"I am an antichrist/ I am an anarchist/ Don’t know what I want/ But I know how to get it/ I wanna destroy the passerby… And I wanna be an anarchist/ Get pissed/ Destroy!" – Some band

Small wonder most anarchists today struggle with image problems. Anarchy in the U.K., the Sex Pistols anthem that’s been inspiring neophyte punks, amateur (re)activists and a panoply of aspiring nogoodniks and ne’er-do-wells for going on 30 years, reinforces the common perception of anarchy as a state of utter lawlessness, wanton violence and total abandon. Kind of like the St. Paddy’s Day parade… every day.

Sweet.

But alas, the colloquial understanding and use of the term, which is so ingrained it’s also supported by most if not all dictionary definitions, presents a PR nightmare for your average, honest-to-goodness anarchists who are working as hard to bring a measure of fairness and equity to their fellow human beings as they are to bringing the government, and by extension the entire global capitalist economy, to its knees. No one could criticize them for want of ambition. These are a far cry from the "anarchists" I knew growing up: dislocated suburban spawn with anarchy symbols scrawled onto canvas rucksacks and meticulously ripped jeans who were anarchic 29 times out of 30, every day save the one that their assistance cheques arrived on. There’s really nothing quite like an anti-government, anti-corporate anarchist who depends on pogey to buy his "50."

So yeah, conceptual anarchism has been somewhat submarined by its less dedicated proponents, but also by its more radical wing. Take your so-named "black bloc" anarchist factions, for example, who have waged war with the authorities (and big banks and business as well as any unluckily placed private property in the vicinity) at any number of anti-globalization protests over the last four or five years here in Quebec. Smashed glass, crispy cars and ball-bearing bruises are the sum total of their civic contribution thus far. Not to say I don’t understand the motive and means, or even that I’m entirely unsympathetic, but it does nothing to dispel the popular notion of modern-day anarchists as little more than delinquent adults with an adrenaline junkie’s passion for vandalism, possessed as much by the zeal of youth as that of revolution. The expectation is that time, in combination with rigid societal norms and expectations – community as de facto cultural institutionalization! – will eventually bring them back into line. In other words, they’ll grow up.

Less depressing, perhaps, are those who espouse a kinder, gentler and more determined middle ground of practical anarchism that won’t scare the neighbours. Unless you live in Westmount. One of Montreal’s best-known practitioners of anarchism-as-lifestyle-choice would be Montreal musician, writer and activist Norman Nawrocki.

Despite his hectic schedule of performing, informing and shit disturbing – Nawrocki has long been making a name for himself with world-touring groups Rhythm Activism, Bakunin’s Bum, DaZoque! and Les Patates Blessées, to name a few, as well as with written works, his most recent book being The Anarchist and the Devil Do Cabaret – he was kind enough to take time out to provide us with the following…

Definition of a Contemporary Anarchist: "Someone totally pissed off with ongoing corporate rip-offs and government corruption; someone completely distrustful of the State, of the electoral process as a means to changing anything; someone who believes we can do better, together, if we organize ourselves, our society differently; someone who doesn’t need a boss, a leader, a politician or a cop breathing down their neck, telling them what to do, or speaking on their behalf or deciding their future. A contemporary anarchist will refuse to be silenced, will speak their mind wherever and whenever they feel their opinion can make a difference, will continue to dream of how we can do things differently, and will work wherever they can, in whatever capacity, to make this world a better place, here and now."

It would be pretty damn difficult to argue with any of the above on principle alone, but implementation is another matter entirely. Anarchism has always sounded good on paper, or through a bullhorn, but it’s the practical realities that have provided the greatest obstacles to realization. Nawrocki, on the other hand, points to numerous examples of tangible anarchism at work, and in places where you wouldn’t necessarily expect it.

"In practical terms, anarchists today, in Montreal, are actively working in community groups, fighting against rent increases, fighting on behalf of struggling tenants, fighting to stop illegal deportations of immigrants and refugees, working with trade unions and outside of them to help improve working conditions for everyone, working with others to save social services, health services, daycare services.

"In short," says Nawrocki, hinting at the covert, "you’ll find anarchists today active in almost every sector of society, working at different levels, wearing different hats, from those who take over the street to those who take on bureaucrats, from those who work with the homeless and the hungry to those who teach in schools.

