ep launch
EP Launch Show at The Zoo
After touring our EP down the East Coast of Australia for the last two weeks we got home yesterday. We’ll post about the tour a little later but this one’s all about the Brisbane launch.
To each one of the more than 450 people who made it along to The Zoo on March 5 we’d like to thank you for making our EP launch an amazing night for us. Thanks to Timothy Carroll and Tin Can Radio for playing some incredible music on the night as well.
Here are some photos and a few videos from the show. Andrew Tallon and Elleni Toumpas were great behind the lens as always. Check out their work!
Sydney EP Launch
Last Friday we played our Sydney EP Launch show at The Gaelic Theatre in Surry Hills. First off, The Gaelic is a very very cool venue. Thanks to everyone who made it to the show. We had a great night. Music Feeds was there and this is what they had to say. Thanks for the kind words Shestyn.
I like Montpelier. I don’t know whether it’s their beautiful music or that they’re a bunch of good-looking, well-dressed young blokes. Either way, the fondness exists. Okay, so pretty faces aside…
Whether you’re a fan of sentimental indie pop (think Death Cab for Cutie) or passionate indie rock (Arcade Fire style), the Brisbane band caters for all with an individual sound that encapsulates both and then some. Their songs aren’t your standard clone pop numbers, yet are catchy enough to imagine on some top twenty music list. This charming quality carried across from their debut self-titled EP to its Sydney launch at The Gaelic Theatre Friday night.
Montpelier are an act worth seeing live. Vocalist Greg Chiapello has a powerful, stirring voice that is a great asset to the band, and their passion and talent carries across in their performance with heartfelt precision. They played songs from the EP such as the Celtic-flavoured ‘Take A Picture’ (reminiscent of The Pogues) and a selection of other songs, ranging from a bluesy number to the nostalgic ‘Last Boat’. I would have liked to have heard even more of the EP though – don’t hold back, fellas!
Preceded by rock band Sunroom, the contrast in atmosphere and audience with Montpelier was astonishing (exchange Tool t-shirts and mosh pit for composed kids wearing glasses and pretty dresses). Their lyrics are wistful and poetic, revealing that those of the male species can be as profound and romantic as the rest of us. Strong drums and guitar amplified the rock element, while melodious keyboard and persistent harmonies reinforced the sentimentality. The intimate Gaelic Theatre provided a fitting atmosphere for the emotional intensity that comes across with Montpelier.
Montpelier left the best until last with ‘The Rafters’, a catchy tune marked by a fantastic keyboard riff and the subtle vocals of Dave Butler. The song was welcomed with crowd-clapping and dancing and finished with a communal chorus singing “oh-oh-ohhh…”. I amusingly recalled singing along in the same passionate way listening to their EP in my bedroom. Montpelier are proficient at spirited, anthemic phrases which draw the crowd into their colourful world of “comets” and “fireworks”.
A talented bunch, Montpelier have great potential and are one to watch. The next step is getting their music heard, so let’s all sing along—in, and out, of our bedrooms. In their words: “let the music play, doesn’t matter where you are.”
You can read it online here: http://musicfeeds.com.au/gig/montpelier-ep-launch-the-gaelic-theatre-120310/
EP Launch – The Zoo – 05/03/10
| What | EP Launch |
| When |
Friday, March 5, 2010
|
| Where |
711 Ann St, Fortitude Valley
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia 4006 |
| Info | Montpelier launch their debut EP at The Zoo. Supporting on the night are Timothy Carroll and Tin Can Radio. Buy pre-sale tickets here: http://zoo.oztix.com.au/default.aspx?Event=14259 Pre-sale is for the cool kids. And they're cheaper! |
Interview With Greg on Music Feeds
Online music publication Music Feeds had a chat with Greg recently about the upcoming record, touring and all that. Read it online here: http://musicfeeds.com.au/features/montpelier/ and here’s a bite from it below.
Trying to get noticed as an indie band in Australia usually goes in hand in hand with more than a few compromises, some minor, some scarring for the rest of your life and not all of them artistic. Montpelier however are a band who defy this unfortunate trend, having not only garnered praise from press and industry alike, but hooked in big name American producer Kevin Augunas (Cold War Kids, Edward Sharpe & The Zeros) to record and produce their latest EP.
Listening to their music it all becomes clear. Sporting a diverse range of influences spanning from the uplifting pop rock of acts such as Elton John or Coldplay all the way through to the adventurous and introspective indie of bands like Death Cab For Cutie and Doves, Montpelier aren’t afraid of walking in the shoes of those who have come before them while always trying to tread new ground.
Eager to get to the bottom of this story and expecting to find a trail of lost innocence, integrity and anal virginity, I caught up with singer/bassist Greg Chiapello and instead uncovered a tale of chance encounters and unbridled enthusiasm. You can’t always get what you want I guess.
Feature in Time Off
Time Off sat down recently and interviewed Dave about Montpelier’s launch on Friday. Here’s the story. Thanks Tyler.
