FIJM | Thursday Ends With Suuns

Montreal trio SUUNS was at Club Loto-Québec on Thursday, July 3, as part of the Festival International de Jazz’s Nocturnes Loto-Québec, a series of late-night, upbeat concerts.

Ben Shemie, Liam O’Neill and Joseph Yarmush mastered their repertoire for the occasion, and presented us with an amalgam of cult and lesser-known songs in front of giant inflatable letters of their names and primary-colored lasers.

They opened with a bang, delving into their legendary album Images du Futur with Music Won’t Save You, to which they returned later in the program with “2020” and “Edie’s Dream,” each time to the cheers of a lively crowd well-versed in their repertoire.

We were treated to selected tracks from their most recent album, The Breaks, as well as from Felt and Zeroes QC. It was really interesting to see how they managed to balance their different atmospheres live, seamlessly blending electro-clash with almost acoustic moments. We were also treated to extended progressions and moments of improvisation.

At the end of the evening, Ben surprised us with a heartfelt reinterpretation of Offenbach’s “Faut que j’me pousse,” whose message seemed to resonate deeply with him. They left us as they arrived: on electrified frequencies which, in the end, represent their emblematic and evolving avant-rock musical project.