Concert Reviews

While Summer has announced itself to Montrealers through its many heat waves, the four-bill Summer Solstice show at L’Hemisphere Gauche on Beaubien kicked off the official first day of Summer with live performances from local bands, as well as those from Ottawa and Toronto. The Ottawa three-piece band Backstreet Dragon opened the night with songs from the latest album Kick Rocks and gave the crowd a sneak peek at some soon-to-be released summer tunes. Followed by Joey Bird and the Toronto band Roach, the night ended with a vibrant performance by the Montreal group Societal Siege. 

The post-punk genre has seen a notable resurgence in recent years, with bands like Fontaines D.C. and Dry Cleaning breathing new life into the sound and captivating a whole new generation of music lovers. Among these acts are Detroit rockers Protomartyr, who have solidified their place in this revival over their 10+ years in the scene, amassing a considerable following along the way.

These devoted fans stormed La Tulipe in droves Sunday night, eager to see the band perform tracks off their latest album, Formal Growth in the Desert, which dropped just days prior.

Death to All. A field of beans. Thousands of screeching fans throw the hammer down as the world’s best Chuck Schuldiner lookalike assumes the position. Wild.

Tribute bands are horrible. The kind of people who choose to dress up as famous musicians just because they’re bored of pulling 40 hours a week in a stained office chair make me sick. I mean sure, who doesn’t look in the mirror and look back at themselves with a stiff Jim Morrison face every once in a while, but there really are a lot of perverts out there.

‘Does Casa del Popolo have a generator?’. ‘Does it have A/C?’. These were notions that certainly went through spectators’ minds as they ran into the venerable show bar during a fierce electrical storm that left parts of the city in a blackout. At thirty degrees plus humidity, Casa’s ventilation would be put to the test, hosting three indie rock outfits whose high energy would push the system to its limit. It was worth it.

In a Montreal spring, many days you look up, sure it’s about to start raining, the sky dark, and atmospheric pressure pressing down on you so much you almost feel under the weather, but the clouds never open, and that release of rain is never found. This was the case on Monday, May 13th, when Ride came to Fairmount Theatre with its equally pummelling guitars and abrasive sound. 

Slaughter Beach, Dog’s (“SBD”) sold-out show at Le Ministère was both cozy and intimate. Instead of touring with the usual ensemble, SBD’s North American solo tour was led by none other than Jake Ewald. As one of the founding members of Modern Baseball, Jake is no stranger to the indie-rock genre. In fact, his past work with Modern Baseball and his current solo tour under the SBD banner are indicative of his role in defining the genre throughout the past decade.