Magazine

While Summer has announced itself to Montrealers through its many heat waves, the four-bill Summer Solstice show at L’Hemisphere Gauche on Beaubien kicked off the official first day of Summer with live performances from local bands, as well as those from Ottawa and Toronto. The Ottawa three-piece band Backstreet Dragon opened the night with songs from the latest album Kick Rocks and gave the crowd a sneak peek at some soon-to-be released summer tunes. Followed by Joey Bird and the Toronto band Roach, the night ended with a vibrant performance by the Montreal group Societal Siege. 

The post-punk genre has seen a notable resurgence in recent years, with bands like Fontaines D.C. and Dry Cleaning breathing new life into the sound and captivating a whole new generation of music lovers. Among these acts are Detroit rockers Protomartyr, who have solidified their place in this revival over their 10+ years in the scene, amassing a considerable following along the way.

These devoted fans stormed La Tulipe in droves Sunday night, eager to see the band perform tracks off their latest album, Formal Growth in the Desert, which dropped just days prior.

Death to All. A field of beans. Thousands of screeching fans throw the hammer down as the world’s best Chuck Schuldiner lookalike assumes the position. Wild.

Tribute bands are horrible. The kind of people who choose to dress up as famous musicians just because they’re bored of pulling 40 hours a week in a stained office chair make me sick. I mean sure, who doesn’t look in the mirror and look back at themselves with a stiff Jim Morrison face every once in a while, but there really are a lot of perverts out there.

Live music is a strange form of entertainment, if you really stop to consider it. As an audience member, yes, you pay for the privilege of being entertained by a band or performer whose works you enjoy, and yes, ideally, these performers earn something in exchange for that work. But to get on stage and run through your most known songs, night after night for months, sometimes year after year, is a strange desire. It would seem to me that for most musicians, for whom private jets and sold out stadiums aren't the norm, the promise of payment isn't generally enough -- as cliche as it sounds, you really have to do it for the love.