Live: The National Parcs LE NATIONAL - FEBRUARY 15 - by Eva Blue - The National Parcs are the new drug of choice. The audience just took them in, but sadly — depending on how you look at it — with a show this short, the crowd seemed unfulfilled and wanting more. The National Parcs do it a little different from everyone else. They've gone camping and have come back with an album and DVD. That's the short version, but it's not as simple as it sounds; the trio recorded the sounds and visuals when they would go into the woods, spent two years putting it together and the result is a well crafted album-DVD called Timbervision. How do they interpret their eco vision on stage? It's a complex showcase which must be appreciated as a whole, just like the album has to be accompanied by a DVD. The show is an aural and visual feast that pushes your eyes as much as your ears; a multimedia projection accompanies every song. The trio were joined by two others, to add up to: Chimwemwe Miller as voice, keys, bottles, timber, rocks, killer dance moves; Vincent "Freeworm" Letellier as guitar, voice, keys, cow bell; Ian Cameron as video, lights, voice, computers; as well as Kullak Viger on percussion and Franky Selector as keys, voice, bottles. That's truly how complex the show is and in the way that it works. They got the audience to dance and move to their addictive beats and rhythms. This was one of the most anticipated shows of the year. They played 2 back-to-back sold out performances at the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art last November, turning people away and creating chaos. So, many of us were looking forward to seeing them and, for many, for the first time. It already felt like an eternity before they scheduled a new show and it felt like an eternity before The National Parcs got on stage. Franky Selector spun for the first set, but I don't know where he was stationed and many of us in front of the stage didn't realize he was spinning. They finally got onstage at 10:00 p.m. and got off at 11:00 p.m. They played their whole album, threw in a lumberjack style song, came back for one encore and then ran away because they ran out of material. The audience were cheering loudly, waiting for the second encore that never came. Next time, they should just replay their hits or interact with the audience and ask what songs they'd like to hear again. Of course, those who got to see the ice sculptor and his chainsaw know that that would have been a great idea too. We will just have to wait for another show before we can get our fix of The National Parcs live. Meanwhile, we will have to settle with our remote control and — if we're so lucky — a big plasma screen to console us.