We moved here in Drummondville 6 years ago already. After looking for months to find a place, and then waiting for several more months to officialize the papers in order to move in the church. But ever since that time, Drummondville has really become our home. Not only a house, but a home. The people welcome us right away and warmly. Nonetheless, we had never played in Drummondville before; circumstances made it so that we would spend more time on the road than at home in the years following our move in the city. Being invited to play at the Festival de la Poutine was a true honor.

Started in 2008 by another Drummondville band, the Festival de la Poutine was simply amazing. It was absolutely everything you want a festival to be when you’re in a band. The staff is helpful and makes you feel like they care, there’s power everywhere, an espresso machine, a kettle, the food was delicious and not too heavy (ok, there was poutine, but other stuff, too). Amongst the other bands, you could feel there was a friendly vibe instead of that competition you get just way too often. It felt like family.

A special zone in the stage. Had to go over it before getting to your instruments. No stress allowed!

The original Poutine Clock, along with the line up of the bands on Thursday night.

Drummondville is a very international place… Signs were even translated in Chinese!

Band tents were all under the drummers’ names. We can guess these are printed by the drummer of the band who organizes the festival!

Chilling out in the artist area before getting on stage

Adding the final touches to the set list. I’m always surprised Alex can understand anything of what he writes… Call this the writing of an artist!

Vocal exercices are a must before getting on stage!

No mirrors around? No worries, a car window will do!

The last few seconds before getting on stage… and then, let the show begin!

Standing on the stage just before the show, I looked at the crowd, and was astounded to see just how many YFE t-shirts and hoodies I could see! They were not only everywhere, but they really pop out, and catch your eyes more so than the other t-shirts around do! And what a beautiful crowd that was. People came all over North America to see us, some doing crazy long trips to get to see us live. This is something that I have noticed. Seeing YFE live is something contagious. When you see them once, you want to see them again. And for many people all over the summer, YFE has been their very first show – EVER! Their question is always the same after that… When is the next show? When can I see you again? And that show, was just mind blowing! I get to be in front of the speakers a lot when I take pictures, and it usually feels like an agression. Loud music is good only to a certain point, after what it feels like it is attacking you. And this is what usually happens when I spend time just next to the speakers – my whole being is being attacked. But tonight, it was different. Tonight, it was simply loud. It never reached that agression-like level. Was it too loud? Yes. But for the very time, it didn’t feel wrong to be in front of the speakers! You could hear the very little subtleties of the band’s sounds without a problem, every note, as quiet as it was, was dancing along everybody else on stage and in the crowd. The show was perfect in its imperfection. Just like Your Favorite Enemies are. Just like we all are. The summer couldn’t have ended on a better note… 🙂

– Stephanie

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We left for Quebec City early, as Alex had several interviews on schedule before sound check time. Already, on the road, Jeff caught a call for an interview. It lasted a few minutes only, and though I was in the back of the car and couldn’t see his expression, I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was really happy and enthusiastic. About the interview, maybe, but about the whole day that was up ahead. The same vibe was coming from Alex, sitting in the passenger’s seat. There was no nervousness at all, which would have been pretty normal. After all, it would be the band’s first time at the Festival d’été de Québec, the biggest and oldest festival in Canada. Day after day, the band had been rehearsing in our church/studio/home, trying to figure out what the setlist would be. We were only allowed a 45-minute set, and I think that it was the biggest challenge. After the first draft of the setlist, in which they included “only the short versions of the songs we must play live”, they were well over the 60-minute mark. Then followed a puzzle of songs and their successions, to make sure everything would be as smooth and quick as possible. They got everything down to 45 minutes. Until they realized that such a setlist didn’t even allow them to say “hello” to the crowd at all, nor introduce any song, let alone talk with people. And there we went again! Some more changes! The final setlist that was decided was as follows:

– Satsuki Yami
– Empire of Sorrows
– Midnight’s Crashing
– Would You Believe
– A View From Within
– From the City to the Ocean
– Killing Another (a cover from The Cure the band started doing during their tour “Outside It’s America”)

And then, rehearsal time, fine tuning absolutely everything. You cannot imagine how much care is put in the slightest details with these guys! Even though there was a true pressure of finishing on time, the vibe was always cool, easy-going, but not taken lightly. Done in the middle of the church, at sunset time very often, the view was quite spectacular! It all ended with a toast between the band members, to what had happened between them during these rehearsals, and to everything that was to happen.

