Day 1: Chârogne + DestructionDerby + Grimelda + Princesses + Tempête + Brue
The 3rd installment of Festival Equinox kicked off with a bang this weekend since the last one in March 2020! It was the most underrated place to be compared to the toxic culture of F1 surrounding Montreal. Not hating on the sport, but event organizer Elyze Vaine-D’été hosted all attendees beautifully with love and passion for her event. In contrast, the average general admission attendee at F1 sat in the rain for hours to see nothing. Can’t help them all, so we at least helped ourselves watching such an eclectic lineup with talented musicians performing punk, sludge, metal, glamour, and stoner music. It was a treat for the ears; you’re all going to read about it!
To start us off, Chârogne grabbed Bar L’Esco’s stage by the balls! Giving us the sight of kink and attitude, lead singer and guitarist Catherine Jeanne-D’Arc belts her voice in solidarity to feminism and the LGBTQ+ community. Their stage presence was filled visually with glamour and BDSM attire through the sounds angry punk rock. Bassist Jonathan Franken may be submissive to his lead singer on stage but dominated his bass. In turn, on guitar Nas Ganon was a smooth operator, and on drums Sara Blair never showed signs of slowing down.
A few doors down at the Quai Des Brumes, the following performance was Destruction Derby! This duo’s performance lived up well to their name. Their style and tempo simulate sounds and melodies from stock car culture, which encapsulates their speed and loudness. They kept their foot on the gas and finished strong with an epic cover of Slayer’s Raining Blood. One hell of a set!
Back at the L’Escogriffe, Grimelda, a pair of punk prairie-goblins from Saskatchewan drew us to their stage. They kept the energy with a fast, rhythmic, noisy, post-punk style that put a huge smile on my face! Their performance showed much expression, persistence and humour especially handing out party horns and led the crowd to a tasteful finish to their set.
The following band Princesses enchanted us back to the stage of Quai Des Brumes. This 3 piece won our hearts with some fuzzy tasty riffs from guitarist Flavie Léger-Roy, and some groovy bass from bassist Marie-Philippe Thibeault-Desbiens. It was such a treat to watch them harmonize in French about the challenges of the average woman, heightened by their sound of power rock. The chemistry with these women was palpable! Notably, the drummer only known as Chouchoune was wearing a clown mask and never took it off. Great performance!
The final performance at L’Escogriffe was led by none other than the unusual funky trio called Tempête! It was great watching them treat us to a variety of styles derived from hardcore punk, jazz, funk, layered some tasty noisy textures. Very rare to see such an eclectic group of musicians and I strongly recommend anyone to see their next show. They topped off their set by inviting event organizer Elyze on stage to bring the house down with her saxophone! Her performance was exhilarating and combined so well with the other musicians of Tempête.
Finally, the end of the first night of Equinox 3 closes with the beautifully provocative 3-piece band called Brue. All band members were sporting revealing mesh attire while performing a very catchy festive garage style of music to demonstrate the intended contrast. While the music sounds positive and well-paced, the lyrics sung by guitarist Sarah M-Brunnemer are about the liberation of women and diverse sexuality. Throughout the set she often break out intensely and pose provocatively while playing the guitar without missing a note! It was a sight to behold and great way to end the first night of Equinox 3.
Day 2: Tu/Lips + Aawks + AstralWitch + CastleBlack + SonsOfArrakis + TimeGhost
Day 2 and final day of Equinox 3. To carry on the fabulous momentum from the night before, the all-female two-piece band Tu/Lips was the perfect gateway at the L’Esco stage! This electro-grunge noise style is composed by Lydia Champagne on bass and percussion, with Jessica Pion on the guitar and noise effects. Lydia has an interesting DIY setup consisting of the bass drum and pedal for their percussion while she’s on a stool playing her bass at the same time. This unconventional setup delivered a great bassline to their style of grunge. Meanwhile, Jessica controls the rhythm, combining her guitar with the noise pedals to deliver a great variety of tempo. Without the use of any vocals, they had us completely immersed in their sound!
Over at the Quaies Des Brumes, 4 four-piece stoner band called Aawks took to the stage. These acid-inspired musicians from the snow belts Barrie, Ontario, took us through a wonderful sludgy anthem. Their sound draws so much inspiration from early Black Sabbath, giving us a fuzzy doom melody that had us all planting our feet to the ground for complete immersion. They took us through a doom acid dream with a unique tempo. in which I did not want to wake up! Outstanding performance! They don’t live very far, so I look forward to seeing them again!
Back at the L’Escogriffe, another doom band from Ontario called Astral Witch drew us to the stage. This occult-inspired trio of musicians has such natural chemistry on stage. The combined lead vocals, accompanied by the collective distortion, lend a great bass sound with a mild-paced sludge melody. Their original song, Left Hand Path, was so impressionable that it felt like an invitation to the occult!
The last two-piece band of Equinox3 takes center stage at Quaies Des Brumes. Based in New York, CastleBlack takes shape with elements of punk, post-punk, grunge, alternative and new wave. Vocalist and guitarist Leigh Celent conjures a well-calculated variety of soundscapes with her instrument and vocals, resulting in unpredictable melodies that are a treat for the ears! Behind on her on the drums, Joey Russo contributes excellently supporting the rhythm with his bandmate while playing at a variable speed. It’s a shame they’re not from here because I would definitely check them out again!
We make it back to L’Escogriffe to see the band I was looking forward to seeing the most, Sons Of Arrakis. If their name had not been a hint already, they’re heavily influenced by the universe of Dune by Frank Herbert. My 3rd time seeing them in two years since they’re a local band, and they keep topping their previous performances. What made this set better than the others, it was the launch of their second self-titled album Volume 2. As soon as the first notes were struck, it drew everyone even closer to the stage. Taking full ownership of the stage, their sound consisting of fuzz and bass grooves carry us all to an entirely different world! Rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist Frédéric Couture has a voice that pierces as the iconic Ozzy Osbourne, while the rest contrast a heavy riffs at a playful speed. Pay close attention for their next performance, for it’s not one to miss!
Last but definitely not least, Time Ghost closed the festival over at the Quaies Des Brumes. This trio performed such catchy tracks that had us all boogey and head-bang along with them. Their style draws much inspiration from 70s prog rock with some new wave, and a dash punk rock. It was the perfect transition for a bunch of stoners to move onto the dancefloor! They were fun, energetic, and capped off the night such charm. Hope to see them perform again soon!
Equinox 3 was such an awesome festival to attend from start to finish! Even organizer Elyze deserves credit for acquiring such talented artists for the event. In addition to the bands, having the visual projections by Black Throne Productions’ VJ Ryan Hilton added so much to the experience of the festival, which again credits Elyze with realizing such a crucial element. I can’t wait for Equinox 4!
Review & photos – David Machado
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