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Music

Bringing Mongolian throat singing to North America with The HU

THE Hu. Photo by Hunter Walwaski

Mongolian traditional music outfit tour in support of new album The Gereg

L’Astral recently hosted world-famous Mongolian throat singing quartet The HU on the first stop of their North American tour. No, this isn’t a revival of the ‘70s English rock band, although the venue did enjoy playing “Who Are You” by The Who before The HU came on. More on the name later.

The band are currently embarking on a multi-faceted world takeover, playing venues across North America and Europe over the next few months. They are touring in support of their debut album, titled The Gereg.

While the legend of Genghis Khan and his brotherhood still lives on, The HU are resuming this ancient conquest by bringing rhythmic beats and cultural tunes to the masses, rather than war and pillage. The hype surrounding this band revolves around the new sonic mix they have created by blending traditional Mongolian music and classic rock and roll beats, making for a culturally energetic spectacle, to say the least.

We met with lead throat-singer Jaya before the show, who was accompanied by a translator, as none of the band members speak English. They did, however, use the little English they know to scream “let’s rock!” between songs. Of course, the crowd responded to this in the universal language of ‘scream as loud as you can.’

The band name derives from the Mongolian term “Hunnu,” an ancient local empire known globally as the Huns. Traditional Mongolian values, such as adopting the role of a strong warrior, are implemented within the band’s music through inspiring lyrics (which are all written and sung in Mongolian, of course).

“Our message is to inspire others with courage,” said Jaya. “We don’t want to be just playing rock headbanging or melodic things, we want to combine everything. Most of the time the message we are trying to share with the world is to love and respect our elders, honour this Earth, and protect it.” The Gereg also discusses modern values, such as a global respect for women.

Concert-goers were undoubtedly fully immersed within the Mongolian serenade that occured on the night of Sept. 19. The HU packed a punch with a mini army – a lead singer, two guitarists, a bassist, one morin khuur (horse-fiddle) player, a lute player, and two percussionists. For stage aesthetics, each member wore a slew of traditional Mongolian garb, sporting long flowy robes, tribal tattoos, hyde mountain shoes, and even special leather water canteens. The scene is exactly what you’d think a Mongolian throat-singing band would stereotypically look like.

The concert experience was incredibly powerful, unsurpassed by any previous acts I have seen. First off, the crowd was diverse: you had your metalheads in full leather, long-haired stoners, young popheads, and even people that seemed like this could have been their first concert. Regardless of character type, The HU’s tribal rhythms got everybody’s heads bobbing.

The room was pulsing with an indescribable sonic energy, akin to that of a swaying heartbeat pumping its way through the crowd to the beat of synchronized drum hits and Mongolian fiddles. Song after song, the packed crowd moved at the fingertips of the brotherhood before them. It was a mesmerizing performance.

Jaya ended the interview on an inspiring final note which confirms the power behind the band’s lyrics.

“Everybody has struggles in this life, whether you be facing financial struggles, facing cancer, or anything else,” said Jaya. “We wanted to help those people through our music to awaken the fighter in you so you can face it, accept it, then come out of this as a winner.”

 

Photos by Hunter Walwaski

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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

An intimate night in the world of Red

Photo by Jonathan Vivaas Kise.

girl in red was impressive from the moment she got settled on stage

The first time I experienced Marie Ulven – who goes by the artist name ‘girl in red’ – was in the early spring when she played at the Scandinavian showcase festival by:Larm, in Oslo. At her home field show, we were being introduced to a young and fairly confused girl serving us heartbreaking stories with the attitude of Joan Jett and the humour of Will Ferrell. I was excited to see how 2019 had formed the up-and-coming artist, and I must say that at the end of the night I was very pleased by her progress.

Ulven is 20 years old, and produces all of her charming lo-fi pop songs from her room. Her bedroom-pop reaches out to all of the misfits of the competitive generation Z, and tells us it’s okay to be more into girls than boys or vice versa, and that you are allowed to feel down or depressed, even though the sun is shining outside.

