7 Montreal shows to satisfy your hunger for heaviosity this week

I have been pounding out these weekly gig announcements for longer than I would care to admit, but even after all of these years keeping an eye on the clubs, I’ve never seen so many shows cancelling. Every week, I’m warning you kindly yet needy readers of cancelled shows and tours (which are probably, mostly COVID-related, but who knows?). In keeping with recent tradition, if you were hoping to catch Hissing with Suffering Hour and Aeviterne at Turbo Haüs tonight, better take a look elsewhere as that gigger is not going to be happening. Not to fret though, as there’s plenty of action happening this week, and oddly enough it’s not all stacked on the weekend.

Saturday: Although Turbo Haüs has lost their Friday night gig, they’ll more than make it up on the real rad night of the weekend with an evening of raging hardcore angst care of Buffalo’s Violent Way, locals la Gachette, who launch their new jammer Dans les Tranchées, with Calgary’s the Enforcers and ex-King Cans Molotov MTL. If that wasn’t enough, you really need to stick around to catch an all-vinyl DJ set directly after the show, with selections of crucial punk rock, soul and mod sides to entertain you right to last call. 2040 St-Denis, show: 7 p.m., $15, DJ night: 11:30 p.m., free

NYC’s Substitute are coming to town, but you’ll want to show up a little early to dig into the heavy- handed and tripped out support from locals Boar God. If you like your fuzz flying high and your reverb ringing, Boar God could be your fave new local band. Opening up at le Ritz is Ruby Slipper. 179 Jean-Talon W., 7:30 p.m., $21.56

Sunday: This usually dormant night of the week has got some solid gigs happening on the Sabbath and seeing as it’s a long weekend, you can rage completely guilt-free. For a guaranteed awesome time, you’ll want to make it to le Ritz to catch a killer dance party of a different stripe. Get all of the floor filler predictability out of your head and freak out on the new beats/Italo/Electro being driven by NYC’s Facets with the hardest working man in showbiz, Mickey Dagger, along with Boris Leonardo and Automelodi’s Lazlo. 179 Jean-Talon W., 9 p.m., $5 (!)

A definite no-brainer for those of you who like your pop music with an edge of psych, drone, noise and other left-of-centre elements, the legendary indie psych band Animal Collective is playing le Studio TD. Getting your mind lubed up before the A.C. is Tomato Flower. Now you would think this would be my big pick of the week, but read on my furry friend for darker and heavier things are still afoot. 305 Ste-Catherine W., 7 p.m., $45

Tuesday: If you dig the slow strum and croon, you can really get your mellow on to songwriter Jake Smith, better known as the White Buffalo. The singer-songwriter genre is indeed an overcrowded one and rife with hacks sprung direct from open mic nights, but the White Buffalo’s baritone hush is undeniable. Opening at Théâtre Corona is Montrealer Bud Rice. 2490 Notre-Dame W., 7 p.m., $44

Okay now, I kind of hinted that my big pick would be dripping in heaviosity and I guess that was half right as my big picks are a tie, two acts that in some ways couldn’t be more different, and at the same time share so much in common. If you’re as frustrated as I am over the current heavy psych set, you have to catch the pure stoner psych-out that is Elder. Yes, the entire audience will be made up of music store clerks and pedal pushin’ geeks, but these guys just get it — be it dipping their toes in unabashed prog while bathing in soundscapes to just straight out riffin’ with the best of ‘em. You will not want to miss this gigger at Foufs. Making the night even tighter are openers Belzebong and Dreadnought. If you ever wondered what Isis (the band!) might’ve turned into if they didn’t call it a day in the early oughts, this very well could be it. Jamophobes beware. 87 Ste-Catherine E., 7:30 p.m., $28.66

Thursday: My other big pick of the week is the return of the cinemascope sounds of Perturbator, who will obliterate your frontal lobes at Théâtre Corona. If you haven’t caught the sweet synth lines of this one-man powerhouse, you need to get into this right now. Take every amazing Giallo film soundtrack, forgotten goth tunes and obscure ’80s 8-bit jammers, mix well, and you’ll start to scratch at the surface. Again, if you’re in the right headspace, you should be able to pull as much out of this gig as you will at Elder. Keeping things awesome is the electronic stomp of Health (!!!), with Street Sects. 2490 Notre-Dame W., 7 p.m., $38

Current Obsession: Glenn Branca, The Ascension

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