Montreal Rocks

Theatre Fairmount, inches from the stage, and it felt like the whole room was inside the set. Trace Amount hit with punishing industrial intensity, clubdrugs brought the goth-synth glow, and The Black Queen ran Fever Daydream front to back for its 10th anniversary, dark, seductive, and totally immersive.

Read our review.

The Black Queen + clubdrugs + Trace Amount @ Theatre Fairmount On Wednesday, May 27, Montreal’s intimate Theatre Fairmount exploded into a haze of metal, industrial noise, gothic synths, and nostalgia as Trace Amount, clubdrugs, and The Black Queen let loose. It was my first time at the Fairmount, and in a room that small, the stage sits only inches away. You...

Superheaven returned to Montreal after a decade away and made it count.

"Tight, loud, heavy" doesn't do it justice — stop-motion claymation visuals, a crowd-stopping moment of genuine humanity, and three bands that proved modern rock is very much alive.

Read our review.

Superheaven + Modern Color + All Under Heaven @ Studio TD With their triumphant return to Canada after a decade-long absence, and a new record under their belt after about as much time, Montreal served as the kickoff city for Superheaven’s North American run with Modern Color and All Under Heaven. They tore through the Studio TD stage to give us an eveni...

The Fiery Furnaces at Bar Le Ritz PDB felt like a stripped-down cabaret-circus, all keyboard melodies and Eleanor Friedberger’s “crisp, serious vocal” cutting through the room.

Plus a perfect 24-hour-notice opener from local singer-songwriter Hanako. Read our review.

The Fiery Furnaces + Hanako @ Bar le Ritz It’s been a whirlwind couple of days for local singer-songwriter Hanako: quitting her job in the Old Port, then invited to open this show at 24 hours’ notice. Still, she doesn’t seem the slightest bit nervous, chatting with the crowd between each slice of her mellow, Mitski-esque minimalist ch...

Simple Plan back in Montreal for F1 weekend, proving their songs still land even in front of a crowd full of F1 caps. "Even in an unusual setting, their songs still land."

For fans of: early 2000s pop-punk and Montreal homecomings.

Simple Plan + Matt Lang @ F1 Montreal Simple Plan Brings Pop-Punk Nostalgia to the F1 Crowd The first night of the F1 concert series in Montreal brought together two very different Canadian acts: Matt Lang and Simple Plan. It was a strong double bill, mixing country-rock energy with the kind of pop-punk nostalgia that Simple Plan has be...