Its the most wonderful time of the year! Pop Montreal starts tomorrow kiddies I hope you picked up your Pop Passes and studied the Pop Schedule, if not get to work, I’ve made a list of shows I’ll be hitting up. If you got any suggestions I’d love to hear em’.

Wednesday September 30th:

21:30 Useless Eaters @ La Sala Rossa
22:15 NoBunny @ La Sala Rossa
23:00 Ninjasonik @ Club Lambi
23:45 Box Elders @ La Sala Rossa
00:30 Jay Reatard @ La Sala Ross

Jay Reatard -  See Saw

Thursday October 1st:

22:00 Screaming Females @ La Sala Rossa
23:00 Andrew Vincent @ Petit Campus
00:00 Red Mass @ La Sala Rossa
01:00 The Intelligence @ La Sala Rossa

Andrew Vincent - Girlfriend’s Dog

Friday October 2nd:

21:00 Snailhouse @ Divan Orange
22:00 Diamond Rings @ Green Room
23:00 The Coathangers @ Divan Orange
00:00 No Gold @ Divan Orange
01:00 Japandroids @ Divan Orange

or

20:30 AIDS Wolf @ Le National
21:30 Duchess Says @ Le National
22:30 Teenage Jesus & The Jerks @ Le National
(than high tail it Divian)

Japandroids - Young Hearts Spark Fire

Saturday October 3rd:

21:00 Centretown Crippers @ Il Motore
22:00 The Balconies @Il Motore
23:45 Parlovr @ Espace Reunion
00:35 Homosexual Cops @ Espace Reunion
01:20 Think About Life @ Espace Reunion

Parlovr - Hiccup

Sunday October 4th:

20:00 Vincent Moon @ Espace Reunion [Film Pop]

Newsflash! Pop shows at Zoobizarre moved to Saphir! (updated with Thursday venue: Playhouse)

This presale offer is valid from Wednesday September 30th, 9am to Thursday October 1st, 6pm

NOFX - Creeping Out Sara

Earlier this week Fucked Up took away the Polaris Prize, which wasn’t as shocking as the hate directed at that them for winning was. Check out the comments of the CBC article, dear lord. Also, this tweet from Metric is just poor taste. Someone should tell Emily that artistic merit and cocaine consumption don’t go hand in hand.

Here’s whats going down in Montreal this weekend, if I missed something then tell me.

Friday [September 25th]

DEADMAU5 @ METROPOLIS [$]

Saturday [September 26th]

MOBY @ METROPOLIS [$]
SHE WANTS REVENGE @ LE NATIONAL [$]
SILVERSTEIN @ L’OLYMPIA [$]

Sunday [September 27th]

…. laundry I guess!

[%] = Blue Skies Turn Black
[$] = Greenland

MP3 of the Week

You know Pavement are reuniting next year right? Well tickets went on sale this morning and I hope you got some.

Pavement - Gold Soundz

 WAVVES (SF - Woodsist ex-HELLA)
GANGLIANS (Sacramento - Woodsist)
LITTLE GIRLS (Toronto)
TONSTARTSSBANDHT (Montreal)

9 PM
$10 / $12
@ Friendship Cove (215a Murray st)

presented by BSTB and the Pirates of the Lachine Canal
more info here

The Almighty Defenders (BUY)

01 All My Loving
02 The Ghost With the Most
03 Bow Down and Die
04 Cone of Light
05 Jihad Blues
06 30 Second Air Blast
07 Death Cult Soup n’ Salad
08 I’m Coming Home
09 Over the Horizon
10 She Came Before Me
11 The Great Defender

When the Black Lips packed up their shit and high tailed out of India last year they stopped into Moon Studios in Berlin where King Khan and Mark Sultan (aka BBQ Show) were working on “Invisible Girl”. Then a miracle happened. The unmaculate conception of The Almighty Defenders. If god could create the world in 7 days, what could the Defenders do?



