RSS

This was my first time at Corona Theater and Papa, the opening act, were taking the stage. They had two members from Girls and three other band members that played an exuberant, joyful set. The audience was eating up every song they performed as the front man controlled them with his glowing positivity. The mutual feeling of happiness to be in that moment was very apparent, and it put everyone in a good mood to take in what was forthcoming. At the end of Papa's set, the front man gave everyone high fives just for a little extra adrenaline. It felt good to be drenched in San Francisco indie vibes.

As Nobunny prepared for their set, it was instantly apparent that this was going to be a freaky show. This four-piece rock band played songs that drew influences from bands like Ramones and Misfits. They stopped in between songs only so the lead singer could play with his rather creepy bunny mask. He was wearing only briefs and a tiny leather jacket. From time to time he would shock the crowd with a little strip tease while moaning sweet nothings into the microphone. In spite of his mic feeding back into his monitor at points, the lead man would continue throwing himself around the stage, climbing up on amplifiers, blowing his nose and shaking his sweaty body directly into the stage. It was slightly juxtaposed to the rest of the band, who seemed well composed, but having a good time nonetheless. They pulled off their goofy, sexy, aggressive set well, and pumped the audience up even more.

Girls kicked off their set with "Laura", the earnest yet awkward confessional tune that represents so many high school romances. Christopher Owens' voice was distinct and heartbreaking. The music invited the listener to an intimate world full of young love, failure and struggle, similar to the songwriting of Brian Wilson. The song "Vomit" started with a dark Pink Floyd-esque guitar melody that evolved into an epic soundscape with screeching guitar solos and classic rock organ chords. A lot of bands have tried to pull off the early rock and roll sound and failed, but Girls keeps the authenticity in tact with honest lyrics and a tight band. During one song, the audience became so heated that some guy jumped on stage and ran to the other side of the crowd hooting and cheering the band on, when shortly after a young girl did the same chasing after him. Christopher just smiled at how cute the whole happening was and played on. Even though Owens may still be "looking for love," his music is perfect for living in love with someone else (as destructive as that may turn out be... especially if you are Christopher Owens). If you haven't got into Girls yet... now is the time.

-Michael Cota

Ten years of Pop? Holy crap!

Some of the best shows I’ve ever seen happened during those years. I think of Nick Cave, Os Mutantes, Loudon Wainwright, Yo La Tengo, Sufjan Stevens, Les Savy Fav, The Asexuals reunion last year…

I’ll probably forget this year; besides the MAMMOTH free Arcade Fire show, there weren’t a whole lot of really high-interest acts. I don’t mean “big-name” acts, just… bands that make you fall out of your seat and say, “WHAT!?!? They still exist? And they’re TOURING?” This year there were a few acts that would’ve fallen into that category (The Raincoats, The Velvelettes, By Divine Right)… but that was about it. Although I’m really enjoying that new Girls record, and Yuck is pretty great… still, you just know they’ll both be playing MTL again within 6 months.

The only band I was willing to spend some of my hard earned… err… student loan on was Redd Kross. I DID fall out of my seat because it was... unexpected. They haven’t released an album since 1997’s Show World, and they haven’t been to Montreal since 2007.

Opening acts Uncle Bad Touch and Les Breastfeeders were pretty excellent, but they weren’t the reason I came in from Ottawa for the weekend. I came purely to see power-pop cult heroes Redd Kross for the first, and probably only time.

How is it possible that most of my friends (even the savviest of music aficionado’s) have never heard of them? It blows my mind; they were never hidden deep within the 80’s-90’s independent scene, and their contemporaries were reasonably popular bands like Dinosaur Jr and Teenage Fanclub. They’ve put out great albums (Born Innocent, Third Eye, Phaseshifter), singles ("Annie’s Gone," "Mess around"), heck, there’s even a music video for “Jimmy’s Fantasy” with a young Jason Lee as the lead role.

Criminally underrated, but not forgotten, Redd Kross’ performance blew me away. Whatever rust that might’ve accumulated over the years was unrecognizable. What you had were the rejuvenated McDonald brothers taking you back to 1987. Songs like “Mess Around”, “Pretty Please Me” and the cover of Bewitched's “Blow You a Kiss in the Wind” were pretty nuts, though I was in full head-banging mode when Phaseshifter hits “Lady in the Front Row” and “Jimmy’s Fantasy” played back-to-back. Did I mention guitarist Robert Hecker’s stage attire? Think Gandhi, in high-waisted orange pants playing a guitar well above the torso. You couldn’t help but stare.

