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Whitney Feels the Love in Montreal

CHAI stuns and Whitney steals the show

Everyone sat up in anticipation as the opening group CHAI walked on stage of the Corona Theatre on Feb. 13. Four Japanese musicians with elaborate pigtails and matching pink outfits marched out to cheers from the audience as electronic music blared. CHAI burst into their set with high energy and choreographed dance moves. Their incredibly endearing stage banter and antics quickly won over the crowd. Lead singer Mana endeared herself even further by engaging the crowd in a monologue about body complexes and learning to accept yourself.

CHAI

After a short while, Chicago-based folk supergroup Whitney took to the stage as their intricate lighting set-up gleamed and “I Couldn’t Say It To Your Face” by disco-cellist Arthur Russell played. They assumed their positions and began their strong set with “Polly” from their first LP, Light Upon the Lake. Led by ex-members of the Smith Westerns and Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Whitney’s soul-tinged folk-rock is the listening equivalent to a walk through a park on a sunny day. Their first album propelled them to the top of festival headlines and their second and most recent record, Forever Turned Around, solidified them as a top-tier indie act.

Though the songs are written by singer/drummer Julien Ehrlich and guitarist Max Kakacek, the live set consists of seven members, some swapping instruments to suit the needs of the song. Forever Turned Around is a slightly more melancholic album compared to their first, and that is not a criticism. Their songs contain the same signature gorgeous melodies and arrangements that have earned Whitney comparisons to Bon Iver and The Band. With fewer upbeat tracks, their sophomore effort exhibits growth and maturity in their songwriting and arrangements.

This growth is apparent in their new live set. Moving up from small, packed venues to large, packed theaters, Whitney has surpassed their status as indie darlings to bonafide indie rock stars. Ehrlich’s arms flew around the drum kit as he sang sweet and sorrowful lyrics—the audience sang along while Kakacek’s George Harrison-esque guitar licks added to the beautiful swell of the band’s sound.

Julien Ehrlich on drums.

Towards the end of the set, Ehrlich came clean and stated that “it’s 2020, we need be more upfront with each other” as he informed the audience of the brief break the band would take instead of the classic game of disappearing off stage only to reappear to the stomping and clapping of the audience. Whitney’s set was heavy on songs from their first album, but the audience’s favourite was “Giving Up” from the band’s most recent one.

Before their last song, a cover of Dolly Parton’s “Gonna Hurry (As Slow As I Can)”, Ehrlich placed his hand over his heart and thanked the audience for a particularly emotional evening. The audience returned the sentiment with a standing ovation, ensuring that Whitney felt the love.

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Music

Mika rocks out at Corona Theatre

Photo by Cecilia Piga

Mika’s larger-than-life energy filled Corona Theatre to the brim

Mika is back on the big stage—or at least it felt that way last Sunday at the Corona Theatre, as the multilingual artist gave the 1000-seat venue a stadium-like performance. Last time Mika was in town he took to the stage with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra for a unique collaboration.

This time, however, Mika returned for two nights on his “Tiny Love Tiny Tour” with his classic band backing him. Tiny Tour is an apt description, as Mika returns to North America for only six dates in five cities – “Tiny Love” is also a reference to the most recent single of his upcoming album, My Name Is Michael Holbrook.

Doors to the sold-out show opened at 7 p.m, but the line stretched around the block and moved slowly. The crowd was made up of every generation – from toddlers to seniors. Kiesza, the support act for the night, came out at 8 p.m. to a good few cheers, and took her place beside guitarist Chris Malinchak.

After her first song, she explained that she had been in a terrible car accident and had to put her career on hold. Now she has returned, with her own music label and new indie-folk sound. Kiesza dived into some of her unreleased material; the crowd adored her and by the end, everyone was singing along to“My head is f***ed.”

Kiesza enchants the crowd while seated at centre stage, with guitarist Chris Malinchak strumming along. Photo by Cecilia Piga

Mika’s band took to the stage at five minutes to nine, and as the first notes of “Ice Cream” began to play, the singer ran on stage, dressed in a red pantsuit and a white shirt with a LOT of ruffles. The unoccupied piano was positioned on the left of the stage with the rest of the band at the back on individual platforms. This left a lot of room for Mika to fill – and fill it he did. The crowd was immediately jumping along with him and singing the catchy single that dropped last spring.

