So many shows this week! Get to it.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4

CKUT presents: Squalor + Cheap Wig + Balltripper @ Cabaret Playhouse

Squalor’s experimental noisy sludge + fuzzy lo-fi wailers Cheap Wig + the psychedelic stoner punk of Balltripper = a good time.

Show starts at 9 p.m., $7.

Skurge + Feefawfum @ Barfly

Do you like your thrash with a fair amount of free jazz thrown in? Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Show starts at 10 p.m., $7.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5

Castle + Buffalo Theory + Tunguska Mammoth + Abyssed + Near Grey + Watcher @ Foufounes Électriques

San Francisco’s Castle are great and all but there are some solid openers representing Montreal here. Get there early not to miss Watcher and Near Grey.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m., $10 via Xtrem Productions or at the door.

Golden Tombs + The Hydrothermal Vents @ Casa del Popolo

Man, Golden Tombs are such a trip to see live. Go get lost in their cinematic psych-influenced spaghetti western-meets-folk.

Show starts at 9 p.m., $6.

La Forêt rouge (cassette launch) + The Crib Death of the Un-Cool + Goddard x Pelchat @ 185 Van Horne

La Forêt rouge was formed in 2002 by Olivier D’Amours (GGRIL, Monocytes) and David Dugas Dion (ex-CRABE, David and the Woods, Gens Chrétiens) and made long improvisational compositions influenced by psychedelic post-rock. They were ahead of their time and then, after a brief existence, the band went on an indefinite hiatus. They are back and will be releasing a new cassette on Montreal label Cuchabata Records. Supporting them are The Crib Death of the Un-Cool — made up of Sam Shalabi and Chris Burns, two legends of the Montreal underground improv/experimental scene — and free jazz/noise duo made up of James Goddard (Public Transit, Skin Tone) and Alex Pelchat (Shining Wizard, Drøm Før Du Dør).

Show starts at 9 p.m.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 6

A Devil’s Din + Balltripper @ Barfly

Psych-rockers A Devil’s Din and Balltripper both lost their gear and jam space to a fire recently and are putting on this show (with borrowed gear) to help raise funds to replace what they’ve lost. For those who’d like to help out but can’t make it to the show, they are accepting donations through money transfer at adevilsdin@gmail.com.

Show starts at 6 p.m., PWYC.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7

Andrew Sisk presents The Passing of the Buffalo + Aim Low @ Casa del Popolo

I will let the event description speak for itself here: In the spring of 2011, Andrew Sisk scanned the stacks of a used bookstore and spotted the thin, aged spine of an antique book titled The Passing of the Buffalo. Published in 1916 in Vancouver, the prologue caught Sisk’s eye as it spoke of the fate of one of North America’s first natural resources, the wild buffalo. Through the book’s prologue, five acts and epilogue, the author details the rapid decline of the buffalo in a beautifully poetic and educated tone from behind the mysterious pen-name, Buckskin. Its verses reveal a warning for our time and a beauty long forgotten.

Sisk was inspired to spread the book’s message through music and pay homage to a great work.

Show starts at 8 p.m., $8.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8

Witching Hour Full Moon Halloween Party: Collision of Dimensions @ Theatre Rialto

This sounds like it’s going to be totally crazy. Witching Hour have made a name for themselves throwing parties that include many kinds of media and other more unconventional activities like yoga and meditation. There’s always a live music component — usually electronic DJs and bands — as well as live painting and film screenings. Marie Davidson headlines this edition curated by No Exist and QuebékisŤanz.

Doors open at 8:30 p.m. Tickets cost $10 in advance at Phonopolis, X20 and Cheap Thrills; $12 at the door.

Artsy Chicks

What is this and where is it going? You may ask yourself those very questions listening to local Montreal band The Artsy Chicks. The truth is you’ll never know and that’s just fantastic. For now, let’s describe their music as experimental, although that will change from one album to the next according to the band’s keyboardist Zach Scholes.

