After tentative steps back to normalcy last year, POP Montreal was back in full force for its 2022 edition. As always, the fest featured a host of cutting-edge Montreal and Quebec acts like MBG and Empty Nesters augmented by a healthy dose of national and international artists including Toronto's Witch Prophet and dancehall legend Sister Nancy.
Not surprisingly, getting a good night's sleep between the fest's September 28 and October 2 run was a difficult proposition, made all the more arduous by the number of art shows, film screenings and late-afternoon performances.
Amongst all the good there was, of course, some great. Here are few of the highlights.
September 28
Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande
Screening as part of the fest's film component, Getting It Back tells the story of British jazz-funk group Cymande (pronounced si-man-dee), who were also one of POP Montreal's headlining acts. Forged by mixing Caribbean cultures, which they reflect in their music, the Brixton group found a receptive audience in America, but were less well-received at home and packed it in after three albums. There are a thousand documentaries about bands that never got their proper due, but the film succeeds by successfully drawing a line from the group's original run through the birth of rare groove, prominent samples from the likes of Prince Paul and Cut Chemist, and their reemergence as a live force.
Kamikaze Nurse
Kamikaze Nurse went on late, and suffered further delays due to a litany of drum-related technical issues, none of which were their fault. Yet that didn't stop the Vancouver quartet from shredding the sweaty third-story Diving Bell Social Club. What they lacked in stage presence, the band more then made up for with the sheer force of their playing as they laid down tracks from Stimuloso, their 2022 sophomore album. It was a short set, but one that left ears ringing and bodies shaking long after.
September 29
Sophia Bel
Sophia Bel emerged on stage at Théâtre Rialto wearing a purple dress with her bandmates, including her banjo-guitarist decked out in a matching skirt and furry top hat. They worked through songs from her debut album Anxious Avoidant, flipping between its bouncy pop-punk numbers — tossing in a buoyant cover of Neil Young's "Harvest Moon" for good measure — and slower fair like the excellent "I Won't Bite." Bel appeared somewhat reserved in her stage movements and crowd banter, but gave the performance her all, particularly when belting out the the final chorus to set highlight "All Fucking Weekend."
The Linda Lindas
L.A. teen pop-punks the Linda Linda's wowed a crowd of cynical adults and rapt, cosplaying adolescents with their headlining set at Théâtre Rialto. The quartet have found many supporters, including Best Coast's Bob Bruno who was essentially working as their roadie. They owned their teenage awkwardness with banter about homework, the weather and guitarist Bella Salazar's cats, while ripping tracks from their 2022 album Growing Up, including highlights "Oh" and "Racist, Sexist Boy," and dropped in covers of the Go-Gos and Bikini Kill to boot. While on paper it might sound like a gimmick, in practice it's anything but, the band members' charisma and killer tunes winning everyone over.
September 30
At a distance - from within
Top-notch curation and the close proximity of most of the venues go a long way to creating a sense of temporary community during POP Montreal's five-day run. That feeling was mirrored in the Fest's art component, especially the show At a distance - from within at Project Casa, which explores the differences and shared experiences and traditions that exist in any diaspora. Highlights of the exhibition include Kuh Del Rosario's Stunt Double, 2022 and My Van-Dam's Untitled (Shell suspension).
Joseph Shabason
Multi-instrumentalist Joseph Shabason played a Friday afternoon set of ambient jazz at the Museum of Jewish Montreal, the first event at the venue's new location. "We're christening the Jewish Histroy Museum," quipped Shabason cheekily. Moving between his saxophone, which is so prominently heard while playing with Destroyer, and a litany of keyboards and other musical gear, he worked through tracks from his various solo and collaborative projects, backed first by a drummer — who had never performed these song before — and later augmented by bass and guitar. The chill vibes in the beautiful new industrial-looking space were the perfect precursor to a busy festival weekend.
Sister Ray
Edmonton's Sister Ray is a storyteller who spoke nearly as much as they played during their short set at Casa del Popolo. Working with just a guitar and their haunting voice, they offered context, nuance and clever asides before each song, thoroughly enriching the audience's experience, not to mention managing to capture a restless crowd's attention early in the night. Performing on the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, they spoke about being embarrassed about being Métis for much of their life. "I was so fucking wrong," they admitted before dedicating their final song to their two younger brothers.
JayWood
JayWood was POP Montreal's low-key MVP, playing back-to-back nights. Where sound issues washed out some of the intricacies of his music at his Thursday night show at Diving Bell Social Club, he played a short but scorching set the following night at Casa del Popolo that better showcased his psych-soul sound. Backed by a three-piece band — drums, keys and bass — Wood and co. got the packed crowd moving, even engaging in a bit of call-and-response with his grooves and impressive guitar skills.
