Evil Robot Parade

Osheaga 2007 : Revisited

2007-05-06T22:25:00.000-05:00

One of my first posts was about the upcoming edition of the Osheaga Music and Arts Festival on September 8th and 9th 2007 at Parc Jean-Drapeau...and how I was less than impressed with their expensive ticket prices and their "copy/paste" lineup which includes most of the same acts as the V Festival in Toronto (Smashing Pumpkins, Paolo Nutini, Amy Winehouse) plus a few local bands (Stars, Sam Roberts Band, Xavier Caféine).

So needless to say, as of right now, Osheaga 2007 is just not doing it for me.

But I still have hope.

According to the Osheaga Festival's main website, there are going to be some BIG developments on the way this week!

I'll keep you guys posted!

Here's some songs from 2 of the confirmed acts so far:

Peter, Bjorn & John - Let's Call It Off [mp3]
Paolo Nutini - Rewind [mp3]

There's Always Room For More Arcade Fire!

2007-05-06T18:35:00.000-05:00

Kinda went into a post hibernation period there for a bit (this surgery rotation of mine is really doing a number on my sleep cycle...it should be a crime to only sleep 4 1/2 hours a night, I can at least confort myself in the fact that it will be over in 3 weeks!), but I'm back now bringing you the news!

According to www.arcadefire.net, due to an increase in the approved capacity of the Maurice Richard Arena, there will be an additional number of tickets available for our hometown critic darlings' May 12th and 13th shows, which will go on sale on May 7th (i.e Tomorrow!) at 10 AM EDT through admission.com

To all the chronic procrastinators like me who missed out on Arcade Fire tickets the first time...THIS IS YOUR LUCKY DAY! So tonight, do a couple of index finger stretching exercises (also known as finger yoga. I wish I were kidding. I sincerely do.) to get that double click down to mere nanoseconds, get yourself a good night of sleep, wake up at 6 AM sharp, eat a bowl of All Bran (everybody needs fiber!) listen to both Arcade Fire CDs while doing jumping jacks and/or squats just to get the blood flowing, come back here at exactly 10:00 AM EDT and click here...oh and I almost forgot the most important thing you can do to get yourself some Arcade Fire Tickets is :

Don't tell ANYBODY about this.

Be selfish, it's OK. Your friends will understand.

Probably.

Here's two of my favorite songs of the new album to tide you over until tomorrow! :

Arcade Fire - Keep The Car Running [mp3]
Arcade Fire - My Body Is A Cage [mp3]

Arcade Fire's official site
Arcade Fire @ MySpace

Final Fantasy Knows It : Spam Makes The World Go 'Round

2007-05-01T21:25:00.000-05:00

Good Hodgkins reports that violinist extraordinaire/first ever Polaris Prize winner for "He Poos Clouds", Owen Pallett AKA Final Fantasy, released a new song named "Flare Gun" for the twice-yearly art magazine Esopus' 8th compilation, which is entirely dedicated to Spam.

Not not the mystery meat. Spam Emails. OK so that doesn't make it any better.

"Flare Gun" has me seriously pondering if it's possible for a song to be stressful. Because I'm pretty sure my heart rate shot up at least 10 beats per minute while listening to it. With the constant barrages of staccato violin/piano contrasting with Pallett's whisper-like vocals, I closed my eyes and I almost had the feeling that I was right in the middle of the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona.

I know. It's a strange feeling.

While we're heaping praise onto Final Fantasy for some awesome work, here's another Good Hodgkins link to a collaboration between Final Fantasy and ex-Pitchfork writer/MC Cadence Weapon which was recorded during a CBC 2 radio session.

Words cannot explain how good these songs are. (actually they could but I'm too lazy to do so, I've gotta get some sleep eventually!)....so let's just say that it would take me a very long time, therefore many cups of coffee, to explain how good a collaboration this is.

Here's the new song, straight out of the oven!

