Karkwa's CMW Performance Pushes Past Language Barriers

Ever since Montreal indie-rockers Karkwa won the Polaris Music Prize this past year, it's evident that the size of their crowds has swollen a bit. At Lee's Palace Friday night in Toronto, the crowd was a mix of French-music supporters and curious faces wanting to see what all the buzz is about surrounding their CMW performance.

On tour since the win, the band has clearly gotten into the groove, as their set Friday night was spot on as they played songs from their award-winning record 'Les Chemins de Verre.' Live, there's a dramatic flare to the band that's not as apparent on the record -- at least this was the case under the venue's ominous, dark lighting as Karkwa's swirling melodies and crescendo build-ups kept the audience enthralled.

Though the French Canadian band had the tendency to greet the audience in French in between songs, they did their best to keep everyone in the loop, like when singer Louis-Jean Cormier asked the crowd in his native tongue if everything was okay before repeating the question in English, to which an audience member screamed back "Fantastique!"

"Thank you for staying courteous," Cormier told the audience. "We sing in French, so stay with us on this."

Surely, not everyone there was fluent, but the francophone lyrics seemed like just another piece in the puzzle when it comes to Karkwa's enchanting tunes.

In a pre-Polaris interview with Spinner, drummer Stephane Bergeron argued that language isn't a border separating them from the rest of the Canadian music scene, and it's a performance like Friday night's that proves just how right they are. "It's a matter of the album, and it has nothing to do about the language, style, career, and especially not sales," said Bergeron.