Montreal rap trio the Posterz couldn't have had a better setting for their M For Montreal showcase, performing at Montreal institution Café Cléopatra in the bar above its strip club, but unfortunately, the crowd assembled did not match the trio's energy and swagger.
Maybe Montreal is suffering from the Posterz-fatigue, as the trio have been omnipresent on the festival circuit and Montreal live scene for the better part of the past year, and judging by their M For Montreal performance, they're clearly ready for bigger and better things. These young guys are hungry and have the skill to back it up, performing tracks off their Starships & Darks Tints EP released earlier this summer with dynamism and assurance. Recent single "All I Know" deserves to be a bigger hit, and might be in any other city, but Montreal isn't known for fostering its hip-hop talent.
Nate Husser, Joey Sherrett and Kris the $pirit have great stage presence and even better camaraderie, taking over every inch of the floor and trying to engage with the audience as best the crowd would allow. Joey came forward to sit on a speaker during "Those Days," their anthem to weed, shouting a "Make some noise for weeeeed" that didn't elicit much of a reaction. Then again, stoners aren't known to be all that vivacious.
When they asked who had seen their video for "The Bass Song," a lone guy answered, to which the guys replied "respect to the one guy who saw it." This exchange was sadly an accurate portrayal of most of the set. It's disheartening to see so much talent wasted on the unappreciative. While their live set wasn't perfect and definitely has room to grow and develop, the Posterz need a bigger audience to help them do so.
Maybe Montreal is suffering from the Posterz-fatigue, as the trio have been omnipresent on the festival circuit and Montreal live scene for the better part of the past year, and judging by their M For Montreal performance, they're clearly ready for bigger and better things. These young guys are hungry and have the skill to back it up, performing tracks off their Starships & Darks Tints EP released earlier this summer with dynamism and assurance. Recent single "All I Know" deserves to be a bigger hit, and might be in any other city, but Montreal isn't known for fostering its hip-hop talent.
Nate Husser, Joey Sherrett and Kris the $pirit have great stage presence and even better camaraderie, taking over every inch of the floor and trying to engage with the audience as best the crowd would allow. Joey came forward to sit on a speaker during "Those Days," their anthem to weed, shouting a "Make some noise for weeeeed" that didn't elicit much of a reaction. Then again, stoners aren't known to be all that vivacious.
When they asked who had seen their video for "The Bass Song," a lone guy answered, to which the guys replied "respect to the one guy who saw it." This exchange was sadly an accurate portrayal of most of the set. It's disheartening to see so much talent wasted on the unappreciative. While their live set wasn't perfect and definitely has room to grow and develop, the Posterz need a bigger audience to help them do so.