We reached Quebec City, and already, the lady who would do the first interview was already there, waiting for us. We quickly checked in, and as Alex started the interview, the others headed to Starbucks for a well needed coffee! The schedule was tight. There were only 20 minutes between every interview. The ones that had longer gaps needed us to move to the radio stations directly. And believe me, we made it tight, but on time, everywhere we went! We shared wonderful moments with every interview we did, and truly enjoyed ourselves. Though we could all have been stressed with the schedule, it all went smoothly, we took things as they came, and laughter was always at the rendez-vous!

And then came soundcheck time. Of the 3 bands playing on the Loto-Quebec stage that night, we were the last ones to sound check. That’s how it always goes – soundcheck order is opposed to stage appearance order. We were given 1 hour for sound check, but barely used 30 minutes. Everything sounded great, everyone could hear what they were playing. It’s always a huge relief when sound check goes well, you start with a positive for the show that is to come. And let’s be honest, the crowd that gathered behind the fence (the festival site wasn’t yet open to public) to cheer us up during the soundcheck made things that much better, too!

We then went backstage, in a little caravan only for us! The guys ate, got changed, talked about the show to come, about the people they couldn’t wait to see once more. Then everybody went their separate way, warming up for the show that was now only minutes away! Moose drummed on a towel placed on a coffee table, Miss Isabel and Alex did their singing exercices, while Ben, Jeff and Sef went outside jumping and kicking around. A quick word of encouragement all together, and there we went, it was time to get on stage!

And then it was show time. And it went fast, very fast! Too fast. The band was nowhere to be seen on stage yet, but as the announcer pronounced “Your Favorite Enemies”, you could hear a delirious crowd, excited and waiting for them. All over the place, t-shirts of the band were popping out. People taking days off, driving for hours in order to see us. The festival site was packed. The tension in the air was tangible, but had nothing to do with the thunderstorm alerts that took place that night.

The media pit was occupied by several people, but large enough that it would still be comfortable for us all to move around. Even there, you could see people were looking forward to the show. Some already knew the band, while others were shooting them for the first time. “I was so focused getting the shots, as they kept coming and coming, that I didn’t even pay attention to the songs they were playing”, a friend told me after the show. And I do understand the feeling! The guys are stage beasts, nothing less. They know how to fill up a stage, to make it alive, and to let the passion they live transcend to the crowd, making everything feel as one.

The show went well. Very well. I remember being in the pit, looking up at the guys on stage, unable to stop smiling. This was it. They had it. This show was their best one EVER. And you could feel how happy they were on stage, too. From accomplice looks between them all, Alex’s defying glare as he sang to us, going on the PA system more than once, and even crowd surfing once, Sef and Jeff shouting at one another while playing and laughing, Ben coming to the edge of the stage, a foot on the wedge, Sef’s hair flowing all over the place, Alex head banging with as much sweat as hair flowing around him, Jeff jumping everywhere, Ben’s indescribable facial expressions, Moose focused and steady on his drum, Jeff singing all the lyrics while smiling, Sef moving much more than he usually would, Miss Isabel’s confident playing, to the wink Alex gave me as he looked down briefly, as if to tell me “I’m having fun!”. Over time, these are all things I have learned to look for in concerts. I know if one’s missing, something’s not right. Ok, the wink was a first, but for the rest, they’re all things you’ll learn to recognize in their interactions on stage as you get to see them more and more often!