Final Fantasy - Flare Gun [mp3]

Final Fantasy @ Myspace

Local Band Weekend Trilogy Part Trois : Handsome Furs Hates This City?

2007-04-29T21:23:00.000-05:00

As promised, here's the third (and final) installment of the Local Band Weekend Trilogy! (I know I know it's one day late, ethics papers don't write themselves supposedly. Who knew?)

Handsome Furs

Just so that everybody's on the same page : this is NOT another Spencer Krug side project nor is it a Wolf Parade album with more synthesizers and drum machines.

Oh, this is something else altogether.

The dynamic duo that is Handsome Furs is comprised of the other half of the Wolf Parade songwriting team, Dan Boeckner and his wife Alexei Perry. This whole whirlwind adventure started back in the winter of 2005 and without releasing a SINGLE record, they've already toured Europe with the likes of Modest Mouse and David Cross to name a few.

Just for comparison's sake, if I were to tour Europe today with nary an album to my name, I'd probably be opening for a guy singing nothing but Wham! covers on open mike night...or even worse...I could be opening for the 'Hoff himself. (he's HUGE in Germany supposedly, somebody's gonna have to confirm that for me)

Needless to say, Handsome Furs are good, real good.

They've been hard at work last winter on their new album, "Plague Park", due out on May 22th through Sup Pop Records. The whole record screams melancholic/borderline depressing with its bare bones melodies and Boeckner's haunting vocals, but don't let that fool you, in this case depressing = good. On "What We Had", the minimalist synth/drum machine folk rock is as good a track you'll hear this spring, and with the tons of great songs already out there in 2007, that's saying a lot. It even has some cowbell in it and like my mother always said "A bit of cowbell goes a long way". And on "Handsome Furs Hate This City", amidst all the synth-heavy melodies, there's a real sense of the love/hate dichotomy between our respective urban vs. rural lives.

Hell, just makes me want to move to the North Pole or something.

Hopefully I'll still get cable up there.

Handsome Furs will be having its album launch party on May 28th 2007 @ Club Lambi (buy here)

Triple link bonanza comin' at ya! :

Handsome Furs' Myspace site
Handsome Furs @ Hype Machine
Handsome Furs' first video for "Dumb Animals" @ YouTube (awesome!)

This officially marks the end to my Weekend Trilogy : Questions? Comments? General philosophical musings?

Email me @ evilrobotparade@gmail.com !

The Local Band Weekend Trilogy : Awesomeness Comes In All Shapes & Sizes

2007-04-26T21:38:00.000-05:00

I'd just like to start off by saying that I'll never post about Meat Loaf again.

I promise.

Now that we've got that out of the way, let's talk about 3 local/semi-local bands that will be having album launch parties in the city in the month of May : Shapes & Sizes, Miracle Fortress and Handsome Furs.

Shapes & Sizes

Hailing from Vancouver/Victoria BC, but now calling Montreal QC their home, this indie rock quartet has been garnering some serious attention with their 2006 self-titled debut, so much so that they were picked up in June 2006 by Asthmatic Kitty Records, home of none other than folk pop hero Sufjan Stevens.

Their unique blend of indie rock sets them apart from the pack mainly because their songs have a tendency of switching genres from rock to folk to experimental from song to song and even in mid-song, in an almost schizophrenic manner at times and often with surprisingly amazing results. Shapes & Sizes never seem content in just going from point A to point B, but it's the musical detours that make the songs all the more worthwhile to listen to. I won't pretend that this hasn't been done before, bands like Modest Mouse and label mate Sufjan Stevens being other great examples of genre-bending goodness, but these guys pull it off with gusto.

Their sophomore release "Split Lips, Winning Hips, A Shiner" will be released May 22th 2007 through Asthmatic Kitty Records. "Alone/Alive", the first song released off the new album, is so all over the place musically, it almost gave me a seizure...but in a good way (is there such a thing as a "good" seizure?).

Even better news than an upcoming release from an up-and-coming band is that said up-and-coming band will be coming down to Montreal for a little rock & roll meet-and-greet not once but TWICE in the next 2 months!

