Sala Rossa

ArtsMusic

Ice storms.

Triple pant layers for slippery grocery shopping trips.

Post-holiday back to the grind panic attacks.

Sound familiar?

I’m slowly working my way into a winter funk and I am sure I’m not alone in this.  Here’s what I’m betting on as the perfect remedy:

Rx –  One vigorous dose of Archery Guild’s launch of their sophomore album Manitòk  this Friday.

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For those of you unfamiliar with these Montreal music makers, Archery Guild is an experimental indie rock band. Their line up currently includes Michael Cota (vox, guitar, synth), Marshall Vaillancourt (drums), Tristan Giardini (Bass), Mariah Andrews (trumpet, synth, vibraphone), Ian Gibbons (cello), Huei Lin (sax) and Casimir Kaplan (guitar).

Archery Guild is known for their dynamic wall of sound and their joyful cacophonous melodies. I greatly anticipate experiencing their new tracks and haven’t looked forward to a show like this in quite some time.

This line up of local musicians is pretty sweet: I’ve seen experimental psychedelic pop act The Walls are Blonde and enjoyed their tunes and stage performance thoroughly. I’ve yet to see Montreal’s psychedelic prog surf rockers Snooker Emporium and noise pop duo Look Vibrant live.

See you there. I’ll be the head bobbing, feet swaying gal wearing wool socks. Don’t be shy, come say hi.

Get ready and have a listen:

Music

When it comes to the live concert experience, we expect a lot from the artists up on stage. But what about the crowd? If we demand that an audience display as much energy and excitement as we’ve come to expect from our favourite bands, every show would be like the ORG713 show that happened at Sala Rossa last Thursday.

Most of the crowd were very happily and exuberantly dancing along to every song. As one girl at the show put it, it was as if they were all competing to see who can dance in the most psychotic fashion. Indeed, most people looked like they had lost their minds from sheer joy and good times.

This much frenetic, arrhythmic movement is usually reserved for the most brutal heavy metal mosh pits. But there was a style and grace to the dancing people not present at louder, heavier shows.

The show featured Montreal bands The Haiduks, Blood and Archery Guild. Headlining was Toronto-based psychedelic outfit Ostrich Tuning.

The Haiduks’ psychedelic 60s pop started the show off on the right foot. Their warm sound has a tendency to envelop you in a fuzzy blanket of comfort and make you feel a little zoned-out and loopy.

Just when you were feeling nice and relaxed, spanking-new band Blood took the stage. Founding member and show organizer David Kleiser describes Blood as “Elephant 6 forming a KC and the Sunshine Band cover band.” This is when the crazy dancing started. The lights were off and some very trippy footage from obscure old films was playing on a big screen behind the band.

The captivating visuals continued when Archery Guild took the stage. The lights were back on and all nine (and sometimes ten) band members could be properly seen. Sala Rossa is a great venue to see bands with big lineups and even bigger sounds. There’s something about the way those chandeliers and the velvety red curtains get reflected in brass instruments. It makes you feel like you’re in another time.

In all honesty, I missed Ostrich Tuning’s set. The show started well past the advertised start time of 8 p.m. and I wasn’t able to stay until the end. I can imagine how their darker, moodier brand of psychedelic indie rock brought the entire evening to a beautiful culmination.

This video nicely captures the essence of the show, minus the amazing music.

ORG is a multimedia creative collective made up of musicians, artists and filmmakers. They regularly schedule events to showcase music, zines, comics, posters and other pieces of art from members and friends. To read more about the collective, see Pamela Fillion’s interview with David Kleiser.

Archery Guild

Photos by Bianca David.

ArtsQueerStage

When activists founded AIDS Community Care Montreal in 1987, they hoped that one day we would see people live with HIV and not just die from it. Twenty-five years later, community org ACCM celebrates survival and success with a fabulous cabaret hosted by Antonio Bavaro, with Toronto’s Ryan G Hinds, and performance artist Danny Gaudreault + friends this Sunday, February 3 at the Sala Rossa. (See details for our ticket contest below!)

Active in the Toronto and Montréal cabaret scenes, a beloved writer for Xtra and all-around fabulous personality, Ryan G Hinds (featured photo by Georges Dutil) will be making Cabaret87 the highlight of a whirlwind weekend such as he’s so notorious for in Montréal. Winner of the 2011 Steinert & Ferreiro Award for LGBT commitment to the arts, Hinds is diva with enough soul for two cities, and will doubtless be a show-stopper on Sunday night.

“In terms of my art, AIDS means honouring the past, celebrating the present, and charting the future. Every time I step on stage, I bring ghosts with me: artists and story tellers like Craig Russell, Sylvester, Peter Allen, and Liberace inspire my work. For ACCM’s 25th anniversary I wanted to tell a story of looking back with affection (without denying the tough moments) and remaining hopeful for tomorrow, and I dedicate it to our absent friends and present comrades.” – Ryan G Hinds

Known for his triple (goddess) threat performances as Connie Lingua (or Hedwig, or Frank-N-Furter more recently) Antonio Bavaro is a Concordia theatre student, and so much more! Hailing from the Court of the Wild Rose, and soon to be featured in his own 10th Anniversary show (Cabaret Cochonne), Bavaro is a fixture of the alt-drag scene in the 416, 780 and 514 who is sure to serve more than lip sync at this special event. He’ll be thinking about Sticky Vicky (the late Vincent Richards) when he takes the Sala Rossa stage to host Cabaret87.

Antonio Bavaro as Frank-N-Furter at the Mainline Theatre, 2012

“My first friend/mentor to pass away from AIDS is an Edmonton legend: the electro-punk Broadway club kid coat-check queen by the name of Sticky Vicky, Vincent Richards. They were the first drag queen to be nice to me when I was still under-aged, and they were always supportive of my charisma, uniqueness, nerve & talent once we started performing on the same stage. (Supposedly she was the #1 blow-job groupie of punk band SNFU). You never really understood what she was saying, but you always knew she cared. Thank you, Vicky.” – Antonio Bavaro

Inexplicably moving performance interventions are Danny Gaudreault’s calling card, whether at Radical Queer Semaine events or at numerous art festivals like Visualeyez and Écho d’un fleuve. His work evokes loss and alienation with a decidedly theatrical approach. Inspired by clown and nightmarish Edward Gorey-esque motifs, Gaudreault is unflinching and always awesome.

COHÉSION et autres tentatives – Performance #4 from Danny Gaudreault on Vimeo.

“My art practice is about affirming a hybrid identity by adding several layers of perceptible references. Similarly, HIV/AIDS is not an identifiable motif, but is present when I make reference to my own vulnerabilities: I am potentially affected and therefore concerned. I am also engaged in looking at ‘the other’ in an empathetic way, the same mode in which I consider the past, the present and the future: with hope.” – Danny Gaudreault (translation by JA)

Coral Short and Deanne Smith round out a stellar line-up of queer artists who will help ring in ACCM’s silver anniversary in style. See you there!

Cabaret 87 – ACCM’s 25th anniversay

Hosted by Antonio Bavaro w/ Ryan G Hinds, Danny Gaudreault, Coral Short, Deanne Smith + friends (Cocktail hour hosted by Lady Gaza + Mini Maul, with lots of prizes and an auction!)

Sunday, Feb 3, 8pm – $15

@ La Sala Rossa, 4848 boul. St-Laurent, Montréal

WIN 2 FREE TICKETS TO CABARET87 by adding a comment below and liking our Facebook page. The winning commentator/liker will be selected randomly on Saturday, Feb 2 and announced on Forget the Box’s Facebook page (go ahead and like ACCM‘s too).  Good luck!