Blog - Au Revoir Simone live report

Au Revoir Simone live report

On Monday we went to see Au Revoir Simone playing at O-Nest in Shibuya. They're a band of three girls from New York, they all play synths and sing, and make catchy pop songs.

First was a guy called Yacht who sings and dances over his backtracks playing from his computer (these which he "made before the show", as he explained to an audience member). His dancing is a non-stop burst of energy, jumping and jerking his whole body in all directions, even surprising the audience by performing a few songs in the middle of it! Better forget taking a good picture of this guy (without a flash or decent equipment). His singing was very clear too, and the songs fun! All songs end with a sudden "crash" sound. :)

Next on stage was Montag, a guy from Montreal but now living in Vancouver. He does live electronic music with some synths and gear, and a cymbal that he beats happily with a timpani stick throughout his set. Most, if not all, of his songs were love-themed, signing mostly in English but also sometimes in French, and he seemed to be having a great time! I liked the show and will be checking out his latest album "Going Places".

Then there was The Vivians, a rock band of foreign members, based in Tokyo and released on Escalator Records. It was the first time I saw or heard them. They did rock, but unfortunately it wasn't quite the right environment to appreciate what they do (sandwiched between softer, electronic artists). Call it bad booking...

Last up was of course Au Revoir Simone! I'm still a new fan, having listened to their two albums just a few times, but I liked the show very much! Their latest album gave me the impression of being a bit on the slow and quiet side, but their set had a fine balance of danceable and quieter songs. For a keyboard lover it's also a pleasure to hear those nice songs performed all live on 5 synths plus some beatboxes. Annie (stage right) mainly played a Juno-60, a series I'm quite fond of.

I also liked that each of the girls had an obvious different personality. Annie (right) was dancing almost non-stop and it gets more intense as the show goes (and her wine glass gets emptied), Erika (center) struck me with beautiful eyes and smile, and Heather (left, who does the beats and plays aircon-shaking bass on a Korg) seemed to be in charge of not letting the two others go completely adlib. I couldn't quite tell which is my favorite.

On our way out, we had a very quick chat with Annie, and I also went to say bonjour to Montag. It's always a pleasure to run into another Québécois in such a distant land. :)

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Posted on July 5, 2007 at 20:20 | Tweet |

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