Hassle del Popolo

by JOHNSON CUMMINS

As many of you have already heard, Casa del Popolo have sought the necessary licence to continue as a venue featuring live music and have been forced to cancel their upcoming shows until they can come out the other side of legal limbo. Although the club does also function as a café and restaurant, like any small-capacity venue, Casa’s livelihood relies heavily on the liquor sales that come along with hosting live shows. If you really would like to lend your support to one of the best (if not the best) small venues in this city, you are invited to check out their great DJ nights every Monday and Tuesday. This coming Monday, you can catch Mademoiselle Patricia behind the wheels of steel while Starvin’ Hungry’s Pestilent Splendour spins the best of garage, punk, girl groups etc. on Tuesday. Other DJs who turn up on Mondays and Tuesdays at Casa include Jonathan Parant, Distroboto’s Louis Rastelli, Red Mass leader DJ Choyce, DJ Cheap Thrills and even yours truly. Support, support, support!

NOCTURNAL: the Besnard Lakes

Friday is stacked with at least five killer shows to pick from, starting with the return of Montreal’s pride, the Besnard Lakes, who showcase their newer, rawer side at Musee d’Art Comtemporain as part of the museum’s Nocturnes series. Now stripped down to a five-piece, this should be the band’s last show before they lock themselves away in Breakglass Studios and bang out their third record. This is an early show and the limited seating is on a first come, first served basis. The doors open at 5 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m., so don’t be tardy. In further Besnard Lakes news, on Saturday, you can also check out Mantle of Atlas featuring Laker bassist and singer Olga Goreas with former members of the Donkeys and Lotusland at Il Motore on Saturday, with openers Trung Hoa, featuring Laker traps man Kevin Laing and Bionic’s Jean Belanger. Mantle of Atlas continue in the tradition of their previous band Lotusland, with long psychedelic epics that can crush craniums and then slip unnoticed into dreamy pop soundscapes, while the Don Caballero/Melvins crunch of Trung Hoa just keeps things simple and sets out to annihilate. This is the coming-out party for both bands, so it should prove to be a big ticket for any fan of slow, low and loud. Earplug warning is in full effect.

For the more frantic, you should make it down to Il Motore on Friday, when one of Montreal’s most lethally potent bands, AIDS Wolf, headlines a killer four-band bill on Friday with U.S. Girls, Grand Trine and the pride of St-Henri, Ultrathin. Katacombes puts the pressure on Friday night with Kitchener’s Saigon Hookers still flying the flag of Scandinavian rock riffs (think Hellacopters and Turbonegro), along with Head Shrinkers and the hesher rock of Barn Burner. Also happening on Friday night is the garage of France’s the Weakends with lysergic Demon’s Claws at l’Escogriffe, where nine-year anniversary celebrations continue throughout March.

Finally, on Sunday, you can catch thrash metal legends Destruction when they prove metal can successfully grey around the temples, at Foufounes with Krisium and Mantic Ritual.

SAMOSA, ANYONE?
JONATHAN.CUMMINS@GMAIL.COM