Thursday evening, Le Ministère on St-Laurent St. was completely packed with young fans with sparkling eyes and lots of excitement. As girl in red entered the stage, the crowd exploded in high pitched cries and shrieks from the female-dominated crowd.

The show opened with the latest released single “bad idea.” Even though people were ecstatic by her appearance, it was a bit of a wobbly start for Ulven and the band – an unbalanced sound level made it almost impossible to hear the detail-oriented production, especially because of the dominating lead vocals volume being way too high.

You could tell that Ulven was affected by the technical bothers, stuttering through the introduction. She told us she had a sore throat and couldn’t hear anything through her in-ear monitors. A lot of warning signs made it a bit hard for me to believe that she would be able to deliver as convincing of a performance as she had the first time I saw her.

Luckily, I was wrong.

Even though Ulven didn’t seem to be catching either her breath or foothold until the fourth song of the gig, “summer depression,” the crowd was positive and uplifting. Ulven and the band were finally past the sound difficulties, and they could finally open their eyes towards the big and warm Quebecois welcome that was facing them. This included both pick up-lines from the girls in the front rows, and a beautifully handmade fan art portrait.

Last but not least, the whole crowd singing “O Canada” at the top of their voices when Ulven complimented them for speaking French, which according to her is “the most sexy language ever.”

The national anthem really reached both Ulven and the audience, and hearts were being stolen from both sides of the stage.

The show reached new heights when “forget her” was flowing out of the speakers. Ulven was finally ready for takeoff.

We were already halfway through the show, but Ulven was relaxed and actually present with the packed venue. A lot of chit-chatting with the front row and storytelling came between absolutely banging and impressive versions of “we fell in love in october,” “watch you sleep,” and “girls.”

Finally, we got to see Ulven in her element. She demonstrated the perfect balance between being an absolute performer on stage, with her long hair surrounding her like a blond tornado, and a charming conferencier in the breaks, with blushed cheeks caused by the compliments and cheering from the “woo girl” crowd.

The show ended with a singalong of “say anything,” closed by the debut single “i wanna be your girlfriend,” when the band was playing in all their glory. All in all, girl in red was just as adorable and vulnerable as I remembered her; but this time, she was a little more hyped, although cold-infected, and professional. It took her a while to reach people’s hearts, but as she got comfortable and warmed up, she had all of us under her thumb.

 

Photo by Jonathan Vivaas Kise

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Music

A night with Taylor Janzen, Quinn Christopherson, and Lucy Dacus

Photo by Spencer Nafekh

Lucy Dacus and her tour company took on L’Astral this past Monday

On Sept. 16, Lucy Dacus and her tour company drew quite a crowd at L’Astral. This was all to be expected having run off the momentum of her critically-acclaimed 2018 sophomore album Historian, and joined by stellar openers Quinn Christopherson and Taylor Janzen. It made sense that dozens showed up to the venue ready for a night of cold beer, warm synths, and some soft indie-alternative.

Winnipeg-native Janzen began the night at 8 p.m. with a short but sweet piano performance, singing the sad, reflective songs she has become known for across Canada and beyond. After a brief intermission half an hour later, Christopherson took the stage with friend Nick Carpenter by his side on keyboards and guitar.

Being the winners of the 2019 Tiny Desk Contest, it immediately made sense why NPR described Christopherson and Carpenter as “performers loaded with unfettered confidence,” as they sang their emotionally-candid ballads about vulnerability and the struggles of self-acceptance. However, the sadness in their music felt nonexistent when the duo stopped strumming between songs, taking a few seconds to crack jokes with the audience.

“This next song is untitled,” Christopherson said to the crowd midway through his set. “So if anybody has name ideas, feel free to add me on MSN.” The crowd burst out laughing. Carpenter chuckled too, looking over at his friend.

As the headliner and final act of the night, Lucy Dacus and bandmates started off at 9:30 p.m., performing hits from Historian along with recent singles, such as her cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing In The Dark.” Despite an oft-present lyrical theme of facing uncertainty, Dacus had full crowd control throughout her set, transitioning from ambient, meditative songs about death and heartbreak, to getting everyone jumping with the more upbeat rock-inspired songs.

