Giselle Numba One, Miracle Fortress, Dishwasher, Socalled, Kali

Mar 4, 2006

@ Friendship Cove

part of April 2006 update

Missed all but the final seconds of Giselle Numba One, which seemed to be some sort of dancey hip-hop thing. They played rap in between sets which was a nice touch and a sure indication of what the night was like. Ghetto, yo. Friendship Cove, if you are unacquainted, is a wonderful little diamond of a venue in the middle of Montreal's Griffintown industrial area, run by a couple of guys out of their garage/loft thing. They don't like you standing outside because the neighbours complain about the noise, and there was some controversy awhile ago about them not having a liquor license.

This night took us places we probably could never dream of, which was a lot of fun for the relatively small (but cozy) group of attendees. When Miracle Fortress - one guy, a guitar, and the standard-issue electronic knobs and keys - took the stage, the crowd was still rather sparse, but those present were willing to enjoy. His set was predictably experimental, but tunefully so. It started off strong with some vocal manipulation and guitar, and got progressively noisier. The middle part seemed somewhat self-indulgent, but for a short set it did just fine.

Dishwasher was a bit more hectic. This act, like its precursor, was also the work of just one guy, this time on drums and vocals (the rest was prerecorded, including a full-on narrative supposedly dictated by a stuffed animal with its own chair and mic.) He was quite the performer, rarely addressing the audience or even looking its way, until the last song where he got off his chair, spazzed around for awhile and came into the crowd to start shit up. Good stuff.

Socalled drew the biggest crowd and the most attention - he's a rapping, accordian-playing hip-hop artist with a Klezmer touch, frequently vocalizing in Yiddish and preaching the Jewish way of life. I'm Jewish, and I like it. Lots of laughs, lots of stage presence, and even some good old sing-alongs. Socalled (and his array of guest vocalists) were undoubtedly the highlight of the evening, so much so that he moved many people to leave before Kali took the stage. A shame, perhaps, but this last act was hardly able to top his predecessor. Instead, he played a little acoustic set that was decent but not particularly engaging - a nice voice but not much else. All in all, it was a fun show for Friendship Cove but not the best. Impressive DIY stuff, and a nice feel throughout - but Socalled was definitely the main occasion.

Matt Shimmer