Moving Day Is Almost Here

Posted on June 26, 2008

Friends, a pretty impressive Quebec phenomenon is about to take place this weekend. Canada Day weekend is the weekend when many, many quebecers move. It’s a pretty strange ritual to tell you the truth. I figure that after all the partying of Saint-Jean Baptiste is over, they move on to other things. Maybe Canada Day is not really cause for celebration for most quebecers, so move on they do.

As a child, I used to watch Musique Plus quite a bit. They always did that special episode around this time of year and it was all about moving day. Being from the Maritimes, I didn’t really understand what was going on, because back home, we just moved whenever we felt like it. Here, it’s another story though. You’ll see lots of chairs and tape blocking out parking spaces, near empty appliance stores, swollen truck-rental prices, and just a general mess for a city as densely populated as Montreal. Why would everyone want to move at the same time in a city of almost 2 million people? Beats me. The fact remains, here, that’s the way it’s done. In fact, it’s such an important ritual they’ve even made a movie about it.

I always moved outside of the general time period in order to avoid the shared chaos, but this weekend, it turns out I’ll be moving at the same time as everyone else. Mind you, I’m not moving very far… just across the hall so my landlord can renovate my apartment. I am however determined not to use boxes, tape, or packing paper, and to do most of it by myself. We’ll see how that turns out.

Having moved over 17 times in the last 6 years, I’ve been through all kinds of moves: winter storm driving with a full-load on dirt roads in the woods, trying to move with the strict minimum and going through the anguish of parting with some of my beloved belongings because I’m moving to another time zone, finally getting away from the roomate’s evil cat, being ditched by my truck-driver on the morning of the move because he was too hungover to help me, the list goes on. All the moves were special in their own way, and every one of them had their very own set of kinks. Something always goes wrong, that’s a given.

So what’s your moving story. I want to hear them all. What’s the worst thing that’s happened to you during a move? What’s the best thing that happened? Do you move a lot? Are you moving this weekend? If so, why? I’m sure you guys have lots of great stories to share, so let’s hear them.

Q Comes to Montreal

Posted on June 24, 2008

Like most of us here at Midnight Poutine, I have a day job. I spend about 40 hours a week sitting in an office, answering phones. It’s a pretty boring job to tell you the truth, but the thing that really makes my job bearable is the fact that I’m in a position where I can listen to CBC Radio One all day. The highlight of my workday is Jian Gomeshi’s show, Q. Well, this coming Thursday, Q is coming to Montreal covering a variety of events, and while they’re at it they’ll also be recording a show with a live audience.

Q is my personal “daily dose of arts, culture and entertainment” as the show’s tag line clearly states it. Along with Craig Norris, Amanda Putz, Sook Yin Lee and George Stroumboulopoulos, Jian is one of my favorite CBC hosts. In my dream-heaven projected picture, I’m sitting on a cloud, hanging out with all these guys.

Along with a variety of generally arts oriented guests, Gomeshi often has some pretty awesome musical guests on his show. In the past few weeks alone, he has welcomed great artists (who’s shows we also happened to cover here at Midnight Poutine) like Hey Rosetta!, Los Campesinos!, Martha Wainwright and so on. They often have some pretty pertinent things to say and I really love Jian’s interviewing style and the way it leads into interesting insights on the guests’ art and themselves as individuals.

Thursday, June 26th, the Q team will be setting up in The Société des Arts Technologiques at 1195 Saint-Laurent boulevard and welcoming fans like me into the “studio” for the recording of the show. The free tickets are already sold out, with hundreds still on the waiting list to attend, I was lucky enough to get a couple of them and will be reporting the outcome to you later on this week.

Photo provided by CBC.ca

Fringe Festival Part 7: The Final Lap

Posted on June 22, 2008

You may be sick of reading about the Fringe Festival by now. I hope you’re not, because it’s with immense pleasure that I’ve been trotting all over town for the past ten days, working like a machine trying to bring you the most insight on as much of this festival as humanly possible. If you’re saturated with the Fringe, it’s almost over. I sincerely hope you’ve been pleased with the variety of events we’ve covered, but mainly I hope you had a chance to enjoy some of these shows yourselves. I’d love to hear your comments about the festival. What were your highlights? Did you see any really bad shows? Did some of them blow your minds? Did you laugh? Did you cry? I always love hearing what our readers have to say so please, comment away.

