Po’ Lazarus

ArtsMusic

Sometimes it’s hard to pigeonhole a band’s sound. That’s usually a sign that the band really has something new and interesting to offer. Montreal’s The Holds is one of those bands.

The five-piece hailing from NDG (my old ‘hood) launched their self-titled debut EP Friday at O Patro Vys on Mont-Royal. A download of the EP was included with the price of admission.

Opener Joshua Carey of Po Lazarus kicked things off with a very intimate set. Alone with his guitar and mandolin until the last tune, he welcomed the crowd with some of the Po Lazarus repertoire and even a new original tune, setting the stage perfectly for the explosion that was to follow.

Blues and More

From the moment The Holds took the stage, they were in show mode. The light instrumentation that served as a backdrop as frontman Ryan Setton introduced the show and got the audience to count down from ten gelled into the first song when the countdown was done. From there on it was all energy.

When you listen to The Holds, the first thing that comes to mind is the blues. This musical genre permeates every tune they play, but it’s never alone. Their songs are also rock songs, and quite a few of them are borderline or outright psychedelic, too.

vintage projector

I’m not just saying that because of the live projections done with vintage projectors courtesy of Daniel Oniszeczko that gave the show its visual feel. There’s something trippy in the music, too.

Very Montreal

The band is made up of Setton, Andre Galamba on bass, Eric Hein on guitar, Justin Wiley on drums and Alex Lebel on keyboard. While the presence of keys in a blues rock band, or a psychedelic blues rock band may have you thinking Blues Traveller or The Doors, there is something else at play when it comes to The Holds and it starts with the crowd.

O Patro Vys was packed. Taking a look around the room, I got the feeling that I was at an Indie Rock show, something Montreal is known for. Admittedly, the fact that Dan Moscovitch of First You Get The Sugar produced their EP may have had something to do with that, but there was more to it.

the holds o patro vys 2

From the little card with free download instructions to get the EP to general atmosphere the band created in the room, the event was very tech-aware and very indie. And all this to go along with generally longer blues-infused tunes. A very Montreal experience.

It’s one you should hope to experience for yourself if you missed out last Friday and one the people who were there most likely want to experience again. We have that chance on Saturday, March 12th at Turbo Haus in St-Henri. Until then, you can enjoy The Holds at home or wherever you are by downloading their EP from iTunes via their site theholds.com. You’ll be glad you did.

* Photos by Steve Walsh

ArtsMusic

Taking inspiration from jam bands like The Grateful Dead, Po Lazarus recently recorded their debut self-titled EP live in one (almost) continuous take. This ambitious and experimental style is something the Montreal quartet clearly thrives on. At its core, Po Lazarus is a folk-rock band, but as their five-track EP demonstrates they’re also a band continuously striving to find new ways of making music.

As with all experimentation, the final results are mixed. As lead singer Joshua Carey croons about lost loves, one night stands, self-doubt and redemption, the music shifts between sweet folk, harder rock and straight up country.

As much as the band doesn’t want to admit it, they’re masters at putting on a great performance. When you see a live Po Lazarus show, it’s difficult not to get swept up in the vibe and feel like these gentlemen are making sweet love to your eardrums. Upon repeated listens at home, the band’s strengths and weaknesses start to become more apparent.

In the psychedelic-fuled lead track Backyard Voodoo Carey’s voice sounds like the love child of Jim Morrison and Thom Yorke. When first hearing the lyrics, it’s hard to take Backyard Voodoo seriously (Chicken bones are strewn/From the ceiling of your room/and brickdust is guarding the cupboard where you keep your/broom). But just like dark magic, upon repeated listens the song grows on you.

In more folk-ish Po Lazarus songs like The Seams, the guitar wailing away seems out of place. But in Backyard Voodoo the guitar is perfection. And when you combine that with Mo Novak’s solid drum beat, I could listen to Carey ramble on about nonsense forever.

I’m Coming For You is one of the most polished songs on the EP. The song’s impact slowly creeps up on you and has just the right doses of pop, rock and folk. The best guitar solo on the EP can be found here and features some impassioned vocals from Carey.

Conversely A Couple Weeks Time is the blandest of the offerings on the EP. While you have to appreciate the desire to try different things, country is clearly not a style that inspires the band as much as folk or rock.

If You Are Alone is the most obvious crowd pleaser of the EP. Ukulele, falsetto and simple lyrics is always a great mix. Especially when performed live, Po Lazarus knows how to make this combination work for them. With the incredibly infectious chorus (If you are alone/Well i’ll be the one to take you home x2) it’s hard not to find yourself singing along to this song whether you’re in a packed bar after a few pints, or stone-cold sober sitting alone in your living room.

