Live Review: Nautiluss, Black Tiger Sex Machine and Diplo at Igloofest 2012

Originally posted on My ETV Media

I really tried to keep my expectations reasonable when going to see Diplo at Igloofest due to him being notoriously eclectic. Although you may think you’re not familiar with his work, chances are you’ve heard at least one song he’s had a hand in producing. He’s the man behind record label Mad Decent, one half of Major Lazer, the driving force behind M.I.A.’s early career and not to mention his countless production credits (think: Chris Brown, Nicola Roberts, Beyoncé, Robyn, Kid Cudi, the list is endless). This all definitely came into play during his almost 2 hour set on Thursday night, but more about that in a bit.

First up, a local double bill. I actually made it early enough to catch the first set of the night by Nautiluss and it started off the night quite well. It can’t be easy being the first act due to their being a significantly smaller pool of people to appreciate it. Any DJ will tell you that it takes two to tango, and without the energy of the crowd to fuel you, you have to be doubly dedicated. So hat’s off to him tor being solid throughout. VJ collective BRILLE² were back once more, offering a completely different set of visuals than they did on the 14th.

Photo courtesy of Black Tiger Sex Machine

I can guarantee you’ll be hearing a lot about Black Tiger Sex Machine, having already racked up quite an enviable track record in the past few years. They were clearly excited about the prospect of playing Igloofest, premiering some brand new and amazing headgear. Donning their new, light-up tiger helmets, they knew who they were playing for and clearly tailored to their sensibilities which was a smart move. I will say that a lot of the tracks played felt a bit dated but the crowd absolutely loved the set.

Photo courtesy of Eva Blue

Now back to Diplo. He certainly knows how to make an entrance, kicking off his set with a series of electro bangers, including some Basement Jaxx and his own collaboration with Tiësto, C’mon. My friend and I made a mental checklist of the music his set would include and we nailed it. Some Major Lazer? Check. Azealia Bank’s 212? Check. R&B and Hip Hop? Check. Drum ‘n Bass influences? Check. A strong dubstep presence? Triple check. The night was a bit dubstep heavy, but that seemed to please most of the crowd. I, on the other hand, was starting to suffer from some mild dubstep-fatigue by the end of the night. There were quite a few throwbacks including some grunge and a nice nod to Etta James who recently passed away. After many “IGLOOFEEEEEST”s and “MONTREAAAAAL”s and an extra 15 minutes of music, Diplo bade Montreal goodbye and headed over to Velvet to finish the night.

The Igloofest weekend seemed poised for some more record-breaking as literally ALL the tickets for Saturday’s finale were completely sold out by 4pm. I can only imagine what the infatigable team will come up with next year! Meanwhile, we have the Piknic Électronik lineup and a summer full of outdoor dancing to look foward to.

Performing Artists’ Reactions:

Header photo courtesy of Cindy Boyce for Nightlife.ca

Live Review: Katy B at Le Belmont

To state how much I love Katy B would be somewhat redundant at this point, considering how much I have posted about her in the past year. Which only highlights why I was disappointed by her live performance last Friday night at Le Belmont. But first, a bit of context. I don’t love Le Belmont as a venue, especially for live concerts: the disposition is awkward, it’s not very big and the bouncers are particularly annoying. But a great night makes you forget all these things and although this was a good night, it was sadly not a great one.

The doors opened at 10pm and our main act was to be preceded by two local acts: chanteuse a k u a and dubsetp/funky dj CONSTRUCT. I got there close to 11pm and after about an hour’s wait, first act a k u a starting setting up. This is an aspect of going to concerts I enjoy the most, discovering music I may have ignored otherwise. It was a very stripped-back performance and all the better for it. Her music could be best described as electronic indie pop and I literally loved every second of it. She even slipped in a cover of Ace of Base’s All That She Wants, to the delight of most of us there. Here’s to hoping for big and better things for her.

She was followed by CONSTRUCT, who could’ve definitely benefitted from a later timeslot, preferably after Katy B. It was a strong and energetic set but somewhat off putting, sandwiched between the two female singers. Obviously this cannot be attributed to him, but you have to wonder who was in care of the booking and promotion for this event. (I only found out about this show but a week beforehand due the serious lack of promotion.)

After what felt like forever, Katy B’s hype man came on stage to pump up the crowd, at 1:30am. Still exhausted by the previous night, covering Diplo at Igloofest, my fatigue was seriously starting to kick in which made it hard for me to fully appreciate the set. It was short (barely 40 minutes), included the biggest hits with no surprises, and felt all too rehearsed. It was good, she performed very well and her vocals were one point but… lacked something and I left disappointed. My biggest consolation was at least having the opportunity to see her up close, and discovering a k u a.

All pictures courtesy of Mathieu Huppe for LiME

Music News: M.I.A. New Single - Bad Girls

I think it’s safe to say that we should expect to be inundated with M.I.A. in 2012. As you may have heard, she’ll be joining Madonna and Nicki Minaj on the Madge’s forthcoming single Gimme All Your Luvin’ as well as its first live performance, at the SuperBowl Halftime show no less. She’ll also feature on a least one more track from Madonna’s album MDNA, the Martin Solveig produced Birthday Song (you can here a snippet here). And now comes news that’s she readying her 4th album to be released next summer, with first single Bad Girls premiering next week on Pitchfork. Very exciting news. Add to that the fact that the infamous Romain Gavras is directing the video and you get me, shaking like an excited Lucille Bluth. 

If the title sounds familiar, that would be because the original cut appeared on the (rather excellent) Vicki Leekx mixtape released at the end of 2010. Cannot wait to hear the final version of the Danja produced track.

[via Pitchfork]