Live: Battles LE NATIONALE - NOVEMBER 11 - by Jason Giammaria - As I cautiously jogged across Ste. Catherine Street and stood in front of Le Nationale, the anticipation and intrigue of seeing the New York-based band Battles, was all I needed to fight the cold November night. One by one, the band members walked out on stage, each one making their way around the wires, laptops, drums and keyboards, looking uncomfortably shy in response to the crowd's warm welcome. As they began to play, I immediately had a sense of where the concert was going to go, and what they were going to show us. The originality and energy of Battles' performance gave me an insight as to why they chose Battles as their name. It is in fact just that; each member seems to be in a musical confrontation with one another, and, my God, does it work. They feed off each other, they lead each other and they are one step ahead of each other. Battles bombarded the crowd with song after song. Fans had no time to catch their breath and they didn't mind that at all. Le Nationale was turned into a dance party that I only wish could have lasted longer. Throughout their hour set (during which they stopped for maybe two minutes before their encore), Battles displayed their abilities in ways I had never seen before. All four have mastered their instruments as so few musicians are willing to do these days. At times, Tyondai Braxton and Ian Williams would play their respective guitars with one hand and their keyboards with the other. The live performance gives fans an experience that Battles' CD Mirrored unfortunately doesn't do justice. I can honestly say that this was one of the best shows I have seen in a long time. In the end, four members of a band managed to become one massive force of musical genius, and they blew everyone away in the process.