So mark your calendars with a big red marker folks, you won't want to forget this :

Shapes & Sizes/Miracle Fortress (double album launch extravaganza!) @ Friendship Cove on May 16th 2007 (buy here)

The National/Shapes & Sizes @ Cabaret Juste Pour Rire on June 4th 2007 (buy here)

Here's a couple of songs to check out (provided by The Yellow Stereo) :

Shapes & Sizes - Alone/Alive [mp3]
Shapes & Sizes - The Taste In My Mouth [mp3]

Here's a link to Shapes & Sizes' Myspace site for songs off their self-titled debut!

I'll be posting the two next installments later this weekend! Stay tuned!

Meat Loaf : The Most Famous Singer/Seasoned Ground Meat Product!

2007-04-25T21:11:00.000-05:00

I really love summer in Montreal : nice weather, drinking "sur les terrasses"....and of course awesome shows! And you better believe that the summer of 2007 will be far from disappointing.

Big names that are coming this summer include : Bob Dylan, The White Stripes, Tool, The Police, Genesis, Rush, Dream Theater and last but not least....Meat Loaf.

I don't know why, but I honestly thought he was dead for some reason.

Go figure.

Alas, I was wrong : Meat Loaf will be in town on August 13th 2007 in all his 80's/90's rock opera glory, promoting his 2006 release "Bat Out Of Hell III : The Monster Is Loose", which I have not listened to...and do not plan to in the immediate future (or any future for that matter).

Goes without saying that I'm not a huge fan (but who is really?), but anyone who can rock a mullet and not look like a complete idiot has my respect and admiration.

But I will admit to singing "I Will Do Anything For Love, But I Won't Do That" in the shower on more than 2 occasions. I was young. I didn't know any better.

Here's to all the shower singers out there :

Björk Scares The Hell Out Of Me.

2007-04-22T13:57:00.000-05:00

Björk was the musical guest on SNL last night, performing two new songs off her new album "Volta", due out on May 7th 2007. Can't say that I've ever been a big Björk fan, but this new album has me intrigued (not quite excited yet) and this for a few reasons:

1) Seven songs were produced by Timbaland, who's been garnering quite the commercial success track record these days with international guilty pleasures such as "Maneater" by Nelly Furtado and "SexyBack" by Justin Timberlake.

2) Congolese folk/alternative/electronic ensemble Konono N°1 collaborated on the album, you just have to listen to a couple of their songs and you'll agree with me that this will definitely make things quite interesting indeed.

3) For someone who's known for not touring all that much to promote her albums, Björk is going to be hitting almost every summer festival out there : Coachella, Glastonbury, Roskilde, even the first edition of the V Festival in Toronto (no word on Osheaga yet...keep your fingers crossed people!).

4) Björk has also launched a "competition" of sorts, in which the winner gets to make the music video for "Innocence". Power to the people = good idea. Nice one Björk

So interesting news from an interesting artist, to say the least...we'll just have to wait and see how it all pans out on May 7th now won't we?

So here you go, clips of her 2 SNL performances for the single "Earth Intruders" (very strange) and "Wanderlust" (pretty good)

Enjoy.

Earth Intruders :

Wanderlust :

The Arctic Monkeys Have Got It Covered.

2007-04-21T12:33:00.000-05:00

Zeon's Music Blog reports that the Arctic Monkeys performed two covers for BBC Radio One's Live Lounge with Jo Whiley : "Take It Or Leave It" by The Strokes and "You Know I'm No Good" by Amy Winehouse. While I'm neither a Strokes fan and even less of a Amy Winehouse one, Arctic Monkeys' take on these two songs make them not only bearable, but actually pretty good.

This especially applies to "No Good", for some reason I find this song really has a James Bond-y kind of feel to it, if 007 was any cool that is. And as far as "Take It Or Leave It" is concerned it's on par with the original musically, but since I'm not much of a fan of Julian Casablanca's voice, the cover comes out on top.

