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Bill 21 protest, Moscow plane crash, Biodiversity decline
Luca Caruso-Moro & Erdene Batzorig
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LOCAL
On Sunday, human chain formed around the Montreal courthouse to protest Quebec’s secularism bill.
Citizens, religious groups, teachers and lawyers, linked arms in solidarity outside the Palais de Justice.
This is the latest of various protests against Bill 21, which was introduced by the CAQ in April.
Consultations on the proposed legislation will begin Tuesday in Quebec City.
INTERNATIONAL
An emergency crash-landing at a Moscow Airport has left 41 people dead.
The plane was the Sukhoi Superjet 100 operated by national airline Aeroflot
It had 73 passengers and five crew members on board when it touched down to a runway spewing huge flames and black smoke.
The airport said in a statement that the plane had to turn back after taking off due to unspecified technical reasons and made a hard landing that started the fire.
Investigators are looking into the situation.
ANOTHER INTERNATIONAL
Over 1 million plant and animal species are at risk of extinction.
That’s according to a recent UN report on biodiversity, which says that species loss has accelerated between tens to hundreds of times faster than in the past.
The report links human impact as the major reason for the decline.
Tokyo Police Club at Petit Campus, April 19 2019
Alternative indie band Tokyo Police Club consists of vocalist and bassist David Monks, keyboardist Graham Wright, guitarist Josh Hook, and drummer Greg Alsop. Since they formed back 2005, the indie band from Newmarket, Ontario, has released four studio albums, six if you count the EP compilations like the band do. This current tour is in support of their newest album TPC, aptly named as after chasing a more radio friendly indie pop sound on their 2014 album Forcefield, it is return to their roots. Rob Schnapf, who worked on Champ (2010) returned to produce the album. On the band’s website they simply describe that “TPC is a rock record with tons of guitars” and that couldn't be more true.
The night at the Petit Campus starts off to a pretty full house around 8pm. Dizzy, having won this years Juno award for Alternative Album of the Year, are captivating the audience with their emotional ballads. The suburban indie pop band, lead by Katie Munshaw, play a fantastic 30 minute set. While their chill tunes have the audience swaying along, upon mentioning Tokyo Police Club the crowd erupts and you can feel excitement in the room already. Katie isn’t afraid to share her stories with the Montreal crowd either, talking about her big breakup and inviting the crowd to put up their “little middle fingers” and that “this song [Joshua] goes out to all the Josh’s out there”. They clean up and by now the room was packed, and people were excited for TPC to make their appearance.
By 9:10 the lights dimmed. The back curtain was mostly covered by road cases with the band’s many amps piled on top, no extra decor decor but they don’t need it. The revealed drum set, covered with a “Don’t let them f*ck with your Heart” decal, lay in wait. The boys ran out and immediately jump into the first track of TPC, New Blues. As Monks sang he invited to crowd to get closer and push forward. Both Wright and Hook jumped around on guitar, the band was not lying, this rock album features a lot of guitars. They are not shy to use the whole stage and get the crowd into it, stepping in front of their monitors to solo in turn. A quick “Hey!! Montreal!!” and they are into their next songs, back to back hits from Champ. The crowd loudly singing along to “Boots of Danger”, then Hook gets the crowd clapping along to Favourite Colour.
It’s back to TPC after that, other than a small interlude of their live-only instrumental track Zap! they make it through four new hits: “Hercules”, “Simple Dude”, “Outtatime”, and “Pigs”. The rock focus is really clear, but translates really well live. The LA vibes in Pigs’ guitar riff and the cowbell in “Hercules”, gives this a really fun college vibe, reminiscent of 2000s Frat Rock, with influences from Weezer to Vampire Weekend. Wright even told Billboard, “Hercules is a special one because it sounds like how making this record felt to me…When [guitarist Josh Hook] and I were in the live room recording the guitars, it felt like a party the whole time. So I’m really happy that the sound of that party gets to be audible to everyone...", and a party it was, the crowd was jumping around and dancing almost the whole time.
