Last week M for Montreal celebrated its fifth edition of being a pioneer showcase of innovative and unique local, national and international artists. I’ve finally had some sleep since the four day boozing, schmoozing and artist-driven scheduling of watching shows and being, um, coherent (?). So, here’s my extremely coherent overview.
What‘s the deal with M for Montreal you ask? Well, another wise music writer I know let me in on a little secret about this event. He slyly told me, “It’s for the delegates, not for the fans.” And, because that wise writer is usually right (except for the fact he dislikes OK GO), he was once again, telling me the truth which I will get into later.
M for Montreal is an invitation for delegates and panelists from Canada, and all around the world to fly to Montreal and see what we’ve got. Their lineup of artists ranged from veteran (We Are Wolves) to fresh sounding and crowd pleasing ear pieces (Random Recipe, who I was told got booked in Japan during the event). This year, it was also used as a launching pad for Gene Simmons’ record label, Simmons Records. Gene also signed Montreal band The Envy…as well as impressed (…um, impressed, yes) many of the staff, delegates, panelists and show-goers (wait, there are fans at the shows?).
Well, it wasn’t POP Montreal, where every venue was packed with band fans, holding their mouths up in order to keep the drool from dripping onto the floor, in anticipation of their favourite artist about to perform. M for Montreal‘s focus is directed towards delegates and press (as the wise music writer pointed out). At first, I was upset about this concept because to me, music is supposed to be geared towards the show-goers, listeners and whomever else is willing to pay to help support an artist.
The more I thought about it, the more I understood and realized that the basis for M for Montreal is important . It’s an important gateway to helping expose artists to industry professionals, that otherwise may not have gone the distance in the first place.
Now, let’s connect the dots.
These industry professionals are the ones who give artists their paycheque, and as a result allow them to further their music career and produce more original tunes for the band fans. It all just makes sense (duh…wow, I’m a little slow today).
Here are my goods and the-could-be-goods for M for Montreal.
My final opinion of M for Montreal is: it’s worth going to. It’s worth going to just for the fact that it’s well organized and the concept behind it should be supported we want these artists to keep making music. Without an event like this, some artists may never receive the financial and deal-breaking opportunities, such as The Envy, Braids and numerous others they do. We all need a little help from our friends sometimes and M for Montreal should be your friend.
Cool beans. Stay in-tune for more local Montreal and Brooklyn coverage.
M for Montreal claimed this city from November 17 -20, 2010. It wasn’t a clusterfuck, it was a planned out race. There wasn’t that much dancing, but there was a lot of drinking. It looked like everyone was having a good time and some bands got signed.
