by JACK OATMON

You know what I saw the other day? I was cruising up St-Laurent when this school bus (uh huh!) full of screeching anglos with short brown hair and Ben Sherman shirts rolled on up and parked in front of Coco Bong. The poor souls inside filed out, squealing like urchins on Christmas, and poured excitedly into Tokyo, la Rumba and whatever other club happened to be nearby.

My journalistic instincts were twitching like a Raided cockroach, so I moseyed on up to the driver, who by that point was blithely puffing on a Peter Jackson, and inquired as to what I just witnessed. He explained that, once a week, his company picks up a posse of bargoers from Brantford, Ontario, or where-the-jeez-ever, and deposits them in a predetermined location in Montreal, where they get soused until 3:30 a.m. sharp, when they are whisked back home, hiccuping and drooling, to their less crashable towns. Isn’t it nice to know that any old bar—even a dive—is still preferable to anything on the menu in our neighbouring cities?

So what follows are the things that those noble, dedicated waste-oids should be doing with their hard-earned scrilla, if only they had the time to pick up a copy of the Mirror on the way into town. Tonight, Thursday, July 20, Sweden’s Hakan Lidbo hits town. He has produced, literally, over 100 releases, all over the techno map. He’ll be at le Parking, then, on Sunday, at Piknic Électronik. By the way, get used to hanging in the Village, because there is an unadulterated plethora of fun shit going down during Pride, at the end of the month.

Also tonight, 1 Speed Bike, who showed MUTEK crowds some much-needed attitude, join Deadbeat and Mossman at the Main Hall. Very cool. Les Saints, meanwhile, sees the major déjà vu of Juan Maclean and MSTRKRFT. For God’s sake, guys, just move to Montreal. Can’t complain, though, can I? They kick ass, after all.

On Friday, July 21, the second installment of Kick le… Clavecin is at Théâtre Plaza, on St-Hubert, just up the street from chez Your Humble Narrator. Fancy Fhreek, Robeat and scenester extraordinaire Clifford Brown lay down the tunes and dole out the lip that you need to stay groovy. Further up the strip, at Centre Fractal, is the Ghostly International party. Lusine’s on the abstract and textural. Ryan Elliott’s dicin’ up the minimal house. Chic Miniature represents. Soundshaper and Nathan Burns do it like you knew it.

Oh, yeah, by the way, go out and see A Scanner Darkly. Normally I hate movies, but this is like, the visual opus of our times, or some equally contrived description.

THIS BEAT IS TECHNOTRONIC… jack.oatmon@gmail.com

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