Inebriation and
introspection

by JACK OATMON

Distance and time apart can both decay and strengthen the ties that bind us to our past and the people in it. This can be especially true for the many, like myself, who are transplanted from their rural spawning grounds immediately after secondary school, only to spend years away with infrequent visits. It is thus somewhat cathartic to return to one’s roots and see that there still remains more similarity than contrast. I certainly got a potent taste of that conjecture this week while on vacation in my hometown in Nova Scotia, watching my whole family and an array of family friends aged from the twenties up to the seventies, all boogying drunkenly down to Sly and the Family Stone records turned up to 11 on the hi-fi. The apple does not fall far from the funky, funky tree, to paraphrase a platitude.

By the time you read this, I’ll be back in Montreal preparing for the onslaught of events and experiences and—let’s face it—actual responsibility that the fall represents. But September’s not here yet, so here’s to trying to squeeze every little drop of delicious fun juice out of the last vestiges of the summer as if it was some sort of whiskey-soaked stress ball, and I was an out of work accountant. Or a music writer.

Thursday, Aug. 16, sees Van city’s crassest lasses, Stink Mitt, facing off against Calgary’s Smalltown DJs and local Huggs at Lambi. Tomorrow, Friday, Aug. 17, the Academy will host an evening of groovy, off-kilter house and minimal techno with L.A.’s [a]pendics.shuffle as well as Mighty Kat, Mono-poly and Kasteniede. For a lesson from the old school of house, you might want to make a trip to Stereo on Saturday night as DJ Mark Anthony sees off longtime bartender and co-founder James Forbes. For a taste of the new, the savvy will note that Seattle’s Jacob London are back in town for Piknic Électronik this Sunday at Parc Jean-Drapeau, dishing out a live set of the best thrashing, quirky house beats the West Coast has got to offer. I have recently had a number of local scene fixtures personally confess to me that they have never actually been to an episode of Piknic. Well, you know who you are and I’m looking at you. Here’s your excuse. On Wednesday, Aug. 22, new wave revivalists Plante ta Femme will hit Casa del Popolo alongside Revolution Love.

In the long-range forecast, start getting stoked about September, when we’ll get visits from more of the Parisian hipster set at MEG—Para One’s back and he’s bringing along Surkin, Adam Kesher and the infamous Fluokids between September 6 and 9, filling out the Institubes/Ed Banger connection we’ve been happily getting so much of over the last two years, thanks in no small part to this festival. On September 13, Numbers hit Zoobizarre to remind us of the terrible pitfalls of industrialization with their whimsical, lo-fi, assembly-line rock. What’s more, London’s crossover kings, Simian Mobile Disco, will be in on September 16. And lounge analog freak Thomas Dolby himself will be crooning at Café Campus on September 27.

It’s a family affair. jack.oatmon@gmail.com