MUSIC PREVIEW: Québécois chanteuse plays International Women’s Day
Cœur de pirate (aka Beatrice Martin) headlines Winspear Centre Friday night – it happens to be International Women’s Day – as part of the SkirtsAfire festival, an all-women arts festival in Edmonton.
She’s touring to support her fifth album, last year’s En cas de tempête, ce jardin sera fermé. It means “In case of storm, this garden will be closed.”
Born in Outrement, Quebec, just Northwest of Montreal proper, Martin began playing the piano when she was just three years old, and studied at the famed Conservatoire de Musique du Quebec á Montreal for five years, from ages nine to 14. Subjected to a broad group of influences, her first band experience was playing keyboards in a post-hardcore project. Within a few years she released her debut eponymous album, lauded by critics, and which also got significant notice from notable award organizations. Her delightful blend of indie, folk, and pop continues to this day.
Surprisingly never nominated for a Juno, Cœur de pirate, who sings in both French and English both on her records and live, still has a long list of accolades, including Felix (handed out to Quebecois artists) nominations and wins from 2009 through 2012, and five nominations (including one win) from the Canadian Independent Music Awards. Her 2008 eponymous and 2011 Blonde album also both made the Polaris long list. She’s sold well past a million albums worldwide, with three albums being rated as platinum here in Canada (including 2015’s Roses), as well as gold or platinum in Belgium and France. She’s an enchantress, a vocalist extraordinaire if you will, and an incredible songwriter. She’s an incredibly talented individual, and a captivating presence on stage and in person.
And, hey, if you show up just a little early, Edmonton’s very own indie-Brit-rock King Of Foxes (Olivia Street) will be performing in the lobby before the main event. There’s also theatre shows occurring throughout SkirtsAfire, check out their website for more information, or read the latest PlayBot for Edmonton theatre info.
Tickets to the 8 pm show are $28 and up, BUY.
Thursday 7
Barney Bentall and the Legendary Hearts – This pop-rock band was all over the Canadian charts in the late 1980s and well into the 1990s, with songs like Something To Live For, Life Could Be Worse, and Crime Against Love. While Bentall himself has continued to release solo material through even just a couple of years ago, the original band continues to tour based on their catalog of five studio albums. Station On Jasper, 7 pm, $34. BUY
Julius Sumner Miller – This Calgary-based punk rock quintet leaves it all out on the stage, bared raw and sweaty for their devotees. Seth Anderson also performs. Buckingham, 8 pm, $10. BUY
Friday 8
Tri-Continental – This collaborative venture brings together three epic Canadian singer-songwriters in a supergroup of sorts, featuring Bill Bourne (vocals, acoustic guitars, fiddle), Lester Quitzau (vocals, slide guitars, acoustic and electric guitars, kalimba), and Madagascar Slim (vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, kalimba) in a delightful milkshake of folk, blues, and world music. It’s part of the New Moon Folk Club series, so if you weren’t sure already based on the names involved, you know it’s going to be good. St. Basil’s Cultural Centre, 6:30, $25. SOLD OUT.
Kick Axe and Helix – This pair of Canadian heavy metal acts came roaring onto on the scene in the mid-‘80s, with Regina’s Kick Axe releasing such songs as Heavy Metal Shuffle and On the Road To Rock. Their tourmates, Kitchener’s Helix, is best known for 1984’s Rock You. Century Casino, 8 pm, $60. BUY
Saturday 9
Body Lens – If you’re up for something a little bit different, slightly alternative, very experimental, this might be the show for you, with gloomy guitars and vocals sung through an archaic telephone receiver. Counterfeit Jeans and Boothman are also on the bill at the Sewing Machine Factory, 8:30 pm, $10.
Squids – This is a little more trippy, a little more on the psych-atmospheric bent. Synths and vocals take centre stage as the band attempts to take you to other worlds – or perhaps, deep, deep undersea. With Pike, Will Scott Band, and a Sahib DJ set. Polar Park Brewing, 8 pm, $12.