Since we're on the subject, their new single "Brianstorm" is out on YouTube and it's pretty damn good...but you don't need me to tell you that, check it out for yourselves!

The Arctic Monkeys (w/ Be Your Own Pet) will be coming to our fair city on May 12th 2007 @ L'Olympia (buy here)

And now for the covers!

Artic Monkeys - You Know I'm No Good (Amy Winehouse cover)

Artic Monkeys - Take It Or Leave It (The Strokes cover)

4 Ways To Discover New Bands And Be Cooler Than Your Friends

2007-04-20T19:32:00.000-05:00

Alright here's a couple of links for those of you who are tired of listening to the same eleven top 40's bands constantly playing on the radio (*cough* The Fray/Snow Patrol *cough*) :

1-Pandora.com : I've made many a discovery with this amazing website. It's all based on The Music Genome Project, in which the "genes" are various musical attributes (there are literally hundreds of them), such as "use of vocal harmony", "folk influences", "extensive vamping" and hopefully some day "use of cowbell" (and/or "use of more cowbell").

So it's kinda like an online radio station, but not quite. You put in any artist/band or song and the site will start a playlist with many of the same attributes...for some artists it really is uncanny. I tested it with a friend the other day, put in "Black Eyed Peas" and one minute into a non-BEP song, I had him absolutely convinced that said song was their new single. What I'm trying to say is that they're good, real good. And definitely worth checking out.

2-Metacritic.com : One of my other go-to sites, if you want to know how good the new El-P album is or how horrid the new Good Charlotte album is, this is the place to go. What it does is provide access to dozens of albums reviews all in one spot. No more going from music review site to music review site to decide which CD to buy, it's all here. After they've accumulated reviews, they combine them into a Metascore from a scale of 1 to 100. And to give you an example of the validity of their scores :

Highest-scoring album ever : SMiLe by Brian Wilson/Van Lear Rose by Lorretta Lynn/How The West Was Won by Led Zeppelin (tied)

Lowest-scoring album ever : Playing With Fire by Kevin Federline

The results speak for themselves ladies and gentlemen.

3-The Hype Machine : This site is basically a music blog search engine that has new songs by the truck full every single day. The site tracks mp3 blogs and posts them all on the site's front page. There's even a streaming radio that plays all the posted songs, for Pete's sake. I honest to goodness (remind me never to say that again) discovered 5 new bands I had never heard of in about 40 minutes.

Fuckin' ridiculous.

4-Music blogs in general : If you're here, chances are you already knew this one...but I'll say it anyway, blogs have all the newest news about all the newest bands. Hell, they probably have news about bands that don't even exist yet. They're quick that way.

My favorites one are on the site, so check 'em out!

There are tons of other sites that are worthy of your double-clicks, but I've got to keep some material for future posts now don't I?

Know a great music site? Email me @ evilrobotparade@gmail.com!

Hugapalooza 2007...On The Plateau!

2007-04-19T19:02:00.000-05:00

This has absolutely nothing to do with music, but because it's such an awesome idea, I decided to post it up anyway :

The premise is quite simple : you go to Mount-Royal Métro on Saturday April 21st 2007 between 2:30 PM and 5 PM and give random hugs to anybody/everybody who walks by.

As much as I love music, I also love random acts of kindness ( I'm such a softie!), so this kinda stuff is right up my alley. There's no better cure for what ails ya than a lift-you-off-the-ground-squeeze-you-so-hard-your-insides-hurt kind of hug (unless you have a stomach flu, hugs = bad idea). So you better believe that I'm going to be huggin' my ass off on Saturday!

(Music : All The Same by Sick Puppies, who coincidentally are playing @ Main Hall on April 23th 2007)

Here's a link to the official Free Hugs Montreal blog (it's in français though!) And another link to freehugscampaign.org

So if you live near Montreal, come on down to the Plateau and join in on the fun! And don't forget to spread the word!

