Some Hearts Are True: A Silver Mount Zion + The Witchies at Sala Rossa

Spirits converged upon the old Spanish social club once again last night for the Suoni Per Il Popolo festival, to be immersed in the magnetism of a group of musicians partially responsible for building the foundation of the Montreal music community. There was a sign on the door that read “100% Sold Out” and people on the street were asking over and over for tickets (at one point some dude actually asked the bass player from one of the bands if he had extra tickets!) My nerves were jittery from too much coffee, but also, I believe, from the energy that was circulating around the venue last night in anticipation for the show…

A Silver Mount Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra La La Band (aka SMZ) joined up with good friends The Witchies for what turned out to be an incredible show, complete with a record number of broken guitar strings and a catharsis one might not find in many other circumstances.

The stage was packed with amplifiers, keyboards and microphones - there almost wasn’t enough room on the stage for the performers. I thought to myself, “maybe the instruments might play themselves tonight”. The audience was mostly seated on the floor, resting their legs and waiting for the first act to begin. The sound of flute music from the house speakers helped me get over my coffee jitters and the wind timbres returned me to my senses. I was reminded of the short film “What They Ate” (created by Nadia Moss of The Witchies along with Automatic Vaudeville) as the music became more atmospheric just before the band arrived on stage.

The Witchies is a new project put together by Chad Jones (Frankie Sparo) and Nadia Moss. The bass lines for the most part were aptly covered by the synth, aside from one tune where Moss picked up a bass guitar. They conjured a late 70’s mod-rock cum new-wave feel, something like Velvet Underground meets The Cure meets New Order. They had great control over their dynamics (considering it was their second show ever – the band formed via telephone in 2007) letting feedback ring out from their amps just enough before pulling the sound back.

They really got into the pocket around the fourth song, about the time someone shouted “SWEET JANE!!” from the audience (note: I had thought of the Velvet Underground connection before this happened!). Song six had a really nice change in the middle of the song, that included a catchy dance beat and a definite head nod towards their new wave influences. I noticed a small notebook sitting on top of Chad’s guitar amp that he referenced a few times throughout the set, possibly to recall song lyrics. It just reminded me how fresh the band really was and how they have got their sound together quite nicely, especially after playing only two shows. Plus, they had a number of people in the audience dancing along.

Shortly after the break, members of SMZ slowly started to stroll onto the stage, making adjustments to positions of microphones, turning on amplifiers, bringing instruments out and patiently tuning up their guitars as they played along with the house music. They took their time getting ready, until eventually the house lights went down and there we were, standing face to face with three of the founding members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor (Efrim, Thierry & Sophie), one founding member of Constellation Records (Ian) and their closest friends (Beckie, Jessica & Eric).

They started the set with a new song called Metal Birds which held a steady seven-four rhythm throughout the song. This was one of their longer compositions, moving from intense drumming to soft string sections and back again into heavy rhythmic playing. At times it seemed that the song had ended, yet before long they would return to the initial motif of the piece and hook you back into the complex time signature. When the song did, in fact, end, a dead silence followed the huge applause before they went ahead to play the track Could Have Moved Mountains which starts off with counterpoint voices, sung gently by Efrim and Thierry. The song evolved into a gorgeous four-part harmony with Sophie, Beckie, Jessica & Efrim singing the title of the track together before they seamlessly transitioned into a new song.

Moments of pure bliss were intertwined with deep grooves that had you dancing with eyes closed and reckless abandon. The music of A Silver Mount Zion has the ability to heal you; to draw out your deepest emotions, fears, reverence, and ultimately leads one to catharsis – if you allow it. The band continued to play numbers such as Mountains Made of Steam, One Million People Died, and followed through in a beautiful encore with the track Blind Blind Blind, that had everyone clapping together and singing “Some Hearts Are True” over and over again. Yes, the hearts of the members of SMZ are very true.

We left the venue slowly when the concert finished, and as I saw my friend Nader, also coming out of the show, we had to share a hug and acknowledge the energy and love that this kind of music can bring into one’s life. Thanks to the musicians for creating it.

Read Risa Dickens’ review of this very same show here.