The best shows at M for Montreal 2013

Maica Mia
 
Every music festival, if not every show that isn’t free, has a hierarchy when it comes to access. There are the ticket buyers and the guest-listed, the bracelet-wearers and the badge-holders, the media, the VIP and the backstage pass-bearers. Unless you’re one of the booked musicians, a member of the media, an industry delegate or M staff, you don’t have an in to M for Montreal, the festival of (mostly) Montreal music happening in the third week of November. And I’m going to assume that you don’t have unlimited cash to buy tickets to every show. But let’s say you’d at least consider seeing a show a day. Well, here are my number-one picks for each of the festival’s four nights.
 
Murray Lightburn, Yamantaka // Sonic Titan, Seoul

If you missed the dramatic theatrical experience that was Dears singer Murray Lightburn’s live solo debut at Pop Montreal in September (the one that elicited a number of Kanye comparisons), you’ve got another chance. And speaking of rock opera, conceptual “noh wave” collective Yamantaka // Sonic Titan is a sound and sight to behold. And then there’s Seoul, formerly known as Cherry Chapstick, dishing out the groovy, gauzy  ’80s jamz. At la Sala Rossa (4848 St-Laurent), Wednesday, Nov. 20, 9:30 p.m., $18.25

 
A Tribe Called Red, Tommy Kruise

Ottawa-based producer/DJ crew A Tribe Called Red have taken native-colonial crossover sounds to electronic territory and to the dancefloor, incorporating a range of styles, tempos and vibes into their tracks and sets, always referencing their heritage with samples of pow-wow drums and vocals. And then there’s local producer/DJ Tommy Kruise, a dude whose mixtape (Memphis Confidential) and DJ sets have become so popular that his dirty early ’90s skater kid look is being copied—we’ve seen doppelgangers around, seriously. At SAT (1201 St-Laurent), Thursday, Nov. 21, 10 p.m., $17.50

 
Duchess Says, We Are Wolves, Solids

There’s so much sweetness at M on Friday, not the least of which is the Icelandic showcase we’re co-presenting (feat. Hermigervill, Prins Póló, Hjaltalin and locals Thus:Owls). How Sad and Boats, and Krief, Passwords and the High Dials are two other great shows happening Friday, but for guaranteed souped-up synth-punk furor, you can’t go wrong with Duchess Says and We Are Wolves (two local bands who’ve been plying their trade for a decade) and, as featured in last month’s issue of Cult MTL, the two-man bombast that is Solids. At Cabaret Underworld (1403 Ste-Elisabeth), Friday, Nov. 22, 10 p.m., $15

 
Folly & the Hunter, Syngja, Maica Mia, Avec le Soleil Sortant de sa Bouche

Chamber strangeness, indie folk, doom-rock wonder and tightrope funk are what’s happening at this local showcase, stiff competition for the bigger-name bill happening on the festival’s closing night: Young Galaxy, Miracle Fortress and Valleys. The latter is nothing if not a strong show, but (especially if you’ve seen those bands before) this collection of emerging local talent is one to see. At Casa del Popolo (4873 St-Laurent), Saturday, Nov. 23, 9 p.m., $10 ■

 
See the complete M for Montreal program here