Passion could be felt both inside and outside the performance; when Dacus was not playing a song, she was providing a short backstory for the following one.

Lucy Dacus sings and plays guitar in front of an awestruck crowd. Photo by Spencer Nafekh

“This next song I wrote for my mom,” she said before playing “My Mother & I,” a single released in April. “It still makes me nervous to perform it sometimes. But, preemptively, she [my mom] likes it,” Dacus joked.

By the end of the night, Dacus appeared fully at home in Montreal.

“I’m not usually one for encores and happen to think they’re kind of corny,” she said, returning to the mic. “But I really feel comfortable here right now, so why not?” Dacus went on to play “Historians,” the languid final track off her 2018 album, which turned out to be the perfect slow song to wrap up the night on a peaceful note.

All in all, L’Astral had a Monday evening filled with passionate artists doing what they love and know best. The performances felt refreshingly honest. Taylor Janzen, Quinn Christopherson, and Lucy Dacus provided voracious listeners their indie-fix and gave everybody in the crowd a night to remember.

 

Feature photo by Spencer Nafekh

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Ar(t)chives

YUM or YIKES: Arepera

On my next vegetarian foodie adventure, I searched Montreal for a Latinx restaurant. My friends and I found Arepera when scouting where to eat dinner. My experience with Latinx food has never gone past Mexican, Brazilian or Salvadorian which are, more often than not, very meat-based cuisines.

Arepera is a Venezuelan restaurant in Montreal’s Plateau located on the pedestrian walkway Prince Arthur St. E. The restaurant is much larger than it looks, with bright yellow walls, similar to that in the Venezuelan flag. They also have old church benches in the waiting area, which I found was a really fun touch to the traditional look of the place.

The restaurant specializes in arepas, a Venezuelan-Colombian cornmeal bread stuffed with a variety of ingredients that forms a sort of sandwich. The arepa has a rich history dating back centuries. According to an article on Amaizeyou.com, the cornbread was a staple in diets across many Indigenous tribes in Latin America, which are now distinguished as Venezuela and Colombia. According to the article, arepa got its name from the Latin-Indigenous word for corn, erepa.

Arepera is not labelled as a vegetarian restaurant but it has a wide variety of vegetarian and vegan options featured on its lengthy menu, with options varying from $8 to $16 per arepa/plate. The menu is also 100 per cent gluten-free — since arepas are made from cornmeal, there’s no risk of contamination.

Queso y aguacate vegetarian arepa. Photo by Brittany Henriques.

I chose a serving of fried plantains as a starter and a mango juice to drink. I always teeter towards water instead of juices or soft drinks, but their juice flavours piqued my curiosity and I could not resist mango. My friend opted for a guava juice which was just as delightful.

The plantains were delicious and hot, and came with a cup of grated cheese instead of a dip, which I found interesting. From my Caribbean restaurant experience (plantains are common in Caribbean dishes), I’m used to having dipping sauce with the dish. At Arepera, the grated cheese stuck to the plantain and they actually ended up tasting incredible together. The plantains were so sweet and ripe that I found a dipping sauce unnecessary.

I had the queso y aguacate vegetarian arepa, which included cheese and avocado as the main stuffing ingredients. I had never had arepas before, nor have I ever had thick grilled cornbread, but it tasted incredible. I loved the texture and, because of the lack of wheat, the bread tasted light and I didn’t feel bloated afterwards. The dish also came with a small salad which I could not even get to because I was so full after the last bite of my arepa. My friends had the pabellón arepa (beef, black beans, plantains and feta cheese) and the llanera de pollo arepa (chicken, feta cheese and avocado). Both said they enjoyed every bite.

The restaurant was big, the staff was friendly and the food was incredible. I have no complaints aside from the fact that I would’ve liked for the arepa to have a choice of sauces to make it a little bit more flavourful when choosing a vegetarian option at least.

