If there were a fashion contest at this year’s FME in Rouyn-Noranda, Baby Berserk, a trio with origins in Amsterdam, would definitely take home the winning prize. Dressed in some outfits that scream sleazy Paris runway: a pink, loose gauzy half-cut blouse & blonde beehive haircut (bass + vocals), a houndstooth jump suit (synth), and a black suit and tie beret combo (synth and guitar), this group laid down some dancey post punk pop music. Think Blondie meets the Human League and a bit of Björk, although they finished their set with a wild cover of “I Hate You,” by Monks—or The Fall depending on your preferred version. That was the last song and singer, Lieselot Elzinga, ran through the crowd, trying to get more energy out of the pretty lifeless crowd.
Baby Berserk would probably have faired better during a later Saturday set, when the crowd was younger ands more agile, but mixed with the fantastic visuals from Quebec’s superstar VJ projectionist, Anthony Piazza, it was still a cool set. I was only able to catch three or so songs from Baby Berserk, but they were just the right amount of dance and post punk I needed for twilight hours on FME day one.
Photos by Jacob Zweig
