Thirty years ago, Jean Leloup and his buddy James Di Salvio pieced together their best raw takes from the preceding months and years. Flashes of inspiration born of partying, chaos, mental instability, alcohol, sleepless nights (and snorted drugs)… but above all, genuine talent. Le Dôme was certainly as unpolished as its creator has always been, 14 songs that seem less cohesive at first glance, less so than those on his previous albums. Yet this album remains the best in his discography to date, except for those minds not inclined to appreciate the very real virtues of neurodivergent thinking in art.
Set against the rather classic rock and pop sound of La Sale Affaire, these 14 tracks found their cohesion; magnificent flowers had sprouted from the rubble. Here we found the perfect blend between Leloup’s familiar world and this explosion of styles better suited to the context of 1996—namely, the artist’s attraction to a more arty and raw rock, to heavy funk, to reggae rock, or even rap, all now integrated into his stylistic arsenal. Without abandoning the tales of the night and its excesses, Jean Leloup’s poetry opened up to new horizons, notably to this frosty quest for a paradise lost in the jungle, unearthed at the end of a long journey along a “poorly drawn path.” One could rise to it by swallowing fluorescent liquids and more, the song tells us. A prelude to all the valleys of reputations that followed.
I still remember a Dôme show at the late Spectrum, one of the most compelling performances given by the man himself.
Just one evening ago, on a rainy Sunday, June 14, 2026, on the main stage at Les Francos de Montréal, the golden and now established new generation of indie keb was tasked with paying tribute to this now legendary work. Vincent “Les Louanges” Roberge, Safia Nolin, Zach Zoya, Thierry Larose, the duo Rau_ze, Lou-Adriane Cassidy, Thierry Larose, the trio We Are Wolves, and Klô Pelgag were thus backed by keyboardist Alex McMahon and a top-notch band, with the only original member of Le Dôme being the excellent drummer Alain Bergé, who was also the longtime drummer for Senegalese superstar Youssou N’Dour.
These tribute concepts carry certain risks, especially when they’re dripping with nostalgia—which, fortunately, wasn’t the case on this rainy evening, which nonetheless drew a considerable crowd to the Place des Festivals. Ad nauseam, Quebec’s cultural scene never ceases to search for modern myths, despite a rather limited body of work given the youth of this apparent nation and its small population, but Le Dôme remains an excellent subject for mythification; such a flagship of the music industry must be honored, as was the case on the Rogers stage at Les Francos, all sponsored by Ici Musique and hosted live by former indie columnist Olivier Robillard-Laveaux, who for the occasion was caked in mascara and decked out in a furry costume. Ready for a pilgrimage to Le Dôme!
All in all, the most compelling performers, in my opinion, were Vincent Roberge, Safia Nolin, Rose Cormier, and Zach Zoya. More specifically, the 14 classics unfolded as follows:
The duo Rau_ze kicked things off with “Pigeon,” a very solid rendition, as would later be the case with their cover of “Sara.” Safia Nolin was brilliant alongside Lou-Adriane Cassidy in “La Chambre.” Les Louanges and Zach Zoya performed “Le Monde est à pleurer” together, while Les Louanges and Lou Adriane sang “Faire des enfants.” Thierry Larose took the stage alone for “Le Castel impossible,” later joining Safia Nolin and Alexandre Ortiz (We Are Wolves) for a cover of the classic “I Lost My Baby.” Safia then joined forces with Klô Pelgag for “Sang d’encre.” The trio WAW performed “Vampire,” Thierry Larose and the whole crew performed “Edgar,” and the show reached new heights with “Johnny Go” by Zach Zoya and Rose Cormier. After “La drop sociale” performed by Zach himself, Rose Cormier and Klô Pelgag began their march toward Le Dôme, with the support of all their colleagues.
And since a “fireworks” finale was called for—to quote Les Louanges—the crowd filed out of the Dôme and retraced their steps all the way back to 1990, just to remind themselves, in the 15th movement of this special program, that John The Wolf was also an unlikely yet very real hitmaker, in addition to having left an indelible mark on our culture with his work… And that the legacy of his work remains just as improbable, except for all the memories yet to come.
