Freakadelically
festivalicious

by JACK OATMON

Among other disturbing global trends that will bearing fruit in the coming year, I recently took note of the fact that 2008 will be the year that people born in the ’90s will be legally permitted to go to bars and clubs. What’s more, common sense tells us that, as we ourselves certainly didn’t wait for the legal age to come along to begin infiltrating the taverns and watering holes, it would follow that not only are they coming in large numbers, but some of them are already there. We’re talking cats who have no living memories whatsoever of Fraggle Rock or the Transformers TV show, are too young to remember the Fresh Prince, never rode a banana board and can’t recall the advent of public access to the internet. We’re also talking about the foreseeable end of the unfettered cultural domination of ’80s retro that we’ve been enjoying. But ageism is a fool’s game, so in the spirit of embracing these youngsters (figuratively, people, figuratively), I suggest spending a weekend with the finest purveyors of ’90s revivalism on the market today. And by that I mean Paris-based Institubes Records’ MEG showcase at Club Soda on Friday night. If you missed Para One last year at Metropolis and haven’t heard his jams, he produces hard, synthesizer-heavy beats that have that French chopped-up clusterfuck electro-house vibe, only without the Vitalic-y phony guitar noises that have been causing such a stir lately. He’ll be joined by posse Surkin and Curses! as well as Orgasmic of TTC. I won’t refer to it as “dirty,” a word getting thrown around a lot lately, because if you really listen to it, it’s pretty damn clean production. Either way, Surkin has also ventured deep down the rabbit hole that Mr. Oizo dug, making tripped-out garbles of split-second samples and Roland synths. Meanwhile, Curses!, aka Drop the Lime, makes what I can only call a dubwise Dance Mix ’95, if you get my meaning.

The other MEG late-nighter is slightly less enticing, though still a promising gig. I recently saw Crystal Castles at Lambi and, as one might expect from such a gimmicky act, it got old pretty quick. “Airwar” is a great track and their remixes are somewhat entertaining, but to be honest, that’s about all there is to say. Kid Sister’s tight on the mic and has already warmed up local crowds. The Fluokids write one of the most popular music blogs I can name and I have it on authority that they party like maniacs, so that should go down well.

As for the MEG/Osheaga stuff at Parc Jean-Drapeau, Saturday’s not-to-be-missed are Feist, Adam Kesher and Rahzel, while on Sunday, be sure to catch as much of Macy Grey, M.I.A., Miracle Fortress, Arctic Monkeys and We Are Scientists as you can. So, Sunday looks to be the kicker.

Meanwhile, I can’t stress how important it is to catch some of the Unpop festival, all free, all dope and all badass, which runs until Sept. 15. A full schedule can be found at www.stillepost.ca, in the listings on the Montreal message board. Also a great place to dig up dirt on me, or anyone else directly or indirectly involved in the music scene.

My “Best Weekly Parties of the School Year” edition will be deferred to next week due to the large number of totally bananas line-ups this week.

Beat Street breakdown… jack.oatmon@gmail.com