| OFFrancophonics 101 >> The other French fest docks at the Old Port
by RUPERT BOTTENBERG
Overall, the acts on board seem to fall into the leftfield category, stuff that’s not so underground that it should stay there but at the same time, too weird and wild for the polite, MOR types wandering around near Place des Arts, warm beer in hand. Somehow, I just don’t see les Georges Leningrad dishing out their lunatic “petrochemical pirate rock” to an audience of middle-aged dentists and civil servants in shorts yanked up to their tit-lines. Les
Georges are just one of the interesting acts here (they play at 4 p.m.
on Sunday). There’s also the surly noise-rock of Jeremi Mourand,
the good-time blues-rock of Marie-Claude Lamoureux (no stranger to the
benefit concert scene) and the punk-metal-ska-tronics of Karmad’aï.
A lot of the acts seem intent on redefining the notion of chanson québécois
for the 21st century-take the edgy, educated-with-attitude duo Ivy &
Reggie, the catchy jazzification of Léopold Z or the Karlof Orchestra’s
off-kilter pop, loaded with troublesome lyrics. Closing up on Sunday
at 6 p.m. are les Abigradationnistes, whose bizarre joualogy and delightful
little summer dresses are guaranteed to weird people out. The OFFrancofolies don’t end with the concerts, though. This event also sees the launch of SOPREF’s new book Autoprod 101, which, as you may guess from the title, is all about DIY record production, every step of the way-financing, contracts, manufacturing, distribution. Sounds like it could become a bible of sorts for local indie musicians. That’s still not it, though! There’s also the Décollage Vol. 1 comp being launched as well. It’s a double CD, divided between the heavy (Overbass, Ghoulunatics, Insurgent, Xplicit Noize) and the smooth (High Tone, Thomas Hellman, Colectivo, the aforementioned Karmad’aï and Abigradationnistes). : >> Music Listings |
Okay, you know how the Jazz Fest has its own offshoot, the OFF fest,
playing counterpoint to the main event without undermining it? Well,
so do les FrancoFolies. Assembled by the folks at SOPREF (Société
pour la promotion de la relève musicale de l’Espace Francophone),
the OFFrancofolies happen over two afternoons this weekend (Saturday
and Sunday, Aug. 3–4, 1–7 p.m., specifically), down at the
Old Port (at the Bonsecours kiosk, specifically), and the concerts-a
dozen bands in all-are free.
