I will freely admit that I had absolutely no idea what to expect from the prospect of an evening with Soldat Louis and Bodh’aktan. A quick Google before the show yielded several songs about rum, anchor imagery, and the repeating descriptor “traditional” – leading me to conclude that I could probably look forward to a quiet night of weird pirate music and, at the very least, a good story. What I did not expect, as I arrived to a long queue down St. Laurent, was that I was in line for an electrifying fusion of musical genres, cultures, and the most fun I’ve had at a show in a very long time.
Presented as a double-bill instead of an opener/headliner, the evening kicked off with an already-full crowd – a significant contingent of whom came wearing bandanas and tricorn hats – and the introductory promise: “ce soir ça va être un méchant party”. Hailing from France, where their debut record was released in 1988, Soldat Louis first took the stage as a four-piece of drum, bass, guitar and keyboards before then being joined by another vocalist, guitarist and, yes – bagpipes.
Launching straight into a driving tune that sounded like Dio’s “Holy Diver” remade as a drunken sea shanty, founding members Renaud Detressan and Serge Danet proved that “traditional” music doesn’t automatically mean “old-fashioned”. Throughout the 90-minute set, Soldat Louis melded rock-and-roll and traditional Breton styles, colliding frequently in dueling electric guitar and bagpipe solos that affirmed life in a way I never knew I needed until now. And while the band continued to rip into rowdy drinking songs with martial drumbeats and bagpipe lines, they also have a sensitive and pensive side – one that floats through the quiet protest of “C’est quand qu’les cons changent de pays” and warm nostalgia of “Encore un rhum”.
Having last visited Montreal nearly 25 years ago, Soldat Louis apparently accumulated a hell of a following in the interim – and they were thirsty. The packed house, on the floor and leaning over the balconies lining the venue, stomped and swayed like a sea of bodies until the band’s last triumphant note. And then, after having shouted along earlier in the set to singalong shanty “Du rhum des femmes”, the crowd called Soldat Louis back for an encore and a rocking reprise of the song – now with a gritty Stones-y groove and ending drum solo, pulling double-duty as a primo closer and a mission statement for the band’s alchemy of old-into-new.
After a short break and warm-up crowd-work from NRJ 94.3 DJ Phil Branch to find out the farthest fans traveled to get to the show (answer: les Iles-de-la-Madeleine), Bodh’aktan arrived on stage to the sound of ocean spray and traditional tune “Around Me Brave Boys”. Standing all in a row, the Québecois seven-piece broke into their own brand of Celtic-sounding punk-rock, led by master of ceremonies Alex Richard while sharing vocals among the whole lot. Expanding the traditionalism of Soldat Louis’ bagpipes with a fiddle, accordion and tin whistle, Bodh’aktan put their heart, soul and electric guitars into continuing their predecessors’ fusion of old-and-new.
During a quick beer-break, Richard joked about needing to conserve his energy – but Bodh’aktan never actually slow down, sweating hard to infect the crowd with an enthusiasm that I never thought I’d muster for something called “traditional” music. Throughout a meaty set to rival the run-time of Soldat Louis, Bodh’aktan pushed the party upward and onward with bilingual tunes, demon waltzes, fiddle/flute freak-outs – and, of course, their very own red ale from Brasseurs du monde (the delicious “3 Capitaines”). Even while forging ahead, the band also never forget the people around them, paying homage to their friends and heritage with a parade of guests (Marie-Mai, Vilain Pingouin), covers (Great Big Sea’s “Excursion Around the Bay”, House of Pain’s “Jump Around”), and combinations of the two (bringing Soldat Louis out for another reprise of “Du rhum des femmes”).
Ultimately, Bodh’aktan and their music are hard to pigeonhole with genres and descriptors – and I’m pretty sure that’s the point, too. Playing with nunchuks and eachother’s hair mid-song, updating AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” with tin whistle, and turning off the house lights in favour of crowd phones during thoughtful winter ballad “Par chez nous”, the group sidesteps all pretense to focus on what really matters: connection. Whether tying their work to the legacy of Soldat Louis, making new links between Québec’s diverse cultural history, or forging bonds between the crowd in a moment of mass “chaloupe” dance, Bodh’aktan defies all expectations to carry on the real tradition of music.
Review – Dan Corber
Photos – Kieron Yates