All and all this EP signals Po Lazarus is a strong band that’s here to stay. It’ll be exciting to see where Po Lazarus’s goal of experimentation takes their musical style and lyrical inspiration next.

To celebrate the launch of their EP, Po Lazarus is having a party tonight, Friday, August 8th at Turbo Haus. Tickets are $10 in advance, $14 at the door. To download a copy of the EP for yourself, make sure you check out Po Lazarus’s bandcamp page

 

 

ArtsMusic

Quit fucking around and go see these shows this week.

FRIDAY, JULY 4

Putamen Insula + Hellenica + Existe @ Deathouse

Show starts at 9 p.m.

SATURDAY, JULY 5

Tasty Fest: Like Animals + Adrenechrome + Watcher + Chronolith + Disaster Horse + The Slums & more

So there’s this guy who lives in Brossard who takes it upon himself to organize Tasty Fest, an annual backyard BBQ party featuring bands, food and wholesome activities like oil wrestling (prize: a bottle of Jagermeister) and punk haircuts.

Show starts at 3 p.m., $10 at the door.

Po Lazarus @ Grumpy’s

Show starts at 10 p.m., free.

SUNDAY, JULY 6

The Artsy Chicks + Golden Tombs @ La Vitrola

Montreal band The Artsy Chicks have been on tour for the past three weeks and will be officially launching their sophomore album at a homecoming show on Sunday. This album will draw more heavily on surf rock than their previous release but we can expect an incredible diversity of influences nonetheless from this five-piece.

Doors open at 8 p.m., PWYC.

Venomenon + Adrenechrome + Cromagnum + Watcher @ Piranha Bar

Show starts at 8:30 p.m., $10 at the door.

TUESDAY, JULY 8

Hundred Waters + Mas Ysa @ Il Motore

Doors open at 8 p.m., $12 in advance via Blue Skies Turn Black or $14 at the door.

THURSDAY, JULY 10

Slight + Big Brave + Harsh Reality @ Casa del Popolo

Show starts at 9 p.m., $8/PWYC.

Light Bulb Alley + The Sangomas + After Party Acid People @ L’Escogriffe

Show starts at 10 p.m., $5.

Eddie Paul - Alex Sergerie
ArtsMusic

Well it took a little while to round up all the photos from Forget The Box’s 5th birthday bash last month but here they are! We’d like to thank everyone who came out to the show and everyone who has supported us over the last five years. We have some personal thanks so let’s get to it:

Chez Nick and Dr. Sugarbottom’s for the excellent refreshments.

O Patro Vys for hosting us.

Seb Black, Eddie Paul, the Emery Street crew, Two-Year Carnival, Ruff Talons and Po Lazarus for their killer sets.

Indie Montreal for putting on the show.

Thanks to Stephanie Laughlin and everyone who helped her put it all together.

Click on the photo to launch the slideshow. Photos by Iana Kazakova and Alex Sergerie.

FTB party photosFTB party photos
ArtsMusic

Go see these shows this week.

FRIDAY, MAY 16

FTB 5th Anniversary Party w/ Seb Black + Eddie Paul + Po Lazarus + Ruff Talons + Two-Year Carnival @ O Patro Vys

Forget The Box is celebrating 5 years of independent media tonight with some musical guests, all of which have been featured on our site at one point or another over the years. Party!

Show starts at 9 p.m., $14 at the door.

One Man Band Festival w/ Wax Mannequin + Jenny Omnichord + Smoota + Tony Ezzy @ Divan Orange

One Man Band Fest continues tonight with what they call the “outsider music and weird folk masters” edition.

Show starts at 8 p.m., $12.

Duchess Says + El Napoleon + Police des moeurs @ Le Belmont

Show starts at 10 p.m., $15 at the door.

SATURDAY, MAY 17

Fu Manchu + Electric Citizen + Eagle Tears @ Cabaret Mile End

Show starts at 9 p.m., $20.

Piknic Électronik double edition @ Parc Jean-Drapeau

Everyone’s favourite Sunday summer pastime starts this weekend with a special double edition. There will be a Piknic event on Saturday as well as at the usual time on Sunday.

Events start at 2 p.m., $15 for individual day tickets.

SUNDAY, MAY 18

One Man Band Fest w/ Kim Barlow + J. Allen + Fireball Grant + Pete Moser The Fastest One Man Band + Gull + Tadi Cirus @ Brasserie McAuslan on the Lachine Canal

Beer, food and fun in the sun? Yes, please! You’ll find all that plus some talented musicians at this free afternoon event.

Show starts at 1 p.m.,  free.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 21

HR3 + Kids Eat Crayons @ Casa del Popolo

Show starts at 8:30 p.m., $10.

