Bengal's Corner

Le Vent du Nord (Brunet, Beaudry, Boulerice and Demers) with Norman - the gnome

Bangor, ME :- The North Wind blew in from Québec once more with a force to be reckoned with. Le Vent Du Nord was in form on the rainy night of May 18 in Ellsworth, ME. Full of renewed energy and dressed in the so well known Québécois style, Nicolas Boulerice, Olivier Demers, Simon Beaudry and Rejean Brunet presented a show that was anything but boring, to say the least.

Even before they hit the stage, the audience was in frenzy. They brought the band out to a packed house, cheering, clapping and stomping their feet, for the music of one of the best loved Canadian bands to hit this area in many years. Olivier, the band's fiddle player, was beckoning everyone down in front of the stage to dance and sing along while still in the third song of the night. It did not take much coaxing to gather the crowd of enthusiastic fans, young and old, dancing and clapping to the beat of the music.

Their opening song, Les amants du Saint-Laurent (Nicolas Boulerice), had a new sound with the addition of Brunet’s bass playing. A much deeper, cut to the soul sound than before. The repertoire was full of new tunes from their soon to be released 3rd album. A wonderful blend of old tradition and newly written songs, this album is surely to be a contender for the prestigious and highly coveted Juno! Mark our words: we will definitely see Le Vent du Nord in the running for this award in the coming year!

Among some of the new tunes, two stand out as becoming signature songs for the band. Heure Bleue is a beautiful song about the time between night and day when the sky is that deep shade of blue, just before the dawn. Beautiful and magical are the only two words that can be used to describe this song. Rosette is another that is sure to capture the hearts of all those who love the Québécois traditional music.

Keep an eye open for their new album coming soon, so you can all enjoy these and the many other wonderful tunes soon to be filling everyone’s head with wonder and enchantment!

Till the next time, mes amis!

Sue and Liz, the Maine Connection. :)