Concert Reviews

Chat Pile is a band I have wanted to see for years. I have been following them since their second EP Remove Your Skin, Please blew up in the world of heavy music just in time for 17-year-old me to stumble upon it. When they played at Le Ritz last year, the date snuck up on me and I forgot to grab a ticket in time. When I saw that they were returning so soon, with a new album under their belts, I wouldn’t make the same mistake. 

Years ago in American high school, there was a pretty girl in my year whose friends were friends with my friends; she played guitar and worked at the perfume store next to the kratom cafe I frequented. Fast forward seven years and that girl is a touring musician selling out venues to screaming fans and I’m getting guest-listed for her show. Eliza McLamb’s debut album Going Through It, released on her birthday at the beginning of this year, is emotionally raw and wrecked.

Empress Of’s birthday-eve show at Bar Le Ritz closed out the North American leg of her tour for her newest album For Your Consideration. The show was opened by Casey MQ, a former Torontonian DJ turned Los Angeles producer, whose soft vocals cooed into the microphone and coaxed the dispersed audience toward the stage.

    David Cross Band’s performance at Club Soda was one of the most alienating evenings of live music I have ever endured. It was in most ways, objectively lame, but much of it was so endearing or otherwise strange that this feeling of inadequacy was easy to forget about. I have seldom felt so out of place in my entire life.

For over a decade now, Danny Brown’s name has been unavoidable when discussing the state of modern hip-hop. Catering to a more dedicated audience than your average rapper, Brown has carved a name for himself as a legendary MC, rapping with ease over beats that would give your favourite lyricist a heart attack.

If someone was a teenager who was into music and on social media in 2020, it’s likely that they might’ve been exposed to the brightly coloured indie aesthetic and its pairing with Declan Mckenna’s hit song “Brazil”. While the melodic indie anthem that criticizes the 2014 FIFA World Cup has become McKenna’s magnum opus, don't be too quick to dismiss his talent for cynical lyrics, distorted guitar riffs, and energetic stage presence. 

Arriving at the venue not too long before 8:00 PM proved to be just in the nick of time, which was a stark reminder of how much condo developers in Montréal have changed the live music landscape. In light of the recent closing of La Tulipe and the loss of Le Divan Orange back in 2017, both over noise complaints by new neighbours, venues like Bar "Le Ritz" P.D.B seem to be pushing the start times earlier to avoid the same consequence.