When thinking outside the box just isn't enough
Ever since moving to Montréal five years ago, Quai des Brumes has been one of my favourite small venues. I’ve seen multiple good shows in this narrow bar on St.-Denis, and often they were acts I’d never heard of, pleasant surprises. I’ve always found that the place just feels good, too—warm, welcoming, what have you. […]
If you’re a fan of engaging, progressive indie rock, consider heading out to Quai des Brumes this coming Thursday November 8th to see the Maritime-born Coyote play. Featuring a line-up of boys that all hail either from Prince Edward Island or Nova Scotia, Coyote is an emerging group full of youth and talent. The five-piece formed roughly two years ago in Charlottetown, P.E.I, and they bring a Maritime rock element to their danceable indie-flavoured tunes.
The music started early for me on the second day of POP Montreal. Day one was still hanging around when I left my house in the form of a hangover and some pretty intense sleep deprivation. But coffee procured and the will to party intact, I made it to Forget the Box and Audio Blood’s […]
After a few hours of hitting shows on the opening night of POP Montreal, Forget the Box ended up at the Église Pop to see the Manhattan experimental rockers Gang Gang Dance close off the first night of Pop! Weird and distorted, Gang Gang sound was well-matched by locals Technical Kidman and Maxime Robin, and […]
On to day #3, the 21st of September! Hit Foufs at 8pm. Familiar local bass DJ Construct is on the bill along with the desert-aesthete vibe of Gonjasufi and his complex, sometimes unsettling beats and slowjams. If not that, then consider the Kuhrye-oo show at the Royal Phoenix. Royal Palms and Fuka Lata, mentioned earlier, […]
Here we are, day two of POP Montreal, what to see, what to see??
At 2pm on the 20th, there’s a free show at Citizen Vintage (5330 Boulevard Saint-Laurent). Starting things off will be the Tontons, with their catchy, soulful and bluesy tunes, fronted by a very talented vocalist. Also rocking a captivating singer is NOIA, a newly-duoed project based on eclectic beats and interactive live performances…
POP Montreal is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, and what better way then to throw the best festival yet. Over the years, POP has exposed me to so many beautiful and bizarre acts, like an operatic live action performance of a Dinosaur Comic and more artsy music and film than you can shake your […]
The night of Cora Kim’s CD launch was a classy affair, with a sense of quiet, composed beauty filling the room. Candles and small dishes of exotic candies were scattered around the room, and Cora Kim’s merch table included a few beautiful handmade necklaces alongside her albums. After Doc’trin’s masterful spinning to warm up the […]
In a small tent near Place Des Arts, something sexy is happening. The playful Blood Ballet Cabaret is on, this small troupe of talented performers baring themselves for a surprisingly tame-looking assemblage of round, white-topped tables. The MC of the night is a tall transvestite named Sherwin. Adorably uncomfortable with his French, he nonetheless makes a valiant effort, reading his cue cards closely, stumbling over words and blushing once or twice when applauded…
In the old fashioned opulence of the National, we were treated to a new take on the literal underdogs of the circus scene: the ‘undermen’ of Undermän. Though a Swedish term, the name works perfectly in English, too. An undermän is the stable part of an acrobatic duo, that is to say the one responsible for the heavy lifting. The three main performers in this piece by Cirkus Cirkör are all ‘undermen’ who have lost their partners and are now trying to readjust and reinvent themselves in the wake of this shift…
A decade old this year, the Montreal collective Les 7 doigts de la main claims to try to create shows encouraging the audience to identify with the characters and themes on the stage. Their latest show, simply titled Séquence 8, succeeds in this—it is an intimate, funny, and touching show, simultaneously very familiar and utterly surreal and jaw-dropping…
Though our bodies were warmed by the heat of the night and the heat of other people packed into Sala Rossa, we all needed a good opener to warm up our booties. Local act DJ Cherry Cola, who has a long history of working alongside big names, did the job for us nicely, spinning originals and remixes with a good sense of timing. His peaks were always satisfying, his bass was heavy, and he left the crowd bouncing and smiling, ready for the night’s headliner. Sweat was already pouring down the foreheads and the backs of most of the crowd, at it was about to get a lot worse. Or better, depending on how you look at it. ..
There’s something intensely chaotic and extroverted about Montreal in the summer. There are events in every venue and attractive, tipsy strangers on every corner. If you have enough cash and energy, you never have to go home. Thanks to this attitude and to the good people here at Forget The Box, I managed a bit […]
Piknic Electronic has been heating up Montreal summers for 10 years now! That’s 10 years of dance parties under the sun and 10 years of partying under the statue at Ile Jean Drapeau! So it’s no secret that Piknic Electronic has been bringing world class Dj’s to Montreal and throwing great parties for a while […]
