Concert Reviews

With their debut album Music is the Answer, Guelph-based music and art project SHEBAD lay bare their identity, sonically and as a collective. The LP flutters across the worlds of indie neo-soul and experimental R&B, carried along by intricate jazz melodies and intimate, pensive lyrics.

    Barcelona’s Prison Affair are one of the leading names in the internet-oriented microgenre called egg-punk. Both they and the bands that get grouped in with them are known for short, rapid, abrasive and immediately catchy lo-fi music, often with unintelligibly crunched vocals and cheap keyboard hooks.

Perfect, just perfect. That’s the only word I can use to describe a Tamino concert experience. Seeing the Belgian-Egyptian singer live at MTelus brought me a moment of solace during a busy and stressful finals period. Tamino performed on April 9, right in the middle of the last week of classes. Although it may not have been ideal, I could never complain about seeing one of my favourite artists live.  

    In June of 2022, Kraftwerk made an appearance at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier for a grandiose multimedia concert. My friend and I considered going, he being a much bigger fan of the early Kraftwerk stuff than I.

Picture this: official St.Patrick's night on a Monday, after the first of many sunny springtime weekends in Montreal. Everyone came alive these past few days, eagerly crawling out of our winter cocoons. Spring welcomed us back with the classic Irish cheer they speak of, and this energy was palpable as ever outside of Bar le Ritz, a reliable spot for weekday shows. The crowd was a melange of people, loud with conversation after a seemingly long day of celebration. Impatiently watching the band set up, it felt as if a song was being communally held in. 

Any show which can rouse me from my Monday mid-afternoon, post-Hive free lunch nap better be one worth writing home about – Starcleaner Reunion and Friko’s Monday night show at Bar Le Ritz was worth every second and the near 40-minute trek it took to get home.