It was not just the crowd enjoying themselves. Big smiles and laughs adorned the band as they bumped into each other, tossed the tambourine around, and even accidentally turned off another member's amp when putting down their whiskey. They did not hold back, each member had a designated towel because they knew they would be getting sweaty on stage. Monks emptied his water bottle all over himself, to cheers from the crowd of course. He was not afraid to show off his silly dance moves either between songs, earning quite a few laughs from the crowd, and even went on a tangent miming his morning routine. They rounded off their set with a few more songs from Champ, along with a couple highlights from all their other albums and EPs. Hearing the gritty bass-heavy “Nature Of The Experiment” was a nice surprise and change of pace. The band then stepped offstage, waiting to see if we’d stick around, and came back to end the show with the energetic “Cheer it On” and “Your English is Good”. They went all out leaving the mics and keys all fallen over on the ground by the end of the last solo. A memorable and exciting show that i can imagine much of the audience will be talking about this week.
MONTREAL FLOODING, CHILD DEAD IN GRANBY, EBOLA IN CONGO
Hosted by Alexandre Denis
Stories by Alexandre Denis
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LOCAL
The State of Emergency is Montreal will be extended to deal with the extended flooding in the region. The state of emergency was first declared April 26th and was extended two days later. This gives the city more power to quickly deal with the flooding. It gives the city the right to purchase additional equipment, force residents to evacuate, and use private property for flood relief. The mayor said the state of emergency would remain as long as the water levels stay high.
PROVINCIAL
More details are emerging of the troubling case of a 7 year old girl who died in Granby earlier this week. The father of the girl defended the stepmother in court when she was accused of assaulting his daughter in 2017. The stepmother pleaded guilty after admitting to hitting the girl in the back of the head and pulling her hair.
The girl was found in critical condition by police on Monday. She was in a coma and died in hospital on Tuesday. The father and stepmother were charged with forcible confinement on Wednesday. The stepmother was also charged with aggravated assault.
The child’s grandmother and mother had fought with the DPJ for custody since 2015. The grandmother had custody of the girl for the first four years of her life. Custody was then granted to the girls father.
INTERNATIONAL
The death toll from ebola has reached 1000 in the Congo. The outbreak declared in August is now the second deadliest in history. Dealing with the situation has been difficult due to security concerns.
Ebola treatment centres has faced numerous attacks while trying to deal with the outbreak. A Cameroonian epidemiologist with the WHO was killed last month during an attack on a hospital in Butembo. Butembo was attacked again on Thursday.
There have been 119 attacks since January. 42 attacks were directly against health facilities. 85 health workers have been wounded or killed.
The WHO says this ebola outbreak is geographically contained despite the rise in cases.
CJLO X SWSW 2019: Hip Hop Recap
Photo: Xenia França by Thomas Artuzzi
At this year’s SXSW, I saw a lot of female artists. On Thursday March 14, I saw Xenia França from Bahia, Brazil who was part of a showcase for world music day at the Austin Convention Centre. She put on an incredible show. She sang about female empowerment and loving yourself while being backed up by her band playing sounds of Brazil that made you want to move.
Later that night I saw a all female showcase hosted by DJ C Devone with DJ Milan who didn’t just stay behind the turntables. She came to the front of the stage with a microphone singing and dancing to Cardi B’s “Money.” The first act was Adeela, a Hip Hop artist from South Africa. She was followed by Azia from BET’s reality show Hustle in Brooklyn who is pursuing a music career with help from her father. Her act was entertaining with a lot of heavy bass and booty shaking. She even invited a man onstage to show him how to dance.
The next act was Destiny Rogers. This young girl came on stage wearing track pants and a white sweatshirt with a Hip Hop/R&B beat behind her. She got to the mic stand, put on her mic and started singing with a beautiful voice which led to cheers from the crowd. She covered H.E.R.’s “Best Part.” She also sang Tomboy from her EP of the same name which is out now. She told the crowd that we were dope but we all yelled enthusiastically “You’re Dope!” When she was done the crowd yelled encore, in my 3 years at SXSW this is the first time I saw this for a new artist. After watching all female Hip Hop artists with their booty out and dancing provocatively, it was refreshing to see a talented young woman bless the stage and get even more appreciation than those girls.
