The MirrorARCHIVES: May 14 - May 20 2009 Vol. 24 No. 47  

MUSIC



FREAKIEST LOCAL ACT #1, MOST PRETENTIOUS LOCAL ACT #7,
HEAVIESTLOCAL ACT #8: AIDS Wolf

Best Musical Act

1. Arcade Fire
2. United Steel Workers of Montreal
3. The Brains
4. Velvet Trench Vibes
5. Sam Roberts
6. Plants and Animals
7. Wolf Parade
8. Code Pie
9. Priestess
10. Handsome Furs
Honourable mentions: Nomadic Massive, Duchess Says, Malajube, Rufus Wainwright, Stars, Shane Murphy.

No surprise at the top—Arcade Fire once again take the top slot, and like last year, United Steel Workers have united enough votes for second place. The surprise comes with the bronze-medal placing of the Brains—see article—who presumably got their friends together and savaged and devoured enough of the competition to achieve such a ranking, given that they weren’t even on the radar last year. Last year’s third-placers, Code Pie, tumble down to eighth place, and Wolf Parade slide down two notches.

Freakiest local act

1. AIDS Wolf
2. Duchess Says
3. Death Boat
4. Goat Christ
5. Bloodshot Bill
6. Pad Class
7. The Unsettlers
8. Chronicles of Israfel
9. Nista
10. Creature
Honourable mentions: Tony Ezzy, Trigger Effect, Beast

Last year’s peak freak was Tony Ezzy, who garnered enough votes to earn an honourable mention this year but not a top-10 slot (likewise for those wholesome, fresh-faced merrymakers Trigger Effect). Tony, c’mon, weird us out more! Racketeers AIDS Wolf, meanwhile, pounce from fourth to first place by sheer dint of delirious din and marvellous mayhem. Bird-worshippers Duchess Says and ass-pirates Death Boat remain at second and third place respectively, while Pad Class, the Unsettlers, Chronicles of Israfel and Creature cling to positions on the local bizarre-o-meter.

Most Pretentious Local Act

1. Arcade Fire
2. The Dears
3. The Stills
4. Jonas
5. Amanda Mabro
6. Simple Plan
7. AIDS Wolf
8. Handsome Furs
9. Pierre Lapointe
10. Coeur de Pirate
Honourable mentions: Rufus Wainwright, Jason Bajada, Omnikrom, Nevers

The top six in this department of dubious distinction remain the same as last year, with the Dears moving up a few steps—was it the concert with the kids’ choir? Was that going too far? Oddly enough, perennial pretentiousness poster kids godspeed you! black emperor garnered only a skinny fistful of votes this year (which they can presumably lift to heaven like an antenna). Pierre Lapointe makes the list, likely due to his ambitious and abstracted Place des Arts show, Mutantès. Omnikrom is an honourable mention—strange, given that lowbrow goofiness is their stock in trade.

Heaviest Local Act

1. Priestess
2. Ominous Monsta
3. Bionic
4. Eleveneighty
5. Dutch Oven
6. Arcade Fire
7. Adult Crash
8. AIDS Wolf
9. Trigger Effect
10. Derelict
Honourable mentions: Chronicles of Israfel, Death Boat, Mad Parish, Dead Wife

Priestess take it by a landslide here, retaining their number-one position on a list of 10 that should probably—wait for it—“go to 11.” The mighty Bionic are knocked down a notch by the insurgent second placing of newcomers Ominous Monsta. What could that mean? Who knows, but it sure seems… ominous.

Best Hip Hop Act

1. Nomadic Massive
2. Velvet Trench Vibes
3. Annakin Slayd
4. M.O.
5. Mugz
6. Magnum 357
7. AOT Live
8. Omnikrom
9. The Narcicyst
10. Malicious
Honourable mentions: SoCalled, Random Recipe, Sans Pression, Typecast, Payz Play, Milli Millz

Best Club DJ

1. Stevie V
2. Keith Dean
3. Truspin
4. Diamond Cut
5. Mini
6. Kwite Sane
7. Mary Hell
8. Quest
9. Team Canada
10. Frigid

Honourable mentions: Cherry Cola, Hatchmatik, Jordan Dare, MC Mario, Skratch Bastid, A-Rock, Plastic Patrick, Angel Moraes, Misstress Barbara, Tiga, Toddy Flores, Hurricane & D.G.

