After being at Place Bell and MTelus regularly during September and October for my shows, November is shaping up to be all about the smaller gigs—and I’m totally fine with that! However, I didn’t quite expect “small” to mean only about 15-20 people, which is all that made the trip to Cabaret Foufounes tonight. Montreal, what are you thinking?
Still, that’s not going to faze tonight’s opener, Nashville’s Meg Elsier. She beams from the moment she arrives on stage with her band and never drops the positive energy throughout. Her sound brings to mind Soccer Mommy or Snail Mail in its lo-fi moments. However, on her new song cheater, there are some notable Alanis vibes at the heavier parts.
The set draws heavily from this year’s debut record spittake, a fantastic listen from front to back. It’s melancholic in places, upbeat in others, and the set paces exactly the same way. She wraps up her 30 minutes with the pop perfection of forlyleinsanfrancisco (about “a weird time I had in San Francisco”) and its grungy distorted guitar and drums that sound almost like a drum machine. Those of us who came out early are grateful we did; a splendid set.
Meg Elsier Setlist
- dog
- spittake
- iznotreal
- oldnews
- eastside
- baby
- thing
- cheater
- ifshitfuq
- forlyleinsanfrancisco
Chicago’s Finom is up next, and it’s a set I’ve been looking forward to. Their newest record, Not God (or “Pas Dieu” for tonight, according to singer Sima Cunningham!), is one I’ve been living inside for a while now. Thankfully, every song from it gets played tonight.
The ultra-mellow As You Are sees singer/guitarist Macie Stewart start the show on the violin, harmonizing exquisitely with Sima from start to finish. This harmony is a feature of much of the Finom catalogue. Touring bassist Vivian McConnell (aka V.V. Lightbody) adds harmonies on various occasions too, such as on Dirt and Hungry, which is both beautiful and eerie at the same time. The mesmerizing vocal interplay between Sima and Macie reaches a peak on the older song Fingerprints, where they trade high and low notes one after the other to spectacular effect. (Think of the guitar riff intro to Banquet by Bloc Party—that’s the only comparison I can come up with.)
It’s a wonderfully diverse set in terms of pace, too. Naked and Cardinal are moody slow-burners that fit the dim light of the room perfectly. Meanwhile, Not God starts in a similarly chilled manner before building to a pummeling outro. In complete contrast, Haircut and Cyclops are indie dance-pop perfection, with the latter even getting the bartenders in the next room busting a move!
Overall, it’s a wonderful 60 minutes from start to finish. The only negative? That there weren’t more people here to enjoy it!
Finom Setlist
- As You Are
- Haircut
- Dirt
- Naked
- A Petunia
- Cyclops
- Fingerprints
- Flood Your Gut
- Not God
- Cardinal
- Hungry
Review & photos – Simon Williams
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