Les DeuxLuxes Rocks The Great Hall
written by Michelle Samcoe
It’s 10 PM on the Friday of Canadian Music Week and people are slowly trickling into The Great Hall. A drum kit is loaded just off to the side at the front of the stage, but the crowd, still buried in conversation, doesn’t really notice the unusual setup. Bristol board lettering outlined in glitter is taped to the drumhead. It reads “Les Deuxluxes”.
A man and woman walk on stage and there is no question that they’re about to deliver a rock show. Under their leather and fringe jackets, both sport glitter shirts that match the name on their bass drum. With their first note, they’ve commanded the room’s attention. By the end of their first song, they’ve managed to peel all of the wallflowers to the centre of the room. It’s the kind of beat you can’t physically resist moving to.
The Montreal-based duo, consisting of members Anna Frances Meyer and Étienne Barry, kick off their set with enormous energy. The first song comes to an end and Barry, still seated at his drums, reaches for a guitar. But he’s not about to switch instruments to show his musicality- he’s about to play them at the same time. And if that’s not enough to completely blow your mind, he sings too. He’s the definition of a triple threat on stage at any single moment. It would be impossible to peel your eyes away from him, if not for his equally enthralling band mate. Meyer not only delivers flawless vocals and catchy riffs, swaying there in a fringe suit she’s both softly sensual and a total badass- the kind of front woman who makes you question how anyone could even think rock n’ roll is a boys’ club.
The crowd is growing more and more captivated by the set. People are dancing and filming, but Les DeuxLuxes wants more. They toss in a song in French, and with bilingualism being fairly rare in the Toronto music scene, it’s a nice reminder of the diverse talent that CMW will show you. Then it’s time to kick it up to the “heart attack” phase of their set. Leading the crowd in clapping and singing along, Les DeuxLuxes are giving their all on stage and want an audience performance to match. Needing the crowd to let loose, they scream, “show us your balls, Toronto!” The audience loves it, howling along and stepping up their participation to be as bold as the performers.
Automatically when thinking of a rock power couple meets two-person band, it’s easy to want to compare them to The White Stripes. But honestly, it would be unfair to call them anything less than totally original. From the way they own the stage, you would think they had been playing sold-out stadiums for years, but the band has yet to release their first album. The title track off the fall 2016 release, however, came out this past week. Check out “Springtime Devil”, as well as the band’s EP Traitement Deuxluxes. You’re probably going to want to keep an eye on these two, because with talent and dedication like theirs’, they’re bound to be huge.
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written by Michelle Samcoe