Pop Montreal 2022: A Recap
Not all music festivals are created equal. Sure, I love a good summer festival, a giant inflatable beach ball, and perhaps a couple of tokes of whatever you’re having. I’m there, no need to twist my arm… That being said, nothing beats one of those industry showcase type things where all the venues in the city are monopolized to host various acts from everywhere and anywhere around the world. In Quebec, FME is a good one, and I’ve heard all kinds of things about South by Southwest, things I might get the chance to experience firsthand one day if I’m lucky (SXSW call me baby, I’m down to clown 🤙🤡) That being said, the one that holds the most special place in my heart is probably Pop Montreal.
I can’t really dissociate Pop Montreal from the hype of the late oughts, back when Montreal had this special aura and everyone was looking for the next Arcade Fire - which is like looking for the next Messiah in Jerusalem circa 33 A.D. There was something in the air, the feeling something big was happening. As a young lad, I first got to experience the fest as an up-and-coming indie pop artist, enjoying my goodie bag and skipping my sound check to go see all the cool bands I liked.
As an old grizzled husk of a semi-pro blogger, my perspective might have changed a bit, but Pop remains an exciting platform for local artists and visitors alike. The perfect way to experience everything the cultural metropolis has to offer. Especially post-pandy, it’s a great way to kick the city’s proverbial tires and get the ol’ step count up.
Alright, so I got a media pass this year, which means I could go from one show to the next, catch a couple of songs, make up my mind about the lineup. Pop Mtl has also prepared a handy Spotify playlist, which helped me get the lay of the land and discover a few artists.
Here’s a recap of my experience. As always, it feels like I didn’t see enough, I could’ve done more. But I’m only human, mkay folks? Remember that.
Jonathan Personne
This show opened the fest with a bang. And speaking of bangs, I bet that if a bomb had gone off in the venue that night, the sales of rolled-up fisherman’s hats and mullet combs would’ve plummeted. Folks, I’m saying there were a lot of Quebecois hipsters in the house. Do I consider myself to be one of them? Yes. Am I proud of that fact? Arguable.
Jonathan Personne is the guy from Corridor, a band that - gun to the head - I would probably describe as “angular” and “drenched in reverb.” Meanwhile, Jonathan's solo sounds evoke words like “quirky” and, well… “drenched in reverb.” The guy makes his own very personal take on bedroom pop, with some sixties, psych-y, sometimes trippy vibes.
This is like if Andy Shauf did acid… Or if Ariel Pink didn’t.
On a personal note, I got to say his lyrics are pretty solid. I speak from experience when I say writing French lyrics that don’t sound dumb and/or super lame isn’t given to everyone, and this guy pulls it off big time. So if you don’t know French, I dunno, maybe you can paste his stuff into Google Translate or something.
MAGBETA
On Friday night, I was heading north on St-Laurent, minding my own business, doing my thing. I decided to stop at Casa Del Popolo to see what’s what. That’s my favorite part of Pop Montreal: I love just stopping randomly in venues and taking and flipping the coin on some cool discoveries. I’m so glad I did because it allowed me to catch MAGBETA’s show.
The Montreal-based artist escapes genres and definition, somewhere between electronic music, downtempo and lo-fi. Their bio also cites folk-soul and afro-latino influences, which is to say that their music sounds like an experimental grab bag of warm energy and eclectic grooves.
I like how they play that sampler and sing over some pulsating, left-field rhythms. A truly weird and unpretentious way to perform music live. Really cool show, good banter between songs, inventive. In other words: sooo Montreal.
Bibi Club
In case you don’t know anything about Montreal’s music scene, you have to know that the Plateau scene (a mostly French-speaking neighborhood) and the Mile End scene (mostly English-speaking) co-exist pretty well in the bilingual Metropolis, but they rarely communicate.
But love is the great equalizer I guess, and the duo / couple-in-real-life Bibi Club finally breaks down a wall that’s been dividing the 2 cultures for too long. Comprised of Nicolas Basque, from the beloved quintessential Mile End indie-famous band Plants & Animals and Adèle Trottier-Rivard, well-known for her stellar collaborations with some of the cooler québécois mainstays, this Club of Bibis bridges the gap between the two scenes, mixing the weirdness from one to the heartfelt sweetness of the other. They also write songs in both languages, which is cool.
If you like tasty bedroom pop, this is truly one of the most exciting new bands in Montreal at the moment. They gave a great show at Le Ministère for their album launch. 2 great musicians on stage, a Prophet, a guitar, about 300 pedals, and some fun beat boxes or samplers or whatever (I couldn’t really see.) It was the perfect balance between recreating the sound of the album onstage and letting the live show be what it is. Not too sequence-y, but not too jam-spacey either. I dug it.