Before the Fringe Pop! portion of the evening got started yesterday, a very special even took place at Parc des Amériques: The Annual Drag Races. From the picture, you’ve probably figured out that we’re not talking cars here, but rather men dressed as women performing in a variety of challenges. There are two teams, one made up of the lovely shemales from Chez Mado against the (mostly) male actors of the Fringe.

The first challenge let the contestants pick a member of the audience to be quickly made up in drag. Then came the cocktail challenge (no euphemism intended) where the gals had to mix up a cocktail, balancing it on a tray while stepping through tires with their high-heels, and getting an audience member to taste them. And last but not least, the lasses showed off how well they could shake it with a dance challenge. The ordeal, hosted by the ever-so-fabulous Mado, was judged by “Queen Elizabeth” and “Lady Di”. It was an entertaining afternoon filled with fun, hilarity and good times were had by all (even the guy sitting in the front who got a drink spilled on him).

After a little over an hour of that, I hopped away for a short play I’d heard great things about, The Particulars. The one-man-show was put definitely well put together and very articulate to say the least. The text was extremely well written, though the vocabulary was not exactly what you’re used to hearing said out loud, as it is generally reserved for the written medium. The monologue was a bit verbally heavy and definitely required lots of focus and attention in order to follow what the actor was leading us through. Maybe I just had a hard time focusing on what the handsome gentleman was saying, being distracted by the view of the latter in his tighty-whities. His performance was great though and I think the fact that the text wasn’t dummed-down definitely has its merits and charm.

I got back to the park just in time to catch the end of the Drag Races and see the winners being announced, which was followed by the musical event reviewed in the previous post.

Today, I finished my last lap around the Fringe with Blastback Babyzap, which was also warmly reviewed by Paloma. Though I had a hard time dragging my tired self out of my apartment once again, I was rewarded by one heck of a show. I think if I had an award to give out for this Festival, in the handful of shows I’ve seen, the Montreal company would definitely win the trophy. I’m a big fan of nonsense, silly and unassuming humor like the kind featured in this play, though it’s often a hit-or-miss when you’re trying to pull that kind of stuff on a live audience. Showcasing a variety of skits that all run one into the other, the actors flip the characters in no time and do it all very skillfully. They were all outstanding comedians that made the hilarious script come to life with their awesome dynamics and charisma. I laughed and giggled uncontrollably. I literally couldn’t stop laughing in some parts. This is a play I’d actually see more than once and still laugh after having seen it two or three times.

It is on this great note that I tip my hat off to you all on the Fringe matter. It’s been an exhausting but amazingly fun week for me. Kudos to all the actors and staff behind the Festival, who have clearly given it their 100% to make it so great. Special thanks to Geoff for providing our team with the passes, without which you wouldn’t have been able to read all about it. Great job! I’ll be looking forward to it next year.

Please don’t forget to leave your comments.

Photos provided by SarahBrideau.com

Fringe Festival Part 6: Fringe Pop!

Posted on June 22, 2008

After having immersed myself in theater all week, I took a leap back into the musical world for the penultimate edition of Fringe Pop, which took place at the outdoor stage of Parc des Amériques. The free music shows are a collaboration between the Montreal Fringe Festival and Pop! Montreal, bringing acts such as The D’Urbervilles, The Handsome Furs and Wintersleep to the music-thirsty Montrealers. Last night’s show included the klezmer beats of The Youjsh, the up-and-coming Zeroes, and the ever-so-awesome Juno winners Wintersleep.

The Youjsh – Is it just me or is there an increasing number of bands playing klezmer-type music? This seven-piece ensemble is formed by a bunch of young Montreal jazz musicians. A very fun group to have for an early evening outdoor show, they got an extremely warm acclaim from the audience. I really enjoyed this music as well, especially how adept drummer Phil Melanson added original and spicy rhythms to the jazzed up klezmer tradition.

