Concert Reviews

Concert Review: Iceage @ La Sala Rossa, June 25th 2018

I first heard about Denmark’s Iceage in an Iggy Pop interview with Australia’s Triple J in 2013. They had just released their critically acclaimed sophomore album You’re Nothing, and Iggy was praising them on their ability to “express negative energy.” This led me to downloading the album immediately, and I’ve been a fan since. With Plowing Into the Field of Love, their 2014 album, they displayed their growth in both musicality and lyricism. Their latest effort, Beyondless, supports Iggy Pop’s claim. It demonstrates further growth and maturity and proves that Iceage is a band with something to say, and that they are here to stay.


Concert Review: Insomnium @ Foufounes Électriques, June 20th 2018

June 20th brought us one of the most epic, memorable nights that rocked the Foufounes Électriques. Starting off with the night by wandering around Montreal, on a hot Wednesday afternoon, enjoying the sun and listening to soilwork and gojira, I heavily anticipated the show with high expectations of amazing musicianship and pure craft that is Winter's Gate by Insomnium.


Concert Review: La Luz @ L'Escogriffe, June 4th, 2018

Ever have one of those nights where you have two bands from two very different genres, play at the same time, at different venues? Well, imagine a concert where, on the same night and at one single venue, you could mosh to some garage punk AND sway and bop to some retro rock. Seems impossible? If this is your ideal Monday night, this past June 4th, L’Escogriffe put on a fantastic dual concert that satisfied musical flip-floppers like myself. Math punk rock band Gym Shorts from Rhode Island and retro doo-wop rock band La Luz from Seattle showcased some sick riffs and mellow ballads. More importantly, the night was full of talented and badass women.


Concert Review: The Slyde

June 7th brought us the welcoming prog band The Slyde their first time back in Montreal in 5 years.
 
The show began by myself waiting outside for almost an hour, eagerly waiting to see this glorious band live. I managed to do some sight seeing around Place Des Arts to see what action was happening around the Grand Prix weekend, and never have I seen montreal so packed, especially in the metro:  The city felt alive with a cool vibe. 
 

Metal Review : Ritual Master, Nightbringers, and Momokai

On a very hot Saturday in June, the metal gods embraced us with local band Ritual Master: a band along side many others, like Ashbreather, who are emerging from the outskirts of Montreal. 
 

Concert Review: Vic Mensa @ MURAL Festival, June 7th

Excitement about Vic Mensa’s concert turned into a disappointment for many fans when his show on June 7th was cancelled. However, this cancellation came with a silver lining. MURAL Festival announced that Vic Mensa would join Playboi Carti and Pusha T as a surprise guest. At first, this sounded like a gift from the universe, until you realized that suddenly you were going to the festival.


CJLO @ Pouzza Fest 8

The eighth edition of Montreal’s punk music extravaganza, better known as Pouzza Fest, kicked off the festival season over the Victoria Day weekend, taking place outdoor at Quartier des spectacles and indoors at several establishments centered around the area. 

This year’s fest featured some returning Pouzza alumni like MU330 and The Creepshow, while welcoming some new bands like Reel Big Fish and Face to Face. Punk music has always been known for its political message, and War on Woman and Anti-Flag made sure that fire kept burning at the outdoor stage on Saturday night. 


Festival Review : Distorsion Psychfest Day 2

After a great first night at Distorsion on Wednesday, things were looking good for the festival. Unfortunately, it made it hard to live up to that first night. Thursday started off poorly with the first band hitting the stage almost an hour late. With a four band bill and a start time of 9 p.m., time is precious. No one wants to be at a show late on a weeknight. 


Concert Review: Sa-Roc @ Kalmunity Music Week

First and foremost, I must give the Kalmunity Music Week 2018 a standing round of applause for creating an excellent event with numerous artists from home and abroad spanning numerous genres.

As part of the week, the collective hosted a hip-hop night featuring Washington D.C’s own Sa-Roc (a.k.a Goddess MC), and she did what she usually does: put on a great performance.


15 Years of Unity at Kalmunity, pt.2

This year, the Kalmunity Vibe Collective celebrates their 15-year anniversary. They have provided a creative outlet for musicians, singers, rappers, poets, and dancers by hosting a weekly improvisation night. They got together in 2003 at small venue called Sablo Cafe, founded by drummer Jah Sun, and since then has nurtured aspiring artists to go on stage and express themselves. Some of my closest friends have started with the collective, and now perform around the city, have written books, have put out albums and more.


Festival Review : Distortion Psychfest

The Distortion Psychfest returned to Église S-E-J du Mile-End May 9 to 13 2018 for its third edition. The festival showcases some of the best psych, garage, and noise bands from Montreal and beyond. This years edition kicked things off with a double release party — Tel Aviv→New York guitarist Yonatan Gat’s latest LP Universalist, and Montreal band TEKE::TEKE’s debut EP Jikaku. Sheenah Ko which I unfortunately missed, opened the show filling in for Chris Forsyth, and Sunwatchers took care of the music for the after party.

 


15 Years of Unity at Kalmunity

Canada’s largest and longest running urban music collective Kalmunity celebrates 15 years of unity this week with a pool of talented story-tellers, spoken word poets and singers, including the organization’s declared National Treasure, D’Bi Young Antifrika.

The world-renowned dub poet and storyteller began her journey in the city of Montreal with the Kalmunity’s original members, the majority of which are still a part of the collective today. “To the people in this room, this is who I have become and for that, I say thank you,” the artist said to a crowd full of spectators at Petit Campus on Wednesday, May 2nd.


Concert Review: Brainflower & The Nicotines @ Reggies, April 27, 2017

The sound check was so loud that some customers at the back of Reggies’ Bar, oblivious to the fact that a rock concert was about to begin, complained about the sound to the bartender. Unfortunately for them, the show hadn’t even started yet.

As a small Concordian crowd assembled in front of the stage, the first band, The Nicotines, stepped up onto the stage, surrounded by an army of amps and cabinets.

The Montreal-based trio has been gigging for about one year, and has released one EP, Spaced Out. This was their second concert at Reggies, following ROCK the Winter Away which took place in March.


CJLO @ SXSW : Andrew's Metal Coverage

South By Southwest is at this point a festival that has pretty much everything. Starting as a music festival and then expanding to film, gaming, comedy, and tech, there's not much uncovered territory. This was my first year of attending what is arguably the U.S's largest most compact festival, and I have to say it's a bit overwhelming as a first-timer.

The CJLO contingency, consisting of our head, world music director, hip-hop director, and myself(the metal music director), got in Wednesday afternoon, and after settling in at the hotel we headed to the convention center, to pick up wristbands, because, yeah, we're important like that.


Concert Review: The Darkness @ Corona Theatre, April 17, 2018

June 2004, Verdun Auditorium. Once a tour stop for massive acts like The Clash, Metallica, Black Sabbath and Nirvana, by the 2000s, the venue remained mostly unused, other than for minor hockey. The first—and last—show I would ever see in Verdun was The Darkness, touring their massive debut album Permission to Land. I don’t remember too many details from that night; only that it seemed everyone I knew was there, and we all had an incredible time. I don’t believe there have been any other shows at Verdun Auditorium since. Certainly, it went out with a bang that night.


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