by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

DJs, and the live exotic musicians jamming with them, are just part of the puzzle at Meet Me at the Gates, a trio of post-Goa dance parties/artbursts at O Patro Vys this summer. The first one was a blast, featuring Interchill's Gordon Field, live dance routines by Anita Bombita, a set by Miguel Graça, freaky images c/o Moment Factory and unscripted body-painting by Carlito Dalceggio. The second is lined up for this weekend, and the third is on Sept. 5. The Mirror got the low-down from organizer and didgeridoo player Matthew Burton.

Mirror: What was the genesis of Meet Me at the Gates, and why did you give the series that name?

Matthew Burton: It's is a collaboration between a lot of different artists I've been working with over the past few years - dancers, painters, DJs, video artists and musicians. Lately we've been doing bigger scale shows with Circo de Bakuza, and lots of smaller loft parties, but nothing that was just straight-up, come-one-come-all, so we decided to do this series at O Patro Vys. The title Meet Me at the Gates suggests a lot of possibilities. The night is mapped out in broad strokes - movement, sounds, images, lots of energy, lots of flavour - but the rest we make up as we go, feeding off the audience and off each other.

M: Who's the guest DJ this month?

MB: We have two. The first is Dub Gabriel, who's coming up from Brooklyn. His style of music is right in there with what we like to do here in Montreal, combining sounds from all around the world with wicked grooves and beats. Cellist Piki Chappell's back and is bringing new material fresh from the studio, then he hands off to Nivoc, our second guest DJ of the night. For those who know Nivoc, expect more of the same, nice and heavy, but with live didgeridoo, cello, voice and percussion.

M: Tell me a bit about the dancer, Anita Bombita.

MB: She's the jewel of the night. Her dance is graceful, tribal, sensual and mystical all at once. She has trained in both classical ballet and contemporary dance, and she's travelled extensively throughout Asia and Europe, so when she dances, she combines motifs in movement from around the modern and ancient world, east and west.

Moments by Moment

M: There are also visuals by Moment Factory. What sort of parameters did you set for them?

MB: They know the kind of music we're doing and who's performing, so I left it pretty much open and, the last time, they put together these DVDs of original material that worked beautifully. Lots of shots from exotic locations combined with more abstract images. This time we're taking it a step further. Carlito Dalceggio is teaming up with Moment Factory to do the projections live, so there'll be just that much more reaction and interaction going on with everyone in the room.

M: You also have artists creating works live, on the spot, allowing the night to evolve in real time before the audience is there. Is this an essential aspect of MMATG?

MB: Well, it certainly turned out to be an essential aspect the last time. I asked Carlito if he could paint the performers, and then for fun he started painting other people, which was great because over time more and more of the audience actually became part of the show. This time Carlito's going to be doing more of the live video scratching, but knowing him, it's not out of the realm of possibilities that half the room will be body-painted by the end of the night. That's what I like about these nights - once we meet at the gates, anything's possible.

At O Patro Vys on Friday, August 1, 9pm, $8

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