ArtsCultureCultureMusicNews

Has it really been five years? Yes, it has. A better question would be ‘has it only been five years?’

While my experience with Forget the Box since the site started back in 2009 may have felt like a whirlwind at times, it was also work. The kind of work where you get up in the morning, or in the middle of the afternoon after a particularly late night, happy to do it.

It’s the kind of work that you anticipate getting to while you’re at your paying gig. We’re all still volunteers, we’re doing it ’cause we love it and, at least in my case, because it’s important work.

Nothing compares to the joy of knowing you brought a story to light that no one else had, that you helped someone discover an artist that they didn’t know but now love or that you expressed an opinion people may have been thinking but no one had been writing and publishing for a broad audience. There’s also nothing like writing an April Fool’s post collaboratively, ridiculous to you and the team, but believable to some, who then question why they believed it.

ftb 5th anniversary fundraiser posterFTB is a labour of love that I share with between twenty and thirty people at any given time: fellow editors and writers, photographers, members of our board (we’re an incorporated non-profit) and behind the scenes people helping to promote and now monetize the site (we can’t be volunteers forever). Some have been here since the beginning, some for only a few months, some come and go and come back – they’re all a part of it.

For five years, we’ve also shared this experience with the people we’ve covered and our readers. You’re a part of FTB, too.

The one thing we haven’t been able to do yet is gather everyone who’s part of our extended group, or at least those that are in town and not otherwise occupied, in the same place. Well, that all changes Friday, May 16.

We’re turning five so we’re throwing a party at O Patro Vys along with our friends at Indie Montreal and you’re invited! We’ve also invited Po Lazarus, Seb Black, Eddie Paul, Ruff Talons and other surprise guests like Two-Year Carnival. I realize it’s not really a surprise when you tell people about it, but we do like to think outside of the box. In fact, we like to forget it entirely.

If you want to check out some great local bands and celebrate five years of FTB with us, then get your tickets in advance (and save yourself a bit of cash) and plan to expect the unexpected, as this seems like the type of party that may keep surprising you just like the fact that it’s only been five years of FTB surprises me.

Anyways, see you Friday!

The Forget the Box 5th Anniversary Spectacular takes place Friday, May 16 at O Patro Vys (356 Mont-Royal Est, metro Mont-Royal). Doors open at 8 p.m., $11.50 in advance via Indie Montreal or $14 at the door.

ArtsMusic

Go see these shows this week, get to it.

THURSDAY, APRIL 24

SMOSAN #11: Avec le Soleil Sortant de sa Bouche + Femme Accident + Golden Tombs @ Le Cagibi

It is the one year anniversary of the monthly audio/visual performance series known as the Secret Museum of Sound and Nature. The series brings together people who share a common interest in new, innovative and experimental music. Read our interview with Jim Demos, founder and main organizer of the series.

Show starts at 9:15 p.m. (for real), $8.

Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women w/ Odaya + Beatrice Deer + Sarah Pagé + AroarA @ La Vitrola

HOWL, a Montreal collective promoting social justice through the arts, organized this event in collaboration with Missing Justice, a grassroots campaign, to draw attention to the large number of missing and murdered indigenous women. The event features performances by aboriginal artists Odaya and Beatrice Deer, as well as experimental harpist Sarah Pagé (The Barr Brothers) and Montreal duo AroarA.

Show starts at 8:30 p.m., $8.

Po Lazarus @ Honey Martin

Show starts at 10 p.m., free.

FRIDAY, APRIL 25

Life in Vacuum + Atsuko Chiba + Obstcls @ L’Escogriffe

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

Mystik Motorcycles + Melted Faces + Ultrapterodactyle @ Divan Orange

Show starts at 9:30 p.m., $7.

SATURDAY, APRIL 26

Montreal Psych Fest presents Elephant Stone + The Vacant Lots + Pachyderm @ Quai des Brumes

Montreal psychedelic powerhouse Elephant Stone are kicking off a summer of touring here in Montreal by performing all the tracks off their new album, the self-titled follow-up to their 2009 success The Seven Seas.

Doors open at 9 p.m., tickets cost $8 in advance online via Elephant Stone or $10 at the door.

Photo by Võ Thiên Việt via tumblr.

Po Lazarus
ArtsMusic

While looking for acts to play Forget the Box’s five year anniversary party, our music editor got me in touch with the band Po Lazarus. Friday, April 11, I headed down to Grumpy’s to meet the up-and-coming Montreal folk band and get a sense of what they’re all about.

While drinking pints on the back terrace, I learned Po Lazarus are a charming group of young men who like to cry, have nicknamed their jam room and whose musical theory education consists mainly of YouTubeing.