One of the best moments, though, the moment that made that show completely magical, was when the rain started pouring, gently yet steadily, as soon as the first notes of the song “From the City to the Ocean” had been played, as if heavens themselves were approving of everything that was going on that night, telling the band “way to go, never look back, you won’t ever find yourself alone”.

It’s with smiles brighter than stars that the band members got backstage after the show. But the night wasn’t yet over. Despite the very long day they already had, they had also organized a private after party at the Dagobert, where Alex would be the DJ. We got there at 11:45pm, and the party kick started at midnight, lasting well over 2:30am, and would have lasted some more wasn’t it of the curfew we had already gone over…! Mosh pit, crowd surfing, and crazy dance moves were at the rendez-vous with a playlist that was as diverse as there were people. It was a blast, that’s the least we can say! Something to do once more? Probably, yes! Until then, we will miss you, Quebec City!

Don’t forget, we will also be playing at the following events this summer! Make sure not to miss your chance to see the band live!

August 8th – Otakuthon @ Palais des congrès de Montréal
August 22nd – Rock Fest pour la Santé Mentale @ L’Épiphanie
August 27th – Festival de la Poutine @ Drummondville

– Stephanie

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It started out as a catastrophe. A real one. Around 2pm, as we were driving to Quebec City from Drummondville, we learned that there was no electricity at Théâtre Petit Champlain, where we were scheduled to play since the end of August, show for which people came from all over the world; Canada, USA, France, Germany, Japan and Australia. Trains, never-ending train rides, long flights, hotel rooms, and an excitement that couldn’t be compared. And we needed to tell them that the concert couldn’t happen? This was an idea we couldn’t agree with. We stopped at a Tim Hortons in a rest area. Whatever place you stop at to try and deal such a situation is meant to keep stigmas and forever hold a bad place in your heart. We ordered coffees, more for the form than the desire to drink one, sat down at a table, and analyzed the possibilities we had. Possibilities were not numerous. We wanted to rent another venue, but that was impossible, there was a clause saying we couldn’t play in case the concert had to be cancelled. We thought of renting a room where we could hang out all together, but everything in the Old Quebec is small and unable to welcome the 300 people scheduled to come tonight. Then Alex came up with an idea that made no sense at all. We could do the concert in the church. But we don’t have speakers powerful enough for that. We will rent some. People have no cars to drive all the way there. We will rent a bus that will bring them from Quebec City to Drummondville and back. But that makes no sense! Would we really be able to get everything ready in time? Where would we pick people up? How would we convey the info to everyone if we need to keep secret the fact that we are playing a show? I didn’t know what to do, didn’t know what to think. I mean, welcoming everyone in the church for a concert was something we had always wanted to do, it is a vision we have had since we bought the church a little over 5 years ago. Marjo started calling bus companies “for a bus, with a driver, for tonight”. Ben started calling music shops “for speakers, for tonight, delivered home because we can’t make it anywhere before closing time”. It did not make any sense. And even a few days after the event, it still doesn’t make any sense. We called people home, told them to get everything ready: drinks for everyone, a coat check for everyone, a place where people could take off their boots. While most of the people were going home, Jeff, Miss Isabel, Marjo and myself were to go to Quebec City, to the meeting point we had for dinner before the show to announce the bad news to everyone. But deep down inside, we were happy we could also surprise the people in such a way. We barely said hello to everyone and Jeff announced it. The news dropped for many people, as many, coming from overseas and being away for home, didn’t have access to their emails. People didn’t believe it. They didn’t want to believe it. They thought there was a hidden camera somewhere, that we were joking only. But seeing how serious Jeff remained, they knew it was real. And then we dropped the bomb. “BUT… We have rented a coach bus that will bring you to Drummondville, in our HQ, where we will do a concert anyway”. In the wave of applause and whistles, I thought people would cry. That set the tone to the rest of the night. We had no idea just how magical it would be yet! We left, got on the bus, and drove to Drummondville.