Zeroes - The first time I saw this band perform live was during the Pop! festival last fall. Even though I have some good friends in this band, I really didn’t like it so much. It was their first show ever so I don’t know how much can be expected from a band taking their first steps. Since their debut, they have gone from sloppy, spacey and grungy (not in the good way), to a solid, entertaining and truly great musical act.

They sound like a variety of other Canadian Indie bands, but they sound great and pull off the deal with flying colors. Their sound resembles a little the one of Holy F%?k. Their songs don’t have many lyrics and tend to drift off into extended instrumental parts. I believe they’re all former McGill Jazz students so their technique is strong and well developed. The jams really work quite well and they’re tighter than most instrumental bands of their kind. It doesn’t sound so calculated and stale. In fact, I don’t know whether it’s planned out or not, but it sounds spontaneous with a very dynamic and energetic drive. The way Indie music has been going, I predict this band will get pretty big within the next year. This is a band to keep an eye on for sure.

Wintersleep - I’ve been a fan of this band for a long, long time now. My love affair with their music goes back to when I was still living on the East coast; back when no one had heard of them yet. However, I have never loved them so much as I do now. Since the release of their new record Welcome to the Night Sky (justifiably long-listed for the Polaris) they have become one of my favorite bands. I owe my survival to the insane Montreal winter of 07-08 to this record.
Without songs like Oblivion, I think it would’ve been impossible for me to push through the wind, cold and snow while I was making my way to work. I would’ve surely collapsed in a snow bank and died of cold and discouragement.

They’ve been touring the world with great success and growing popularity over the past few years but haven’t been to our beautiful city to play so much. It was with great excitement and joy that I finally saw them perform songs from their new record last night at the gorgeous outdoor venue. Though the sound wasn’t great, it was a great show where I enjoyed seeing people from all ages come together at this special event. I even convinced some of my jazz friends to stick around for this, which is a decision they didn’t regret. They loved the band even though before the show, we were discussing the elusiveness of discovering an Indie band in a live setting and actually loving it.

Fellow MP writer Paloma, also present at the event, wishes to add that “for once, a band has become successful because of their perception and insight — almost tangible in their songs and in between them. Hearing them in the homey Fringey atmosphere was a tasty treat to mark the first day of summer. On behalf of Midnight Poutine, I proclaim Wintersleep the Prochaine Grande Chose. And they aren’t even from Montreal. I pledged to actually purchase their CD.”

It was a great concert and even every act brought something awesome to the table. You can still check out the final edition of this special event at the Parc des Amériques tonight.

More photos are available in the photography section of this site under “Music & Shows”

Photos provided by SarahBrideau.com

Fringe Festival Part 5 - 3 Plays, One Night

Posted on June 21, 2008

I must be a mad person, because after having already seen seven plays since the beginning of the Fringe Festival (all the while juggling my full-time job) I actually went out to see three more plays last night. First, I set out to check out Barry Smith’s Baby Book: A Grown Up Comedy About Stuff over a the Geordie Space.

After having checked out his play Jesus In Montana last year (and enjoying it mildly), I wasn’t exactly sure I was going to love this one. Turns out it was pretty fun. I’ve always been somewhat of a memory keeper, but this guy has serious OCD behavior when it comes to holding on to keepsakes. While it was more like a good stand up comedy supported by a great slide show than an actual play, it was a pretty insightful presentation and I laughed a lot. Smith is funny and has a lovely way of looking at life and being able to laugh at himself. I strongly recommend this one.

After quickly fueling up with some food, I headed down to the Mainline Theater to meet fellow writer Paloma and see A Leave of Absynth. I’ll leave the actual reviewing to her, but I will say that the play would’ve been a lot more enjoyable if we were all high on Absynth as well.

