Crowd Taps Out Quebecois Beat With Matapat

Author: Abbie Beane

Little red berets, thin moustaches and other stereotypical articles of French costume were unnecessary last Sunday as the talent displayed by Matapat, a traditional Québecois musical group, provided more than sufficient entertainment.

The band, which put on a free performance to the public in the McCullough Social Space, deftly blended the elements of music, dance and spirit to produce a concoction powerful enough to dispel any prejudices one may have held against French Canadians.

The lively group, which has played together since 1997, consists of three men of high musical caliber. Gaston Bernard, a Montrealer born of Acadian parents, who played the

mandolin, fiddle, guitar and bouzouki, has been involved in a number of musical projects ranging from performing French to Greek and Celtic to African music. Benoit Bourque, Matapat's charismatic step dancer, accordionist and bones player, provided the percussive underpinnings for the band. Simon LaPage, Matapat's composer and arranger, used his own diverse musical background to add depth to the group, complementing the engaging trio on bass guitar.

Though the band plays mostly in the United States, with a special concentration in upstate New York, they have also performed in locations such as France, Russia and, of course, Canada.

On Sunday the band focused its attention on Middlebury, playing an array of colorful pieces, each offering a simple yet amusing tale. One song concerned two men searching for a place in France to spend the night and escape the wolves. In the end, they resorted to a filthy chicken coop.

Yet even the songs borne of unfortunate tales such as these certainly did not sound somber. The combination of electric bass guitar, accordion, bones, fiddle, voices and the rhythmical stampings of the players' feet, a powerful instrument in itself, sent contagious currents of electricity rippling through a captivated audience. In fact, the clapping of hands and pounding of heels on the floor was enough to keep one's seat bouncing throughout the performance.

Playing the songs seemed a difficult task since the players' feet kept a rhythm unique to the harmony of their instruments. The band made this percussive stomping appear so natural, however, that one could almost imagine them at home step-dancing while making pancakes or doing their taxes.

Later in the program the band involved the audience even more directly. For one song, Bourque requested that the crowd sing the chorus line and mimic the French accent by plugging their noses. He also told a few jokes in French. Those who could penetrate the language barrier laughed, and those who were a bit lost laughed after cues from the other audience members.

Furthermore, Bourque also requested a volunteer from the audience who he surprised with an authentic barbershop-style shave, while simultaniously step dancing wildly.

Afterwards the volunteer admitted his fear of the razor dance. "The only thing I understood were the words 'hold still,'" he said. Audience ratings for that spectacle ranged from catcalls to "That's a strange thing to do, isn't it?"

Possibly the only disappointment of the show was the sound system. One Middlebury College professor agreed that larger speakers are in order, and that the old soundboard is so complex that no one knows how to operate it efficiently. This resulted in delayed amplifications at the musician's request and frequent, hair-raising noises issuing from the system.

Despite the disruptive cacophony, Bourque later said that he loved playing at the College because of a certain friendliness here. Yet one of the most memorable locations he performed at was Moscow in 1988 during Perestroika, the opening of the U.S.S.R. to other countries and cultures. Twenty-two foreign countries attended this event to play a variety of instruments, creating a feeling of worldly togetherness that Bourque described as "tremendous."

He mentioned that his life goal was to liberate and thus acquaint himself with a little bit of everyone's "treasure," every person's unique inner character. In French this is known as "libérer le trésor," and it seems that Matapat succeeded in this, since the audience indeed became an active participant in this highly demonstrative musical and cultural experience.