Happy springtime everyone! While it’s still cold and there’s snow on the ground you can feel comforted by the fact that at least in name the season has changed. So put on your slightly less bulky coat and your more fashionable winter boots and head out this week for a show or two. Here’s some ideas.

 

Distroboto Sweet Sixteen Party and Fundraiser

This Sunday Casa del Popolo is hosting a special event to both celebrate the fact that Distroboto turns  sixteen and to raise funds for the non-profit art distributor. Re-purposing old cigarette machines into art dispensers has caught the eye of many (including us at FTB) over the years but the cost of doing business means that sometimes crowd funding is needed.

The music for the evening will be provided by OSB, GMACKRR, fourthousandblackbirds and Alexandre St-Onge and they suggest a donation of $8. This has to be the easiest and most enjoyable way to do a good deed this week!

Distroboto Fundraiser plays Casa del Popolo, 4873 Boulevard St-Laurent, Sunday, March 26th, 9:00pm, $8 (suggested) at the door.

Zucchero

Next Tuesday the Olympia will be hosting an evening with Italian blues legend Zucchero when he stops in as part of his Black Cat World Tour in support of his 2016 album by the same name. While we commonly associate The Blues with US-based artists, Zucchero’s career has always broken that mold in a big way.

Spanning four decades and having success internationally, it’s safe to say his music has always has a level of “cross over appeal” to the point where hits don’t necessarily have to be sung in English. This show is not to be missed if you want to see a masterclass in blues rock.

Zucchero plays L’Olympia de Montréal, 1004 Ste-Catherine East, Tuesday, March 28th, 8:00pm (Doors at 7:00), $54.50 – $89.50 available through the box office.

Eric John Kaiser

Next Tuesday you can head down to Le Verre Bouteille and check out French born Portland based singer/songwriter Eric John Kaiser who is touring Quebec for the first time and having his launch party for his new album Made in Gaspésie. The title is pretty on the nose since the album was recorded in the region and is indicative of the mix between French Chansonnier and American Bluesman that marks Kaiser as an artist.

If you live outside of Montreal we’ve got good news because Eric will be touring the province as a whole, so check out his events page for dates and details. However, if you come to this show  you can get excited about the fact that it’s free!

Eric John Kaiser plays Le Verre Bouteille, 2112, avenue du Mont-Royal East, Tuesday, March 28th, 7:00pm (Doors at 6:00), free.

 

High Waters + Artifice Palace + Pallice

Saturday you can get your indie rock fix by heading over to La Vitrola where three great Canadian acts in the form of are High Waters, Artifice Palace and Pallice are taking to the stage as part of a Blue Skies Turn Black showcase. This show has a solid lineup top to bottom and considering it’s only $7.50 to get in, it’s highly recommended for anyone who’s feeling a bit financially challenged at the moment.

High Waters, Artifice Palace and Pallice play La Vitrola, 4602 Boulevard St-Laurent, Saturday, March 25th, 9:00pm (Dorrs at 8:30) $7.50 through the box office or $10 at the door.

* Featured image by Radical Montreal

* Know a band or an artist that should be featured in Shows This Week? Maybe a show FTB should cover, too? Let us know at music@forgetthebox.net. We can’t be everywhere and can’t write about everything, but we do our best!

This week we’re focusing on the local scene by highlighting the best shows of the week that have at least one Montreal based band in the performance. This was incredibly easy to do, if you take the time to look you can always find some great musicians just around the corner from you.

So take the time, and give these shows a look.

Paper Lions + How Sad

Thursday night you can head over to Théâtre Fairmount and check out and all-Canadian lineup of indie rock inspired dance music. Headlining the event will be East Coast indie electro pop rockers Paper Lions who recently released Full Colour, an album you should consider putting on your radar.

Joining them will be local electro artists How Sad who will make you clearly happy to have gotten off your butt to get out of the house for an up tempo evening of music. I suspect that no one will be sitting during this one as both bands are the type that make you want to get up and dance.

Paper Lions and How Sad play Théâtre Fairmount, 5240, Avenue du Parc, Thursday, October 13th, 8:00pm (Doors at 7:00pm), $12 available through the box office.

Future States + Run Coyote + Pallice 

On Sunday Casa del Popolo will be hosting the album launch and concert for local indie rockers Future States who will be releasing Casual Listener later this month. I suspect if you ask them really nicely they’ll play a few tunes from the upcoming release.

Joining them will be another local act Pallice and Run Coyote, whose 2014 release Youth Haunts was met with a great response from music critics across the country and who are about to get back in the studio to finish up a new album. We have it on good authority that they’ll be trying some of the new tracks on unsuspecting audiences during this current tour so if you want fresh music then this is the show to check out.

Future States, Run Coyote and Pallice play Casa del Popolo, 4873 Boulevard Saint-Laurent, Sunday, October 16th, 9:00pm (Doors at 8:30pm), $1o available through lfttckt.

Plants & Animals + The Weather Station

On Saturday Montreal based indie rock trio  Plants & Animals will be joined by The Weather Station at Théâtre Corona. Another of the hidden gems in the Montreal music scene, these guys have been at it since 2008, releasing four full length albums in that time.

Their latest release Waltzed in from the Rumbling came out earlier this year and has done nothing but impress music critics and fans alike. They’ll be travelling through Canada for the next two months with this being the only Montreal date, so don’t miss out on the opportunity!

Plants & Animals and The Weather Station play Théâtre Corona, 2490 Rue Notre-Dame Ouest, Saturday, October 15th, 8:00pm (Doors at 7:30pm), $24.50 ($27 at the door) available through box office.

Nots + The World + Cheap Wig

The coolest rock show of the week will be on Friday night when Nots, The World and Cheap Wig play as part of a Blue Skies Turn Black showcase. This will be a mix of punk and garage rock from some bands who are known for killer live shows.

 Nots, The World and Cheap Wig play Casa del Popolo, 4873 Boulevard Saint-Laurent, Friday, October 14th, 9:00pm (Doors at 8:00pm), $1o ($13 at the door) available through box office.

* Featured Image: paperlions.com

Know a band or an artist that should be featured in Shows This Week? Maybe a show FTB should cover, too? Let us know at music@forgetthebox.net. We can’t be everywhere and can’t write about everything, but we do our best!