This Sunday, June 15, P’tit Belliveau was back at the Francos, surrounded by his musicians and friends, as well as funny projections and pyrotechnics.
Straight out of the lively musical community of Clare, Nova Scotia, he distinguished himself at the Francouvertes in 2019, and again in 2020 with Greatest Hits No.1, his first album to be selected on the Polaris Prize long list. Since then, in 2022, he has released Un homme et son piano and made several celebrated appearances in the metropolis.
The evening was full of surprises, including the arrival of FouKi for Comfy, Klô Pelgag for Mélamine, Rau_Ze’s unleashed performance for L’habitude, and the independence parenthesis of rappers Kinjioo with Fleur de Lys.
There were also a few covers, including one by Acadian band Grand Dérangement, as well as System of a Down’s Chop Suey and Nickelback’s This is how you remind me, which brought smiles to the faces of the audience and lightened the mood.
With disarming candor and unfiltered authenticity, he presented several songs from his repertoire, including L’eau entre mes doigts, J’feel comme un alien, Ej m’en Fus and Les bateaux dans la baie, which received a particularly warm welcome.
Finally, the memorable duet between Jacques Blinn on violin and Guyaume Boulianne on mandolin (who are also members of the excellent group Cy), while his sister, singer Sylvie Boulianne, accompanied them among the backing singers, was one of the evening’s highlights. The other was the final song, J’aimerais d’avoir un John Deere, which had all the lighters on Sainte-Catherine Street lighting up to say goodbye.
We were treated to a generous encore of three songs: a lively version of L’arbre est dans ses feuilles by Guyaume, with Belliveau on drums, Income Tax, and a solo version of L’Église de Saint-Bernard that was completely sick.
A surprising and exhilarating evening! There was something for everyone, with Acadian culture in the spotlight!