A stunner this year—DJ Stevie V of Laval’s Moomba club, who hosted a visit from C+ C Music Factory and a Lady Gaga birthday/after party this year, rockets up from last year’s eighth place to the very pinnacle in this category. Consider that a big stuffed kick in the ass to the wax-packers of the Main and the Village. It’s cool to note that two electro-oriented bad girls, Mini and Mary Hell, made their way onto the list this year.

Best Country/folk Act

1. United Steel Workers of Montreal
2. Ladies of the Canyon
3. Notre Dame de Grass
4. Lake of Stew
5. Li’l Andy
6. Katie Moore
7. Lee Mellor
8. Yesterday’s Ring
9. Bloodshot Bill
10. No Barbers Required
Honourable mentions: Charlotte Cornfield, Angela Desveaux, Little Birdie, the Unsettlers, Sonny Best Band, Tim Walsh, Salty Dog

USWM maintain their iron grip on this category, taking the top slot by a mile. Following closely are most of last year’s winners, in slightly shuffled ranking. Incidentally, many people voted for “Canada”—a questionable blend of patriotism and poor text comprehension, or snarky jest?

Best Jazz Act

1. Oscar Peterson
2. Amanda Mabro
3. Nikki Yanofsky
4. Franco Proietti Morph-tet
5. Susie Arioli
6. Kalmunity Vibe Collective
7. Stina August
8. Oliver Jones
9. Ranee Lee
10. Indigone Trio
Honourable mentions: Dawn Tyler Watson, Jeri Brown, Jordan Officer, Matt Herskowitz, Michelle Sweeney, Turtleboy, Wray Downes

Technically speaking, given that he passed away in 2007, Oscar Peterson should be disqualified from this list. But there’s no denying that the big man born on Delisle street in St-Henri is Montreal’s most recognized jazz export, a guy who helped put this city on the jazz fan’s map and paved the way for the many talents mentioned above. The ladies rule the rest of the roost here—cabaret queen Amanda Mabro, honey-piped heroine Ranee Lee, precocious pup Nikki Yanofsky, swing-slinger Susie Arioli and Icelandic import Stina August all rank—though sax symbol Franco Proietti and his Morph-tet wriggle into fourth place.

Best Singer/songwriter


HEAVIEST LOCAL ACT #2: Ominous Monsta

1. Leonard Cohen
2. Sam Roberts
3. Pierre Lapointe
4. Celine Dion
5. Coeur de Pirate
6. Lee Mellor
7. Rae Spoon
8. Rufus Wainwright
9. Amanda Mabro
10. Martha Wainwright
Honourable mentions: Patrick Watson, Katie Moore, Charlotte Cornfield, Shane Murphy, Michelle Boback

Lenny’s still our man, year in and year out. Sam Roberts, bumped off the list last year by Rufus Wainwright, regains the second-place position he’d held in ’07. Wainwright’s dropped heavily down to eight place, while his sister Martha sneaks in at #10. Pierre Lapointe, absent last year, boldly wrests third place, joining la Celine and ingénue Coeur de Pirate in a francophone hat trick for the number 3, 4 and 5 positions.

