Pan Arcadia Plays Montreal, May 2025
kayla gaisi
Everyone knows if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere. So when I arrived at Brasserie Beaubien, an old-school dive bar tucked away in Montreal's Little Italy, I expected to be greeted by a decent crowd. Back home, Pan Arcadia headlines sold out shows, playing to crowds of upwards of 500 who can sing their lyrics back to them. I assumed the band's reputation would've followed them north. Instead, I found myself wandering through graffiti covered doors into a dimly lit room thick with the scent of cigarette smoke and sweat, despite its relative emptiness. It only took a few minutes to parse out the scattered crowd: most were friends of the band, the others were locals who drifted in for a cheap pint and chose to stay for the free music.
In spite of the sleepy Monday night turnout, Pan Arcadia summoned the energy of their hometown shows and transported us, by way of dueling guitars and nostalgic vocals, to what could've been a Williamsburg rooftop or a gritty LES basement. Their sound is deeply reminiscent of fellow NYC band, The Strokes, but never ventures too close to imitation. When later asked about their inspirations, guitarist Gabe Gonzalez rattled off other foundational sources like the Ramones, Lou Reed, and Zeppelin, whose influences are readily detectable if you're paying attention.
We'd like to think of ourselves as less of an album band and more like our albums are playlists, they said, which is more akin to what people do today. This is exactly the experience their live show delivered. Blending familiar sounds with their own developing style, Pan Arcadia's set felt like shuffling through a curated playlist of the NYC indie/alt scene throughout the decades. Each song dipped into a different genre, conjured a different mood, but still remained loyal to their roots. Beyond shaping their style, New York has also set their trajectory. Lead singer Eamon Rush added, the biggest New York influence is that it opens the door to making the music that you want to. There are so many niches and so many adjacent music scenes, but it's very easy to do what you want and find people that will like that.
Finding those people takes time. It takes playing the half (or more than half) empty rooms and watching them slowly fill up, if you're lucky. Reflecting on their show, the five made it clear that they aren't afraid to play small crowds like these. Because we've played those empty rooms before and we've seen how much we could grow. Trading hometown renown for the intimacy of smoky neighborhood dives, their Northeast tour has allowed them to foster a connection with crowds on both sides of the border. Maybe Sinatra was right.
Pan Arcadia wrapped their tour with a packed release party for their latest single Beer Shot Combo at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Now, they're looking ahead with a few EPs set to release this summer and an upcoming album in the works. We've put a lot more care into what the sound is like. It's going to be different from the previous one. With new music dropping and growing recognition across North America, I wouldn't be surprised if Pan Arcadia's dive bar days are numbered. There was an energy in the air that night, mingling with the stale beer smell. People are excited for what's to come.