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The stage at MTELUS had been transformed into a queer rockstar fairytale. Various instruments lay scattered around, framed by a giant golden picture frame held aloft by four bleeding hands with 'Cheap Queen' monogrammed behind on an enchanted forest painting. Literally a dream.

Girlpool, an LA based queer band, are supporting Mikaela Straus, aka King Princess, on the Cheap Queen tour. Girlpool's synthy folk-punky love songs soured across the high ceilings of Mtelus, enchanting many members of the audience who had never heard of Girlpool before. Girlpool's newest album, What Chaos is Imaginary, dropped this past february.

Between sets, Henry, who was dressed in a pink princess dress and is Mikaela Straus' best friend, would come onto stage to edge the audience while pretending to sweep the stage, following a Cinderella trope. But, instead of a dancing at the King's palace, we had our very own King dancing for us.

Just before King Princess' set, Miss Denim Pussy, a local Montreal drag performer, lip-synced while dancing around in a cow print and leather bodysuit, whipping a lasso around and momentarily riding in a baby car (look it up on instagram). The audience ate it up.

Finally, our midnight-moment had arrived. The band members of King Princess came out in matching white jumpsuits with their name, zodiac sign, height and instrument stitched on. Mikaela ran onto the stage and immediately jumped into their opening song, "Tough on Myself", also the first song on their new album, Cheap Queen. Despite Cheap Queen only dropping a week before, the audience new every lyric to every song, even those released in previous EPs in 2018. King Princess knows how to put on a show. Clad in a red sparkly crop top, white rhinestone slacks, and a denim 'diaper', she executes her stage performance perfectly, her dance moves indulging the audience's sapphic tendencies. Her stage hands knew what was up as well, appearing on stage to hand off instruments, tying shoes, and to unzip Mikaela's 'diaper'.    

"Do you like my new record?" King Princess asked the audience coyly, responding with "I'm so glad," after the expected screams and cheers. She jumped into track after track, nobody ever losing any energy, even during the slower and sadder songs, which one could hear audible sobs emanating from the audience. Cheap Queen is a queer breakup album, 'full of tea' as Mikaela described it. She spoke about her pain and loss from love, but how she's healed and come more into herself. The popularity that King Princess has reached is telling of a society evolving to acceptance and equity, and freaking great albums.

Jasper is the host of party @ marpiter, their show airs every Tuesday at 5:00 PM EST.

An all-star lineup of Montreal female music artists gathered together to raise money for Chez Doris, a women’s shelter here in Montreal, at Casa Del Popolo on October 10th. Flying under the banner of Grrls Groove, the evening was hosted by famed CBC broadcaster Emily Brass and CJLO’s own Krystal St. John. Also in the house providing some great beats were CJLO DJs SugarFace Nene and Lady Oracle.

It was a busy night with many acts entertaining the packed room. Getting the evening started was a mesmerizing and operatic performance by Samling Productions. Next up was a solo artist that goes by the name Sattelites. She performed a trio of gritty heartfelt songs titled “Love and Disaster”, “We Got Lost”, and “Take Me”.

One of the many themes running throughout evening surrounded the struggles facing women in the male-dominated music industry. Natasha Marie’s song “The Warden” was a prime example of this. Despite her lyrical themes staying focused on gender issues, in just a few songs she crossed many musical genres from pop, gospel, and hip-hop.

Bringing some soul and R&B to the evening were the laid-back grooves of Lorelai Lahiri. Following this, Thea Cruz had the audience singing backup to her song “Stand” with the house chanting, “We’re gonna bring the storm” on repeat.

All of the above was just the first half of the evening. Even though it was an evening for the ladies, there was one man who played a very important role in getting the show off the ground and that was Mike Vo. During the show’s halftime, he held a brief trivia contest that came down to the wire with both leading contestants ending in a first-place tie, proving that everyone was a winner at this edition of Grrls Groove.

Sophie Chen kicked off the second half of the evening. Her set was a more personal approach to songcraft. One number was a love song for millennials and another, a tribute to her father who recently passed away. Taking things up a notch was hip-hop artist Talia and her in-your-face attitude with songs like “I Am Legend” and "Ain’t We Above It” which gave the evening a bit of edge.

Bringing some island warmth to a Montreal autumn evening was Odreii with her Jamaican influenced song titled “Link Up”. Closing out a full evening of Montreal’s finest female musicians (with the help of a few good men backing them up) was rocker Tatum Quinn. She started out with an original song titled “Set You Straight” of which she paired her wailing vocals against the screeching guitar of Robbie Greenfield. Her second song was a tribute to a friend battling cancer with “Really Not There”. Then, she treated the audience to a new song, just the second time played live, called “Mr. Mystery”. Nothing is better to close out a night of music than a good old-fashioned blowout and that was provided by her rousing rendition of AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell.”

There was a very good turnout for the event and without a doubt this edition of Grrls Groove was a resounding success. The evening raised money for an important cause that being the Chez Doris women's shelter, with fifty percent of the proceeds going towards the woman’s shelter. It was also a success in showcasing some of Montreal’s most talented female artists.

Here are a few photos from the night.