Best Busker

1. Spoonman
2. Spider-Man
3. Hollywood
4. Richard Baxter, bucket drummer
5. Blind family of singers, Guy metro
6. Bin Jiang, accordion player
7. South American group with zampoña (pan flute)
8. Hugger Busker
9. Stilt Man
10. Three-recorder nose-playing guy
Honourable mentions: Bad News Brown, Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble

Spoonman and Spider-Man retain their top slots this year, while Stilt Man takes a tumble (that’s gotta hurt!) from fourth place last year down to ninth, and the friendly-Viking-lookin’ dude with the snotty recorders hits tenth from third. On the other hand, bucket drummer Richard Baxter—who one respondent remarks “looks like a Black Sabbath roadie”—bumps up from sixth place to fourth. There’s debate as to the nationality of the pan-flautists—Peru and Ecuador are both cited. Bad News Brown, who ranked at number 8 last year, only gets an honourable mention, but with a new album out in mere moments, his news is about to get better. Some other worthy mentions in a category that often defies precise identification: “The guy at Peel that sings about DNA and has a big moustache,” “The guy who plays guitar sitting in a little cardboard fishing boat,” “the guy that plays the upright bass and yells at passersby,” “Kazakh (I presume) accordion guy who plays the same song over and over again at Lionel-Groulx,” “that guy playing random tuneless chords, wearing a Santa Claus hat” and of course, Jimi Hendrix Air Guitar Dude.

Best Local Music Label

1. Dare To Care
2. Indica
3. Ninja Tune
4. Alien8
5. Constellation
6. Turbo
7. Stomp
8. Justin Time
9. BPU 514
10. Secret City
Honourable mentions (in a category that seems to get more populous every year, even as the record industry folds in on itself like an origami warthog): Urban Heat, Signed By Force, Urban Handed Works, Little Baby, Grosse Boîte, Saboteur

 

BEST CLUB DJ #1: Stevie V


Undead heat

Psychobilly ghastlies the Brains
claw their way up the Best Band list


CEREBRAL BALLSY: The Brains

By JOHNSON CUMMINS

“No way, really? No way,” exclaims René de la Muerte, guitarist/singer in the Brains, upon finding out that his band took third place in the Best Local Musical Act category. Ya can’t really blame this pompadoured zombie for his disbelief as for the past couple of years, the category has been largely dominated by indie pop and hip hop bands. After seven years of hard work, this amped-up and greased-up psychobilly band is finally getting its day in the sun with a new self-titled record on local label Stomp and a ton of touring on the horizon.

While a lot of Montreal bands have garnered reputations for being a tad stuffy on an international level, the Brains stick out like a sore thumb by dressing up as ghouls and taking their lyrical cues from Z-grade horror movies.

“We work really hard but we do this because we want to have fun,” says de la Muerte. “I could see how some people would find it cheesy but I can’t see us doing it any other way.”

No small wonder that the Brains came out near the top, though, as the Montreal psychobilly and rockabilly scene is currently growing exponentially. With solid support from a loyal local fan base as well as up-and-coming psychobilly bands like Matchless, the Devil’s Hotrod and the Hellhounds, the contributions of past bands like the Gutter Demons and a pillar of the scene in Bloodshot Bill, it was only matter of time until something broke.

“Every three years, the scene dies a little bit, but every time it comes back, it’s always stronger,” muses de la Muerte, groping for a metaphor appropriate to the Brains’ undead steez. “I guess all the rockabilly chicks being really hot doesn’t hurt either for people to get interested in it.”

 

Global positioning

Montreal’s favourite local hip hop act, Nomadic Massive,
reach past political specifics and points on a map



FOREIGN EXCHANGE: Nomadic Massive

by MORGAN STEIKER

When considering the collective destiny connecting the group of individuals that has become Nomadic Massive, location and locality are undeniable factors—at the same time a crucial yet ultimately non-binding force. Few places in the world can safely admit that their hip hop culture is best represented by a collective of nine people from as many different backgrounds, who make music in five different languages and trade instruments on stage like villagers sharing tools to build common shelter. The cross-cultural assimilation that Montreal embraces and represents, although sometimes misconstrued, is nonetheless a central element of our city’s modern heritage, and Nomadic Massive, again winners in the Best Hip Hop Act category, has become a microcosm of that.