As a whole, I would rate Arepera:

4.5/5 for the food,
4.5/5 for the price,
4/5 for the service,
3/5 for the ambiance.

I would definitely recommend it to everybody. I believe this place would be more popular if the aesthetic, design and overall ambiance was more current and Instagram-worthy (I personally like the more traditional look they have going on, though).

This piece was written with the current Venezuelan Crisis in mind. Though western countries get to indulge in traditional Venezuelan dishes, residents of Venezuela are still going days without food in their stomachs.

For more information on the Venezuelan Crisis and the Government’s standpoint, click here

 

Graphic by @sundaeghost

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Music Quickspins

QUICKSPINS: Jack Harlow – Confetti

Jack Harlow - Confetti

Confidence bleeds all over Jack Harlow’s new mixtape, Confetti

The worst crime an album can commit is being boring. Artists often overstay their welcome and release lethargic pieces of work that fail to illustrate their strengths. We’ve seen this happen with albums having more than 15 tracks, or that are longer than 50 minutes.

Thankfully, Jack Harlow knows what he’s good at and when to cap it off. Confetti, his newest mixtape, is a concise 35-minute banger-fest that puts his tight flow in a trophy case, all while rapping over beats that could rattle any neighbourhood if played at full volume.

The 12-track project opens similarly to his previous effort from 2018, Loose; with a banger. It sets the tone and establishes the flow that the Louisville rapper would seamlessly use throughout the mixtape. The beats are simple but effective. The bass is booming, the melodies add personality, and most importantly, they never bore. “THRU THE NIGHT” with Bryson Tiller’s flip of Usher’s classic “U Don’t Have To Call,” demonstrates both artists seamlessly rapping over the continuously sampled chorus. Harlow’s knack for hooks also makes each song worth revisiting because of how catchy they are. Nothing ever reaches high levels of complexity, but it never really matters.

Those looking for something innovative will have to look elsewhere. The flows are similar sounding throughout each track and most tracks bleed into each other, making standout moments harder to come by. That said, nothing on the album is particularly bad. At worst, the songs sound similar. At best, they still rock whatever speakers from which they’re being heard. In short, Harlow’s mixtape is a fun, short romp, best heard driving around the city in traffic.

8/10

Trial Track: “THRU THE NIGHT”

Star Bar: “Late nights, head hurtin’ / Open up the red curtains / You don’t love me, you just networkin’ / I’m still trying to be the best version of me” (Harlow on “HEAVY HITTER”)

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Music Quickspins

QUICKSPINS: Kid Cudi – Man on the Moon: The End of Day

Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon

Re-visiting Kid Cudi’s genre-defying, generation-defining major label debut

In an era when hip-hop was in dire need of innovation, Kid Cudi’s major label debut arrived right on time. Presenting a unique soundscape, blending elements of hip-hop, indie rock, psychedelia, and electronica, Cudi released an album that was both genre and generation-defining.

In the late 2000s, hip hop was fully commercialized. Major labels were chasing high-charting hits that doubled as top-selling ringtones. Many of the genre’s active legends were either chasing a radio-friendly sound or failing to evolve at all. Man on the Moon challenged that, containing hit singles like “Day n’ Nite” and “Pursuit of Happiness” that were massively successful without sacrificing Cudi’s signature sound or watering down his content.

While those singles went platinum, the album’s biggest strength is its cohesiveness from intro to outro. The album’s opener, “In My Dreams (Cudder Anthem)” is a hazy, mellow introduction that plays like the opening scene to a movie – complete with narration from legendary Chicago MC Common. This narration continues throughout the project, breaking up its five acts and guiding us through the cinematic story of the Man on the Moon.

The story is one of Scott Mescudi, an outcast dealing with suicidal thoughts, drug abuse, relationships, and an overwhelming feeling of loneliness. Throughout the entirety of the album’s runtime, Cudi displays a refreshing honesty and vulnerability that was uncommon in a genre that was well-known for its bravado. It was a breath of fresh air, and its impact is still being felt to this day.

