by JACK OATMON

For us out-of-towners, calling local acts like Omnikrom “hip hop” is a bit like the first time you order a pancake at a restaurant in Quebec and you get a crêpe. It’s definitely not what you wanted, but it sure as hell hits the spot. I went to Divan Orange last Saturday to peep their set along with that of numéro#, suspecting, like most attendants probably were, that it would be a rare chance to see a live performance of their idiotically catchy, soon-to-be-played-out team-up track, “Chewing Gum Fraise.”

When I hit the dancefloor, Omnikrom were already bouncing the beautiful crowd with their whimsical beats and schoolyard rhymes. Unlike a shocking number of MCs, Jeanbart and Linso Gabbo of Omnikrom definitely held their shit down for the live show. They effortlessly coasted through their tracks, giving them the legroom to excite onlookers with onstage antics and ad-libbed lip. The rhymes were definitely not groundbreaking material, featuring more than a few misogynist conneries and pipe dreams of wealth, but I’ll call that a problem of my generation, rather than a problem of this band. While Omnikrom are not yet an international-class act, a bit of work on their flow and some more sophisticated rhyme-scheming could easily catapult these guys out of Canada. Good production, fantastic stage presence, funny clothes. Solide.

Now, numéro# is another story. With all the squeaky-clean synthesizer production on the disc, I was hoping for a bit of instrumentation rather than a guy pressing play on a CD player and then pretending to tweak the mixer at the breaks. That aside, the act was definitely entertaining. If you’ve heard the album, you already know what a gargantuan pile of tongue-in-cheek pretense to expect from the live show. They definitely delivered on that count, including a “pute” t-shirt on the singer, which struck me as more wishful thinking than fact. The hyped-up audience sang along despite the recent release of the album, having committed to memory the asinine lyrics of the songs, probably, as in my case, unwillingly. The big treat was the return of Omnikrom, who breathed life into numéro#’s set with “Chewing Gum Fraise” and two new super-group tracks that left the crowd screaming for more.

Look for la magie d’Omnikrom, alongside fellow crêpe-hoppers Atach Tatuq at Club Soda on Saturday, Dec. 16, and catch numero# on New Year’s Eve at the SAT with a pile of other acts I keep trying to coerce you to see. Both groups are on the rack at HMV.

The Lovely Feathers are at the Cabaret tonight, just in case you ever wondered what the heck music critics mean when they say that something is “angular.” Also tonight, the Stills and a bunch of other acts hit Metropolis for a Dawson anti-gun violence benefit. Friday, Dec. 8 sees adorable Brit-rock wannabes the Mission District play Green Room, skinny ties and all. Upstairs, Main Hall features Heart & Soul, Des Cailloux et du Carbone, Simon Called Peter and DJ Cyan. And finally, on Saturday night, John Lee revives his Rock n’ Roll High School night (from the old Jupiter Room) at Main Hall.

VIVE LA CRÊPE-HOP! jack.oatmon@gmail.com

>> Music Listings