The best acts we saw at this year’s Montreal Jazz Fest (alt-j, Chvrches, Blue Rodeo, Omara Portuondo, and more)

The 40th Montreal International Jazz Fest wrapped up this weekend, closing out another solid year for the eclectic festival. This year saw the festival expand its reach outside the downtown core with a series of free outdoor shows in Verdun, alongside massive free downtown shows by acts like Charlotte Cardin and Chet Faker, and dozens of indoor ticketed events.

Below are some of the best acts we saw at this year’s Jazz Fest, including synth-rockers Chvrches, Cuban vocal legend Omara Portuondo, Canadian rock legends Blue Rodeo, and more. The Montreal International Jazz Fest returns June 25 to July 4, 2020. For more information on Jazz Fest and the year-round shows, visit the official festival site.

alt-J – Salle Wilfrid Pelletier – July 3

Has there ever been a band as weird as alt-J operating at their level? There can’t be another band as idiosyncratic and downright strange as alt-J on the arena circuit, or headlining large festivals around the globe. That staunch strangeness is part of the UK trio’s appeal, so it was an interesting scheduling move to see the band set up at the stately Place-des-Arts for a 2-night run, given that they had recently headlined the massive Place Bell back in 2017.

Whatever the motivation for the choice of venue, the band took full advantage of the large and deep stage, placing horizontal stacks of lights around each member that flashed and flickered like bits of Matrix code. With the band members interspersed throughout the stacks of lights, it added to a true blending of sound and visuals, made all the more impactful by the great sight lines and excellent sound of the room.

With no new album to plug (their last LP was 2017’s Relaxer), the band largely focused on their debut full-length, 2012’s Mercury Prize-winning An Awesome Wave. The set started on a subdued note with the moody “Something Good,” before “”Dissolve Me” eventually got the crowd up on their feet a few songs in. With next to no crowd engagement for the fiirst half of the set, the band instead focused on creating a mood — ominous but danceable, a tricky mix that they effortlessly carried off.

When the band did begin to communicate with the crowd, the night really took off: frontman Joe Newman led the crowd in a large sing-along to “Matilda,” while “Fitzpleasure” delivered the first true rock moment of the night, sounding even beefier and more menacing in a live setting as it closed off the main set. The band then returned for a 3-song encore punch of “Left Hand Free,” “In Cold Blood,” and the epic set closer “Breezeblocks,” that had the crowd still singing the hit single’s “please don’t go” refrain long after the band had left the stage.

Black Legary – M2 – June 28

Featuring the rhythm section from Patrick Watson’s band (drummer Robbie Kuster and bassist Mishka Stein), alongside bassist Morgan Moore, Montreal trio Black Legary is here to take you on a journey. With offbeat, quirky time signatures and wild stylistic changes, the band navigates between Queen-like bombast and pulsing beats that sound like they came directly from the dusty cartridge of a long out-of-print NES game.

Dressed all in white and bathed in black lights, the band tore through a genre-bursting set that included elements of moody post-punk, kraut rock, and psychedelic funk instrumentals, which all benefited from the band’s twin bass attack. The band definitely took advantage of the cozy but elegant venue, using a side stage to feature a spoken word interlude from a guest performer about the travails of a  travelling clown (?) during one of their more esoteric and eerie tracks. It was a confounding moment, but served as a grand testament to Black Legary’s super sized ambitions.

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Blue Rodeo – Salle Wilfrid Pelletier – June 28

It’s easy to take Blue Rodeo for granted. They’re one of the most consistent bands in Canadian rock, with a deep back catalogue of fan-favourites dating back more than three decades. They tour consistently, release new music that slots in perfectly well with their early work, yet they somehow almost fall under the radar, even as they pack in theatres and arenas across the country. This show was a strong reminder of just how great a band Blue Rodeo is — led by joint frontmen Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor, the band essentially played a greatest hits set, something they’re in no short supply of.

Opening with “5 Days in May,” the band immediately locked into their authentic roots rock sound, and the packed crowd responded with the type of enthusiasm you don’t typically see in seated theatres. Fans abandoned their assigned seats to dance in the seats, before quickly realizing that security wasn’t going to stop them from simply filing up to the front of the stage, turning the stately venue into something that almost felt like a bar show.

The band made it clear how happy they were to be back in Montreal, taking the time to shout out Leonard Cohen before diving deep into their catalogue for hits like “Diamond Mine,” a rousing “Til I Am Myself Again,” and fan-favourite “Hasn’t Hit Me Yet,” which had the crowd taking over vocals for the entire opening verse, a massive sing-along that sounded even grander thanks to the venue’s acoustics. With no gimmicks to speak of, Blue Rodeo delivered about as perfect a rock n’ roll show as one could hope for, effortlessly proving why they’re still such a cherished band after nearly 40 years.

