Like the Igloofest, the Taverne Tour traditionally rings the bell for the return to winter with music. A month after digesting the holiday break, it’s time to get off the sofa, put on your coat and go out to see the world and the musicians. Time to start living again with live music and cheerful crowds.
Alas, not this year: after having stalled in 2021 due to the pandemic, the sixth edition of the Taverne Tour wanted to reconnect with the public and artists frequenting small performance halls, which are still under the yoke of health restrictions. . The event will take place exceptionally online, while waiting for sunny days.
In 2020, the Taverne Tour had been one of the last music festivals to take place in Montreal before the start of the pandemic.
“This year, we thought it would be possible to return to normal, knowing that there were still risks”, explains Marilyne Lacombe, director of programming with Philippe Larocque, of the Taverne Tour.
The Omicron variant
“At the origin of the event, there was the idea of bringing as many people as possible into the small rooms” on rue Saint-Denis, avenue du Mont-Royal and boulevard Saint-Laurent. “It just doesn’t work with social distancing — it’s still very festive, the event is not very ‘COVID friendly”… »
The enticing poster, initially unveiled last November, featured 75 different artists. “We were surprised by the Omicron variant…” says Philippe Larocque.
Marilyne Lacombe and he therefore had to imagine this version “in the matrix” of the Taverne Tour, reduced to fourteen concerts, all pre-recorded in different participating venues and which will be broadcast free of charge today and tomorrow on the Quebec virtual space Open Air and, with access to Thepointofsale.com.
New performance halls (the Sala Rossa, in particular) have been created on the virtual map of Montreal in Open Air to welcome spectators.
30 minute performance
It will begin at 8 p.m. Friday evening, with a performance by electronic pop singer-songwriter Andy Jon, captured at Chez Baptiste. All performances last about 30 minutes. This was followed by the excellent and versatile synth expert Sheenah Ko (from the Verre Bouteille), the garage of Gus Englehorn (from the Saint-Sacrement tavern), the refined pop of Julia Daigle (from the Diving Bell Social Club), the rap of Emma Beko (from Sala Rossa) and the psychedelic rock of Atsuko Chiba (from the Ministry).
The next day, Alicia Clara (pop, from Diving Bell), Seul (experimental song, from L’Escogriffe), Alias (garage rock, from Pub West Shefford), N Nao (avant-garde pop, du Quai des Brumes), Thisquietarmy X Away (drone/metal, from Sala Rossa) and finally the young Montreal revelation Skiifall.
The Skiifall concert, whose rap sound infused with Caribbean influences from his native island (Saint Vincent) captured the attention of the British music industry, was the last to be pre-recorded last Tuesday at the Belmont.
“It should have been the first headlining show of his career,” notes Philippe Larocque, who adds that this online version of the festival was put together in just two weeks, a reminder of the spectacular efforts that the independent music scene of Quebec has had to deploy for two years to keep its head above water.
A scene to rebuild
The latest announcements concerning the easing of sanitary measures do not allow either the Taverne Tour to truly be reborn, in flesh, bones and beers served in bars, nor to small performance venues to breathe a little.
“Honestly, we’ll see how well the rooms will be able to open and if people will be there, but everyone in the industry agrees that we can’t wait to get back to the maximum of our capacity as soon as possible. quickly,” says Jon Weisz, executive director of the group Les Scènes de musique alternatives du Québec (SMAQ).
Regarding the small venues that his grouping represents, “most of them want to reopen [à compter du 7 février]regardless of the gauge, even without selling alcohol, as long as public aid continues to support us”.
One of these aids offered by the Société de développement des entreprises culturelle (SODEC) indirectly finances (through producers and entertainment agents), but in an essential way, small performance venues: temporary aid for performance music and variety shows.
We will see how well the rooms will be able to open and if people will be there, but […] we can’t wait to get back to the maximum of our capacity
However, the community is waiting to know if the aid will be extended beyond the scheduled deadline of March 31, 2022. “These fees make it possible to pay the expenses related to the operation of the hall” and to continue to pay salaries to the artists as well as workers in the field.
SMAQ members now want this type of funding to continue, not only after March 31, but for a long time to come, says Jon Weisz.
“The next few months will still be difficult. What we and several other community associations are saying to the Ministry of Culture is that we still have at least three years to rebuild the community, in terms of attendance at shows, financial stabilization and manpower. ‘work. I fear there is a mental health crisis in our workforce. We have already lost many workers in the cultural sector, whom it will be difficult to find. »