Although I was thrilled with the setlist, there were 3 personal faves I would’ve liked hearing: “Love Is You” off of Neurotica (a 2 minute long song you might’ve written about your girlfriend when you were 16); “Monolith” from Phaseshifter (pne of the happiest songs from their catalogue); and, silly as it sounds, their cover of “Dancing Queen” is terrific. It’s the song that got me into them nearly 10 years ago. 

Oh, and let me add that there needs to be more amazing shows at the Rialto Theater? I hadn’t been there in eight years (though I almost saw Fred Penner there last year). The echo can be a bit much at times, but it’s such a gorgeous and underused venue. The Place can hold a modest-sized crowd, though that night’s audience wasn’t enormous. Looking around, you couldn’t help but notice the high-volume of recognizable MTL music scenesters (past and present), along with local record store owners, clerks, record industry admirers, and oldschool fans that had had September 24th circled on the calendar for months.

I don't know where I fit in, but I was I was glad to be there.

-Michael Bresciani

Stephen Lewis concluded his People vs. Cancer speaking tour at Concordia last night. The former politician and UN ambassadorsaid students must join the fight against cancer.

One in three Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer. Half of these cases could be prevented. But as Stephen Lewis said the fight against cancer has met with “astonishing indifference.

 “There’s a lot of money raised, but on the prevention front, we’re spending far less than we should be spending, and on environmental causes, we’re spending almost nothing at all. There’s something appalling about our inability to come together sufficiently to overcome the passivity and the rigidity with which diseases are dealt, and cancer in particular.”

His point was brought home by the disappointing turn out. Speaking at to a mostly empty auditorium, he called on universities to focus on root causes of cancer deaths, like poverty and the need for generic drugs.

Lewis also criticised Quebec’s recent move to export asbestos to developing countries.

“It is beyond belief that we are exporting death. And it is unimaginable that we are willing to sacrifice lives in developing countries to support a relative handful of jobs in the Canadian economy.”

If you're ever bored, try to find somewhere on the Internet where conventional hip-hop heads try to make sense of the semi-mysterious Sacramento act Death Grips (might I suggest this?). Despite the confusion and occasional antipathy, their Exmilitary mixtape has garnered them a solid following among the sonically adventurous, thanks in no small part to their Bomb Squad-on-mescaline approach (complete with classic punk references and samples). Still, it was a mild shock to see Club Lambi quite literally packed for an act that didn't exist a few months ago (the Mirror's cover story couldn't have hurt, mind).

First up, though, was Da Pink Noise, whose entire set I almost missed as a result of poor timing. Still, I saw enough to get a thorough impression of their sound; it's a sort of retro-futuristic electro-hop, of the sort envisioned in early-90s future dystopias (some of which have, chronologically, come and "gone" already). Not long after that came Kou Chou Ching, an award winning Taiwanese rap group. It's easy to see how they came to nab an audience; they're a fun, likeable crew with a very old-school sensibility and a pretty damn tight live show. Plus, they managed to elicit some crowd interaction without much English (and no French). No small feat. The last opener, B L A C K I E, turned out to be an insanely good fit for our esteemed headliners, also, insane. That his new LP is called True Spirit and Not Giving a Fuck and he's been posited as the first true American grime act says more about his approach to assaultive avant-hip-hop than this blurb ever could.

Despite getting a thorough thrashing from B L A C K I E, there was enough anticipation in the room for Death Grips' inaugural Montreal set that a huge (by Lambi standards) group had amassed pretty tightly at the front of the stage - and sure enough, when the trio took the stage (including ubiquitous drummer Zach Hill and fierce frontman MC Ride) to "Guillotine," things got heated. Hill's typically fleet drumming, employed in the service of high-energy rap, is truly a thing to behold; it's no surprise that the set turned out to be only about 35-minutes. It's hard to imagine anyone feeling short-changed, though, and not just because of the multiple support acts - simply put, Death Grips killed. Anyone that can work up a crowd enough that even this mild-mannered, sadcore-loving shut-in finds himself shouting along on "I Want It I Need It" ("VOLCANO PUSSY MELT YOUR PEENER LIKE ICE!"... *ahem*) and deeply considering stage-diving in the space of barely a half-hour is doing it right. Here's hoping their brand of incendiary hip-hop catches on; the genre could use a lot more fury and a lot less posturing.

-Simon H hosts Sucker Blues on Wednesdays from 4-5pm