On November 4th, the Coup de coeur francophone (which translates to French Favorites) festival hit Montreal’s small underground venues. And it does not stop until November 14th, so its unique, intimate and daring concerts are yours to discover. Let me introduce you to my personal favorites…

LES INCENDIAIRES (The Fire-Raisers or The Incendiaries for the English)

This Montreal-based act played l’Esco Bar, a famous Montreal underground venue, on Friday, November 5th. Les Incendiaires are like a blend between gloomy pop and catchy indie-rock.

 Poetical lyrics, loads of metaphors, honest and modest voices… This band, lead by romantic Rudy Bernhard, is about passion and heartbreaks. Their videoclip for their new single Amants d’immeuble even made it to the Musiqueplus charts. See how cute, catchy and lovable they are:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZQSVhOEU3s

TRACTEUR JACK (Tractor Jack) 

On Sunday November 7th, the festival brought Tracteur Jack, straight from Outaouais, to Montreal. Those guys really are a good exemple of a regional band: good friends, brothers and roommates form this act that plays swinging gypsy jazz mixed with rockabilly influenced rock’n'roll. Their great stage presence, their hilarious and dynamic sense of humor, their unity and their more than obvious passion for what they do brought them to travel all over the Canadian francophony in 2010. If you like energy fueled concerts and fun times, Tracteur Jack really is a French must for you!

You can download their album Western Camembert for free on their Website: http://www.tracteurjack.com/

This next week’s highlights (yes, you still have the opportunity to have your own Coup de coeur this week, if you did not yet):

Wednesday November 10th, at Club Soda – Bernard Adamus, winner of the 2010 edition of the Francouvertes and new Quebec heartthrob.

Friday November 12th, at Divan Orange – Jérôme Dupuis-Cloutier, also lead member of le Roi Poisson, and whose solo album, released in October 2010, was applaused by the reviews.

For more info and for the complete program, visit the festival’s site : http://www.coupdecoeur.qc.ca/2010/

So grab your french knowledge, maybe a dictionary, and enjoy what la belle province has to offer in French! What about you? What’s your coup de coeur?