Saturday was my last day in Montreal but the beautiful and unseasonably warm weather decided to take off a day early, leaving things cold, grey and wet in its wake. Most of the day was spent doing not much of consequence though I did pop into the Pop & Policy workshop on dealing with the media (from the artist’s POV) and much as my “The New Influencers” panel at last year’s FMC turned into “Meet Ryan Schreiber”, this one ended up a “Ex-Unicorns vs The Media” grudge match, featuring a prickly Nick Diamonds and J’aime Tambeur, formerly of said band. I don’t know how much the attendees took away from the session (though hopefully it did register that sending 8×10 glossy promo photos to online publications is kind of silly) but it was certainly entertaining.

The evening session began for me at the Ukrainian Federation towards the north end of the Plateau. Ron Sexsmith was the headliner but I was there to see Woodpigeon, a Calgarian outfit who had gotten a fair bit of support from those who know earlier this year during the Polaris nomination discussions. Flying a few members short of a full flock (at least relative to their official lineup), the five-piece band lined up across the community centre stage, two pairs of ladies flanking Mark Hamilton (who looks eerily like my second grade teacher Mr Shaw) and his acoustic guitar. The offered up a set of gentle and lovely spiritual folk music centered around simple guitar work, tasteful piano, percussion, glockenspiel and flute flourishes and some absolutely stunning choral vocals arrangements. – but before you think it sounds a little too Sunday school, consider that they announced one song was about gay pirates and have another dubbed “Death By Ninja”. They’re sugary sweet but with a crunchy centre and are in Toronto November 8 for a show at the Rivoli.

Photos: Woodpigeon @ The Ukrainian Federation – October 6, 2007
MP3: Woodpigeon – “In Praise Of The West Midlothian Bus Service”
MP3: Woodpigeon – “Oberkampf”
MySpace: Woodpigeon

It was a bit of a hike from there back to the main drag on St-Denis, but I got to Le Gymnase in time to catch Amos The Transparent, there to play I Heart Music’s edition of our Bleating Heart Shows. Combining sharp folk-pop songs with lilting boy-girl harmonies and big rock crescendos, the Ottawa outfit were endearing and engaging and impressed me into a purchase of their Everything I’ve Forgotten To Forget album, which is actually a lot broader, musically-speaking, than their show implied. In a good way.

Photos: Amos The Transparent @ Le Gymnase – October 6, 2007
MP3: Amos The Transparent – “After All That Its Come To This”
MySpace: Amos The Transparent

My intention had been to catch Hot Panda at Quai des Brumes but rather than some Edmontoninan fuzz pop, I instead got a transvestite transgendered lounge singer by name of Mackenzie MacBride. Oh, the joys of unannounced schedule changes. While she cut a pretty convincing figure of a lady, she was unable to move around with anything resembling grace on the heels and her schtick begain wearing thin after a couple songs. I decided it would be in everyone’s best interest if I left then and got some pizza. Which I did. Hot Panda are in Toronto at The Boat on Tuesday night – if I didn’t have other plans, I’d take the gamble of trying to see them and hoping that drag night doesn’t break out again.

Photos: Mackenzie MacBride @ Quai des Brumes – October 6, 2007

Then it was back to Le Gymnase, second floor this time, for some OFFICE action. I noted, with a mix of bitterness and satisfaction, that my showcase on Thursday had drawn more people than this somewhat buzzy Chicago band with major-label backing. But to their credit, the slight crowd didn’t faze them and they served up A Night At The Ritz like they’d sold out the biggest theatre in town. The slightly arch, new wavey pop of the album was served up with a healthy dose of blue-collar rock energy – I enjoyed their set a lot more than the album, and I enjoyed the album pretty well.

Photos: OFFICE @ Le Gymnase – October 6, 2007
MP3: OFFICE – “The Ritz”
MP3: OFFICE – “The Big Bang Bump”
Video: OFFICE – “Oh My” (YouTube)
Stream: OFFICE / A Night At The Ritz
MySpace: OFFICE

And finally, closing out the night and the festival (for me, anyways) was Los Angeles’ Earlimart. The crowd had filled up a bit by the time they took the stage but it was still pretty sparse for an act as veteran as they. Also a bit unfortunate was the fact that I wasn’t even running on fumes by this point – I was simply in the act of falling down very slowly and hadn’t yet hit the ground. But on the way down, I heard things – lovely, classically pop-ish things. Songs that were rocking and gentle, rough and elegant, sweetly voiced by both boy and girl and laden with crickets and radio static. And before everything went dark, it occurred to me that I should listen to my copy of Treble & Tremble.

