Newbie traps

by JACK OATMON

I’ve been getting a lot of inquiries lately from hepcats who’ve recently landed in Montreal, or have been off the scene for a while, and want to be grounded in what’s fun right now without wading through all the crap. Hopefully without causing any sort of mutinous stir from my regular readers thirsting ravenously for my oracular and prescient taste in music to get trashed to, I’m going to take this opportunity to pause and bring everyone up to speed—because I probably won’t get the chance again for a while, given the slew of incredible shit that’s no doubt going to dominate this column for the coming weeks as the festivals, spring concerts and end-of-school parties rumble the streets.

There are plenty of treasures buried in the snows of Montreal. For starters, some of the best advice I can give you is that, though place is important, timing is equally key. For instance, you might spew if you go to Tokyo Club on a Thursday night. But if you’re there Wednesday, you’ll have a ball at new wave night. Or even if it is Thursday and you’re there, sneak into the small, recently renovated Space Odyssey-style room on the left and there’s a low-key electro party hiding back there. Just one example, but it’s like that almost everywhere—variable.

Start out going to, say, Zoobizarre, Blizzarts (especially on Saturdays for Plateau or Tuesdays for Teenwolf), Korova on Saturdays and Sundays, both Green Room and Main Hall (especially for Faggity Ass Fridays and Mod Club Saturdays) or le Parking on Thursday. Salon Daomé can be very cool on Tuesday nights if you dig minimal and funky house, Coda is fantastic from time to time depending on the booking, and la Sala Rossa often rules if you keep up to date on the rock listings. Jupiter Room on Thursday, Vinyl on Fridays for Don’t Fake the Break, Saphir on Thursday for both Beat Me Up and SuperLaser—the list is long.

Keep your eyes on the promoter too. Some people just throw better events than others. Like, I’d go to the shittiest Chachi bar in town if the guys from Piknic Électronik told me to—they just can’t throw bad parties. So look for events thrown by the Piknic posse, Musique Risquée, Neon, Peer Pressure, MUTEK, Nu Ravers, Turbo, Pop Montreal, High Food, MEG, Saboteur Records, Ninja Tune, Maison du Bruit and on and on. Just check the name on the flyer and pay attention to who books good acts and consistently throws fun parties, as do the above groups.

And finally, for a regularly updated synopsis of what trouble’s a-brewin’, bookmark the Stillepost events calendar which I maintain at www.stillepost.ca/calendar/montreal/. Also, for promoters, e-mail me your events so I can add them to the listings.

For this long weekend, a good way to start is to go chill with the dudes from Members Only at Coda tonight, with spectacular guests Simian Mobile Disco, who will be doing a DJ set. I can’t friggin’ wait till they play live again. A-Rock, arguably the best dressed man in the city, not to mention a kick-ass DJ, will be on tap as well. Tomorrow night, catch Digitalism at Club Soda if you haven’t already seen them, and for a laidback pop rock jam, check the D’Urbervilles, the Magic and Crystal Moustache at Friendship Cove on Saturday night.

SOON COME THE THUNDER! jack.oatmon@gmail.com