This was my first experience with Megaphono. As a smaller festival in Ottawa I had assumed that my night would consist of a small venue that would be played by a small band. The venue would be a coffee shop or a small bar. And I think my expectations were for the most part true to the festival. I just so happened to pick a weird show.
I take an Uber to my destination. It’s in Gatineau and we’ve pulled into a warehouse-looking industrial space. I’m a bit apprehensive, but I see another young woman wearing music clothes so I know I’m not in an abandoned warehouse, just a regular warehouse. We both look at each other and she asks, “Is this the venue?”
It’s 4 p.m., there’s little to no signage, and we’re in a warehouse.
There’s a door that says “Welcome Centre.” I open it, and I’m even more confused. There are a lot of artsy middle-aged people standing around a miniature model of a neighbourhood. In the room is a staged bathroom and swathes of backsplash and marbling. Where there’d usually be a person sitting at a little desk asking for my cover, there’s a coat rack.
I see people with lanyards and so I ask them, “Where the fuck am I?” They don’t seem to understand how deeply confused I am, so I clarify that I’m looking for music. A woman tells me that if I turn into the other room that’s where I’d find it. In front of her are sign-up sheets for a tour. I’m so extremely unsure about where I am. I am unsure of where I am because I’m surrounded by adults, adults who know each other, and adults in suits.
I begin to inspect the showroom. What I’d have learned if I’d taken two minutes to Google the venue is that this is the headquarters of the Gatineau half of the Zibi waterfront developments that are in progress, or very soon to be. The impression that I’m left with is that the developers want to advertise this cool new/old space, and get people interested in coming to this part of town, and in return Megaphono gets this really cool space.
Fair enough, I’m a lot less confused. Just kidding—why are there adults mingling and giving each other cards? Turns out I’ve more or less crashed an art society event for professionals within the art/music industry. This is indicated to me when a man who everyone in the crowd seemed to personally know spoke about the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition. As a 19-year-old, and entirely unprofessional, I was very uncomfortable and hoped that nobody would speak to me as I waited for the show to go on.
Blessed be baby Jesus, none of the people in the crowd of possibly 30 people spoke to me, and the first band went on. Their name is Valois, they are a four-piece Ottawa band, and I’m going to give you my reaction to them in real time.
They’ve got a great synthy sound, and I love synth. The male vocalist has the whole quirky I-don’t-really-know-how-to-sing-but-here-I-am-doing-it-anyways-David-Byrne-is-my-hero kind of feeling to him. The songs that I’m hearing are pretty great—they’re upbeat but still dreamy.
Then it all changes when the synth player steps up and sings, and out of her mouth come the whispers of an angel. She’s a genuinely amazing singer. If I were someone that makes people famous, I’d be making them change their name from Valois to “Synth-Lady and Friends.” She’s got a soulful sound that is still so sweet, and she’s belting and not fucking up the pitch. A woman looks back at me and she mouths “wow,” and I mouth back, “I know right.”
But here’s the thing: the next song plays, the original vocalist sings, and now I’m cringing. It’s like if a masseuse were to end a massage by giving me a five star.
I would have been fine with his mediocrity if I hadn’t been graced by her vocal presence. And you could see that people in the audience had made the same conclusion, because I saw people wince. That is not an optimal response to have from an audience. But everything had been fine before the synth player graced us. So whatever—if the direction they want their sound to go is weirdo vocals, then fine. It’s really not bad. But they need to not let synth player sing to her fullest, because she makes him look silly.
Second artist to play is Yao. This guy is so cool. His charisma is unreal. The band’s sound can’t really be pegged to one particular genre. He raps a song. I couldn’t vouch for the quality of his rhymes because they’re in French, but the flow is there. He does a song/slam poem about how he wishes men could express their emotions. This guy ends it with the classiest melodramatic cry, and then somehow transitions seamlessly into a dance-y, synth-y song. He just transitioned from a song about toxic masculinity and crying to a feel good electro-dance song. I love this guy. And it doesn’t end. He does reggae, but not before he addresses the Black Lives Matter movement and Black History Month. Oh, and how could I forget: he leaves, comes back with a djembe, and now they’re performing an afro-fusion song. Yes please.
Yao’s energy is great, and I love watching him do his thing, but I do not ever imagine myself listening to a recording of theirs. The lack of genre makes for a great show, but it’s not very accurate to his sound on his albums. His recordings seem to actually be easy-listening poetry rap. And that’s not for me.
So all in all: not a bad experience, the venue was inspired, and the music was pretty good. Valois wasn’t terrible, and not amazing either, but live, Yao had me transfixed.
