rain-soaked road to much smaller venue Hemisphere Gauche, home of the $3 bottles and a convenient setup that allows music patrons to stand in a sound-locking pit while more hardcore drinkers could sit undisturbed in the back. The Cougarettes have an EP due later this summer, and the mp3s currently floating about sound no different from what Crystal Castles are doing with chiptunes. Live, on the other hand, was an entirely different world of impressive mixing techniques, tricked out vocals and some very flashy audiovisual equipment. Flanked by three male musicians, frontwoman Cardy shouted emasculating insults, her voice roboticized and eviscerated by the guys working the musical equipment. It was an impressive feat considering earlier this year on Lil Wayne's tour, T-Pain seemingly was unable to use auto-tuner live despite having unlimited resources. Mixed entirely by one of the members on the fly, every spastic and uncomfortable electronic jolt had a unique, warped fingerprint not usually present in most uniform, cold electronic music.

The Cougarettes were mostly danceable, although the aural assault occasionally breached the atonal digital hardcore of Atari Teenage Riot. It was dark, discofied, bpm techno, all delivered with immaculate sound quality and much poise courtesy of the band's lead singer. Keep an eye out for them, even if their EP fails to capture the violent energy of their manic live set.