Flip yer wig

After Nadja’s show at Casa last summer, disastrous due to sub-par sonics, they laid down some sweet redemption at Divan Orange on Sunday, Feb. 21. Starting off with the epic “The Bungled and the Botched” in front of a screen of psychedelic images, Nadja were finally able to crush as well as comfort with the help of Divan Orange’s expansive sound system, which kept their low end intact and pummelling. By the time they encored with their cover of Kids in the Hall’s “Long Dark Twenties,” the sparse audience was suitably satiated by a great night of inventive drone from this sombre duo. Just more proof that Nadja is one of Canada’s best-kept secrets right now.

Probably the biggest shows this week will be strewn over tonight, Friday and Saturday at Il Motore when local promoters Blue Skies Turn Black throw their own party and celebrate their 10-year anniversary. They’ve enlisted the help of their favourite local bands to help blow out the candles on their cake, starting tonight with the Besnard Lakes, Shapes and Sizes, Snailhouse, Little Scream, Adam and the Amethysts, No Joy with DJ Annie Q taking you all the way to last call. On Friday, the party keeps going with Black Feelings, Grand Trine, Tonstartssbandht, Special Noise, Ultrathin, Homosexual Cops and DJs Grand Mal and Valeo. Capping off the three-day festivities on Saturday are the reformations of Rockets Red Glare, North of America, Spengler and Thundrah, with DJ Lynne T.

There are a couple of shows happening outside of Blue Skies Turn Black’s three-night shindig that deserve your apt attention. As part of Nuit Blanche, doom/heavy-psych/drone wizard Aun will blow yer tiny mind to bits on Saturday night with extreme frequencies and subsonic drones, and will be playing on a replica of a French Revolution-era guillotine built by artist Mathieu Beaséjour. This extreme noise terror starts at midnight at Place de la Cité International (999 University), with visuals provided by Julie Leblanc, and best of all, it’s free.

Finally, on Sunday, don’t miss the chance to see one of the best melodic punk rock bands around, U.K.’s Leatherface, with Yesterday’s Ring at Foufounes Électriques.

One last thing I must hip you to before I sign off is one of the best-archived radio shows on the interweb. Back in 1985, DJ Flipped Out Phil began hosting one of the consistently best weekly radio shows I’ve ever heard, Subterranean Jungle, on CKUT 90.3FM, and has thankfully archived some of his best shows. Before Flipped Out pulled up stakes and headed down the 401 to seek out fame and fortune as a voiceover actor, he was easily the best wax jockey in town, spinning the very best of the swingin’ ’60s—spy flick scores, surf, raw soul, freakbeat, mod and other fuzz-encrusted treats. As good as the tunes were, though, the best part was Flipped Out’s rapid between-track spiel, owing a heavy debt to classic ’60s radio geniuses like the Mad Daddy from Cleveland, Mad Mike from Philadelphia and national jock Alan “Moondoggy” Freed, as well as the left-of-centre jargon of the Cramps’ Lux Interior from his famous The Purple Knif Show. Do yourself a favour, invite friends over and tune in to the Subterranean Jungle again at flippedoutphil.com.

PUTTING THE SKIP IN THE STEP OF DOOM AND GLOOM… JONATHAN.CUMMINS@GMAIL.COM