Montréalités Music

Lang Lang was in town last week. On Friday March 13^th, I headed to Place des Arts to attend Lang Lang's recital. Having had the opportunity to see him three years ago, I was eager to witness once again his world-renowned piano skills. In a day and age where pop music is put in the spotlight, it is pleasant to find oneself immersed in sounds that have transcended time and carved their place in the history of music. The modern edge of this recital has to do with the performer who by his twenties was already being praised as one of the best contemporary pianists in the world.

Tricia at the Landmark Showcase Event

"Do what makes you happy. Everytime you make a decision, think if it's going to make you happy in the long run."

In the cozy back room of Le Cagibi café, located in St-Laurent, fans, friends, and family gathered to hear local talent while supporting Jam for Justice. Jam for Justice is a showcase for local talent, where the ticket proceeds go to fund charities. Tricia Fitz, an aspiring Montreal artist graciously agreed to meet me before her set, to chat about music and life.

After a being on hiatus since 2008, the metal-core quintet Fayne returned to the Canadian metal scene at Montreal, QC's La Vitrola on November 20th, debuting their third EP 'The Queen of Kings'.

Like RockFest, Woodstock en Beauce (June 25 to 29, 2014) is a festival where camping is the best way to go. It has also been refered to in the past as "MudFest". The lineup has yet to be revealed, except for PapaRoach. You can purchase your tickets now. They are $75 plus $45 for a camping spot.

Amenisia RockFest has finally announced its lineup for 2014 after selling-out of early-bird week-end passes two days before the announcement was based.

Last year's RockFest got a lot of negative publicity, but this doesn't seem to phase-out true metal fans. It might help that this year, Amnesia RockFest has teamed up with le Festival d'été de Québec and their sister company 3E-evenement to manage the logistical aspect of the RockFest. This proves that bigger organisations believe that Alex Martel who created the RockFest 9 years ago at only 17 years of age has some room to learn and perfect the event. PMiron Consultants (http://pmiron.com/projects/) is another firm with big event experience that will be assisting in the success of this year's RockFest.

Why will I not be going to RockFest? The location of this event is truly the only reason I would not go. In all honesty, I would not want to be camping  in mud and sleeping less than 2 feet from my unknown neighbour. As for the hotels, Amenia RockFest claims that they are sold out a year before the event (I haven't called any hotel to confirm this information).

For those willing to get down and dirty, to wait in line to use a port-o-potty, I say have a blast! Buy your week-end pass now as they will sell-out quickly and are a steel at only $99. But I will also will you luck in finding a place to pitch your tent and park your car! You could even go by boat, but reserve your spot at the marina.

Name change aside, I believe Heavy Montreal will rock this year!

After much wait, Evenko has finally released the schedule for Heavy Montreal. They are doing the release after Rock Fest released it's band list with much disapoint to fans. But Rock Fest has to repair the damage done last summer with bad management while Heavy Montreal had to please their fans with a heavier lineup than the one from which had Avenged Sevenfold as the headliner for one of the nights. I'm not saying Avenged Sevenfold is not good, but it's nowhere as metal as Metallica or Slayer.

This year's Heavy Montreal will have parents and teens. Fans from the early days whom are now in their 40s and 50s and the newer fans who are just entering adulthood. Metallica and Slayer are bands with street cred. They attract fans and sell tickets. Of course, some people say that Slayer is not the same with Dave Lombardo on drums, but I say to hell with that controversy. I saw Slayer at the CEPSUM last fall and Paul Bostaph having replaced Lombardo in the past does an awesome job. And Gary Holt seems to have taken his place after Jeff Hanneman's passing.

Metallica is doing "Metallica by Request" which means the show's songs are selected from the fans requests. *edited* Metallica's set includes 18 songs, 17 of which got the most requests from fans who voted online. To be able to cast your vote for the song you would most like to have on the setlist, make sure to request your special code when purchasing your ticket. You may be wondering about the 18th song? Well, from what I've read online, it's going to be a brand new song, so check YouTube and you might be able to hear it before the show since it'll be performed on the Eureopean tour.

Some people might be disappointed about not having more glam rock bands like there were in the past. But Kiss and Motley Crue didn't belong in a heavy metal festival. Also, a lot of people have complained that Heavy Montreal does not have the "Big 4", but darn it, it's the closest it's ever been. And to have the "Big 4" (Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax are three of the "Big 4"), the band list would need to include Megadeth, and after being part of the festival in 2013 and 2010, we should welcome the band list as is! Some metal fans are also complaining about the punk bands on the list, but I believe both musical styles belong together, if not as unhappy neighbours, maybe as drinking partners.

Weekend passes go on sale this Friday. They will sell at $165 pre-tax and the number is limited, hey Evenko wants to make sure they sell enough. You could also splurge $400 plus taxes for a "prefered seating" on a terasse which is new this year, see image below, as well as "exclusive toilets". If you plan on taking your 10 year-old cousin, note that kids under the age of 10 can go in for free with a paying adult.

For more information, visit http://heavymontreal.com/

I was lucky enough to have been invited to attend the Reverend Horton Heat show at Club Soda on January 22. I was told by a retired music critic that when you attend a concert, watching the crowd is just as important as the show. And observe the crowd, I did! I did not expect such an array of styles, from stonners to drunks, the true blood rockabillies were to be expected. From the perfectly coiffed ladies with their polko-dots outfits to the guys with their pompadour all slicked. You had those who seemed out of place such like the hipsters and the guy with the mohawk. But now on to the music part.

And you thought heavy metal of all sorts was dead and gone thanks to the rise of grunge music in the nineties? You couldn't be further from the truth! Glam metal, sleaze metal, hair metal, pop metal, those are all on the same branch of the heavy metal tree. It's also what you could say started the heavy metal trend.  It's also the most popular branch of heavy metal music with the most exposure. Glam metal had the most to lose when grunge bands started getting record deals.

Sleaze metal, what is it exactly? Sleaze metal was a born from a revival of glam metal in the nineties, some people say Sweeden is the birthplace of the genre. How would someone describe sleaze metal? It's a musical genre with roots in rock music and heavy metal. Don't call sleaze metal hair metal or you might offend someone!

We all thought grunge killed heavy metal, more precisely hair metal, back in the nineties, but lots of bands stuck around or have been reviving from the ashes of metal days.

The members of Sleazy Way Out were kind enough to allow me to interview them during one of their rehearsal session. I got to sit in on part of their rehearsal time, enjoy their music, ask them a few questions and find out more about the band and the individuals who make up the band.

The band consists of: Stacey Sleaze on lead vocals, Cleve Hartwick on guitar and backing vocals, Dany Cardinal on drums and backing vocals and J-F Daigle on bass.

ML: You describe your style as sleaze metal, which bands would you say influence you?

SWO: Cinderella, Hardcore Superstar, Britney Fox, Motley Crue,  Dangerous Toys, L.A. Guns, Reckless Love

ML: Which band do you despise most in metal? No, NickelBack does not fit into this category!

That got the whole band laughing and they had to think about that one. 

Dany: I don't like Death, Gore, M-Core stuff like that, 

J-F: Speed metal, I hate speed metal. 

Cleve: Dillinger Escape Plan it's not our thing. Jazz metal and that kind of music is not for us either. 

Dany: Limp Bizkit as a band they don't like, but they argue it's not metal. 

SWO: We hate Korn, Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit, but those bands should not be considered metal.