by LORRAINE CARPENTER

From Rouyn-Noranda, on the western edge of Quebec, it's Geneviève et Matthieu, a pair of painters, actors, authors, musicians and comedians at large! See their frumpy, colourful costumes, airborne oven mitts, dancing, acting, laughing, playing! Hear their electro oompah jingles, sing-alongs en "Chinois," chanson française flyée, pop joyeux, nods to paranoia and pesto, odes to Alain Souchon! Come one, come all, for Quebec's king and queen of 21st-century vaudeville!

"At the beginning, we were not good at the music or the singing," write the unit, Geneviève Crépeau and Matthieu Dumont, by way of e-mail. "It was a surprise for everyone! ‘What's going on? Geneviève and Matthieu are doing music?!' But people were happy and screaming, and this gave us a lot of courage to continue and to make our first album, Mélodies." That debut was released in 2001, and Crions notre joie followed this year. Both records are available through LOCAL Distribution. Their sounds range from synthetic to organic to ironic, Dumont's deep, smokey Frenchman's voice (Jacques Brel meets Tom Waits?) offering little absurdities over tinny keyboards or an accordion wheezing with despair. By contrast, Crépeau's high, clear voice and tendency towards pop fromage sounds and subjects - not to mention her wardrobe - are fit for children's TV, an easy career switch if she so desired. But these art school grads whose first loves are the performance and visual arts, are happier playing in left field, and living on the left side of the province with their three-year-old son Maurice.

Since hitting the (musical) stage in 1999, they've played Montreal's Francofolies and Coup de Coeur Francophone festivals, as well as appeared on local TV's Les Choix de Sophie twice, and they're back this weekend for Lederhosen Lucil's second annual Soiro Bizarro, promising fun, games, novelty and surprise.

"It's very important to us that each show is different," they say. "We test ourselves with improvisation, new songs or new costumes to give the crowd that lighthearted feeling, and people are always happy to see us. We are very lucky."

With Lederhosen Lucil, Wolf Parade and more at la Sala Rossa on Saturday, July 26, 9pm, $10

>> Music Listings