Third time’s the charm. At the end of the winter semester, my friend had convinced me to come see her friend’s band play at Casa del Popolo—not knowing at all what their sound was, except for the fact that this friend had said the band was “glam-rock esque.” I had immediate visions of Kiss, with their loud makeup and frequent tongue protrusions. I remember not knowing what to expect; the unknown lay before my ears, and I was vaguely uncomfortable. We were preparing for a certain amount of wincing and had hung close to the wall.

 The twenty-third edition of one of Quebec’s, if not Canada’s, best music festivals is set to get underway from August 28-31. Once a year, the Festival de Musique Émergente (F.M.E.) takes over Rouyn-Noranda. The mining town, better known for its toxic Horne Smelter and minor league hockey team, The Huskies, will vibrate with the amplified cacophony of music and mayhem. 

What you get from Akiva Shaffer’s The Naked Gun is a non-stop stream of laughs from your fellow audience members at a set of some of the most mindless jokes. And the best part is that you will be laughing along to the cacophony.

Fantastic Four First Steps (Currently playing in wide release, IMAX recommended)

Dir: Matt Shakman 

Staring: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach

Run Time: 115 Mins 

Something happened in Montreal this week. The long-awaited Something Fest occurred with its day passes completely sold out and the promise of 9 acts spread over 3 venues and 10 hours. The planning of the thing was something I was lucky enough to witness from the sidelines, and it cannot be understated what a triumph of community organizing Something Fest turned out to be. Arriving at the first venue and seeing the giant Something Fest banner hung behind the little DIY stage opened a new angle of appreciation for this city within me, and I strapped myself in for a whole day of music.