by JOHNSON CUMMINS

If you missed these shows you're a chump

Hot Snakes: Speedo and co. made the wait worth the while as they showed how punk rock can be innovative without burying its head in its ass. Guitarists Reis and Froeberg were the kings, but it was the sum of the parts that really dazzled as this band chugged through the set like a freight train. Hotsy totsy!

Devendra Banhart: This indie hippie fest was a nice surprise. Banhart chucked the solo scenario and rocked it with a backing band, which lent a cool T Rex/Velvet Underground vibe to his songs. All was good until Banhart launched into a couple of "Pass the Dutchie"-style reggae numbers which sounded like, well, six hippies playing reggae. But even that couldn't destroy the good times.

The duds that was

Zeke/James Blood Ulmer: Marred by bad sound, Zeke limped through a half-hour set that included insulting the room and the audience, screaming at roadies, kicking over mic stands and just generally sucking. Leaving the rock for some skronk, I was to able catch the second half of James Blood Ulmer's set with Aubrey Dayle and Ron Jackson at la Sala Rossa the same night. After 45 minutes of New York-style fusion, Ulmer was finally called to the stage and given only two all too short solos over the Club Med fusion groove. Apparently Ulmer's first set, which I skipped in favour of Zeke, was incredible. Aaarrggghhh!!

Lots of stuff happening in town this week. Sparta, featuring two members of defunct über-group At the Drive-In, play on Friday, Nov. 19 at Club Soda. Also happening Friday is the Hot Springs show at MusiquePlus starting at 9:30 p.m. If you're feeling camera-shy, you can check out their punky pop stylings Saturday night with Comme Un Homme Libre at Hemisphere Gauche. Peep www.uberfille.com to download "Bacteria" off of their recent EP Rock Partouse and thank me later.

Also playing Saturday night is one of Canada's best kept secrets, Halifax heshers the Heelwalkers. If you have been privileged enough to see any of their recent shows at Casa or Café Chaos, you will attest that these guys are loud, sweaty, drunk and uglier than birth - in a word, perfection. Don't miss 'em with down and dirty rockers les Pugilists at Casa.

Do you like David Hasselhoff, leather pants, bad physical comedy, dank and gloomy weather, steamed cabbage and scatalogical porn? If so, chances are you may be German, so why not go check out Montreal's favourite Fräulein Lederhosen Lucil at the Main Hall with La Guerre Des Tuques on Sunday night and celebrate all the things that make Deutschland such a, um, fun country.

Casa's regular Tuesday night party, We Sold Our Soul to Rawk and Roll, is the longest-running rock DJ night in town. This week, Shawn Central - the man behind the counter at Sound Central record store as well as the drummer for Squalor and Hands of Death - spins some stoner rock, punk, old-school metal and rock 'n' roll.

Thought the Zeke show was the tits? Let me know. jonathan.cummins@gmail.com

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