The first night of Pop Montreal.
I caved in and decided to La Tulipe for the free show with Stars, Diamond Rings and Eight and a Half.
I’ve seen these bands so many times.
But I really wanted to check out La Tulipe which was finally my first time at that venue.
The show was free for Pop Montreal pass holders and of course media passes.
Starting off the show was Eight and a Half.
They played a decent set of their indie electro-rock music.
Second was Diamond Rings.
Let’s I was really impress with this set.
This was the first time that he had a backing band.
What was very surprising that Graham Van Pelt of Miracle Fortress backing him up.
Fellow ex-Matters band-mate Greg Santilly was playing on drums.
The whole set was mostly a preview of the upcoming album “Free Dimensional”.
I really enjoyed the new material which had more of a dancefloor feel to it.
Only one old song was “Something Else“.
This was the best set Diamond Rings had put on and with the backing band added more dynamics.
Lastly it was Stars turn!
Have to say that seeing Stars in this semi-small venue and I think it was kind of a 19+ show was the best I’ve seen them.
Usually I’ve seen them at bigger venues or festivals where it is all ages.
But seeing them play in their hometown was very special.
The band just kicked off their tour in support of the album “The North”.
Torq said after their second song Fixed, “We still can’t believe we are f**king doing this”.
Meaning the longevity of the band’s success.
For the first 30 minutes that I saw during the set, it was a mix of new and old tracks.
Best part was during “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead”, Torq reached the microphone into the audience and got them to sing the chrous part.
Definitely the best Stars show which I really enjoy.
La Tulipe definitely reminded me of La National.
The first time I saw Stars live was at La National in 2007.
Here are the rest of the photos.