Friday I went to a music showcase at Lady Bird Lake, a spacious outdoor area that reminded me of Osheaga. I got to catch Abhi The Nomad, an Austin MC by way of India. It was a great performance by a very clever rapper who enthusiastically received crowd participation. He was followed by Kota The Friend from Brooklyn, who reminds me of J Cole. He had done so many showcases at the festival his voice was on the verge of cracking which made me appreciate his performance more.
Next up was Kari Faux, a female MC backed by DJ Domo from Little Rock Arkansas. This artist had a track appear on Issa Rae’s Insecure. Another great artist who rocked the crowd and had us ready to see the next lineup.
The headliner for the night was Dungeon Family with Goodie Mob, Cee-Lo, Big Boi and Sleepy Brown. They performed classic tracks including “Cell Therapy,” “So Fresh, So Clean,” “Kryptonite,” and “The Way You Move.” Cee-Lo sang “Crazy” and the crowd went crazy. His voice is truly incredible.
As an Outkast and Goodie Mob fan since the beginning this was my favourite showcase at SXSW. Even though the group is older, they showed no signs of slowing down. They were dancing in step reminiscent of soul groups like The Four Tops and Temptations. We were told that they have new projects coming out so I will be on the lookout for that.
After I left Lady Bird Lake I went to the Co-Sign showcase. I saw two cool acts, including Jerry Paper from Stones Throw. I also got to catch up with our Co-Sign family which is one of the things I looked forward to on our trip.
Finally what would SXSW be without hanging out with my fellow CJLO music directors? Fun times were had as we discovered what was happening at the festival as well as discovering a bit more of Austin which is now of my favourite cities.
Amrew Weekes aka Lady Oracle is CJLO's Hip Hop Music Director and host of The Limelight, Saturdays 6-8 p.m.
CJLO x SXSW 2019: World Music Recap
Photo: Sea Moya
It’s time to digest our street meat and musical discoveries from this seemingly never-ending music-at-every-corner festival and conference 2019.
My path was clear. Network, learn, explore, and discover. That being said, the real problem was the actual road. I expected taxi bikes and police blockades but this SXSW added a twist: the dockless electric scooter. That’s right ladies and gentlemen, swerve your drunk ass to a show even faster, and dock it, well, anywhere. I come off hating but deep down inside I wanted to give it a swirl. Maybe next year, for now let’s get to the music.
I love Sea Moya. They are beautiful humans who share their world. On stage, Sea Moya exude rich textures of funky rhythms, dreamy vocals, and synthesized pleasure, such as the ones heard on “The Long Run” and “Blown (feat. Thanya Iyer)”. Off stage, they generously embrace you with warm hugs and invite you on a magical tour van into the heart of Austin, Texas and into the charming green-picket-fence-of-agave-and-wild-herbs home of friends Jessica and Kate, who have bands stay at their place and throw yard parties equipped with bonfires and warm sweater, who subsequently invited me to stay over anytime I come back to Austin. [breath in] That was nice. I pondered, “is this what people do in Austin?”, as I inhaled some unidentifiable yet delicious smoke. And just like that I became part of the Sea Moya experience. For the full Sea Moya experience, check out their album Falmenta today.
Before I knew it I was joining Sea Moya and awesome a-f tour manager, Vivien, to the Hamburg day event followed by Levitation Day Party and ultimately to Gorilla vs Bear Showcase to witness the power and magic of Montreal’s own, Anemone.
Dreamy rock ‘n’ roll in its truest fashion, Anemone’s vocalist and songwriter, Chloé Soldevila, had me mesmerized. Top picks include “She’s the One” and “Vanilla (Here We Go Again)” off their new release, Beat My Distance. Side note, drummer and producer, Miles Dupire Gagnon (Anemone, Elephant Stone) is a genius. Anemone loves you and CJLO loves you too.
Having kicked myself for missing Nubya Garcia perform Jazz Re:freshed Outernational last year, I made it a point to attend this year’s showcase. Buzzwords “neo jazz” and “modern UK jazz” were flying about. Written in lowercase, jazz re:freshed is a movement dedicated to showcasing and supporting forward thinking jazz artists. Nubya Garcia is noted on her about page as “one of the leading forces behind the resurgence of jazz-influenced sounds in the UK.” All I know is, Nubya Garcia is one fierce tenor saxophonist and she is playing with NÉRIJA tonight.