Deanna Petcoff
From the moment she stepped on stage at Casa del Popolo wearing a "Who the fuck is Liam Gallagher" T-shirt, you could tell Deanna Petcoff meant business. Kicking things off with the self-deprecating "Trash Bag," the Toronto-based singer and guitarist, backed by her three-piece band, delivered an exhilarating set of propulsive indie rock, delivering each heart-firmly-on-sleeve song with a give-no-fucks attitude. She led the crowd in a cathartic singalong to a slowed-down cover of Sheryl Crow's "If It Makes You Happy" and introduced set highlight "Devastatingly Mediocre" by saying, "If you relate to these lyrics, you should break up with them." Condolences to any folks whose partners who did just that.
Gulfer
Gulfer's brand of bouncy emo math rock found a very receptive audience at their headlining hometown show at Casa del Popolo. They quickly had everyone who wasn't in the mini-moshpit in front bobbing their heads in unison. Frizzy-haired guitarist Vincent Ford and clean-cut bassist David Mitchell were a visual contrast as they traded vocals back and forth, but found common cause in imploring the crowd to howl along with them to "Secret Stuff," which they did with aplomb — and they really went into a frenzy when the band's other guitarist, Joey Therriault, finally took the lead on the mic. Gulfer are Canada's main connection to the current fourth (or is it fifth?) wave of emo down south. Why these guys were playing such a small venue is anybody's guess.
October 1
OMBIIGIZI
Zoon's Daniel Monkman and Status/Non-Status's Adam Sturgeon — played an early evening set in a temporary tent where they touched on much of their Polaris Music Prize shortlisted debut album. With Monkman handling bass duties, Sturgeon took the lead on guitar and vocals, while a trio of crack auxiliary musicians on drums, guitar and various electronic noises fleshed out their sound. On Sewn Back Together, OMBIIGIZI balanced their noisier tendencies with moment of pastoral beauty. In concert though, they've swapped that nuance for sheer force, bathing the crowd at Entrepôt 77 with layers of cathartic distortion — and the show was all the better for it.
Tortoise
Playing one of their first shows in two and a half years, Tortoise were in fine form at the Théâtre Rialto. The long-running Chicago experimental instrumentalists said nothing to the crowd as they swapped instruments (except for Doug McCombs, who was sturdy as a rock on bass most of the night), pulling out songs from across their long career. Despite radio silence on the mic, the five members, who were organized around a pair of drum sets placed centre stage, were visibly appreciative of the enthusiastic crowd, many of whom could be seen air drumming along to the interplay of duelling drummers.
Not surprisingly, getting a good night's sleep between the fest's September 28 and October 2 run was a difficult proposition, made all the more arduous by the number of art shows, film screenings and late-afternoon performances.
Amongst all the good there was, of course, some great. Here are few of the highlights.
September 28
Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande
Screening as part of the fest's film component, Getting It Back tells the story of British jazz-funk group Cymande (pronounced si-man-dee), who were also one of POP Montreal's headlining acts. Forged by mixing Caribbean cultures, which they reflect in their music, the Brixton group found a receptive audience in America, but were less well-received at home and packed it in after three albums. There are a thousand documentaries about bands that never got their proper due, but the film succeeds by successfully drawing a line from the group's original run through the birth of rare groove, prominent samples from the likes of Prince Paul and Cut Chemist, and their reemergence as a live force.
Kamikaze Nurse
Kamikaze Nurse went on late, and suffered further delays due to a litany of drum-related technical issues, none of which were their fault. Yet that didn't stop the Vancouver quartet from shredding the sweaty third-story Diving Bell Social Club. What they lacked in stage presence, the band more then made up for with the sheer force of their playing as they laid down tracks from Stimuloso, their 2022 sophomore album. It was a short set, but one that left ears ringing and bodies shaking long after.
September 29
Sophia Bel
Sophia Bel emerged on stage at Théâtre Rialto wearing a purple dress with her bandmates, including her banjo-guitarist decked out in a matching skirt and furry top hat. They worked through songs from her debut album Anxious Avoidant, flipping between its bouncy pop-punk numbers — tossing in a buoyant cover of Neil Young's "Harvest Moon" for good measure — and slower fair like the excellent "I Won't Bite." Bel appeared somewhat reserved in her stage movements and crowd banter, but gave the performance her all, particularly when belting out the the final chorus to set highlight "All Fucking Weekend."
The Linda Lindas
L.A. teen pop-punks the Linda Linda's wowed a crowd of cynical adults and rapt, cosplaying adolescents with their headlining set at Théâtre Rialto. The quartet have found many supporters, including Best Coast's Bob Bruno who was essentially working as their roadie. They owned their teenage awkwardness with banter about homework, the weather and guitarist Bella Salazar's cats, while ripping tracks from their 2022 album Growing Up, including highlights "Oh" and "Racist, Sexist Boy," and dropped in covers of the Go-Gos and Bikini Kill to boot. While on paper it might sound like a gimmick, in practice it's anything but, the band members' charisma and killer tunes winning everyone over.