Email me @ evilrobotparade@gmail.com if you plan to be there!

Young Galaxy : Out Of The Fog, Into The Clouds.

2007-04-18T22:29:00.000-05:00

This post's gonna be short and sweet because I'm in some desperate need for sleep. Word of advice : medical student in his surgery rotation + daily music blog = a very tired individual.

But I've just got to write about yet another amazing band from the eternal fountain of talented bands that is Montreal : Young Galaxy.

Young Galaxy came to our fair city from the BC Coast to record their self-titled album at Breakglass Studios with none other than Jace Lasek, producer/member of The Besnard Lakes, in the summer of 2005 and the spring of 2006. They've also recently signed up with Arts & Crafts, home of The Dears, Stars, The Hidden Cameras and Broken Social Scene.

After listening to their album (which is available on their Myspace site), I have to admit that Young Galaxy's blend of shoegaze/dream pop, which resembles Slowdive in a way, is an acquired taste. The album's definite strength is the overall feeling of dream-like soundscapes on the more shoegaze-inclined songs such as "Swing Your Heartache" and "The Sun's Coming Up And My Plane's Going Down" Where it fails in part is on the more rock-oriented tracks, where the vocals are overshadowed by the expansive melodies.

But here, the lyrics are secondary in my opinion, it's the atmosphere of the album that really shines through. It's in a way the musical equivalent of having a out-of-body experience, slowly floating as distant voices and spacious melodies come at you from all directions. So overall, Young Galaxy's first CD is a very good listen and I'll definitely be following this band's progress because I firmly believe that they have amazing potential in the very near future.

Young Galaxy's self-titled album is due out on April 24th 2007 and they will opening for The Frames on April 21st 2007 @ Le National (buy tickets here)

So check it out will ya?

The Bad Plus : Where Jazz/Fusion Meets Prog Rock...Strange Yet Awesome.

2007-04-17T05:17:00.000-05:00

I like jazz music. There. I said it. Mock me if you must, but you might reconsider after this post!

Top 40 Music Sucks! reports that jazz/fusion trio The Bad Plus (w/ Mike Stern) will be coming to The International Jazz Festival in Montreal on June 28th 2007.

And that's a good thing.

But be warned : these guys aren't your run-of-the-mill, beret-wearing, cappuccino-sipping jazz/fusion trio (N.B. I have nothing against people who wear berets and/or drink cappuccino, some of my best friends wear berets and/or drink cappuccino)

I started listening to The Bad Plus when their critically-acclaimed 2003 release, These Are The Vistas came out on Columbia Records. Their originals songs as well as their jazz-infused rock and pop classics are, to me, akin to throwing spaghetti to the wall and hoping it sticks.

And fuck does it ever.

Their cover of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" had me quite apprehensive at first, but taken for what it is, it's a pretty awesome song. I just love it how everything goes from being so mellow one second, to totally chaotic the next. Blissfully chaotic even.

On "Give", their 2004 release, was right up there with "Vistas" and this for one reason, explained in two words :

Iron Man

Their Black Sabbath cover once again proves to be quite an interesting take on the original (you can never best the Sabbath though. Even Sabbath can't best the Sabbath).

The Bad Plus's next release, due May 8th 2007, is called PROG, and for good reason. It covers songs by legends like Tears For Fears, David Bowie and of course....RUSH. Their cover of Tom Sawyer once again puts a new spin on an old classic (and a favorite of mine too!)

Who knew that jazz could rock so hard?

Here's a link to clips of songs from PROG as well as comments from the band.

And your daily free samples :

The Bad Plus - Physical Cities [mp3]

The Bad Plus - Tom Sawyer [mp3]

No I am not going to write a Bright Eyes review. There, I said it.

2007-04-15T18:31:00.000-05:00

I just listened to the new Bright Eyes CD and of course there are already too many reviews out there (here's one from Popmatters and one from Pitchfork) for me to throw my hat in the ring on this one without endlessly repeating what everybody has already said.

So I wont.

