Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville
Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada
May 16-17, 2015

Part 1 | Part 2

The site of the Pavilion Arthabaska, a chalet on a hill above the town, is a popular spot in Victoriaville (think lookout and make out), not a place that is obvious for avant-garde music, but the room featured some of the best shows of the festival. The sound in the room was impeccable, perfect for the "quiet" 1 o'clock shows—though the comfortable seats of the late Cinema Laurier were missed.

The group of Isabelle Duthoit, Franz Hautzinger, Martin Tetreault, and Dieb 13 opened Saturday's program with a performance that was subtle, detailed, and balanced. Duthoit's crackling voice—she used her clarinet very little—and Hautzinger's quarter-tone trumpet were the focal points, but the playing of Dieb 13 and Tetreault was precise in its coloring.

One of the themes of the festival was the presence of larger ensembles, such as Hans Tammen's Third Eye Orchestra, who were performing for the first time outside New York. This was a wonderful performance in its exploitation of the wide sound pallet available and in its attention to detail, but it would have been better if it had been somewhat shorter, as it devolved into a string of solos after about fifty minutes. Nonetheless, there was much to enjoy in it, especially the vocals of Shelley Hirsch and the computer and electronic manipulations of Dafna Naphtali.

Marc Ribot is always a favorite at the festival, and Saturday saw him play in back-to-back shows, first with Ceramic Dog, his trio with Ches Smith and Shahzad Ismaily, and then with the Nels Cline Singers Unlimited. Ceramic Dog was thoroughly enjoyable, as the trio ran through a somewhat folk-tinged set that included covers of Hank Williams' "Cold, Cold Heart," Dave Brubeck's "Take Five," and "The Thrill is Gone" for the recently-passed