Last night I made my way to Red Bird on Bank in order to attend Moonfruits‘ album pre-release party, with an opening act by harpist and singer Éveline.
The music venue and school is a rather new one in the city of Ottawa, having opened its doors just earlier this year, but it is a warm and well-thought-out space, perfect for the sort of intimate folk concert that Moonfruits and Éveline regaled us with last night.
I was so engrossed in site maintenance yesterday evening that I barely gave myself any time at all to throw on an outfit and fly out of my front door in order to catch my bus. But catch the bus I did. And, as luck would have it, I made it on time and was able to settle into an empty seat towards the back of the room before the lights dimmed in order for the show to begin.
Éveline, une artiste montréalais, made her lone entrance onto the stage, sitting down and pulling her harp close. She quietly explained the significance of each song, frequently switching fluidly between French and English mid-sentence, mid-thought. Though she usually plays with a band, yesterday night, it was just us, her, and a plethora of pedals to create effects when needed. She admitted she felt a little dressed-down without her fellows, a little nervous — but she had nothing to fear.
There is something utterly enchanting about the sound of a harp.
Her soft, raw singing, along with the twinkling fullness of the harp’s many chords transported us all to the setting of each song. Coupled with the dim lighting, it would have been enough to lull everyone into a peaceful, dream-filled sleep.
We gave her a big warm round of applause when she finished her set, and then the lights were raised again to allow everyone to mingle and chat while the stage was prepared for the main act. Though I didn’t particularly participate much in the conversation, the three people who had sat down on either side of me had some very interesting connections to one another. One person was the brother of Alex (one half of the folk duo, Moonfruits). The other two people were a chef and a baker who found out right then and there that they actually followed and were fans of one another on Instagram. It was kind of a magnificent coincidence. The chef was there with Alex’s brother, and the baker works at a bread shop that Alex and Kait often frequent, which is why she began going to their shows and how she became a fan.
When they asked me how I was connected to Moonfruits, I had a comparatively boring answer: I saw them perform once in 2016 alongside Georgian Bay at LIVE! on Elgin for their Ste-Quequepart Tour and became a fan of both that night for their beautiful folk harmonies.
Eventually, the lights dimmed again, everyone quieted down, and Moonfruits took to the stage, along with eight other musicians for support, Éveline among them. All of them settled into their positions, and then the main act began. They played their upcoming album Salt, Alex and Kait taking their time to set the scene for each song, delighting the audience with anecdotes (both funny and endearing) while they tuned between, well… tunes.
It was an intimate, soulful performance.
They invited us to join in on some of the choruses (We all do well when we all do well), and filled the room with their warm, personal songs, rounding out their performance with a soothing lullaby, Moon Cradle (the video, below, crafts such a down-to-earth and mystical atmosphere around it). We gave them a standing ovation at the end, and were delighted when they almost immediately returned to perform an encore for us.
The final song they played for their encore, their own rendition of the traditional folk song À la claire fontaine, was for them a song with deep significance. Before they began playing, they explained that they had performed it for Alex’s father at his bedside shortly before he had passed away. They invited us all, before taking up their instruments again, to join them in singing along. It was not a surprise that most people in the room did add their voices, though as soon as we got to the refrain, I was so overcome with emotion that I started crying quietly in my seat, finding my own meaning in the words and the melody of the song. It was beautiful.
Il y a longtemps que je t’aime,
Jamais je ne t’oublierai.
Long has it been that I have loved you
Never will I forget you.
Though Moonfruits do not have a version of this traditional folk song online, the following cover, performed in a much different setting, can give you a sense of how beautiful it sounded.
When, finally, the band left the stage after accepting another standing ovation from us in the audience, a loud buzz took over the room as everyone discussed what a good performance it had been, mingling with the musicians and filing toward the merch table to preorder the album and buy the coffee blend and homemade pickles that were on offer.
Salt is set to release in early October, and I look forward to listening to it again.
It was late, and I had to slip out quietly in order to catch my bus, pensive in the wake of the performance. The bus trundled up the street, picking up other late-night event-goers returning home, like me. And as I disembarked and walked the rest of the way to my apartment, I reconsidered and stopped on the sidewalk of a quiet street to admire the harvest moon, bright and full as it was.
Scout was rather dejected when I got home, this having been the first time I was out nearly past midnight since adopting him this past spring. But he soon perked up with my reassurance and was back to his usual, playful self by the time I turned off my laptop and prepared to go to sleep.
Listening to musicians performing songs in person is truly an experience that has no replacement.
Quelle nuit chaleureuse.