Humans @ POP Montreal (ION Showcase)

As soon as Humans took the stage to close out ION's Showcase at POP Montreal,with Boompa and Hybridity, people couldn’t stop moving. The music, so direct, so instantly gratifying, so much fun, jumped, leapt and then took off, almost seeming to be dancing itself, to be leading the way in a procession. A guy next to me on the dance floor casually bopped his head to the beat, impressed, but a non-believer, until a friend grabbed him by the face and shook him, as if to say, “How can you not be dancing to this right now!” He quickly followed suit, his grin turning into a smile, his knees, then hips, then shoulders all aquiver.

Crowd favorite “Possession” is slow to get going, adding one element, then another, then another, until it erupts in a frenzied display of pop pleasure—within the first minute, you find yourself singing along. The audience was encouraged to “form a massive bear hug,” at one point. People eyed each other skeptically, unsure of how to proceed. But Humans’ tone, one of positivity and inclusiveness, squelched all doubts and brought everyone in together. “De Ciel,” “On Pagaie” and the rest of their bouncy, ebullient catalog kept the crowd on their feet, their music a testament to what Dudley Moore famously exclaimed in the movie Arthur, “Isn’t fun the best thing to have?”