When the question of the “Montreal factor” comes into the discussion, opinions in the group are mixed. Most see it as crucial, but Diegal Leger aka Rawgged MC, looks at it with a different lens. “I think we could have formed anywhere, as long as we were all living in the same place,” he says.

Before anything else, Nomadic Massive is a group of individuals that connected on a personal and musical level. All the different backgrounds, nationalities and situations came to strengthen the already existing bond. “The more important thing is not where we all come from but that we all want to get to the same place,” adds Lou Piensa. “It’s a family thing, we don’t just hang out at practice. We see each other all the time and we really are a family.”

Havana good time

As important as the city has been in forming the group, there is another, equally formative location for Nomadic Massive. “We can’t go past the fact that if it wasn’t for Cuba, maybe we wouldn’t be together right now,” explains Rawgged MC. In fact, most group members knew each other from the scene here, but the true bond was solidified when they all gathered in Cuba.

Piensa, who previously lived there for several years, explains further. “We all went down to Cuba to perform at this festival and there was only one half-hour slot left for all of us, so we put our energies together and performed collectively. That’s really when the bond came together. We stayed with MCs and friends there, lived together and did only music for three weeks. When we came back, we decided to keep it going.”

When listening to Nomadic Massive’s new, self-titled album, the influences of Cuban music and Afro-Cuban rhythms are instantly recognizable on songs like “Spirit Shake” and “Sounds So Sweet.” But reflecting on the group’s existence and dynamic, Cuba’s influences seem more than simply musical.

Singer Meduza clarifies the role of politics within the collective. “Nomadic Massive isn’t inspired by a system or organization on a national level,” she says, “but rather by everybody’s background, life experience and what they are bringing to the table. We’ve learned from each other much more than by applying ideologies.”

And at the end of the day, their common goal is the glue that keeps them together. “We just wanna be able to play in different places and bring people together,” Meduza adds. “If it gives us enough to eat and provides us with shelter and clothes, we don’t need the glamour and glitz.”

Symphony
of sympathy

Though the Dare To Care label has
grown wildly over the years, its nurturing
nature remains intact


CARE PACKAGE: Bissonnette (top C) and his team

by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

The name of 2009’s Best Local Music Label, Dare To Care Records, presents a challenge, and given the label’s top ranking, Montreal does seem to give a damn.

Then again, maybe the naming reflected the passion co-founders Eli Bissonnette and Hugo Mudie poured into their releases from square one. Initiated in 2000 as a launch pad for Bissonnette’s band Naked ’n’ Happy, Dare To Care was immediately marked by a dedication to handcrafted packaging and direct input from the signed artists.

Bissonnette’s just as passionate in confirming that that attitude is present to this day. “Yeah, of course! It wouldn’t make sense to do things any different,” he says.

Where Bissonnette and his team take different paths is in their choice of signings. While their roster is small in comparison to some indie labels, it’s remarkably diverse, running from the quirky French prog-pop of surprise-hit exports Malajube through the electro punch of We Are Wolves, the funky, cinematic mélange of Pawa Up First, the pugnacious punk of Mudie’s band the Sainte Catherines and the rough-hewn roots sound of that band’s offshoot, Yesterday’s Ring.

“I think the key word is ‘sensibility,’” says Bissonnette. “Style is obviously not a factor here, but I think it’s fair to say that all bands have a similar sensibility and work ethic. The stuff that counts. Of course, I’m very proud of Malajube and what they’ve accomplished as a band, but I could say the same of pretty much every artist I’ve been involved with.”

That’s true just as much for Dare To Care’s sister label Grosse Boîte, giving its older sibling a run for its money with notables like Jean Leloup, Coeur de Pirate and Tricot Machin. “I think the original idea was to spend twice as much time at work, but then I realized that there was a bunch of francophone artists that I wanted to work with, so it all made sense.”

While getting a proper amount of sleep might not be on Bissonnette’s agenda over the coming year, he rattles off a few things that are. “To keep focus, eat lots of Aux Vivres, put out great records and try and have a little fun along the way.”

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