Funk Punk

I was at the Garrison Thursday night to see some fusion music. That may sound a big strange but an is a succint description of co-headliners Duchess Says and Yamatanka//Sonic Titan. Duchess Says came on first, despite having the larger fan-base, probably because Titan's stage set-up is quite involved.

Duchess Says combines punk with synth and even some pseudo-scatting. There was plenty of furious guitars, drums, and ragged singing but since they were laid over a foundation of synth chords and effects there was a fun danceability to their songs. This was emphasized by the singer Annie-Claude Deschênes who often went into the crowd, à la Rich Aucoin, to engage them with dancing, singing, and various props including inflatable musical instruments.

Yamatanka melds metal, Eastern concepts, and Indigenous singing and hand drumming. They exploded onto the scene and have been Polaris nominated twice. Tonight's set was similar to recent ones where the new material emphasized the more metal aspects. This shift occurred after one of the founders/singer left. Though their shows are still compelling, it's time for me to acknowledge that, similar to Hooded Fang, their sound has diverged from their origin. Which is to say, thanks for the great memories and I hope they continue to have success, but these are no longer "my bands".