Fortunately for those attending the evening's band showcase, there were plenty of solid French-speaking bands raring to go. Chocolat, the event's first act (who do sing in French), had the unenviable opening slot before the crowd could properly get their drink on, but managed to win most people over with their scrappiness and charm.

With a forceful swagger that invoked everything from The Stooges to the blues, Chocolat careened through an infectiously danceable with no shortage of soul. Mostly the attention was focused on lead singer/guitarist/harmonica player Jimmy Hunt, who possessed not only the best, most technically-impressive singing voice of the entire festival, but likely also the tightest pants, begging the age-old question "the tighter the pants, the tighter the band?"


http://www.popmatters.com/pm/blogs/notes-from-the-road-post/50742/m-for-montreal-day-one