La Mistrine

My cousin told me, "it's a contradance band with horns." This modest description did nothing to prepare me for the exuberance, virtuosity and sheer musical ingenuity of this remarkable Canadian group. I promise you, you have never heard anything like La Bottine Souriante, and once you hear them, you will be hooked. They are very popular in many parts of the world, and a record store owner in Edinburgh, Scotland told me they gave the best concert he'd ever seen in his life. Not only do these guys play tight, rocking arrangements of traditional reels and folk songs, but they sing (in Quebec-style French) with tremendous verve, and dance while they're doing it! However, don't despair that you can't see the dancing as you listen to "La Mistrine"; you will be swept away by the unabashed energy, passion and beauty that La Bottine Souriante bring to each and every cut on this CD. You will hear an impeccable ensemble, lusty vocals, sophisticated, jazzy harmonies blended effortlessly with simple folk melodies, and you will feel, even without knowing a single word of French, the humor and irony that underlie many of the songs. Don't know what contradance music is? Don't care? Don't worry - what La Bottine Souriante does with this genre is like nothing you've ever heard before, and it is a joy to behold.

Imagine, if you will, a Celtic string band that also does traditional Accadian music. Now add a dose of French Chanson, some Latin arrangements and a hip four piece brass.

Hard to imagine, isn't it? And yet LBS (as their fans refer to them) do pull it off, repeatedly, with incredible skill and an infectious, bouncy swing.

I discovered La Bottine Souriante courtesy of a friend from Montreal, where they're legendary, who gave me an LBS disk for my last birthday. I was an immidiate convert ot this amazing band. I've played traditional music for 30 years and listened to countless bands and I've yet hear to anything quite like them.

Honestly, I haven't heard this cd - but I did catch this amazing group at the recent National Folk Festival in Bangor, Maine.
I am always amazed at the quality of such great, largely unknown (in these parts, anyway) groups that pop up at these festivals. It makes me realize that we are all conditioned to the same old stars. In any event - I have never seen (or enjoyed) a band so much before. It is French roots music. I am new to this and not an expert. I just know that the music is incredibly infectious and joyous. The nine members of this band are extremely musically talented, kind of zany and just plain fun to watch and listen. I couldn't stop smiling the entire time. I even stayed late and drove home in the wee hours of the morning so I could see them a second time on the bill. Just an amazing, fabulous, life-changing kind of band (for me, anyway)