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Montreal postal workers strike
Canada Post workers in Montreal went on strike late Sunday night. Their reasons for walking off include workplace safety, wages for new employees, and sick leave.
Postal workers in Winnipeg and Hamilton also went on strike last week.
The strike is set to last until 11:30pm Monday night. No mail will be delivered across Montreal while the workers are off the job.
Flaherty to table new budget
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty will table Canada’s budget to the House of Commons Monday afternoon. It will be an almost identical budget to the one tabled on March 22. The Conservatives hold a majority of the seats in Parliament and the budget is likely to pass without any trouble.
Flaherty said a few tweaks have been made to March’s budget. Political parties’ direct public subsidies will be phased out over a three-year period. Parties in the past would get two dollars annually for every vote they received in the previous general election. This cost the federal treasury $27 million every year.
Quebec might also be looking at a payday if an agreement can be reached with the federal government by Sept. 15. Flaherty has set aside $2.2 billion for Quebec for harmonizing its provincial and federal sales taxes.
In March, Flaherty called the budget a “low tax plan for jobs and growth”. The Conservatives have promised to eliminate Canada’s deficit by 2015-2016. They even said they would be able to do it by 2014-2015 during the last election campaign.
27th Tour de l'Île cyclists ride through Montreal
Around 25,000 people showed up with bikes at the ready on Sunday for Tour de l'Île, so many that some riders had to wait an hour just to get started. 2,600 volunteers also staffed the 52 kilometre route for the the 27th annual event.
Cyclists kicked off their trip on Parc Avenue at 9:15 Sunday morning. They were enthusiastic about the ride, which had them travel through and around the city.
However, the subsequent road closings until 4:30 p.m, were as usual a headache for motorists. Drivers had to deal with related road closings all weekend, as the Tour de Nuit happened on Friday as of 7 p.m. The evening ride is shorter at about 20 kilometres in length.
Photo by Betty Esperanza
Milow + Brett Denen @ National Theatre
Brett Dennen took the stage in front of a packed house at the gorgeous and historic National Theatre. While I disapprove of his music generally, the songsmith has an undeniable charisma, and set against the smoky, softly lit backdrop of the National’s stage his 6’5” frame is impossible to ignore. His entrance was marked by screams from the crowd, many of whom had obviously come just to hear him play.
On the back end of their North American tour, Dennen and his band were in top form. The hour-long set was well rehearsed and crisply executed, and the crowd responded, singing and clapping along the whole time, but lighting up especially for the early single "Ain’t No Reason" (2006) and his most recent hit "Sydney (I’ll Come Runnin)" (2011).
Dennen himself sounded great; his voice ranged from a raspy moan to a soulful, lucid falsetto. For me, Dennen’s flexibility of vocal expression is the thread that both connects and gives life to his music. It is everything that his songwriting is generally not: textured, expressive, and meaningful.
Some people filtered out before Milow (Jonathan Vandenbroeck) and his band set up their instruments, but a decent crowd remained to hear them out. Vandenbroeck introduced himself, and spoke throughout his set in halting, garbled French. Combined with the beaming grin permanently affixed to his face and his boyish movements on stage, this gave his performance a naïveté that almost excused his moronic lyricism, and simplistic musical choices.
Milow saved his adult contemporary version of Timberlake/land’s "Ayo Technology" for last. The crowd responded powerfully, and Vanderbroeck milked it, instigating claps and sing-alongs, jumping up and down, and eventually descending into the crowd to chant the chorus to "99 Problems."
Milow’s encore began unplugged, with just him and his guitarist, Tom Vanstiphout, playing and singing into one microphone stand. The noise of the crowd moving and chatting at first drowned out the much quieter sound from the stage. The shushing that ensued drained all the energy out of the building, making the first song uncomfortable for everyone, especially Milow.
I should warn readers that neither Dennen nor Milow belong in the category of music that I usually listen to. Nevertheless, the show was a good time. Dennen’s set in particular surprised me, and I’m sure that if I liked Milow’s music I would have had nothing to complain about. The National Theatre itself deserves attention for its incredible sound and ambiance. If someone you listen to is playing there, go see them, full stop.
-Thomas McManus
Movie passes & Secret Prize
CJLO is giving away passes to the new Justin Timberlake & Mila Kunis movie; Friends with Benefits. Tune in to CJLO between Noon and 4 today for your chance to win. When you hear the host announce the give away call 514 - 848 - 7471.