To my dismay, NÉRIJA’s performance is pushed back 2 hours due to late flight arrival. Will I miss Nubya Garcia a second time? Suddenly a young man holding a massive upright bass mounts the stage. Drums, sax, and trumpet join in. Owning them are the cool and collected heavy artillery of a band performing alongside astounding pianist, Sarah Tandy. Fall in love with her quick moving fingers on ”Snake in the Grass” and the dazzling movements of “Under My Skin” offher stunning debut album Infection in the Sentence. I was equally blown away by Binker Golding on saxophone, Sheila Maurice Grey on trumpet, Mutale Chashi on bass, and Femi Koleoso’s relentless drumming. I doused myself with a resurgence of UK jazz and it was out of this world.
Next up, we headed to globalFEST showcase to check out Brazilian boss lady, rapper, and actress Karol Conka. There was an antique wood bar on the far end of the venue. I skillfully pivoted through the twerking crowd and lifted my butt on the bar. Karol Conka, dressed in the heaviest and happiest emoji face fur coat, was belting out one of my femme-favourite power anthems, “100% Feminista”. Fist raised, I sat on the bar and sang along in my best Portuguese, “Eu cresci. Prazer, Kelly bandida. Represento as mulheres, 100% feminista”. The crowd wailed. I jumped off the bar and walked out to our hotel. My job here was done.
Only thing missing to truly end the night was a frito pie. A poutine-like mound of frito chips, salsa, cheese, carne, and fresh chives. Austin, you know what’s up. See y’all on the electric scooter flip side!
Kelly Belfo aka Sugarface Nene is the World Music Director at CJLO, host of Flat Cola Presents, and founder of Beat The World, Saturdays noon-2pm on CJLO
McCord Museum's Expansion, Flooding Action Plan, International Jazz Day 2019
Hosted by Ahmad Moujtahed
Stories by Ahmad Moujtahed
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LOCAL
After struggling with limited space in the past, Montreal’s McCord Museum will undergo a massive expansion that will triple the exhibition space.
The new $180M expansion will combine the McCord and the recently merged Fashion and Stuart Museums. The plan, which was announced on April 30, proposes to build a brand new structure on top of the existing McCord Museum on Sherbrooke Street near McGill University.
The architectural firm that will design the final plan has yet to be chosen, but museum officials say some parts of the original building will be kept.
Museum officials also hope to convince both arms of the government as well as private investors to fund the project equally.
Upon approval of the project, the McCord Museum will be closed for up to three years during the renovations
NATIONAL
This year’s flood became the worst recorded in the history of the province of Quebec, when more than 6,000 people fled their homes in a matter of hours in Ste-Marthe-sur-le-Lac; when a dike breached, and water covered one third of the homes in the small town.
After ruling out the idea of holding an emergency debate or inquiry regarding the flood situation, Premiere François Legault says the government will strike a committee of cabinet ministers to come up with an action plan to deal with the aftermath of the devastating spring floods.
Short term measures will include reimbursements for flood damage. As for long term procedures, the action plan contains measures for building infrastructure ; as well as relocating homeowners out of flood zones.
INTERNATIONAL
Celebrated around the globe each year on April 30, International Jazz Day highlights the power of jazz as a force for freedom and creativity while promoting intercultural dialogue through respect and understanding.
This year’s International Jazz Day came to a thrilling close after an extraordinary All-Star Global Concert at the Melbourne Arts Centre's renowned Hamer Hall.
As part of the annual event, two weeks of jazz performances and educational outreach programming took place in cities across the host country Australia. Thousands of students in Sydney's New South Wales public schools took part in jazz education programs at the Sydney Opera House.
Other highlights included a special Jazz Day performance at the Adelaide Festival Centre and a "Women in Jazz" celebration in Perth.
The Global Host City for International Jazz Day in 2020 is Cape Town, South Africa.
Tennyson at Petit Campus, April 13 2019
Tennyson – the brother-sister duo of Tess and Luke Tennyson took on Petit Campus touring with their newly released EP Different Water – with a tight and well executed show.
