[...music...]: owen pallett @ théâtre outremont

2010-02-22

i realized that the last time i saw owen pallett play as final fantasy, it was four years ago.

on saturday night, he played a sold out show at théâtre outremont, as part of the montreal high lights festival. i went with cynthia and manna.

i got to the venue early; second in line. started chatting with the first guy in line, who came from boston for the night, for the show. that's some dedicated fan. and he's only been into owen pallett's stuff since last fall.

it turned out to be a seated show, which was nice and comfortable for this kind of music. of course, we got very good seats, front and centre. during the wait, i chatted some more with the guy from boston, who gave me a list of bands to check out.

the opening act was diamond rings. i had never heard of this guy before, so what a surprise when he appeared on stage: half-shaven head, dramatic eye makeup, face glitter, denim jacket with back patch, chunky silver belt, leopard print leggings, purple socks, purple hi-tops. this guy is a cliché of the late-70's/early 80's punk/new wave style; i doubt he was even born at the time. he punched the air for dramatic effect, and busted out some awkward 80's dance moves.

the music was pretty good, consisting of either synth or guitar, with a catchy beat. his act is so kitsch that it's full of awesome.

owen pallet's act was introduced with a clip of an alicia keys song. haha, it set the tone for the night, i guess.

he was accompanied by guitarist/percussionist thomas gill:

as always, i was impressed by the way he plays the violin: playing into a loop pedal, building a song layer by layer, plucking and tapping the strings, tapping the body for a percussions effect, even yelling into his violin for those faraway-sounding vocals.

i love that he mixed his set with old and new songs. he played most of my favourites, such as "this lamb sells condos":

as well as "e is for estranged", which ended abruptly when he pressed the wrong button and everything stopped. "oops," he said, and shrugged it off.

during the encore, when he started with the first few beats of the second song, i internally skrieked like a little girl. mariah carey's "fantasy" is a guilty pleasure, a song i loved so much when i was a little girl that i learned the lyrics and everything. and he does a really good cover of that.

he ended the show with a second encore, playing "he poos clouds", a song that makes me think of chase scenes in video games set in medieval times.

setlist:
love song to an empty room
midnight directives
this lamb sells condos
flare gun
the butcher
many lives -> 49 mp
took you two years to win my heart
e is for estranged
this is the dream of win & regine
keep the dog quiet
mt. alpentine
the great elsewhere
honour the dead or else
lewis takes action
lewis takes off his shirt

encore:
the man with no ankles
fantasy (mariah carey cover)

encore 2:
he poos clouds

~~~

Labels: diamond rings, owen pallett, shows, théâtre outremont

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