Stephanie Laughlin: So let’s get the boring first-date questions out of the way first… How did you guys get together?

Joshua Carey: Paul and I started the band four years ago when we were at Champlain College together. It was a very slow evolution into what we are now; we’ve only been playing as a foursome since December. Folk is definitely the soul of this band but adding Marco [Novak] on drums and Luc [Delisle] on lead guitar means now we can play around with our sound a bit more. Elements of country and rock n’ roll have started to find their way into Po Lazarus, and that’s been pretty exciting.

SL: What’s the song writing process like for you guys?

Paul Mascarenhas: Josh and I write all the songs, but input from everyone is always encouraged. We like to write about crucial elements of the human experience… you know, like love and getting drunk. [Laughs] Seriously though, our songs are about the feelings and issues that come along with being a man in a contemporary world. What can I say? We write about what we know. No one in the band studied music, unless you count watching a lot of YouTube.

Luc Delisle: I love playing around with the songs that Josh and Paul have written. I like to joke that our jam space (a.k.a. Spit Bucket) is where “the magic happens”. But where we really thrive is playing live. Like Josh said, we haven’t been playing together long, but damn it if there hasn’t been a single gig we’ve done so far that hasn’t gotten me a little teary-eyed.

SL: What’s coming for you guys in the future? Anything exciting info you want to share with FTB readers?

JC: Well the big scoop I guess you could say is we recorded an EP this past March — Lazarus Rex — and that’ll be coming out soon. We’ll make sure to play songs from it at the FTB show!

Po Lazarus perform this Thursday, April 24 at Honey Martin (5916 Sherbrooke o.) at 10 p.m.

ArtsMusic

Do yourself a favour and go see some of these shows this week.

FRIDAY, APRIL 11

Les nuits psychédéliques de Québec: Odonis Odonis + Hellshovel @ Le Cercle

A sure sign that the psych genre is on the rise, Les nuits psychédéliques de Québec will have its first edition this weekend. The party actually kicks off tonight, April 10, with a psychedelic dance party at Le Cercle with Mr. Songbird.

Doors open at 8 p.m.; tickets cost $17.50 in advance at Le Cercle (228 St-Joseph e.), Le Knock-Out (832 St-Joseph e.) and online or $20 at the door. 

Po Lazarus + Zoë and the Lost Boys @ Grumpy’s Bar

Show starts at 10:30 p.m., free.

SATURDAY, APRIL 12

Les nuits psychédéliques de Québec: Tonstartssbandht + PyPy @ Le Cercle

Doors open at 8 p.m.; tickets cost $17.50 in advance at Le Cercle (228 St-Joseph e.), Le Knock-Out (832 St-Joseph e.) and online or $20 at the door.

BOIDS + Broadcaster + Panic Attack + The Penske File @ l’Escogriffe

Montreal punk band BOIDS are back in town from a west-coast tour with the Real McKenzies and are officially launching their new album We Stalk Each Other Like Animals.

Show starts at 9 p.m., $10.

TUESDAY, APRIL 15

Full Moon Total Eclipse of the Empire: The Shakewells + NooM + Skurge @ Kiss Lounge

This Tuesday, celebrate the copper full moon and one of the two lunar eclipses of the year. Witching Hour Events have built up a reputation for planning these fun parties based around the idea of promoting geopolitical change through open-mindedness. That’s a cool way of saying that their events always feature great music, film, art activities, trippy projections by local visual artists and some sort of unconventional entertainment (this time it’s live Kung Fu and something called the Space Unicorns Go Go Dancers).

Doors open at 9:30 p.m., $7.

THURSDAY, APRIL 17

Bad Uncle + Kids Eat Crayons @ Divan Orange

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

ArtsMusic

Get. Out. There. See these shows this week!

THURSDAY, JANUARY 23

The Luyas + Brazos @ Divan Orange

Show starts at 8 p.m., $12 at the door or in advance here.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 25

Le Kid & Les Marinellis + El Napoleon @ L’escogriffe

Catch Montreal band Le Kid & Les Marinellis perform their brand of psych-tinged garage rock for the last time before they take a break to record their new album. They’ll be supported by the trippy El Napoleon.

Show starts at 10 p.m., $6.

JD Samson & MEN + Diamond Bones + Light Fires @ Il Motore

Show starts at 9 p.m., $15.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29

Po’ Lazarus @ Pub Saint-Ciboire

The Montreal duo known as Po’ Lazarus have been garnering steady attention in the local scene since their inception a few years ago. When Josh Carey and Paul Mascarenhas gather their humble instruments, just a couple of guitars and their voices, magic happens. See for yourself at this fundraising event for geoengineering students at Montreal’s École polytechnique.

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