A fistful of
dollar popcorn

Bands galore bang out tunes at
Montreal’s cheapest film theatre

THE KIDS STAY IN THE PICTURE: Bernie Guberg (c),
Sam Pennington (2nd from r) and Team Canada

by JOHNSON CUMMINS

In spite of “the Man” leaning heavily on it, over the past two years, the DIY live-venue scene has exploded in Montreal and continues to flourish. If one venue gets shut down, two more are quick to pick up the slack, and more and more promoters are ready to prop up ramshackle stages. Perhaps taking a page from the dance scene of yesteryear, these clandestine spaces are popping up everywhere and, more often than not, are usually a fair trot away from the beaten path of the Plateau and the Mile-End.

“Shows like these are just a lot more fun and more relaxed,” says Sam Pennington, drummer of local band Team Canada (no association with the local DJ crew of the same name). “First off, it’s a lot cheaper because people can bring their own booze. The door price is usually cheaper and you don’t have to worry about bouncers or St-Laurent clubbers bothering you.”

When I talk to Pennington, he is about to leave for the opening night of DIY venue Death Church in Verdun, and is also a fan of Friendship Cove, tucked away in the industrial stretch of Griffintown, and others. Pennington throws his hat into the promotion ring this week along with bandmates and co-promoters Luke Harun and Sam Gyetvay. They’re hosting a barnstormer of a show with themselves (Team Canada), Ultrathin, Dead Wife, Squalor, Dopethrone, Denial Tone and more at—wait for it—budget filmhouse Dollar Cinema in Côte-des-Neiges.

“When we sent out the messages to the bands we wanted to play, every single band got back to us and said yes when they found out it was at the Dollar Cinema. The bands are going to bring their own films to be projected over them while they play, and so far, the response from people who want to come see the show has been amazing. The whole atmosphere of the Dollar Cinema is just perfect for a show like this.”

In truth, Team Canada can’t take all of the credit for putting on the ritz in the Côte-des-Neiges digs, as it was Dollar Cinema owner Bernie Gurberg’s gift of gab that really got the ball rolling. When talking to Gurberg over the phone between his serving up bags of popcorn, he admits to hardly being a cinephile. That smacks just a little bit odd for somebody who runs and programs a rep theatre. When I try and break the ice and ask him what his all-time favourite movie is, he says, “I don’t know—probably something with Schwarzenegger in it where he beats everybody up. Uh, we’ve also been showing that Sandra Bullock movie and that’s got a pretty good story to it.”

If it’s painfully obvious that Gurberg is hardly a hardcore movie buff, he comes across as Jean-Luc Godard with his comparative knowledge of the weird punk and dirge metal scene that will pack his room on Thursday night.

“As far as my expectations go for the show, it’s a complete question mark for me. I guess whatever will happen, will happen. One night I met this guy with a guitar on his back after a midnight movie and we started talking, and he said he was in a band and so I offered up a stage and they just took it from there. I just like to help people who are trying to do something, I guess…

“Can you also mention in the article that our popcorn is only a buck?”

TEAM CANADA, ULTRATHIN, DEAD
WIFE, SQUALOR, OMINOUS MONSTA,
DOPETHRONE, DENIAL TONE, LOCO
MOTIV AND JESUS CHRIST AT DOLLAR
CINEMA (6900 DECARIE) TONIGHT,
THURSDAY, DEC. 17, 6 P.M., $5, ALL
AGES (NO ALCOHOL)