Thousands of hands rose overhead in the shape of triangles as two self-proclaimed 333-year-old aliens stood centre stage, turning day seven of Bluesfest into one eccentric show.
Hailing from Saguenay, QC, the duo Angine de Poitrine perform as Khn de Poitrine (guitar and bass) and Klek de Poitrine (drums), sporting cartoonishly large heads and exaggerated noses, blending absurdist theatre and intricate progressive math rock.
Khn’s oversized triangular hat, illuminated by a glowing yellow triangle in its centre, is one of the band’s defining symbols.
As the two jammed away, they would periodically raise their hands above their heads to form a triangle as a gesture towards the thousands in the crowd who would mirror it back.
For a band that doesn’t speak, it acts as a shared ritual between band and crowd.
The towering paper-mâché heads and extraterrestrial mythology may be what first catches the eye, but they quickly become secondary to the duo’s remarkable musicianship.
Khn navigates a microtonal double-necked guitar with startling ease, firing off a rapid 24-note passage in the song “Sarniezz” before they dissolve into Klek’s rolling percussion.
The duo created the illusion that neither instrument was leading as the melodies simply evolved together.
With each song stretching close to six minutes, the duo allowed tension to coil gradually before erupting into a frenetic climax.
At the foot of the stage, where the main moshpit of polka-doted fans gathered, each song would start off with a slow-burning groove.
The moshpit members would bounce up and down, mimicking the puppet-like dance moves by Khn and Klek.
As the music tightened and accelerated, the moshpit responded with equal intensity.
Audience members thrashed in a chaotic dance, whipping their heads to the breakneck tempo.
For audience members Thomas Hyde and Maddy Rafferty, the performance was as entertaining as it was physically exhausting.
Hyde laughed when describing the crowd’s chaos.
“That was the hardest mosh pit I’ve ever been in in my life,” Maddy told Roots Music Canada.
“We were in the thick of it for sure.”
Thomas agreed, saying “it’s really silly and fun.”
Thomas and Maddy said the band’s unusual appearance first caught their attention through friends, but the energy and welcoming community is what kept them coming back.
For a band that communicates almost entirely through movement and music, Angine de Poitrine said remarkably little Friday night. They didn’t have to.
By the time Khn strummed his last chord, the thousands of raised triangles across the crowd had already said enough.
Great article. You transported me to the crowd watching the band rocking out in the pit!!