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Concert reviews Music

Nicolas Jaar left Massey Hall craving more

NICOLAS JAAR and ACTRESS at Massey Hall, Wednesday, October 11. Rating: NNNN


Nicolas Jaar has hinted on social media that his current tour will be his last shows before he “hibernate[s] for five years,” presumably so he can work on new music. No stranger to Toronto, he’s played CODA and Revival in recent years, eventually graduating up to a triumphant show last year at the Danforth Music Hall supporting his 2016 LP Sirens. The stately Massey Hall doesn’t typically host electronic shows, but it was a no-brainer this time – a perfect fit for the Chilean-American musician’s vast soundscapes. 

Opening for Jaar was British electronic artist Actress, aka Darren Cunningham, whose work also explores language and personal identity through an avant-garde lens. Performing in front of a chrome mannequin, he took some time to get going during his all-too-brief 45-minute set. His combination of Blade Runner synths, melancholy piano melodies and cut-up vocal samples eventually won over the early arrivers, even eliciting scattered whoops from the balcony.   

After a quick six-word hello, Jaar wasted no time getting down to business. Silhouetted by a solitary white spotlight, he sent crackling ambient waves over the rapt audience from his console. Taking full advantage of Massey’s pin-drop acoustics, his Latin percussion hit harder and baritone voice rang louder, filling every crevice of the venue. With the luxury of not having a new album to promote, the multi-instrumentalist’s almost two-hour set spanned his entire discography, deftly navigating between his more experimental compositions and four-on-the-floor dance anthems.

Over the course of two studio records, two soundtracks, a string of EPs, and a handful of guest mixes, Jaar has shown that he wears ambition well, and that showed in his multi-faceted performance. 

Three Sides Of Nazareth and the Spanish-sung No (both of which reference Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet) received the biggest reactions from the audience. Jaar left his control centre to stalk the stage bathed in red light during the former and crouched into his best Gollum impression during the latter. For the proto-punk-leaning The Governor, he bleated out the song’s eerie squawks on a baritone saxophone. He also demonstrated his knack as a skilled selector with his house-friendy edit of American gospel singer LaShun Pace’s It’s Me Oh Lord.

Capping the night with a euphoric, strobe-lit rendition of 2011 fan favourite Space Is Only Noise If You Can See (the lyric “Read the news baby, read the news” feeling especially ominous), and an untitled new track, his show proved that he’s still got plenty of ideas worth exploring. It just might be later rather than sooner before we hear them on stage. 

music@nowtoronto.com | @Max_Mertens

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