Destroyer, Club Lambi

I managed to catch Dan Bejar as Destroyer this weekend in Montreal at Club Lambi. The club was pretty cool, the second smallest room I've ever seen a show in(the original Green Door in OKC being the smallest). Without knowing what time the show actually started we showed up around 7:45 and walked right into the club where Dan Bejar was standing by the door talking to someone. Gretchen spotted him and was sure it was him i was hesitant, he was too short, way too thin and wasn't rocking the beard, in fact, he looked a lot like Joe Jack Talcum from the Dead Milkmen circa 1991. Before we could approach him or continue debating who he was he was called up on stage for soundcheck, thereby effectively proving Gretchen right. About that time we were told that doors wouldn't open until 8:30 so we hit the bar down the street.

Back at the club we grabbed beers and a table and settled in, with the exchange rate basically being even i paid $15 USD for a shirt before sitting down for a wait.

The show opened with a band who's name i forget, i believe they were local, in any case they literally put me to sleep(granted i haven't slept well since the funeral but come on).

Next up was Colossal Yes, they put on a really good set but it was very short, the singer explained that he had blown out his voice a couple of shows ago, that put Destroyer up next.

I really enjoyed the show, he sounded great playing mostly new stuff although he did play something from Destroyer's Rubies and i believe a song from Yer Blues. Foam Hands sounded spectacular. The Destroyer set ended up lasting an hour and ten minutes. Dan explained that he had lost his voice the night before in Toronto. Towards the end of the set he said that he would be cutting it short because of his throat but he did come back out and do a song without the band. I was happy and quite satisfied, the show cost $15 CD and we got two really good bands. Gretchen was less that satisfied, her point being that we had come from Vermont, had rented a hotel, paid for food and entertaining the kids, it was probably our last trip to Montreal and she was away from her studies two weeks before finals. She wasn't complaining about the show, she liked the set but the length was definetly much shorter than either of us expected especially since Dan had lived in Montreal and homecoming shows are usually pretty awesome. No one regrets going but it does make you think about all the things that go towards making a great show because a live show is an experience. The performance is a big part of it but there are so many little things that count, the people you see it with, the venue, dinner, the trip home, the list goes on and on.

Beirut in Montreal

As usual I'm late with this post but i had a good friend in town so... We were able to catch Beirut's second night (of three) at La Salla Rossa in Montreal. It was my first time in that venue and it was very intimate. I'm guessing the room held 250 or so and it was sold out. The show was right on. I expected it to be a reeling sloppy mess and it was and it was perfect.
I don't know the names of many Beirut songs but i know we heard Nantes, Elephant Gun(my favorite song), A Sunday Smile and Idle Days. Everything sounded great, just like the studio tracks but better. After Elephant Gun ended they were setting up for the next song when one guy started singing the humming part at the end and the band actually took it up and played a few more minutes of the song! Elephant Gun being my favorite track i was flipping out! You can probably tell from the pictures but I'll lay it out, they played the last song of the night on the floor. It was funny, i could see one of the horn players gesture to the floor from the stage and Zach just shrugged and grabbed his mike and climbed down along with the rest of the band.
The Flying Club Cup site has a video performance for almost every song on the album, it's a must see.

p.s. Thanks to Sam for the pictures.

Arcade Fire/ St. Vincent Montreal

I just realized that I haven't posted this review of the Arcade Fire show G! and I attended last month. Bad Blogger, Bad Blogger.
The Arcade Fire's homecoming gig took place in the Maurice-Richard Arena, which is where the hockey and ice skating events took place during the '76 Olympics. Despite that distinction the space wasn't all that big and the acoustics were fine and we were there early enough to grab a great spot(thank god we had floor seats).

Highlights:
The entire band ended In the Backseat with a goose bump inducing acapella finish.

The opening organ on Intervention shook all of my internal organs, but in a good way. You knew it was going to rock after just two notes.

My Body is a cage was another outstanding song. Win played the organ and sang from a raised platform behind the rest of the band, not unlike a preacher perched up in his pulpit.

Laika, which occurred towards the end, finally got the crowd moving and singing along. G! almost jumped over my head during the chorus.

One of my favorite songs is Tunnels, which they played.

The Merch was awesome! I know it's not hip to get excited about stuff like this but i love me a good concert t-shirt. It was a terrible tough choice. G! and I both got great shirts. They also had a great limited edition hoody, stickers, buttons, a bitchin messenger bag and every album and single on vinyl. It was a tad bit pricey but it was The Arcade Fire.

A short complaint:
The only gripe i have with the show has nothing too do with the band, i is with the crowd. I've been to shows in Montreal and have always found them a very polite bunch but the crowd at this show didn't perk up until the very end of the concert. I would have thought they would be going ape shit to see their hometown band. It might have something to do with the fact that there were two long lines to get in the door, one was marked Tickets/Billetts the other was marked Guest List.
I was a little disappointed that Will wasn't running wild the entire show, I remember him spending an entire song just literally running into the wall when I saw them at Stubb's. Apparently he has a lot of new musical duties that keep him from tormenting Richard or running into walls so in service to the music, I'll let it slide.
Just a few lines on the opener St. Vincent(Anne Clark) of Polyphonic Spree/Sufjan Stevens fame. She sounded great, I wasn't really feeling the first two songs that she did solo but when the full band came out things really picked up. I had no idea she could wail on guitar. She closed with a Jefferson Airplane cover that I can't remember the name of at the moment. Unfortunately St. Vincent suffered from the curse of most opening bands, the audience wasn't there to see her. You could tell that the majority of the crowd wasn't really paying attention but thems the breaks.