Every artist who even dares think about performing should check out a Femi Kuti performance.

Not only did Femi put on back to back 2 hour plus performances, but he did it with more style and ferocity than I’ve sever seen in a performing artist this year. His concert at the famed Metropolis venue, which fell on my last night in Montreal, was most certainly the highlight of my trip and the best indoor show of the first half of the Festival.

Unfortunately, I missed fellow Nigerian King Sunny Ade’s opening set. However, Femi’s 2 hour plus long salvo made sure that anybody who didn’t stay for the opener got their money’s worth. Femi’s setup is massive: Dancers, Horn Section, Guitarists, and anyone else you could fit on stage. The massive band could overshadow a lesser artist, but the focus this time was all on Femi, who paced the stage, engaging the crowd, and whooping them up into a frenzy, as he switched from saxaphone to his Korg Organ between songs.

My favorite Femi song is Shotan, and Femi did not disappoint viciously destroying the song right in front of my eyes. It was an amazing site.

Unfortunately, since I had to be at the airport at 3AM for my flight, I could not stay for the finale, which came around 1AM or so. Still, the amount of concert I did see was more than enough to hold me over.

So one of the highlights of my trip was going to be covering DC’s own Wale at the Jazz Festival.

Not only would I be in the area while DC was being represented to the fullest in another country, but I can also see how people outside of the DMV respond to the go-go sound that Wale has been dropping during his tour.

Too bad Wale canceled.

I still don’t know why he decided not to come to Montreal. Contract issues? Money? Laziness? Who knows.

The Photo Above is the stage that Wale would’ve played if he came to Montreal. The Bell Stage area can easily fit over 40,000 appreciative fans, and from all of the DM’s I got the morning of, Montreal was more than ready to hear that go-go swing. I’ve heard go-go more than once during my trip to MTL–they love it here, even if they don’t exactly know what it is or who the main players are. Even more reason to educate the world on DC’s premiere musical form.

Go-go should come to Montreal. The Jazz Festival should really look into booking Rare Essence next year, or even the man Chuck himself.

This ain’t your daddy’s Jazz Festival.

Out of all the midnight shows I saw at the Festival, Thunderheist was the most entertaining. The Canadian duo’s homecoming marked the end of their North American tour, and their tour-tested set completely rocked Montreal’s Club Soda last Saturday.

Performance-wise, the group was on point. As I have said before, Isis is the frontwoman of the future, and she was able to shine at the 800 plus person venue. I have to say again that the edition of The Carps’ Jamal Tonge and live synths have propelled their performance to new levels. Show wise, nothing changed from the time I saw them in DC, but unfortunately their short set was a tad more evident at the larger space.

Even if Isis is a killer MC (don’t even front, she can spit rhymes), it’s their newer, pop/dance tracks that will set this group apart. As a producer, Graham is able to switch up his sounds flawlessly, while still maintaining that club appeal, and the new songs seem ready made for radio.

The best moment of the show was their trademark “audience getting on stage” moment during “Jerk It,” which seems to be a band trademark. Unfortunately security didn’t get the memo, and the worry and concern on their faces during the few minutes the audience were on stage was priceless.

All in all, it was a great show, topped by Graham DJing the venue until close. The second highlight of the night had to be when he left yours truly behind the Serato decks for a tense few minutes. I will put on my resume that I’ve “DJed” one of the biggest clubs in Montreal.

All in all, it was a great (albit short) show, and I’m glad I got to see Thunderhiest on their stomping grounds. Again, as I always say, if they are ever in your town, don’t hesitate to be in the building.

The first thing I’ve realized about the Montreal Jazz Festival is that this type of even will never happen in America.

In the US, you need big names on the bill to “sell” people into coming to an event, and yes, the big names came out to Montreal too. Stevie, Tony Bennett, and others made an appearance. But its the sheer love and appreciation for smaller acts on the bill that really sets this music festival apart.

Take the French electro group High Tone. I never heard of them, but in Montreal they are legends. They sold out the venerable Club Soda (a venue that’s a tad smaller than the 9:30 Club but larger than the Black Cat for you DC people) and had people hanging from the rafters in excitement with their combinaiton of dub, electro,  and drum and bass.