9/10

Trial Track: Soundtrack 2 My Life

Star Bar: “Ignorance to cope, man, ignorance is bliss / Ignorance is love and I need that sh*t” (Cudi on “Soundtrack 2 My Life”)

 

Categories
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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Quickspins

QUICKSPINS: JPEGMAFIA – All My Heroes Are Cornballs

This album isn’t for everyone, but it’s one of the most ambitious albums of 2019

It’s hard to classify what kind of music JPEGMAFIA makes. There’s clearly rapping involved, but his newest album, All My Heroes Are Cornballs, defies any expectations one might have about a rap album. This project features some of the strangest beats of the year as well as some insane, loud, and in-your-face performances by Peggy himself. The album’s strangeness is most apparent on tracks like “Jesus Forgive Me, I Am a Thot”, where the song itself provides as many laughs as its title.

In contrast to his previous album, Veteran, Peggy’s new project is much more melodic, and he even flips TLC’s classic “No Scrubs” on “BasicBitchTearGas.” His new album isn’t for everyone. Frankly, it isn’t for most casual music listeners, but it is one of the most unique and ambitious albums of 2019.

8.5/10

Trial Track: “Jesus Forgive Me, I Am a Thot”

Star Bar: “Say what you said on Twitter right now (Right now, exactly, nigga)

You only brave with a board and a mouse (Uh-huh)

You wasn’t talkin’ when I put you in the ground (Sucker)

Don’t leave the house

Don’t get capped by a n*gga in a motherfuckin’ gown” (JPEGMAFIA on “Beta Male Strategies”)

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Ar(t)chives

YUM or YIKES!: Pigeon has the world’s worst coffee

Are you a student on the downtown campus who’s tired of getting their coffee from big-chain corporations like Starbucks, Tim Horton’s, Second Cup or Van Houte? Do you want a new spot that has a cool vibe, good service and good coffee? Well, that’s not Pigeon Espresso Bar because they have the world’s worst coffee.

Not actually, though, that’s just their slogan: “World’s Worst Coffee” is seen plastered all around the tiny coffee shop located a few storefronts down from the corner of Bishop St. and De Maisonneuve Blvd. (diagonally across from the Hall building). Whether on merch – reusable coffee mugs, crewnecks, caps – or on little posters throughout, their slogan definitely radiates BDE. Their coffee is far from being the worst and has easily become one of my favourites.

From around April to October, I usually drink iced coffee. From then until March, I get regular, hot coffee. At Pigeon, I often get an iced latte and, since I like my drinks with a little sweetness, and Pigeon doesn’t have flavoured syrups, I add a little bit of agave (they also have honey available).

Photo by Kayla-Marie Turriciano through Instagram @lifew.kay

Other times, when I’ve felt adventurous and wanted to try out something new but didn’t know what, every barista I’ve engaged with has helped me out. Not only are they helpful but they’re kind and friendly with each customer that comes in. At one point a few trips ago, one particular barista asked a patron if they wanted “the usual.” Even though it’s a really simple thing, it says a lot about the employees if they remember people’s orders, especially in a very busy neighbourhood. For service, I give Pigeon 5/5.

Back to coffee: during the colder months, I order a regular brew and add some milk – they also have non-dairy options like soy, coconut, oat, and almond milk – and sugar (again, agave and honey are sweetener alternatives). Whatever I get, though, it never tastes burnt, watery or just downright gross; it’s always fresh, has that perfect brewed-coffee smell and feels “full” to your taste buds. I’d give their coffee a 4.5/5.

On a side note, Pigeon does also have some baked goods. Since I have celiac disease (I can’t eat gluten), I haven’t tried anything, but they always look so yummy and I often see other people buying them.

One thing about Pigeon is that, because it’s an independent shop, their prices are a little higher than a Starbucks coffee, which makes me give them 3.5/5.

Even as a small – literally tiny, with only about three feet from the counter to the windowed-wall – coffee shop, Pigeon has quite a few varieties of drinks, all of which can be seen on the menu, which is written on large mirrors on the left side of the shop. Hanging from the ceiling are plants, which gives the small shop a light feel and makes for the perfect Instagram shot. Once you’ve got your coffee, you can sit down on a stool by the ledge lining the windows or sit outside on the shaded patio and watch Bishop St. For ambiance, I give Pigeon a 5/5.

