As the city of Montreal reluctantly assumes that snow season is over, the energy in the city is shifting. The Habs are in the playoffs, and T-shirt weather is right around the corner. In my opinion, these are the greatest months of the year. And as people’s playlists are changing to accommodate the weather, Remi Wolf’s tour rolled through Montreal just in time to remind me that I should embrace an alt-pop summer.
I made my way to the floor in time for Dana and Alden to start their set. Don’t let the name fool you—this act wasn’t a duo. It was a six-piece band that absolutely grooved the whole set through. Largely instrumental, they blended genres effortlessly, combining jazz fusion and neo-soul, even including a straight Cali reggae-influenced number in their set.
Dana and Alden took turns on the mic between songs to give a bit of context to their music, and some thank-yous to the crowd. Dana swapped instruments, alternating between playing sax and keys, while Alden’s drum kit sounded incredible through the MTelus PA. Such a soothing, dry sound that perfectly complemented what the rest of the band brought to the table. They were a well-oiled machine, and seriously one of my favourite ever sets from an opening act that I hadn’t previously heard about. I was seriously impressed.
Just like that, it was Remi’s turn to wow us. Having just a single opener is something I’ve noticed happening more and more at shows lately, especially at this venue. Maybe it’s post-pandemic touring costs, maybe it’s audiences not wanting to spend three or four hours in a music hall, but whatever the reason, it caused the night to absolutely fly by.
Remi’s band took their position and played her on to vibrant mood lighting and the sound of cheers. She performed plenty of songs from her newest album, Big Ideas, in front of a colourful backdrop of lights that flashed words for singalong sections and added a whole lot of colour and personality to her set.
Though, Remi had personality in spades. The way her voice commanded the room as she paraded across the stage was seamless. In between danceable numbers, she told some not-so-relatable anecdotes, but stories that were at least entertaining. She even played a good old game of improv with the audience, as she asked for them to call out words to make a new song with. The resulting song, “Dr. Cunt Wolf,” was a banger, but no doubt the band had something ready in their back pocket for the instrumental.
Through all the fun, her voice continued to nail every difficult vocal passage she writes for herself. After about an hour, she teased an encore and came back on stage after the roaring thunder of stomped floorboards summoned her band back. She ended the night with “Photo ID,” met her band downstage to take a bow in front of roaring applause, and when reality set in, we made our great migration to coat check for hopefully the final time this season.
Summer is right around the corner, and Remi brought her infectious music to an increasingly optimistic crowd at the perfect time. It’s not easy to make a room full of two thousand Montrealers forget that their team is in the Stanley Cup playoffs, but the two absolute class acts that performed on stage were the best possible distraction from a now 0–2 series.
Mathieu Perrier
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