Émile Bourgault turned 21! This very evening, November 27. Instead of treating himself to a night out with friends, the young musician from Montreal’s South Shore treated himself to a show at the Sala Rossa. The gang probably went out to celebrate Bourgault with a few drinks afterwards, in fact, but let’s start with the essentials: the music…
I’ve been following Émile Bourgault for a long time. I got to know him over three years ago as an undecided student at Cégep du Vieux Montréal. Then I appreciated his performance at the Francouvertes 2022, and a few months later I saw him play at Osheaga, on the Arbres stage, in front of a small crowd of a hundred people. He even gave a performance in my father’s garden, that’s saying something!
And each time, it gets better and better. You can see that he’s gaining experience and confidence. It’s not the first time I’ve written about him, but I’m pretty sure he’ll be treading the boards at Club Soda for his solo project very soon.
In two years, big max.
Bourgault opens his show with the title track from his, so far, only album, Tant mieux, then continues with Nœud coulant. He has a touch of Pierre Lapointe about him on these sad songs, a touch magnified by the invaluable help of melancholic par excellence Félix Dyotte, who produced his long project. The more Émile Bourgault matures, the more sorrow he experiences, and the more beautiful things he has to say (which we, as an audience, will feel even more) in tracks where spleen is so much in the foreground.
For the moment, it’s on the more pop songs that Bourgault excels, in my opinion, such as Juillet or Les aiguilles, which gives the impression of listening to a Thierry Larose who’s just discovered the saxophone – excellent lines from Florence Beauquier-Léger on sax, by the way, probably the most outstanding accompanying musician of the evening. As for Monique, she’s more into rock, and very well at that, which tells us that Émile Bourgault should perhaps explore this avenue a little more, to get a more eclectic sound.
“I know I still have a crowd at the end of the session, so thank you all for being here,” he breathes before performing Ma dépendance.
Throughout his show, Émile Bourgault will be performing duets with various emerging artists, including Sofia Duhaime (on Nos amours cimetières), his girlfriend Sam Tanguay (on L’oreiller) and Otto (on Si tu pars). But it was the performance of Ailleurs, with Louis-Julien Durso, that stole the show during the evening. The two young men have known each other for years, and you can feel it. You can feel the chemistry, the extra something when they take the mic together. In fact, it was Durso who was responsible for staging the show.
Bourgault will not be performing any songs from his first two EPs. He’ll prefer covers, new material… not even Pauvre & malheureux, which was a big hit with the music-loving student community of Old Montreal (and other CEGEPs in town). We understand that Émile is looking ahead, he’s determined and will most likely succeed.
The project hasn’t reached its final stage, and Émile is still trying to find his feet, but when he does, he’ll have to be prepared. It’s going to happen fast.
Just before the encore, Bourgault performs Les aiguilles. The audience sings along to the chorus, perfectly. There’s no better gift. Especially for his birthday.
Les dauphins et les licornes céréales
Céréales Dauphin. Funny name. The Sainte-Thérèse troupe opened the ball before Émile took to the stage later in the evening. I left with a certain preconceived notion that I hadn’t been charmed by their only song released on platforms, Lucky Charms. But live, it’s something else.
The quintet do very well on stage, and the technical level, for the age of the members (in their early twenties), is excellent. There’s a touch of The Strokes in the sound, combined with a high-school style of dress. Now we’ll have to make more material appear, but the potential is there.
A name that could, I’m not surprised to say, find its way into the Francouvertes 21 in a few years’ time.
LIST OF SONGS ON THE PROGRAM (ÉMILE BOURGAULT)
1. Tant mieux
2. Nœud coulant
3. Juillet
4. Ma dépendance
5. Nos amours cimetières (avec Sofia Duhaime)
6. Les souvenirs heureux
7. Ailleurs (avec Louis-Julien Durso)
8. L’oreiller (avec Sam Tanguay)
9. Always on my mind (avec Norah Lapointe)
10. Monique
11. J’imagine
12. Si tu pars (avec Otto)
13. Marcher, passer, partir
14. Les aiguilles
ENCORE
1. Vivre enfin
2. L’alinéa
Photo Credit : Charles-Antoine Marcotte
