Wednesday, Sept. 16

Micachu and the Shapes

It’s the first day of POP Montreal festival of music, film, art, fashion and partying, and there is no slow burn — there is WAY too much to do tonight, from the opening party to multiple vernissages to shows by Coeur de Pirate, Lakes of Canada, Born Ruffians and Micachu & the Shapes to Fashion POP to the musical and culinary action at the POP Clubhouse. For genre-based recommendations, see our punk/rock/metal/noise columnist’s picks for today here and our hip hop columnist’s festival picks here. See today’s complete POP program right here.

Take advantage of guided tours of some of the exhibitions installed for the biennial Le Mois de la Photo, with free hour-long tours taking place every Wed–Sun at exhibit headquarters Parisian Laundry, and every Wednesday at Complexe de Gaspé. Today’s tours take place at Complexe de Gaspé, 5445 de Gaspé, 2:45 p.m. and at Parisian Laundry, 3550 St-Antoine W., 5:30 p.m., free. Registration required.

See what’s in store at locally-sourced fashion and accessories purveyor Lowell at a 5à7 launch of their fall collections for women and men. Keep the party going afterwards at Maison Sociale with DJ Maddie Ross. Launch at Lowell, 5364 St-Laurent, 5–7 p.m., afterparty at Maison Sociale, 5386 St-Laurent, 7 p.m., both events free.

Take a pause from popping long enough to check out the vernissage for Bow Town at Monastiraki, a group show of radical softness featuring over 40 local and international artists, curated by Starchild Stela and Zuzu Knew. Check out our spotlight on the show here. 5478 St-Laurent, 6 p.m., free

Drawn & Quarterly hosts a new edition of the Graphic Novel Book Club, highlighting Phoebe Gloeckner’s Diary of a Teenage Girl, a largely autobiographical depiction of 15 year old Minnie through her attempts to navigate sexuality, substances and other temptations of young adulthood. 211 Bernard W., 7–9 p.m., free

The MainLine Theatre opens the new season with science fiction thriller God Is an Iron, adapted from the novel Mindkiller by Spider Robinson, starring Tali Brady and Gordon Watts as strangers who help each other reckon with their lost pasts and futures. 3997 St-Laurent, 8 p.m., $20/$18 students, runs to Sept. 20.