May 17, 2024
Walking into the Mtelus on a Friday night in Montreal, when a band like Periphery is due to perform, to find it less than a quarter filled with less than ten minutes to show time is quite honestly shocking.
As I was on double-duty tonight – jotting down these words you’re reading now (without the help of crap like grammarly, I might add) as well as photographing the evening, I wandered into the photo pit and discovered the stage set up for a DJ. Ah. It clicked. All made sense now.
See Also: Blind Guardian at L’Olympia, Montreal
Jeff Bowen, the opening DJ, is also the guitarist for the headliner on the night; Periphery. Bowen was, in fact, opening for himself. Nothing wrong with that, I suppose, but you’d think that the guitarist of the main act would know that people were out on the town to hear some heavy music. Instead, Bowen lulled those brave enough to turn up on time to sleep, with some pretty boring electronic music.
Now – let me step back on that statement a tad. I do like this sort of sound… before bed. When day is winding down and I want to relax. This though, wasn’t the time or place. What the hell do I know though? I shouldn’t have called it boring, I guess, but I’m jerk and I wasn’t in the mood. So, yeah. I said what I said.
While speaking to the crowd, Bowen said he got into what he called his “dork music” by stitching together Periphery songs on their studio albums, and from there discovered like he liked twisting knobs about and stuff like that.
He then made the mistake of telling the crowd that his intro piece had been a wind-up by his band mates in Periphery. They had returned themselves chanting his name over a Ghost track he is (or was!) fond of I’m mockery of a drunken moment he had had. Now, he pays the price.
Next, a band named Ediola took to the stage. Finally, the warm-up the room needed for such an event. With the venue now looking much closer to capacity, began the post-hardcore rumblings of Salt Lake’s Ediola.
By show of hands, it was revealed that I was in the majority for once. People that had never seen Eidola live before. I’m probably still in the majority after their set too, as somebody that would love to see them again.
Bringing a duo of vocalists; one to serenade and another to yell at you, grunt and scream. Ah sweet contrast. But the praise should really go to the two guitarists at opposite ends on the stage. One with his guitar strapped high upon his chest – a position of power that normally suggests technical riff work or a lot of finger tapping is to come. Why not both! Yeah, it was both.
And on the other side, was an incredibly electric performance as the guitarist whipped his instrument and his curly afro around, playing behind his head and dashing about the stage like a man possessed. Fantastic. Both guitarist brought different elements, like the two vocalists, and allow it came together brilliantly.
I admit, I didn’t know this band before getting to the venue tonight – but they are firmly on my radar now.
Finally, the return of Bowen but this time with the rest of Periphery alongside him. I mentioned before, that Bowen’s introduction tune was a sort of heckling from his band mates; well, now at every given silent moment since, the Montreal crowd had joined in and were mimicking the chants on the track. And this had only gotten worse as the night wore on. Now that Periphery were on stage, it had reached its peek and it was absolutely hilarious to witness. Unless, maybe, you happened to be …. Jaaakkkeee Booowwweeeennn! Jake Bowen!
Considered by many as the forefathers of that whole djent thing; which the band insists isn’t a genre (if you take album names into consideration), while playing a progressive sort of metalcore blended with all manor of elements from other extreme music genres.
Read More:
>> Cix at L’Olympia, Montreal
>> Bunchofuckingoofs at Foufounes Electriques, Montreal
>> Stephen And Damian Marley at Mtelus, Montreal
While the music itself is intricate and technical, with a constant barrage of hardcore style breakdown after breakdown, it is the energy they bring to their live shows that make them special. Then again, if you’re going to have a band like Eidola opening for you, you’re going to have to work hard to keep up.
This had proven to be an incredibly fun night.
Jaaake Booowwweeennn! Jake Bowen! Jaaakkkeee Booowwweeenn!
