The Stills get back to their Brooklyn roots

September 18, 2008, at Williamsburg Music Hall

Vive le Quebec! French Canadian new wavers the Stills have a soft spot for the ‘burg. It was here the band recorded their first record and played their earliest gigs. “This song’s about Williamsburg,” guitar/vocalist Dave Hamelin said beaming midway through their set, “It’s called ‘Being Here’.” And here I had thought they just wanted to make us feel special. The uplifting power-pop track may have been written for the likes of the hipster elite but still, the Stills are no Interpol and no, they don’t wear suits.

The Montreal rockers flaunted a stage presence strikingly reminiscent to the Clash. It’s no wonder an encounter with Joe Strummer was the second best day of their lives (the first being a recent Quebec City gig where they opened for Paul McCartney). It was obvious the five-piece entourage pride themselves on being true musicians and I always find it refreshing to see a live act sans the laptop — especially in Williamsburg. Two Gibson guitars, a Fender Jazz bass, a mean set of keys and massive hypnotic drum lines made for the kind of aesthetic that we oftentimes find missing from live shows today.

Musicianship continued when Hamelin put down his guitar and busted out a snare was for the brooding Floydian track “Snakecharming the Masses”, another track off their newly released album Oceans Will Rise (Arts & Crafts). Mesmerized, the hipsters were almost dead silent by the end of the song. “It’s awfully quiet in here,” smirked frontman Tim Fletcher as he attempted to wake the crowd from its daze. The combination of soft glowing gold microphone stands, rotating white star lights, and a skull on the face of the drum kit only added to the effect.

Under the spell of the Stills and fully succumbed, I was dancing to the notoriously wicked rock stomp single, “Still in Love” before I even knew it. “Je t’aime!” I joked like a teenager as they delved into “Retour a Vega” a little number en Français of course. Who would have thought French Canadians could be so friendly. The Stills were all smiles — interacting with the crowd and articulating their wit, all the while astounding us with their prowess. “Thank you New York, you guys are always the most beautiful people,” Fletcher flattered us with his charismatic French accent. Aw, shucks. “See you Saturday at Bowery Ballroom!” The band is set to play another New York gig at one of their favorite venues.

The show finished with “Hands on Fire” another track expressing the symbolic and political nature of their new record. “This is a song about guilt and I know you guys are all guilty people,” Fletcher teased, “ and so am I.” Not so political were the opening bands. The Kiss Off kicked off the night sounding a little more on the Yeah Yeah Yeahs side than revolutionaries — although they did encourage us to register to vote after their set. Chief was the band of brothers for blue collar ‘70s throwback rock. True working class heroes indeed. The Stills quality show rendered the missing link and proved they’ve still got it. Merci beaucoup, au revoir!

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