M for MONTREAL 2022 | Your DAILY DOSE from its official selection
Your daily guide to the official selection of M for Montreal 2022
It’s a little known fact that the two weeks following Halloween are always, hands down, one of the busiest hypest weekends in terms of entertainment year in and year out. It’s the final call for all pre-Christmas shenanigans, it’s ringing in the end of the festival season and the start of the frosty one. It’s one last goodbye to the sun, and the acceptance of the frost to come. If you’re wondering what to do this weekend, we’ve got you covered.
Basically this breakdown can be divided into two major categories, M for Montreal, and Everything else. It’s a 17th anniversary for M and after a 2 years of adolescent angst caused by a global existential crisis they are back and firing on all cylinders, so what can we expect?
Besides opportunities to rub elbows and take seminars with the best and brightest the Québec music industry has to offer at various industry mixers and seminars with a few shows lined up, and here are some recommendations.
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 16
Starting off strong is Toronto based Witch Prophet headlining a show with Bibi Club, N Nao and Valence as openers of sorts.
A soulful, sultry voiced, neo-funk-soul, up and comer, Witch Prophet is like the musical love child of SADE, and the Electric Lady Studios Soulquarians with all the swag and flowiness one would want or expect from the inspirations she proudly wears on her sleeves.
Not necessarily as crowning or timeless a stand out as her predecessors, she carries the torch and can carry a tune, so if you feel like tuning into something akin to the late 90’s gospel of Questlove, but you also want to be outside in the world and hear songs you haven’t fallen in love with yet, check her out at Le Ministère around 11:30pm, the show starts at 8 with the aforementioned whites (Bibi Club, N Nao & Valence) doing some… white people sh*t, I guess? Ya know, long winded with super long notes and like, humming… takes three minutes before you hear an instrument… Valence is kinda good in that radio music sense…
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 17
Thursday Clay and Friends are playing Club Soda. Clay and Friends sounds like what would happen if the cast of friends were Québécois surfers that did drugs in high school. They basically sound like less eclectic or “hardcore” Radio Radio with a little bit of Ariane Moffat? They got great quirky lyrics, and a wide range of sounds that play well on the radio while you’re driving around. The kind of songs you feel you’ve heard before and kinda enjoy but can’t really remember afterwards. Say what you will but Québec music artists tend to be solid poets and these guys are no exception. Their music is effortlessly breezy with airy singy vocals and catchy progressions. They’re a hit and the kids love em’ so if you’re under 35 and want to discover the local vibe, check em’ out, meet some people, everyone’s parents own cottage, they’re a great crowd.
Check out our interview with them here and performing tonight Thursday November. 17th at Club Soda at 10pm or 22h00 for the “franc-ly” inclined.
Also, if you get a chance to hop on the Mix Bus you should give it a go, I hear it’s a great party. I recommend sneaking some hard liqs in there, and not to tell anyone.
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 18
Friday is when things get a little crazy, M for Montreal will regale you with dozens of events with some highlights being Albert Dalton, and Kamikaze Nurse but if you’re feeling a little bit more uppity and artistic, check out C. Diab, he plays with acoustic guitar with a bow, or what I refer to as a violin stick! Is it a gimmick? No! It’s high-art you oafish pedestrian pleb, and he travels the world and makes mad stacks doing it, and that means something.
If you’re feeling even more artistically inclined and legitimately curious about discovering some lesser marketed local talent you must definitely check out RAW Montreal presents Portals, this thing happening far from the beaten path out in NDG is always an authentic blast with DJ’s, painters, photographers, artists and chillers of all walks of life sharing in an experience and showing what their passions are.
Across town over at the Petit Campus, you can always enjoy the musical stylings of the man, the legend, Johnny Griffin, who will be opening up for Astral Gates with Dave Traina the drummer from The Damn Truth. This guy is gold on the guitar, platinum on the mics with the baby blues that make women’s hearts swoon.
Then there’s the Pink Floyd exhibit to consider, and the Basquiat exhibit being in town, and this whole thing falling on my brother’s birthday, it’s gonna be a hard one to survive folks, it’s a big weekend, but it’ll be a good one.
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 19
I’ll see you all on the other side. I’m certain I’ll have something to say about how it went, and I’d love to hear your thoughts on how it went for you.
Peace!