Okay, that’s not really how it went down but the net result is approximately the same. I wish I’d had been more together, mentally, for Earlimart’s set, but I did leave with a very positive impression. Mentor Tormentor.

Photos: Earlimart @ Le Gymnase – October 6, 2007
MP3: Earlimart – “Everybody Knows Everybody”
MP3: Earlimart – “Thank You For Visiting Earlimart”
MP3: Earlimart – “Untitled #3”
MySpace: Earlimart

Most every media outlet in the country had some sort of presence at Pop this year – rather than round up everything, I’ll point you to full coverage from NOW, Maisonneuve and a couple days from The Montreal Gazette. The Gazette coverage is really thorough but their website is so abysmal, I’m not having much luck finding all of it. If you’re interested, you’re welcome to go digging.

And now I’m back in Toronto, sitting on my couch with my cat napping at my feet. And more importantly, I have no ongoing projects, no upcoming trips (not till SxSW, anyways), no extra-curricular activities, no music/blog-related stressors taking years off my life, for probably the first time this calendar year. I look forward to catching up on some reading, maybe some movies, on listening to some of the mountain of unlistened-to CDs littering my office and a lot of sleeping. In short, it’s time to decompress. Happy Thanksgiving, y’all.

Welcome to the placeholder post. A late final night at Pop Montreal and an early morning flight means there’s no time for a post-mortems today. Instead, I shall clear out some various links that have been accumulating over the past few days, starting with some of The National’s recent press clippings. Frontman Matt Berninger took the time to talk to The Montreal Gazette and The McGill Daily in advance of their show at Le Theatre National tonight. The Vancouver Province and The Somerville Journal also have conversations. The National are in Toronto at the Phoenix tomorrow night.

And if you’re looking for more Thanksgiving weekend rock options, consider Ted Leo & The Pharmacists at the Mod Club tonight. The Times-Union has an interview with the man they call the “everyman of punk”

You’ve almost certainly heard by now, but the Arcade Fire’s big fancy October 6 surprise was an interactive video for “Neon Bible”. If you’ve always wanted to play pattycake with Win Butler, you ship has come in.

Video: Arcade Fire – “Neon Bible”

Neil Young talks to The Guardian about how Carole King killed the original Chrome Dreams album some 30 years ago. The sequel to that record, Chrome Dreams II, will be released on October 23.

The Telegraph and Inside Bay Area talk to Steve Earle.

The List interviews The Decemberists.

Interpol drummer Sam Fogarino gives Filter a list of some of his favourite things.

Okkervil River’s Will Sheff compares and contrasts Mick Jagger and Rod Stewart for The Houston Chronicle.

Spoon stickman Jim Eno tells On Milwaukee that he loves Milwaukee. Spoon are at the Kool Haus next Monday night, October 15.

Dallas News talks to Rilo Kiley’s Blake Sennett about the value of time apart.

Josh Ritter tells The Washington Post that he likes Dylan, but doesn’t like like Dylan.

This week on The Interface – Jose Gonzalez. NPR has an interview and is also streaming his recent show in DC. Gonzalez is at the Mod Club on December 7.

If there was ever a day I needed to take it easy, it was this one. A bit tough to do when you’re in the middle of a big music festival, but it can be done. I opted to head downtown along Rue Ste-Catherine, Montreal’s main shopping drag, to maybe do a little shopping but primarily to catch Elk City play an in-store at Urban Outfitters.

As discussed back in April, the initial appeal of Elk City was as the new band for ex-Luna axeman Sean Eden. Considering the last time I saw him play was in Chicago some three years ago, I was pretty excited to get to see him again – even if it was on a landing in a giant clothing store. And while the environment was a bit odd to say the least, the band sounded great. Like really great – even better than expected. Hearing Eden toss off his brilliant and distinctive guitar solos whilst surrounded by pants was of course a treat, but singer Renee LoBue also sounded terrific and I think I’m going to have to give New Believers another spin when I get home. It definitely put me in a better mood, even with shoppers constantly passing in front of the band between floors. Of course, it didn’t hurt that they were almost all preternaturally attractive girls. What they say about Montreal? C’est vrai. I also got a chance to talk to Sean after the set about what’s going on with his Weeds Of Eden project (coming along slowly) and to top it off, I got 80% off a couple of shirts. That’s a good afternoon.