Mika then introduced himself and asked the crowd what language they preferred before telling his first story. Almost every song came with a detailed intro, whether it was a joke, a story about the song or just where he’s at in life. For a first time viewer of Mika, it really helped form a connection and learn a bit about him, but it resulted in a shorter setlist.

The stories weren’t the only way he connected with the crowd. Mika tried on fans’ hats during “Dear Jealousy,” had a dance-off with the balcony in “Big Girls (You Are Beautiful),” and even jumped into the pit and literally danced with the crowd during “Popular Song.” The room’s cheers peaked as “Elle Me Dit” began playing.  The only French tune on the setlist, it was clearly a fan favourite here in Quebec.

Alas, the end was soon approaching; Mika was breaking a sweat but not losing any steam. Having already ditched the suit jacket after the third song, he excused himself for a minute and removed his ruffled shirt before performing “We Are Golden.”  The band stepped out and then quickly returned for an encore with the 2007 megahit “Grace Kelly,”  and ended it on a high note as the crowd sang along to a remixed version of “Tiny Love.”

With that kind of energy and storytelling throughout his set, Mika is someone everyone would be lucky to experience live. While I couldn’t return the following night, I was grateful to have experienced this award-winning artist for the first time and enjoyed it so much.

 

Feature photo by Cecilia Piga

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Music

Avatar invades Corona Theatre

Vocalist Johannes Eckerström let's it all go at Avatar's show on Sept. 10 at Corona Theatre. Photo by Jacob Carey

Swedish metal/hard rock outfit tour in support of new album Avatar Country

Sweden’s Avatar recently took over Corona Theatre on Notre-Dame Ouest street in Montreal. Armed with punishing songs and vocal bullets, as well as opening invaders Inspector Cluzo, and noise-punk duo ‘68, attendees sure were rocked on the night of Sept. 10.

The Gothenburg-based band’s aforementioned takeover was not only a metaphor for their venture from Scandinavia. Their most recent album, Avatar Country, is a concept release based on a medieval-themed land dominated by a noble kingdom, ruled by The King.

In conjunction with this North American tour, The King, who appears onstage in the form of lead singer Johannes Eckerström, once saved a dry, destitute, and uninhabitable piece of land with the incessant heartbeat of rock and roll. The long-standing tale describes a horse-rider troop who scoured the Earth far and wide in search of a land to call home.

Upon arriving at a group of starving settlers, one horse-rider produced an electric guitar, and strummed a long, bone-vibrating note, which summoned a crash of thunder and lightning. This spell caused nearby land to be infinitely fertile, and henceforth the guitarist was named The King by the now-saved settlers. This is Avatar Country, and The King has arrived in Montreal.

Avatar’s music is crafted for the stage and not for the studio, which is undoubtedly apparent if you’ve ever been to one of their shows. Unsurprisingly, this played out in real time in the Theatre Corona. Emerging dressed in black colonial garb accented with gold highlights, attendees were immediately consumed in Avatar Country as the band began their first song.

While the elaborate costumes were a nice touch, Avatar brought a slew of other stage props to make for a cohesive vibe. From the huge electric flashing band logo which spanned stage-right to stage-left with ease, to the various flags and banners strewn about, I had no difficulty transporting myself to the mythical world of Avatar Country.

The band recently released a live album, The King Live in Paris, to critical acclaim. Lead singer Eckerström stated that he was happy with the result of the release but, ultimately, “Every live show should be worthy of a live recording,” unabashedly citing Deep Purple’s infamous album Made in Japan as inspiration. This sentence resonates within me, especially after seeing The King live in performance, as his claim materialized in front of the audience that night. The energy was unsurpassed once Avatar was present.

Although the group’s sound is hard to define due to the excessive variance between album tracks, they blend elements of groove metal, black metal, melodic death metal, and even country music. One minute the listener is indulged in proper headbanger material, while in another they are subjected to the mellow forces of folk interludes. This translated extremely well to a live setting, as there is an inherent sonic variance present at all times. This ensures that the heavy and melodic portions both hit hard in their own right with a healthy balance between the two.

“The essence of metal music to me is that it needs to be a physical genre,” Eckerström said about the success of live music. “Hence the volume, hence the speed, technical level on many things. It can be slow, simple, a bunch of things. That makes it physical, and our performance needs to be physical as well. When performing metal, you need those moments of being out of breath, it’s a very visceral, physical thing.”

 

Photos by Cecilia Piga

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