Concert Reviews

On September 12th, 2024 FJStar hit the stage with a group she formed specifically for the release of her album TO BE YOUNG. The original show had been rescheduled because of the floods back on August 9th. They had to change venues, continue rehearsals, and re-organize another show.

On September 10th, 2024, Birds in Row made their third cross-continental journey to Montreal, all the way from Laval. Laval, France, that is. Exploding onto France’s Hardcore Punk scene with their debut album You, Me and The Violence in 2012, they’ve evolved to a more atmospheric sound with noise-rock and 90s alt-rock influences over the course of two more albums and a handful of EPs.

It’s always funny how depending on what day you see a concert, it can add a whole new dimension and energy to a show. We all know the woes of dragging yourself out to a Monday or Tuesday night show, and the enthusiasm and rejuvenation that a Friday night show could bring. So what about a Sunday show? And on top of that, a Sunday show in the middle of the last long weekend of summer?

The last day of August, Saturday, August 31st, was rainy. The perfect weather for a Cigarettes After Sex concert, especially one that will start off the American pop band’s X’s World Tour. The Centre Bell was filled with smog. Thick clouds billowed in every staircase. Perhaps it was the mist rising from the audiences’ wet clothes, or the workers were testing the smoke machines before the show, but it turned the arena into the setting of a gothic novel. 

The second-to-last week in August is a busy one for lovers of electronic music. With MUTEK well underway, local and international producers are doing live sets in the neighbourhood of Place-des-Arts. After seeing the final act of the free outdoor Éxperience event, some head home, while others go to one of the late-night MUTEK events. Some of us, myself included, are headed to a different kind of after-party.

For the past two decades, the end of July and the beginning of August in Montreal have become synonymous with the city’s annual music festival Osheaga. Having grown up in Montreal, Osheaga was in many ways the (musical) green light at the end of the dock - the pinnacle of good music -whatever that means- in the eyes of a much younger version of myself. While I still went this year, perhaps it was not with the same level of enthusiasm and eagerness my former-self once felt. The festival, which has taken a life of its own, often overshadows other events happening in the city. For one weekend, and whether you like it or not, Osheaga takes over the city, attracting what seems to be a growing crowd each year. 

For a music journalist, covering multiple local gigs a month, shows can often become monotonous. Same venues, same industry acquaintances, same local beer, same flavours of indie rock, it can be difficult to find something new to say. 

But, once in a while, the weary critic will find herself in attendance of something truly special. This was the case for me at this past Tuesday’s show at L’Escogriffe featuring Burlington Vermont’s own Greg Freeman.