Vancouver duo Humans delivered a confident set of electro-pop at Théâtre Fairmount (review)

Humans press photo (courtesy of Lauren-D Zbarsky).

Humans
Théâtre Fairmount
May 7, 2015

An unseasonably warm air has made its way to Montreal. This was obvious at Thursday night’s Humans show, where the tender vibes clearly reflected the tropical atmosphere outside. Although Théâtre Fairmount’s modestly large venue was less than half-full, it was hardly noticeable.

The stage looked small but humble; Vancouver’s Patrick Holland, or Project Pablo, sat coyly behind his live setup. He was hunched over in a deep focus. A giant cloud-pillow-structure glowed red and blue behind him; it looked as though it might be alive and breathing. It was cool, albeit eerie. The cloud-like thing cleverly mimicked the music of his recent LP, I Want to Believe, on which Holland’s house tunes evoke high-in-the-sky sort of feelings. Project Pablo has been a staple performer in Montreal over the last few months, appearing at various places on the alternative club circuit. He’s a pretty delightful performer, generally drumming up a crowd that is more than willing to move. His house is silky and cool, and the few individuals present for his Thursday night set seemed to be enjoying it.

There was a long pause between his performance and Humans’ debut; the crowd grew antsy which worked well in the bar’s favour. As people consumed drinks and made trips to smoke cigarettes, Humans quietly re-inflated the cloud and set up their electronics.

Also hailing from Vancouver, Canadian’s Robbie Slade and Peter Ricq (a Quebec-native) are pretty unassuming dudes. They both dressed with simplicity and ease, no visible gimmicks or cheap tricks to win over the crowd. Yet, they exude charm. They work in close quarters; a small platform held all of their equipment, including both Slade and Ricq’s microphones. The men appear beyond comfortable with one another, working in tandem harmoniously. Humans opened with “All My” from their debut LP, Noontide, released by long-time label Hybridity Music. Immediately, the remaining stragglers moved away from the bar and into the crowd. A few sat, shrouded in darkness, making use of the theatre’s expansive space. Slade’s vocals moved quickly from romantic and demure on the dream-wave sounds of “All My,” to sultry and somber on the deep “At The Beach.” The audience favoured the latter, as the majority of people moved in time with its vivid hooks, minimal beats and silly lyrics. The momentum of the show grew from this song onwards. Crowd favourite was quite obviously “Ennio,” a track that starts with Slade’s lulling, songbird vocals — expanding into an electro-pop build that has it all; movement, repetition and a sense of aggression. Ricq skilfully handled the timing and rhythm of all devices, adding to the precision of the overall performance.

Human’s set was disappointingly short. It was barely after midnight when they announced their last song, and that was after asking an authoritative-looking person if they could play just a little bit longer. After they were given a firm “No,” the crowd grew disappointed. Their last song felt anti-climactic, sad almost. However, this did not take away from the eager, confident energy they maintained throughout the performance. The future looks like it’ll be pretty bright for these two dudes as they shed their light on the darker side of all indie-club dance-floors.