IN-FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT: The Dancing Cock Brothers

It’s sort of like forming your first high school rock band—start with a good name and you’re halfway there.

The Dancing Cock Brothers—Adam Kelly, Jason McCullough, Kyle Allatt, and Matthew Legault (and sometimes Shaun Malley)—are a group of guys who love sketch comedy, especially the kind with poorly executed dance moves, broad racial stereotyping and blatant perversions of historical fact.

In a form known for absurdity and poor taste, the Cocks stand out with “dangerous, smart, vulgar, physical, booze-soaked, nasty comedy from Montreal” in sketches like Cockey Night in Canada, Sodomy Gym and (especially) Fuck the Homeless.

Their current show, Cocks on a Plane, an “airline-themed shitstravaganza,” playing at Théâtre Ste-Catherine (264 Ste-Catherine E.) starting tonight, Thursday, Aug. 7 at 7:30 p.m., promises nearly all new material, and so as not to make it entirely a sausage-fest, the Cocks will be joined by new all-girl sketch group Dirty Little Spoons and special guests Kick the Pricks.

Regular followers already know about the troupe’s carefree crudeness, but people who know Adam Kelly as Marc Lépine from his astonishing play Anorak will see a nice shift of style in a refreshingly retarded setting.

Until Aug. 9, tickets at the door or call (514) 284-3939.

by NEIL BOYCE

Monster myths

DEEP SEA DANGERS: The monster chart from
The Cosmographia by Sebastian Munster

The sea was the 15th century’s version of outer space. Loosely mapped, unpredictable and vast, far from the reaches of God and the church.

Monsters were thought to inhabit it, hence the title of this modest but comprehensive exhibit—Here Be Monsters, at the Château Ramezay (280 Notre Dame E.), a title drawn from the phrase that was marked on pre-Renaissance maps and ocean charts to mark the untravelled regions of the sea.

Aside from a few prints, and some impressive 17th-century books, much of the exhibit consists of photographic reproductions of period works—so while the images themselves provide a nice companion, it’s the text that’s the real star of the show.

The text leads the viewer through a history of the social, political, religious and economic conditions of life early in the era of European sea-faring, and how those ideas and values were carried over to Quebec as it was settled. The missionaries, the myths, the misconceptions, early contact, ghost stories, instruments of navigation—it’s all there.

My advice: give yourself at least half an hour to read the text, or expect to be a bit disappointed. Until Oct. 19.

by LORNE ROBERTS

Terrible twos

“We’re two now, so it’s okay to make a splendid mess,” says Risa Dickens, co-founder alongside Elran Oded, of Indyish.com an online boutique and blog site for independent artists with a head for hipness and an eye for originality.

DULL SERVE: Top Spin 3

To celebrate, the site is throwing The Indyish Birthday Mess at the Sala Rossa (4848 St-Laurent) this Saturday, Aug. 9 featuring a sampling of the artists on its roster.

“We’re trying to do a lot of collaborations,” says Dickens. The show pairs folk act Orillia Opry with psychedelic seaside rockers Magnetic Hill. Also on the bill are Etheral Tribal, who integrate moves from martial arts and break dancing into traditional baladi.

Storyteller Bruce Beaton has a Stalin puppet show in the works and Patrick Krief will be teaming his epic Black Diamond Bay band up with members of the women’s choir Choeur Maha.

“I don’t want to say we have a recipe, but it’s important to think about who you get into bed with,” says Dickens.

Entry is Pay What You Can. See indyish.com for details.

by MATT JONES

 

Hoops around the globe

Get ready to swivel your hips for World Hoop Day. Only in its second year, the hoop madness is spreading to Montreal with Rebecca Halls, a professional hoop dancer and teacher, guiding the pack.

SWING IT: A hooper

This summer, Halls led an intensive hoop boot camp, found a gang of keen new recruits, and formed a group called The Hooping Bandits, who plan to circle the city with free outdoor hooping for all.

“It’s about spreading peace, fun and happiness, helping people lighten up and having a good time,” says Halls on the phone from New York. “And at the same time, they’re burning calories!”

The hoopla starts at noon, tomorrow, Friday, Aug. 8 at Place Émilie-Gamelin. Then the group circles the city for a full eight-hour workday and caps off the evening at 7 p.m. at the St. Louis Square.

It’s BYOH (bring your own hoop), but if you come empty-handed, don’t fret, a handful of hoops will be provided on site.

Details at worldhoopdaymontreal.googlepages.com.

by MARITES CARINO

Is it art?

THUGS 4 LIFE: Your toybox is about to get a whole lot tougher. Gangsta Babies Pookie, Benjino, Rey Rey and Big Deuce are about to bring the bling and street to your life.

Each with his own distinct look, these 10-inch thugs represent four unique sides of hip hop, the dirty South (Big Deuce), the baller (Pookie), the playa (Rey Rey) and the old school rapper (Benjino).

Brought to you by the same company that created dolls for South Park, Hellboy, The Goonies and even the Notorious B.I.G. (which you can nab in an exclusive Web offer), Gangsta Babies are their latest invention and the first in a possible series.

Though they’re not available until October, you can pre-order them online. A set of two retails for $56, and to bring all the boys home it’ll set you back 112 American bones. Small change for some big-time ballers.

www.mezcotoyz.com

Arts hole

UNDIES FOR A CAUSE: The Segal Centre presents The Underwear Affair, today, Thursday, Aug. 7 at 12:30 p.m. at Square Victoria. Artists Stephanie Bush, Dana Dale Lee, Peter Farmer and Arnaud Baysset will be painting giant underwear on canvases, which will be auctioned off in September to benefit the Jewish General Hospital and patients battling cancers that hit below the belt. • DOUBLE WAMMY: Usine 106U (111 Roy E.) celebrates the opening of two new shows with a vernissage tonight, Thursday, Aug. 7 at 5 p.m. Eric Braün presents his latest work of silkscreens and polyptics inspired by pop art in his self-titled solo show, while 26 Usine regulars, including Morbidique, Sweet Grognasse and Guy Boutin, take part in group show Synergie.

Artistat

The number of times TOHU (2345 Jarry E.) has presented La Fête Bio Paysanne, which takes place this weekend Aug. 8–10 with stalls full of organic food, products, earthy art, info and performances: 5