Kids skip church in order to see Seum play in the metro.

Seum, a stoner sludge doom metal band from Montreal have recently released a new album titled Parking Life. To celebrate the new release, the band decided to perform four shows in metro stations around Montreal just before their performance at La Sottorenea on May 2nd. It's a bold move, unique, unforseen, wild and most of all satisfying for us fans to have such crazy times in the metro. Their performances were wild, packed with action and nasty riffs, people even moshed at times. The question remains, was it a good idea? Was it worth the hustle? Will it happen again?

First of all, two famous acts have done so in the past, Yo Yo Ma a world renowed cellist, and Stromae in 2013 which saw his performance start in the metro and gradually move to Place des Arts. Around the world, Jimmy Fallon helped U2, Miley Cirus, Ed Sheeran and more to perform undercover around New York's subways. What makes these performances so special is the element of surprise and the fact that usually some of these performers charge a lot for concert tickets, seeing them for free in the metro is something out of the ordinary. 

For Seum, being a local talent who's gaining momentum, they did it to get their fans out, and to be honest,

because of their genre and hectic performances, noise complaints or whatever reason to shut it down were surely a risk to take. Being a band who's still local, Seum has to pay attention to the fans request, and recently with summer coming back, many wanted to have outside performances, due to the nostalgia of Van Horne. In general, the kids like to have outside shows because it's free and somehow associated with a bit more of wild act somewhat rebellious. There's no one to tell you to buy the bars beer, nor is there anyone to tell you what to do and what not. So in this optic, why did Seum play in the metro? I believe it's because they wanted the main focus to be the music, no beers no wild partying, simply enjoying the music. In this sense, I believe they succeeded, people followed them through the stations and many even attended all four performances.

Cops or STM Agents were present at every performance and by the third show, the band was told to stop. What freedom did it bring them to play in a metro? Surely it was for the hype, a free show you can swing by and leave without too much implication. For the band it's free publicity, random bypassers have the chance to hear their new album and lastly, it opens the door to potentially having more frequent performance in such places if all goes well. But, contrary to Ed Sheeran or Stromae, stoner rock isn't as appreciated as pop. So although lots of fans rallyed around the stations while dancing and enjoying the music, most bypassers must have thought, "Jeez more noise in the metro, more fucked up shit going on." So will it do anything to help out the growing incessant demand of outside shows? I don't think so. 

Overall, the idea was great. It's really nice, it brings people closer, allows all to enjoy the music and gives the people a sense of freedom. But nothing more I'd say. Booking the whole thing must have been a headache, to check out for the power issues and carry all the gear around the metro, it ain't the easiest thing to do. I know, musicians have to do so all the time and some metro players actually make big money. But Stoner Rock Doom music isn't necessarily people pleasing music, and just like Black Sabbath in the old days, they risk being associated with loud uncomprehensible noise making more than a sweet sounding melody making band. So if you ask me if the idea was a success, I say yes, because I like their music, I love chaos, loud noises and any movement that promotes community accessibility. It also promotes Stoner, Doom, Sludge to a wider audience, which in the long term can only help out the genre. But if you ask the bypassers in the metro, they might've said it was weird and incomprehensible. In an optic to gain more fans and hopefully reach out to new people, playing in the metro might not be the best place to do so, but then again, I don't think Seum did it for commercial reasons. They played there because they wanted to please fans and have a good time while playing their new record. For those who would like to argue or discuss, please leave comments or write to me directly, it'll be a pleasure to discuss the matter. All photos were taken by Documente Ta Scène.