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29. Okt. 2011, 18:47
Sun 2 Oct – The Besnard Lakes, Malajube
For The Besnard Lakes, making an impression is pretty easy. Not many other acts attempt to cross-pollinate the sweeping panoramas of prog-rock with the snarling ripples of sound adopted by the shoegazer sound, with a healthy dose of melodramatic songcraft heard in those tragic ballads of the late 50s and early 60s thrown in for effect. Even fewer feature a husband and wife as the creative centerpoint. Add in the continuous motifs the Lakes return to (espionage, trains,romantic tumult) and the ground the Lakes artistically stand on is pretty barren. While being distinctive and unique should be a boon in the crowded field of indie-rawk hopefuls, the smallish crowd that greeted The Lakes at the High Noon may indicate The Lakes reside in a part of the music universe few don't think to explore much.
Still, those who came were fervent followers of the Lakes' sonic gospel, and were greeted with a few trippy light effects and a fog machine. The Lakes have manned the stage in a six person configuration in the past, but this night they were a quartet, with frontman Jace Lasek (he of the omnipresent Nudie-style western shirts) handling lead guitar, vocal and keyboard duties, his wife Olga Goreas on bass and singing, Richard White on additional guitars and keyboards and Kevin Laing behind the drumkit. The Lakes have such a layered, deep sound on record that I doubted they could match the epic sweep found in their albums up close and personal, but I was happily proven wrong. In fact, their reading of For Agent 13 was absolutely majestic, the fragile buildup snowballing to the crescendo that echoed through the venue walls. Many of the highlights from The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse and The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night were brought to life on stage, the most memorable being Disaster getting more of a classic country and western swing to the verses, adding a noisy bluster towards the end that segued into Devastation, a great song for slow-motion headbanging. While the songs themselves had all the epic feel of their recorded cousins, the set as a whole seemed rushed: they were barely on stage 60 minutes, and that's counting the 2 song encore. Still, one of the edicts of showbiz is to leave them wanting more, and I imagine quite a few of the people that night would take another "dip" the next time they got near these particular Lakes.
Both the Lakes and opening act Malajube call Montreal home, but Malajube are on a separate parcel of land from the Lakes. Malajube's brew is far closer to standard rock/pop fare, with liberal amounts of glam rock and psychedelic guitar. Of course, the biggest eyebrow raiser for Malajube here in the States would be the lack of English in the songs, as Malajube sing French throughout. The language barrier did not seem to cause problems, and the band's collective excitement and enthusiasm wore off on the crowd.
For The Besnard Lakes, making an impression is pretty easy. Not many other acts attempt to cross-pollinate the sweeping panoramas of prog-rock with the snarling ripples of sound adopted by the shoegazer sound, with a healthy dose of melodramatic songcraft heard in those tragic ballads of the late 50s and early 60s thrown in for effect. Even fewer feature a husband and wife as the creative centerpoint. Add in the continuous motifs the Lakes return to (espionage, trains,romantic tumult) and the ground the Lakes artistically stand on is pretty barren. While being distinctive and unique should be a boon in the crowded field of indie-rawk hopefuls, the smallish crowd that greeted The Lakes at the High Noon may indicate The Lakes reside in a part of the music universe few don't think to explore much.
Still, those who came were fervent followers of the Lakes' sonic gospel, and were greeted with a few trippy light effects and a fog machine. The Lakes have manned the stage in a six person configuration in the past, but this night they were a quartet, with frontman Jace Lasek (he of the omnipresent Nudie-style western shirts) handling lead guitar, vocal and keyboard duties, his wife Olga Goreas on bass and singing, Richard White on additional guitars and keyboards and Kevin Laing behind the drumkit. The Lakes have such a layered, deep sound on record that I doubted they could match the epic sweep found in their albums up close and personal, but I was happily proven wrong. In fact, their reading of For Agent 13 was absolutely majestic, the fragile buildup snowballing to the crescendo that echoed through the venue walls. Many of the highlights from The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse and The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night were brought to life on stage, the most memorable being Disaster getting more of a classic country and western swing to the verses, adding a noisy bluster towards the end that segued into Devastation, a great song for slow-motion headbanging. While the songs themselves had all the epic feel of their recorded cousins, the set as a whole seemed rushed: they were barely on stage 60 minutes, and that's counting the 2 song encore. Still, one of the edicts of showbiz is to leave them wanting more, and I imagine quite a few of the people that night would take another "dip" the next time they got near these particular Lakes.
Both the Lakes and opening act Malajube call Montreal home, but Malajube are on a separate parcel of land from the Lakes. Malajube's brew is far closer to standard rock/pop fare, with liberal amounts of glam rock and psychedelic guitar. Of course, the biggest eyebrow raiser for Malajube here in the States would be the lack of English in the songs, as Malajube sing French throughout. The language barrier did not seem to cause problems, and the band's collective excitement and enthusiasm wore off on the crowd.