After taking a short break, I actually managed to stay up long enough to finally see The 13th Hour. This free show is a special even that has been taking place all week for those of us who are still awake at 1AM. Apparently this show is different every night. It’s sort of like a talk-show featuring a bunch of Fringe actors in a free-for-all style, presenting a variety of skits. Last night, there was a zombie theme to the show, because the death of the fringe is upon us (it’s almost over for this year). The show started off with a lesbian-flavored zombie-burlesque act. It was strange but great. Then followed a bunch of great acts with skits and music by the cast of Die Roten Punkte. There was also some wheel spinning and a Thriller dance class. Between yawns (out of tiredness and nothing else), I managed to laugh some more. The room was completely full and the crowd was very into it, though sometimes their loudness interfered with the actual things that were being said on stage. If you haven’t seen this show yet, you can catch the last one tonight at 1AM, at Studio Juste Pour Rire.

Fringe Festival Part 4: Peg-Ass-Us

Posted on June 20, 2008

Since I saw the girl walking around with a strap-on around her head at the Fringe Festival opening event, my curiosity was piqued and I had to see what this was all about. Last night, I went to see the burlesque show cleverly named Peg-Ass-Us. It’s a show about pegging. Wondering what pegging is? It’s when a woman straps one on and does a man up the (!). The show was presented at the Studio Juste Pour Rire by a company from New York, USA.

It was a very interesting, entertaining, funny and educative show. When I think burlesque, I always sort of imagined a stage lined with women in corsets and such (not like strippers, but you know what I mean). Apparently, my definition of burlesque was off the track; everybody’s gotta learn sometime. Though it did feature full on nudity, this show was more like the wikipedia definition of burlesque: it featured a variety of stage acts like song, music, dance, skits, demonstrations, etc. I learned a lot about the prostate and laughed a lot in the process.

The show also approached many of the moral issues that arise with the sexual practice along with the underlying history. While the girl is an easy-going bombshell open to many things, the guy plays the more conservative part, constantly trying to stop the loose discourse of his partner. It must be said that if you have virgin ears or get offended by things of an explicit sexual nature, you probably should stay away from this one. However, I tend to enjoy the free discourse and all the learning involved in such things. I especially like it when it’s presented in a variety of entertaining ways like this was­.

It was definitely a fun and enjoyable show. Go see it and take your friends. You still have two chances to catch the show:

06/21/2008 - 14:15
06/22/2008 - 21:00

Photos provided by SarahBrideau.com

Fringe Festival Part 3: First Hand Woman

Posted on June 19, 2008

I’m always a little uneasy when it come to going to see anything that’s specifically geared towards a women audience. Maybe it’s the eternal cynic in me, but I usually have a pretty hard time really getting into those things. I find they easily fall into preachiness or unrealistic hopefulness, which is something I like to stay away from. However, when I asked my good friend Craig what I should go see, he told me I should balance acts I really want to see with other things I’d never EVER go see. So, in an effort to try new things, bring you readers a variety of play reviews, and to put my fantastic media pass to good use, I decided to experiment both sides of the fence. This was the dark side of the fence for me: I was stepping into something I was expecting to be boring and common. First Hand Woman took me by surprise and totally drew me in from all sides: emotional, performance, technically - it’s my highlight of the festival so far.

The actresses are amazing: very believable, and more gorgeous one than the other, their acting leaves nothing to be desired. Technically speaking, the play is extremely well put together. The lights and sound undergo smooth transitions that accommodate the mood without being too apparent. The blocking is original and offers interesting movement to a play that could easily sit still.

I don’t want to tell you what the play is about, but I will tell you that the five actresses portray the five stages of grief, which are personalized as five separate personalities of a single person. The idea is original and the writing makes it work in a way that seems effortless (but certainly isn’t - there’s clearly a lot of work that’s been put into this).

As far as the writing goes, playwright Sarah Michelle Brown (also acting in the play) shows tremendous talent. Using a formula not unlike Sex and the City, this play features five extremely different characters that all make up different parts ourselves, which I think inevitably connects us in some way or another to at least one of them. This formula also allows us to get deeper understanding different personaes by helping us focus on the different layers of a single extreme at the time. The relationships between the characters are special and interesting, as well as the actresses’ play amongst themselves.

