by SCOTT C

That's right, kids! It's time once again for all indie-music types from every possible nook and cranny to crawl out of the woodwork for a few days, as Pop Montreal continues its rise to local festival greatness. This weekend, you can tour around venues all over the city and catch some of the 222 bands participating in Montreal's own sonic takeover.

For starters, Cabaret hosts the return of Anti-Pop Consortium graduate Beans on Friday, when he performs with Montreal's leftfield hip hop adept Ghislain Poirier. The two recently collaborated on the Chocolate Industries 12" "Cold As Hell," but haven't actually met yet. Be a part of it! Also on the bill is Abstrakt Keal Agram, ready to dish out the atmospheric hip-pop shit for sure, and there's also L.A.'s MC Giovanni Marks, who goes under the name Subtitle.

Just a hop, skip and a jump up the street, Montreal's king of dub Mossman shares the stage with the jazz-funk vibes of Kobayashi and the live/sequenced hip hop sounds of Toronto's Quartertones. Look for their new EP Hidden in Plain Sight, out real soon.

Also on Friday, join Daybi, P-Nut, Yab and DJ Yann Solo for a tight squeeze over at Missy Bar. Their hip hop outfit SlangBlossom has been repping boom-bap in their own distinct style for a while, and should have no problem lighting up this event. They hit the stage at midnight.

As if that wasn't enough, on the same bloody night, The Goods (Kunga 219 and DJ Gordski) have left the highlife in Halifax to do a show right here, only weeks after their new LP 4/Four dropped on sleeping heads. They share the stage with old buddy and notorious MC Tachichi, London, Ont.'s DJ Tonic and Don Cash. This one gets rolling at a ripe ol' 8:45 p.m., so leave the house with time to spare.

Friday night, you've still got Vancouver DJ/producer Murge doing his thing over at Academy Club (4445 St-Laurent), along with Mikey Dangerous and Skillman, the Groundwerks crew featuring D-Shade, Kali and Grandtheft, and the dancehall sounds of Maysr. To make matters worse, the weirdo geniuses over at Automatic Vaudeville join in the Friday-night fun with their Lost Film Festival over at the Nest (3673 St-Dominique). Can't forget my man Josh Dolgin (aka So Called) and Matisyahu bringing the worlds of klezmer and hip hop closer than you thought possible, with beatboxing king Quadraceptor opening, at Petit Campus.

Saturday, Oct. 2, it's all about Club Soda, when the relentless Kool Keith goes head-to-head with the master of Russian percussion DJ Vadim. No idea what this actually means for those of us in the audience, but who cares? I'll be there...

It's the quiet moments that count... fathead@videotron.ca

>> Music Listings