Warming up the stage was Toronto-based Young Clancy, a three man band putting on an interesting mix of live electric guitar, bass, and piano together with electronic beats. Led by Young Clancy’s clear and smooth voice, the music had a nostalgic yet fresh feel floating in between the realms of soul and contemporary R&B. A cozy blend, setting the mood for the 50 or so people seated around bar tables spread out in the small venue. The seated set-up, however, had a noticeable impact. A sense of nervousness seeped from Clancy through to the audience, due to their disarmingly respectful and quiet presence, all paying full attention to what was happening on stage. This did not influence the performance greatly, but the silence caught Young Clancy a little bit off guard in between songs, where he struggled to make connections with the audience, often resulting in some nervous ramble before moving on to the following song. Regardless, the three set a good foundation as the excitement for the main act was built up.
Time came around for Tennyson – a fresh breath of energy followed, with presence and positivity induced by the duo from the very first song. The many rice lamps hung at the back of the stage flickering in different colors in sync to the beat of the music contributed to the cozy atmosphere as the quirky samples and lush harmonies, defining the childish and playful soundscape of Tennyson, filled the room. By this point, the audience was invited to get on their feet and move on up closer to the stage. The incredibly complex set-up for two people is show enough – Tess behind the drum set is playing a unique mix of both acoustic drums and digital pads, where drum sounds and other percussive samples are placed out differently for every song: one realizes this requires an incredible amount of practice to learn the complex rhythms of the sudden tempo switches throughout their songs. And you can tell that they’ve had time; growing up under the same roof and playing music together since childhood. The concert had a great narrative that progressed in a natural way, not a single slip or mistake to be noticed. Luke, on keys and samplers, is just as impressive live as his sister. You can see him playing chords with his right hand, triggering samples on his pads with the left, and on top of that confidently singing along to some of their more popular songs such as “Cry Bird” and “Face The Night”. The two manage to find a good way to interact with the audience too – casually talking, as if in between friends. Tess took us through her set-up, telling us anecdotes of learning next-to-impossible computer programmed drum fills that her brother made her learn, all in a loving tone between siblings – which led the ambience to be even more intimate. Luke showed off some of his gear, holding up his Ableton Push pad, demonstrating how small snippets of samples need to be precisely triggered in time to stay in sync with the tempo of the song. This part was a great moment in the show that seemed appreciated by the crowd, nicely breaking down the hierarchy between artist and audience. As a long-term fan, I was happy to get to hear some of their older gems such as “With You”, and finishing off the party with “Lay-By”. Both of them stuck around on stage, talking to the small group that was gathering up front, before packing up their minivan to continue on the last couple of dates of the Different Water tour.
"Millennial Floods," Amber Alert Found, Canada & Measles
Luca Caruso-Moro
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LOCAL
Record flooding continues as communities across eastern Canada scramble to contain the impact of continued downpour.
Here in Quebec, 250 people living along the Rouge River west of Montreal have been told to evacuate.
Officials warn a nearby dam could collapse under the pressures of what Hydro Quebec is calling a millennial flood.
In other words, a flood that comes once every thousand years.
NATIONAL
A five year old missing boy from Mississauga, Ontario has been found.
An amber alert was issued on Wednesday, the suspected kidnapper was the boy’s mother.
The two were found in the Toronto Area by Peel Police, who say that as of now, there are no plans to lay criminal charges
ANOTHER NATIONAL
287 thousand Canadian children didn’t get vaccinated for measles between 2010 and 2017.
That’s according to a recent UNICEF study, which found that 20 million kids missed their shot worldwide.
The lack of vaccinations has been linked to a global measles outbreak.
The past 4 months have shown a 3-4 hundred per cent increase in reported measles cases compared to this time last year.
Train Derailment At L'Assomption, Opioid Crisis In Canada, Sri Lanka's Terrorist Attacks
Hosted by Ahmad Moujtahed
Stories by Ahmad Moujtahed
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LOCAL
A Canadian National freight train derailed at L'Assomption in the Lanaudière region.
A total of 13 cars left the tracks — 10 of them sustaining damage — but there were no injuries reported.
Some cars contained dangerous materials but fortunately they all remained intact after the derailment. However, the railway has been damaged and will take several hours to repair.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) is deploying a team of investigators to the derailment site in order to gather information and determine the cause of the incident.
