Party different this St. Patrick’s Day

Well, this week we run into the booze-fuelled holiday that is St. Patrick’s Day, and Katacombes will play host to a festival celebrating all things street punk, Oi and, uh, booze-y. My brahs at Turbo Haüs also host a grand slam weekend with two of Montreal’s heaviest bands playing gigs. Choose wisely, young grasshopper.

Thursday: During the Taverne tour a month ago, I stumbled into an upstairs attic that had recently opened its doors to gigs on the eastern edge of Mont-Royal Avenue. With the gig already in full swing, I was blown away by a proggy band that miraculously managed to cleave away from the pretension of prog and fill the void with a sense of fun, psychedelic exploration peppered with masterful improv moments. That band was Black Le Gary. This trio is scary good and is a perfect launching pad for people who hate prog. The gig tonight — co-presented by Greenland and new promoters in town MXQC (Montreal by Quebec) — is at Divan Orange and has Black Bambi opening. Just go, it will be great. 4234 St-Laurent, 9 p.m., $10

Friday: MXQC continue their weekend takeover at Quai des Brumes with a show featuring locals Look Vibrant, Femme Accident and Old Ghost, a co-pro with promoters Analogue Addiction. 4481 St-Denis, 9 p.m., $10

As mentioned above, one of the heaviest bands in the city — the Great Sabatini — will crush your skull at Turbo Haüs with help from their heavy friends Swarm of Spheres, Itnch and Fightface. This will be bludgeoning. 5011 Notre-Dame W., 9:30 p.m., $9/$12

The first night of the Oi! St. Patrick’s Weekend fest at Katacombes gets underway with the U.K.’s Red Alert, Assault & Battery, Pittsburgh’s No Time, Philly’s Thunder and Glory and locals Lysergic warming up the stage. 1635 St-Laurent, 8 p.m., $20 ($35 weekend pass)

Saturday: The boots and braces crew are obviously going to make this a whole weekend of Oi-fuelled pint-swinging anthems at Katacombes. On the second and final night of the Oi! St. Patrick’s Weekend, you can catch the U.K.’s Hardskin with the reunion of O.G. NYC SHARPS the Press, Philly’s Duffy’s Cut and locals King Cans and Mauvaise Conduite. 1635 St-Laurent, 8 p.m., $20 ($35 weekend pass)

If you made it to the Great Sabatini show at Turbo on Friday and want to keep your ears ringing, you can dig into a little bit more darkness via Toronto’s IRN, with the ultra-heavy black metal of one of the best bands in the city — Spectral Wound — and Profane Order. (This is happening at Turbo Haüs, natch.) 5011 Notre-Dame W., 9 p.m., $10

For a night of some punk-fuelled rock, head to one of the newer venues in town, Mademoiselle, for Special Ops, the Bombs, House of Haunt and the Feedbackers. 5171 Parc, 9 p.m., $10

MXQC keep swinging, along with co-promoters Parlebande, with another Quai des Brumes gig featuring Zen Bamboo, Riverbeds and Penny Diving. 4481 St-Denis, 9 p.m., $10

Sunday: For a night of great shoegaze, catch ex-Besnard Laker Richard White’s new joint Traces with No Sun, Color Wheel and Trench at God’s favourite watering hole, Brasserie Beaubien. 73 Beaubien E., 9 p.m., price unlisted

Monday: If you haven’t made it down to Casa for the metal weekly Electric Funeral, this would be a good night to break the seal. DJ Annick is behind the decks and will be spinning the best of proto-, doom, black metal etc. 4873 St-Laurent, 10 p.m., free

Tuesday: It’s sure to be packed at Rialto for the Allah Las, the Babe Rainbow and Anemone. 5723 Parc, 9 p.m., $26/$30, all ages

Current Obsession: Various Artists, A Lethal Dose of Hard Psych

jonathan.cummins@gmail.com