MadLove + Gutstrings – Casa Del Popolo – Thursday, February 4th
Going into this show having never heard of either band was kind of exciting because I didn’t really know what to expect. When Gutstrings started playing to the Casa Del Popolo crowd I was kind of skeptical. What were these guys going to do with all the instruments that littered the stage. My skepticism faded as soon as the fairy-like lead singer and cellist Tyr began to sing in her child-like way, and effectively began her quest at winning hearts. The band’s music is tough to classify but perhaps a good way to describe it would be orchestral funk-dance. The beats are mellow, and the orchestration is often sampled, but when you add Todd’s mandolin, Mat’s groovy basslines and Tyr’s almost impish vocals the whole things comes together quite nicely. Set highlights were “Why”, the eerie and excellent “Crawl Into My Heart” (which is actually a cover of Julee Cruise’s “Rockin’ Back Inside My Heart” from her 1989 album Floating Into The Night) and “Respire”, during which Tyr came down into the audience to serenade individual audience members, large green feathers in hand. In the end it was a pretty unforgettable performance, and I don’t think I was the only one who wished it was longer.
Next up was MadLove, who are a band that has come together from all different parts of the world. The most notable member of the band would have to be bassist Trevor Dunn who you may know better as an original member of the band Mr. Bungle. Well Dunn’s new band sounds nothing like Mr. Bungle. In fact, the only thing they have in common with anything remotely Bungle, is distorted guitar and of course Dunn’s bass, upon which his fingers danced effortlessly all night. The band played a really intense set without much banter, and while the whole thing was bit too loud for me personally, everyone around me seemed to really be enjoying themselves. They did save the best for last however, as they played what is perhaps the band’s most interesting track, “Absense & Noise” to send us back off into the cold Montreal night. – Greg Lozoff
MadLove
Gutstrings
Photography by Laura-Chanel Lespérance
