People get ready

>> The Next Big Thing: scenesters galore expound on what's heating up and what's freezing out

compiled by RUPERT BOTTENBERG, SCOTT C, KRISTA, GENEVIEVE PAIEMENT and JOHNSON CUMMINS

There is a pervasive sense in the air these days that the Montreal nightlife, while in no danger of dying out, is coasting along--or even stagnating. With this in mind, the Mirror staff hassled various DJs, club figures, music merchants and general bon vivants about what they felt would be the next thing to blow up big. While we were at it, we also asked which element of the club scene most deserved to be simply blown up. Here's what we found.

Plastik Patrik lead singer for One-976
Next Big Thing: The next big thing that is going to happen in clubs is nudity. Shoes must be worn, though, because you never know what's on the floor, but tube socks matched with nudity is a big no-no. Coat checks will become clothing checks. I can't wait.
Past Expiry Date: Jocks from Vermont infiltrating the Montreal club scene.

Natasha hostess of Body Music with DJ Uzi at Jai bar
Next Big Thing: I think the next big thing is going to be taking the club vibe back to the intimacy and comfort of underground loft parties. People are getting tired of commercial afterhours clubs and looking for something where they can feel more free.
Past Expiry Date: I'm sick of going out to a club being more about how cool you look and how cool the place you hang out in is than it is about music and dancing and expression.

Tiga DJ/producer, owner DNA record store, Turbo recordings
Next Big Thing: People (in our scene) turning 30, getting dogs and/or having kids, people who used to party for 48 hours straight getting married to one another and settling down. And electronic bands with guitars. The return of the live act, the real thing.
Past Expiry Date: I'm sick of the Internet and bullshit Internet music companies. E-business, computers, technology in general. And dorks who trade stocks and talk about it.

Simon Nixon lead singer for the Electric Brains, DJ at Bifteck and part-time telephone psychic
Next Big Thing: I think the next big things to look out for is Michael Jackson turning black again, but I guess that's not a Montreal trend, huh? Hmmm... given Montreal's preoccupation with new things, I think there will be a reintroduction of New Coke called Newer Coke, and new wave will become newer wave. People will start rediscovering older bands like the Sonics, the Nerves and the Swingin' Neckbreakers and smoking will be in vogue again.
Past Expiry Date: Thursday frat night at the Bifteck, local rags doing articles on trends, neurotic girlfriends, Epitaph bands and the entire Warped tour roster of the past five years. Also, people who keep change in their wallets. Fuck, I hate that! People, if you get back dimes and nickels put them in your pocket! That's where change is meant to go.

Nathalie-Jeanne communications and marketing assistant, 514 Productions
Next Big Thing: I think that Montreal is the next big thing, but I hope the next big thing is going to be an explosion of electronic music throughout the airwaves. I want the major radio stations in Montreal to start playing electronic music on a regular basis.
Past Expiry Date: I'm sick of people who are ignorant about the scene and about electronic music. It's time for people to wake up and realize that there's more out there than Christina Aguilera and the Backstreet Boys. It's time for people to start to open their minds a little and experience.

Alex Robbins DJ, promoter
Next Big Thing: Expecting more versatility on the DJs' behalf. Those who are making the most interesting and inspiring music right now are those who are listening to all sorts of music, new and old, regardless of genre.
Past Expiry Date: The tech-step darker side of drum & bass. It's gotten to the point where it seems a lot of D&B producers are only listening to drum & bass, and they're just trying to outdo each other. Darker sounds, harder drums, upped tempos. It becomes not only predictable but boring.

Lorraine singer for the Kingpins
Next Big Thing: New wave is really happening right now. People are digging Devo, Depeche Mode and Le Tigre, so that will probably be getting even bigger.
Past Expiry Date: Made-to-order bands and prefabricated everything, alongside phony clubs full of phony people.

Ol' Curly in charge of electronic music at VICE Magazine
Next Big Thing: The biggest sound in the immediate future is gonna be a horrible soundclash between nu-school R&B (you know, that whole Destiny's Child/Timbaland/Eminem/ everybody style of delayed, skittery beats) and U.K. garage. Both styles are taking over in their respective markets, and I think it's only a matter of time before some crossover takes place. I don't so much mind the actual beats, it's just the excessive vocal action and overall cheesy sound. U.K. garage is like slower D&B, a lot of tight production and nice basslines, but instead of keeping the music foremost, some awful diva always comes in to wreck it. Same with the new U.S. style. It's not so bad, it's just so trendy and, c'mon, you can't top a standard, dope hip hop beat.
Past Expiry Date: See above.