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Music

Bud Rice debuts Piece of Heaven

Montreal singer-songwriter celebrates his second album with a release show at Petit Campus

On Saturday, Sept. 7, fans and local musicians alike gathered at Petit Campus to celebrate the launch of Bud Rice’s second studio album, Piece of Heaven.

Although not yet available on streaming services, the Montreal singer-songwriter hosted his release party to celebrate the completion of his project and perform the track list in its entirety. On stage, the frontman was accompanied by a full band, comprised of a guitarist, bassist, drummer, and keyboardist.

Rice, born Henry Rice-Gossage, is no stranger to the stage, having begun to perform live at 15. Following several years of playing covers, many of which from the great Bob Dylan, Rice began writing his own songs. But like most lyrics written at the tender age of 18, his first songs were self-admittedly awful. Years later at 23, he released his first album, Belfast.

“I’m really proud of Belfast,” Rice told The Concordian. “But I think there are some things I would have done differently and I think going into the second record I had a better head on my shoulders about how I wanted to approach pre-prod and utilizing the time in studio more efficiently- way better than the first time around. On top of that, having constantly played in pubs for that four year span, I think that my chops alone have gotten better.”

Bud Rice strums and sings to his newly released songs at Petit Campus. Photo by Jacob Carey

Rice showcased his improved chops when he started his performance with the first song off the album, “Evergreen,” which he recently released a music video for. Midway through the set, Rice’s father, Dave Gossage, a professional musician, took the stage to perform “St Henri,” “Heron On A Stone” and “Just a Little Grey.” Gossage played the harmonica on the first two songs and ended with a flute on the last one, having displayed his incredible talent and musical versatility.

“Dad inspired me with the concept that there is a craft,” said Rice. “There is art, and there is a spectrum that exists. There’s far-left artsy-fartsy and the far-right business-savvy dude. If this is a career you want to maintain, you have to be somewhere in between. You can’t be too far left or too far right. I think that watching him, who is like a phenom, being able to carry out a career as one of the best musicians I’ve ever met, to have him inspire me to want to do that continuously, was super beneficial for me.”

Being a professional himself, Gossage always pushed Rice to keep a business mentality when it came to playing music.

“[He taught me] the drive, the determination to wake up every day and not feel hungover, or not do anything,” said Rice. “It was like, be hungover and put in the work you need to put in to make something real. It was always ‘It’s a job – do your job,’ not ‘You’re a fucking free spirit, just play music man’. No. This is your fucking job, so be good at your job.”

Rice proved that he is indeed good at his job. Although he had his accompanying band with him for the duration of his performance, the encore of his recent single “Oh My Sweet Rose” was done solo, making it clear that the entertainer needs no back up to put on a great show.

 

Photos by Jacob Carey

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Quickspins

QUICKSPINS: Excision – Evolution

Excision delivers on the heaviest dubstep around

Excision is known to be one of the heaviest dubstep artists and he certainly keeps true to his reputation with his newest EP Evolution made in tandem with Wooli.

Evolution is four-tracks of headbangers with some EDM drops courtesy of Trivecta and Seven Lions, some of the artists that collaborated with Excision to create the EP. The tracks take the listener on an intense trip that makes you say, “what just happened?” when the 14 minutes are over.

The opener “Lockdown” immediately indicates what the listener is getting themselves into with a long build up, a style technique that Excision uses on his heavier songs. Evolution comes out just a couple of weeks before Excision’s festival “Lost Lands” – patrons beware, headbanging hangovers, or “bang-overs” are likely to happen when he debuts these tracks live.

8/10

Trial Track: “Evolution”

Star Bar: “Throwin’ bones in the pit, you ain’t jumpin’ in. Break my neck with grace, will you make some space. Every time I throw down to the bass, let it burn your face!” (Sam King on “Evolution”)

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