What an interesting time to see DOMi & JD Beck live. The pair of virtuosic jazz musicians have been making the rounds on the Internet for a few years now, and collaborating with many of their — or everyone's — idols, which give them an aura of seasoned artists, even though they're still in the greener half of their 20s.
When the duo appeared on the oversized TD Stage of la Place des Festivals on Tuesday, there was a sense of witnessing an important period in their journey. As JD Beck later exclaimed between 2 numbers, "Last time we played here was, like, at Club Soda," referring to the compact Montreal venue located a few blocks away.
Not even a year old, their debut album NOT TiGHT had clearly helped them reach a much wider audience, and it felt like catching them at a crossroads, somewhere between the status of underground cult band to the one of household name.
The headlining show they brought to life was clearly a product of that album, even replicating the opening one-two punch of "LOUNA'S iNTRO" and "WHATUP". What followed was, as one would expect, a setlist centred mostly on the tracks from the record, including compositions like "WHOA", "SMiLE" and "TWO SHRiMPS," before which Beck indicated, "We'll do one more instrumental, and then we sing."
To the uninitiated, this might have sounded like one of the duo's signature self-deprecating jokes. DOMi & JD Beck are notorious for their collaborations, and their album feature vocalists ranging from Anderson.Paak to Snoop Dogg, but their rendition of "BOWLiING" sans Thundercat was the first of many convincing vocal performances by the duo, as they both sang flawlessly in unison. To see DOMi playing the keys with one hand, MIDI bass with the other, and singing on top of that could've given the impression of one of those comical one-person bands, if she didn't radiate so much confidence on stage.
And that being said, there was perhaps a sense that, while the execution was as flawless, the showmanship sometimes suffered a bit during those vocal numbers. A dedicated vocalist would've probably brought an added dimension to the show — or at least a little more interaction with the crowd.
As it stood, it sometimes felt like observing a rehearsal for a show, rather than seeing a fully-formed headlining set with all the bells and whistles one has come to expect from such an event. Some of the intimacy of former days felt lost in translation, even though the larger-than-life identity the twosome brought to the stage still hit on every cylinder.
That identity was especially apparent when they played covers, which included Wayne Shorter's "Endangered Species," Weather Report's "Havona," and a powerful version of Aphex Twin's "Flim," which they were only playing for the third time ever and was one of the highlights of the evening.
As the show ended, DOMi & JD Beck took a moment to look at the cheering crowd flooded by stage lights, stretching further than the eye could see. Visibly excited, they turned their backs to the audience to take a snapshot before they disappeared backstage. A memento of a special moment in time.
When the duo appeared on the oversized TD Stage of la Place des Festivals on Tuesday, there was a sense of witnessing an important period in their journey. As JD Beck later exclaimed between 2 numbers, "Last time we played here was, like, at Club Soda," referring to the compact Montreal venue located a few blocks away.
Not even a year old, their debut album NOT TiGHT had clearly helped them reach a much wider audience, and it felt like catching them at a crossroads, somewhere between the status of underground cult band to the one of household name.
The headlining show they brought to life was clearly a product of that album, even replicating the opening one-two punch of "LOUNA'S iNTRO" and "WHATUP". What followed was, as one would expect, a setlist centred mostly on the tracks from the record, including compositions like "WHOA", "SMiLE" and "TWO SHRiMPS," before which Beck indicated, "We'll do one more instrumental, and then we sing."
To the uninitiated, this might have sounded like one of the duo's signature self-deprecating jokes. DOMi & JD Beck are notorious for their collaborations, and their album feature vocalists ranging from Anderson.Paak to Snoop Dogg, but their rendition of "BOWLiING" sans Thundercat was the first of many convincing vocal performances by the duo, as they both sang flawlessly in unison. To see DOMi playing the keys with one hand, MIDI bass with the other, and singing on top of that could've given the impression of one of those comical one-person bands, if she didn't radiate so much confidence on stage.
And that being said, there was perhaps a sense that, while the execution was as flawless, the showmanship sometimes suffered a bit during those vocal numbers. A dedicated vocalist would've probably brought an added dimension to the show — or at least a little more interaction with the crowd.
As it stood, it sometimes felt like observing a rehearsal for a show, rather than seeing a fully-formed headlining set with all the bells and whistles one has come to expect from such an event. Some of the intimacy of former days felt lost in translation, even though the larger-than-life identity the twosome brought to the stage still hit on every cylinder.
That identity was especially apparent when they played covers, which included Wayne Shorter's "Endangered Species," Weather Report's "Havona," and a powerful version of Aphex Twin's "Flim," which they were only playing for the third time ever and was one of the highlights of the evening.
As the show ended, DOMi & JD Beck took a moment to look at the cheering crowd flooded by stage lights, stretching further than the eye could see. Visibly excited, they turned their backs to the audience to take a snapshot before they disappeared backstage. A memento of a special moment in time.
