Foreign Hands
As someone who has never been in a band, let alone performed live in front of a large crowd, I sometimes think about how nerve-wracking it would be to open up the night for a lineup as big as this one. I mean, if it were me up there, I’d be sweating through my shirt.
Foreign Hands had it in the bag, though. They walked up onto that stage and gave the Montreal crowd an intensely thrilling performance. Constantly on the same page with one another, bringing their incredible songs to fruition as a team. You’d never be able to guess that a couple of Foreign Hands’ original band members were out sick, with members of the upcoming bands filling in their roles.
Foreign Hands were heavy, passionate and had no hesitation when it came to hyping up their audience to keep moshing to the heavy drops. The drumming was unbelievable, loaded with crashing cymbals that drove the audience mad, including myself.
Their set was rather short, but man, was it fun. I’d definitely want to see them again to play a much longer set.
Dying Wish
Adding on the long list of talent for this show is Dying Wish, an incredible band with a female lead, Emma Boster, which I am always a huge fan of. Her voice sounded amazing as it travelled around Fairmount Theatre, singing heavy vocals, screams, and speaking out about what their band stood for. “Fuck the government, fuck a political party, power to the fucking people.”
They had some very intense drops that brought the moshing up a full notch, and as soon Boster noticed, she called out to the crowd, encouraging a “Montreal-style circle pit.”
“I wanna see how the French fucking do it!” she excitedly shouts out, getting everyone ready to start running along to the sounds of the astounding guitar and double kick drum.
Seeyouspacecowboy
Starting off very strong with a piercing shriek, Seeyouspacecowboy made sure that the crowd knew right away about what they collectively believe in and how they’re unafraid to show it. They spoke quite a bit about being anti-police, pro-women, and pro-LBTGQ+. Cheers rang around the room as they encouraged the crowd to help one another, not only in the pit but out the door and in the world as well.
Their music was super fast-paced, with breakdowns that brought me to shock, and their energy was really, really high. They encouraged stage dives, mosh pits, circle pits. You name it, and their lead singer demanded it from the crowd.
By the end of their set, they had told the crowd that this was hands down their favourite show played here in Montreal. I take that as a clue that they’ll be back, and there’s no way I’m going to miss the chance to see them headline at their own show.
Counterparts
Now, after a big opening of very talented bands, it was time for Counterparts to take the stage as their own. And boy did they take it! As soon as that opening bass line started, I knew it was going to be a crazy show. I swear the bass shook all of Fairmount Theatre. I could feel it in my chest, it was so heavy.
They immediately encouraged the crowd to sing along, and sure enough, everyone in the audience sang the lyrics of their songs back to them. It was so incredible. The relationship a band can have with a room full of people who appreciate and love their music is truly special.
The vocals were clear and enticing, followed by the lovely echo of the crowd’s voices. They had a way of guiding the crowd as well, screaming out for a pit to open up before a drop would hit, or advising people to keep their drinks off the stage. The shared respect between the crowd and the band was actually fascinating.
Counterparts played so well together, it was seamless. Lights flashed brightly as they played each song off their setlist, right on queue with every beat and pace. It was quite impressive to see them play live. Each of their unique and individual talents merged together in hauntingly beautiful harmony. Even though the three other openers were just amazing and had brought something different for each set, it was clear that Counterparts were the absolute stars of this night.
People cheered, crowd surfed, and moshed to their hearts’ desire. It was a good night of not only live music but expression as well. Each band sharing what they truly believe in and coming together as one in that crowd so they can all move in imperfect moshing unison to their favourite songs.
If you missed this show, be sure to catch Counterparts the next time they wind up in Montreal. There’s no way you’d regret going to see such a wonderfully punk show.
Jamie Siddall
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