For the record, my feelings for this record lie somewhere in between both aforementioned reviews : a classic with cracks at the seams....I'm just not sure if the cracks add to the beauty or take away from it. While the arrangements and the production are as polished as anything you'll hear this year (for better or for worse), the lyrics, as always with Conor Oberst, are sung with such yearning, with such frailty that tiny pieces of your heart break after each song. And while I'm at it, with lyrics like:

"Little soldier, little insect/ You know war, it has no heart/ It will kill you in the sunshine/ Or just as happily in the dark"

"No One Would Riot For Less" should be a required listen for a certain war-hungry president to the south of the Great White North if you ask me.

I've decided to do a bit of research on Conor Oberst's title for the record, Cassadaga, which refers to a 112-year old spiritual retreat situated in Central Florida. Here's an excerpt of the history of the community :

As a young man from New York, George Colby was told during a séance that he would someday be instrumental in founding a Spiritualist community in the South.

That prophecy was fulfilled in 1875, when Colby was led through the wilderness of Central Florida by his spirit guide "Seneca" to an area surrounded by uncommon hills.

Colby homesteaded land and in 1895 deeded over 35 acres to the newly incorporated Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp Meeting Association.

Colby was ill with TB when he arrived in the area. Rumor has it that a small spring located on his homestead provided the elixir that healed him.

Volusia County has purchased 110 acres of adjoining property with the goal of preserving sensitive environmental species and the historical significance of the site.

So without going through all the details, this place has quite the history indeed. Hmmm...a community surrounded by ghosts and spiritual folk...Oh the stories they could tell.

I'm glad that Conor Oberst listened.

Bright Eyes - Four Winds [mp3]

Bright Eyes - No One Would Riot For Less [mp3]

Of Mouse and Man...Man - Upcoming April Shows!

2007-04-15T12:31:00.000-05:00

Here's a list of upcoming shows coming to the city of Montréal in April :

April 15th 2007
Joseph Arthur & The Lonely Astronauts @ La Tulipe buy here

April 17th 2007
Kaiser Chiefs/The Walkmen/The Annuals @ Spectrum buy here
Panthers/Starving Hungry/Devil Eyes @ Zoobizarre buy here

April 20th 2007
People for Audio (CD launch)/Torngat @ Main Hall buy here

April 21st 2007
The Frames/Young Galaxy @ Le National buy here

April 22nd 2007
Gary Jules @ Le National buy here
Think About Life/Clyffs/Bold Saber @ Sala Rossa buy here

April 24th 2007
Deerhunter/Feu Thérèse/Les Enfants Sauvages @ Sala Rossa buy here

April 25th 2007
Modest Mouse/Love as Laughter/Man Man @ Métropolis buy here

April 28th 2007
Finger Eleven/Strata/Inward Eye @ Le National buy here

I'm still on the fence as to which of these shows I'm going to check out (all of the above would be the answer if I weren't so strapped for cash right now!)

I'm always looking for new people to check out shows with, seeing as most of the time I end up going solo because according to most of my MD friends "medical students don't have time to go to shows".

Huh. Go figure.

Email me @ evilrobotparade@gmail.com for more info!

Patrick Krief's stolen stuff

2007-04-14T15:32:00.000-05:00

Here's a link to The Dears guitarist/solo artist Patrick Krief's Myspace site. Patrick got a whole lot of equipment (18 000$ worth) stolen from his rehearsal space in Montreal on April 2nd 2007. He's most bummed about losing his White Fender Stratocaster (pictured in photo) and is offering 1000$ no questions asked for its return.

I think we can all agree that getting stuff stolen isn't fun and stealing other people's stuff is NOT COOL!

How you can help:

1) Find/Give back Patrick's guitar
2) Donate money to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's research, where 1$ of each EP sold on www.kriefmusic.com goes to
3) Give Patrick some love and/or hugs if you see him

If Lindsey Buckingham can be a Diva, so can I.

