Oddcharm X Rien D'Alarmant, 24th of January at Quai des Brumes

On the 24th of January, t'was a cold, minus thirty fucking degrees, outside weather. Luckily, no need for any speedball, downers or uppers or whatsoever creative cocktails or drugs to warm up. For the news came to my ears, Oddcharm were playing at Quai des Brumes alongside Rien D'alarmant. So I drove up to Quai des Brumes, arriving at 9h30 exactly, as the first band started. I bolt in, a guy in a Hawain dress welcomes me. I can't help but think, well he's unaware of the cold outside. Turns out, as I fix him a bit more, I realize it's Thomas the singer of Oddcharm. Having seen the band once, I now believe the dress is all about a stage play, something is brewing in the back of his mind. I get pass the stage, rumble is echoing on the scene but I dart towards the bar, I'm thirsty and I'm freezing, what better than a beer? Pause, is that what defines an alcoholic? To find every reason possible to have a beer? Maybe so, I don't know, I've been everything but an alcoholic till now. Wait till I'm thirty, who knows I might just run for president, à la Hunter S. Thompson, have a gonzo campaign to abolish all nonsense and restore dignity and hippiness to this lame ass Canadian country of ours. I must say, we are clearly better than the States at the moment and have much to envy from all other nations around the world, so I'm in no hurry to run for power. 

Back to the show, I order an apple cider, eases the guilt of drinking. After the show I organized Friday at L'Esco I also felt pretty drained. That night, I couldn't even hear the music yet I was doing doors. That how much people there were in the room separating me from the stage. I remember crawling out of the venue at the end feeling happy yet hanging by a thread and dashing to my car due to the cold and my tiredness. Well tonight, I'm here to enjoy, relax and listen to the music, I tell myself. I hand over the amount to the waitress, leave tip on the table and go back to the stage where Rien d'Alarmant are playing. The singer, Arthur, is wailing his guitar while singing, dressed in a white shirt layered with a black top and black pants, very clean cut boy I must admit. Behind him, a frail looking gentle girl named Angelique, a name that suits very well her angelic allures hinting a calm dutiful girl who can perform miracles with grace, is layering melodies on a pianolike synthesizer. On the opposite side of the stage, still behind the singer lies a bassist named Emile who's wearing a hat, the kind men who cut wood would wear. In the far back, the drummer, Justin, is pounding on every surface at reach laying down the foundations of the current song. These four blokes have distinctive looks yet together on stage, they unite just like power rangers and conduct incredible sounds to our ears. The singer is clearly the leader as he dictates every move and has an incredible sense of timing and handles the public along the night. The first song I hear from them has this Karkwa vibe as it oozes slowly yet suddenly shifts into a Smashing Pumpkins like number with distortion and a voice that reaches for the hellish heavens driving my senses and my eyes stay put on the singer, I am subjugated by what just happened. What a shift of tempo and feel. It's sensational. The songs keep flowing, technical problem take a bite at their set, the singer is frustrated and stressed a bit, but he entertains us, figures the problems or lets the sound technician do some tweaking and they keep going. The more they play, the more I realize each song is a paranoid story with events that rarely unfurl with any positivism. Characters who lose jobs, lovers who end up heartbroken and more. One particular song rings a bell in my mind, I search every drawer to find what it reminds me off and finaly DANGLANG I found it, it's like Jean Leloup! Weird stories, weird yet rythmical phrasing and tempos and groove that are highly flexible. One more thing that shook me is when Angélique played us a waltz on the piano, it was just so soft, tender, dreamlike, textures of heaven came caressing our ears. Really, she has immense talent. Rien D'Alarmant has every reason to alarm us all, they have incredibly talented musiciens who took on improvised solo's, they have styles ranging from Smashing Pumpkins like rock to Karkwa like medleys with rythmics and stories that are straight out of Jean Leloup's imagination and finally, they have an overall attitude that in my opinion resonates with modern artist who are seen all over Quebec's festivals all year long. Their next show is yet to be announced but I strongly encourage you to follow them on their instagram. 

After such incredible performance, I  dart to the bar, another beer, outside, another cigarette. A bloke with his hat and scarf and coat coasts along. Stops and stares and politely ushers, "Well, what's the fuss tonight at Quai des Brumes?" I answer, "Oddcharm and Rien d'Alarmant, you know em'?" No he replies, I walk long distances, I don't come from around. Turns out the guy is walking for like three hours back home. At minus thirty, I do believe he's quite the fool or the next Jesus or Gandhi. Who would walk up to Montreal and back home for fun, not having nowhere to go? The discussion goes on, talks of the scene, the noise complaints, the bars closing, and the incessant increase in the cost of life having a toll on the amount one can spend on culture and more are subjects of debate. I go back in with the man, he pays a ticket and on stage, Oddcharm are about to start their number. Notes echoe, synthesizers quiver along the bassline and the voice embarks, a voice so soft yet powerful and just. Normally, on any electronic record, singers aren't too noticeable, but Thomas has a range that adds to their roster of musical weapons on stage. Tecnical problems blatter their bassist, but that doesn't stop the band. The keyboardist, a redhair short yet agile man helps thomas on backing vocals, while a guitarist soothes every song with melodies on acoustic and classical and electric guitar. The bassist fiddles yet remains binded with technical problems as the drummer keeps the jive going. Their numbers consist of melodic jazz pianos with moving drums in the back giving every song a dancing rythm. The singer who also plays guitar joins in with rythms to beef up every song while the bass and melodic guitar texturize every song allowing for Thomas, the singer, to add synthesizer elements to songs rendering the compositions intricate mixes of various genres accompanied with lyrics that are sensitive and subjective. For audience members, this allows for dancing while reflecting and simply gliding easily on every beat. One of those songs was about the struggle of being musician which reminded me of La La Land where the subject has to decide wether the struggles of following his passion are worth or is it just a waste of time. Time will tell for sure, yet as the young artist follows his passion, the struggles become harder and he is faced with consequences on his psyche and on his overall life. This particular song also hinted at Harmonium's classic, Un musicien parmi tant d'autre. This band is charming, not oddly at all, because they breathe showmanship. During technical problems, Thomas talked us on the creating process, introduced us to a key member whom he worked with to write lyrics or melodies at times and he also brought us deeper in his universe explaining the reasons why he weared a Hawain shirt. The reason was, it reminds him of summer, lightens the mood and thus enthralls the listener in the vibe of the night. By the end of their set, the keyboardist started playing a composition he wrote, which ressembled Opeth. The least to say is, it surprised me. Surprised everyone I believed. It was as surprising as the day the music died. That's how shocking it was. The keyboardist jammed, the singer hoped on guitar, jammed along, sang backing vocals and all the band turned heavy, the bar was about to be set on fire, the crowd chanted and laughed and danced. And finally, the song ended on a high note, the place calmed down, but visibly, Oddcharm had definitely caught everyone's attention. What a show! I had to drink another consommation after to cool down, sadly for me, too much beers were drank and I ended up sleeping in my car at minus thirty something yet, the next day, I was up and ready to go back home. Oddcharm's next show is on February 11th at L'Escogriffe alonsgside Oilwave. Be there to listen to this new electropop sound, a sound as revolutionary as the one Pink Floyd brought up onstage back in their debut in the late 60's. Thanks for reading and till the next show lads. Love and Peace to all.