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Tonight at 6pm, we are broadcasting The Commonwealth Conundrum live from Reggie's (1455 de Maisonneuve), leading up to CJLO's CLASSED DISMISSED DJ night, which commences at 7pm.

Danny and Rebecca will chat with Al Lafrance, co-founder and general manager of SOLOS Festival, Montreal's bilingual theatre festival that exclusively programs solo shows. The festival will be taking place April 6th to 9th, in it's 4th edition, at Mainline Theatre- get your tickets here and tune in to find out what shows you don't want miss at SOLOS this year!

All of that, plus the best music from around the Commonwealth- get tuned at 6pm!

Hosted by Catlin Spencer

Stories by Catlin Spencer

Produced by Catlin Spencer

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LOCAL
by Catlin Spencer

Now retired after 50 years of service, Montreal’s original subway cars are looking for a second lease on life.

According to Global News, the city's transport agency is asking members of the public for proposals to buy and transform the first-generation cars.

The proposals to transform the cars however must be feasible and environmentally friendly, include financial planning and honour the cars legacy.

The cost per car runs from 750 dollars to 1, 000, plus shipping, which comes to an estimated 4, 000 dollars.

NATIONAL
by Catlin Spencer

After costing taxpayers 18, 676 dollars, the office of late Councillor Rob Ford says his family will be reimbursing the full amount of his public memorial from last week.

According to The Toronto Star, in a statement posted Monday morning on Twitter, Fords Chief of staff Dan Jacobs wrote that the family always intended to pay back the cost.

Jacobs says that they were originally told the costs would be minimal, under 1, 000 dollars.

However, the city of Toronto says that there were obvious costs associated with hosting the event, considering it's magnitude and hiring staff to work on a holiday.

INTERNATIONAL
by Catlin Spencer

In a drive to shut down the main route being used by millions to flee war and poverty, the first Turkish migrants were deported from Greek islands and back to Turkey on Monday.

According to the Globe and Mail, under a disputed EU-Turkey deal, Ankara will be taking back all the migrants and refugees who crossed the Aegean sea illegally.

The deal aims to discourage migrants from perilous illegal crossings in small boats and dinghies and stop human smuggling.

In return for accepting the refugees back, the European Union will accept thousands of Syrian refugees directly from Turkey and compensate them with money, visa-free travel and progress in EU membership negotiations.  

This was one of those shows that separated the true from the false, the poseurs from the authentic headbanging stalwarts of the metal scene. This was the closest approximation of the hall of which Manowar spoke, the same hall that Sarcofago said falses must not entry because they would consequently be burned and died. This shit was serious. It was also another instance of Piranha Bar picking up the slack with the metal shows in this city. It is becoming a real nexus point in Montreal's metal scene, as the improved space in the bar's upstairs area is able to take on more and bigger shows. I find this to be a welcome change, as we can use all of the friendly venues for heavy metal music that we can get. The evening had four bands, and Blackscorn opened the evening.

Blackscorn were the evening's local band. Theirs was a brand of black metal that was in the vein of the Norse bands of old such as Mayhem or Gorgoroth. In fact, I would say that they carried a heavy Mayhem influence. Their songs did the job that they were supposed to, and the execution of these songs did the job of warming up the crowd to a more than sufficient degree. They were corpsepainted and battle-jacketed, and they brought a number of props, such as severed animal heads wrapped in barbed wire and sacrificial altars, to the stage. This attention to detail, however, got them into trouble later on in the show. See, they ended up leaving those animal heads and altars on the stage after they finished. Now, I thought that they belonged to one of the later bands on the bill until one of Valkyrja's crew members curtly asked them to remove their shit from the stage. Here's a piece of free advice to local bands: don't leave your props on the stage after your set. It's a real gig foul.

Hailing from Chicago, Hellfire Deathcult were the real deal. Theirs is a style of black metal/grindcore crossover that tends to be called "war metal." While, in my opinion, a stupid genre name, it is nonetheless a style that includes groups like Revenge, Blasphemy, Beherit, and Conqueror. Their set included non-stop blast beats with indistinguishable hyper speed guitar riffs, along with belchingly low lead vocals. It sounded like a big fat blackened mess, and was a good representation of the style. They were dressed in cloaks and balaclavas. A charismatic bunch.

Valkyrja were another group of corpsepainted men, and they took things a step further by also being very dusty It was as though they were ancient black metal knights that had laid dormant for centuries in a darkened crypt only to come alive at the moment of their set. They were that dusty. One wonders how none of the members had a coughing fit on stage from all of that dust. I guess you get used to it after a while. Their music was melodic black metal roughly in the style of Watain, rife with rollicking riffs and shredding guitar solos. They delivered the goods, and the crowd was appreciative of that delivery.