"These anarchists will be single, will have families, will be mothers and fathers, will be high school students, will protest the war in Iraq and will cook up food for street people. Anarchists are everywhere, and there are more of us today than anyone realizes."

Over the last several weeks, Nawrocki has busied himself with the organization of the fifth edition of the annual Anarchist Bookfair, a complementary fundraiser, and (of particular interest to the music community) the Music, Anarchy & The Word panel discussion and concert. The latter features several Montreal anarchist musicians and writers of all flavours – specifically Ivy (of Ivy & Reggie reknown), Kaie Kellough, Kandis Cindi-ly/Friesen, Caroline Brunel (from punk/skin group Jeunesse a Patrie), Eve-Marie Lampron and Nawrocki himself – talking about their personal experiences of anarchism as they relate to both their lives and their art, as well as brief performances by each.

"So we’ve got all the bases covered: folk, rock, dub/jazz, rap, chansonnier français, punk/skin and cabaret," says Nawrocki. "All underground. All Montreal. All anarcho."

"It’s the first time ever in Montreal, or anywhere for that matter," claims Nawrocki. "A night where we will try to explore the anarchist substance behind the facade, since so many punked-out rock’n'rollers, musical rebels, jazz scenesters, folkies, experimental melodic artists – and music journalists – are innately, intuitively, irrepressibly ‘anarchist’ in attitude."

The Music, Anarchy & The Word panel and show goes May 13 at Café la Petite Gaule (2525 Centre near Charlevoix metro), starting at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free.

And a heads-up for the Anarchist Bookfair, which is the single largest anarchist event in the city, regularly drawing in the thousands, and featuring over 75 book tables and dozens of publishers from across North America and Europe. It takes place May 15 at CÉDA (2515 Delisle near Lionel-Groulx metro), from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and entrance is also free. A series of anarchist workshops open to the public will also be held concurrently in the same building. For more info, go to salonanarchiste.taktic.org.

1,228, 1,227, 1,226… 355, 354, 353… 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5… Yes, it’s been a long time we (meaning me) have been awaiting music by very low-key Montreal three-piece Boomeko, who are now in the final stages of preparing to launch their debut, five-song EP, Tomorrow to Handle. There is much in the way of experience behind this lineup – Paul Cargnello, keyboard player Sandy Belfort, The Snitches’ bassist Ghislain Chartier and Jorane percussionist Alexis Martin – and it shows mightily in the writing.

Though Boomeko identify themselves as "electro-prog-pop," there is a dominant soulful undercurrent – in large part due to Belfort’s masterful touch on the keys, something amply evidenced on Cargnello’s most recent album Between Evils – that streams a lot of warmth into the carefully considered melodies here. This is top-notch, professionally played stuff that touches on a lot of welcome musical reference points, but is beholden to none – it’s not hard to understand why they took their sweet time throwing it together. Be the one to reap the benefits of their hard work when Boomeko, live in concert, launch Tomorrow to Handle at O Patro Vys (356 Mont-Royal E.), May 10 starting at 8 p.m. Please note that admission is FREE.

Last writes Confident punk and ska the old-school way, backed by horns (courtesy of ex-Planet Smashers and ex-Kingpins) and played with guts is the not-so-secret formula behind Montreal’s Mickey Mutts. There’s a big, boisterous and thoroughly enjoyable Clash thing that’s going on here and which you’ll have the opportunity to taste-test live when the band launch their debut album …sing a sing… at Café Chaos, May 7, with guests Cheap Suits and Sofa King Addicted. This is a FREE show with an early, 6:30 p.m. start…. The five young guys and girl in Montreal’s Les Breastfeeders have been making (breaking?) their name around town on the strength of electric live shows and hyper kinetic retro-punk garage rock that sashays as much as it waylays. They will launch the full-length Déjeuner sur l’herbe at Cabaret, May 10, at 8 p.m. sharp for only five bills…. And if outside pop at inside temperatures warms your cockles, be sure to catch rising singer/songwriter Courtney Wing – a displaced Left Coaster with soul, groove and something to prove and an excess of ability to do it – when he launches his debut album, Starlight Shuffle, May 9 at Casa del Popolo commencing at 10 p.m.