by JOHNSON CUMMINS

If you’ve recently seen musician, spoken-word artist, smut peddler, bartender and occasional lush Alexis O’Hara thrusting a digital camera up willing ladies’ skirts, it’s actually not as creepy as you’d think. O’Hara has collected these under-the-skirt crotch shots and is including them in a show she cheekily calls Crotchacha. The raincoat set hoping for a glimpse of “split beaver” may want to leave their box of tissues at home, as the majority of the pictures tend to look more like really comfortable couches for extremely skinny people than they do “shaky pudding.” The vernissage is on Saturday, Jan. 29, at Casa del Popolo at 7 p.m., with DJ Chubbie spinning the tunes. After 10 p.m., Ghislan Poirier takes over DJ duties and will get your ass shakin’ like a bowl of soup till closing. I don’t know about you, people, but I smell a coffee-table book deal.

The best way to start off your Friday night would be checking out Bloodshot Bill when he launches his new record (of old songs that apparently weren’t good enough for his other records) at the record store Paul’s Boutique on Mont-Royal. Bill will be playing sometime between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m., and promises this will be his last show in Montreal for a while, so don’t blow it.

Saturday night, things are really heating up with a ton of shows, so choose wisely. Puddy (Toronto), Inside (Hamilton) and locals Dutch Oven aim to start the “stoner rock revolution” with their sludge feast at Café Chaos. If that’s your bag, check out www.stonerrockrevolution.com and maybe you can exchange Playstation tips or plans on how to build bongs from pieces of fruit with your other stoner buddies—sorry, I mean “revolutionaries.” My pick of the week would be the Field Register and psych-out band the Besnard Lakes, who’ll rattle your fillings by playing way, way too loud at l’Hémisphère Gauche. Saturday night will also see Brad Holy, the drummer of bluesy duo Holy Moly and member of Lake of Stew, launch his solo record Rattle and Boogie at the Barfly with the Backstabbers opening. At Cryochamber, there’s a chilli cook-off with six chilli chefs competing for the title of Montreal’s indie-rock vegetarian chilli champion. Served up with the bowls of red is Crime Moth, the Improved Bonoculars, United Empire Loyalist Orchestra and a play about Godzilla (I’m not kidding on that one). Chilli fiends are asked to bring their own bowls and any display of blue flames will be looked upon with great disdain.

What do Alexis O’Hara’s photos look like to you? jonathan.cummins@gmail.com

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