The Stoned Poet

 Je suis loin d'être un punk, un sauveur de planète, un anarchiste ou tout autre movement aux allures loufouques qui permettraient de sauver la planète. La seule rébellion que je mène est celle d'écrire pour ceux qui s'investissent au front. Ceux qui vont sur scène pour parler ou chanter par rapport aux problème qui nous menaces. Et c'est ce que j'ai été faire l'autre soir en allant voir Canette et Mycelium au Quai des Brumes le 22 Octobre en soirée.   J'ai connu Canette en les bookant un beau jour au B7 avec d'autres artistes. Mycelium, je ne conaissais point, mais j'avais beaucoup entendu parlé. Alors que j'arrive, la soirée commence, le folk sale se sent dans l'air. Partout, il y les folks, dressed in colors, revendiquant tout et rien, ne demandant qu'une chose, avoir du plaisir, de la bière ou un fromage volé de l'épicerie. Se soir, au quai, ils auront eu la bière, le plaisir et pour le fromage je ne suis pas sûr. Mais bon, revenn...

Il est 20 h. Je me dirige vers le Petit Campus, une salle dont je n'ai pas vraiment de souvenir mémorable, avec comme seule arme à la main, une bière qui goûte le jus de pied me rappelant que le vice n'amène jamais rien de bon. Merde, espérons que la soirée soit meilleure.  Dans le cadre des funérailles de Nova pour le groupe Désaccords, Béatitude ouvre la soirée avec un mélange aussi singulier que ambitieux. Quelque part entre Robert Charlebois dans sa période psychédélique, Harmonium et Michel Fugain et le Big Bazar, le groupe propose un voyage musical qui semble tout droit sorti d’une époque où les musiciens n’avaient pas peur de perdre le contrôle. Les costumes rappellent d’ailleurs les premières années de Pink Floyd, alors que Syd Barrett était encore aux commandes. Avec Estuaire , première pièce progressive du set, Béatitude expose immédiatement ses influences. L’articulation rappelle Maneige, tandis que le breakdown plonge dans les eaux plus troubles de King Crimson et s...

 In Narnia, a young toddler goes in a closet and comes out in a totally different world, while it may not exactly be possible in this world, some places currate the same whimsical, magical feeling. If you ever go to l' Escogriffe , there's a great possibility you might experience that feeling of discovering something totally unexpected. Yesterday, on the 9th October, I went down to discover a band called Metropole , I saw Armoire and revisited a classic, Serial Milk .   Unlike the heroes of Narnia, I had no sword no lion to guide me, I simply had alcool, ears and a lot of folks around me to enjoy my night with. Around 9, the show started, I'd never seen Metropole, I knew Billy from Somet, but else than that, nada. I hate french rock, I hate it, few bands get to tickle my senses. Metropole's music wasn't exactly my cup of tea, but their performance was. They had fun on stage, the songs were at times almost a bit nostalgic and heartwarming, a mix of Cowboy Fringants ...

 It was a rainy night, I arrived at the venue late, I missed Shields Up For Six , I got lost walking around to find my place. Upon arrival, I met Sietch , we hanged around, played minigolf with others and eventually came back inside.    To Be Continued hopped on stage, all the way from Toronto. They threw together a strange and energetic mix of nu-metal, hardcore, industrial, emo, thrash, and drum-and-bass influences. There’s a distinctly DJ-driven element to the sound, with samples and electronic textures coming from a Novation setup alongside a basic Yamaha keyboard. The guitars range from a Hello Kitty-shaped guitar to a Guild SG-style instrument, giving the stage itself a slightly absurd visual character. The songs moved between softer passages and explosive breakdowns, with melodic vocals cutting through the heavier sections. There were moments that recalled the aggression of Dillinger Escape Plan, the melodic heaviness of Slipknot, and the sudden, almost chaotic b...

 I arrived at the venue around 7:00pm. My mind was well unaware of the upcoming side effects of a microdose of shrooms, recommended by a good doctor who'd told me it could fix my dance issues on the dancefloor.Should you ever happen to have lazy uncoordinated feets, I can now guarantee you that no drugs could fix such problems. I'm making sure everything is going according to plans, since I was organizing the night, the space on stage was very limited, thus I had to plan and reassure everything would work. Back in the 60's a lot of bands would've fought making sure they got their amps on stage, but luckily, in 2026 violence has been alienated and talking it out was the solution. An hour before the show starts, Matteo, singer and guitarist for Mildew, asks me if he can smash his guitar on stage. I look at him and respond, '' It's your show, you are the pilot, fuck whatever they say, fuck the rules, fuck everything, it's all about impressing the spectators...

  DoomsDay festival , a festival only two years old, yet they've made quite a place for punks and rockers and mostly moshers to go hang out and forget all about the outside world.  Their first edition was such a great success last year, they had the courage to restart it this summer. This year's lineup featured, CIDB, BRAINDOWN, HIGH ANXIETY, CITIZEN VICIOUS, TAXI GIRL, DIVINE BLOODLINE, HOOD RATE, LA GACHETTE, RATPISS, POSTLUVEN, VAS-Y LINE, CHÛZO, WODOS, CRACHAT, SMOKESPELL, DOWNTOWN FIASCO, SELF CONTROL, JAIL, MORSURE, REACTION, THEE SOREHEADS, SCARLET WIVES, PSYCHOTIX, THE LAST ROCKERS and finally BARBE A PAPA. A lineup featuring bands who have been around the ranging from the last five years to new formed bands. This said, the festival is only accessible for those who knew the location, there's only an Instagram page about it so it's fair enough to say that they want it for the people, no posers no bullshit and they want to stay local and I would add underground in...

