Going into this show, I really didn’t know quite what to expect from Montreal’s WE R DYING 2 KILL U. I knew very little about the band beforehand – what I could glean was that they were some kind of art punk project, that they were political, and most significantly, that this show would be a collaboration with punk legend and Crass founder Penny Rimbaud. What I didn’t know was exactly what form said collaboration would take or what the band really sounded like in general as I couldn’t really find any audio or video online beforehand. But I was expecting something unique and hoping for something good. I was not disappointed.
WE R DYING 2 KILL U might be best described as art/jazz/noise/punk. Featuring saxophone, flute, and at one point a banjo, members switched instruments throughout their set while an animated Rimbaud, who came and went from the stage at different times, read from a handful of pages of his poetry, all of which dealt with various sociopolitical issues with a dose of religious imagery thrown in for good measure. The set ended with the band leaving the stage and Rimbaud delivering what appeared to be a love poem of sorts, accompanied by a flute. All in all, an impressive performance. I hope to see and hear more from these Montrealers in the future.