March 22, 2025
Alcest return to Montreal, bringing incredible guests with them
An international flavoring of musicians assembled here in Montreal for our listening pleasure – Alcest, from France, Mono from Japan and Iceland’s Kælan Mikla. And the result was something other worldly.
Tonight, the theatre was full right from the moment its doors swung open to welcome the long line of people that had been waiting outside, as rain gently fell about them. It felt like a sign from above, to have rain building up to a night with Alcest. An omen if you will.
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Montreal, being a predominantly Francophone city, always goes hard when artists come over from France. It’s like welcoming a distant cousin into your home that has come from afar. I’m an Anglophone, and oddly, even I get that feeling when France sends us its artists. Strange. I can’t explain it.
Kælan Mikla
Upon a foggy stage, emerged the silhouettes of Iceland’s Kælan Mikla – a group I had not heard of until word reached me about them joining Alcest for this tour. From there, I looked into the band and was instantly intrigued by what I found. Yet, listening to their Undir Köldum Norðurljósum album on their bandcamp page and seeing them perform live are quite different things.
Through the fog, and lack of light, Kaelan Mikla created an ambience akin to being lost in the woods on an autumn night – which I suppose adds to the mysticism of the band. Lead vocalist Laufey Soffía danced in these dreary settings, often with her back to the audience, that looked from the audience like a coven of witches dancing around a cauldron. While bassist Margrét Rósa drove the music with her thunderous bass lines, throbbing through the ambience. Sólveig Matthildur laid down the melodies and percussion, using keyboards and synthesizers.
Having listened to Undir Köldum Norðurljósum quite often leading up to this show, I hoped that the band would be performing Sólstöður and wondered how that would translate to the live stage. Well, they did. I found out. Sólstöður contains a backing vocal that sounds like the anguished screams of several women, who I imagine are the members of the band, and my thought processs was if they were able to recreate how powerful this moment is on the album live. Turns out, they use a backing track for this part of the song. Makes sense, I suppose.
I was deeply enthralled by this live performance and I vowed to myself that I would dig into their three previous recordings as soon as I could, and would keep an ear open for whatever they do next. This is a group on the rise and would to look out for.
If this was to be how the night started, I thought, Mono and Alcest had best be ready to bring their best work – because the bar had been set high!
For such a small nation (one that I have dreamed of visiting for years now) Iceland sure do produce incredible musicians. From what I’ve heard, much of it is dark in some way. Of course there’s the great metal bands like Solstafir and Misþyrming but even the more experimental or pop-esque bands like Bjork and Sigor Ros have some pretty dark elements to them – no surprise then that Kaelan Mikla implore darkness into their dreamy brand of pop meets darkwave, new wave and post-punk.
Mono
To sum it all up in but a few words; Japan’s Mono are incredible. Of course, there’s far more to say than just that, for a band that has released twelve albums in their twenty-six years as a group.
The quartet of Takaakira “Taka” Goto on guitar, Hideki “Yoda” Suematsu on rhythm guitar, Tamaki Kunishi on bass and Dahm Majuri Cipolla, who I could hear but couldn’t see, hidden in the darkness playing the drums. Mono played their set in virtual darkness, where a strobe light occasionally broke through the pitch black to assure us there there were in fact musicians on stage.
I suppose, taking away the visual component of the show forces those listening in the crowd to focus on the supremely intricate and beautiful musicianship at play, which upon pondering it for a while, I imagine could also be the reason that Mono choose to be an instrumental band, free of any form of vocals. The more I think about this, the more it makes sense, and there’s still the possibility that I’m completely barking up the wrong tree!
At several moments, I found myself drifting off. Not quite asleep yet not quite awake. I was supremely pleased to have secured a seat on the upper balcony tonight, because the artists on stage this evening were as comfy as satin sheets, big fluffy pillows and a heavy duvet. Don’t get me wrong – I wasn’t bored, not at all. I was in a dreamlike state. Almost comatose. Comfortable and feeling the vibrations as much as I was hearing it.
The music of Mono is absolutely beautiful. Like finding a glimmer of hope in a dark tunnel. Like that one last hope you hold into with both fists. The reason to keep going or as the French say, a raison d’etre. Listening to their songs felt like a passage, like a train journey to the unknown. So many levels of wonderfully crafted layers that build up as the piece progresses until its climax.
Who the hell needs stage lighting anyway.
Alcest
The band most people in attendance had come out to see were making their final preparations in front of us, gearing up to play – yet I couldn’t help feel like I had already gotten so much out of this night. I told myself, even if Alcest are about to have an off night tonight, it’ll still have been a great time. Silly really. Alcest! Have a bad night? Am I mad?
I’ve been fortunate enough to have seen Alcest several times in the past, in this city and elsewhere, and not once have I walked away afterwards unsatisfied. In fact, it has always been quite the opposite. I have a clear memory of a time I saw them at the Foufounes Electriques, here in Montreal, where my partner at the time had brought some friends along to join us. The both of them were in tears, literal tears, at how much they loved Alcest’s performance. Not a word of a lie. That is the effect I have seen this band have on people.
The stage at the Beanfield, formerly the Corona Theatre (and still the Corona in my heart) had been transformed to look as I have never seen it before. This is a building that’s more than a century old we’re talking about here. It had been transformed as only our cousins from France could do – with panache. So clean. Minimalist. Soft white carpets (I touched them trust me, soft!) covered the aged hardwood stage, while a low black riser sat at the back of the room with the drummer Jean Deflandre to the left, two birds, pelicans I think, and a light made to resemble the moon sat in the middle, with bassist Indria Saray on the right.
Potted plants, dead by the looks of it – or in serious need of water in any case, adorned the stage. Chaotic yet meticulously placed in opportune spots. French flare. On the front right of the stage, was guitarist Pierre Corson, and on the left, the main song writter and the essence of what Alcest is – Stéphane Paut.
As was the case with Mono – I remained incredibly comfortable during Alcest’ set. Still in that dreamlike state I mentioned. Gazing into the abyss – with Alcest gazing back into me, into my soul. California sober and at peace. At one point, I needed a Red Bull from the bar to snap me out of it. Hearing Alcest at this volume does things to you.
These are normally the types of sounds I save for when I’m alone – because they sound so great in solitude. But whenever Alcest come to town, it feels so good to enjoy them with likeminded folks about me.
I am an Alcest fan now, for many years. How lucky was I, that both of my favorite songs by them were to be played. Those being the incredible Sapphire and, of course, Autre Temps, which was the first of two tracks they played as an encore, once Montreal had stopped serenading them with the Ole Ole song (It’s a Montreal state of mind – how we show our love!).
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The second song of the encore, and the final number played tonight – was the aptly named L’Adieu – or goodbye for those that might not speak French. While this is a beautifully serene number, it was made even more poetically beautiful as what felt like the entire crowd joined in and sang along for the final minute of the song. It sent shivers down my spine, and stood the hairs on my arm up. What a beautiful way to cap off such a wonderful night.
I’m already looking forward to the day when I get to see all three of these amazing groups play again. I hope the wait is a short one.