2007-04-14T14:27:00.000-05:00

For those of you who haven't heard, Fleetwood Mac guitarist Linsdey Buckingham cancelled a show in Lincoln, NE because the theater wouldn't let him use his own equipment. He spent an hour doing a sound check, rehearsed a couple songs....and just bolted, an hour before show time.

Amazing. Simply amazing.

If I were to quit my job because the pencil sharpener in my office doesn't sharpen my pens just the way I like them, I would be labeled a idiot/douchebag in no time. So imagine that scenario multiplied by the number of people (about 600) who were supposed to attend his show at the Rococo Theatre, which he referred to as a "f--king sh-thole" by the way.

Lindsey, didn't you mother ever teach you that it's easier to catch flies with honey than with a whiny attitude?

I decided to apply the Buckingham communication method this morning with my roommate...bad idea. Asking for toast is fine, asking for the crusts to be removed, strawberry jelly to be spread in the likeness of legendary actor Leonard Nimoy and then whining about the end result was probably crossing the line.

Probably.

Brings back memories...

2007-04-13T22:40:00.000-05:00

Alternative Press reports that Reel Big Fish and Less than Jake will be co-headlining a summer North American tour and they will be coming to Quebec!....Quebec City that is....on July 8th 2007 for the Festival d'Été de Québec. Against All Authority and Streetlight Manifesto will be along for the ride too.

It's really been too damn long since I've listened to any RBF or LTJ, mostly because I've sorta outgrown my ska phase over the years. I fondly remember the last time I saw Reel Big Fish in concert, which was probably about 6 years ago, in Quebec City no less! Man those were the days...hundreds of sweaty adolescents in NOFX and No Use T-shirts skanking their collective asses off without a care in the world. Pure bliss.

I not so fondly remember that the opening band for RBF at the time was none other than our favorite pop-punk Canadian exports, Simple Plan. I never quite understood how they became popular actually, although smart money's on a pact with the Devil (does anyone have a better answer?) Back then, they were just starting out, so they were even worse than they are now...if that's humanly possible. In retrospect, I should've just shoved metal forks in my ears right then and there while I still had the chance.

You know what? I might just go check it out, for old time's sake.

Viva los indie shops!!

2007-04-12T22:11:00.000-05:00

Just came across an interesting article in today's Montreal Gazette. I honestly believe that places like L'Oblique, Cheap Thrills and Atom Heart truly are the heart and soul of the music scene in Montreal. Most of these places have been like a second home to me since I've moved here 4 years ago. It's always reassuring to see that at least the "little guys" have their priorities straight.

The music always comes before the money.

You takin' notes HMV?

This snow's really bummin' me out.

2007-04-12T20:59:00.000-05:00

This was definitely a bad day to put on a nice pair of shoes. Hell, it was a bad day to put on a nice pair of anything. Once again, Montreal gets pelted with tons of the white stuff...in April. I'd put up a photo, but you guys probably wouldn't believe me anyway (unless you live here).

We've all seen The Day After Tomorrow (sadly), therefore we all know what comes next : tornadoes, tsunamis, hurricanes and hailstones the size of minivans.

Where's Dennis Quaid when you need him?

The Osheaga Music and Arts Festival : Prise Deux

2007-04-11T21:41:00.000-05:00

Ok so here's the scoop : The Oshe aga Music And Arts Festival will be back for its second year September 8 & 9 2007 at Parc Jean-Drapeau...and I have to say that I'm a bit concerned. I'm well aware that they've only released a few of the acts playing this year, the biggest announcement being of course the long-awaited return of The Smashing Pumpkins (yes!) after a 7-year hiatus, but asking 150$ for weekend passes up front? With not even a fourth of the bands announced?? I kinda have a feeling that the guys in the front office jumped the gun on this one.

