2019 East Coast Music Awards- Les Hotesses D'Hilaire Live at John Brown Richmond Street Grill, Charlottetown, P.E.I. May 2, 2019


2019.5.1-2

Les Hostesses d’Hilaire, 5.1-2.19, John Brown Richmond Street Grill, Charlottetown P.E.I.

Fresh from the ECMA’s but perhaps less so after their drive up to Charlottetown from Louisiana, Les Hotesses D’Hilaire took the stage well after midnight Thursday.
The short time slots and multiple acts in each club meant the band had no time to do a sound check earlier. They made the most of it, easing into the 1990’s club-cheese anthem “I Like To Move It,” with singer Serge Brideau actually leading the crowd through “the best sound check of your life.”
With the 5-piece band with a lot of keyboard gear packed onto a tiny space in the bar, the manic large Brideau spent much of the show jumping around the crowd. Most of the audience seemed familiar with the band, but Les Hotesses aren’t well known outside French Canada. That should be about to change; more people are willing to listen to foreign (to them) music in different languages, and Les Hotesses’ musicality and sheer theatrics entertain in any language. 
The Moncton based band led by the gigantic ex- paramedic Brideau has been together for a few years and albums. Their latest outing is a rock opera which they’ve performed live around Quebec and New Brunswick, which has yet to debut in Ontario. “Vien Avec Moi” is their first album to get a vinyl release.
“Super Chiac Baby” proposes a new language to unify future generations of Canadians. Brideau explained, “we propose a neutral language, and that neutral language is chiac… ladies and gentlemen, I am giving you a mission tonight. Go find a partner and have a baby with someone who doesn’t talk your language, and together we will make a nation of super chiac babies!” If chiac is still a vague concept, just think of “franglais.”
Brideau singled Facebook out for abuse, which led into “Post ta Shit” which describes how to make it big via social media.
The meandering jam “Hilaire,” about Brideau’s dad and band namesake highlighted the banks of keyboards and brought the set to a close. Les Hotesses’ songs lend themselves to stretching out, with guitar and organ leading the charge, and their music is best heard and witnessed live. It would be great to see Les Hotesses d’Hilaire hit Ontario, but they seem to have garnered more interest in Europe so far. All we need is the right social media maven to steer Ontarians to this excellent band.

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