Concert Reviews

MOGWAI @ Spectrum

By Erin Stewart - Rock the Plank - 05/15/2006


D.O.A. @ Café Chaos

By Idle Matt - Idle Minds - 06/18/2006

"They rock out. They blow the roof off. Some of the best shows I've seen in my life were D.O.A. gigs. I've never seen D.O.A. not be amazing."
- Henry Rollins


ARCTIC MONKEYS + We Are Scientists @ Le Medley

By Idle Matt - Idle Minds - 06/16/2006

Let me say this upfront: I usually write pretty long reviews, but this show just doesn’t merit it. Simply put, it just wasn’t very good.


THE (INTERNATIONAL) NOISE CONSPIRACY @ Cabaret Juste Pour Rire

By Idle Matt - Idle Minds - 06/02/2006

In one of the more shocking concert line-ups of recent years, everyone’s favourite fervently anti-capitalist punk/garage band, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, actually headlined a show!


IMOGEN HEAP + Zoe Keating @ La Tulipe

By Fiona Mak & Tanya Nielsen - Airworks - 05/30/2006

British musical act Imogen Heap made it to Montreal for a memorable show at La Tulipe recently. The opener Zoe Keating (discovered by Imogen Heap through the internet) would loop and layer her cello-playing and sounds made from it. The final result would sound almost like it was a post-rock type of quartet or mini-orchestra. Keating's music strongly reminded me of what Owen Pallett's Final Fantasy does with his violin, except Pallett sings as well.


WOLFMOTHER + Psychic Ills @ Le National

By K-Man - 05/30/2006

I find myself back at Le National, a dusty old theatre in the east end of the city. Strangely enough, it's raining -- just like the first/last time I was here. This venue has refreshingly fairly priced refreshments... say that ten times without fucking it up and I'll give you money. Psychic Ills just got off the stage and judging by the reaction of this eclectic iPod-inspired audience, they didn't suck. I actually noticed that their merch table was busy as hell, even after the whole spectacle ended. What can I say, I missed the opening band... again.


BETH ORTON @ Club Soda

By Louis Rozza - Hooked On Sonics - 04/07/2006

This was British singer/ songwriter Beth Orton’s first Canadian tour since 2002 when she was showcasing her underrated album Daybreaker. The wait was worth it on this night. Her melancholic raspy voice was in fine form and so was her sense of humour, as she engaged the crowd at the beginning of the set saying “I didn’t know I was opening for Lesbians on Ecstasy”, referring to the huge letters that band had outside the marquee promoting their upcoming show.


MINUS THE BEAR + The Spill Canvas + Metal Hearts @ Club Lambi

By Omar Goodness - Hooked On Sonics - 04/24/2006

Aaaaaah, memories. Memories can be good or bad, depending how you reflect on them, and I like to remember the bad ones… it’s how I roll. But, how best to recall bad moments than to mask them with an air of humour. Y’know, mask those buried emotional wounds with “laughs” to hide the true deep dark pain. Weeeeeell, lemme tell ya a little story…


HARD-FI + Nine Black Alps @ Le National

By Paul Lafond - 04/04/2006

I loves me those bills with all U.K. bands on them. We get so few up here in our neck of the woods that the wee little British lad in me just laps them up. On this particular April evening, we had Nine Black Alps from Manchester and much talked about buzz band of the month Hard-Fi from Staines, England.


SUPERSUCKERS @ Musée Juste Pour Rire

By K-Man - "Beyond That Graveyard! III" - 04/23/2006

I gotta say right off the bat, these guys are always better the first time you see them. I saw them in '93, was it? They were a lot more punk rock, you know that whole cow-punk dealio, all guitar and even more attitude. Now it was April 23, 2006.


FRANZ FERDINAND + DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE @ CEPSUM

By Susannah Hicks - Rock the Plank - 04/15/2006

I have never been to CEPSUM before and when I arrived, I was surprised to see how big it was. It is a huge stadium, reminding me of the Sky Dome. The openers were The Cribs but sadly I didn’t get to catch their act. Throughout the whole night, both Franz Ferdinand and Death Cab mention how much they like the openers, even dedicating songs to them so if you are into both headliners, check out The Cribs.


ISIS @ Le National

By K-Man - "Beyond That Graveyard! III" - 04/26/2006

April 26th 2006 and I get to finally see a show at Le National. Opposite Beaudry metro, I'm deep, deep in the Village now. It's raining and me and my boys are hungry. We hit this cool little Vietnamese place just east of the venue; the authenticity of this place is mind-boggling, right down to the music. It turns out to be a classic sake night.


ARAB STRAP @ La Tulipe

By Erin Stewart - Rock the Plank - 04/05/2006


dEUS + Eastern Conference Champions @ Main Hall

By Jordan-na Belle-Isle - Canadian Invasion - 03/25/2006

After a five-year hiatus, dEUS is back with a new album (Pocket Revolution) and a new label (V2). Popular in Europe during the nineties, members of the Belgium band took time off to pursue side projects, which usually indicate the demise of a band. Yet their show in Montreal proved the contrary. Although dEUS had been gone, they were certainly not forgotten by their faithful following nor had forgotten how to put on a great show.


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