Life after Swirl by KRISTA  Quote of the week, from the mouth of Inbeat record store owner (and scene philosopher) Christian Pronovost vis-à-vis Montreal's electronic music scene: "There's nothing new and nothing old anymore. Everything is just being recycled, good and bad. It's all subjective."  And with that piece of wisdom we come to my review of this past Sunday's mega-rave Swirl 2000. All right, so Paul Van Dyk didn't show up. These days it's a given that at least one major artist on the bill might not make it. According to his publicist, Van Dyk's wife had fallen ill and he wanted to be with her.  Despite having had all his gear "lost" by some blundering fool at Fed Ex, Luke Slater pulled off his live show nicely with a little help from DJ Ram's sampler and Moog Audio. Homegrown trance master Max Graham had some serious hands-in-the-air action going on, and Chicago's Bad Boy Bill was good, albeit a little monotonous with his thumpa-thumpa Midwest hard bag. Sneak and Laflèche on four turntables was definitely a highlight, but before they were done I'd had enough and went home to bed.  So was Swirl, like most raves, just another overcrowded party with dirty porta-potties and $4 water? How you feel about that may well depend on how long it took you to get in the door. I had fun, but maybe that's because I got to hang out in the VIP area. 514 issued a press release explaining that the delays at the door were due to the fire department being difficult, despite the fact that all the proper permits were in order. But that doesn't explain the bathroom situation, and I can tell you this much: I've had my fill of waiting in line with 400 guys, only to have to hover over a hole in a dark and smelly toilet.  Chicago's J-Dub killed it last Sunday despite the waning sound system at Jai bar's Nude night (formerly Shift), put on by DJ Uzi and the Dune brothers. However, rumour has it that Jai is getting new sound à la Angel Moraes (if you get my drift), and the Masters at Work will be on hand to christen the system when it is installed.  And on the opposite end of the rave rainbow...  During the first few weeks of June, electronica and experimental techno in the purist sense of the genre descends on Montreal. The annual Franco-Québécois collaboration MEG kicks off with a pre-event at Jingxi next Tuesday, May 30, and the main events take place from Wednesday, May 31 until Saturday, June 2 at Club Soda and Jingxi. For info call 286-1010 or 985-5464.  Already under way but equally worth checking out is Post Audio Esthetic at Galerie Clark, an art installation that attempts to unite visual art with electronic music and features Canadian artists, DJs, musicians and live acts. Interactive events take place every Friday and Saturday until June 17 and admission is free.   Finally, starting June 7, Ex-Centris and Laika will be hosting MUTEK, a five-day event combining music, sound creation and new technologies. For info check out http://www.mutek.ca.