There could not have been a more ideal venue for Timber Timbre to perform in than the huge, ornate church Saint-Jean-Baptiste in Montreal's Plateau neighbourhood. The band performed a slew of favourites from their 2009 eponymous debut and this year's Creep On Creepin' On, this being the third time they've performed in Montreal this year. Save for a couple of minor technical hiccups, it may have been their best Montreal performance to date.
The cavernous church helped make Timber Timbre's reverberant, resonant instrumentation sound especially impressive, and for the first time, the band were accompanied by a drummer. Looking back on their previous shows, which have always been extremely stripped-down and minimalist compared to their studio albums, the drummer was a much-welcomed addition to their live performance. As per usual, lead crooner and guitarist Taylor Kirk's singing style, pitch and timing were all over the place (in a good way). To hear Kirk sing live recalls the outlandish vocal performance of Screamin' Jay Hawkins -- rightfully so, since he is most certainly one of Kirk's strongest influences.
The eerie yet awe-inspiring dissonance of Mika Posen's violin playing, along with multi-instrumentalist Simon Trottier's harpsichord and resounding guitar interjections, sounded far more profound in this setting than in the songs' studio incarnation. The audience hesitated to begin applauding at the end of every song, determined to absorb every last second of the drawn-out conclusive notes. Kirk and Trottier expressed their bemusement at how packed the church was and profusely expressed their gratitude for the great turn-out. All the while, you couldn't help but think how rare it is for a church in this city to be so packed with hip young people.
The cavernous church helped make Timber Timbre's reverberant, resonant instrumentation sound especially impressive, and for the first time, the band were accompanied by a drummer. Looking back on their previous shows, which have always been extremely stripped-down and minimalist compared to their studio albums, the drummer was a much-welcomed addition to their live performance. As per usual, lead crooner and guitarist Taylor Kirk's singing style, pitch and timing were all over the place (in a good way). To hear Kirk sing live recalls the outlandish vocal performance of Screamin' Jay Hawkins -- rightfully so, since he is most certainly one of Kirk's strongest influences.
The eerie yet awe-inspiring dissonance of Mika Posen's violin playing, along with multi-instrumentalist Simon Trottier's harpsichord and resounding guitar interjections, sounded far more profound in this setting than in the songs' studio incarnation. The audience hesitated to begin applauding at the end of every song, determined to absorb every last second of the drawn-out conclusive notes. Kirk and Trottier expressed their bemusement at how packed the church was and profusely expressed their gratitude for the great turn-out. All the while, you couldn't help but think how rare it is for a church in this city to be so packed with hip young people.
