Quebec’s adult-contemporary piano wizard transplant, Patrick Watson, pulled out all the stops for his main-stage show at the Montreal Jazz Fest. The set felt more like a musician’s friends’ showcase with vocal and instrumental performances by Martha Wainwright, La Force, Charlotte Cardin, November Ultra, and Charlotte Cardin — who all appear on his 2025 features album Uh Oh.
There were some truly spectral moments, like Watson, playing a light piano under a backdrop of projected stars while singing his lyrics from The Cinematic Orchestra’s “To Build a Home.” The crowd knew every word, chanting it back as Watson’s face was projected onto the UQAM and TD studio buildings. The show got even quieter and hushed when he performed “Silencio” with November Ultra, as Mishka Stein strummed a light nylon-string guitar. The lights dimmed to a hue of red and orange, creating a blackened halo effect around Watson and his friends. La Force, who was playing electric rhythm guitar for most of the set, also sang on the acoustic number,” The Lonely Nights.” It was hard to hear the nylon guitar, but the harmonies between Watson and the signers were clearly the focus.
Watson really ramped up his performance during the fan favourite “The Great Escape” when an acrobat, who seemed to be plucked out of the audience, walked up some stage stairs and bounced on a somewhat invisible stage trampoline to the piano chords. It was a memorable site even though I could only witness it from a screen.
Photos by Victor Diaz Lamich
