French-Canadian rockers Malajube – for my money, one of the best of the many great bands coming out of Montreal these days – were back in town Friday (Nov. 9) for a show at the Empty Bottle. Like the show earlier this year at the Beat Kitchen, this one was high-energy and filled with terrific songs off the 2006 album Trompe L’Oeil, as well as a few I didn’t recognize, including one that was more like straight-up punk than the rest of Malajube’s artsy post-punk. Word is that Malajube will have a new record out by next fall, and I can’t wait.
I showed up halfway through the first band, Light Pollution, who were a likable if not terribly distinctive band of the quasi-orchestral (violins and accordions plus rock) variety. I wouldn’t mind checking them out again. The second band was Chicago’s Jai-Alai Savant, who put on a pretty lively show of classic rock meets dub… or something like that. And best of all, they brought their own lights and briefly illuminated the dim cavern known as the Empty Bottle.
See my photos of Malajube, Light Pollution and the Jai-Alai Savant.