Chillin’ Down the Language Barrier (Click for Video)

April 9th, 2007 posted by robb

Exclaim! Spring Fling: DJ Champion, Chromeo, Malajube, You Say Party! We Say Die!
The Phoenix – 04.04.07
Rating: 8.5/10

Despite the frigid weather haunting Toronto in early April, the Exclaim! Spring Fling lit up the Phoenix last Wednesday. Each year, the editors of Exclaim! Magazine, Canada’s biggest independent music publication, carefully debates (err.. bickers ) and selects rising Canadian indie acts to perform in a highflying tour across Canada. Following the resounding success from previous Flings with Stars and The Organ, the editors had set a high bar to meet.

The line up of acts ranged from ass-shaking indie rock to funk electro-pimp to electro-rock. You Say Party! We Say Die! kicked off the evening to a thawing crowd. After their explosive high energy dance-travaganza at CMW, it was surprising that YSP!WSD! weren’t able to get this crowd to barely move a foot. The early 8:30 PM start was a tough time slot to work with and the lack of lighting support didn’t help either; the group were however able to get a few heads bopping and even some hands clapping to their funky rhythms by the end of their 45-minute set. Lead singer Becky Ninkovic did work the stage with her rendition of the running-man and bopping around like it was 1975. Their sequenced vocals, funky crowd-delivered clap rhythms, hammer lines and rapid drums gave ingredients of what could have been a hot set, but unfortunately failed to deliver this time out.

Québécois sensation Malajube followed and come out rocking…the crowd was finally beginning to warm up. After breaking into the Anglo-spotlight as a nominee for the Polaris Music Prize – a prize selected by a panel of music journalists and broadcasters striving to find the best Canadian album of the year “irrespective of genre of sales” – Majaube was poised to rock the house. Their slow/fast tempo changes, lead vocalist Mineau’s supersonic banshee screams and wicked instrumental rock sequences finally jolted the crowd to life. It was amazing to witness Malajube was break the language barrier (all their songs are in French) and speak to the crowd through their music.

The final half of the night shifted from rock to electronic, starting off with the funk-electro-punk sounds of Chromeo. Best friends since childhood, self described as “the only successful Arab/Jewish collaboration since the beginning of time.” Despite being a 2-piece, Pee Thugg and Dave 1 brought their own backlighting (take note YSP!), a percussion station on wheels and laptop fill out their sound. Thugg provided the lead vocals and guitars while Dave 1 held the fort with his casio beats, bass guitar and heavy use of vocoder. Feeling a mix of LCD Soundsystem, Daft Punk, Cheap Trick and bit of Fresh Prince, Chromeo synthesized funk, geek punk and dance had the crowd jumping by the end of the set. It was time for DJ Champion to bring it all home.

DJ Champion (Maxime Morin) walked on stage solo and fought technical problems to begin with the set with the hollow basic downbeat from Tawoumga, off of their breakout CD “Chill ‘em all.” He casually conducted each raggedy rocker to enter the stage, one guitarist at a time, with each G-string layering their guitar line above the last. The sould slowly filled out and took shape. Champion was more of a conductor than a DJ, cueing his orchestra and meticulously keeping them layers on beat – throughout the whole night, he kept the non-stop (there were no breaks between songs) electro-rock party train on the right track. The members were well trained to keep their eye on Champion, ready to respond to his flailing arm signals. Shortly after, the whole crowd was also responding to his beck and call.

The set went nuclear once vocalist Betty Bonifassi came on stage to sing To Hoboes (see video below). Champion’s throbbing beats and intensely layered guitars reacted with Bonifassi’s attacking soul vocals to ignite a limitless dance-rock bomb into the crowd. There was no going back. The energy was hot, intense and tireless – fans were dancing and even Champion’s shirt came off. All we needed were some glowsticks and we’d be in for an all night rave-rock party!

Bonifassi sang in English, French and even splashes of Croation, proving that great music can speak to anyone. Ending the set with their radio hit No Heaven, Champion left the crowd dancing well past midnight, still with an encore to go.

Although the crowd at first felt as cold as the frigid outdoor weather, the night went white hot by the end of the night. My initial worries about mixing djs and funk-punk beats with indie rock in one night were quickly thwarted. It was a multi-dimensional show, playing 6-degrees of musical separation by seamlessly moving from one related genre to the next. And by the last degree, the crowd was ready to dance and Champion had the nitros to rocket us there. Forget about genres, the language barrier, or the brutal weather. Tonight it was all about appreciating great independent music.

DJ Champion: “Two Hoboes”

DJ Champion: “No Heaven”

Video clip of Chromeo Live: Click here

REVIEWED BY: ROBB ENG

Section: Uncategorized