Scholes met fellow bandmates Dominic Caterina (guitar), Juan Cruz Fernandez (guitar/vocals), Mario Lombardi (bass, tenor saxophone) and Corey Tardiff (drums) while studying music at Vanier College and formed The Artsy Chicks exactly one year ago, in the spring of 2013. They had already released a full-length album, Kwoto Zeetrus, by November. The album is a rambling exploration of noise, post-rock, a good measure of jazz and a hint of surf rock. It showcases the band’s impeccable balance between chaos and structure. It’s some good noise, that’s for sure.

The band have another record coming out this summer and Scholes explained that this time, their sound will be much more surf rock oriented.

“One of the reasons we all got together is we wanted to be in a project that does whatever it wants to do. We just like to try and do different things and do our best. All of us really enjoy music, we all study different things and continue to study so we wanted an outlet for that,” he said. “We’re already working on the next two records and they’re going to be totally different. We’re all musicians and we’re all composers, we all do different things that stimulate us musically.”

Nowadays, it’s common to see so many different influences coming together in a band’s sound. The Artsy Chicks have a bit of a more novel approach in that they go through phases with their composition, much like many listeners, myself included, go through phases with music. You might be really into a certain genre for a little while and eventually you start feeling something else.

The one thing the band conscientiously strives for when it comes to their sound is honesty, not just with listeners but also among themselves.

“That’s the feeling that I like and that’s the feeling that we’re trying to go for. [Bands who try to sound a certain way], there’s nothing wrong with that. But it doesn’t work for us and the way we think about it,” Scholes said. “We worked really hard to get into a position where you can tell someone flat-out ‘this isn’t working’. That person can tell you to fuck off if they want to. There’s a nice dynamic there. I think it makes for better music.”

The band are taking full advantage of their current dynamic and steady surge of material and are trying to get it all out while it’s there. This explains how they’re managing to work on two albums simultaneously after having released one just six months ago. Not to mention all the shows they’ve been playing in Montreal and the Canadian tour they’ll embark on mid-June (they have an Indiegogo campaign on right now to help fund the tour).

They’ve played with plenty of prominent local bands including Atsuko Chiba, Archery Guild and Hellenica and participated in the fourth edition of monthly series The Secret Museum of Sound and Nature.

“There are so many great bands,” Scholes said. “We really like playing with Hellenica, it just seems to fit so well with what we’re doing now. It’s amazing to see him live cause he’s one guy with a guitar. It’s quite a mind-trip.”

He said The Artsy Chicks will be playing with Hellenica again for their album launch July 6 at La Vitrola (details to come).

Scholes also had nice things to say about another Montreal band, Feefawfum, who will be performing with them tonight.

“They’re amazing. It’s going to be really out there,” he said. “The guys in the band are phenomenal musicians and we’re really excited to be playing with them.”

The Artsy Chicks perform tonight, May 11 at Piccolo Rialto with Feefawfum and Palm Trees. Doors open at 8 p.m., $5.

Photo by Justine Israel courtesy of The Artsy Chicks.

*Correction: This post originally stated The Artsy Chicks’ sophomore album launch would take place June 6 instead of July 6. Apologies for the error.

deathhammer

Go see some shows this week.

FRIDAY, MAY 9

Dekoder + Dethfox + Show of Bedlam + USA Out Of Vietnam @ Casa del Popolo

Show starts at 8 p.m., $10.

The Faggots + Manipulated Outcome + Animal Ethics + Society’s Ills @ TRH-Bar

Show starts at 9 p.m., $5.

SATURDAY, MAY 10

Wye Oak + Braids @ Il Motore

Doors open at 8 p.m., $15 in advance via Blue Skies Turn Black or $17 at the door.

White Hills + The This Many Boyfriends Club @ Casa del Popolo

Doors open at 8 p.m, $8 in advance via Blue Skies Turn Black or $10 at the door.

Deathhammer + Occult Burial + Abyssed @ La Vitrola

Show starts at 9 p.m., $12 in advance via Blackdot Presents or $15 at the door.

SUNDAY, MAY 11

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard + Comet Control + UUBBUURRUU @ Cabaret Playhouse

Doors open at 8 p.m., $10 in advance via Blue Skies Turn Black or $13 at the door.

The Artsy Chicks + Feefawfum + Palm Trees @ Piccolo Rialto

Show starts at 9 p.m., $5 at the door.