Those Inches In Between Us Are Really Miles

The Russian Futurists @ Club Lambi, Montreal 10/6/2006
2 Dots On A Map / Let’s Get Ready To Crumble / Paul Simon / Our Pen’s Out Of Ink / Precious Metals / It’s Not Really Cold When It Snows / Your Big Brown Eyes and My Big Broke Heart / Keep Your Pecker In Your Pants / Still Life / Mind’s Dying Verse (You And The Wine)

The Russian Futurists “2 Dots On A Map” – The Russian Futurists perform live as a quartet of keyboard players with drum machines, and as can be expected, the sound is a bit thin and lacking in spontaneous energy. Lucky for them, their songs and the leader Matt Hart’s sheer likeability on stage is enough to overcome (or at least overshadow) most of their problems as a performance group. The setlist was well considered, drawing from all three of their albums and featuring the debut of a new number apparently titled “Keep Your Pecker In Your Pants” (it’s hard to tell how serious Hart was being, especially since he introduced the following song as an improvised jam.) The gentle muted yearning of “2 Dots On A Map” made for a curious opener, but it’s the song that has stuck with me in the past two days, and it’s probably going to end up being tied in my memory to this Montreal trip for the rest of my life. (Click here to buy it from Insound.)

Cadence Weapon “Sharks (Russian Futurists remix)” – In the context of the Upper Class showcase, The Russian Futurists were less of a headliner and more of a come-down act following Cadence Weapon, who came strong with another high energy set blending punk performance style with heavy electronic beats and aggressive rapping. A third of the set came from his album Breaking Kayfabe (“Sharks,” “Oliver Square,” “Black Hand”), but the rest were impressive new songs, most of which I saw him play in Texas at SXSW in March. As opposed to that modestly attended show (slack should be cut — he was on immediately after Ghostface in an adjacent venue and playing simultaneous with about a billion other bills, SXSW is totally unforgiving), Club Lambi was full of eager fans and curious newcomers who gave Canada’s best hip hop artist (not faint praise, I promise) the response that he deserved. (Click here for the official Cadence Weapon site.)

Professor Murder “Free Stress Test” – There’s nothing wrong with Professor Murder’s debut EP, but it can’t help but sound a bit flat in comparison to their sweaty, superkinetic live set. Nearly every song finds the band with a new configuration of instruments, but the focus is simple and direct – rhythms and hooks, rhythm and hooks, rhythm and hooks. With some luck their next recording will capture a bit more of their personality and won’t just make them sound like yet more members of the Liquid Liquid fan club, and hopefully they will have the presence of mind to integrate the frontman’s recurring cry “We’re Professor Murder!!!” into the record as well. (Click here to buy it from Insound.)