Beanfield Theatre felt unusually warm on Saturday night, and not because anyone had messed with the thermostat. The double bill of Durand Jones and the Indications and The Psycodelics turned the room into a rolling soul party, the kind where strangers start dancing together without needing a committee vote.
The Psycodelics opened with the confidence of a band that knows exactly how to light a fuse. Their mix of funk, soul, disco and jazz came in hot, crisp and rhythm-forward, the kind of sound that makes you suddenly aware of how stiff your shoulders have been all week. Cameron Wescott worked the stage with easy charm, tossing out invitations to move that the crowd happily accepted. By their third song, the room had that pleasant buzz of people discovering a band they’ll be bragging about later.
When the Indications stepped out, the mood didn’t shift so much as deepen. Durand Jones moved like someone who trusts his band completely, which makes sense given the long-standing chemistry between the players. His vocals carried that familiar balance of grit and warmth, and Aaron Frazer’s falsetto arrived like a well-timed breeze. Together, they created a sound that nodded to mid ’70s soul without slipping into imitation. The newer material from Flowers felt especially grounded, more reflective than their past work but still built for swaying hips and raised eyebrows.
Beanfield Theatre is no stranger to nostalgia gigs, but this show didn’t lean on retro gimmicks. The Indications treated the past as a palette, not a script, shaping something that felt lived-in yet contemporary. “Witchoo” naturally turned the place into a good-natured mess of dancing people, and nobody seemed eager for that moment to end.
By the time the final notes drifted offstage, the room looked like it had just shared a collective exhale. Two bands, one great night and enough groove to carry everyone through Montreal’s slushy season with a little extra swagger.
Photos – Daphne Miller
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