CJLO DJ Sugarface Nene opens the Grrls Groove night.

Krystal St. John, Host of CJLO’s "The Trend".

A touch of the classics with Samling Productions.

Home-spun truth with the Sattelites project.

Singer-songwriter Natasha Marie delivers a profound set early on in the night.

Soul and R&B artist Lorelai Lahiri.

Trea Cruz brought the storm.

CJLO DJs Lady Oracle (left), Sugarface Nene (center), and Mike Vo (Right).

CBC journalist and radio personality Emily Brass.

Sophie Chen sings songs about millennials and their often unhighlighted issues.

Talia bringing the attitude.

Reggae and tropical artist Odreii.

Tatum Quinn rocking Casa Del Popolo.

A post-show shot of all the women who made this event possible.

It was twenty years ago around this time when CJLO got its start. The year was 1999 - Jeopardy was at its peak and The Sixth Sense (I see dead people!) was just released. Montreal even had a baseball team and the Canadiens failed to make the playoffs, which was the closest the world came to ending despite all of the Y2K hysteria. Cher had a number one hit with  “Believe” and Britney Spears was doing it “One More Time.”

To mark this momentous occasion of CJLO’s 20 years, we teamed up with Greenland Entertainment and co-presented an evening of music at Theatre Fairmount. Electronic pop groups Legal Vertigo and The Operators, both from Montreal, played to a packed room in momentous fashion. Here’s what happened that night.

The audience was in a celebratory mood from the very first act. Legal Vertigo is led by lead singer Andrew Woods and backup vocals/guitarists Basia Bulat and Pallice. The band played songs from their up-coming album Tragic Future Film Star, which is due out in November. One of the more memorable tunes was "Napster Vertigo", which was the former name of the band according to lead singer Woods, but was changed in fear of litigation and more importantly, an enormous lawyer bill. Legal Vertigo played a song titled "Now is Better Than Before" and after their 40-minute set one would have to agree with the track’s title. Memorably, Woods' dance moves and personable persona primed the audience for The Operators, CJLO anniversary-bash headliners.

The Operators is the latest project by Wolf Parade vocalist/guitarist Dan Boeckner. The band also features Devojka on synths/vocals and drummer Sam Brown and are actually currently on tour with Legal Vertigo promoting their latest material. The electronic power trio basked in the glow of an omnipresent backdrop projection lending unnerving visuals to the already-unnerving harmonics.

Finishing their east coast tour promoting new albums, the audience had the pleasure of welcoming the two bands back to Montreal. By the end of the night after two energized sets both Legal Vertigo and The Operators proved there that there’s always something special about hometown concerts.

We can only imagine what the 40th birthday party will be like! Will people arrive via flying electric cars? Will the bands be playing on a levitating stage? Maybe the party will be simulcasted to a hotel on mars. Whatever the case, our future selves will be hard-pressed to top CJLO’s 20th birthday bash.

Here are a few photos from the event:

1. CJLO staff Stephen and Jessica manning the merch booth. CJLO is in the house!

2. Members of Legal Vertigo lending some powerful backup featuring Basia Bulat on guitar.

3. Andrew Woods of Legal Vertigo can dance, sing, and play keyboards.

4. Legal Vertigo under the bright lights.

5. Devojka of The Operators showing her skills with the soundboard.

6. Dan Boeckner of The Operators delivered energetic vocals from the first to last note of the performance.

7. The Operators: electronic pop group heading for the stars.

8. The Operators with their new album cover art in the background.

9. CJLO's publicity poster designed by art director Angelica Calcagnile.

10. A slice of home at the merch booth.

Here's to another 20 at CJLO!

Ahmad Moujtahed

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LOCAL

Montreal police are investigating after a father and his two children were found dead in a home in the borough of Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.

The children, a seven-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl, were discovered by their mother as she returned home from work on Tuesday October 22. 

Investigators believe the father killed his children before taking his own life. Sources say there were signs of violence on the children’s bodies. An autopsy report will be conducted to confirm the cause of the deaths.

NATIONAL

Justin Trudeau: “And to Canadians in Alberta and Saskatchewan, know that you are an essential part of our great country. I've heard your frustration and I want to be there to support you. Let us all work hard to bring our country together.”

In his victory speech, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau addressed Albera and Saskatchewan where  some residents are calling for separation. The Alberta separatist movement, Wexit, has grown in popularity on social media after the Liberals won a minority government.

Wexit is calling for the separation of western Canada from the rest of the country. The separation movement is expected to heat up as feelings of anger and alienation are mounting, according to political analysts in Mount Royal University.

The mayors of Edmonton and Calgary hope that the federal government will work with them on issues that are important to the cities.

INTERNATIONAL

Thousands of protesters in Lebanon are demonstrating for a sixth consecutive day, despite emergency reforms announced by the prime minister.

According to Al Jazeera, demonstrations in Lebanon began last week over the government's plan to impose new taxes, but have since widened into calls for the entire political class to step down. 

The protests have been spontaneous, lacking leadership or organisation and remarkably devoid of sectarian tinge. Despite the reforms, the government could not contain the anger of a population that is tired of economic stagnation, corruption and a lack of basic public services.