Wolf Parade
I had the pleasure of seeing Wolf Parade in Whelan's last night. They're the latest band to rise form the prolific Montreal music scene. Canada is home to The Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, Stars, The Unicorns, Death From Above 1979, The Russian Futurists, The Dears and Hot Hot Heat amongst others. It certainly is a hot bed of popular Indie music at the moment but if we look back over the past few years you will see Canada has been producing bands of a high pedigree for quite a while. Names such as God Speed You Black Emperor, Of Montreal, Do Make Say Think, Manitoba/Caribou, The New Pornographers and A Silver Mt. Zion. So why is Canada producing so many good bands?
Firstly I think the attitude of Canadians to the arts and their willingness to express themselves is quite different to what you'll find here. Having spent a year in Canada in 2001/2002 I got a sample appreciation for this 'Canadian expression'. Perhaps we were attracted towards people with an artistic streak in them but it struck me that nearly everyone we met was dappling in the arts to a certain degree. Be it as a musician, a painter, a jewellery maker or a writer it was quite a contrast to the expression of the youth of Ireland. When it comes to Montreal in particular it's the type of city that attracts many young people, not only because of the nightlife but the city also offers very cheap rents, low cost of living, a liberal mindset and excellent government support for the arts. As a result the indie music scene has flourished similar to Seattle a few years ago or Manchester in the late 80s.
So, briefly back to the gig last night. Despite a pathetic effort made by the crowd, Wolf Parade truly rocked on stage. The thrashing guitars, manic drumming and powerful vocals made for a really energetic gig. They didn't merely reel off the best tracks from their debut album but played off the cuff and treated us to a few non-album tracks which could easily have made it onto their debut L.P. 'Apologies to the Queen Mary". All in all it was a great gig and expect to hear a lot more from these guys in the next 12 months.
Padraig
Published by Colm.
Firstly I think the attitude of Canadians to the arts and their willingness to express themselves is quite different to what you'll find here. Having spent a year in Canada in 2001/2002 I got a sample appreciation for this 'Canadian expression'. Perhaps we were attracted towards people with an artistic streak in them but it struck me that nearly everyone we met was dappling in the arts to a certain degree. Be it as a musician, a painter, a jewellery maker or a writer it was quite a contrast to the expression of the youth of Ireland. When it comes to Montreal in particular it's the type of city that attracts many young people, not only because of the nightlife but the city also offers very cheap rents, low cost of living, a liberal mindset and excellent government support for the arts. As a result the indie music scene has flourished similar to Seattle a few years ago or Manchester in the late 80s.
So, briefly back to the gig last night. Despite a pathetic effort made by the crowd, Wolf Parade truly rocked on stage. The thrashing guitars, manic drumming and powerful vocals made for a really energetic gig. They didn't merely reel off the best tracks from their debut album but played off the cuff and treated us to a few non-album tracks which could easily have made it onto their debut L.P. 'Apologies to the Queen Mary". All in all it was a great gig and expect to hear a lot more from these guys in the next 12 months.
Padraig
Published by Colm.
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