by JACK OATMON

Thanks to the huge quantity of extra-Montre-estrials that invaded for MUTEK, I got a healthy dose of outside perspective on our unique little musical Xanadu during the festival. Needless to say, a lot of folks are pretty keen about our enviable mountain of options. Not that I really needed to be reminded, but it makes a body proud to be here experiencing the liberal, razor-sharp cacophony of culture available on a pretty much daily basis. This feeling is something of a given on the scene, but just to drive the nail in, let’s all get out this Saturday, June 10 for the I Love Montreal bash. The line-up is about as comprehensive a who’s-who as you can toss together for a tech/house/electro night, including Mini, Maüs, Mateo Murphy, the Adrenaline posse in full (X-Cube, Axel Klein, Omni, and Prae), and a slew of other fine DJs. What’s perhaps my favourite feature of the night is the location. Eva B is Montreal’s uncrowned reine des cool, providing the best in fashion and advice for hipsters and technoheads all over the Plateau. Two rooms, all night, 2025 St-Laurent. Show your love, dress your silliest.

More fashion to be had at the next Voyeur, this Friday, June 9. Duds by Aiste.Z, tunes by Jordan Dare, Romeo Kardec and Bliss, who has just finished recording a bangin’ new breaks mix. The live-recorded mix flows from LCD Soundsystem to Dizzee Rascal so seamlessly that it had me wondering if it was laid out digitally. At Voyeur on Friday at SAT he’ll be spinning an electro set.

I’m currently in search of two things in Montreal: the best regular Friday night and the best retro night. Lately, I got a peep in on two contenders for both categories. The good Mr. Thomas Von Party runs the show at Green Room on Fridays. Every week he covers ground from indie rock instant-classics like Hot Chip to staples like Michael Jackson. He’s still looking for a name for the night (Fridays Von Party? TVP Fridays, maybe?), so there’s your opening line, girls…

Contender number two is the Friday-night funk b-sides groove-a-thon over at Blizzarts. Get your helping of rump rumblin’ in the sultry, corridor-style bar. They serve Bitburger too. Anybody got any other suggestions? Gimme a holler!

Thursday is less mysterious. You might as well just give up and go to Saphir for Chromeo. Classic rap and soul sounds woven in with house beats and synthesized vocals. Yow. That’s the pre-shaker for the Boomtang Boys show at Centre Fractal on Saturday. I know what you’re thinking: yes, it’s that cheeseball ’90s bubblegum techno band. Weird, huh?

The last thing I’ve got here on my lengthy agenda is the upcoming Fringe festival and its free, outdoor Fringe Pop stage. I’m not going to pretend to know too much about many of those acts, but I’ll bet pounds to pennies that more than one of them is going to knock my bowling shoes off.

THEY DON’T GIVE US A BREAK. jack.oatmon@gmail.com

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