Show picks of the week (June 5 – 11)

Suoni Per Il Popolo continues this week, with some choice picks including J Mascis’ stoner metal side project Heavy Blanet at La Vitrola, and up-and-coming Montreal post-rock outfit Big Brave at Casa del Popolo. For our top 10 Suoni festival picks, see our full preview here. This weekalso features the return of the aggro-comedian Doug Stanhope at Club Soda, as well as Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, who are sure to tear the roof off of Theatre Fairmount. Check out our full list of this week’s picks below.

Saturday, June 6

Heavy Blanket at La Vitrola
Following his more subdued solo show the night before, J Mascis will unleash his barrage of ear-melting guitar solos and sludgy riffs with his Heavy Blanket side-project, also featuring members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Bring the best earplugs money can buy, and be ready to zone out to J’s ultimate stoner metal soundtrack. Openers include Comet Control (featuring members of the great Quest for Fire) and Slow Dawn. 8:30 pm, $13/$15, 4602 St-Laurent.

Monday, June 8 

Big Brave at Casa del Popolo
Montreal’s Big Brave make epic post-rock, with their thunderous guitar and drums interplay set against vocalist Robin Faye’s ethereal vocals. Hopefully we’ll get to hear something off of their upcoming LP for Southern Lord at this show. Openers include Thee Silver Mt. Zion and Big Brave collaborator Jessica Moss, and instrumental post-hardcore act Christ. 8:00 pm, $10/$12, 4871 St-Laurent.

Tuesday, June 9

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion at Theatre Fairmount
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion always put on a ridiculous live show, with Jon Spencer alternately playing the role of an amped-up preacher and hype-man for his own band. Their latest LP,  Freedom Tower – No Wave Dance Party 2015, finds the band bashing out their potent mix of punk/blues/RN’B/hip hop with a renewed drive, which bodes well for their show here this week. Indiana’s synth punks We Are Hex open up. 9:00 pm, $20/$23, 5240 Parc.

Wednesday, June 10

Doug Stanhope at Club Soda
This week’s can’t-miss show is the return of comedian Doug Stanhope, one of the most fearless comics working today. A caustic, in-your-face performer with a knack for often taking jokes to some incredibly dark places, Stanhope’s libertarian politics and blatant disregard for the audience’s comfort make him an incredibly compelling stand-up, regardless of whether or not you share all of his views. See for yourself why Stanhope is often spoken of with the same reverence as names like Lenny Bruce and George Carlin, when he brings his latest tour to Club Soda, with openers Darren Henwood and Dan Derkson. 7:30, $45, 1225 St-Laurent.

Salad Days movie screening at Foufounes Electriques
Director Scott Crawford’s Salad Days traces the evolution of D.C.’s punk scene from it’s early thrashy punk era, through to the explosion of hardcore and the straight-edge movement, and the subsequent Revolution Summer era of post-hardcore, while also exploring the motivations of the D.I.Y. culture that was birthed in the Nation’s Capital. There have been a slew of punk and hardcore documentaries recently, but Salad Days does a great job of exploring many of the contradictions within D.C.’s varied punk scene, and never comes across as simply a bunch of aging talking heads rambling on about the good old days. A DVD release has yet to be announced, so don’t miss this one-off Montreal screening. Where better to celebrate the glory days of straight-edge than at Foufs? 8:00 pm, $8, 87 Sainte Catherine East.