Champagne Kiss / Little White Lights / Aids Wolf

A sweaty downtown loft and a night's worth of noisy rock are just enough to make Montrealers a little warmer during this brutal winter. Better known for their concert posters and CD art, the guy and gal of Seripop have a new rock outfit called Aids Wolf, who kicked off the night's show. Burning through an intense set of fast noise, the band's sound was capped off by the sexy squeals of lead vocalist Chloe. The show took a long break before it continued with the re-incarnation of Montreal emo rock band Lae Tseu, known now as Little White Lights. Lae Tseu left its mark on the Montreal indie scene years ago and it seems Little White Lights is slowly creeping up in its footsteps. They played great slow pop, almost like the Innocence Mission, with angelic vocals and lofty guitar melodies. The San Diego duo Champagne Kiss brought the show down to its quiet, subtle conclusion with their distorted ambience and screeching guitars. Champagne Kiss features ex-members of the popular drone-infused hardcore group Camera Obscura. There are the obvious similarities between the two bands, as both combine light industrial sounds with melodic hardcore bits. However, Champagne Kiss is a much more solemn, intimately profound act. Taking a small break in between sets, the guitar-slamming pair seemed a little taken aback by the murmur of talking from the room. Slowly but surely, the crowd simmered down, sat on the floor and became enraptured by the moody noise of CK.