Photos: Elk City @ Urban Outfitters – October 5, 2007
MP3: Elk City – “Cherries In The Snow”
MP3: Elk City – “Los Cruzados”
Video: Elk City – “Cherries In The Snow” (YouTube)
MySpace: Elk City

As the day went on, my plans for the evening got more and more compacted – it was obvious the old bones were not going to be up for another night of roaming the Plateau so instead, it was going to be a single-stop night at the beautiful Cabaret du Musee Juste Pour Rire – the perfect setting for Patrick Wolf and – bonus – barely a 10 minute walk from my hotel.

First up was Bishi, a Wolf collaborator and tourmate for this Autumn jaunt. To call her style unique would be an understatement. Backed by an iPod and wielding a sitar, Bishi melded old English folk songcraft with South Asian sounds and textures, her powerful voice and towards the end of her set, discofied dance rhythms. It sounds like a strange blend but in her hands, it really works.

Photos: Bishi @ Le Cabaret du Musee Juste Pour Rire – October 5, 2007
MySpace: Bishi

And then it was time for Mr Wolf. I went into his show in Toronto back in May a curious outsider and came out a huge fan. His live show was so giddily over the top with glitter and glam and (almost) nudity you couldn’t not love it – The Magic Position is a pretty terrific record as well. His band was dressed up for the occasion in formal wear and Wolf himself bounded onstage in a natty blue tunic and, of course, his little boy shorts and knee socks. Relative to the El Mocambo show, this time Wolf seemed a bit more… serious, for lack of a better word. He was still a one-man carnival but the set list and delivery was heavier, more intense and rockish – “Accident & Emergency”, in particular, was delivered with an aggressiveness I’d never have expected. And while the clothing still came off as the show progressed, he didn’t even approach nudity by the time the main set ended after a surprisingly short fifty minutes or so. I was even more surprised when he returned for the encore without any costume change for a reading of “Magpie” with Bishi standing in for Marianne Faithfull. But all fears that Wolf had gotten too serious in the last few months were gone when the band returned for a second encore and as the intro to “The Magic Position” swelled, out came Wolf, shirtless, boa-ed and covered in glitter body paint. Now that’s what I’m talking about. Sparkles and streamers flew, Wolf dazzled and I called it a night.

And I should mention that Wolf is one of my favourite artists to photograph and the Caberet easily one of the best venues I’ve ever shot in so I’m pretty happy with my photos from the show. Do check them out. And read these interviews with Chart, The Montreal Mirror, The Columbia Spectator and The Ottawa Citizen. Wolf is playing tonight at Lee’s Palace in Toronto. You should be there. Really.

Photos: Patrick Wolf @ Le Cabaret du Musee Juste Pour Rire – October 5, 2007
MP3: Patrick Wolf – “The Magic Position”
Video: Patrick Wolf – “Accident And Emergency” (YouTube)
Video: Patrick Wolf – “The Magic Position” (YouTube)
Video: Patrick Wolf – “Bluebells” (YouTube)
MySpace: Patrick Wolf

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Pop Montreal coverage to bring you this special offer from the good people at Voxtrot. Assuming they have better luck at the border than they did last week when they got turned away trying to get to their Vancouver gig opening for Arctic Monkeys, the Austin indie-poppers are coming to Canada next week for a string of headlining shows along the shores of Lake Ontario and the St Lawrence (with a short detour up the Ottawa River) in Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. And they not only want you to be there, they want you to take home some swag.

Courtesy of the band, I’ve got a fancy Voxtrot prize pack to give away for each of the following shows:

October 8 @ Club Absinthe – Hamilton, ON (congratulations Matt)
October 9 @ The Mod Club – Toronto, ON (congratulations different Matt)
October 10 @ Zaphod Beeblebrox – Ottawa, ON
October 11 @ La Salla Rosa – Montreal, QC

UPDATE: Toronto and Hamilton shows are cancelled, Ottawa and Montreal questionable – Ramesh had to undergo surgery this morning (no further info) and can’t perform. Will update as I get info.

