THURSDAY 3
One of the prime movers behind Montreal’s indie comedy scene is stand-up George Hamilton Braithwaite, who will host the final instalment of his Rock Bottom Comedy Night series tonight at Barfly (4062 St-Laurent) with guest comedian Sandrine Charbonneau. The theme tonight is "Rock Bottom Comedy Apocalypse" – in others words, says Braithwaite, "In the spirit of the Olympic Stadium, this event is pay all you can."
FRIDAY 4
Montreal ska punks The Planet Smashers headline Club Soda (1225 St-Laurent) tonight with opening acts The Dreadnoughts from Vancouver and The Resignators from Australia. Up in Mile End, Articule (262 Fairmount W.) continues their popular and fun Soup and Screen series with soup graciously donated by Boui-Boui and a screening of the classic Hollywood epic The Agony and the Ecstasy, about Michelangelo painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and starring Charlton Heston and Rex Harrison ($5). Grilled cheese for an extra $2. Over in NDG at Sub V (5666 Sherbrooke W.), it’s Beats & Cuts, an expo of original stencil art by Kevin McDermott, from 7 to 9 p.m. Free admission.
SATURDAY 5
When British rock critics called Senegalese axeman Habib Koité the "African Clapton," Koité told Hour it is Clapton who should be called the "British Habib Koité." Either way, the master guitarist joins world-music legend Oliver Mutukudzi and Afel Bocoum at Club Soda (1225 St-Laurent) tonight for the Acoustic Africa tour. Over at Place des Arts, the professional taiko drumming troupe Kodo (straight from Sado Island, Japan) wind down their two-night stand Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier ($47-$72). Showtime: 8 p.m.
SUNDAY 6
The Montreal Film Festival on the Environment runs at Cinéma du Parc (3575 Parc Ave.) until March 10. It opens March 4 at 8 p.m. with the Quebec premiere of Even the Rain (Tambien la lluvia) starring Gael Garcia Bernal, continues with the March 5 screening of Seeking the Current with an in-person introduction by Roy Dupuis (5 p.m.), and today features a 2:30 p.m. screening of the doc The Devil Operation, followed by the 3:45 p.m. panel "Is there real progress towards freedom and social justice in Latin America?" Surf to www.cinemaduparc.com for all festival details. Today is also your last chance to see John Gray and Eric Peterson star in the iconic Canadian musical Billy Bishop Goes to War at the Segal Theatre (5170 Côte-Ste-Catherine).
MONDAY 7
Opera lovers rejoice! In The Consul – presented tonight by Opéra de Montréal’s Atelier lyrique (a training ground for young professional opera singers) and the McGill Chamber Orchestra at the majestic Monument-National (1182 St-Laurent) – Gian Carlo Menotti created a modern-day tragedy in which indifference and bureaucracy are more deadly than guns. In the consul’s waiting room, anxious men and women hope to obtain the magic piece of paper that will allow them to leave their totalitarian country. Repeats on March 9, 10 and 12 at 8 p.m. Surf to www.operademontreal.com. Over at Casa del Popolo (4873 St-Laurent), check out indie pop-rockers Telekinesis with openers Pepper Rabbit and Panache ($11 at 8:30 p.m.).
TUESDAY 8
Today is International Women’s Day and what better way to celebrate than to spend an evening with some of Montreal’s finest women blues performers for the Women in Blues concert at the Cabaret Lion d’Or (1676 Ontario E., corner Papineau), the prohibition-era nightclub built by Chicago mobster and bootlegger Al Capone. Performers tonight are Annie Pelletier, Zazoo Rock’n Blues, Clare Keays, Mama Groove, Caroline Venor, Hannah Gerber Family and The Carolyn Fe Blues Band (Fe’s song The Curse is easily one of the nastiest blues songs of all time!). Tickets cost $30, and showtime is 8 p.m.
WEDNESDAY 9
The terrific must-see 250-artifact expo Sainte-Catherine Street Makes the Headlines! exhibition tracing the 250-year history of Montreal’s historic main artery continues at Old Montreal’s Pointe-à-Callière Museum of Archaeology (350 Place Royale). There are six sections on Montreal’s old red-light district, nightlife, downtown shopping, public transport (did you know Ste-Cat had two-way traffic until 1966?) and, of course, the Montreal Forum, which is packed with eye-popping memorabilia, including the second mask worn by Habs goalie Jacques Plante. There is also a section on the Great Fire of 1852, which burnt down a quarter of the city. Also, don’t miss the new multi-million-dollar Yours Truly, Montreal permanent multimedia show on your way in.
2 comments
Apart from the Matrix-lite musings of The Adjustment Bureau which opened this past Friday and, lest I forget, Int’l Woman’s Day today (don’t forget to give all of the ladies in your life mad props!), it’s bit of a uneventful week really. I know droves of people congregated outside Theatre St-Denis Saturday morning clamoring for the opportunity to score tics to see Ray Lamontagne (with bourbon-stained vocalist Brandi Carlisle in the opening slot) so that was a focal point for fans of sublime indie alt-folk in particular and great music in general. Then there’s always the matter of tonight’s game against Boston – always an ferocious rivalry, made that much more so by the fisticuffs exchanged in their last meeting, not to mention the jockeying betwixt the teams for first place. Should make for both an intense and entertaining game and, for my money, is arguably the highlight of an otherwise slow week.
You got that right! On an otherwise slow week, pretty much everyone was glued to their set to watch yet another epic clash between the much hated Bruins and da beloved Habs! And it was very much a decisive Canadiens win as they dumped Boston 4 – 1. Still it may well prove to be a costly win in view of the cheap shot delivered to Pacioretty ; a blatantly illegal (and unconscionable) hit that knocked our promising young power forward not only out of the game but also unconscious and into the hospital. Only time will tell as to the severity of the injury but in the interests of fairness, justice and safety, I’d argue that Chara should be sitting in the press box (or even a prison cell!) for at least as long as Pacioretty is sidelined.