A Feast of Beast

DIIV - Sometime

DIIV playing downstairs at Valentines, Albany NY

Frankie Rose last show on tour with DIIV

Had plans to catch Frankie Rose once again this past Thursday, and at the last minute realized that new to Captured Tracks artist DIIV (formally Dive…for maybe a day) was opening.  The day before they were still Dive as I purchased the new Craft Spells EP, with the name changed that night. Something to do with too many bands already named Dive according to them post-show. 

Always a pleasure to get a double header when you’re not expecting it, and ds Valentines is such an intimate venue that you can’t go wrong.  All shows should have you in a dank dark space, at a maximum of 5ft from the artist.  The crowd went crazy for these dudes, with much heavy dancing/head shaking.  Quite a warm reception for an ‘opening’ band.  Frankie was fantastic as always, but honestly DIIV stole the show for me.

Their debut LP, Oshin is out June 26th on Captured Tracks, not soon enough if you ask me.  They were all sold out of singles on tour, but you can grab all three 7”s packaged up neatly here, including the track Sometime featured here today.  Considering the band name change, these will probably be disappearing quickly as they go out of production so snatch em up now while you wait for what is sure to be a super rad summer LP.

Dirty Beaches - Lord Knows Best (live Pop Montreal)

I recorded this live via phone, so it ain’t pretty but you get the point.  Alex Zhang Hungtai plays a mean live show.  His material is much more raw and noisy, a world of difference from Badlands in the best of ways.  The experience feels almost intimate and carnal, you’ll just have to catch him live yourself.

Below is my Polaroid Pop Montreal 2011 chronicle.  Enjoy.

Frankie Rose opening for…

Dirty Beaches. Hands down coolest kid, best performance of the festival.  Alex has two band members now deepening his engulfing wall of sound playing drums & percussion and one “sax offender.”

Seriously Alex is just one sweet dude, nice enough to pose for a shot pre-show.

d’Eon jams out opening with CFCF for…

Sleep ∞ Over plays beautiful tunes for us amongst taxidermied beasts and neon blacklite oragomi forests.  Sounds dark and sweet enough to melt your brain and heart into one.

Best after party in town at La Baraque with three more bands playing till 5am.  All local, all French.  Can’t remember the name of these girls ^^^ for the life of me, but the name translation: ridiculous and pretentious dancing girls.

Grass Widow may have put on the best sounding show out of everyone I saw.  These girls rock hard, and play their instruments so damn well all while harmonizing their three beautiful voices as one.  They covered Mannequin by Wire, effing brilliant.  You can pick that up on a their latest Milo Minute 7”

The Raincoats s/t LP from 1979 has fast become a favorite record of mine over the past year on constant rotation.  So a deciding factor of the Pop Montreal migration was to see them specifically.  As I said s/t LP came out in 1979.  Maybe they were in their early 20s at the time of its release…you get where I’m goin.  And yet you close your eyes and their voices and instruments, especially Ana’s voice, sound like its straight out of 1979.  Major props to them for rocking like they always have and will; it was most memorable.

Special treat for the final show of The Raincoats touring with Grass Widow.  Ana invites the girls on stage during encore performance of Fairytale in the Supermarket to sing along.  Super Rad.