Magazine

The last time I saw The Von Bondies, I had my hair cut like a Hanson brother and Miley Cyrus was merely annoying, not an alleged racist. Ah yes, The Von Bondies show on January 17th at Café Campus really solidified my thinking that 2008 would kick some serious ass; the band had an incredible amount of energy and executed a flawless set that didn’t lack soul, inspiring this young lady to dance like a maniac all through the night.

I was excited to see Serena Ryder live. I knew a handful of her songs but not much else about her.On the off chance that you don’t either, Ryder’s from Ontario, just outside of Peterborough.  She grew up listening to the Beatles and Leonard Cohen. During her show, she told the audience that she was an AM Radio “kind-of-girl.”

I walked to the Metropolis. This is no normal feat, because springtime in Montreal is really February (a.k.a) icicle hell in disguise. However, March 18th was an exception, the weather was amazing. I took this as a sign from the musical Gods and automatically assumed that Bloc Party would put on a good show. Good old Apollo was working his magic that night because both Bloc Party and opening band Holy Fuck were out of this world.

Late March is always a time for Montreal to shrug off the last of its winter blues, but this is always signaled by the odd day or two of freakishly cold weather…winter’s final death rattle.  So it was in a cumbersome winter jacket, layered with a sweater and t-shirt for good measure that I bustled my way down into the hot, crowded depths of Les Saints on March 30th to catch Friendly Fires playing their first show in Montreal.