Halloweenies

by JOHNSON CUMMINS

Halloween is easily the greatest holiday of the year, as it gives a chance to prudish bookworms to dress up as naughty nurses, and homophobic jocks to dress up as, uh, naughty nurses. Basically if you’re dressing up as a naughty nurse this year, it’s a win/win situation for everybody. Add the fact that this celebration gets goths, who are blotted out of the picture for this one day of the year, pissed off as hell, as well as red-state Christians who batten down the hatches during this celebration of all things evil and pagan.

There are plenty of shows this week to take us to the truly unholy night, starting tonight at l’Escogriffe when These Are Powers, featuring ex-members of Liars, play with Baltimore’s WZT Hearts and ETA Bootis. If being packed in with loads of bloggers and indie rockers is your idea of scary, don’t miss this night of what could only be described as a true hell on Earth.

Friday night, things speed up accordingly when Montreal’s latest hype band Death Boat try to figure out how to fit all nine members on the postage-stamp-sized stage at l’Escogriffe. Death Boat maintain that they are all landlocked, scurvy-ridden pirates, and sing about the glories of the open sea. All hype aside, one thing is for certain, Death Boat are currently the drunkest band in Montreal, especially since the recently defunct Royal Mountain Band have laid down the crown.

Montreal’s favourite garage stompers, Demon’s Claws, are at Quai des Brumes on Friday night with the Tonys (with an ex-Night Terrors member) and Choyce, featuring members of CPC Gangbangs, the B Sides and the Cockroaches. A big show on Friday night is the celebration of the Friendship Cove’s second anniversary, with Japanther, Telefauna and Secrets of Mana, featuring ex-members of les Angles Morts. Friendship Cove is easily one of the best off-the-beaten-path venues in the city, so here’s mud in yer eye. Not to be outdone on Friday night, Playhouse up on Parc will be the place to be for Toronto’s Hot Little Rocket, who are touring on the strength of their Steve Albini-produced record How to Lose Everything.

Saturday night marks the safe return of my personal favourite Montreal band, the Besnard Lakes, after their exhaustive U.S./Canadian tour. Making their return to home turf even more special will be opening sets by former Swervedriver guitarist/singer Adam Franklin and Montreal’s sultry soul merchants, the Sunday Sinners. Will Franklin join affirmed Swervedriver fanatics the Besnard Lakes for some good ol’ family jams at le National on Saturday night? Head down and find out.

On Sunday night, any self-respecting rock ’n’ roller will be at l’Escogriffe for the Complications, Buffalo’s Sonorous Gale and the B Sides. On the unholiest holiday on the calendar (or simply “Wednesday,” for any goths reading this), everybody’s favourite psychobilly zombies the Brains play at Bar St. Laurent 2 with Sheldon Rourke, with promised Halloween surprises, while the Expectorated Sequence, Milanku, Titan, Towers and Peter and Craig spook out l’Escogriffe with hellish time signatures and arpeggios that utilize the devil’s triad.

I brake for goths… Jonathan.cummins@gmail.com