And that prize pack consists of:

2 passes to the show
1 limited edition “Firecracker” UK 7″ single
1 limited edition (only 50) metallic-ink silk-screened NYC gig poster from Feb ’07 (check it!)
1 Voxtrot t-shirt (new design, featuring Heather of Au Revoir Simone)

To enter, shoot me an email to contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to Voxtrot in (name of city you want to go see them in)” and your full name in the body. If you have a second choice – as in, you live in Hamilton and are willing to go to Toronto, vice versa or live in Oakville and it’s pretty much the same either way, mention that in the email body as well. Increase your odds! Since there’s four shows, the deadline for this show will roll with the tour – Hamilton winners will be drawn tonight at midnight, Toronto on Sunday, Ottawa on Monday and Montreal on Tuesday. Make sense?

UPDATE 2: Okay, bad news – all Canadian dates are cancelled. Good news – Ramesh will be fine, just needs to rest up a bit. Better news – I’m still giving away the goods. Hamilton and Toronto stuff is already awarded, but if you live in the Ottawa or Montreal areas, I still have a prize pack allotted to you good folks. I’m extending the deadline for both till midnight this Friday – September 12 – and I just need your mailing addresses in the emails as noted above and your t-shirt size. Gender too, as appropriate. Thanks!

So get your entries in and while you wait on pins and needles, read this interview with The Daily Emerald and also check out their new video for “Firecracker” below.

MP3: Voxtrot – “Kid Gloves”
Video: Voxtrot – “Firecracker” (Virb)
Video: Voxtrot – “Steven” (YouTube)
MySpace: Voxtrot

I think there’s some sort of rule that you can’t review your own show, so I’m not going to. Instead, I’m going to start by reviewing someone elses.

Norway’s Harmonica’s evening showcase has been a moving target on the Pop Montreal schedule, changing both venues (the Green Room/Le Gymnase fiasco I’ll get into further on) and set times (7PM! 8PM! 8:30PM! 12:30AM!) over the past week that made it look increasingly like I was going to be able to make it. Happily, they had a second show scheduled for Thursday afternoon in Le Divan Orange. Unhappily, it ran half an hour late as keyboardist Ingeborg Selnes was caught in traffic but when they took the stage, all was forgiven. Harmonica make pop music about boys and girls and kissing and dancing and with their glittery New Wave aesthetic it’d be tempting to dismiss them as simple and silly if not for the fact that their songs are unbelievably and irresistibly hooky. With killer melodies and three-part girl group harmonies, Harmonica made Thursday afternoon feel like Friday night and delivered on their threat threat to be your new favourite band.

Photos: Harmonica @ Le Divan Orange – October 4, 2007
MP3: Harmonica – “Boys And Girls (They Kiss At Night)”
MP3: Harmonica – “Friday Night”
MP3: Harmonica – “Rocking Girl”
MySpace: Harmonica

And then it was time for my show, or at least time to meet the bands at the venue for load-in and soundcheck and I was immensely relieved that everyone got there safe and sound if exhausted. Before getting into the evening itself, I have to say that for my first foray into show promotion, I probably could have chosen a better scenario than to do it in another city where I don’t really know anyone, during a festival where there’s so much going on (read: competition) and with a lineup of artists that I think are terrific but who may not register a whole lot in the greater consciousness. And on top of that, the 11th hour venue change was a curveball that we certainly didn’t need.

To accommodate those who hadn’t heard about the change – and there were a good number – we delayed the start time for 45 minutes to allow them to get to Le Gymnase. While this did pay off in terms of having an audience when the show began, it did throw us off the scheduled set times and potentially causing problems for club hoppers and so if anyone was inconvenienced – and this includes the guy in the white shirt who showed up on time and then sat bored out of his mind at the bar for 45 minutes – I apologize.

Danielle Duval started off, playing to friends and family in her hometown. Some folks had expressed some surprise that I’d included her in my lineup given how stylistically different she was from the other acts and sure, I was far less familiar with her than the others but after hearing her play, I’m really glad I invited her. Her voice is even more impressive in person, like a smooth blend of whiskey and gravel (that’s a good thing), and with some great songs and a crack band, she’s going to do great things and I’ll be able to say she played my show way back when.

