Tiga

Quai Jacques-Cartier, Montreal QC, February 1

Photo: Luke Orlando

BY Scott SimpsonPublished Feb 2, 2015

5
When it comes to the Montreal electronic scene, Tiga may the closest thing we have to a bona fide institution: he was instrumental in the creation of legendary afterhours club SONA, and was founder of both Turbo Recordings (early home to Chromeo and Azari & III) and nightlife mainstay I Love Neon. The scene owes much of what it has become to this visionary producer and DJ.
 
It seemed safe to assume that Tiga performing at Igloofest would be — or should be — a roaring homecoming gig. Chalk it up to it being Superbowl Sunday or to another night of arctic weather, but to say that the night was underwhelming would be a massive understatement. With but a handful of revellers (there couldn't have been more than 250 people at the main stage) and a tepid set at best, Sunday's Igloofest show was probably the weakest of the season.
 
Tiga has a solid discography, with two solo albums filled with hits, and anybody who's seen him perform before — whether at one of his I Love Neon parties or his many club gigs — knows that he can get a crowd moving more than adequately. But barring few exceptions, such as his remix of Yo Majesty's "Club Action," it was hard to gauge exactly what he was trying to accomplish with his set. He spent a fair amount of time sampling his most recent single "Bugatti," to varying degrees of success, building up the track with very few returns. And while there were moments of competence throughout the evening, the set fell flat as a whole; between awkward transitions and unfulfilled expectations, there wasn't much to grab on to.
 
The one highlight of the night were the visuals provided by Rémi Vincent, under his VJ moniker Tetsouille, who successfully managed to combine cat imagery, old body-building pictures of Arnold Schwarzenegger and dinosaur graphics to fantastic effect. If only Tiga were as adept at combining disparate sound palettes for what should have been a much more engaging set. 
 

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