Concert Reviews

June 2004, Verdun Auditorium. Once a tour stop for massive acts like The Clash, Metallica, Black Sabbath and Nirvana, by the 2000s, the venue remained mostly unused, other than for minor hockey. The first—and last—show I would ever see in Verdun was The Darkness, touring their massive debut album Permission to Land. I don’t remember too many details from that night; only that it seemed everyone I knew was there, and we all had an incredible time. I don’t believe there have been any other shows at Verdun Auditorium since. Certainly, it went out with a bang that night.

The musical style of Owen Hopper, a.k.a Mouth Breather, is one that cannot be easily defined but it does make people want to dance. Hooper produces the majority of his songs, mixing the beats, creating the melodies, and layering the vocals. He describes his sound as a mesh of all the art that he consumes and simply makes it his own.

This year, I had the privilege of attending South by Southwest 2018 in Austin, Texas, with my fellow music directors. I was really excited because Austin has the perfect weather, great people and southwestern charm. During SXSW, the city is filled with loud music and a ton of great shows to see and artists to discover.

On our first day, after picking up our badges at the Austin Convention Center, we tracked down nourishment for the night ahead. I met up with a rep and headed to The Belmont for the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, hosting RZA of Wu-Tang featuring Stone Mecca and Pussy Riot.

Back from an exhilarating experience at South by Southwest 2018 in Austin, Texas, it is time to digest our street meat and musical discoveries from this seemingly never-ending music-at-every-corner festival and conference.

As World Music Director, my mission was to discover as much "world" music-inspired artists as possible. Some buzz words that peaked my attention included afro-futurism and global future, wrapped around more favourite words like funk, electronic, and psychedelic.

Thursday, February 22nd brought us to Café Campus, where Intervals performed on their North American tour alongside Nick Johnston, and Jason Richardson.

Needless to say, the anticipation was quite high for when I was about to go to this show. It had been ages since I had been to a show since my injury in early July, where I dislocated my elbow, and I was not able to go anywhere for months. It is good to be back in the live music world. 

Making my way to the venue, I was listening to The Way Forward again to get a refresher of the songs, and as well preparing for my interview.

Once I learned that Brockhampton was coming to Montreal, I instantly started listening to all of their four albums religiously.  I now believe that all of the 16-year-old boys in Montreal did the same.

Last Tuesday, Montreal’s rap enthusiast community had the great honor of welcoming the 15 members that form the American music group Brockhampton for a show of high-intensity at Corona Theater.

The band, created in 2015, is the brainchild of Texas-raised artist Kevin Abstract who, via a website specific for fans of Kanye West, formed a band designated to redefining the title “boy band” and creating music that imperatively mandates inclusivity and diversity.