Photos: Danielle Duval @ Le Gymnase – October 4, 2007
MP3: Danielle Duval – “Bright Galactic”

Ottawa’s My Dad Vs Yours had the shortest drive to the fest and as such, were the peppiest on the bill. Not necessarily musically, but they were at least awake. They were using the show to debut their new keyboardist/violinist and air out material from their excellent 2006 album After Winter Must Come Spring. As always, I was impressed with how well they made instrumental music engaging without falling back on the whole “quiet loud quiet” dynamic shifts to maintain interest – the get by fine with just terrific melodicism and musicianship. I can’t comment on their newest member’s violin skills because I don’t think she was coming through the PA at all but in theory, at least, strings should add a lot to their sound.

Photos: My Dad Vs Yours @ Le Gymnase – October 4, 2007
MP3: My Dad Vs Yours – “Bellicose”
Video: My Dad Vs Yours – “No Farm No Food No Future” (YouTube)
MySpace: My Dad Vs Yours

By this point in the night, the deficiencies in the room’s sound – either the fault of the PA or the soundman – were becoming evident and by The Airfields’ set, they were basically the whole story. The Airfields, trying to showcase songs from their brand new Yr So Wonderful EP as well as their first full-length, due out later this Fall, had to deal with feedback in both the house and stage monitors, vocals cutting in and out or horribly unbalanced and myriad other problems that were causing obvious frustration. The songs – what I could hear of them, anyways – sounded good but the vibe of the night was turning sour.

Photos: The Airfields @ Le Gymnase – October 4, 2007
MP3: The Airfields – “Lonely Halls”
MP3: The Airfields – “Nowhere Left To Go”
Video: The Airfields – “Red Fox” (YouTube)
MySpace: The Airfields

I was so psyched to see The Brother Kite – their Waiting For The Time To Be Right remains one of my favourite records of the last few years – but with the tone of the evening what it was (sound problems, running late, out of beer, sparse crowds), I was a bit too anxious to really enjoy them. Sadly, the sound problems The Airfieds were having didn’t go away even though the Brother Kite had sounded terrific in soundcheck and again, there were issues with the vocals, guitars… yeah. But despite this, what I did hear, whatever the mix was at that moment, sounded sublime. That they pull off the guitar and vocal arrangements of the record live is really something. I was sad they played a shorter than expected set but given the troubles they were having onstage, I understood. If for some reason you’re in Toronto and reading this as I post it at almost 8PM (why?), do consider going to check them out at Tiger Bar tonight with Fjord Rowboat. They’re on at 10 and have copies both of Waiting For The time To Be Right and the brand-new Moonlit RaceEP for sale. Both worth your time and money.

Photos: The Brother Kite @ Le Gymnase – October 4, 2007
MP3: The Brother Kite – “Get On Me”
Video: The Brother Kite – “I’m Not The Only One” (YouTube)
MySpace: The Brother Kite

And that was the night. The one that I’ve been stressed out about and going grey(er) over for the past three months plus. On the plus side, I was able to put together a lineup that sounded like a merry romp through my CD collection and that I’m quite proud of. On the down side, attendance wasn’t what I’d have liked if not for the sake of my pocketbook than for the sake of people not hearing these terrific bands. But with the sheer number of big names performing the same night of the fest – even right upstairs from us at the Arts & Crafts showcase – I probably shouldn’t be terribly surprised. But I will chalk it up as an invaluable learning experience (like how I’ve learned that I don’t really have the temperament to be a booking agent) and I’d like to thank all the bands, their managers and labels, and everyone who offered advice and encouragement and came out to the show. Those of you who didn’t come out, you’re dead to me now. No, I kid, but I do love you a little less now. Seriously.

And now I head out to see Patrick Wolf, though he’ll probably be it for me tonight. My body is a symphony of aches and pains right now and staying out later than that probably isn’t going to happen.

But before I sign off, a few concert announcements to note for those of you back in Toronto. Sondre Lerche is at Lee’s Palace on November 22, Ben Lee is at the Mod Club on November 24, Los Campensios! return to town for a December 5 show at Mod and reigning Polaris winner Patrick Watson will be there on December 14. At Mod Club, I mean.