Without being preachy, the play does have parts where it felt a little like a self-help book, however, it does have a certain something that strongly appeals to someone like me who despises the stuff. The play does lead you into reflection, but also knows how to make you laugh. Though the girls beside me were crying by the end :S - I didn’t find it sad as much as I felt so tall and great when I came out. The overall play breathes professionalism and is definitely one you should treat yourself to by the end of the Fringe. Arrive early: the room fills up quickly.

Playing at the Portugese Association (Venue 7):
19 Jun @ 17.30
21 Jun @ 12.45
22 Jun @ 21.00

Photo provided by Fire Up Productions

Fringe Festival Part 2: Shoshinz and Cherry Typhoon

Posted on June 18, 2008

The Fringe madness continues and one of my favorite thing about this festival is that I get to check out unique acts that I probably wouldn’t get the chance to see otherwise. Last night I saw Shoshinz and Cherry Typhoon and their comedy act all the way from Japan. This is a short and slightly strange show featuring dancing, miming, singing and even a little burlesque.

Shoshinz is a dynamic duo that present an act that seems right out of the Charlie Chaplin era. They pull it off with flying colours. With their talent for connecting with the crowd and really great wordless expression, I’d stick a smiley face on their report card for sure. Something must be said for the wordless acts: truth is, it doesn’t always work and there’s an increased difficulty when you’re trying to connect with a foreign culture from the stage. Shoshinz actually do pull off the theatrical “tour de force”.

The act features two lovely mischievous girls dressed up in maid outfits and mime makeup along with their sidekick, Cherry Typhoon who constantly changes costumes. The show is pretty great, and it’s not exactly the kind of quirky humour you get to see every day. The acting is really great and the girls have a real knack for making you laugh with the oddest things.Their facial and body expressions are really great. Taking it from a friend who lives there at the moment, Japan’s a pretty strange place, and the cultural differences between here and there are a world away. One more reason why I think it’s so great that the crowd was really getting into it and laughing from beginning to end.

If you get a chance, you should definitely try to get out there and see those girls in action. Shoshinz and Cherry Typhoon is a spicy Japanese act that’s definitely worth seeing. They even have cute Japanese merch for sale.

Photo provided by SarahBrideau.com

Deep Into Your Lungs With Hey Rosetta!

Posted on June 16, 2008

 

I realize that I already reviewed Hey Rosetta!’s album not too long ago, however, I feel the serious need to add more to my review. When I first reviewed it, it was also along with a show review, and I had only listened to the record like five times. Also it was as an assignment for MP, whereas, this one is one I decided to write out of pure and simple passion.

Since my last review, I’ve heard their name pop up a little bit everywhere. Q mentioned it several times, and they have since played the CBC Radio 3 showcase last weekend at North By North East, so there was lots of talk about them and the event beforehand. I don’t even think they were headlining the show, but it seems that they took the crowd by surprise and totally stole the show. Apparently, their performance was absolutely mind blowing, and they seem to have been everyone’s favorites at the event. This warms my Red Heart.

So I think I must’ve listened to Into Your Lungs at least 100 times in the past few weeks. I just can’t get enough of it. There’s a new layer that unveils itself to me with every fresh listen. First I started noticing the classical influences in some of their songs. Then I realized that Timmy’s way of singing is not unlike the way Hawksley Workman (producer of this album) sings, which is absolutely great. He pushes his voice in a way that is strong, passionate and always heartfelt. It literally drives the band. It also sometimes reminds me of Steven MacDougall’s (Slowcoaster) voice, but it’s much more powerful and holds a lot of emotion (not to say that Steve’s voice doesn’t).

The strings gently sustain it with gentle and soft harmonies. Let’s talk about the strings: they’re always right on the button. Perfectly in tune with each other and the rest of the band, they make the music soar and sustain the lead vocals.

Where at a first listen I saw the work as a whole album rather than for its individual songs, I am beginning to really love individual songs. One of my biggest hooks is probably Red Heart (even though the drum intro gets on my nerves until the guitars enter). It has the emotion of a ballad and holds chords just long enough to pull you in before switching into the unexpected modulations and bridges (as previously mentioned in my earlier review). It has just the perfect amount of hardness to it and makes me want to rock out like a mad person. I especially love the point (about 3:30 into the song) where the instruments all stop to leave you with just the voice and the acoustic guitar before hitting you hard once more for the big finish.

