The first time I saw Yoo II Avec Nolan Potter is tough to beat. I witnessed the post/kraurock prog rock supergroup made up of John Talbot and Justin Cober (Yoo Doo Right), all three members of Population II (Pierre-Luc Gratton, Sébastien Provençal, Tristan Lacombe) and the Texan multi-instrumentalist, Nolan Potter (Nolan Potter’s Nightmare Band), during the sunset, right off Lake Osisko, during the Festival Musique Émergente. It’s a memory that will most likely stay ingrained in my mind until I shuffle off this mortal coil. It was my Live at Pompeii moment.
Still, the late-night set during the FIJM was still a grooving and experimental free jazz vibe. I’m no drummer, but it seemed dual drummers Gratton and Talbot were adding in their own fills to the others’ beats, and with alkaline precision. I’m pretty sure I heard the opener to the collab album, “Cavalier (We’re Going Down),” with its unmistakable bass line, but who’s to say?
As with most experimental jams, it was hard to parse out when a song began or ended, and that was part of You II and Nolan Potter’s sonic ritual. The crowd (made up of a bunch of local musicians) seemed to love it, shaking ass and being absolutely blown away by Potter’s weird take on flute solos. His saxophone playing was certainly free and experimental and paired well with the jangly guitar madness from Cober and Lacombe. Gratton got on the mic during “Ralliement,” while pounding the absolute hell out of his toms. Another Pink Floyd-esque moment came from the bendy guitar solo to close out the song. I think this was from Potter as well, because I remember him picking up the axe at some point.
The whole You II set made for an ominous and surreal close to the JazzFest night. These guys gotta make another album at some point.
