Yaphet who?

by SCOTT C

Does anyone know the proper protocol for brushes with celebrity? A couple of weeks ago, I was getting ready to board a plane flying to Toronto, and noticed Mark McKinney from Kids in the Hall lining up with his boarding pass and a lady-friend. There was nobody running up to him and gushing, and nobody asking him to squish their heads or trying to get him to do the Chicken Lady. I started to wonder if anyone on the flight actually knew who he was. Of course, I sat right behind him on the plane, making the neurotic argument in my head over whether to say something or not even louder, but in the end, I said nothing. Then there’s the guy in my neighbourhood from those quirky Rogers commercials that I see everywhere. I mean, he’s not exactly famous, but I always feel like saying something, and say nothing. I think I gave him a knowing nod once while coming out of Arahova, but that’s as far as it went. Once, my ex-girlfriend and I were in some boutique on Mont-Royal, and Radio-Canada’s Fric Show host Marc Labrèche walked in with his girlfriend. I was amazed at how the 15 or so people in the store formed a sparse semicircle around the couple while they shopped, saying absolutely nothing at all. It was like they were watching him on TV or something, and very strange. There was the time that I called out Yaphet Kotto’s name at the Frite Alors on Parc, but what do you know about Yaphet Kotto? [Ed’s note: That he’s Jewish.]

This Saturday, Aug. 11, Utopia’s Paradise man Tony Desypris will celebrate his birthday down at l’Alizé with the Soulmeka family. A Montreal pioneer of deep house, Tony has kept the dancefloor moving for a very long time in this city. Show your love for this Montreal original at this very special night. Also this Saturday, check out recent works from artist Ewok 5MH as he shows some of his tightness before hitting the walls at Under Pressure on Sunday behind Foufounes. Along with Ewok’s works, Blu Rum 13 and Koobs will be performing an in-store to support their brand new EP, Tether. That’s 8–11 p.m. at Off the Hook, on the third floor. Look for Payz Play’s DJ Naes to warm the place up with a super selection as well.

DJs Bliss and Sase One have been contributing to Montreal’s breakbeat scene in more ways than one for the last 10 years, but have only ever played together once in all that time. This Friday, Aug. 10, you can take in a night of breaks, dubstep and electrofunk, served up by two guys who definitely know what they’re doing. That goes down at Boa (5301 St-Laurent), and there’s no tax at the door.

Forgot to mention the small detail that MTL hip hop staple Shades of Culture reunited on stage the very same night that Ice-T performed at Fouf. Orion, D-Shade and DJ Storm were all there, and talk of a new LP on the way was in the air. Speaking of shades of ’95, DJ Manifest has teamed up with D-Shade and (yes y’all) Taktikks for a thing they do every Thursday night at Vinyl called Influence. Mani told me that Taktikks was freestyling for almost half an hour a couple weeks back, so you know he’s still got the flames. Check it out.

YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE... fathead@videotron.ca