As the unapparent summer air in early fall finally cooled down with the help of a day-long storm, Montreal residents made their way through the rain to Théâtre Beanfield, as Black Rebel Motorcycle Club hit up our city for the first time in over seven years, on a tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of their album Howl.
Opening the show was Humanist, a band whose set I thought would go terribly, given that their first track was riddled with inaudible vocals and tons of feedback, despite the singer using in-ears. Thankfully, by the second song in their set, the sound guy figured things out, and the band got into their groove. Their music certainly set a mood but didn’t have much substance to me. Their ‘80s goth-inspired aesthetic matched the dark room and minimalist light show. The band’s highlight, though, is their guitarist. Rob Marshall created gorgeous, multilayered soundscapes with nothing more than six strings and a pedalboard, and gave Humanist’s music a depth that complemented its simplicity very well.
With a single light fixture on the back wall glowing the type of deep amber that’s reminiscent of a sunset, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club began their set. Peter Hayes stepped on stage alone as he performed “Devil’s Waitin’,” with a backlit aura around him. Robert Levon Been walked in to accompany on some low vocal harmonies, and their set was off to a slow but sure start. BRMC did a lot of this, surprisingly — a lot more vulnerable, barebones acoustic songs than I was expecting. Often with a southern, bluesy twang thanks to some tasteful fingerpicking and guitar slides. Even when the band’s frontmen were showing off their multi-instrumentalism, the instrument changes were subtle and served the song arrangements more than their egos.
There were rare moments of stillness during these calmer songs as well. Once in a while, Montreal did what it does best and gifted a room as big as Théâtre Beanfield with pin-drop silence. No background chatter — simply all eyes fixed on the beautifully stripped-down acoustic ballads that either of the two frontmen sang through, sometimes solo. I loved that they let their set breathe. Even between songs, they weren’t rushing to get to the next. They lived comfortably in the silence, even if the audience couldn’t help but woo or heckle through those moments.
The last 45 minutes of their nearly two-hour set were full of the bluesy, hard-rock bangers that I knew the band for. The crowd’s energy stayed surprisingly low in these moments, however. Still, it was such a wonderful and carefully paced setlist — one that came to a natural and calm conclusion with their song “Open Invitation,” and the words “We May Never Be Here Again” haunting the room with each repetition. It was a show that defied my expectations and had me realizing there’s a lot more to this band than I had discovered before that night.
Review – Mathieu Perrier
Photos – Torrey Liu
