What's Happening?

We Just Wanna Have Some Fun, Down at the Rock and Roll Club

For the past 10 years, Prince Palu and his trusted comrade Oncle Ian have been trying to steer people towards the shows that they thought would enrich the soul and shake the booty. Some listened, some didn't know they were talking. Then someone told Prince Palu that the pen was mightier than the sword, so he decided to write down these suggestions and voilà! 'What's Happening?' was born. Obviously these are not all of the shows happening, but hopefully it will be a solid listing that will either keep you from missing a band you love or help you discover a new band to love.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Nancy Pants are launching their debut album at 185 Van Horne, a loft space on the corner of de l'Esplande. BYOB and $7 entry at 8:00 pm. For anyone who has yet to see Nancy Pants, this would be as good a time as any to check out 'em out. They will be joined by two other Montreal bands, Special Noise and Heathers.

The Letouts, who are currently recording their debut album, are playing at Alexandra Platz Bar (6731 de l'Esplande), which is a little hidden if you've never been there so you might want to Google map it. Anyway, I have only recently found out about this band and can only tell you that (a) they play rock and roll, and (b) they feature the one and only Annie Laurin on organ. Two reasons good enough to get you out of your pyjamas and up wandering through Petite-Patrie. The 10:00 pm start time will give you some extra time to find the venue.

If the cold weather has you looking for something a little more jazzy, Parisian and cozy, Gigi French returns to l'Escogriffe (4467 St-Denis), at 9:00 pm with her blend of French pop, swinging jazz and klezmer music. This is a show sure to help you forget about the frigid temperatures outside. 

Friday, November 21, 2014

Operators return to Montreal to play La Sala Rossa (4848 St-Laurent) as part of the M for Montreal festival. Dan Boeckner's latest project is full of synthy goodness without being too synthy, if you know what I mean. Joining Operators will be Seoul, Moon King, and CTZNSHP, making it an electronic music fan's wet dream. Doors at 7:00 pm, first band at 8:00 pm.

Quintron & Miss Pussycat bring their New Orleans flavoured hard rocking dance party to Divan Orange (4234 St-Laurent) with the one-woman keyboard army of Lederhosen Lucil and the dream-pop psychedelia of Cocobeurre. This is a guaranteed winner. If you don't have fun at this show, you need to check your pulse or fire your shrink. Doors at 8:00 pm, first band at 9:00 pm.

Local garage heroes Les Marinellis takeover the stage at Quai des Brumes (4481 St-Denis) to show how rock and roll was intended to be played. Helping to up the ante of mayhem will be Ottawa's New Swears, El Napoleon, and Mikey Heppner's latest band, Beat Cops. $10 at the door. Show starts at 9:00 pm.

And just to make your choice a little harder on Friday, M for Montreal is presenting a free show, featuring Toronto's Weaves and Montreal's PyPy, down at RIDM (175 du Président-Kennedy). I don't know much about Weaves other than they are starting to create buzz on both sides of the Canada/US border, but I can swear that PyPy never disappoint. Starts at 10:00 pm.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Thee Oh Sees, one of the leading bands of the current garage-pysch revolution, return to Montreal to play at Le National (1220 Ste-Catherine E.) with fellow So-Cal electric wizard Jack Name and Minneapolis garage-stomp punkateers The Blind Shake along for the journey. This has 'show of the year' implications and is strongly recommended not to be missed. $20 at the door. Doors at 8:00 pm.

Meanwhile up at La Vitrola (4602 St-Laurent, across the street from Aux Vivres), Heavy Trip presents the psychedelic-raga of Elephant Stone headlining another amazing line-up, including Heat, Each Other, Teenager, and UUBBUURRUU. This one is also co-presented by CJLO, so you know it is gots to be great. First band on at 9:00 pm. $10 at the door.

Sunday, November 23, 2014

After the intensity of the preceding nights, it might be time to gear down a little on Sunday. Luckily for us two members of the Montreal band Archery Guild, Huei Lin and Michael Cota, have decided to put on a stripped down, singer-songwriter showcase at Inspecteur Épingle (4051 St-Hubert) that they promise will "offer you some dulcet from the heart". $5 at the door. Show starts at 9:00 pm.

If you need something a little earlier to help you digest that delicious brunch you just devoured, head over to Phonopolis Records (207 Bernard W.), at 2:00 pm where Myriam Gendron and Panachrome (Peter Burton, Sylvain Côté & Evan Tighe) will be performing a free in-store performance. 

--Prince Palu hosts The Go-Go Radio Magic Show, every Friday at 6 PM on CJLO. Tune in, turn on, freak out!