Holy Mess hit the stage first at Foufunes Electronique on May 18 at Pouzza Fest IV. Supposedly rocking a new style and a large Beer, Steve–O began sound checking his bass (which he happens to play very low). The band had a remarkable stage presence and great punchy bass tone (I'm pretty sure most bands shared this amp) which reminded me of the Lawrence Arms. They were tight as a trio, pulling off melodic bass riffs and head bopping songs which got me pumped up.

Next was Drag the River. I must admit, this band seemed out of place at the festival, or at least amidst louder and faster bands. It was quite funny seeing Jon Snodgrass set up his Fender Blues Junior with a Telecaster and asking for less guitar in the monitor mix after a band with drums and a 4x12 were just playing. The crowd didn't seem too much into them, and were talking over them, and Jon frequently admitted to forgetting the lyrics to verses several times throughout the performance. I hadn't heard them at all prior and didn't know, and him announcing his mistakes made it a little awkward.

The crowd for Menzingers was more explosive: people were stage diving, pushing, putting arms around each other's shoulders and singing along. I always find Montreal crowds exciting. This was my first time seeing the Menzingers and in my opinion they delivered the best performance of the festival. I believe they played the two singles off their latest album, as well as the second track. Omitted was "Mexican Guitars", however they did play "Casey" and "Obituaries" somewhere in there.

Finally, the act that most were waiting for hit the stage, D4! I must admit, the album I'm most familiar from them is (i)Situationist Comedy(/i), and they did play a bunch of songs off there, the standouts being "Noble Stabbings!!," "A Floater Left With Pleasure In The Executive Washroom," and "Folk Song." Patrick Costello really stood out as a performer, striking the bass harder and having more gain than any band I had seen at the festival, bringing an aggressive edge to the band.

I strongly recommend going to this festival if you have the chance! It's affordable, fun and a great way to meet new people!