GAMIQ 2010: WINNERS & PERFORMANCES RECAP
“This is a different sort of event,” Rej Laplanche, longtime VJ for Quebec’s music television station Musique Plus, joked, “we don’t wait until the end of the gala to party.” In true Quebecor fashion, he encouraged the crowd that had packed into the Just for Laugh’s hall to order a drink for Sunday night’s festivities. The GAMIQ – which translates into the alternative gala for quebec independent music, although the Gala alternatif de la musique indépendante du Québec remains the official English title – is a pointed answer to mainstream music awards, from a province that prides itself for its distinct, vibrant culture. As explained in our pre-GAMIQ article available here, nominees were limited to artists based in Quebec who do not receive large amounts of mainstream media attention; sounds like someone at enmusique.ca, which organized the event, felt an awards show without Celine Dion, Simple Plan, or Arcade Fire was necessary. Thankfully.
Not only was the audience – a mix of media, artists, and fans willing to pay the nominal $5.00 entrance fee – encouraged to drink throughout the event, but organizers incorporated musical acts to keep the already fun awards show interesting. The Cabaret’s house band Keuk was set up in front of the soundstage, allowing the main acts to take the stage. Nominees Dramatik, Le Kraken and Royaume des morts all performed – but Trigger Effect demanded the attention of everyone in the Cabaret when they stormed the stage, frontman jumping into the crowd, pouring beer everywhere, and then setting down their instruments after only a minute of loud, obnoxious music. Winners We Are Wolves (Electro-Rock Album of the Year) and francophone old school rock ‘n roller Sunny Duval (Best Rock Album) proved why they’ve been gaining reputations in and around the province, while Fred Fortin put on one of the most thoughtful sets of the night, proving why he would later walk away with the Songwriter of the Year Award. The only act that really dropped the ball were the final performers, Death Boat, whose schticky costumes and two drummers did little to make up for mediocre metal. For photos of all performers, click here!
The first winner of the night was the hardworking Random Recipe, who have toured hard this year, in the ‘Rising Star of the Year’ Category. Le Husky’s ‘La fuite’ picked up Pop Album of the Year. Best Punk Album went, as many predicted, to ‘Zombie Nation’ by The Brains. Polish-born, french-speaking folk artist Bernard Adamus was the big winner of the night, walking away with four of the koala like antlered critter trophies for the Folk/Country Album of the Year for ‘Brun’, Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Song of the Year (la question a 100 piasses – also a Radio Canada’s Prix Etoiles Galaxie winner), and Artist of the Year. His domination of the awards was no surprise to those who have seen him enjoy similar recognition at Montreal’s Francofolies and the Festival en chanson de Petite-Vallée – although the recognition didn’t seem to faze the tall, unassuming man one way or another; he refused photos immediately after his Artist of the Year award, and didn’t hesitate to help pick up the remnants of a beer bottle that had shattered in front of us immediately after he picked up his song of the year award.
The always cocky boys from Acadian hip hop trio Radio Radio was the second most decorated act of the night, their Polaris prize nominated album ‘Belmundo Regal’ winning Hip-Hop Album of the Year while the video for ‘Dekshoo’ brought home the Video of the Year prize. The older gentlemen of The Besnard Lakes beat out the younger generation consisting of the brilliant Plants and Animals and the ever-touring Hollerado for the much-coveted Indie Rock Album of the Year and the 200+ person jury selected by the GAMIQ took a similar route – awarding the established act Despised Icon’s ‘Day of Mourning’ for what will be the metal band’s final album. Any resentment I have for the good folks at GAMIQ for disregarding Priestess’s ‘Prior to the Fire’ or Plants and Animals’ ‘La La Land’ is cancelled out by the relief I felt while one of the gents from electro-jazz(!? – awesome, right?) outfit Misteur Valaire criticized Montreal’s new sound laws. My faith in the GAMIQ was more than restored when overrated Silly Kissers front man Sean Nicholas Savage failed to top any of the three categories he was nominated for – the hipster has been making waves with his debut album Movin Up In Society, but his group Silly Kissers lack stage presence or a cohesive sound while Savage’s solo shows tend to lapse into something worse than bad karaoke. Photos of all winners can be found here!
All in all, this year’s GAMIQ winners were well-selected – they crowned established artists, while crediting up and comers with a few nods. If the artists featured in the laid-back awards ceremony seemed concentrated on the island of Montreal that’s because, well, they are. Montreal is where Canadian artists – French and English alike – flock. The GAMIQ had better be careful in their selection process – there are a hell of a lot of music makers and lovers who meticulously follow the going-ons at Montreal venues. To echo Misteur Valaire’s thoughts, it is telling that the event was held at the Just for Laughs studio. At the end of the month, the Just For Laughs Cabaret – a medium sized venue that has recently hosted Melissa Auf der Maur and Sarah Harmer – is closing due to bankruptcy. It is not the first venue on St Laurent to close its doors – Bar Saint Laurent 2 and indie playhouse The Green Room have both shut down this year, for different reasons. If events like the GAMIQ prove one thing, it’s that there is no shortage of talented musicians!
For a complete list of GAMIQ winners visit GAMIQ.net.
For all the photos of the night click on the link below:
Category: Photo Updates, Reviews
