Back when the DJ kept on talking
A litany of inevitable incidents. There we are; today can be categorized. From the return of Brett Favre to Lambeau Field (dressed in Viking colours) to the reelection of the local mayor (with returns currently at 80% in his column, he has the anticipated coronation) and on to the gala for ADISQ (local music awards).
Only the ADISQ really left me feeling that there is some justice in my world. Although my children mock the winners (too popular to be really musical), I enjoy seeing the people behind the voices on my MP3 player. Some like to put a name to the face; I prefer identifying the voice.
The show was animated (and that’s not an attempt at translation) by Louis-José Houde. Sometimes a good joke can be as much fun as a good musical performance, and he even closed the show with a drum solo. In between, some really tongue in cheek nods to those who have (perhaps) allowed their musical career to carry self-importance all the way to high C.
Impossible to ignore some of the cast: Jean Leloup as King Louis XIV reincarnated. During his performance, I realized that he raises my stress level. Beatrice Martin (aka Coeur de Pirate): who knew that she was too shy to speak coherently? The duo of Ima and Florence K: a perfect marriage of whipped cream and a really good deep-dish dessert. Ginette Reno: on either stage (she was visited in concert early in the telecast, and returned to assume her place as the doyenne after the break). Mes Aieux: traditional music will alway carry the crowd. A particular hat’s off to Mara Tremblay, who has moved beyond her niche as a fiddler and released an album that works.
Louis-José mentioned how our listening habits have really changed, now that we can “carry all our music with us, all of the time”. He recalled the effort necessary, a generation ago, to capture your favourite song from the radio. Hours of waiting, ready to pounce on the record button, but unable to gag the DJ who used your song as a bed for his monologue. Too true to ever be forgotten.