NATIONAL
The opioid crisis is a tragic public health issue that is devastating the lives of thousands of Canadians across the country. The latest data show that since 2016 more than 10,000 Canadians have died as a result of apparent opioid-related overdoses.
In an effort to resolve the opioid crisis, researchers from the University of Victoria in BC are leading an innovative project to develop drug-checking technology with the aim of reducing the death toll from the overdose epidemic.
The University of Victoria researchers are gathering data on the drugs brought into supervised consumption sites and overdose prevention. They are also developing an online database with information about the drugs checked, as well as the experiences and perceptions of people who use these drugs. This tool will help to inform trends in the composition of illegal drugs and provide information to better protect people who use drugs.
The project is made possible through federal funding from Health Canada's Substance Use and Addictions program.
INTERNATIONAL
On Easter Sunday, a series of eight coordinated bombings in Sri Lanka has left more than 300 people dead and many others injured. Sri Lanka’s minority Christian community, which accounts for less than 10% of the country’s total population, appeared to be the main target of the coordinated attacks.
The first wave of attacks struck during busy Easter services at churches in the heart of the country's minority Christian community -- in the cities of Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa. More blasts ripped through three luxury hotels in the capital city, Colombo.
Members of Montreal’s Sri Lankan community reacted with horror to the attacks. They also expressed anger and frustration at the Sri Lankan government, since it is now being revealed that foreign intelligence services had previously warned the Sri Lankan government of the possible threats. However, those threats were not acted on by the government.
BROODS at Theatre Fairmount, April 13, 2019
Ever since the success of their single “Bridges”, from their debut album Evergreen, released in 2014, New Zealand music duo BROODS has held a special place in the indie and electropop scenes. Their music has seen itself evolve from having an airy, tranquil, and soothing ambiance, to a confident and powerful rebirth in their album Conscious, to a flip to colorful and vibrant 80s sounds in their latest album Don’t Feed the Pop Monster, which came out in February 2019. Despite the variety of sounds they have experimented with over the years, everything they have released is guaranteed to start a dance party.
The show opened with British band Bad Sounds, and they were a perfect way to warm up the crowd for the main act. They had a cool retro vibe, and they brought subtle undertones of jazz, hip hop, 80s pop, and punk to their general indie sound. As in any show where the audience doesn’t know the opening act, the crowd seemed unresponsive to them at first, but soon enough, the vibrancy and catchiness of their songs brought people to their feet, genuinely enjoying the music. The feel-good experience uplifted the audience’s mood, and their use of grungy mic feedback and distortion threw everyone right back to a 90s local garage band show, leaving the crowd wanting more after their short set. Needless to say, Bad Sounds were my unexpected - but very pleasant - music discovery of the night.
By the time BROODS came to the stage, the crowd had grown to fill out the whole venue, and everyone cheered as the lights went dark and the first few notes of “Sucker” came on. Georgia, the lead singer, arrived on stage wearing a bright red cowboy hat, an accessory very representative of the shift of the band’s music towards more dynamic tones. As opposed to their performances in previous tours, they played around with echo, reverb, and canon-sounding voices, which gave off very strong house music vibes and made for a cool enveloping experience. The continuous transitions both in sound and lighting between each song were smooth and beautiful, adding to the emotional feel of their set. On top of that, Georgia’s stage presence and energy were incredible and had the whole crowd captivated.
As a long time fan of BROODS, I couldn’t help but notice a change in the audience’s attitude as the band started playing a distorted and remixed version of their song “Superstar”, which was released in their first album. This was the fourth song of the set, but the first one where every single person was singing along and knew every lyric. Despite the liveliness of their newer content, songs from the last two albums were really what awakened the crowd and brought it to life - by the second song they played from their previous album, people were dancing energetically and screaming the lyrics. It was truly heartwarming to see and feel that everyone in the crowd was a long time fan of BROODS, which made the atmosphere ever more special.
“It’s time to party,” said Georgia with a laugh before closing the show with the last few songs. An amazing electric guitar solo, the enthusiastic shaking of a tambourine, and a lot of jumping around later, BROODS was saying goodbye to Montreal in their encore. Their last song “Couldn’t Believe”, which is about the happiness of being in the moment, taken from their previous album, left the audience with a sweet feeling of nostalgia.
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