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We Just Wanna Have Some Fun, Down At The Rock And Roll Club

When he was a boy in the 1980s, Prince Palu used the year 2015 as the date of the future in the multi-layered story-lines he created while playing with his beloved Star Wars action figures. There was also a hope that one day in 2015 he might win the Millennium Falcon in a game of sabacc in the back room of Chalmum's Cantina. With this in mind, it is understandable that when the clock ticked to zero on January 1, 2015, Prince Palu was a little distraught. He was now living in the future and no closer to ownership of the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs. However, he has gotten over the fear, confusion, and frustration with all of this to wish you a Happy New Year and tell you about a few things worth your time and money this weekend.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

If you are in need of a place to engage in some interesting conversations, enjoy a few drinks, and get lost staring at art on the wall, then head over to Le Divan Orange (4234 St-Laurent) and start your night off with a vernissage, ironically, given my feelings about this current state of the calendar, called Le Futur Commence Maintenant. You can check out the Facebook event to see the list of more than a dozen artists involved. But that is not all that is happening at Divan Orange tonight! While the walls will be occupied with the vernissage, the stage will be occupied by Mike O'Brian, and his baritone voice and finger-picked acoustic guitar, to provide the perfect soundtrack to the evening. O'Brian will be kicking off his month-long residency as the chosen artist for the January edition of Divan Orange Camp. Both events take place between 6 and 8 pm and are free! Cheap drinks, warm ambiance. This is a can't miss way to start your weekend.

Got a rockabilly itch that penicillin can't fix? Luckily for you L'Escogriffe (4467 St-Denis) has got you covered tonight with the Great Hoodlum Jam Special (Elvis' Birthday Edition) featuring members of Golden Two, Hardrock Goners, Bloodshot Bill and more. The King would have been 80-years-old today, so eat a peanut butter, banana and bacon sandwich in his honour before heading out of the house and down into the amber glow of L'Esco.

If the holidays left you with a lot of pent-up aggression, one way for you to release all that excess energy would be to throw yourself into the swirling sea of moshing punks at La Vitrola (4602 St-Laurent) and take in the fast, loud and punchy sounds of four Montreal hardcore punk bands. While this is not really my scene, the last time I bumped into Monsieur Danny Marks of the legendary CPC Gangbangs, he told me that the current Montreal hardcore scene is the city's greatest musical secret. Vile Intent, Gashrat, Shitsu, and Facade will do their best to prove him right. I must warn you, given that the headliners sub-genre of music has been named 'power violence' this show is probably not for the casual punk listener.

If you like your punk with a little bit more glam and a whole lot less teeth on the floor, then you might be more interested in the homecoming party for the brother and sister duo of The Castagne's at TRH-Bar (3699 St-Laurent). It will be their first show since returning to the frozen tundra of Montreal after a successful tour of California. They will be joined by the experimental-improv-space-rock of Laval, Quebec's PHVRVON. $5 at the door.

And last but definitely not least for tonight, with it being the second Thursday of the month that means it is time once again for CJLO's Beats and Brews over at Kafein (1429A Bishop). This month your friendly college radio DJs will bring you an evening of cutting edge music in the indie rock sphere. Click the link above to see which DJs are spinning and when. Drink specials and good times. It all starts at 7:00 pm.

Friday, January 9, 2015

Now if you too have been house-bound, frozen by fear because it is now the year 2015, there is a gent who goes by the name Lew Phillips who will be setting up his musical Wayback Machine, that happens to be concealed inside his amplifier, down at L'Esco to make us all feel a little better about the calendar. This fresh faced fellow will take us back to a time when the cars were bitchin' and the tunes were far-out. A night of early '60s Rock and Roll and Rhythm & Blues. It'll be a gas!

Up the street at Bistro de Paris (4536 St-Denis) PONI and Ghost Vines, Devil Eyes and Leamers guitarist Matt Lee's new band, present a night of uncompromised rock 'n' roll. It is a PWYC event, but that doesn't mean you should just walk past the person taking money at the door. No, it means pay what you can, as in something.

For those who want to funk it up a little bit, the Montreal nine-piece band Busty and the Bass bring their brand of eletrofunk to the stage at Sala Rossa (4848 St-Laurent). Originally formed by a group of McGill University music students to have fun and play house parties, the bands momentum kept building and lead to them winning the CBC's 'Rock Your Campus' contest last October in the Canada-wide search for the best university band. They will be joined by another up and coming band, Kingston, Ontario's Will Hunter Band.

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Do you like your rock 'n' roll with equal parts pop, experimental, and art? Then the show happening at Casa del Popolo (4873 St-Laurent) on Saturday night is the show to kick off your 2015. Alden Penner, formerly of The Unicorns and Clues, will be joined by Smokes, who are fresh out of the studio recording their debut full length that will be out later this year, Bantam Wing and Year of Glad. If you are looking to dive deep into the Montreal music scene this year, this would be a great show to start your plunge. The Facebook event has it listed at $7 - $10, so be prepared for $10 at the door. Show starts at 9:00 pm.

Sunday, January 11, 2015

With it being so early into the new year and the post-holiday lull still lingering, there does not seem to be much happening on this Sunday night. Add to this that the weather is being as stupid as it is, what you really need to do is find a small, intimate space to rub elbows with fellow music lovers and keep the cold at bay and spirits high. What better combination of circumstances is there for me to recommend that you head over to Barfly (4062 St-Laurent) for the long-running Bluegrass and Old Time Country Jam hosted by Matt Large? If you have never been it is a real treat. And once the old timey music gets its talons in ya, you can head on down to the Wheel Club (3373 Cavendish) on Monday night and sink deeper into the bliss.

--Prince Palu hosts The Go-Go Radio Magic Show every Friday night from 6 to 8 PM.