Brian Jonestown Massacre in Montreal.
Shot and written by Eva Lynch
September 22, 2023
Montreal, QC @ Beanfield Theatre
Night Lunch
Montreal’s own Night Lunch opened the night; a diy, punk-influenced, art-pop band which has been subverting indie expectations to create something new and eccentric while avoiding clichés. Lit up with a display of playful, retro-coloured lights, the alternative band brought a new wave feeling which got the crowd more than ready for what was to come as you could hear psychedelic and rock influences throughout their music. With alternating vocals between the two leading members, its heavy synth and incredible guitar riffs carried the band which already felt like a household name to many in the crowd. Their sound has been described as ‘anachronistic atop arrangements rooted in early R&B, soul, AM gold and new wave,’ and they manage to deliver on all fronts, bringing that punk and new wave energy to the stage along with a glam rock style. Their second full-length album Fire in the Rose Garden came out on October 20th, so go give it a listen if you feel like being transported with their experimental yet classic sound.
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
There are only a handful of bands from the 90s whose sound can be deduced from a few bars, but the Brian Jonestown Massacre have spent 33 years creating a hypnotic and fuzzy sound that truly defines them. Along with their classic folk vocals, there’s no mistaking the San Francisco band which formed in the late 80s/early 90s, and have been a force on the scene ever since. Most band members have cycled in and out with the exception of the two original members, leader Anton Newcombe and their tambourinist Joel Gion, who takes center stage and who keeps the rest of the band on beat and stays steady throughout the show. The band’s instrumentals create a sense
of old-school rock and roll with the symphony of guitar and reverb coming in strong, with the masterful drumming and layering of tones which all come together on stage.
Over the years, the band has drifted away from their initial symbiotic sound of ‘60s revival folk rock and ‘80s shoegaze, and leaned more towards space rock experimentation, yet on stage every era of music flowed solidly together. They started the night with #1 Lucky Kitten, and even thirty years after their start and in spite of the rotating cast of over two dozen rotating members the melodies are as captivating as ever and the drones are just as entrancing. Each song has such a distinct style and sound, yet while they all may feel familiar, each one is very much its own intimately unique journey and every guitar riff was so full of life. The show had a good pace to it and the band worked together smoothly to get through the concert. The audience was a mixture of different groups and as I walked around the venue it was interesting to see how each song landed with a different crowd and everyone had a very distinct relationship to Brian Jonestown
Massacre. Brian Jonestown Massacre has always made music you can get lost in, and even as many members are growing older, it was still hypnotic and transporting as the music speaks for itself.
The show had sort of an unconventional end after a few mentions of feeling under the weather. Anton Newcombe has had a widely-acknowledged complicated history with both his audiences and press, so all things considered it was a smooth show, however Anton called the show to the end after several comments about not feeling very well and having persevered through the majority of the show, so they bid goodnight and the band slowly left the stage leaving one guitarist to play an experimental guitar solo where he finished the night playing these few chords and playing with their reverb to slowly close out the show as people drifted back into the night.
