Just so you know...

by SCOTT C

Along with Yellowman, Edgar and Johnny Winter and Salif Keita, Brother Ali has been holding it down for talented albinos everywhere from the get-go. Now, for the first time ever, Ali is headlining a Canadian tour that will take him from Vancouver to Halifax, with a much needed stop in Montreal. He plays Coda on Oct. 14, backed by BK One, Blueprint and DJ RareGroove. This Friday at Coda, you can check out NYC’s legendary DJ Stretch Armstrong along with the always poppin’ Eli Escobar and Peer Pressure homeboy Merk Meny. Friday nights at Coda are looking tight, with hype-master general DL Jones programming their new weekly night, the Fix.

Looks like the definition of ill has decided to come back to Montreal for a show on Friday, Nov. 1, at Boodah Bar. That’s right, Planet Asia and co. will be the guests of DJ Redd Dredd, and I’m glad to see him back so soon after the Jewelry Box Sessions Tour from the summer. You can never get enough of PA.

I’m really excited about a film premiering at the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma called Up the Yangtze, directed by Montrealer Yung Chang. This epic documentary provides a rare look into modern China, following the transformation of the Yangtze River by the construction of the biggest hydroelectric dam in history. This dramatic feature explores the changing lives of people living along the Yangtze, forced to deal with flooding from the massive Three Gorges Dam. After seeing teasers and clips from this film earlier this year, I can’t wait to see it in its entirety. You can catch Up the Yangtze on Sunday, Oct. 14, at 3:15 p.m., or Monday, Oct. 15, at 7:20 p.m., at Ex-Centris. The film will be shown in its original version with French subtitles. Eyesteelfilm and the FNC will also be hosting a 5-à-7 before screening of Up the Yangtze at the SAT on Monday, Oct. 15. They’ll be showing clips from their current projects, such as HomelessNation.org, Basement Tapes and The Colony (which is also screening at the festival).

Make sure you make some time for Sight ’n’ Sound, an exhibition of Jamaican street art currently on display at Off the Hook’s third-floor gallery until Oct. 20. Whether it’s photos, Jamaican street signs, rare record-sleeve artwork, or art by locals Dstrbo, Gene Starship, Hest-1, Sake and more, it’s probably worth a look. Thirty per cent of all proceeds will go to the Alpha Boys School in Jamaica too. This ties in nicely with the concurrent Boombox show, displaying hand-painted ghetto blasters by a host of seasoned imagineers, also at the third-floor gallery at 1021 Ste-Catherine W.

Seven reasons to get over it...
1. Farnsworth Bentley ft. Andre 3000 & Sa-Ra
“Everybody”(CDR)
2. Jackie Mittoo “Grand Funk” (Light in the Attic)
3. Arabesque “Politics of the Blaow” remix (Maple)
4. Shelia E “The Glamorous Life” (Warner)
5. Squadra Brukeaton Promo Mix (CDR)
6. Angie Stone ft. Betty Wright “Baby” (Universal)
7. Sikh Knowledge ft. Lotus “My Own Swing” (BOMR)

Work to do... fathead@videotron.ca