Mia X Ally @ Foufounes Electriques


The downtown area was a ghost town as snow pounded the streets of Montreal, yet the upstairs of our beloved Foofs was packed to witness their TikTok feeds come to life. Social media sensations Mia X Ally brought their viral mashup of bagpipes and electric violin to town. The crowd was a mix of young TikTokers and older gentlemen, fans of the girls playing “Freebird” in short skirts and leather corsets. As someone without TikTok on my phone, this sparked a moment of self-awareness.

No opener needed, the band hit the stage with guns blazing, starting with their cover of “Shipping Up To Boston,” which warmed up everyone’s dancing shoes. Despite being relatively new to touring, the duo had great stage presence and seemed poised to take over the crowd.

The first set was primarily dedicated to scores and symphonic pieces. Highlights included Hans Zimmer’s “He’s a Pirate” from Pirates of the Caribbean and a mashup of the Star Wars classic “Duel of the Fates” with the Halo theme. If nerdcore folk is a thing, the crowd was all for it.

There were many medleys, and they encouraged the crowd to pretend “you’re just scrolling through TikTok and we just keep popping up.”

There was considerable dialogue between songs, which, while not bad, tended to be a bit lengthy and disrupted the pace somewhat.

After a brief intermission with the promise of a rock-centric second set, they delivered. They kicked off with a hard lean into “Bohemian Rhapsody,” accompanied by a backtrack of Freddie Mercury’s vocals. This set included a lot of crowd participation, with vocals for songs like “Crazy Train” and, amusingly, the Power Rangers theme. People yelled “Go Go Power Rangers!” as if their lives depended on it.

In a hilarious moment, when they asked for requests, goading the crowd to yell “FREEBIRD!” – their latest viral hit – they instead received a bunch of bagpipe song requests from the pipers in the crowd. Nonetheless, everyone sang along like a drunken pub at 2:55 AM.

After more than 2 hours of music – quite impressive for a young act known for 30-second clips – we were treated to an encore. They provided vocals for the first time on their version of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” They then closed with the blistering “Through the Fire and Flames” by DragonForce, triggering Guitar Hero-related PTSD for anyone over 30.

I walked in expecting a novelty act. I’d like to clarify that I don’t use ‘novelty’ derogatorily; I think we need more novelty in an increasingly homogenized industry. What I got was novelty, but with some teeth. They’re young, brash, and I believe they can turn social media fame into something legitimate and fun. Their fifteen minutes could very well turn into a career!


Review – Richard Brunette
Photos – Ryan Rumpel

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