My second favorite song is A Thousand Suns. It’s a song with a bit of an anthem feel to it. The vocals are particularly great in this one and make me want to sing along to it every time. If you see a girl biking around Montreal singing “she wants to thank you so much” that’ll be me, rocking out to Hey Rosetta!. I almost have to stop myself not to clap along when the part comes along and drifts into a superb metal-like guitar lead for a few bars. The strings at the end are also f$%?ing great. It’s a superbly well built song with strong structures and a beautiful, honest feeling to it.

The album rocks so good all the way through, with its sometimes softer sides that magically explode. All instruments are perfectly calculated and performed. The arrangements fluctuate with abandon and control (contradictory as this statement may seem). The drums are particularly striking with their well thought out beats that strongly sustains the structure of the music and adds flavor to the ordeal.

I could go on telling you all the wonderful things I love about this album… but I won’t because I’d probably ramble on about how it’s the best album of 2008… because I truly think it is. The lyrics are so great and poetic, and when sung by Tim’s gorgeous voice, loaded with such sentiment it pulls on your heart strings and take on the thunderous and dramatic shape of a storm.

Truth is, I love the two songs above, but they’re all great and there’s not a single weak one in the bunch. I believe Epic (with a capital “e”, yes - for all its godly qualities) is the correct word to use for this album. It’s a giant. The sound is so huge, and if you listen to it with a pair of wicked earphones, you’ll realize just how many layers there are to this beauty. The mix is wide and fits them all in, in a way that makes me feel like I’m standing on a Newfoundland cliff, looking at the ocean while being swept away and whipped by dramatic, stormy winds from all sides (I LOOOOOVE storms). It’s too beautiful for words really. My attempts to describe it are futile for they will never measure up to the greatness of this album. It’s perfection pure and simple. I want to thank THEM so much for adding this great work to the Canadian repertoire.

Karkwatson @ Le National - June 14th

Posted on June 15, 2008

Some of you may know of a show produced by the CBC called Fuse. The show, hosted by the lovely Amanda Putz, basically consists of two different bands that merge together for an evening, hence creating a blend of new experimental music. This is basically what took place this weekend at Le National where Montrealers Patrick Watson and Karkwa joined on a single stage to offer us a fantastic and very unique show. Apparently, the initiative fusing these two bands together was the idea of well-known francophone singer-songwriter Jim Corcoran. It was an one to see for sure and I clearly wasn’t the only one to think so since the event had been sold out for some time. The outcome was far from disappointing and left the crowd thirsty for more, even with the two encores.

I hadn’t heard much by Karkwa before this show but have been a fan of Patrick Watson for quite some time now. Like I said on the CBC Radio 3 show, The Craig Norris Hour, where I was invited to temporarily take over the French Connection earlier this week, I have a bit of a hard time really getting into French music. However, after having heard some of Karkwa’s repertoire last night, I’m pretty sure they’ve made a fan out of me.

Karkwatson played songs from both sides of the fence, including new unreleased songs. The material presented was mostly experimental madness, but the fans of the records got the satisfaction of hearing their favorite songs nonetheless.

These bands actually had an opportunity to rehearse their act before the show, which resulted in an unbelievably tight two-hour set. Karkwatson melted into a massive band where the rhythm section ruled. Clearly, with three members on percussions of all kinds, two on bass guitars and two more on piano and keyboards (amongst other instruments), it created a strong, powerful ensemble.

The sound was flawless: even with all of the other instruments beating full throttle, you could still clearly hear the tiny xylophones and other quieter instruments. The beautiful voices of Watson and Cormier blended marvelously and fit together like two peas in a pod.

The atmosphere was fun, easy and intimate, even with room filled to capacity. The bands evidently had a blast playing together, which is always a great pleasure to witness. For the last song, Watson and Cormier descended into the crowd and stood back-to-back in the middle of the room to perform an unplugged version of Underneath the Sea. It was a truly amazing show.

Photos by SarahBrideau.com

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