In comparison, last year's June pre-sale weekend passes were 80$ with Ben Harper, The Flaming Lips, Sonic Youth, Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley, Wolf Parade, Dinosaur Jr. and 20 other bands already on the bill. This year, with artists like The Pumpkins, Placebo, Amy Winehouse and local/semi-local bands Stars, Sam Roberts and Xavier Caféine, comparing 2006 to 2007 right now is like comparing apples...to slightly inferior apples.

As much as I hate the idea of comparing Osheaga to the Bonnaroo Festival, the facts speak for themselves : 4-day festival for 184.50 USD, with a lineup so good it would bring Chuck Norris to tears. Other music festivals who are getting it right (or almost right) : The Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, IL and the Sasquatch Music Festival in George, WA.

So I just find it kinda hard to fork over my "hard-earned" student loan money for Osheaga at this point, but I have faith that the organisers will come through, like they did last year, and blow us all into next Tuesday.

Come rain, sleet or snow on September 8 & 9th 2007 (if we can get snow in April, I'm willing to believe anything!), let us rock like nobody's business.

And hope we have something good to rock to.

Who needs a logo?

2007-04-10T19:28:00.000-05:00

Today I unveil to you, the masses, my very first contest...a challenge if you must. This blog is going to need a logo/picture that can fully represent the Evil Robot Parade. (Lasers score bonus points, of course) So I leave it to you, future readers, who hopefully have better artistic talents than yours truly, to come up with something simply incredible. You guys and gals can do it!!

And of course, no contest comes without a prize so...the winner will earn himself/herself an autographed David Hasselhoff CD!!! (Hmmm....on second thought....how about a sincere thank you on my blog instead? Way less embarrassing and/or psychologically damaging for everybody.)

Good Luck!

Blogging is overrated, yet here I am.

2007-04-10T15:30:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Evil Robot Parade, a blog serving all music lovers, may they love rock, rap, alternative, folk, electronic...in my book there are only two kinds of music : good music and anything that plays on commercial radio (i.e bad music)...ok ok so I'm getting a bit carried away, I'm a fan of pop music as much as the next 23 year-old, but I try to keep it on the dance floor...or in the shower, where it rightfully belongs.

So seeing as : 1) I'm currently living in Montreal and 2) I'm a medical student in his 2-month surgery rotation who is getting little to no sleep (mostly the latter), I'm going to be concentrating on the goings-on of the Montreal music scene in hopes that I will find more collaborators for the blog in the near future...so from here on end, I'm going to be injecting coffee and/or Red Bull directly into my veins!!! All for you guys!!!

Alright enough chit-chat, let's get to business :

Mark June 14th on your calendars people, 'tis be the return of Simply Saucer!!!

Who are Simply Saucer you ask? Only the best band you've (probably) never heard of. In the summer of 1975, four Hamiltonians unleashed their blend of balls to the wall psychedelic garage rock goodness from the rooftop of the Lloyd D. Jackson Shopping Centre in Hamilton, Ontario. Despite having such an incredibly original sound for their time, especially north of the border, they dwelled in relative obscurity until 1979 when the band broke up. Sonic Unyon released "Cyborgs revisited" in 1989 and it garnered relative success, being named "Best Canadian LP ever" by Alternative Press.

Led by singer/guitarist Edgar Breau, who channels equal parts Iggy Pop, Syd Barrett, Lou Reed with an energy so vicious, so raw that people who saw them back in the 70's probably still suffer from a bad case of socksblownoffatitis (definition : chronic foot inflammation following said person's socks being blown off with violent force). The most amazing thing about what Simply Saucer created is that years later, not only does it hold up to standards, it easily surpasses most 70's-early 80's revivalist bands out there today. 27 long years later, the core members of the band reunited for one set in December 2006 which turned into a full-on reunion, with a CD and many live shows in the very near future.

So let me repeat, June 14th 2007 @ Sala Rossa : Simply Saucer, The Besnard Lakes (another excellent reason to go) and Plastic Crimewave Sound...all for 15$!!!...I wasn't born the first time these guys were around, glad I didn't make that mistake twice! Hope to see you there!

Listen to a few songs here (thank you CBC Radio 3)