Magazine

Independent, provocative, now! The CJLO Magazine is the resource for features, reviews, and interviews. Established in 2004, and run by dedicated CJLO volunteers, the magazine covers the latest and best in local and international music, art, theatre, film, festivals, and more!


A Summer Sendoff: Electrifying Performances by Chanel Beads, Kassie Kurt & Can’t Believe at Bar L’Escogriffe

Lingering feelings of summer were high this past Saturday, after a hot, heartening night of music at Bar l’Escogriffe. After this perfectly orchestrated, totally satisfying lineup of Chanel Beads, Kassie Krut and Can’t Believe, Saint Denis was bustling with show-goers, riding on a high, as the recently applauded artists casually walked out onto the streets. This three-act bill took us on a deep exploration of a fresh melange of electronic, noise, pop music, and even elements of contemporary folk, with resonant and introspective lyrics carrying us through the night. It felt like we had been taken on a journey, all the while remaining grounded in the steamy, red-hued room. 


A Night Of Redemption

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.


Birds in Row bring sharp sound to Cabaret Foufs, along with Single Mothers and Botfly

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.


Peter Cat Recording Co. brings a worrying amount of everything to the Beanfield

If anything can foretell how good a show will be, it's the empty stage of the Beanfield. Covered in a truly surprising amount of instruments for a five-man band, red light glistens off drums, bass, three guitars, and an array of keyboards and wind instruments.


Crumb and L’Rain Effortlessly Triumph at Theatre Beanfield

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?


Okay Kaya September 7th at The Fairmount

On an unseasonably chilly and wet Saturday evening, a dedicated fan base turned out to the Okay Kaya show at the Fairmount Theatre. Damp umbrellas dotted the crowd that was composed of fans old and young, loud and quiet, yet all were, much like Okay Kaya herself, oozing cool fluidity. 


Palomosa 2024 Review - Ashes To Ashes

Bad luck doesn’t begin to describe what hit the organizers of the Palomosa Festival.

First the emails to ticket holders telling then they could bring a +1 for free. Then the wave of discount ticket prices in bulk for McGill students. And finally the forecast of heavy rain for the second of the festival’s two days.

But worst of all, Kali Uchis, the coup of a headliner Palomosa got for its second day, pulled out only a few days before the festival commenced, with little to suggest that it was due to anything other than low ticket sales.


Amidst the fog at Cigarettes After Sex

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. 


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