Concert Reviews

On Monday, March 27, The Courtneys, Monomyth, and Mouth Breather played a stacked show at Bar Le Ritz. All three bands have recently dropped new music, and played a mix of fresh tracks and old favourites. The Parc Extension bar was bustling with a warm and eager crowd for the three Canadian slacker pop bands.

Crowds flooded into the Bell Centre on the evening of Saturday, March 18. As the beer flowed and the seats filled, the arena became wired with anticipation. Getting the crowd going indefinitely were the opening two acts: Susto, and the born to rock, Kaleo, who really know how to put on a show. The production value really excelled, sending vibrations into your bones. Icelandic born and bred, Kaleo offered unforgiving vocals and heart-pounding tracks, sending the crowd into frenzy, especially when it was time for “Way Down We Go.” Bravo, boys.

The evening started off slow with myself making my way to the venue, feeling really excited. Since the Stade Uniprix is a fairly new place, I had no expectations on how it was going to be; how big it was or how many people it could hold. Getting off at De Castelnau metro station, I noticed people were looking for the way to get to the venue, and I just followed the crowd. As soon as I saw the stadium, a huge line had already started since doors had opened and it was endless. I was thinking to myself, “holy cow, this is gonna be huge.”

This Monday, two CJLO contributors, Genaro Peña Cruz and Paul Brown, had the chance to see Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears as they performed at La Sala Rossa, as part of the Montréal en Lumière festival going on until March 11. Here’s the story of one single show, told by two different music lovers.

Genaro Peña Cruz’s story

I'm not one to normally go to concerts, but this time, I decided to make the move—especially seeing that it was T.I., and and it would've been his first time coming to Montreal! Needless to say, I had some high expectations for the concert.

Excited and enthusiastic, I got to L'Olympia early to get a good spot to see the big man himself. 

However, the crowd didn't seem too enthusiastic in the beginning. The first set of artists who came out really didn't get the crowd hyped enough for the main show. Some went so far as to attempt crowd surfing, which didn't go well and ultimately didn't work. I think everyone was just waiting for the main event.

I have been looking forward to seeing Black Marble, the dreamy coldwave synth pop duo from Brooklyn, for quite some time. I knew I needed to see them, in part because their music has been occupying my brain since their latest album It’s Immaterial was released, but also because I was curious what the physical manifestation of their music could possibly be like. There is something about their music that carries with it an air of mystery.

I’m loving these Sunday evening 5 à 7 performances at Vice & Versa, a cute brick and wood-trim resto-brewery in Little Italy serving innumerable craft beers on keg and gourmet burgers, slaw, and the like. I enjoyed a wonderful pulled-pork poutine and a few exquisite white beers, surrounded by familiar smiling faces and good tunes.