Pokey Lafarge au Club Soda

Show: Pokey Lafarge
Venue: Club Soda, Mtl
Date: Saturday, July 4th, 2015

Didn't expect to be at the Club Soda on that 4th of July. Had wanted to attend but knew I needed to cut my expenses. Turns out my boss had bought a pair of tickets he couldn't use, gave them to me. We both have something in common, my boss and I, we'll remember forever last year's Pokey Lafarge's performance at the Petit Campus. The magical Petit Campus.

Had the brilliant idea to go to the public library before attending the show. A backpack full of Billy Collins poem's. A bit cumbersome I tell you. My friend C who reminded me that it has been four years since she's been at a concert, texted me earlier in the afternoon to ask me what would be the room temperature. I've never been asked that and didn't know what to answer. Told her I like to be in the first rows for the full experience. It unnerved her a bit. Reminded her she wasn't tall and that being in the first rows of a Pokey Lafarge concert is not the same experience as being in a rock concert. Don't worry, you'll enjoy it C.

Listening to an album and watching a live performance are two different experiences, especially when it comes to Mr Lafarge. You don't know his music until you've seen him and his band perform live. The solos during the live performances are electrifying. And Pokey welcomes you to this experience. He has indeed a great connection with the crowd. Can't help myself but to post the Petit Campus live performance again (did so on a previous post for rreverb.com).

Of course there was no walk in the crowd at the Club Soda. The venue, although great, is not the Petit Campus. Hesitated last year to buy a M Ward ticket at the Corona until learning of the event being moved to the Petit Campus. Jeez was I excited to watch him perform there!

OK. Back to Pokey. A great performance (in spite of the size of the venue). The harmonicist Ryan Koenig is excellent of course and C made a sex joke of course. We were standing next to Adam Hoskins the guitar player that evening. Never really payed him much attention before. He's got great skills. It's a tough thing I think to play solos with a gypsy swing guitar. Especially when playing among musicians with imposing instruments. The guitar isn't loud. He had fun though and is indeed very talented (like all the other members of the band). Even did the duckwalk. Don't have any photographs of the band regrettably. Felt so uncomfortable taking pictures, I kept it to the minimum. In fact, with one exception, nobody in the first rows had their camera out.

In spite of the crowd having a blast, it was coming to an end. At some point, as Pokey Lafarge was whispering the lyrics to "Something in the Water", you could here them tapping the feet on the floor. This song, he told us, might as well have been about Montreal women. There was only one encore that evening. Milk & Bone were booked later that night at the same venue. Nothing could be done to change that. My friends had bought tickets for Milk & Bone, was suppose to join them but thought Pokey Lafarge was the perfect way to end the day. Or almost. Decided to stop at McKibbins for some sweet potato fries and a cup of joe.

On the walk back home.

The Black Lips

Show: Black Lips + King Khan & BBQ Show + Chocolat

Venue: Club Soda
Date: Friday, September 26th 2014

The Black Lips show is a bit crazy. I arrive early as I usually do to meet my friends next door at the Midway. We have a very expensive beer. The place has completely changed. There’s a bouncer at the door and the music is bad. For people that don’t know the Midway, it used to be a dive bar. I went there with a friend once to see Louis-Philippe Gingras in concert and we were sharing a table with someone that unfortunately couldn’t sit up straight.

We only stay for one beer. We don’t want to miss the first part of the show. Chocolat. Don’t know Chocolat (I’m ashamed to admit that) but I know the singer’s solo career, Jimmy Hunt, and he’s pretty good live. Of course they don’t disappoint. It’s a bit dirty and I like it like that.

Then comes King Khan & BBQ Show. LOVE THEM. They have these weird outfits on which makes it more fun. I was introduced to them just a few weeks before with the beautiful song “I’ll be Loving You”. It’s a beautiful song. Pleased it was played.

My friend K and I decide to stay near the stage for the Black Lips. They are good but a bit on automatic pilot. What makes the show great is the crowd. Going insane. K is small in every way. She’s skinny and not very tall. I’m scared for her but she’s having a blast taking part in moshing. All the while I’m against the wall and am approached by a woman. She’s pointing two girls near us and tells me she finds them cute and would like try it with a woman. My life at this point is such a mess that I go along with it. Just to see how far it would go. It ends there. She gets scared and decides to stage dive instead.

Side note : The Black Lips live at Third Man Records is a great live album. Love the A side.

After the show I leave with E & C to eat a hot dog at Fameux. It’s a diner on the corner of two busy streets, Saint-Denis and Mont-Royal. We eat by the window when a car crashes into the wall right outside from where we are sitting. It kills a tree and destroys a bike. It also makes a parked car do a 90 degree turn. The two guys inside make a run for it and of course leave the car there. After talking to the police, we leave for our respective beds. Laying on my mom's sofa (was between homes at the time), I never felt so alive.