As we were driving, I was receiving lots and lots of text messages, from the guys back home who were asking me how people were reacting, what they were talking about, if everything was going well… And then, I received THE text message. “What we are about to do is suicidal”. And then it made me doubt again. Are we really going to be able to do exactly what we want tonight, there’s so much against us. I mean, in the last few weeks, Sef broke his finger catching a foot ball, which almost forced us to cancel the show, and then there’s an explosion underground that cuts power to the venue? That venue hasn’t even canceled a show in 50 years! 50 YEARS! Why does it have to be our show? Are we really meant to do it? Maybe what we should do is just spend time with the people, quietly, and enjoy ourselves. But then we’ve rented all the equipment, and the bus, all for that? I could see Jeff already being mad at the idea of the show being cancelled. “People came for the music, for this communion that cannot be obtained anywhere else, so we’re going to give them music, and nothing else. Nothing else. Am I very clear”? His words resonated through my mind as I doubted more and more. But then I raised my eyes from my phone and looked at everybody in the bus. All this excitement, all these people that didn’t know each other just a few minutes before and who were now talking all together as if they had been friends forever. This is not done by the music itself, but the music still serves as a bridge between each and everyone of us… And I didn’t doubt anymore. Today, some more miracles would occur through the music that would be played at the HQ!

Arrived home, I rushed inside as I still had with me some very important stuff for the show – the set lists 😉 Went downstairs, took off my boots, and rushed back to the Upper Room, the big room of the church, where the show would take place. And what I saw there left me speechless, bringing tears to my eyes. Yes, I was more than 100% sure, tonight would see its fair share of miracles!

At 11pm, I was behind a microphone, introducing the band, telling everyone this still had to be kept secret, and asking them to leave their cameras and phones aside. Tonight, it was a moment for them. We wanted them to live the music, but not through their cameras. We wanted them to feel it for what it would really be, without any filter, to feel the let go that the moment would bring, and to allow themselves to live the music in a way they often don’t at a gig.

And what a concert. We weren’t at the church anymore, we were in a world of its own. We weren’t individuals watching a concert, we were united as one. It’s like time had stopped, only to catch up on us a little later. But in that very moment, nothing else that this very special communion existed. As if absolutely nothing else mattered. For me, outside of the crowd, taking pictures, it was like watching a movie. There was no way this could be real. No way this could really be happening. And during the song “From The City To The Ocean”, as I lowered down my camera to watch what was happening with my eyes and not through my camera viewfinder, I couldn’t help but think “this atmosphere, this vibe, what is going on here… this is the very reason why I am still here today, why I am the person I am today. What is happening right now is the very reason why I am still alive, why I know what it means to truly be alive. And it is the reason why I have starting walking from the city to the ocean, to travel between illness and migration. And as tears were slowly filling up my eyes with the gratefulness of being able to be there in that very specific moment, I thought of you all. Of how insane of a story ours is. How the odds never wanted for us all to meet together, to know each other, to be able to call one another family, brothers and sisters. It is not music that has united us all together. It is not a coincidence. It is something that is far greater than that. Something that we may never be able to fully understand, but that doesn’t need to be understood either. And I think this is the most beautiful gift we can have always received. There are things that do not require that we understand them. We simply need to live them. And sometimes, living them to the fullest is doing the exact opposite of what our heads are thinking. If it was only for me and my impressions, I would have never been here, would have never met anyone. And it made me realize how the miracle that night was not to have managed to have brought everyone for a concert at the HQ. The true miracle was us being together. It was the band still being a band. It was us at the YFE HQ living together. It was you being there with us all. That night, the real miracle that occurred was US. And I think that we all could feel, that night, that whatever happened, whatever we felt, whatever we lived, it was only the beginning of something new…