A “gospel” record for people who don’t listen to gospel records is how one could briefly describe this record, all the style without all the bullshit. The albums begins with All My Loving, a thigh slapping groove that could take you back to any southern church USA, raising and lowering your hands while screaming with Khan to the high heavens. Ghost With The Most, sets us down with a compelling tale of one “finding the sea of happiness”. The Black Lips’ presence is clearly heard in Bow Down Die, a fist pumping garage anthem with just enough heel-tap swaying to keep you in the heavenly theme of the record. Cone of Light, showcases Mark Sultan perfectly. A voice like his and a song like this would have you drinking the Kool-Aid in no time. But with the light comes the darkness. Jihad Blues, a dark, suicidal song (think Cobain meets Brown, James Brown) sets us up for the half time nonsense of 30 Second Air Blast and Death Cult Soup n’ Salad. The album picks itself up during I’m Coming Home, an homage to Mighty Hannibal. The crowning masterpiece, the song that ties this album all together is The Great Defender. More of a sermon than a song. We must repent ours ways, “in a world of Segways and wraparounds, some would say that all hope is lost. When Ipod DJ’s get 3 x the money of most rockn’roll bands, you could say if there is a hell below - we’re all gonna go. Alas! SALVATION IS FINALLY HERE!” Hallelujah!



The garage fused gospel album works, musically through the Lips and vocally though Khan and Sultan. Not without filler but stand out tracks like Cone of Light, Bow Down and Die and I’m Coming Home overshadow them rendering them all but passing noise.

TRENDSCORE: 70%

Listen:
The Almighty Defenders - Cone Of Light

The Almighty Defenders - Bow Down and Die

Fucked Up for The Chemistry of Common Life

Dead Man’s Bones - My Bodys A Zombie For You

From Anti- Blog

In the course of bringing their monster-ghost-love-story to fans nationwide this fall, Dead Man’s Bones, the duo consisting of Zach Shields and Ryan Gosling, also intend to clue locals into homegrown talent in their own cities by hosting talent shows at stops along their tour rather than traditional music opening acts.

As of today there is an open casting call for performers to participate. Each talent show is to consist of 5-8 slots, open to performers of all ages and any kind of talent. These are not to be a contest , but rather a good natured showcase for people to display their natural talents. Halloween-themed acts will be given preferential treatment. Sword swollers, tap dancers, magicians, impersonators, kid bands, and anyone with an talent of any kind to display is eagerly invited to perform.

Due to the extravagant nature of the Dead Man’s Bones stage show, there will be no opportunity for soundchecks, and no groups requiring full band equipment or consisting of more than four members will be considered.

Please submit a video link of what you do to: deadmansbones@anti.com

Any DVDs or VHS submissions can be sent to:

Attn: Dead Man’s Bones Talent Show
ANTI
2798 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026

 DEAD MAN’S BONES TOUR DATES

10/14-Middle East, Boston
10/15- Le Poisson Rouge, New York
10/16-First Unitarian Church Sanctuary, Philadelphia
10/17-Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, Washington
10/19-Le National, Montreal
10/20-The Music Gallery, Toronto
10/21- Schubas Tavern, Chicago (Early)
10/21-Schubas Tavern, Chicago (Late)
10/23-The Triple Door, Seattle
10/24-The Venue, Vancouver
10/25-Mississippi Studios, Portland
10/27-Swedish American Hall, San Francisco
10/30-The Regent, Los Angeles

Ok, so this week lots of shit went down, the death of Patrick Swayze, Kanye West made more news (over really…. nothing) and hockey season has started (fuck yeah!). So here is whats going down in Montreal this weekend as usual drop a comment if I missed something. See you at the HEALTH show!

Friday [September 18th]

BLACK DIAMOND HEAVIES @ LA SALA ROSSA [%]
THE JOHNSTONES @ UNDERWORLD [$]
SNOW PATROL @ METROPOLIS [$]
Saturday [September 19th]

SLEEPY SUN @ IL MOTORE [%]
SEAN KINGSTON @ METROPOLIS [$]
THE SPLEEN @ CLUB SODA

Sunday [September 20th]

HEALTH @ LA SALA ROSSA  [%]
COMPANY OF THIEVES @ IL MOTORE [%]
KEANE @ METROPOLIS [$]

[%] = Blue Skies Turn Black
[$] = Greenland

MP3 of the Week

The Smith Westerns released a new track that didn’t make it to their self titled album and Aquarium Drunkard summed it up to a tee:

Marc Bolan much?  The Smith Westerns do, and on this, their 2009 s/t debut, the Rabbit Fighter vibe is immediate  – something like a pack of teenagers locked in a humid garage with a stack of warped T. Rex and  Gary Glitter vinyl; well that, and a penchant for love songs, a little hocus pocus and a 4-track. The group dropped another non-album track (”Imagine, Pt. 3″) last week, on myspace, that quickly made the rounds.

