Why would I travel 633 Kilometers to the far reaches of Quebec on a Thursday?
The answer is simple: FME – Festival de Musique Émergentes.
The bands that play FME will be the up-and-coming bands on the festival circuit locally and abroad. Doing FME gives you the prestige of saying: “Yeah, I saw them when they were just starting.”
HAWA B
The event starts with a Méchoui along with a performance on the main stage by HAWA B who reminded me of Rihanna with hair extensions. It was a great start, especially when HAWA B hit those crazy high notes.
HAWA B also partook of the Jameson bottle that was shared by the Méchoui team, without missing a beat.
I did feel the gyrating was a little much with so many kids in the audience.
Last Waltzon
By the time I got to Cabaret de la Dernière Chance, Last Waltzon were already in full swing. It’s difficult not to compare them to early Nirvana with their energy and stage presence. First impressions are hard to shake.
A whole lot of fun, great live band.
BODEGA
I’ve decided to ask myself the question: What band would I pay. $100 to see if they played Montreal? The answer for Thursday is BODEGA from New York City.
The frenetic energy of Arcade Fire, with a sound that is irresistible to any Post-Punk music lover.
Nikki Belfiglio was mesmerizing hitting those high hats, while Dan Ryan played the penultimate guitar hero, complete with a Pink Flamingo guitar solo ending. Yeah…you have to see the video to visualize.
The band’s message against consumerism is noteworthy and valid, a reminder of what Punk stands for…messing up the status quo.
TVOD
Having met the band before the show, I was not prepared for the onslaught of frenetic energy on stage. Just ask them what borough has the best pizza, and they will spar for pizza dominance.
Founder and lead singer Tyler Wright contorted on stage, crowd surfed while singing and kept the energy high with a gravitational pull of the music to get the crowd going the whole set.
Jenna Mark swapped keyboards for vocals with Tyler for one song, showing great frontperson vibe, all the while Serge Zbritzher was on a caffeine overdose, like an Iggy Pop with a guitar.
Thoroughly entertaining high octane set that left us dizzy with an overdose of sights and sounds.
NOBRO
While TVOD was a hard act to follow, NOBRO devoured the stage as Kathryn McCaughey unleashed the inner tiger on stage.
NOBRO have done arena tours with the likes of Alexisonfire, Billy Talent and Blink 182, so seeing them in a small venue was amazing.
While Kathryn growled like a seasoned veteran, Sarah Dion was on fire on the drums.
I spoke to Sarah after the show, and she was initially nervous about being on drums after a long break. When Sarah performs with Les Shirley or Easy Tiger, she is on Bass. As soon as Sarah started, like riding a bike, the muscle memory kicked in and the drum solos proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that she was on fire.
Karolane Carbonneau on guitar shred without mercy as well as multi-instrumentalist Lisandre Bourdages who went bongos…literally.
By the end of the set, anyone who had not experienced NOBRO before had their minds blown, as the sweaty band members left the stage to eventually mingle on the steps of the venue to greet friends.
Conclusion
What a first day of FME 2024. BODEGA, TVOD and NOBRO left a deep impression and left us all wanting more. More was in store, as this was just the beginning of a one-of-a-kind festival.
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