O CANADA AT AN EMPTY BIG O
Pretaped concert to mark holiday
Canada Day celebrations in Montreal take on a new look and feel this year in response to pandemic restrictions.
Past events unfolded under the stars in the Old Port, but this time a lineup of Quebec singer-songwriters took turns performing in the cavernous, empty Olympic Stadium. Performances were captured on five cameras, and the 60-minute show will be webcast on Wednesday.
“There were two crews. One to disinfect and make sure distancing measures were respected, and another crew to film the performances,” show producer and Tandem Communication president Stéphane Guertin said.
Guertin was part of a pan-canada committee put in place by Heritage Canada to come up with alternate plans for multiple, virtual celebrations reflecting the country’s different regions.
Woven through the 60 minutes are vox-pop moments featuring a diverse group of Montrealers talking about their city and their country.
On the performance roster are Martha and Rufus Wainwright, Patrick Watson, Elisapie, Charlotte Cardin and Hubert Lenoir.
“I think of the performances as unplugged,” Guertin said.
“When Patrick Watson performed he said ‘oh, there’s an echo in here’ and then just worked with it.”
Guertin said a number of relaxed interactions between artists and musicians made the final cut.
“It creates a mood,” he said. “There is an intimacy to it.”
Guertin said the echoing Olympic Stadium, bereft of a crowd to absorb the vibrations, is symbolic of the isolation so many are experiencing these days.
“The Olympic Stadium sits empty. We are supposed to be together. Instead we stand alone,” he said.
A team of 60 pulled together the event in a record four weeks, sifting through myriad considerations, like what should be done if someone in the crew or onstage became ill.
The lineup offers a variety of approaches to the singer-songwriter genre.
“It’s a show I want people to be excited about. I want them to stay watching. I want them to remember it for a long time,” Guertin said.
Siblings Rufus and Martha Wainwright are music royalty who have forged successful solo careers and often collaborate.
Lenoir is the new kid on the block. His distinctive style turned heads from the moment his 2018 debut album Darlène made the Polaris Prize shortlist and won multiple Prix Félix at the ADISQ gala. The album has been described as “some sort of postmodern opera about an entire generation’s coming of age.”
Inuk singer/songwriter Elisapie now calls Montreal home. Her folk music is shaped, in part, by her roots and deep connection with the music of the Far North.
Charlotte Cardin was a contestant on TVA’S reality singing competition La Voix. The title track of her first EP Big Boy was a hit, which led to a tour of the United States and Europe in 2018.
The quartet Patrick Watson, named for the frontman, offers indie rock and pop with classical underpinnings. Watson was born and raised in the United States, but now calls Hudson home.
The 60-minute webcast of the Canada Day in Montreal event takes place July 1 at 7 p.m. Watch at www.canadadaymtl.ca, on Facebook @feteducanadamontreal or Instagram @feteducanadamtl.