by RAF KATIGBAK

How can I put this delicately - New Orleans is fucked. Sorry to harsh your mellow, I know dance music is supposed to be the most apolitical form of music and blah blah blah, but this shit is crazy. In case you've been living in a cave or have been frozen in ice for the last 30,000 years only to be thawed when a group of American scientist unwittingly experiment on a heat transference device in the remote Alaskan wilderness, you'll probably have seen the devastation, live via satellite.

Despite the shortcomings of the American government (recently pointed out so poignantly by Kanye West on live TV), there is hope. The rebuilding process will begin and a few Montrealers in the music scene have showed enough heart to help things move along.

Last Saturday, Studio Sweatshop opened up their space for some desperately needed fundraising for Red Cross relief with a three-on-three b-boy/b-girl battle, with DJ Static. This Saturday up at Zoobizarre, les Georges Leningrad, the World Provider, DJ Satan Bélanger and surprise guests will be hosting a Samedi Gras fundraiser (costume is mandatory!) for New Orleans artists Quintron & Miss Pussycat (who'll be here themselves in early November). Their house, electronics lab, puppets and art have all but been washed away.

In an intense open letter to his friends and fans, Quintron closed with some powerful and inspiring words that pretty much sum up the mood firsthand: "...I don't know what the fuck is happening... this is biblical and it is breaking my heart to see New Orleans burnt, flooded, neglected, ethnically cleansed, and basically shoved underwater to drown... but we can breath underwater, baby. Cajun Atlantis has just begun to emerge and the moment those fuckers let us back in the gates, we are going straight to the gun store and then to the boat bar for all the free drinks we can drink."

To read the rest of the letter, check out www.quintronandmisspussycat.com. Doors for the fundraiser open at 9 p.m. and there's a $10 entry. All cover and half the bar sales will go to the restoration of their lives and the continuation of their Rhinestone Records label.

On the off chance that the Zoobizarre benefit is sold out, don't fret, you can still drop a Paypal donation to allysia_e@yahoo.com, or an online donation to any charity of your choice. Meanwhile, El Salon will be hosting a carnival-esque assortment of musical weirdness on Saturday as well. While strictly for fun and profit, Get Your Geek On 2005 promises to entertain with hilarious musical performance artists Ladies Luncheon, Launie Anderssohn and the always pious Tony Ezzy & the Masters of the Universe. Tickets are $7, $10 with a baked goodie.

GIVE TILL IT HERTZ! Diskoakimbo@sympatico.ca

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