Crowd pleaser

I better get back to posting pre-Bluesfest pictures or it will be mid-July before anyone finds out about Brant Bjork - or Bonjour Brumaire. The Montreal rockers closed out the iheartmusic-presented show at Mavericks with a pleasant merger of Britpop and French pop. For some reason they remind me uncannily of the Frank and Walters - particularly their hit Brooklyn. Despite forming only a year and a half-ago, they've already lodged a bunch of songs in the charts and won a few awards. They also recorded their well-respected 2008 debut De La Nature Des Foules with Ryan Battistuzzi, who has done similar work for two other francophone breakout artists, Malajube and Les Breastfeeders. This was their first show in Ottawa, but no doubt we'll hear more from them soon.

Frontman Youri Zaragoza.



Guitarist Nathan Howard rocks the White Falcon.



Bassist Jordan Larocque; I don't have any good solo photos of him, but that's okay because he's all over the place.



Drummer Francois Lessard is supposed to be a funny guy.



Karine Novelle on keys.



Bonjour action!



And so on.



Lots of singing along with this bunch.







A fine set, though a bit overshadowed by Winter Gloves' hyperkinetic set.

Changing of the seasons

I went to Mavericks last night to see hotly tipped francophone act Bonjour Brumaire, Winter Gloves and Ottawa's own Murder Plans, a show courtesy of i(heart)music. There was something a little different about the place went in: Namely, a total lack of furniture. They also seem to have sawed the bar in half. I gather a play for an increased capacity is at work.

The Murder Plans kindly warned the following acts that the X on the stage marked a hole in the wood underneath the carpet. There goes my "buried treasure" theory. They also asked people to visit their Youtube video. Watch it and you'll never complain about the size of your practice space again. Their live show was once again excellent. I'm still getting a strong Postcard records vibe from them, but they sounded a bit more rootsy this time around.


Murder Plans, Mavericks, June 19, 2008

Next came Winter Gloves, who stole the show with their super bouncy electronic pop and falsetto vocals. "They deserve the Polaris next year!" said Bonjour Brumaire frontman Youri Zaragoza. They've been recording with a guy who's worked with Malajube and Les Breastfeeders, so who knows?


Winter Gloves, Mavericks, June 19, 2008

Finally Bonjour Brumaire ran through their set of classic rock-influenced indie pop. For some reason the Montreal quintet put me strongly in mind of 1990s Irish rockers Whipping Post (I'm still trying to figure out why my brain dredged up the comparison ... a familiar riff, perhaps). Quite good, but a bit overwhelmed by the openers.


Bonjour Brumaire, Mavericks, June 19, 2008

This was their first show in Ottawa; I bet they'll be playing someplace a bit larger when they return.

• Show reminder: Flow 14 and Tara Lee Combs rock Zaphod's. Garaga unleashes their new record at Babylon with Tokyo Sex Whale and Boom Creek. Grouyan Gumbo get spicey at the Elmdale House Tavern. Uzumaki perform at the Avant-Garde.