I arrived Saturday, excited to take in the vibe and sound of the Montreal Jazz Festival. In the multitude of the crowd, I actually bump into some friends and my daughter and her friends. It’s always awesome the random bumping into old time friends in such a situation. I gathered them all together and became a man on a mission to taste some Turkish food from the Escale Turkish Airlines. Unfortunately, the chef was no longer there, so we settled for Quebec Pulled Pork, which was amazing.
France D’Amour Bubble Bath & Champagne hit the Rio Tinto stage and the crowd started filling in. I struggled to cross the multitude to grab a few shots from the side stage. Although I only like about 4 French bands (Jean Leloup, Louise Attaque, Niagara & Indochine), it was great to have Quebec representing at the Festival on one of the big stages.
I made my way to the Press Lounge to wet my whistle and met a friend of Jacques-Andre Dupont who thought tonight’s lineup was a little odd. True, to a Jazz enthusiast, tonight might not be traditional, but I found myself enchanted by bands whose sounds leaked into my ears, hooked me and reeled me in towards their stage.
It started with Bears of Legend, a band I was not intent on seeing, but their sound hooked me in. With an indie mixture of folk and rock, this band from Trois-Rivière, David Lavergne and his crew entertained a packed in a large crowd. As I spoke to David after his first set of the night, a fan appeared and shared how his music helped her through the rough times. Impressive for a band that was never on my radar, but now have found a place on my watch list. Again, tonight was a strong showing for Quebec.
I wanted to go to the Blues Stage, but was hooked by Mariachi Flor de Toloache. Having lived in Mexico for 5 years, hearing a Mariachi band was irresistible. As I was ushered to a vantage point to take a few snapshots, they start a rendition of “Come As You Are” by Nirvana. I quickly hit the record button to capture this moment that just about made my night. If you missed Mariachi Flor de Toloache, don’t worry. They will return as backup singers for The Arcs (Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys side project) at Osheaga. This New York group had of talented woman hail from various parts of the world brought together by the love on the genre. Tonight was definitely bizarre for jazz traditionalists, but I was loving it.
Finally, the Scene Bell, where the Blues are sung. I know I sing the blues every time I have to call in to Bell Technical Support, so how fitting they sponsored this stage yet again. Tonight, Popa Chubby (Theodore Joseph Horowitz) was to give the crowd some big love as he bent his guitar to carve the sounds from deep down South. He treated us with a Rolling Stones cover and as he sat on his chair, people around me swayed to the music.
We were intrigued by the sounds coming from the Scene Turkish Airlines. It was Baba Zula, whose Turkish tribal pop beats had everyone moving. Lavish characters with psychedelic dub rock soul. You could probably add a few more labels to their music, but suffice to say that their original sound was a big draw, if you were fortunate enough to attend.
We ended the evening with friends and appreciated tonight’s variety.
We returned late Thursday night to catch a band my wife and I saw on July 6th, 1998 at the Spectrum. If you happen to stumble upon the CBC special which was taped that evening, you might catch me on the right side of the stage in a bright orange shirt twirling my wife so the sounds of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. During their set, Karl Hunter stepped off to the side stage where we reminisced about that night and he told me that we will not have to wait another 18 years to have them visit us again. Playing many of their classics, such as “You and Me and the Bottle Makes 3 Tonight (Baby)” and “Go Daddy-O”. There is simply a classy old time vibe from singer Scotty Morris and the whole crew.
As the rain washed over the city on Saturday, it did not deter the Jazz fans who received some respite from the rain by evening to close out this festive event. Even if you aren’t a Jazz Traditionalist, this festival has proved to me that you will surely find a sound that you will like. Don’t miss the second biggest Montreal Festival, second only to the Montreal Road Construction Festival going on throughout summer on every street.
Randal Wark is a Professional Speaker and Business coach with a passion for live music. You can follow him on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
Photography: Kieron Yates
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