Rock Music News: Temples @ Fairmount Theatre (2024)

For a band I had always considered to be primarily rock-psychedelia, it’s kind of curious that when Temples arrive on the stage at Fairmount Theatre,… The post Temples @ Fairmount Theatre appeared first on Montreal Rocks.

For a band I had always considered to be primarily rock-psychedelia, it’s kind of curious that when Temples arrive on the stage at Fairmount Theatre,… The post Temples @ Fairmount Theatre appeared first on Montreal Rocks.

Musician Musician
Jun 19, 2023 - 23:35
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Temples @ Fairmount Theatre

For a band I had always considered to be primarily rock-psychedelia, it’s kind of curious that when Temples arrive on the stage at Fairmount Theatre, the setup looks more “Between Two Ferns” than Woodstock. Plastic plants adorn the stage, and the rest of the setup looks fairly minimal; before a note is even played, my preconceived notions of what a Temples show might be like are entirely obliterated! The deep, moody rumbling of “Liquid Air” could almost be Black Rebel Motorcycle Club if not for the salmon-coloured suit of frontman James Bagshaw. With his curly bouffant and thin frame, he bears more than a passing resemblance to The Kooks frontman Luke Pritchard, but his incredible guitar work sets him far above his contemporary in that respect. After moving to the front of the stage, the solo on “Certainty” rips into the faces of the front row, blowing away any cobwebs on this Monday night, as do the filthy Hendrix riffs on “Holy Horses” shortly thereafter. The intricate fingerpicking that accompanies every word on the chorus of “Cicada” is hypnotic and reminds you of the Middle Eastern vibes of Sanskrit-singing 90s hippies, Kula Shaker; a similar thing happens on “Exotico,” actually.

But it’s the diversity of the rest of the set that really catches you by surprise. “Oval Stones” is so poppy and perky that you could be watching Grouplove, while “Slow Days” is so stripped down and lo-fi that it could be Real Estate. “Keep in the Dark” is anthemic, almost mantra-like and cultish; “Afterlife” is so ethereal at the start that it’s bordering on early MGMT. Honestly, there’s so much variety across the set that it feels like you’re watching multiple bands!

Tongue-in-cheek, James declares, “Every night of the tour, this song has a Slayer-like mosh pit… do you wanna feel 16 again?!” A good chunk of the Fairmount crowd oblige as “Hot Motion” rings out (which, to be clear, is actually nothing like a Slayer song), jumping around in the spotlights with grins on their faces the whole time, in what may possibly be the most good-natured mosh pit ever!

Even James soon starts getting in on the act of trying to describe their sound: “This next one is the disco mosh song!” pre-empts “Paraphernalia,” and it’s actually a pretty good synopsis. One jewel in the band’s set is quickly followed by another in the form of the epic “Gamma Rays,” which blows the roof off Theatre Fairmount and rounds out the main set with another massive solo from James.

After one of the loudest “olé olé” chants summons the band back to the stage, “Mesmerise” resumes the storm, eliciting a huge clap-along as James and fellow guitarist Adam blaze out the biggest jam of the night so far before the breakthrough single “Shelter Song” wraps up the show, with James swinging his mic stand through 180° to face the crowd and sing the “ahhhh” outro. It’s an amazing 80 minutes and one of the best shows of the year so far.

Setlist:

  • Liquid Air
  • Certainty
  • Cicada
  • Holy Horses
  • Exotico
  • The Golden Throne
  • Oval Stones
  • Keep in the Dark
  • Slow Days
  • Hot Motion
  • Afterlife
  • Paraphernalia
  • Gamma Rays

Encore:

  • Mesmerise
  • Shelter Song

Review & photos – Simon Williams

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