On Thursday, January 15th, I braved the elements and made my way to La Sotterenea for a show headlined by one of my favourite Canadian bands, Burs. I initially saw them in the Fall of 2024 and was very excited to catch them again following the release of their new album, Significance, Otherness.

When my partner and I walked into the dimly lit, crowded and buzzing showroom of Casa del Popolo, coming in from a deep cold on a busy Boulevard St Laurent, I knew tonight was going to be lovely. 

Well, I guess it's true that history is a cycle. I originally wrote this entire thing a week after Sleep Token released their latest record, Even in Arcadia, and then thought, "Why should I publish this? What is the point?" But upon reflection and seeing the band get a Grammy nomination, both in a metal and rock category, I thought maybe I should revisit this in case a flood of new think pieces come out saying how this is a horrible thing.

But let's get some things out of the way first.

Walking out of Saint Laurent metro, it wasn’t hard to spot who was headed to the Snow Strippers show. Fuzzy leg warmers, mini shorts with ripped tights, and spiked hair all moved excitedly towards MTELUS. Under the venue’s painted ceiling stood a growing crowd, with sunglasses in their hair and plastic cups in their hands. The night was very much young and alive, as conversation mixed with electronic pop resonated across the room.

As a first-year student at Concordia, I’d never been to McGill’s Lilith Fair, though I’m aware that it happened last year as well. This mini-festival, organized by the McGill Collective for Gender Equality and McGill’s Jam for Justice, is inspired by the original Lilith Fair, founded by Sarah McLachlan in 1997. Her goal with this festival was to promote female artists and address gender inequality in the music industry.