Wild, wild west

"I'm an American history nut," says Tammy Forsythe. She's excited, sick, jumping between sniffles from thing to thing - her cinematic influences, books on early American railroad tycoons, how killing buffalo wiped out scores of natives in the early 1900s, how George W. carries on the evil.

Seven dancers in long, black trenchcoats move to a soundtrack by Efrim (of godspeedyoublackemperor!) in The Backtrack, Forsythe's latest choreography, which draws heavily on the Western film genre, sort of. "I almost threw out the cowboy hats," she clarifies, Annapolis Valley, N.S. accent shining through. "It's more like a science-fiction Western now."

Whatever it is, if the dancers move like Forsythe's punchy, direct sentences, this will be fantastic. "Oh, and they sing ‘Wanted man'!" she throws in. "It's absurd theatre. It's dark. The world is so completely sinister and we're just dancing around that whole thing."

The Backtrack runs until Oct. 5, 9 p.m., at the Portuguese Cultural Centre (corner of Rachel and St-Urbain). DJs, drinks and after-show good times follow each performance. » Matthew Woodley

Scores of stuff

Danièle Desnoyers and Nicolas Baier are two good reasons to get to the Musée d'art contemporain this week. Desnoyers, choreographer and current artist-in-residence, presents Duos pour corps et instrument, a performance that unites acoustic experimentation and dance. Meanwhile, Baier's exhibition upstairs, Scènes de genres, continues his exploration of his personal space with 13 of his most recent photographic productions.

While in the past Baier's work focused on different sections of rooms, his new pieces focus on the objects found within rooms. In "Petits Riens" (2002), Baier scanned what seems to be every possible item in his tiny apartment. The resulting abundance of things, pasted in Photoshop overtop an image of the space, obliterates the architecture in an explosion of domestic goods. Baier explains (sort of): "I see the objects around me as an atomization of a mysterious all, of which the sense escapes me." Scènes de genres runs until Jan. 4; Duos performances continue until Oct. 11, 847-6226 for info. » Christine Redfern

Anti-car show

"In the last decade the amount of cars in Montreal has increased twice as fast as the population," says François Meloche, reason enough for him to arrive at the opening of Expo sans auto on his bike.

Meloche, a painter, joins a handful other artists in denouncing clamorous, toxin-spewing automobiles, bringing attention to their mammoth environmental impact and promoting more sustainable methods of transport. Tonight's vernissage (Oct. 2) will feature a video by the Action terroriste socialement acceptable, a multimedia presentation by Skerzo16, live music by Tomas Jensen and more. It runs from 6–11 p.m. at O Patro Vys (356 Mont-Royal E.); the exhibition continues until Oct. 8.

Folklore sans fil

Cell phones have become so commonplace that strolling down the Main with a ciggie in one hand and a blue-lit batphone in the other has all but become the marker of the Montréal flâneur. Luckily there are artists in the field of new media who are willing to remind us of the communal potential of our wired world.

Better known as Toronto's [murmur] collective, Gabe Sawhney, James Roussel and Shawn Micallef have rigged the Plateau with "geo-locative" storytelling. As Micallef explains it, "[murmure] is an audio archival project that lets people hear personal first-person stories in the exact location they took place."

Launching as part of the FCMM on Oct. 9, cell phone enthusiasts will be able to locate signs around the Plateau and dial in to hear tales of the 'hood, recounted in French and English. Maps that pinpoint the exact spots will be available, drawn by local artist Mat Garbulinski, while the technical infrastructure has been provided by the SAT. The project can already be found in Toronto's Kensington Market and Vancouver's Chinatown. See more at www.murmurmontreal.ca. » Tobias C. Van Veen

Is it Art?

PRAYING FOR PETS: Friday, Oct. 3, is the 777th anniversary of the death of St. Francis, patron saint of animals. By no coincidence, the Rosedale Queen Mary United Church in NDG (6870 Terrebonne) is holding a pet blessing service the following Sunday. Pet owners, those suffering the loss of a non-human loved one and people who just want to give thanks are all invited to gather inside the church, where separate areas will be designated for small animals, birds, cats, dogs, gerbils/hamsters, rabbits, goldfish and Sunday regulars. Elephants and giraffes will be blessed outside (the church asks that you give a call if bringing extra-big or exotic animals). A photo memento service is also available. Oct. 5, 10:30 a.m., 484-9969.

ArtsHole

BASTARD ART: Part of FIND, Lucky Bastard is a cryptic and intriguing project that involves over 30 artists from many disciplines interacting based on an itinerary that they've been given an hour before each performance - creating an environment in which spectators can stroll, see, hear, have a bite to eat and more. It runs Oct. 2–5, 5 and 10 p.m., at the SAT (1195 St-Laurent). • UP IN THE AIR: Ken Blackburn, current Guinness Book record-holder for longest flight duration of a paper airplane, will be on hand at the Expedia.ca Paper Airplane Event, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 11 a.m., at the Palais des Congrès (201 Viger). Winners of the event get a trip to Mexico, www.expedia.ca/event to register.

ARTISTAT: Number of controversial, kitschy and change-provoking works on display at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts' Global Village: the '60s, opening today, Thursday, Oct. 2, and running until March 7: 250

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