Alex G + Hatchie @ MTelus

Hatchie

Here all the way from Australia, Hatchie took over the vast stage of MTelus to open the night up for the crowd in attendance. She gave a good and eerie set, her high-pitched voice pairing nicely with the thrilling indie beat she sang along to. 

People seemed to be enjoying her performance; they’d cheer her on when she’d pull out her guitar, dancing in place while she sang each track in her set. The lighting also complimented her up on stage, deep and purple to add to her alternative indie sound. 

Alex G

After a fulfilling and dreamy opening, the crowd’s anticipation grew as the time for Alex G to headline for Montreal finally came. Once the lights faded out and the crowd caught sight of him walking onto stage with his band, everyone in the venue cheered loudly for Alex G’s arrival. He gave a quick wave to the crowd before focusing his attention down to his piano, and the audience collectively began to quiet down as if they were all holding their breath while waiting for him to begin his set. 

Breaking the ice, Alex G played the first few notes of his track “S.D.O.S,” and his band joined in with their varying instruments, all in perfect tune with one another to produce each note that make up these beautiful songs. 

The crowd immediately started singing along as soon as Alex G brought his words into the microphone set up in front of him. Everyone began singing and dancing, mainly lightly swaying along to the music being played in front of them.

Red lighting engulfed the stage as tracks like “Runner” and “No Bitterness” filled the room, along with the inviting ears of the attendees. His set was honestly perfectly scattered with plenty of songs from his older records, such as “After Ur Gone,” “Judge,” and “Kicker,” allowing the audience to be thrown back in time to when they were first released. I was there with my sibling, who told me they felt extremely nostalgic while hearing the live rendition of each song. It influenced me to think back on the last couple of years, reminisce on older memories and feel grateful to be able to look back to the past with sincerity. 

His vocals were very clear despite the distortion effect that was put onto his microphone. I understood every lyric he sang with his deep and lovely voice and was able to properly appreciate his words about alienation and the rediscovering of spirituality and religion. He was incredibly enthralling, not because he was flashy while on stage, but rather all because of his doubtless talent. His experimental sound had a solid clutch on those attending; one glance around the room made that very obvious to me. 

I really enjoy Alex G’s rousing build-ups in his tracks. How each instrument would play so low that it felt like the room was silent, followed up by a clashing high point in the track, which was undoubtedly hair-raising. The light show was always in perfect tune with these brilliant song structures. Shades of greens and blues washed over Alex G and his band members, helping the viewer get lost in his trance as he transported everyone to his own little private plane of existence. 

Although he wasn’t extremely talkative during his set, or even really much of a dancer, he certainly had moments where it was clear that something just took him over. Like that moment when he crawled on the ground while whispering along to “Blessing”, he had slowly made his way between his guitarist’s legs, and they walked together. The guitarist even sat on Alex G’s back like he was riding a pony; I thought it was pretty sweet. 

Alex G ended his set with the same ending track off his newest album, “God Save The Animals.” Such an appropriate song to end on for this fantastic night, yet even after a nice and long set list, the show wasn’t over for Alex G. After lots of cheering drowned out “Life is a Highway,” he returned to stage with his bandmates to perform a five-track encore, each song off a different one of his older records. The crowd was enchanted one last time and seemed to be in complete awe as they left the venue. I had gotten my sibling a vinyl copy of his beautiful new album, and as we left, the night felt lighter and splendid. 

If you missed Alex G’s performance in Montreal, then have a good listen to his records and keep an eye out for his next show because it isn’t one you’ll want to miss a second time.

Jamie Siddall

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