Halloween week brings a f**kton of killer gigs to town

I have been doing this “here’s what’s happening at Barfly on Tuesday” style of journalism for longer than I would care to admit, and while I have some really good topical intro shit for Halloween that I plow through every year, there are simply too many shows to mention for me to go into some lengthy writer-y shit. So….spooky-ooky, skeletons, blood capsules, fangs, sexy goths, goths are bummed, smashing pumpkins, yadda yadda yadda.

Thursday: Would be kinda kool to make it down to Théâtre Plaza to catch Can-con beefcakes Timber Timbre, huh? Well don’t bother ‘cause it’s totally sold out. No problem ‘cause you can go to the added second show on Friday, right? Wrongemboyo — it’s sold out, too. Get yer shit together maaaaaaannnn.

The perfect merging of black metal, psych-tinged pop and a heaping amount of shoegaze can be found on the classic record Kodama by France’s Alcest. After much elbowing this incredible solo artist has agreed to play the record in its entirety in select cities, including Montreal, where he’s on tonight at Fairmount with Milanku. This will be glorious. 5240 Parc, 9 p.m., $30—$35

For something with a bit more twang and swoon, catch the acoustic jams of Old Time Honey, the Western swing of Stony Loner and his Rhythm Rounders and the spaghetti Western/surf sounds of Bronco Loco at l’Esco. 4461 St-Denis, 9:30 p.m., $10

Friday: For a blast of harsh noise, check out local stalwart noisenik Wapstan with the coldwave drone of le 4e Discours and Maria 010 at la Sotterenea. 4848 St-Laurent, 8 p.m., $8

The beautiful people behind Analogue Addiction are the first out of the gate to get your spook on with a Halloween show featuring Co/ntry with Pop 1280 and the Marquis at their favorite room, l’Esco. 4461 St-Denis, 9 p.m., price unlisted

It’s true the Aussies are taking over (again) so if you like to throw a shrimp on the barbie you can catch Outbackers the Goon Sax with Reviews and Hélène Barbier at the indie-rock-approved Brasserie Beaubien. 73 Beaubien E., 9:30 p.m., $13/$15

If you were looking for the perfect excuse to check out the new Turbo Haüs digs and were planning to check out Juno award winners Ken Mode with Birds in Row, Dark Circles and Laval, you fugged up ’cause it’s sold out.

If you have a hankering for all things fast and heavy you can high-tail it to St-Henri at Traxide to catch Painbow, the Only Wayz, the Pop Sicles and Irradiated Beef. Secret location, 10 p.m., $5

For all of the greased-up duders and posing cheesecakes (or vice versa), Gutter Demons are playing Katacombes when they launch a brand new jammer with Graveyard Strippers and Screaming Demons. Definitely a Halloween gig. 1635 St-Laurent, 8 p.m., $10—$15

Saturday: If you want to check out the masked swampy twang of Orville Peck at la Vitrola with Whitney K and Holding Hands, you should, ’cause nobody is the boss of you. You might even meet some new friends, or at the very least be dealt a catchy tune by one of these music ensembles that you can whistle in the frosty, damp midnight hour. 4602 St-Laurent, 9 p.m., $10/$13

Those of you who like their eggs freaky-side-up, and prefer their jams on the oozy side, will want to nod slack-jawed to the family jams of Tokyo’s psych proggers Kikagaku Moyo at Sala. 4848 St-Laurent, 9 p.m., $15/$20

The perfect punkers behind the Varning fest are hosting Bogota, Colombia’s Muro at Katacombes with Cell, Silex and Repulsives. Punk out! 1635 St-Laurent, 9:30 p.m., $10

If you didn’t get enough twang at the Gutter Demons show and are looking for something a bit more authentic, you can catch the Rockabilly Ranch Party with Emma Williams and the Ramblin’ Men with Filly and Flops and DJ Tony Be Good at l’Esco. 4461 St-Denis, 9 p.m., $10

All attendees of Quebec Deathfest are to report back for duty at l’Astral for Dying Fetus, Incantation, Gatecreeper and Genocide Pact. If you don’t make this scene, you are definitely a poseur and everybody will know. 305 Ste-Catherine E., 7 p.m., $30.50—$36

Monday: If you are a bespectacled, post-rock hump that frequents guitar pedal forums, you will definitely want to drag your backpack to This Will Destroy You at le Ritz with Steve Hauschilot. Hmmm, maybe you’ll meet the love of your life at this gig? Ahahaha, just kidding. Back to your parents’ basement with you. 179 Jean-Talon W., 9 p.m., $20—$23

I don’t know if there are enough pedal nerds in this town to populate not one but two pedal-geek shows on the same night. The second one sees the rapid return of harsh shoegazers A Place to Bury Strangers, who devastated L’Esco a couple of months back. This will be fuggin’ loud and just as nerdy as This Will Destroy You. The geekdom goes down at Fairmount with the droney drones of Aim Low and Kraus. 5240 Parc, 9 p.m., $17

Tuesday: If the Quebec Deathfest didn’t completely shell out your head, you can take what’s left of your grey matter to Foufs for Arsis, Internal Bleeding, Pyrexia, Anglemaker and Within Destruction. Godspeed, metal warrior! 87 Ste-Catherine E., 8 p.m., $30.19

The fifth edition of the Music Blabber series at Barfly (hosted by Mark Goodwin) is happening and will feature an upfront acoustic performance by ex-Priestess, Beat Cops and Uncle Bad Touch member Mikey Heppner. This will be music and discussion without all the stuffiness — Mikey and Mark are great, so this should be super great. 4062 St-Denis, 9 p.m., price unlisted

Imagine if the Buzzcocks, the Scientists and the Gun Club all got into a car crash. Well it seems the young bucks in Acid Dad have gone through the twisted car wreckage and gore and got themselves all dirty. Think I’m overblowing this one? Maybe (they are probably bigger fans of Thee Oh Sees and I doubt they’ve even heard of the Scientists), but make it to l’Esco and see for yourself. Humble openers are Heaters and Video Futur. 4461 St-Denis, 9 p.m., $12

Wednesday: We’ve gotten to the end of the Hammer of the Mods week and still no mention of the big pick of the week? Don’t get yer knickers in a twist ’cause it is definitely Violent Femmes on All Hallow’s Eve with Your Smith at MTelus. As long as they stick to stuffing the set list with their classic debut record and sadly unsung sophomore record Hallowed Ground and leave off anything they’ve done in the past 30-odd years since, this will be golden. 59 Ste-Catherine E., 8 p.m., $49.75

Another perfect Halloween party, post-Violent Femmes (or not), is happening just a stone’s throw away at Turbo Haüs, where the live karaoke band Urockaoke will back your rusty pipes as you ruin all of the songs that CHOM have been playing for decades. 2040 St-Denis, 9 p.m., $10

Current Obsession: T Rex, Tanx

jonathan.cummins@gmail.com