Here’s the Thursday evening stroll at Taverne Tour, Saint-Laurent Boulevard section. Come along for the ride!
Rosario Caméléon is also Yan Villeneuve, an actor who has created a stage persona for himself, somewhere between performance, variety, non-binary extravagance and a penchant for what he calls pop coitus, a kind of carnal communion between performer and audience. He appears in costume, with white boots, moustache and lots of taffeta. He raps, sings, waddles in front of curious onlookers, and can also be quite invective, surrounded by video projections and a DG with a trappy groove migrating towards tech-house, a rather inspiredsalad. It’s a fine piece of contemporary entertainment.
Then it’s on to coldwave, synthwave… distant hints of the ’80s, but also the glimmer of a timeless varnish. Void Republic ‘s deep voice is supported by staccato staccato staccato staccato staccato staccato staccato staccato staccato staccato staccato staccato staccato staccato staccato staccato staccato staccato staccato. Like tarte tatin and unemployed pudding, this is a tried-and-tested approach. You can only change it by grafting on tiny details, given the advances in technology, the sound recording, the way you present yourself and the way you put your voice over the frames.
Leaving the Ministry on this snowy Thursday, we walk a corner on the white, climb some stairs, Wombo performs at the Sala Rossa. This trio from Louisville/Kentucky (Mohamed Ali’s hometown) is said to be “stylistically ambitious”, drawing on pop, noise rock, psychedelia, funk and lo-fi. Bassist and soloist Sydney Chadwick’s tenuous voice is reminiscent of Laetitia Sadier’s organ, and the overall sound is in the vein of lo-fi bands such as Pavement. Again, nothing memorable, execution a little thin, and … indeed stylistically ambitious. You had to migrate to the basement and take a few slaps from Wesleys, a band barely out of puberty and well versed in its garage and proto-punk history. There’s loureedism underneath. Amazing drawl, amazing pout, amazing nochalance, solid execution. We love The Wesleys!
