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tUnE-yArDs Melt Brains, Debut New Song at POP Montreal

Andy Sheppard, Redferns

Even though tUnE-yArDs frontwoman Merrill Garbus isn't a Montreal native, her sold-out show Friday night (Sept. 23) at POP Montreal felt like a homecoming.

The singer-songwriter, who lived in the city for a short period of time, delighted Friday's packed audience, playing in a church that continually heated up, eventually reaching "brain-melting" proportions, as Garbus put it.

"This is why I shouldn't wear makeup in the first place," Garbus told the sweaty crowd, as she wiped her face clean between songs. "This was the night I decided to put on the most eyeliner I've ever put on, and halfway through the song it starts dripping into my eye!"

Performing cuts from her latest record, 'w h o k i l l,' Garbus dazzled the audience with her tribal folk-dance fusion, created by her signature looping pedal work. Building layer after layer of precise vocals, frantic ukulele and more rhythmic sections than you can count, tUnE-yArDs' music simultaneously draws awestruck looks and impulsive dancing.

Garbus also performed a new song, enlisting the help of the "symposium singers." The additional singers were trained vocalists who were part of the workshop held earlier that day where Garbus explained the inner workings of her looping skills. The track paired the hypnotic chants of the singers with Garbus' rough growl and smooth saxophone accents as the eight-minute jam gradually built to its climatic end.

Near the end of her set, she abruptly notified the audience her set was ending, due to the noise restrictions in the venue's surrounding residential area. "What time is it?" she asked. The audience, all at once, responded, "10:57PM." "Okay... then I have one song left!"

Eventually, with the thumbs up from the venue, she was able to accommodate one encore, satisfying the roaring crowd.

"Thank you!" she said. "You are all beautiful, hot people!"

Opening the night was friend and ex-Sister Suvi bandmate Patrick Gregoire, performing with his new band Pat Jordache. The band's mix bag of references to various decades is almost the opposite of a tUnE-yArDs set. Although the '80s-infused synth-rock -- featuring vocal and melodic tones similar to Interpol's aesthetic -- isn't even in the same realm as Garbus' more oddball tunes, the crowd seemed receptive and interested.

tUnE-yArDs Perform 'Powa' (4AD Session)


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