That’s all she wrote

“Remember, there ain’t no fuckin’ encore for Teenage Jesus & the Jerks!” –Lydia Lunch

As someone privileged enough to go to ungodly amounts of live music events, I’ve always wondered about, even yearned for, the end of the theatrical, superfluous and obligatory phenomenon of the encore. Don’t get me wrong, I want the show to go on. But if you want to do a long performance, just do it. No need to be pompous about it. That’s why I was stoked to see some of the gems of Pop Montreal cutting it off nice and decisively.

When Fever Ray’s mind-bustingly dope, hour-long conceptual occult ride was over, there was no confusion. All the ornate Victorian lamps faded to black, the laser beams focused slowly in on a single point, the lofty synths honed down to a teeth-chattering sub-bass frequency and, suddenly, Fever Ray vapourized back to whatever planet they came from. It was concise, and it neatly concluded the audiovisual narrative. It was the mark of a confident artist with a holistic vision.

Lydia Lunch of Teenage Jesus & the Jerks, on the other hand, was coming from a different angle. Her group is of the most genuine post-punk canon. The show is supposed to be as raw, elemental and visceral as possible. That’s the entire essence of it. The show is over, chump. Get out of my face. I’m probably just being wishful, but perhaps there’s a trend toward encore-free shows here.

Either way, I would like to give my annual shout-out to all the sweet people who made Pop Montreal the best thing since black tea one more time this year. I don’t overstate when I say it’s my favourite cultural event of the year.

WORLD-CLASS SWEDISH PERFORMANCE ART, CBGB LEGENDS AND MORE! jack.oatmon@gmail.com