High Tone started in France in 1997 and have dropped 4 albums worth of material, giving them ample amount of tracks to play for the very appreciative crowd. The heart of High Tone rests in the drums, which take center stage. The drummer is supplanted by live bass, guitar, synths, and turntables. The setup takes the stoic DJ sets and flips it on its head, and the life instrumentation brings new life into an electronic genre that sometimes seems stale and too reliant on electronic production techniques.

The beginning of the set pulled mainly from their more experimental work, was a little too ambient for my tastes. They went in heavy on the dub and on what I can only call “movie soundtrack” music. Even though the music seems a little lackluster, the combination of live music and samples won me over.

The highlight of the night was toward the end, when the group goes in heavy with live drum and bass with a splash of jungle. Its one thing to do DNB with a DJ, but it’s another thing to experience it live with heavy percussion. The bass provided by both guitar and synths pulsated through the room, giving a sound that could not be replicated by mere turntables alone.

I went into this show with an open mind, and I’m glad I did. High Tone didn’t just crush the boundaries of electronic music, but they also proved that such music can be made beyond the scope of what we all consider to just be “dance.” Check them when they roll through your town.

So I’m not gonna lie, I came into this concert not knowing what to expect. I’ve never heard of the bug, but I was going to give him props anyway because his latest release, titled London Zoo, dropped on the venerable NinjaTune Label, home of such acts as the Herbalizer and Roots Manuva.

Little did I know that The Bug has had a long history in the UK electronic, dubstep and grindcore movements, dropping his first album as Techno Animal way back in 1991. With a legacy so deep, its no matter that a huge crowd packed Montreal’s Club Soda for the Thursday night show.

First thing I noticed from this concert off the bat is that its LOUD. Kevin Martin’s reliance on bass heavy riddims created a thumbing rumble that could almost be heard across the street (seriously). If you didn’t like the sound (complete with blinding floor level strobe lights), too bad. The more  people flinched, the louder he would turn up the music.

But like most DJs, The Bug is only there to spin records. He lets MC Flow Dan and ragga artist Daddy Freddy do the heavy lifting of entertaining the crowd.

Flow Dan took the reigns as the dubstep MC, competently dropping mad rhymes over heavy (yet accessible) dubstep instrumentals. The combination should’ve KILLED the crowd, (which are some of the best and most appreciative that I’ve seen in a while) but Flow Dan’s complete lack of stage presence dampened the mood and completely killed any vibe that the tracks were bringing.

Daddy Freddy, however, was the complete opposite. The dude already held the title of World’s Fastest Rapper, the the energy that he brought into the room did not go unnoticed by the crowd. The quick rhyming over instrumentals that I can only call neo-dub were straight up out of this world.

Having that said, the sensory overload took its toll and I retreated to the back with my new friends and took in the whole show from a decent decibel rating. Taking in the show from a completely different perspective, I was able to take in the sheer voracity of the entertainment below me. I’ve realized that the The Bug  has done what most artists have failed to do–seamlessly integrated Caribbean culture into his set. Unlike some projects that felt forced, the MCs on stage were completely natural and the pace at which they kept with the beat (which never seemed do dip below 100bpm) needs to be rewarded.

The Bug  was a welcome edition to my trip to Montreal. If the Jazz Festival thumps as hard as it did last night (and I know it will) then it’s going to be a great weekend.

So if you didn’t know from the Twitter, I’m heading out to Montreal this weekend to cover the 30th annual Montreal Jazz Festival. Last year I had the opportunity to hang out with Chuck D and Flava Flav of Public Enemy and discovered some new and upcoming talent. This year, I’m checking out Joshua Redman, Thunderheist, Wale, Esmeralda Spaulding, and Femi Kuti among others. Look for more photo diaries and video interviews too. While I’m in MTL, I’m definitely going to peep the latest in streetwear and culture as well.

Montreal readers, hit a brotha up at articleonline [at] gmail [dot] com or @couchsessions on Twitter.

Check out Last Year’s Coverage Here