Catch CJLO on 1690am in Montreal | CJLO.com/cjlo.m3u | iTunes Radio
June 3rd 2011
Read and produced by Erica Bridgeman
Stories written by Michael Lemieux, Aisha Samu and Samah Fadil.
Friendly Fires + Wise Blood @ Theatre Corona
Hailing from the UK, Friendly Fires made a splash on the music scene when about half of their debut album was part of commercials and video game soundtracks. In fact, I only learned about this band through a commercial for Nintendo’s Wii. Their music is infectious and it’s hard to stay still while listening to them.
I purchased their first album when I had the chance and gave it a listen. For a three piece ensemble, their first record sounded so full. Once Pala dropped on May 16th, so did my jaw. If I thought their eponymous debut was impressively arranged and grandiose, I needed to invent a whole new word for their new record. I began to wonder how they would play these songs live. Luckily, Friendly Fires were in town May 28th, touring to support the release, and I was ready to be impressed or let down.
Their opening band, Wise Blood, is a three-piece noise rock group whose lead man made the audience slightly uncomfortable with phrases like “I was about to shoot myself in the mouth and then I came to Montreal.” While the band only consisted of a drummer, singer and a keyboardist with a Mac laptop, they managed to move the crowd’s heads into a synchronized slow bob.
At approximately nine o’clock, the lights dimmed for a second time to usher on the band of the night. Jumping on stage, singer Edward Macfarlane wore a gray buttoned down shirt with the cuffs rolled above his elbows that would eventually turn blue, drenched in sweat over the course of the concert. MacFarlane immediately began swinging his hips to the indie-pop/disco revival of "Lovesick," a single from their debut album, and during the final chorus of the song he jumped down from the stage to dance with the audience. Dancing among us, he delivered vocals and smooth hip rolls while staring into the eyes of everyone he came in contact with.
Needless to say, this high energy introduction to their set made me wonder if they could keep it up. However, they only surpassed the bar they set with "Lovesick." They moved into their latest single "Blue Cassette" and back into some old favourites. With a two man horn section, they amped up the ambiance and made a wise effort to recreate their songs from headphones to the stage.
What was even more amazing is the band connected seamlessly. Macfarlane never had to interject between songs or introduce them; they were simply performed. The arrangements met the standards of the albums and surpassed them, and the audience recognized them instantly.
To be honest, I knew what to expect from the vocalist and the guitarist. Their work on the record translated well onto the stage (with some added hip rotations and sexy dancing). What I was looking forward to was the drummer. Listening to the albums, it is clear Friendly Fires use drum machines to accompany their rhythmic counterpart. While looking at their set up, I noticed the bassist’s station was packed in with toms, snares and cymbals. Seeing this and the massive drum kit, I realized they were going to recreate the feel of the records to the tee.
I am not a fan of live CDs. However, what Friendly Fires can do live made it difficult for me to listen to their CDs again. I yearn for their bands energy and presence from the stage. And while the audio won’t capture Macfarlane’s hips, I wait patiently for the release of a live album.
I highly recommend seeing this band live.
-Mike Carrozza
Bike Paths to Close for Grand Prix
Access to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve race track on Ile Notre Dame will be closed to cyclists starting this weekend. The Grand Prix Formula One race has led officials to close off access for safety reasons.
Access will be shut down starting at six a.m. June fourth until five a.m. June fourteenth. Access to Ile Notre Dame from the South Shore via the Victoria Bridge cycling path will also be closed.
Cyclists will have access to Ile Ste. Helene via the de la Concorde Bridge. Cyclists will also be able to go to and from the South Shore using the Jacques Cartier Bridge.
Postal Strike
Tonight snail mail will become even slower as Canadian postal workers go on strike. As of midnight the Canadian Union of Postal Workers will begin a series of 24-hour strikes starting in Winnipeg.
The union has been in contract talks with Canada Post for over seven months but has not reached an agreement. On Monday, they gave the required 72 hours notice for a strike.
The union is demanding increases in wages as well as upgrades to sick leave and pensions. Currently a starting postal worker makes $23 an hour.
President and CEO of Canada Post Deepak Chopra has called the union’s demands “out of touch.” Canada Post faces a declining letter business as well as a deficit of $3.2 billion. He says the Internet is a big reason for the drop in business.
The last time postal workers went on strike was 1997. After two weeks the strike was ended by federal legislation.
June 1st, 2011
Read by Sarah Deshaies
Produced by Nikita Smith
Stories written by Sarah Deshaies, Dominique Daoust, AJ Cordeiro
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