On the 30th April, a special gathering was happening at La Sottorenea . Bands who book shows on week days are always on a gamble. Who knows how many people will show up after work, knowing they have to come in to work on the next day. But as summer approaches, people tend to go out more and that means that every booked shows week or weekend can benefice a larger crowd. I was one of those people who was working on Friday but decided that the beautiful weather and sun was enough to get me out of my basement for the night. So I grabbed my suit, ran to my car and drove right up to La Sottorenea in a hurry. Serial Milk , a band who's gaining more attention following the release of their brilliant EP titled Animal Disguise, where celebrating their new music accompanied of In Headlights and Escape. I was quite curious to see Escape as I'd never heard of em', In Headlights I'd seen at B7 previously but was not quite familiar with their sound. Upon arrival, parking found, and ...

  It's early. I wake up feeling strung up. On my floor lies a Bowie book, a Black Sabbath magazine on their elastic fazed out career, a Beatles vinyl and many more relics from the past. Lately, I know that I have to hang on to the present. No amount of old memories will help me seek my freedom of mind and body. The world runs on fuel and god knows fuel burns fast. To look upon the old days is futile. As I brush my teeth, I ask myself what has come out recently in terms of music, what can I listen to, to get a grip of the new age. As a critique or whatever it is I do, I've desperately need to let go of my Beatles Idolization, I can't constantly compare everything to the Beatles. Times have change, the only similarity is the imminent threat of war. War never changes, innit what the old folk say? As I prop my phone screen open, I open Spotify, and bang, a notification comes up, Serial Milk have released a brand new EP titled Animal Disguise . Is my phone listening to my though...

Seum , a stoner sludge doom metal band from Montreal have recently released a new album titled Parking Life . To celebrate the new release, the band decided to perform four shows in metro stations around Montreal just before their performance at La Sottorenea on May 2nd. It's a bold move, unique, unforseen, wild and most of all satisfying for us fans to have such crazy times in the metro. Their performances were wild, packed with action and nasty riffs, people even moshed at times. The question remains, was it a good idea? Was it worth the hustle? Will it happen again? First of all, two famous acts have done so in the past, Yo Yo Ma a world renowed cellist, and Stromae in 2013 which saw his performance start in the metro and gradually move to Place des Arts. Around the world, Jimmy Fallon helped U2, Miley Cirus, Ed Sheeran and more to perform undercover around New York's subways. What makes these performances so special is the element of surprise and the fact that usually so...

  C'est une soirée chaude, une humeur dans l'aire qui nous colle un sourire. J'arrive, après treize milles nids-de-poules, des travaux et des ponts par-ci par-là. N'oublions pas, j'arrive de la Rive-sud de Montréal, et ce soir, je suis à Sainte-Thérèse pour voir un groupe nommé Picbois , qui ouvre pour Cordial . La soirée prend son envol aux alentours de 8h30, tout le peuple ce présente. Ce peuple, c'est les amis des amis. Des jeunes étudiants du Cégep Lionel-Groulx qui est tout près de ou se tient le spectacle. C'est aussi les habitués du Saint-Graal qui viennent, curieux de savoir quel surprise les attends sur stage. Je parle des habitués parce que le Saint-Graal, c'est pas juste un pub, c'est un lieu de rassemblement au tour de la musique. Il y a les lundis jazz, il y a des spectacles, et une population d'étudiants qui ne cessent de vouloir jouer. Le Saint-Graal est un point central d'exposition pour les musiciens qui gravitent dans le coi...

On the 24th of January, t'was a cold, minus thirty fucking degrees, outside weather. Luckily, no need for any speedball, downers or uppers or whatsoever creative cocktails or drugs to warm up. For the news came to my ears, Oddcharm were playing at Quai des Brumes alongside Rien D'alarmant . So I drove up to Quai des Brumes, arriving at 9h30 exactly, as the first band started. I bolt in, a guy in a Hawain dress welcomes me. I can't help but think, well he's unaware of the cold outside. Turns out, as I fix him a bit more, I realize it's Thomas the singer of Oddcharm. Having seen the band once, I now believe the dress is all about a stage play, something is brewing in the back of his mind. I get pass the stage, rumble is echoing on the scene but I dart towards the bar, I'm thirsty and I'm freezing, what better than a beer? Pause, is that what defines an alcoholic? To find every reason possible to have a beer? Maybe so, I don't know, I've been everythi...

 It was a cold Friday night. Only option was to get in the car with friends and drive to Montreal. There, lay all hopes of finding twindling and fiddling to do. There'd be no beauties nor druggies outside with the cold weather, only option was to find a venue to scuffle in and drink and fade in the crown. That meant money would be needed, and I had all but money honestly. But nonetheless we went, drove, stopped at Atomic Cafe, gave a guitar back to a friend, bought a Pink Floyd Echoes 1965-2025 Magazine reviewing the band's entire career. I couldn't help but start reading it and sure it inspired more psyched lsd induced ideas to my brain. Possibilities seemed infinite. Thus, an idea came, I could try and bargain a ticket for the gang to go to a show. The show in question I wanted to see was, Sunday Riot Club, Street Panther and The Space Wizards @ L'Escogriffe. My friends Antoine and Jordan seemed unbothered of the uncome, but I was determined to get in, whatever the co...