After a way too short night, a moment we can’t really call “a full night of sleep”, we headed back to Quebec City for a brunch with everyone who could make it. All of us were tired, or overtired should I say. Nonetheless, not even once could you feel that tiredness. On the contrary, all we could see were smiles, all we could hear was laughter. As per usual, the food was only secondary to what we were living. It was all about being together… taking pictures, signing albums and books, discussing the gig of the night before, of what was coming next for us all, of our passions, of our fears… We were being true and real to one another, without any filters. That brunch that was supposed to last only 2 hours lasted the double, and I am sure that if it wasn’t for our desire to explore the Old Quebec City, and that the sun was about to set, we would have stayed much, much longer! After all, it was all only starting for us…

And in the end, after such a fabulous and dreamlike weekend, I think it’s only fair to say that reality, when lived to the fullest, is better than any dream we may have, and that every catastrophe we face in our lives can turn out the best that ever happened to us…

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It’s finally the day…! We’re leaving for Quebec City! Time went by so fast since the announcement of that gig, it felt like it was just yesterday! But somehow, even though we’re left wondering where time has flown by, there’s no stress about that concert. How can I say… Everybody’s at peace. But a peace that I have rarely been able to witness amongst us all, what’s more before a concert in a festival, in the province of Quebec. Because every gig we play in Quebec City or Montreal feels like a hometown gig. And the stress that’s associated with those is usually higher. But not this time. It’s a peaceful yet euphoric feeling that has its hold on us all today… It’s guided by our faithful driver that we hit the road for Quebec City…!

It took us over 2 hours to get there… A lot longer than it should have! The festival grounds are huge, and we did have a little bit of a problem finding where the artist entry was. We got there only a few minutes ahead of our scheduled sound check time… Not a problem, though, because they were running late… So it allowed us to set up everything properly, without too much stress! The stage was big. Very big. Just the size we like it when it comes to a YFE concert! The first thing Alex did when he got there was to find ways to get down easily… in case the mood of the night would allow it! The soundcheck was quick, but went super smoothly. We even managed to get a little bit more time, and played a few more songs. We shouldn’t have, but the techs offered us to, as they enjoyed the music too and “wouldn’t mind listening to a little more”…!

We then got back to our caravan for an interview with the SFCC fan club. It was the first time for us to do one backstage like this, and it probably won’t be the last either! 🙂 We then relaxed a little, had a little something to eat, and stretched for the show… and it was already time to get on stage!

And oh my gosh! What an incredible show! I have had the privilege to follow the band on almost every concert they did (I have only ever missed one, back in 2008). And honestly, they do get better with every show. This one was no exception. The sound was mind blowing. It was loud, and clear, and I am sure the rumbles and the noise could be felt deep down the guts of every one watching the show, no matter how far from the stage they were! The lights added depth and personality to every note that was being played. And the guys… they owned the stage! Literally! And the crowd, too, as Alex went crowd-surfing twice over the 50 minutes that the show lasted! Alex even dedicated a song to his late father, to which the people answered by turning on their mobile phone’s light… A magic sight! Here are a few pictures, so you can understand better just how wonderful of a concert it has been! And you guys know us, we LOVE spending time with you. So we all gathered at the merch booth at the end of the concert, talked, took pictures, signed autographs. Until the time we got kicked out of the festival grounds by that poor security guy who came over at least 4 times to tell us it was time to leave…!

And because we just love that time with you all, we decided to go all together for breakfast the morning after the show. It has been a true challenge to get everybody to sit down (and not once has everybody sat down all at the same time). It’s been a simple moment, but a true one. It really was like a family reunion. Because it was one! We had seen some of the people when we played in Toronto in May, had seen some others only last time we played in Quebec City, and met some others for the very first time. But it simply felt as if everybody knew everybody else forever. We went outside for a not so little photo session, and then walked the streets of Quebec City all together, until we reached a Starbucks, where we all sat down with a cold drink in hand…!

And the best part? We will be back in Quebec City on January 24th, at Théâtre Le Petit Champlain. Not only for that concert. But for a whole YFE weekend with all of you! Tickets are already available, so make sure you grab yours fast!

Love you guys, and can’t wait to see you again!

– Stephanie

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