Pop market madness

Well if it isn’t Pop Montreal fever. Here’s a gentle reminder, though, that it ain’t just about the music, and you’ll surely thank yourself for hauling yourself out of bed before the nighttime shows to check out what Puces Pop, running all day Oct. 1–2, has in the way of festival accessories. By that we mean shirts, skirts, fanzines, comix, poster art, food, beauty products and even honest-to-goodness accessories—those care of Viola Blanca, who are already huge in Las Vegas and totally the next big thing everywhere else. Count on the same from peer designers behind names like Glasgow, Fauna, Haiiku, Anomal and Valérie Dumaines. You can say you bought something from them before they blew up. At 5 p.m. on Saturday, the fashion moves from tables and racks to svelte indie runway models in Pop Goes Fashion, with DJs, mood lighting, the works.

Sunday, Oct. 2, sees a round-table discussion on the place of fanzines in the ongoing blog revolution. Broken Pencil editor Anna Bowness and Fish Piss editor Louis Rastelli take on local bloggers Jay Watts III and Jason Gallagher in a communication contemplation you’ll likely be able to read about on blogs later that night, and perhaps in zines in a couple months. The market runs from 11 a.m.–7 p.m. at les Fusiliers Mont-Royal (3721 Henri-Julien, near des Pins) and is totally free. » Matthew Woodley

Quiet riot

It just don’t stop with Pop. The Working Circle collective is back this year with Quiet Fire 2, the sequel to their not-so-quiet combination of music and photography, with the latter figuring prominently by way of 32 extra-large-scale prints—rooted in an honest indie ethos, of course. “They’re big, yes,” admits member Guillaume Simoneau, the calmest man in Montreal, “but we’re still doing stuff in a humble way. We’re serious, but we’re not aiming for commercial recognition or anything. It’s a small entity from a small community.”

Simoneau, whose photos play on beauty conventions through portraiture, is joined by collective member Aaron Seligman, the second calmest man in Montreal, whose controlled, super dry style adds to the balance of collective co-members Hilary Leftick and May Troung—with eight big prints apiece. On the musical bill are Stars, Hope for Agoldensummer and Donkey Heart. The vernissage kicks off at 6 p.m., bands at midnight, at ART en majuscule (950 Ottawa). All proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders. » Matthew Woodley

Uranium and beer

Friday sees the unveiling of the latest from Delirium Press: Fiona Foster’s Rise, Bright Moon is part of a longer work that explores the historical and emotional significance of the element U. Foster reads with Brooklyn-based scribes Matthea Harvey and Christian Hawkey Sept. 30, 7:30 p.m., at Zeke’s Gallery (3955 St-Laurent).

A couple of days later, across the street at the Copacabana (3910 St-Laurent), bar staffer and scribe Maya Merrick launches her first novel, Sextant, the tale of a wild girl moonlighting as a mermaid in a strip club while she works out her options. “There’s a lot of water imagery,” says Merrick. “The sextant goes with the nautical theme—she’s trying to find where she’s going, where she’s been.” Oct. 2, 8 p.m. » Vincent Tinguely

Theatre on speed

In its singular quest to make play-going accessible and fun, this Saturday Théâtre Ste-Catherine (264 Ste-Catherine E.) presents the 24-Hour Plays festival. The gimmick is, 24 hours before the performance, these six short plays didn’t exist. The entire creative process, from the first touch of pen to paper right through to the curtain call, is condensed into one day: Caffeine-fuelled writers work through the night Friday, directors and actors take over in the morning and it’s all over before Saturday clubbing even gets underway.

The 24-hour play idea originated in New York 10 years ago and has been reproduced all over North America and into Europe. Organizer Greg Gransden did one last April that completely sold out and says he plans to continue doing them every three or four months at the TSC.

Participants in the event include Dave Lawrence (Terry from FUBAR), and Darren Curtis and Kieran Crilly of the sketch comedy troupe Kidnapper Films. There are some theatre people involved, but Gransden says he likes to mix in new blood, hence the refugee lawyer and ad exec in the line-up. Performance begins at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 1. » Amy Barratt

Is it Art?

LOOKS WOOD: This year’s hurricane season has seen to it that petroleum products drop down into the domain of fashion don’ts—good news for both the flailing environment and Guele de bois eyewear. “Bois” (French for “wood”) is the solid look behind local visionary optician Marie Sophie Dion’s new collection of 12 eyeglasses and sunglasses, made of featherweight African grains including rosewood, zebrawood and macassar ebony. Dion custom designs her frames to her clients’ faces and complexions, with an industry-standard-shattering stock of over 20 nose bridges to further ensure that perfect fit. Visit her eyewear bar (401 McGill) or www.msdion.com for more specs.

ArtsHole

IMMEDIATE CIRCUS: Acrobat aficionados take note: The circus is in swing at TOHU (2345 Jarry E.) this weekend, Sept. 20–Oct. 1, with Projet Davaï’s Phénomènes Nocturnes. The flipping, flying, crazy balancing acts etc starts at 9 p.m. nightly, $24–$28, www.tohu.ca. • CREATURE DISCOMFORT: Nicolas Morin photographs people with their favourite pets—a man with a duck, a woman with a snake, etc—in Les animaux et leurs sujets, a dark, deranged and dryly hilarious exhibition at the Maison du Bon Temps (8000 Gouin E.) until Nov. 6. • SHORT NOTICE: RESFEST, the touring show of shorts, videos and animation from Cancon creators is accepting applications for one more day—the deadline is Friday, Sept. 30—likely too late to whip up something good, but plenty of time to send in any project made after August 2004 that’s gathering dust. Visit www.resfest.com for more info.

ARTISTAT:Number of antique typewriters, circa 1881-1910, sitting pretty alongside illustrations by Michel Rabagliati, paintings by René Lemay, sculptures by Guy Laramée and more—all in conjunction with Montreal, World Book Capital 2005–2006, at the Old Port’s Jacques Cartier Pavillion till Oct. 2: 18

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