Concert Reviews

Conan and Dopethrone at Foufounes

British riff titans Conan opened their “Doom Over Canada” tour in Montreal on October 27 at Foufounes Electriques. The unique 10-stop jaunt will see the band grace Canada east to west with their blend of slow yet hard-hitting sludgey sonics - presumably ending in Vancouver on Nov. 6 (the location is to be confirmed, but it’s a logical point to end the tour).


Isabella Lovestory – Pop Princess, Thrift God

Approaching the balcony of Projet Casa, I couldn’t help thinking that Isabella Lovestory had stumbled onto the wrong stage. Let me set the scene: a bourgeoisie house in the Plateau, repurposed into a contemporary art gallery called Projet Casa. The balcony of Projet Casa is old fashioned, featuring a charmingly dilapidated wrought iron balustrade. It looks over Projet Casa’s small parking lot. A huddle of mortals gathers, gazing up at the sexy, hot pink MTV goddess, almost glowing against the grayness of her stage.


Gulfer + Deanna Petcoff + PACKS + Jaywood's Playful Performances for This Year’s POP Montreal Music Festival

As we swung into October, crisp weather, colourful trees, and the POP Montreal Music Festival reappeared to remind us of the everchanging seasons. More than 400 local and overseas artists and bands gathered at over 50 venues around the Mile End area and across the city for another glorious week of live music to raise the chilly spirits. 


Pop Montreal: 2022 Edition

It's the time of year again where the city’s heartbeat is a little more uptempo. The streets are plastered with pastel coloured posters with beautiful faces on them. Shops, restaurants and venue doors are left half-open despite the start of the autumn cold. And anyone you may bump into in the mile end area will be either coming from or going to one thing: Pop Montreal and Pop Montreal.


Festival de Musique Émergentes 2022

For the last few years prior to the pandemic I had been quite fortunate to attend FME, Festival de Musique Émergentes in Rouyn-Noranda. So much so that the festival is now something I always anticipate. So after a couple of years' absence and this being the 20th anniversary of the festival, I was particularly excited about heading up to this year's edition. The usual seven hour drive turned into an epic test of patience when every road ahead was traffic jammed.


Echo and the Bunnymen: 40 Years of Magical Songs

There was an electric undercurrent of excitement as fans shuffled into the Corona Theater last Monday night to see legendary post punk/new wave act, Echo and the Bunnymen. The band is currently on a tour of North America celebrating over 40 years since the band’s incarnation in Liverpool’s punk scene in the early 80s. 


Perturbator & HEALTH @ Corona Theatre

2022 has seen a lot of action for synthwave in Montreal. April saw Dance with the Dead rock Les Foufounes Électriques and just before that, Carpenter Brut having stormed through M-Telus. The double bill of Perturbator and HEALTH on September 8 brought another taste of the niche genre, this time at the Corona Theatre.


At the Gates at the Corona Theatre

The At the Gates Slaughter of the Soul anniversary tour stopped in Montreal this past Friday. The seminal 1995 album turned 25 years old in 2020, and while the band was supposed to embark on a special tour that year to celebrate, virus-related delays resulted in the live dates getting postponed to this year. Thankfully At the Gates stayed true to their plans, touring the highly anticipated live set for North American audiences this year.


Orville Peck Brought his Cowboy Kicks to Corona Theatre Sunday Night

Silver spurs to cowboys are what leather jackets are to punks. Cowboys are emblems of non-conformity and free-spiritedness, though Orville Peck is truly unlike any other cowboy; hiding his identity behind a fringed leather mask and a moniker while bringing country music to the likes of new wave and occasionally even shoegaze.


Classic Canadian Metal Rocks Foufounes Electriques

Canadian speed metal legends Exciter delivered a set of heavy hitters at Montreal’s Foufounes Electriques  on July 8. The date kicked off a Canadian east coast tour, which saw the group take the stage in Quebec City, Toronto, and a few other places – wrapping up in St. John’s, Newfoundland, at the end of the month.


Montreal Fringe Matt Enos & The Rivermen Can Make Any Evening Blissful

Sunday evening, at a cosy Petit Campus on Prince Arthur Street, was a band mesmerising their audience with soulful blues and jazz tunes. 


JPEGMAFIA and BACKXWASH Bring a Night of Experimental Rap to Montreal

The JPEGMAFIA "Round by Round, Blow by Blow" world tour stopped in Montreal this Tuesday. The Brooklyn experimental rap artist is touring in support of his newest EP, OFFLINE! - an extension of his last full-length LP! that dropped in 2021.


The Santa Teresa Festival: Truly a Multi-Genre Music Fest For All

On a pleasant weekday evening disconnected 35 km away from the busy Montreal island, in a small suburb called Sainte-Thérèse, there was a loud crowd celebrating local bands.


Slipknot Ignite the Stage at a Nearly Sold Out Bell Centre

Metal fans were treated to quite the show this Thursday as Slipknot delivered their unhinged hits to a nearly sold out Bell Centre.


Gatecreeper Unite Fanbases at Foufounes Électriques

The Gatecreeper headlining tour stopped in Montreal this Monday, bringing the Arizona act’s blend of death metal and hardcore north of the border. Gatecreeper are touring in support of their newest EP, An Unexpected Reality, a near 18-minute sonic assault that further establishes the group as one of the leading players in the modern death metal scene.


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