Sunday, September 23rd marked the end of the 2012 edition of the POP Montreal festival. A huge thanks to Candice and Melanie for representing us so well onsite. While POP Montreal may have expired, Canadian Musician will be out at the Vancouver Island Music Business Conference (VIMBC) and Halifax Pop Explosion in the coming weeks, so stay tuned to the blog for plenty more!

Our final day of POP Montreal came all too quickly. It’s been a whirlwind festival of non-stop concerts that we did not want to end. We started our beautiful Sunday at Cagibi, a vegetarian cafe and concert venue, offering an intimate setting for emerging artists. Rhoneil, a folk singer from Edmonton Alberta was playing as we arrived. She was accompanied by a drummer playing a makeshift drum kit fashioned from a suitcase. Rhoneil herself played the autoharp and sang in a soulful introspective manner and gave us a wonderful cover of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Games.”

Next we caught the beginning of Rae Spoon’s set, a transgender indie singer from Calgary. Rae Spoon prefers to identify as “they,” not identifying as either a man or woman. Regardless of gender, Rae delivered a great performance complete with catchy songs that had us singing our entire way to La Tulipe, the venue for the big show of the night.

We had only been to La Tulipe for ’80s dance parties previous to that night’s show. It was fun to see the venue transformed into full concert mode. Mysterious orbs hanging from what appeared to be giant fishing poles lined the stage and a bearded man going by the name “Headaches” began his DJ set as we arrived. He played complex electronic music that was impressively mixed on stage. Next was Evian Christ (real name Joshua Leary), a youthful looking 22-year-old from the UK. He walked innocently onstage in a grey tracksuit and began mixing deep electro and hip hop tunes in a well calculated way. He seemed very serious about his music, but managed to crack a smile when he finally glimpsed out to the crowd between songs.

 

Finally it was time for Purity Ring’s set. The stage ambiance was very impressive. The hanging orbs began to light up in various colours and every percussive instrument they played would light up once struck. It was fun to hear our favourite songs “Bellispeak,” “Obedear,” and “Lofticries” live; however, the vocals were a little weak compared to the recorded versions. All in all, however, the Halifax/Montreal duo gave an entertaining and illuminating performance.

 

Special thanks to our good friend Andrew King and Canadian Musician for sending us on an amazing music-punched long weekend. “Hipster Christmas” truly came early for these two Montreal music-loving correspondents. POP Montreal showcased incredible performances that will not be forgotten.

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