Friday’s popular event might have taken place on the Plains of Abraham, conducted by Pitbull, but the musical event par excellence took place at the Parc de la Francophonie, where The Smile stirred Radiohead’s soul. during a fabulous rock concert.
• Also read: Festival d’été de Québec: Pitbull’s grand “fiesta” sets the plains ablaze
Who would have thought that the first visit to Quebec City by Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, two of the biggest music creators of the past 30 years with Radiohead, would come in front of a handful of festival-goers at the Festival d’été’s second-biggest stage?
Admittedly we were expecting the English on the plains, but we didn’t lose anything. The intimacy and level of listening offered by the Parc de la Francophonie was reminiscent of Radiohead’s two performances at Montreal’s Place des Arts in 2006.
Born in the midst of a pandemic and complemented by superb drummer Tom Skinner (saxophonist Robert Stillman was there three to four times along the way), The Smile presented itself at FEQ as Radiohead’s derivative product with the greatest success and some of the greatest potential for growth.
Yummy
Consisting mostly of all the songs from the April 2022 album A Light For Attracting Attention, the menu was enticing. The tasting was exquisite.
After a breezy performance on “Pana-Vision,” Thom Yorke left the piano, picked up his guitar, and went full throttle, stringing together “The Opposite” and “A Hairdryer” while virtuoso Greenwood tormented his six strings with a bow.
Yorke announced that some unavailable novelties, which will be found on a second album, were also on the program.
“Under Our Pillows”, all in controlled acceleration/deceleration, and “Read The Room”, which takes a fun rock turn in the second part, underlined the compositional talent of the two musicians, as did “People on Balconies”, another skillfully complex proposal whose jazz influences sounded like the Radiohead Amnesiac era.
frenzied guitars
The electronic textures of “The Smile” obviously took the place we expected in a Thom Yorke-led project, particularly during the heady “The Smoke”, but at best the concert was dominated by angry and dissonant guitars.
This was particularly the case with We Don’t Know What Tomorrow Brings, which is about as suspenseful as it gets, You Will Never Work In Television Again, and Bending Hectic, a track recently released from the album whose rise provided a stunning finale.
Little talkative, but still so inhabited. Thom Yorke left after taking a piece from one of his solo outings. With a strobe beat that syncs perfectly with the razor sharp lighting, Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses could (should) become a staple of The Smile shows.
Now Radiohead on the levels? If the group resumes service one day, we’ll keep our fingers crossed. Otherwise, The Smile is always welcome.
Alvvays: statically yours
Going on stage right after the hilarious Teke::Teke (see below in this text) wasn’t ideal for Ontario group Alvvays.
Not that their indie pop isn’t of high quality, quite the contrary, but five static musicians in the purest shoegaze tradition, contrasting with the Japanese explosion that took place just moments before. Aside from a few interventions from singer Molly Rankin, there was quiet interaction with the audience.
Musically there is nothing to complain about. Her performance, based on songs from her latest album Blue Rev, which was just shortlisted for the Polaris Awards, was flawless. The further it got the more intense it got, so finding the right line-up is of great benefit.
Photo Cédric Bélanger/Le Journal de Quebec
Teke::Teke: crazy like a Tarantino movie
Given the Japanese influences and origins of the members of the unclassifiable Montreal group Teke::Teke, the comparison is easy, but we had the sweet feeling of being served an alternative version of the Kill Bill soundtrack in the middle of the night. .
The septet’s progressive Japanese surf-rock, led by the very expressive singer Maya Kuroki with oversized glasses, has indeed something wildly heady and exotic, thanks in part to the use of a trombone, a flute and their epic instrumental flights.
Guitarist Serge Nakauchi Pelletier was touched to find himself featured on a poster popular with music lovers, urging everyone to enjoy the present moment. For converts, one might add that most of the program’s songs can be found on their second album, Hagata, which was released in June.
Teke::Teke in concert at Parc de la Francophonie on July 14th. Photo Cédric Bélanger/Le Journal de Quebec