Warm-weather wigout

>> A generalist's take on live music for the hottest months

by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

The warm stretch starts with a splash when Patrick Watson presents Waterproof9 at Cinéma l'Amour (4015 St-Laurent) on Friday, June 15--a midnight show. The moody, layered, almost ambient accompaniment to Brigitte Henry's multimedia expansion of her underwater photo series Waterproof is a far cry from Watson's earlier ska-jazz endeavours with Gangster Politics.

Meanwhile, the whereabouts of the Whereabouts, a local hi-grade pop unit missing in action for some years now, are revealed when they hit the stage at l'Alizé on Tuesday, June 12, to launch their new disc Pop Filter (see Discs for review).

Wednesday, June 13, sees the lauded Ani DiFranco return to town. This time 'round, the Righteous Babe label head is getting all intimate at Théâtre Olympia--so if she blows her stack over fans singing along again, it'll be real up close and personal. A little less intimate will be the triumphant return of synth-pop overlords Depeche Mode, at the Molson Centre on June 15 (smooth-contoured sad-rockers Luna play Club Soda the same night).

The kids will be more than all right on Saturday, June 16, when the second Mod Allnighter goes down at Lion d'Or. Chaired by the Datsons (who have a boss new EP set to go off momentarily), the event showcases Winnipeg's brilliant Duotang, Motor City mods the Numbers and T.O. cold-soul soldiers More Plastic. Also on hand will be suitable DJs spinning northern soul and maximum R&B till the sun comes up.

Globalternatives

Prefer rice 'n' beans to fish 'n' chips? On Tuesday, June 19, dusty bordertown boys Calexico, in the company of Chi-town guitarist/cartoonist Archer Prewitt, tumble through Cabaret like tumblin', tumblin' tumbleweeds. On the snails-in-garlic-butter tip, Gallic symbols Air take the Metropolis stage on June 25 to dish out material from their weighty new one, 10,000Hz Legend. Bratwurst buffs, meanwhile, will mark off July 1 for the return visit from Germany's Mouse on Mars, at Cabaret again--those who saw their last show there know that they can translate their lefthanded, abstract e-pop to an engaging, even visceral live show.

More Teutonic creepiness goes down on July 15 when the fearsome and unpleasant Rammstein goosestep into Metropolis. The next night, Monday, July 16, sees a long-awaited gig from might-as-well-be-German "avant-hardists" Add N to X, purveyors of rough-edged, electronic porn-pop, at an as-of-yet unconfirmed venue.

A trio of treats for ska-punkers: Chicano troublemakers Voodoo Glow Skulls are at Rainbow-ites on July 6, while Reel Big Fish sink their hooks into the Spectrum on July 9. Those relishing the return of Mustard Plug will be at Club Soda on August 18.

August 1 sees a visit from HIM (His Imperial Majesty), the jazz-dub-post-rock project of Chicago type Doug Scharin (June of 44, Codeine). The venue is still unconfirmed, but when he gets here, ask him about the grief with the other HIM--overblown death-glam from Finland. Which Majesty will triumph? There's also a rumour that second-gen riot ladies Le Tigre are Montreal-bound for mid-August. They're grrrrr-eat, says Tony!

Attest to the fests

Now on to the really big stuff. Guess you've all heard about gi-normo-stars Radiohead playing Parc Jean-Drapeau, with pals the Beta Band, on August 5--so I won't mention it. I will hint at a possible Blink 182 gig around mid-August, though. For old-tymers, "the other Beatle" Ringo Starr and his "all-Starr" band (Sheila E.! Howard Jones! Supertramp's Roger Hodgson!) are at the Molson Centre on Friday, July 27, while the geriatric double-whammy of Joe Cocker and the Guess Who is there on August 28. American woo-muhn!

And finally, the festivals. Nuits D'Afrique runs from July 10-22, and indoor highlights include worldbeat big shot Youssou N'Dour, Mali's Boubacar Traoré, Nigeria's Lágbájá and--this one's not to be missed--les Têtes Brulées, who rock the Camerounian bikutsi in a ruff 'n' tuff style. South African drum gods Amampondo, who've worked with Juno Reactor, play an outdoor show show at Place Émilie-Gamelin on Saturday, July 21.

As for the Jazz Fest, which runs June 28 to July 8--Prince may be sold out, but there's plenty of other goodies. Brazil's bossa nova boss Joao Gilberto and his lovely daughter Bebel do separate shows, Arto Lindsay fuses Brazilian charm with Big Apple grit, John Hammond celebrates Tom Waits and ugly blues-rocker George Thorogood buys drinks for everyone. The big outdoor show this year, by the way, is called Groove Alla Turca, and yeah, it's Turkish and it's funky.

That leaves les Francofolies, July 26 to August 4. Arthur H will carry on about the Eiffel Tower and how bad the coffee here is for five nights, Vanessa Paradis will pout and try to sing, les Rita Mitsouko will do it up "comme ça" and locals like Grim Skunk, Couch Potatoes and Loco Locass will bust the hometown styles en crisse. Et voilà, quoi.