Flamboyant cowboy Orville Peck performed at the Montreal International Jazz Festival Friday night, a year after canceling his appearance due to physical and mental health concerns. Last year at this time, he was at his worst, he told the huge crowd gathered at Place des Festivals. “I’m healthier now,” he said, “and happier.”
Orville Peck made a surprising entrance, to the sound of No, I do not regret anything by Edith Piaf. A surprising choice for a guy who makes country music. Except that this guy doesn’t make country music like the others. His songs stand out for their cinematic character and his often ample singing, capable of going from low to high notes.
Read “A Cowboy Like No Other”
What we appreciate about him on record, however, proved to be a drag on stage. Perhaps an outdoor festival was not the best setting for his generally sophisticated songs. Perhaps it was the fault of the surprisingly unrefined sound system on Friday. Perhaps our expectations were too high… But his concert was not the great musical moment we had hoped for.
Orville Peck didn’t hold back, delivering a performance that sometimes had panache. He bit ferociously into Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Otheran ironic piece about cowboy love. It was impressive in C’mon Baby, Crya particularly theatrical song, where his singing must keep its finesse in the highest notes. He was touching in Hexie Mountainswhere he mentions an episode of depression.
PHOTO MARIKA VACHON, THE PRESS
Orville Peck on Festival Square, Friday evening
However, he never managed to create an atmosphere that came close to the seductive universe of his records. In the less good moments, his voice lacked a lot of accuracy and it was often worse when his backing singer got involved. Too bad, for an artist who was specifically noted for his vocal qualities. It was particularly disappointing during Dead of Nightwhich is nevertheless one of his most powerful songs. It was also played in an extremely labored manner by his group…
One thing you have to give Orville Peck is that the level of difficulty of his songs is higher than that of the average pop, country or rock singer. Still, on Friday, he often sounded like a singer with a tired voice, forced to push to get the necessary power. Or like a singer who couldn’t hear himself… His surprisingly uninspired band didn’t help him much throughout this too-often graceless concert.
He recovered at the end of the course with Daytona Sandenergetic and fair, and above all with Let Me Drown. This was the only song where we heard Orville Peck with all the panache he is capable of. It was very late, because it was the penultimate song of a concert unfortunately very disappointing…