by RAF KATIGBAK

Okay, so I just had a 90-minute chat with IDM sensation Jason Forrest last Tuesday (see Music section). He had just moved to Berlin and was hung over like a Japanese businessman after a karaoke contest. "It's so cheap to live here, people don't have real jobs, so they can go out during the week and get hammered," he explained. I insisted that if he were looking to do some mid-week bingeing, he'd have a great old time here in Montreal. To wit, Tuesday's becoming the busiest night in town. Casa's Rawk ‘n' Rawl night has been going strong for a while now and Blizzarts own rock night has also been giving people a three-day headstart on their weekend, while DJs Moohk, Mit Mat and Meek have been runnin' tings ambient style at Missy Bar. Up north at the Green Room, Miss Matches and DJ Simon have been holding things down, and Ghettoblast residents Dave O'Brien and Deliz have been putting the bass in your face with guests like Melon, Poontz, DJ Mana and Milton Clark at Saphir. Next week, Salon Daome will be starting a new soul-tech Tuesday-night weekly called Dizzy, featuring Vince Lemieux and DJ Mightykat.

Following a steady blitz on the scene for several years, the Broken Crew (Melon, Poontz, R.dot T.dot) has just announced a takeover with a weekly residency at Blizzarts. Always a high-energy/low-frequency event, consider this summer's Thursdays officially Broken. Next door at Blue Dog, this week Junglist Fridays welcome Metalheadz producer Danny C from the U.K. for some hardstepping drum & bass ($6 cover). Also catch Saboteur Musique as they start up their new Nouveau nights, Fridays at Velvet, with DJs Leo Cruz and Maüs.

Aspiring VJs should drop by the SAT on Friday at 1 p.m. for a free, two-hour round-table discussion between independent artists, researchers and professionals from London and Montreal's video and music industry. Stick around for a live performance at 5 p.m. with naw and VJ Jason Rodi. Later on that evening, at 8:30 p.m., SAT will host the London_Montreal Audio Visual lounge event with A/V crews from across the pond, including Cinefeel and Addictive TV.

Saturday is just buzzin' with activity so here's a quick rundown of things to catch: The World Provider and members of the Dears, the Social Register and Besnard Lakes do covers of Morrissey and Smiths for PVC at Missy Bar (free!). Check out the new house night Summer Sessions at Momentos Upstairs (1424 Bishop) with DJ Rob Brown. There's the old-school breaks party Dems Da Breaks with Marty Mc Fly and Endo (info at 203-5655). Jesper Dahlback and Tiga are at 5390 St-Laurent (limited capacity of 200, so get there early). And then there's Simply Soundshaper, an $8, BYOB private loft party with, you guessed it, DJ Soundshaper. E-mail simplysoundshaper@sympatico.ca for info.

Finally, if y'all weren't aware, the awesome cultural institution known as the Cinémathèque Québécoise needs your help. Grossly underfunded, this place has been repping international, indie and classic cinema for a long time. So if you're looking for a nice place to have a drink, why not drop by the Café-Bar de la Cinémathèque Québécoise - all profits go to supporting this amazing operation. Get crunked for a cause!

Valerie and her week of wonders… Diskoakimbo@sympatico.ca

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