September 30
At a distance - from within
Top-notch curation and the close proximity of most of the venues go a long way to creating a sense of temporary community during POP Montreal's five-day run. That feeling was mirrored in the Fest's art component, especially the show At a distance - from within at Project Casa, which explores the differences and shared experiences and traditions that exist in any diaspora. Highlights of the exhibition include Kuh Del Rosario's Stunt Double, 2022 and My Van-Dam's Untitled (Shell suspension).
Joseph Shabason
Multi-instrumentalist Joseph Shabason played a Friday afternoon set of ambient jazz at the Museum of Jewish Montreal, the first event at the venue's new location. "We're christening the Jewish Histroy Museum," quipped Shabason cheekily. Moving between his saxophone, which is so prominently heard while playing with Destroyer, and a litany of keyboards and other musical gear, he worked through tracks from his various solo and collaborative projects, backed first by a drummer — who had never performed these song before — and later augmented by bass and guitar. The chill vibes in the beautiful new industrial-looking space were the perfect precursor to a busy festival weekend.
Sister Ray
Edmonton's Sister Ray is a storyteller who spoke nearly as much as they played during their short set at Casa del Popolo. Working with just a guitar and their haunting voice, they offered context, nuance and clever asides before each song, thoroughly enriching the audience's experience, not to mention managing to capture a restless crowd's attention early in the night. Performing on the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, they spoke about being embarrassed about being Métis for much of their life. "I was so fucking wrong," they admitted before dedicating their final song to their two younger brothers.
JayWood
JayWood was POP Montreal's low-key MVP, playing back-to-back nights. Where sound issues washed out some of the intricacies of his music at his Thursday night show at Diving Bell Social Club, he played a short but scorching set the following night at Casa del Popolo that better showcased his psych-soul sound. Backed by a three-piece band — drums, keys and bass — Wood and co. got the packed crowd moving, even engaging in a bit of call-and-response with his grooves and impressive guitar skills.
Deanna Petcoff
From the moment she stepped on stage at Casa del Popolo wearing a "Who the fuck is Liam Gallagher" T-shirt, you could tell Deanna Petcoff meant business. Kicking things off with the self-deprecating "Trash Bag," the Toronto-based singer and guitarist, backed by her three-piece band, delivered an exhilarating set of propulsive indie rock, delivering each heart-firmly-on-sleeve song with a give-no-fucks attitude. She led the crowd in a cathartic singalong to a slowed-down cover of Sheryl Crow's "If It Makes You Happy" and introduced set highlight "Devastatingly Mediocre" by saying, "If you relate to these lyrics, you should break up with them." Condolences to any folks whose partners who did just that.
Gulfer
Gulfer's brand of bouncy emo math rock found a very receptive audience at their headlining hometown show at Casa del Popolo. They quickly had everyone who wasn't in the mini-moshpit in front bobbing their heads in unison. Frizzy-haired guitarist Vincent Ford and clean-cut bassist David Mitchell were a visual contrast as they traded vocals back and forth, but found common cause in imploring the crowd to howl along with them to "Secret Stuff," which they did with aplomb — and they really went into a frenzy when the band's other guitarist, Joey Therriault, finally took the lead on the mic. Gulfer are Canada's main connection to the current fourth (or is it fifth?) wave of emo down south. Why these guys were playing such a small venue is anybody's guess.
October 1
OMBIIGIZI
Zoon's Daniel Monkman and Status/Non-Status's Adam Sturgeon — played an early evening set in a temporary tent where they touched on much of their Polaris Music Prize shortlisted debut album. With Monkman handling bass duties, Sturgeon took the lead on guitar and vocals, while a trio of crack auxiliary musicians on drums, guitar and various electronic noises fleshed out their sound. On Sewn Back Together, OMBIIGIZI balanced their noisier tendencies with moment of pastoral beauty. In concert though, they've swapped that nuance for sheer force, bathing the crowd at Entrepôt 77 with layers of cathartic distortion — and the show was all the better for it.
Tortoise
Playing one of their first shows in two and a half years, Tortoise were in fine form at the Théâtre Rialto. The long-running Chicago experimental instrumentalists said nothing to the crowd as they swapped instruments (except for Doug McCombs, who was sturdy as a rock on bass most of the night), pulling out songs from across their long career. Despite radio silence on the mic, the five members, who were organized around a pair of drum sets placed centre stage, were visibly appreciative of the enthusiastic crowd, many of whom could be seen air drumming along to the interplay of duelling drummers.
