[...music...]

2011-02-01

last thursday, i went to the robyn show with my cousins. turns out she has a good following here: the show was sold out, and i heard the scalpers were trying to sell tickets for $60 (originally $27).

the first act was natalia kills. i had seen shows with circus acts before (dresden dolls, emilie autumn, devotchka), but i think this was my first time seeing backup dancers:

this was perhaps the shortest set i've seen. she performed four songs, where the fourth was actually a dance version of the first. sure her songs are catchy at first listen, but not my kind of thing.

next act was diamond rings. i had seen him open for owen pallett last year, and was pleasantly surprised. this time, i was looking forward to his set. his outfit this time: fuchsia jacket, pink tank top, gold chains, and gold leggings. so glam.

almost all the songs he played were from his album "special affections", so i recognized them. he punctuated his set with fist pumps and skinny-white-boy dance moves. so kitsch.

finally, robyn appeared on stage, with a band consisting of two keyboard players and a drummer. her outfit: black bomber jacket, stringy white vest, black top, floral print leggings, platform ankle boots.

wow, she was so full of energy, dancing a lot, all over the stage.

she performed all her hits from the self-titled and "body talk" albums. the crowd was really into it. she kept it electro-pop, closely like the album version, so it was like one big dance party. i had a lot of fun: dancing and singing along, generally acting silly. eh, who cares.

for her first encore, she did a mellow version of "u should know better", without the snoop dogg parts, followed by more badassery with "konichiwa bitches".

she ended the set with a "dancing queen" medley that transitioned into her classic 1997 hit "show me love", re-worked for 2011, of course.

setlist posted here.

even though this was my first show of 2011, i think it will be one of my favourite for the year.

~~~

Labels: diamond rings, metropolis, natalia kills, robyn, shows

2010-12-26

special affections

a while ago, godspeed you black emperor finally announced some montreal dates for their spring 2011 tour. unfortunately, i could not get tickets. major disappointment.

then, they announced two additional shows at a bigger venue. about two weeks ago, i went to cheap thrills to get tickets. since they went on sale at noon, i browsed around the shop at around 11:50am. i quickly went through their used section, and saw diamond rings' "special affections". i remember liking his set when he opened for owen pallett; so i made an impulse purchase.

it's cheezy 80's synth pop, but i like it.

~~~

Labels: cd purchase, diamond rings

2010-02-22

owen pallett @ théâtre outremont

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