Shawn Phelan publicist, Stereo and Bombay Records
Next Big Thing: Bars and clubs that make people feel special to be there, with attention paid to decor, atmosphere and music. It has to happen.
Past Expiry Date: The prevailing sense of apathy and ennui that pervades Montreal club life these days. Club owners, promoters, the clientele--nobody makes an effort to be fresh anymore. It's hard work, being fresh.

DJ Maues DJ at Laika, Blizzarts and Jai's XX on Decks
Next Big Thing: Planning the next two years while playing a game and sending e-mails on your Palm V as you're eating a lobster and doing an interview on your head-set-vibrating mobile phone. No need to go from one place to another and waste time and energy, there's a cafe-resto-bar-dancin'-swimmin'-library-record-shop-food-market-hairstyler-hotel right around corner. Don't forget, you can also buy the chair you were sitting on or the glass you were drinking your wine from. It's all right there. It's all the next big thing.
Past Expiry Date: I'm really tired of all this business about the next big thing.

Xavier Cafeine lead singer of Cafeine and DJ at Cafe Chaos
Next Big Thing: A lot of clubs that cater to an ambiance where you can discuss your attempted film scripts while listening to ambient muzak like Amon Tobin and smoking a pipe. I think this is happening right now but will sadly only become bigger.
Past Expiry Date: DJs slipping in tongue-in-cheek songs that they think are funny. If I hear one more ABBA song played as a joke I am going to strangle somebody. ABBA is not funny! Another thing we have to get rid of is jock Limp Bizkit fans that take over the Main on the weekends.

Christian Pronovost DJ/producer, owner of Inbeat Record Store
Next Big Thing: The return of raw, real house music. Back to basics, stripped down, organic but techy warehouse shit. It never really went away, but people are coming back to it stronger now. It's the real underground sound and it's what I'll be working on, anyways.
Past Expiry Date: Anything hard-sneakish-tech-loop-progressive-disco sampled bullshit. I'm so tired of that easy filtered sound, like "disco made in the U.K." It's garbage.

Bob Moore and Murad Meshgini (the A-Team), promoters of Bounce at Tokyo and Slow at Blizzarts
Next Big Thing: Themed (other than period- or location-based) clubs are going to be pretty big (maybe for the first, second or third time, depending on how you look at it). An example would be Barmacy in New York, or the Milk Bar (an exact Clockwork Orange reproduction). Also, hip hop that's really drum & bass, mustaches, subtitles (the label, and actual subtitles), grilled cheese and vocals in everything but rock 'n' roll.
Past Expiry Date: Meat markets, whistles, expensive apartments, see-thru clothing and the corner of Mont-Royal and St-Laurent at 3 a.m.

Gary "Troubleman" T DJ at Quartier Latin and Rotation co-owner
Next Big Thing: Broken beats: a fusion of Brazilian, Latin and Afro rhythms, often with a jazzy melody. Rather than loop one or two breaks throughout the song, a lot of drum programming is involved. The tempo is the same as with house (no "four on the floor," though), witch makes it very danceable. The most musical form of electronic music. Check out Jazzanova, Rainer Truby and Beanfield.
Past Expiry Date: Drum & bass. What was supposed to be the future soul has become a stagnant musical movement. Most of the high-profile producers use the same patterns and sounds for every track. The people behind the movement have become so elitist that ordinary DJs don't get access to most of the music. In Montreal, major signs of a weak scene include Angel's stopping both their D&B nights and the most prominent local D&B DJs playing electro and garage.

Miguel Graca Juno-winning producer, DJ at Jai and Cafeteria
Next Big Thing: Well, that's pretty obvious. Trance, and it's everywhere. You can't go anywhere without hearing it.
Past Expiry Date: That people are always looking for the next big thing. People should buy and/or make music that they like and that makes them happy instead of always looking for the next big thing. We need more spirituality, not more sheep. Soul not mind, baby.

