Montreal’s got a new psych fest

Woo Hee Wahhhh, Now that the leaves are springing up on the branches we can now nestle into our fest season starting off with the Distorsion fest that starts tonight and holds out over the weekend at the Matahari Loft and l’Esco. Psych heads will definitely want to get hip to this.

Thursday: You can get your Distorsion feet wet by making your way to Matahari Loft to catch Atsuko Chiba with Happymovie and Pawa Up First. 1673 Mont-Royal E., 9 p.m., $10 ($20 for a festival pass)

Friday: Distorsion keeps things locked down at Matahari Loft with local psych warlords UUBBUURRUU and Paul Jacobs, Crosss and Racoon Fighter keeping the joint rockin’. 1673 Mont-Royal E., 9 p.m., $10 ($20 for a festival pass)

Local pop wizard Caféine will pack ’em in at Quai des Brumes with hard rockers Mardi Noir and the screaming rock of Teen Seizure. 4481 St-Denis, 10 p.m., $10

Take in some cinematic electronica at Casa, where Experimental Housewife play with CMD and the droney drones of Echo Beach. 4873 St-Laurent, 9:30 p.m., $8

Turbo Haus will be starting up their grand slam weekend with the final show by local heavy hitters Alaskan with the Discord of a Forgotten Sketch, Greber and Hopeless Youth shovelling some dirt on their grave. 5011 Notre-Dame W., 9 p.m., $7/$10

If not for my big pick on Monday, the almighty dub genius Lee Scratch Perry and his Subatomic Sound System would be my first choice this week. Regardless, really don’t want to miss this rare chance to see this legend at Club Soda. 1225 St-Laurent, 8 p.m., $35

Saturday: Distorsion hits its half-way mark with a doozy: the High Dials play Matahari Loft with IDALG, Technical Kidman, Tonnes and Body Meta. 1673 Mont-Royal E., 9 p.m., $10 (only $20 for a festival pass)

Turbo Haus give a lethal combination punch to the gut with the raucous rawk of Public Animal with Yardlets, Mountain Dust and Dead Ranch opening up. 5011 Notre-Dame W., 10:30 p.m., $7/$11

Local faves Solids will party like it’s 1995 when they launch a new rekkid at le Ritz with Stove, Clique and Animal Faces. 179 Jean-Talon W., 9:30 p.m., $12/$15

Sunday: Distorsion finally winds it down for its first year with a BBQ at l’Esco. After stuffing your piehole with dogs and burgs, you can bug out a live show from Eliza, Adam Strangler and Anemone with DJ Max la Mitraille playing all the psych-baked hits until last call. 4467 St-Denis, 9 p.m., $20

Metal heads can celebrate the Sabbath with Hate Eternal, Vital Remains, Black Fast, Inanimate Existence, AbouT:BlanK and Patent at metal’s favourite home, Foufs. 87 Ste-Catherine E., 9 p.m., $10

Monday: Well here it is kids, my big pick of the week: Chelsea Wolfe returns to town at Fairmount Theatre with A Dead Forest Index. True, this is the second time she’s hitting up Montreal on the same tour, but you can never get enough of Chelsea’s signature doom and gloom. 5240 Parc, 9 p.m., $18/$20

Tuesday: Fans of smash and bash indie pop you can head to la Vitrola to see Twin Peaks with White Reaper and Jimmy Whispers. 4602 St-Laurent, 9 p.m., $12/$15

Deadly Mardi DIY Shows series at Rockette continues with Fightface. 4479 St-Denis, 10 p.m., $5/PWYC

Wednesday: The first edition of Grind Haus at Turbo Haus promises a screening of Z-grade horror movies that most of the world never got a chance to see. On Wednesday you can scream along with the frightfully hilarious Frank Henenlotter’s 1990 shocker Frankenhooker. 5011 Notre-Dame W., 7:30 p.m., $5/PWYC

Punkers in the know should be able to find the secret location of a gig featuring Sweden’s DS-13 with Façade, Cloaca and Ultrarat. 9 p.m., $8

Current Obsession: Dead Boys, Young Loud and Snotty

jonathan.cummins@gmail.com