Coeur de Pirate – Le National – Friday, February 5th

If you are a fan of Coeur de Pirate you probably recognize the name Jimmy Hunt as the guest singer on the song “Pour un Infidèle” off of her self-titled debut LP. Well now we got a chance to see what this guy could do on his own. To say that he could stand on his own two feet as a musician would be a pretty big understatement. This guy actually played some really great songs and got the crowd behind him right away with his stage banter. He stood up there in his skinny jeans with a red foulard around his neck and played songs that reminded of the Beatles. He wasn’t risking too much with his vocals throughout most of his set, but near the end he really started to belt it out in an almost Yorke like manner. By the time Hunt finished up his set, the place was absolutely packed and you could feel the energy from the crowd as they anxiously awaited the night’s starlette.

After a short intermission in which the mainly francophone audience got to listen to some of the English language’s best bands (The Dutchess & The Duke, Grizzly Bear, Fleet Foxes etc.) Coeur de Pirate took the stage to a deafening shriek coming from what was obviously a large contingency of female fans. The stage was adorned with all sorts of lamps, giving the already gorgeous venue a sort of living room like feel to it. So with the mood set, Martin began her first song of the night and also the first song on her LP, “Le Long du Large” to the delight of everyone in the crowd followed by the Tim Burton-esque “Fondu au Noir” which was as just as pretty and eerie as on the album.

This was a common theme throughout the night. Her songs completely lived up to their recorded versions, largely thanks to the talented band of multi-instrumentalists that Martin had surrounding her. Along with Martin’s piano the band played standard instruments like guitars, bass and drums, but also some less conventional instruments like ukulele, melodica, glockenspiel, violin and stand up bass, giving the performance some added appeal.

At one point during her set, Martin showcased her voice by performing an a cappella version of the George and Ira Gershwin jazz standard “Someone to Watch Over Me”, which was greeted by a huge round of applause. I think everyone was surprised when Martin played a rousing cover of Malajube’s “Étienne D’Aout” and perhaps the nicest moment of the night occured during fan favourite “Comme Des Enfants” during which Martin stopped singing and everyone in the audience took over and sang the entire chorus perfectly in tune and in sync.

After all was said and done I think it’s pretty safe to say everyone left with a smile on their face. As for Coeur de Pirate, she will do it all over again tonight at Le National, so if you missed last night’s show, tonight’s your last chance to see her before her 4 month long tour. – Greg Lozoff

Coeur de Pirate

Jimmy Hunt

Photography by Kenneth Suss

Tags: Beatrice Martin, Coeur de Pirate, February 5, Jimmy Hunt, Kenneth Suss, Le National, Live, Malajube