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Colette Tougas at Ultimatum Festival 1985-05-01
The following is a transcription of the Colette Tougas set at Ultimatum, Wednesday, May 1st, 1985 at the Foufounes Électriques bar and performance space in Montréal, Quebec, Canada. Tougas performs "Clara La Brune", an alluring, dramatic monologue with a refrain sung throughout. In his memoirs, Alan Lord counts the performance as one of the festival highlights, recalling "Writer Colette Tougas singing a capella the sultry Modesty in her smoldering breathy voice, which I just had to put on the festival's documentary LP..." Colette Tougas is a translator, writer of fiction and of essays, recently contributing art criticism to the online magazine, Ciel Variable. She is the author of Le Porphyre de la Rue Dézéry (1985).
Annotations
00:00 - 00:00
Alan Lord Commentary
Montreal Novelist Colette Tougas (“le porphyre de la rue Dézéry”), sings a capella the sultry “Modesty” in her smouldering breathy voice — which begged to be included on the festival’s documentary LP.
Event Description
Personal Anecdote
00:00 - 00:01
Audio Description
Silence.
Recording
00:01 - 00:03
Audio Description
Chatter.
Audience
00:03 - 00:11
Audio Description
Bonsoir. Moi, je vais vous parler de Clara La Brune et de la seduction [audience chatter throughout speech].
Colette Tougas
00:11 - 00:13
Audio Description
Chatter.
Audience
00:13 - 00:27
Audio Description
Performs "Clara La Brune", sings [French] [microphone feedback and audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
Tech
00:27 - 00:36
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune", speaks [French] [microphone feedback and audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
Tech
00:36 - 00:39
Audio Description
Feedback interrupts performance.
Tech
00:39 - 00:40
Audio Description
Il y a du feedback.
Colette Tougas
00:40 - 00:41
Audio Description
Laughs.
Colette Tougas
00:41 - 00:44
Audio Description
Laughter.
Audience
00:44 - 01:14
Audio Description
Resumes "Clara La Brune" [microphone feedback and audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
Tech
01:04 - 01:04
Alan Lord Commentary
Coincidence: I grew up on Dézéry, corner Hochelaga
Personal Anecdote
01:14 - 01:18
Audio Description
Feedback interrupts performance [subtle audience laughter].
Tech
Audience
01:18 - 01:22
Audio Description
Resumes "Clara La Brune" [microphone feedback throughout].
Colette Tougas
Tech
01:22 - 01:23
Audio Description
Feedback interrupts performance.
Tech
01:23 - 01:24
Audio Description
Chatter.
Audience
01:24 - 03:37
Audio Description
Resumes "Clara La Brune [microphone feedback continues and audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
Tech
03:37 - 03:38
Audio Description
Laughs.
Audience Member
03:38 - 03:40
Audio Description
Merci.
Colette Tougas
03:40 - 03:42
Audio Description
Laughter.
Audience
03:42 - 03:44
Audio Description
Resumes performance.
Colette Tougas
03:42 - 03:42
Audio Description
Coughs.
Audience Member
03:44 - 03:46
Audio Description
Laughter and unintelligible exclamation [two voices].
Audience
03:46 - 03:51
Audio Description
Resumes performance [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
03:51 - 04:09
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune", sings [Italian] [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
04:09 - 04:25
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune", speaks [French] [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
04:25 - 04:26
Audio Description
Laughs.
Audience Member
04:26 - 04:44
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune", sings [Italian] [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
04:44 - 05:13
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune", speaks [French] [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
05:13 - 05:31
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune", sings [Italian] [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
05:31 - 05:48
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune", speaks [French] [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
05:48 - 06:07
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune", sings [Italian] [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
06:07 - 06:10
Audio Description
Room noise.
Foufounes Electriques
06:10 - 08:25
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune", speaks [French] [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
08:25 - 08:28
Audio Description
Laughter and chatter.
Audience
08:28 - 09:51
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune" [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
09:51 - 09:57
Audio Description
Laughter and chatter.
Audience
09:57 - 11:09
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune" [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
11:09 - 11:10
Audio Description
Laughter and chatter.
Audience
11:10 - 11:11
Audio Description
Claps.
Audience Member
11:11 - 11:14
Audio Description
J’ai pas fini, je m’excuse.
Colette Tougas
11:14 - 11:17
Audio Description
Laughs.
Colette Tougas
11:17 - 11:19
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune", speaks [English] [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
11:19 - 11:21
Audio Description
Laughs.
Audience Member
11:21 - 11:48
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune", speaks [English] [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
11:48 - 11:57
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune", scats [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
11:57 - 12:02
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune", sings [English] [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
12:02 - 12:03
Audio Description
Blows raspberry.
Unknown
12:03 - 12:05
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune" [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
12:05 - 12:08
Audio Description
Claps and cheers [overlaps with performance].
Audience Member
Colette Tougas
12:08 - 12:14
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune" [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
12:14 - 12:15
Audio Description
Cheers.
Audience Member
12:15 - 13:43
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune" [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
13:43 - 13:45
Audio Description
Chatter.
Audience
13:45 - 13:58
Audio Description
Applause and cheers.
Audience
13:58 - 13:59
Audio Description
Merci [speaks overtop of applause].
Colette Tougas
13:59 - 14:01
Audio Description
Applause.
Audience
14:01 - 14:56
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune", speaks [French] [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
14:56 - 14:58
Audio Description
Laughter.
Audience
14:58 - 15:35
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune" [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
15:35 - 15:37
Audio Description
Laughter.
Audience
15:37 - 16:37
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune" [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
16:37 - 16:39
Audio Description
Laughter.
Audience
16:39 - 17:06
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune" [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
17:06 - 17:16
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune", sings [French] [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
17:16 - 17:23
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune", speaks [French] [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
17:23 - 17:25
Audio Description
Laughs [overlaps with performance].
Audience Member
Colette Tougas
17:25 - 17:31
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune" [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
17:31 - 17:41
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune", sings [French] [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
17:41 - 18:07
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune", speaks [French] [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
18:07 - 18:17
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune", sings [French] [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
18:17 - 18:31
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune", speaks [French] [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
18:31 - 18:42
Audio Description
Continues "Clara La Brune", sings [French] [audience chatter throughout].
Colette Tougas
Audience
18:42 - 18:56
Audio Description
Applause and cheers.
Audience
18:56 - 18:59
Audio Description
Light static.
Recording
18:59 - 18:59
Audio Description
[End of recording].
END