Chvrches – MTelus – July 6

Marking their first headlining Montreal show in six years, Scottish synth-pop trio Chvrches put on a dizzyingly energetic set, punctured with some hilarious between song-banter that served to highlight just how much fun they were having on-stage.

Opening with “Get Out” off 2018’s Love is Dead, the band, fronted by vocalist Lauren Mayberry decked out in a black dress she admitted was once a Halloween costume, delivered a set heavy on their last album, while also bringing out fan favourites from 2015’s Open Every Eye and 2013’s debut full-length, The Bones of What You Believe.

With band members Martin Doherty and Iain Cook on synths on opposite sides of the stage, the front area was essentially reserved for Mayberry, who has become a much more involved and evocative performer as the years have gone on, twirling wildly and engaging with fans in the front of the stage between songs.

The band ended the set on a high note with a performance of their breakout hit “The Mother We Share” in the encore, which had what seemed like the entire crowd enthusiastically taking on the “oh oh” backing vocals throughout the track. Their set might have been a bit short at just over an hour, but from the beaming faces of everyone leaving the venue, it seemed that Chvrches more than made up for their long absence.

Courtney Barnett – MTelus – July 5 

Australia’s Courtney Barnett has become a sort of torchbearer for 90s slacker guitar rock, with her mostly mid-paced brand of indie rock supporting her instantly memorable stream-of-conscious lyrics. At this packed MTelus show, Barnett started things off slowly with “Hopefulessness,” the slow-burning opening track of her latest LP, 2018’s Tell Me How You Really Feel, before dragging her guitar upside-down across the stage during the song’s crescendo. She then launched into the upbeat buzz-pop of “City Looks Pretty,” a quiet-loud dynamic that would play out repeatedly during her generous 20-song set.

After focusing on Tell Me How You Really Feel for a handful of tracks, “Depreston” got the first big sing-along of the night, with the crowd chiming in for soft-spoken lines like “We don’t have to be around all these coffee shops,” from the fan-favourite track off 2015’s Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit.

You could definitely feel the energy of the crowd ebb and flow depending on their awareness of the material, and with a handful of deep cuts from her early EPs and a new song (“Everybody Here Hates You”), there were moments in the show where things began to drag, but Barnett ended the main set with a bang with a searing version of “Pedestrian at Best,” which got the crowd enthusiastically pogoing along, thereby completing the 90s time warp for the night.

Montreal’s own Pottery opened the night with a frenetic set of synth-driven punk that channeled the best of 70s bands like Talking Heads, Devo, and even The Modern Lovers into a molten stew of danceable chaos. The buzz surrounding the band has grown white-hot over this past year, and after a performance like this it wouldn’t be hard to picture Pottery headlining their own shows at venues this size in the near future.

Omara Portuondo – Theatre Maisonneuve Place des Arts – June 27

88-year-old Omara Portuondo is a true legend in Cuban music. Even before her inclusion in the Buena Vista Social Club project brought her increased attention from around the world, Portuondo was acclaimed in Cuba, where she became known for her incredible voice that was often paired with a mixture of Cuban bolero and American jazz styles. Currently out on the “Last Kiss” tour, Portuondo’s final appearance in Montreal was a staggering display of her talent and charisma.

Backed by an incredible band (pianist Roberto Fonseca, Andres Coayo on percussion, Ruly Herrera on drums, and bassist Yandy Martinez), Portuondo took a seat near the cusp of the stage and immediately had the room in the palm of her hand, even getting up for some quick dance moves that had the packed crowd cheering in approval. The material was evenly balanced between restrained ballads and highly energetic rhythms that had the wildly appreciative crowd up and dancing in the aisles. The evening also had a major guest star, with Cuban piano legend Chucho Valdés (who was in town for his own Jazz Fest show) joining Portuondo on-stage for a touching collaboration.

While the entire show only served to reinforce Portuondo’s legacy, her performance of the Cuban classic “Guantanamera” really brought the house down. Instructing the audience to sing-along, Portuondo refused to let the song end, commencing the chorus again and again after the band’s many attempts to wrap it up. It may have been planned, but judging from the faces of the band members, it was an unscripted bit of fun on Portuondo’s part — she seemed to simply be delighting in being on-stage and singing with the appreciative crowd, which made her final performance in town all the more memorable.