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!

Festival Review : Distortion Psychfest

May 15 2018 // Alexandre Denis // Magazine // Concert Reviews

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.

 

Next Music from Tokyo vol. 12: PREVIEW

May 13 2018 // DJ Lawrell // Magazine // Features

The month of May is upon us. Japanese music nerds all across Canada rejoice: another edition of Next Music from Tokyo is coming!

Next Music from Tokyo (NMFT) is a series of DIY tours showcasing relatively unknown bands from all over Japan (despite its name) organized and funded entirely by anesthesiologist, music aficionado, and all-around good guy Steven Tanaka. It’s been running since 2010, and the last edition, volume 11, was in October 2017.

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15 Years of Unity at Kalmunity

May 11 2018 // Emily Vidal // Magazine // Concert Reviews

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

May 7 2018 // Mathis Harpham // Magazine // Concert Reviews

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.

Interview: Dylarama

April 30 2018 // Alex Viger-Collins // Magazine // Interviews

 

Under the name Dylarama, Mathias Pageau writes pop songs made from a collage of disparate styles that nevertheless blend naturally together.  The beginning of 2018 started off with a bang for Dylarama, with the release of his first EP for Lisbon Lux Records, entitled Certified Cutie, and the chance to perform in Paris with label-mates Paupière.  Dylarama kindly took the time to talk with CJLO about the roots of the project, filming a music video in New York City on two iPhones, and the dream of having his own clothing line.

CJLO @ SXSW : Andrew's Metal Coverage

April 23 2018 // Andrew Wieler // Magazine // Concert Reviews

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

April 23 2018 // Angelica Calcagnile // Magazine // Concert Reviews

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.

Concert Review: Baths @ Fairmount Theatre, April 14, 2018

April 19 2018 // Josh Castellano // Magazine // Concert Reviews

The dim lit glow of neon signs and colourful lights at Theatre Fairmount encapsulated the night of Baths’ concert—beginning with the delicate soloist Sasami, following with a smooth but rugged commotion from No Joy, and concluding the stroke of midnight through the voltaic, emotive harmonies of Baths. Each act brought to the stage a unique sound that the theatre would be foolish to forget.

Concert Review: Mouth Breather @ Casa del Popolo, April 7, 2018

April 19 2018 // Fiona Harrison-Roberts // Magazine // Concert Reviews

The musical style of Owen Hopper, a.k.a Mouth Breather, is one that cannot be easily defined but it does make people want to dance. Hooper produces the majority of his songs, mixing the beats, creating the melodies, and layering the vocals. He describes his sound as a mesh of all the art that he consumes and simply makes it his own.

CJLO @ SXSW: Zak Slax Coverage Part 2

April 18 2018 // Zakary Slax // Magazine // Concert Reviews

Nardwuar told me he was going to see Shopping – a good pick indeed. I, however, was looking for a less hyped gig; a brief respite from the increasingly thick throngs of Hotel Vegas, as my energy had sunk with the sun.

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