By day three, you can’t remember you even have a home somewhere else. You are immersed in the adventure of the discovery of new music.
The day started with a 7ième Ciel Records BBQ deep into the outskirts of town. To be in nature and enjoy some downtime was enjoyable.
Flavien Berger (Secret Show)
On the way back the BBQ, there is a secret show, and I can no longer resist these.
Flavien Berger has quite the impressive stats on Spotify, and his chill vibe under the sun is just what I needed to unwind mid-day.
My eyelids were fighting the music, but I managed to stay for a few songs before going back to the room for a much-needed nap and to store up energy for this evening’s activities.
Tess Parks
Before the show, I had a fantastic interview with Tess Parks, which will be posted in a separate article.
Tess would soon take to the stage, solo, with only her dreamy pedal that created this illusion that she had a synth player with her on stage.
Tess normally performs with about 8 musicians, so this was a stripped-down set with a big Mazzy Star vibe throughout.
I’m sure the crowd was there for Kwarka, but they gave Tess some love between songs, and I enjoyed the set.
Karkwa
This was the big return of this mythical band that was resurrected after a decade of inactivity. With new music under their belt, Karkwa began their journey to mesh as a touring band and will perform a series of small and sometimes secret shows to get back on the musical horse.
I couldn’t help getting sucked into the performance which was multidimensional. Complexity with a likeable front person who gave a strong performance for a band resurrected from inactivity.
The crowd was loving every minute of the performance and got to hear the new songs live, as well as some of their classic hits.
I may sometimes forget my 50% French heritage, but a band like Kwarka would remind me that French Quebec has quite a lot to contribute to the musical universe.
Les Lunatiques
I got to the next venue a little early and was able to catch the last song of Les Lunatiques.
The only video I captured was the guitarist body surfing as he played. Kind of wished I got there earlier.
DVTR
I was warned to check out DVTR, one of the next big bands in Quebec.
They surpassed my expectations and put on one of the most entertaining and energetic sets of the weekend.
I would call them Les Rita MitPsycho.
Laurence Giroux-Do & JC Tellier put on an energetic and entertaining set that blew us all away.
Big hit of B-52s mixed with some punk rock, with some nuclear energy makes DVTR a band to experience, let alone listen to.
Got the cassette. Forgot to bring it to get it signed, but next time.
Tukan
I got dragged to Tukan, after they put on a secret show in the post-Apocalyptic setting of the railway with what Jason Rockman affectionally called the eye of Mordor Foundry stack in the background.
Having missed that opportunity, I was able to catch this Organic Electro Post-Rock band from Brussels.
Basically, EDM done with real instruments. While there is a synth for those signature sounds, the rest is drum, bass and guitar in what turned out to be one massive dance party in the basement of le Petit Theatre.
Low ceilings combined with high heat make this a memorable performance, and I was simply amazed at the musicianship involved in pulling this off.
This was by far the show with the most audience participation and coolest vibe.
Conclusion
Of course, another late night with some awesome bands and performances. By then, I was fully convinced that FME has a special niche as an immersive musical choose your adventure journey.
Writer: Randal Wark is a Professional Speaker and MasterMind Facilitator with a passion for live music. You can follow him on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. His Podcast RockStar Today helps musicians quit their day jobs with out-of-the-box advice from Ted Talk Speakers, Best Selling Authors and other interesting Entrepreneurs and Creatives. He created the Rock Star Today Music Business Jam Session for musicians. Randal is a collector of signed vinyl, cassettes and CDs.
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