Carlos Correal promoter and Ascend label director
Next Big Thing: DJs that include more technology during their sets, so it shall be more theatrical, or more interactive with the public. I mean it is always about entertaining people. Also, real live sets will become more popular. Don't you want your crowd to feel like they're at Walt Disney World? Enjoy the view and be happy!
Past Expiry Date: Everything related to FAT- ASS CHUNKY ATTITUDE (this one can be a cultural melodrama). I mean, we should all be clubbing for one goal: dance like no one's watching, BAAAABBBYYY!

J Robot DJ, Pest 5000 guitarist and Ninja Tune man of action
Next Big Thing: The next big thing in club culture is definitely going to be Robots. Montreal is taking the lead in that we have already seen dancing robots (Robot Rock at Jingxi) as well as humans and robots working together for a better world (Save the Robots! at Blizzarts). The robots are coming so get ready to RUR!
Past Expiry Date: Making people line up outside for no real reason other than creating the illusion that these people "need" to get in to some lame-ass hole in the wall (especially when it's 40 degrees below).

Dom Castelli drummer for Bloodshot Bill and the Hubcaps, promoter, Jailhouse proprietor
Next Big Thing: Rock 'n' roll bands that pack in a lot of sex appeal, like Tricky Woo and Cafeine. I really see the impact both of those bands have had on a lot of younger bands. By next year, sexy rock 'n' roll bands are going to take over.
Past Expiry Date: Boy bands--enough already! What's popular now is girls playing rock 'n' roll and that's a trend I would like to see more of.

Mighty Kat DJ at Laika
Next Big Thing: The type of things that come to the Media Lounge. Stuff like Perlon and Thomas Brinkman. Not the usual house. Experimental sounds, with soul, more heat but not too Latin, big basslines. Also, concepts of smaller parties with 300 to 400 people who are there for the music, not the hype.
Alex Kano owner of MOOG Audio
Next Big Thing: Really small parties with about 400 people are gonna get really big again. The kind of parties where once you're in, you don't want to leave at all, knowhatimsayin'?
Past Expiry Date: Big raves. Things have gotten too big and too commercial. The original goal was to make the underground scene happen, and that part of it is long gone.

Natalia Yanchak keyboardist for the Dears and co-host of CKUT's Underground Sounds
Next Big Thing: The retro French scene: long hair, kerchiefs and Gitanes, sweaters tossed over the shoulders. It's that lazy look that says, "I don't care anymore because I'm 40."
Past Expiry Date: The cowboy hat. Its place in the rock 'n' roll circuit is especially embarrassing. Cowboy hats are for women who live in Denver, Colorado, wear skintight acid-wash jeans and feather their hair. Or (ahem) Madonna. Another horrendous hat, the backwards baseball cap, speaks for itself.

MC Abraw member of Shadowboxerz
Next Big Thing: Canadian hip hop like Josh Martinez, who just got signed to Anticon and is now on a world tour. Also, I'd like to see more breakbeat DJs in Montreal and more interaction between local hip hop groups.
Past Expiry Date: Attitude in the Montreal hip hop scene and 23-year-old candy ravers. I also wish Bless would quit talking and release something already.

Sharon McGoogan co-founder of Noize, Tony-sitter
Next Big Thing: Montreal. From the art houses and music studios, to our interpretation of how life can be lived, this community has and will continue to gain worldwide recognition for its sounds, flavours, diversity and quality.
Past Expiry Date: Current programming of popular radio and music video stations.

Moss Raxlen Dub Lounge selector
Next Big Thing: Jazz and polka techno.
Past Expiry Date: One day soulful music that is truly inspired will completely destroy all pop fluff.

Lili-Catherine Wexu Jai Music
Next Big Thing: Spiderman. People are over Batman and they're over Superman. The Spiderman movie's being made right now, so he's gonna be huge. Also, Ram (I like to call him Ramski). He's big in Montreal, but I think that internationally he'll go even further. He was just nominated for three L'ADISQ awards (Quebec's Grammies). Bonobo (aka Simon Green) is also gonna blow up. He's buddies with Amon Tobin and he was just signed to Ninja Tune for a three-album contract. His last album, Animal Magic, was downtempo--I hate the word but--trip hop, very emotional, slow and deep. Oh, and knee-high socks with flipflops.
Past Expiry Date: Reality-based TV like Survivor and all that. It's for people with no life. Also, the guy who changed his name to Dotcom Guy and lives on the Internet. He's filmed in his house 24 hours a day. It's really sad. Also, Web sites that are not functional.

The Nightlife 2000 Guide