The Smith Westerns - Imagine Pt. 3

From Pop Montreal:

Due to extraneous legal issues Homosexuals are unfortunately canceling their Pop Montreal appearance. Lead singer Bruno Wizard expresses his sincere apologies to all the fans who wanted to see them perform.

Chain & The Gang is now headlining the show.

Updated show details can be found here.

Too bad, they are getting rave reviews.

Homosexuals - Fan Fare/Slow Guns

LE NATIONAL

1200 STE-CATHERINE E.

22.50$ advance and 25$ at the door

Get tickets @ LA TULIPE / LE NATIONAL or online @ ADMISSION.

A free fucking EP! Yeah thats right, the best thing to come out of Calgary in ages is giving out an EP of 2008’s Soft Airplane B-sides on his website. In related VanGaalen news the Polaris Prize countdown is ticking out the remaining 5 days and he’s got a great the best shot of winning. And I know I say it over and over again and you are probably thinking I couldn’t possibly get the taste of Chad’s “Soft Airplane” out of my mouth but really, I’d love for you to tell me how anyone else on that list is more deserving.

You may think I’m rigging that poll (look to the right) but I’m not, I’m totally unbiased. If it were up to me I’d give the Polaris Prize to Fucked Up, since it would be simply poetic to have a band with such an “explicit” name win the most respected prize in Canadian music ( *ahem* besides a Juno ) after what happened to Holy Fuck last year.

Chad VanGaalen - Pyramids Float

Download Soft Airplane B-Sides EP here

I bought a couple new tape releases recently (well I guess it was more like a month ago now) from Bruised Tongue. For those who don’t know:

Bruised Tongue is an Ottawa, Ontario based label owned and operated by Pierre Richardson and Craig Proulx. They like to release weird and fun things that their friends do so that other people can feel the noise.

Savage Crimes - S/T

Savage Crimes put out their tape ages ago, but I finally tracked down a copy. 5 awesome, straight ahead bare-bones punk rock songs and a couple live recordings. The recorded songs are well worth the price of the tape. I’ve seen them live enough times to know they have more similarly great material to record, so lets hope for another recording sometime soon.

Savage Crimes - Mother:



Year Zero - No Tongue For Eros

Year Zero’s tape release show last month ruled. YZ were better than ever, Statues played, beer was plentiful, and I started two weeks of vacation the next day. Big things to come as the tape is being re-released on LP in the fall with Shooting at Decoys/P.Trash Records. The recording is well deserving of the attention - one of the most exciting bands in Ottawa.

Year Zero - Set Free:

Contact Bruised Tongue for copies of these or any of the other great releases they have.

Have you heard of The Grand Archives? Sadly they get lost amongst Seattle’s sadcore scene with the likes of Band of Horses and Fleet Foxes. Maybe they should have went for an animal themed name. Well if you don’t know now you know, they have a new record that will be released today on Sub Pop called Keep in Mind Frankenstein and with that album will also bring rise to a tour with a stop in Montreal October 14th at The Green Room. Tickets for the show are $12 and you can get them online here.

You can order the new album here and check out one of the new tracks below:

The Grand Archives - Olso Novelist

Ed Note: As added sweetness here’s a golden track off their 2008 album which you can pick up online here.

The Grand Archives - The Crime Window


See Grand Archives on the road:

Sep 15 Sonic Boom (Capitol Hill), Seattle, WA – FREE in-store at 7 pm!
Sep 22 Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, CA
Sep 23 Doug Fir Lounge, Portland, OR
Sep 24 Crocodile, The, Seattle, WA
Sep 26 Biltmore Cabaret (BC), Vancouver, Canada
Sep 28 The Big Dipper, Spokane, WA
Sep 29 Habitat, The, Kelowna, Canada
Sep 30 Palomino, Calgary, Canada
Oct 01 Starlight Room, Edmonton, Canada
Oct 02 Louis’ Pub, Saskatoon, Canad
Oct 03 Pyramid Cabaret, Winnipeg, Canada
Oct 05 High Noon Saloon, Madison, WI
Oct 06 Beachland Tavern, Cleveland, OH
Oct 07 Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA
Oct 08 Le Poisson Rouge, New York, NY
Oct 09 Southpaw, Brooklyn, NY
Oct 10 Great Scott, Allston, MA
Oct 13 Club Metronome, Burlington, VT
Oct 14 Green Room, Montreal, Canada
Oct 15 Mod Club, Toronto, Canada
Oct 16 Pike Room, Pontiac, MI
Oct 17 Schubas, Chicago, IL
Oct 19 7th St Entry, Minneapolis, MN
Oct 22 Kilby Court, Salt Lake City, UT
Oct 23 Neurolux, Boise, ID

