The 2009 edition of the Fringe Fest is upon us and, like most years, I generally skip all the plays until I figure out which is the one with nudity in it. There’s probably a lot of interesting things that I miss, but I still bear the scars from a piece of theatre that should never have left the apartment of the couple that conceived it. I’d have walked out, but I was the only person there and angry failed-rapper nerd and his half-assed goth girlfriend would have noticed.
But also like most years, I do spend time down at the Fringe HQ at Parc des Amériques (Rachel and St-Laurent) because I like beer and music, and as one of the countless Montrealers who doesn’t have a real job, they have both at most hours of the day. Which brings us to Fringe Pop, that early summer warning bell that dings in your head to let you know you won’t be sleeping well until November. I still remember that Wolf Parade show from several years back that sat smack dab in the middle of one of the greatest nights out I’ve had in Montreal.
This year’s FrOP kicks off on June 13 with Maritime songbird Jenn Grant and MTL dark rocks Vicious/Delicious, before taking a break until June 18 when Archipelagos, Swift Years and Darling Demaes come storming back. On June 19 there’s ’80s babies Silly Kissers, Jane Vain & The Dark Matter (go find their great debut album) and Brooklyn’s dancey Tanlines who are going to do something special to that park. On June 20, it’s the getting-better-every-time-I-see-them rip rap of Random Recipe and the styling synth robots of Winter Gloves. The shebang wraps up on the 21st with reggae vets Inus Aso and, wait for it, Black Sabbath cover band Back Stabbaathhh. These are just a few picks – check popmontreal.com for the rest.
Of course, the other thing kicking off is Suoni Per Il Popolo, the experimental music fest whose name, I believe, roughly translates into "Swans for the Papadam." It’s a month-long affair, but this weekend, you should post up at Sala: Friday, June 12, is Tim Hecker, a bright but oft-hidden star of Montréal’s electronic music scene, and Saturday the all-out spectacle of Hank & Lily and Call Me Poupée.
The word "cool" gets overused, certainly by me, but there’s no better way to describe the Rock Camp for Girls Montreal Fundraiser Show happening on June 13 at Il Motore. You’ve got the wikkid wiccan hip-hop of Giselle Numba One (feat. Random Recipe), the shadowy mood rock of Nightwood and, what will probably outweird the whole thing, some intense and awesome shit from Little Scream.
Rock Camp for Girls (www.girlsrockcamp.org) has been around for a bit, but this year is the first that Montreal has its own chapter of the week-long day camp where girls aged 10-17 learn an instrument, make a band and write a song that they play at the final blow-out concert. Cool.
Quick hits: This Thursday, June 11, at the Green Room’s beer-fuelled Let’s Get Rad Again soirée, The Great Sabatini and The Desert Owls re-rad things. The night after, June 12, Sunparlour Players bring their new album, Wave North, to Cagibi. The following Thursday (June 18), back at Green Room, a bunch of people from bands you like join forces for the Starvin’ Hungry with Mantle Of Atlas show.