Thanya Iyer’s band opened, they were also great. Good job!
Patrick Holland
I don’t know what you’ve been doing during quarantine. Personally, in March 2020 I posted that meme about Shakespeare writing his best work during the plague, I bought a quill and ink in April, and then proceeded to watch a solid 18 hours of Fuckboy Island a day for the following 2 years.
Well, not all of us were as lazy and uncreative as I was. For instance, your boy Patrick Holland got busy. And if that name doesn’t instantly ring a bell, a) you’re not me (congrats on that) and b) you’re probably more familiar with his moniker Project Pablo.
Speaking of things that are sooo Montreal, Project Pablo’s music is this weird but awesome hybrid of lofi house and retro garage, with a vibe that falls somewhere between a priceless acetate you found for 50¢ in a thrift store and a really good demo on a Casio keyboard.
Holland’s new project is a bedroom pop trio that riffs on that Mile End jazzy rock we all know and love. (Think TOPS, but like, not a knockoff… Something as good as TOPS, but different.)
The group played in Ursa, and this show sounded really good, the songs were 100% there, the musicianship also was in the house, and I gotta say, the sound was at the perfect volume. Weird compliment? Maybe, but I’m sticking to it.
In summation, great show, love that guy, can’t wait to hear more from the project.
Gulfer
Everyone has their favorites, and mine include Gulfer. It’d been a while since I’d seen the self-described “punkish, emo” band, but when you’re in Rome you eat some pizza and when you’re in Montreal you watch a Gulfer show and you s the f up.
I’ll say this, I never got to see Weezer when I was a kid. Once they were supposed to open for No Doubt, but Matt Sharp split from the band and they got replaced by The Vandals at the last minute, and I still haven’t forgiven anyone involved. Also, I haven’t seen Weezer as an adult because I don’t really care at this point.
In conclusion, Gulfer is the closest thing I have to feeling the excitement I might have felt in 1997 if I had been able to catch Rivers and the gang circa Pinkerton, and I cherish this excitement because I’m otherwise 100% dead inside.
Gulfer really brought the house down with their first gig for a while at both CDP and Pop Mtl. If you enjoy guys playing dueling solos back to back in a semi-ironical display of joy (which is the most earnest thing you’ll get this side of the Main), then Gulfer is for you, mkay babe?
Wild Black
As soon as Gulfer’s show was over, I pushed and kicked my way out of Casa and started high-knee running toward Ursa to catch Wild Black, one of the artists I had spotted on the aforementioned Pop Montreal 2022 playlist. How is this venue not a fire hazard, I’ll never know, but again I pushed and trampled a few hipsters to make my way down its sinuous hall and catch the Toronto-based artist. If you see a hipster with a mustache, one hearing and the New Balance logo stamped in the middle of their forehead, tell them I’m sorry, but I was on a mission.
Folks, what can I say about Wild Black that hasn’t been said before? If the words “dreamy yet upbeat, infectious soundscape, luring your body straight to the dance floor” mean anything to you, get your butt in a time machine, head all the way back to 1939, kick a certain dictator in the dick, then turn that dial all the way to last Saturday and catch WB’s show for crying out loud!
Combining the raw energy of a DJ set, with the magnetism of a live show, the trio’s performance was nothing short of electric. Gotta love a drummer playing live house and R&B beats, gotta love a synth player playing a Prophet, and most of all, gotta love a singer that brings the heat. Wild Black gave a great show and a supportive crowd that came to dance and have fun and enjoy the fleeting moment we all share on this blue marble called Earth.
I give this one my highest praise: A stoic “I dig.”
Ura Star & Fireball Kid
This was the show I didn’t want to miss, so of course, I missed it. I thought they played at night, but they were on at 5 pm on an outside stage, which hit me especially hard because I fucking love early shows, I love outdoor shows when it’s sunny outside, and I love going home early to catch my programs.
Consequence: When Ura Star and Fireball Kid make it big, I won’t get to say I was there way back when, but I’ll probably catch them live at some point somewhere around the city, and you should to.
I like these 2 bros’ whole deal. They make something that I would define as hyperpop meets blog indie from 2006 (and that’s high praise where I come from.) I like how they don’t take themselves too seriously, but also describe Montreal’s pop music scene as “fledgling” in the description of one of their videos (which is funny for at least 2 reasons.)
So yeah, they’re really gonna be your thing, or they’re really not gonna be your thing. Either way, check ‘em out and make your own opinion.