Jim Carroll 1949-2009 [from NY Times]

The Jim Carroll Band - People Who Died

Holy shit, have you been following this? Fucking cracked man! Anyway, school is on the go so you all must be jonesin’ for a good time after a long short week of being brain washed by the left wing liberal education system. Here’s whats going down this weekend in Montreal, as usual comment if I missed something:

Friday [September 11th]
YOUNG GALAXY @ IL MOTORE [%]

Saturday [September 12th]
GUTTERMOUTH @ FOUFOUNES ELECTRIQUES [$]
THE SOUNDS @ METROPOLIS [$]
BOX ELDERS @ FRIENDSHIP COVE [%]

Sunday [September 13th]
CLUTCH @ LE STUDIO JUSTE POUR RIRE [$]
BUSDRIVER @ IL MOTORE [%]

[%] = Blue Skies Turn Black
[$] = Greenland

MP3 of the Week

Earlier this year I was going through a Woodsist phase (still in it) and started listening to Kurt Vile’s Constant Hitmaker. The album didn’t last the test of time for me so it lingered on my IPod collecting digital dust. Later I heard that Vile had signed to Matador which got me pondering what he was up to, well low and behold this week the opening track from the Matador debut Childish Prodigy was released and god damn its solid.

Kurt Vile - Hunchback

Little Dragon are fabulous at what they do.  What do they do exactly?  On their self-titled debut, this Swedish four-piece has enough soul to swallow up [insert favorite soulful act here] altogether.  On their follow up, Machine Dreams, they step into a vortex and travel back in time to the 80’s.  Whether it’s soulful dub-step or a throwback to eighties freestyle, these guys are nonchalant about what they do and it comes out nice n’ easy, without pretenses.

And I’m not even talking about the fabulous album cover art.

Hope everyone’s Labour Day weekends went well. Mine was shitter than most since I had laborious tasks that needed my utmost attention. The major disappointment for this weekend was that I didn’t make it out to the Yellow Bird Project’s Indie Rock Coloring book launch. However casual writer AnnA Chiggo did get a photographer down there to take some photos. If you had a chance to make it out there I’d love to hear how it turned out.

You can order the book online here, it will make for a great Xmas gift for those with wee ones in their lives.

Local blog Midnight Poutine  has a review you can read here.

The Indie Rock Coloring Book Lauch @ Drawn and Quarterly
Photos by Mivahn [www.mivahn.com]

Labor Day Weekend! OH YEAH! If you are not leaving the city this weekend theres a fuck load on the go, if I’m missing something just leave a comment in the comment box and I’ll add here.

Friday [September 4th]
YOUTUBE, ITUBE, WEALLTUBE FILM FESTIVAL @ DIVISION GALLERY
LULLABYE ARKESTRA @ CASA DEL POPOLO [%]
TITUS ANDRONICUS @ IL MOTORE [%]

Saturday [September 5th]
YELLOW BIRD PROJECT: INDIE ROCK COLORING BOOK LAUNCH @ DRAWN AND QUARTLY
M ON THE QUAYS (MOTHER MOTHER, ARTIST OF THE YEAR)  @ QUAYS OF THE OLD PORT
APOPTYGMA BERZERK @ LE STUDIO JUSTE POUR RIRE [$]
THE KILLERS @ THE BELL CENTER [$]

Sunday [September 6th]
THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART @ LA SALA ROSSA [%]
M ON THE QUAYS (PARLOVR, THINK ABOUT LIFE, DUCHESS SAYS) @ QUAYS OF THE OLD PORT

Monday [September 7th]
COCO ROSIE @ Le National [%]

[%] = Blue Skies Turn Black
[$] = Greenland

MP3 of the Week

King Khan and Mark Sultan aka King Khan & BBQ have released the title track off their new album Invisible Girl. This album is due out in November but this track just begs for a summer night on the porch, stomping the deck, beer in hand. The duo will be heading out on tour next month, no Montreal stop but theres a show at The Babylon in Ottawa on December 5th…….. shit man, summers over!

King Khan & BBQ Show - Invisible Girl

Just a friendly reminder that tomorrow night Titus Andronicus will be making their Montreal debut at Il Motore with The So So Glos. Tickets are 8$ in advance and $10 at the door. More details can be found at the Facebook event page here.

Titus Andronicus - Titus Andronicus