Causing a
commotion

>> Café Chaos stages a 10-day birthday bash

by LORRAINE CARPENTER

Café Chaos is more than your average rock hovel. The quaint, kinda crusty St-Denis club is a co-op, opened by a devoted, ambitious, 25-strong staff in 1995 to serve up Montreal-made arts and eats. The DIY business has weathered its tempests and remained a breeding ground for some of Montreal’s finest and loudest, and seven years has earned Chaos the kind of character you can’t scrape off. Now it’s time to party with 10 days of rockin’, hardcore, worldbeat action. [All shows start at 9 p.m. and cost $5, unless otherwise noted.]

Pedal to the metal

The party kicks off with the harsh ’n’ heavy battle axes of Hands of Death, sharing the stage with fellow metal/hardcore acts Versus Chaos and Disjonction, on Monday, Aug. 19, with the serious sounds of DJ Ugly to keep the blood flowing ’til 3 a.m.

Further flex those index and pinkie fingers for Latino heaviosity-weights Mi Santa Sangre, on Sunday, Aug. 25. These multilingual misfits play with equally tough tunemeisters Dr. Placebo, a treat for fans of industrial hardcore. Street-punk spinner DJ Stomp picks up the slack.

Intensity reigns into Monday, Aug. 26 with decade-old band Heaven’s Cry, self-described as “modern rock with a progressive tangent.” In their early days, this act played with Marillion and Saga and had their demo named third best album of 1993 by German mag Heavy Oder Was. Sharing the bill is solo bassist Steeve Poirier, formerly with local metal outfit Necrotic Mutation. DJ Ugly handles the aftermath once again.

Blowing the alterno-fusion

Provocateur and “poète maudite” Karlof Galovsky heads up Le Karlof Orchestra, a trio fusing post-punk, chanson française, rap, jazz, and whatever the hell else they feel like tossing in the mix. They play a free 5 à 7 on Friday, Aug. 23, followed by hard-edged garage rockers WD-40 and keyboard-toting, rock ’n’ rolling Chicoutimi natives Tremblay 73 at 9 p.m. The punk rock and new wave sounds of DJ Stef follow.

Serving up punk and hardcore with a slice of ska, the two-LP-strong Cynical Czardas have figured in the Polliwog finals and earned a couple years’ worth of MiMi nominations. With Anick and Polliwog pals La Cage de Bruits—alterno scenesters imported from St-Jean-sur-le-Richelieu—the night is rounded out by DJ Attitude. And come early for a 5 à 7 with twisted folk rockers the Hoax Inc., all on Saturday, Aug. 24.

Qui Dort Nadine play the party finale on Thursday, Aug. 29 with alt-rockers Mam’zelle. Coming to us from Saguenay—with singer Isabelle Tremblay hailing from Quebec City—Mam’zelle promises “rock-franco-disto-alterno,” so listen up, and stay for the raunchy sleaze of our friend DJ Stef.

Rocking your world

On the worldly music front, the beats international stylings of percussion ensemble J’tam lend Chaos some multi-cultural cred on Wednesday, Aug. 21. A week later, esteemed throat singers Les Globe-Grotters get ready to rumble, on Wednesday, Aug. 28. Both shows unfold at
10 p.m., for $6, and are followed by local indie magic spun by DJ Reunsse.

From world beat to alien rock with Les Martiens, who like to call their heavy/melodic mix “overground,” but this quartet will be firmly planted at Chaos on Thursday, Aug. 22. Filling the bill is Plajia and mister DJ Stef, for a whopping $6 soirée.

Get out your striped tees and fluff up those burns for some punk and ’60s garage on Tuesday, Aug. 27, as Le Nombre play with Les Séquelles spin-off Les Macchabées. These Sherbrooke natives play classic cuts and originals in that gritty ’60s style, and there are whispers of a new album on the way. That’s a $6 show, ably wrapped up by Passeport’s DJs Sly and Guccigang. :

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