Heating up

>>Montreal’s music selections
prepare to boil over

’40S SHORTIES: The Puppini Sisters

by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

The season of swelter is well underway, with the annual Suoni per il Popolo fest in full swing. This week sees Hüsker Dü’s Grant Hart and Brooklyn mavericks Oneida at la Sala Rossa, and the forthcoming weeks promise Vic Chestnutt (with Fugazi’s Guy Piciotto and Thee Silver Mt. Zion behind him) on June 13, Sun Ra Arkestra the night after, and folks like Thalia Zedek and Pop Levi towards the tail end of Suoni.

June 12 is packed, with Rush at the Bell Centre, retro damsels the Puppini Sisters at Club Soda, slick funk phenomenon James Pants with West Coast rap original Arabian Prince at Coda, and the Pop Off Tour with Slim Twig and Elfin Saddle at Jupiter Room. The night after, lysergic Latinos Psychotropical Orchestra are at Divan Orange while Karkwatson (Patrick Watson teamed up with Karkwa) play the first of two nights at le National.

LIVE IT UP: The Death Set

Blackstrobe’s Ivan Schmagge mans the decks June 14 at SAT, while Hercules & Love Affair play Piknic Électronik June 15. Le National hosts My Morning Jacket and the Besnard Lakes June 17, and folk-punk flagbearer Billy Bragg hits Club Soda the next night. June 19 is the first of four days of the Fringe Pop outdoor shows at Parc des Amériques on St-Laurent—the Handsome Furs and Wintersleep are among the acts involved.

Two days of decibels hits Parc Jean-Drapeau when the Heavy MTL mini-metal-fest occurs, June 21–22. On tap: Iron Maiden, Mötley Crüe, Mastodon, Type O Negative, Overkill, Anthrax and Voivod. On a quieter but no less exciting note, June 21 also sees the debut of the St-Ambroise Folk Festival on the Canal, with Rob Lutes, Annabelle Chvostek, Notre Dame de Grass, United Steel Workers of Montreal and more in the canal-side confines behind McAuslan Brewery. That same night, ’50s rockabilly relic Art Adams is at Club Lambi, which hosts Frog Eyes and Evangelicals the following night.

A nest of fests

On June 26, the 29th edition of the Montreal Jazz Fest gets rolling, and it’s a good one. The big-name ticketed shows include Hank Jones and McCoy Tyner jamming with the likes of Charlie Haden and Ravi Coltrane, as well as Aretha Franklin, Steely Dan, his holiness Al Green, Public Enemy, Daniel Lanois and Brazil’s Gilberto Gil. The free outdoor shows offer Naturally 7, the Real Tuesday Weld, Nanette Workman and Chicha Libre, not to mention an 11-day stand by locals the Lost Fingers and the main event, a special show with Bran Van 3000.

WITH SEAN AND JEAN: Akon

On June 27, take your pick of frat brats Fuad & the Feztones at Divan Orange, M for Montreal’s “Mini-M” showcase at Quai des Brumes with Final Flash and Mille Monarques (the Diamond Sea, the Luyas and Kill the Lights are among those scheduled for further showcases this summer), or the Saboteur gang-up at DJ Cherry Cola’s Big City Nights soirée at Foufounes Électriques, with DJ Mini, Leo Cruz, Butta Beats and Jordan Dare. June 29 offers nutty, noisy Mindless Self Indulgence at le Medley, hot property Crookers at Club 1234, and techno icon Josh Wink at Piknic Électronik. The following night, flaunt the fonts with Times New Viking at Divan Orange, get dubbed by Kali & Dub with Vander at Petit Campus, or fly the flag with Cedric Gervais and Sultan at Stereo’s Canada Day party.

Calexico hit le National July 7, and rowdy rockers the Black Crowes are at Metropolis July 8, the same date that the Nuits d’Afrique fest kicks off—the line-up this year includes the desert-nomad blues-rock of Etran Finatawa, Afrobeat scion Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, the Zulu gospel-and-gumboots mix of Black Umfolosi and more. July 9 is loaded with a powerhouse bill of Akon, Wyclef Jean and Sean Paul at the Bell Centre, intrepid Afro-beat explorers NOMO at Petit Campus and the F Yeah! Tour stop with Brutal Knights, Monotonix and Team Robespierre at la Sala Rossa.

TUNE IN: Radiohead

The three-day Montreal Reggae Fest in the Old Port kicks off July 11, with Steel Pulse, Junior Kelly, Morgan Heritage and more scheduled for the weekend. July 11 also sees grunge leftovers Stone Temple Pilots at the Bell Centre. July 12 is nuts—you’ve got At the Gates at le Medley, Japanese loud-meisters Boris at la Sala Rossa, reverb aplenty with the Treblemakers and the Midways at Petit Campus, and the second Cucurama party at Club Lambi, with nuevo-Latino action care of Mexico’s Afrodita and Sonido Changorama. On July 13, ballistic B-more posi-punks the Death Set return to tear shit up with the Mae Shi at Zoobizarre, while July 15 sees racket-raisers No Age and Abe Vigoda at la Sala Rossa.

Mutants, sinners and trolls

Pound the pavement down to la Tulipe on July 17 for Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks. The night after has Joan of Arc at Club Lambi and schmaltz god George Michael at the Bell Centre. On July 20, the Vans Warped Tour returns to Parc Jean-Drapeau with Protest the Hero, Every Time I Die, Against Me!, the Aggrolites and tons more. This year’s FrancoFolies run from July 24 to Aug. 3, with Catherine Ringer of les Rita Mitsouko, Pierre Lapointe’s Mutantés show, Stéfie Shock, Yelle and numéro#, Camille, Omnikrom et encore plus.

READY FOR EDDIE: Iron Maiden

Following celebrations of the Kinks and Joy Division, the next Montreal tribute night salutes Gary Numan at les Saints—Bran Van 3000, Claass and Automelodi are expected as participants (next up for worship, apparently: Buzzcocks). Nasty soul is the hole when King Khan & the Shrines and the Sunday Sinners grind it out at la Sala Rossa on July 25, while AIDS Wolf invite noise complaints when they tear up Casa del Popolo July 27.

Rootsy types Hank Pine & Lily Fawn join Ladies of the Canyon for an Aug. 2 hootenanny at la Sala Rossa, while the night after sees Wolf Parade at Metropolis. Also on Aug. 3, the two-day Osheaga fest kicks off at Parc Jean-Drapeau—the weekend boasts the Killers, the Stooges, Cat Power, Jack Johnson, CSS, Go! Team, Gogol Bordello and much more. Backstreet Boys reunite at the Bell Centre Aug. 5, and punk icons Rancid take a two-day stand at Metropolis on Aug. 5–6, and Aug. 6 also sees the lauded Radiohead with Grizzly Bear at Parc Jean-Drapeau.

A WOMAN, A PLAN, A CANAL:
Annabelle Chvostek

Drag-pop pioneer Boy George is at Metropolis on Aug. 12, while Rod Stewart croons to the Bell Centre the following night. Good Charlotte and Boys Like Girls rock Metropolis on Aug. 14, and trance titan Paul Van Dyk is at the same venue the night after. Scandinavian scamps Finntroll terrorize le Medley Aug. 26, same night Simple Plan unravels at the Bell Centre. The summer wraps up real sweet the weekend of Aug. 30–Sept. 1, with a three-day Piknic Électronik extravaganza boasting DJ Mini, Misstress Barbara, MSTRKRFT and more.