Allah have mercy on your ears

A rundown of hot and heavy Montreal shows off the festival circuit this week, from local record launches and tour kick-off gigs to deep-fried sludge from the Southern U.S.

facebookJust as Suoni and Rockfest ends and Jazz Fest begins, things heat up in the clubs with a ton of great shows happening off the festival circuit. Southern-fried-sludge heads are definitely going to want to take a note of a particularly heavy show tonight (Thursday).

Thursday: I’ll save you sludgelords some sleuthing down this list and just get right to my big pick of the week: NOLA Sludge slingers Crowbar lay it down heavy and slow with Battlecross, Lord Dying and Warsenal at Sala. Trainspotters will know that Crowbar features metal/punk legend Kirk Windstein from Down etc. but Crowbar is his true home. 4848 St-Laurent, 8:30 p.m., $20

(I’ve said this before, but those of you who want to check out more Southern sludge should peep last year’s amazing Noisey documentary NOLA: Life, Death, & Heavy Blues From the Bayou here.)

Fans of the heavy can catch Dethfox on their tour kickoff at Katacombes, with hardcore band Drip and melodic punk from new kids on the block Infractions (formerly the Beagles). 1635 St-Laurent, 8 p.m.

For more psych-tinged sounds, see A Devil’s Din, the Empty Yellers and the Octaves and Eagles at l’Esco. 4467 St-Denis, 8 p.m., $10

The mighty Barfly hosts the expert craft of the Mighty Ffud with Halifax’s Kilmore and gray-in-the-temple scenesters Sawtooth. 4062 St-Laurent, 9 p.m.

As hinted at last week, Hua Li will release her Za Zhong EP at la Vitrola with Marshia Celina and Zyhkeira. 4602 St-Laurent, 9 p.m., $10 

Friday: This is a no-brainer for all psych/punk heads: Vomit Squad come out of hiding to cave in craniums at Bar le Pastel with the underrated Suppressors. 426 Rachel E., 9:30 p.m.

Saturday: Gulfer will launch their new rekkid and kick off their U.S. tour while headlining over a mountain of bands at the fine new digs of Turbo Haüs. Buckle up for this huge list of openers: Ohio’s Narrow/Arrow, Black Love, Quaaludes, Commander Clark, Beantown’s Strange Mangers, Florida’s Sea Cycles and Pluum. Phew, may Allah have mercy on your ears. (See Cult MTL‘s interview with Gulfer here.) 5011 Notre-Dame W., 5 p.m., $10/$13

A band that hasn’t gigged nearly enough since their stint backing up Crass’s Penny Rimbaud is We R Dying 2 Kill U, with the metallic beat-down of Squalor and the Poison Squad at Brasserie Beaubien. 73 Beaubien E., 9 p.m., $5

Sunday: Crowbar playing on Thursday night is nothing to sneeze at, but another show I will definitely be at is a solo performance from Swans’ multi-instrumentalist and underwear model Thor Harris, who will fry your brain before taking off to Europe to meet up with Swans again. Opening up the night is the amazing drone act Insect Ark and locals Echo Beach. This will be stunning. (See Cult MTL’s interview with Harris here.) 4602 St-Laurent, 9 p.m., $10
 
Current Obsession: Television, Live at the Piccadilly Inn 1975

Jonathan.cummins@gmail.com