Archgoat were the band of the night. It was the must-see event of the week. They took to the stage with an incredible presence, as these corpsepainted comrades kicked all of our asses. They ground us into a fine paste with slow, doomlike passages, and incited extreme mosh-pitting with blast sections. People feared for their lives in an Archgoat most pit. Lead vocalist/bassist Lord Angelslayer belted out his lyrics with the lowest otherworldly gurgling that I have seen on stage in a long time. It was majestic. They were playing in support of their new split album with Satanic Warmaster, of which guitarist Ritual Butcherer said was a fun re-recording of two classic EPs from two old school Finnish groups. He said that it was good to revisit those old songs from the Angelcunt (Tales of Desecration) EP, as the band's sound has evolved since then to incorporate lower guitar tunings and other, similarly more brutal and extreme improvements. He additionally told me that it was a DIY affair, as Archgoat has not stepped into a proper studio since 1993. All of these aspects befit such an extreme and anti-commercial black metal group, who famously took a ten year long break from performing and recording in protest of what they saw as a commercialization of black metal music. Truly, they are one of the reigning champions of true black metal. All opposed must leave the hall.

--Sean Z. hosts Sublime State of Doom every Monday at 8 PM, only on CJLO.

We at CJLO (that is Joana, the host of Je Suis TBA and Christina from Yonic Youth) jumped on a plane in mid-March, leaving the confused Montreal spring behind to check out the hot lineup for the 2016 edition of SXSW (South by Southwest) in Austin, Texas.

Hooked up by our generous host with bikes, a beautiful place to crash and a slew of insider’s tips on what is worth checking out in the city, we were set to overdose on new music.

Now that the dust has settled, here are a few things that stood out to us during the desert fest:

Joana and Christina on a Ferris Wheel: First Day of SXSW

OFFICIAL SHOWS

DonMonique at the Empire Control Room for the Kitsuné-presented showcase.

Donmonique

DonMonique was exactly the performer you would hope her to be if, like me, you have only been following her career online. She played a short energy fuelled set, then basically just hung around with her all-girl entourage collectively exuding otherworldly quantities of beauty and cool.

Glitter Wizard

As much a feast for the eyes as they were for the ears, this group delivered a dreamy desert glam-metal performance that could win over even the coldest of hearts.

Danny L. Harle

Any friend of PC Music is a friend of mine. The sound-quality of this set was phenomenal and the weird camera-based projections ensured that all of the senses were seriously engaged, if not slightly confused.

Mueran Humanos

This duo performed at Hotel Vegas during the Levitation showcase. Super psych-y. Very entrancing. The whole “Mueros” album is worth listening to over and over again.

DJ Paypal

This insane set rallied enough excitement to inspire many (weirdly talented) people in attendance to vogue and bust out FULL SPLITS on the dance floor. Mesmerizing performance, fellow audience members. Excellent music, DJ Paypal.

UNOFFICIAL SHOWS

Pill

I never realized how much I was lacking saxophone in my life until listening to this band.

Wall

A quick, cool set by a band that was obviously in high demand. Wall is punk as heck—but your less punk office mates will probably also dig listening to them on repeat.

Boan

Even on a very bright southern day this band was dark as the night.

Boan performing at the Las Cruxes x Farewell Books daytime show.

BEST (NON-BAND) FINDS

Space: The Museum of Human Achievement

A space that self identifies as being more cult-like than club-like, I could tell that is was a shapable place that has seen many moons of varied creation and is likely to see many more. A little trek off the downtown path, this space is located in a cluster of other creative, industrial-style spaces.

Thor and Friends playing a show presented by the Austin Cultural Exchange and Self Sabotage Records in The Museum of Human Achievement.

Label: Obsolete Future

The Austin/Denver co-founders of Obsolete Future have curated a cluster of releases that are noisy, dance-y, careful and fun.

Store/Gallery/Cafe: Farewell Books 

This is a store that seems to hold a book for any lucid dreamer, deep thinker, lover, creative leader, happy friend, or cheerleader for the arts. This space is a as cozy as it is cool so make sure you plan enough time to hangout for a bit.

Transportation: Bikes

Throw on a helmet and some serious lights because chances are you are going to be crossing a highway during your night out. Get there in one piece.

Joana rollin’ around on a very cool BMX bike.

SPECIAL BONUS: SXSW 2016'S AUDIOVISUAL SWEETS AND DELIGHTS 

In case you haven't had enough of these tasty SXSW treats, check out the extensive coverage we did of the music, the sounds, the sights, and lots more on our respective shows, all ready to be devoured for your listening pleasure!

SXSW Coverage from Je Suis TBA

Click here on Part 1 and Part 2 to hear the excitement and amazing beats in store on these preview episodes. And click over here to listen to our special post-festival show for some wonderful new discoveries. 

SXSW Coverage from Yonic Youth 

Yonic Youth also has some awesome finds that you should check out. Click here for the pre-festival extravaganza, and here for the final round-up!

And to top it all off, check out our video documenting the euphoria and joy of being there right where the action is! We look forward to coming back to Austin again next year! Until then, enjoy the music, and the memories!

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Christina Bell hosts Yonic Youth, celebrating the artistic genius of women in music. Hear it every Friday from 3 - 4pm. Joana Cumo hosts Je Suis TBA, a Frenglish show that brings you fresh and iconic hip-hop, funk, house, and weird beats. Mondays from 6 - 7pm. All times in EST (UTC-5), only on CJLO.