Show picks of the week (June 12 – 18)

The Suoni Per Il Popolo festival continues this week, offering some great shows including Zola Jesus, Fred and Toody of Dead Moon, Sheer Mag, and more. Fans of serious RN’R will have some tough choices this week, with Beat Cops / Jacco Gardner / Guantanamo Baywatch all playing at venues spread right across the city on Tuesday, and Obliterations / Coliseum and Ken Mode / Fight Amp facing off on Wednesday. Check out our full list of this coming week’s recommended shows below.

Friday, June 12

Fred and Toody Duo (Dead Moon) at Sala Rossa
Famed 80’s underground garage punk legends Dead Moon officially called it quits back in 2006, with the husband and wife team of Fred and Toody Cole morphing into the equally powerful Pierced Arrows. This show will feature Fred and Toody performing acoustic versions of songs from all eras of their deep discography. For the uninitiated, you still have time to check out Unknown Passage: The Dead Moon Story, a great comprehensive documentary about the band.
New Yorks’s Cheena, and Montreal’s No Negative open. 9:00pm, $13/$15, 4848 St-Laurent.

Saturday, June 13

Omar Souleyman at Theatre Fairmount
Former Syrian wedding singer Omar Souleyman has taken traditional Syrian dance music worldwide, incorporating elements of current electronic music into the mix to create a truly unique sound. While Syria is often only discussed in relation to the country’s dire political situation, Souleyman serves as an ambassador for the country’s rich musical heritage. Tasseomancy and DJ’s BODY META: International Discothèque open. 9:00 pm, 5240 Parc Avenue.

Sunday, June 14

Sheer Mag at La Vitrola
Philly’s Sheer Mag play a stripped-down take on 70’s rock, led by vocalist Christina Halliday’s powerful vocals. Their “Fan the Flames” single sounds like The Jackson Five playing a blown-out basement show, showing the band’s knack for putting a fresh spin on a classic sound. New York’s The Jeanies, and Montreal’s Hand Cream open. 8:00 pm, $10/$12, 4602 St-Laurent.

Monday, June 15

Dorthia Cottrell at Casa del Popolo
Dorthia Cottrell is the vocalist for Richmond’s doom-metal torchbearers Windhand, yet her solo work finds her creating eerie Americana country folk, not dissimilar to Townes Van Zandt and Gram Parsons. Molly Sweeney opens. 8:00 pm, $10/$12, 4873 St-Laurent.

Tuesday, June 16

Beat Cops at Turbo Haus
Montreal’s Beat Cops feature members of Priestess, The Stills, Trigger Effect, and Breastfeeders doing their take on 70’s riff rock. They launch their debut LP, Mean Streets, at the newly-christened Turbo Haus with guests TBA. 5011 Notre Dame Ouest.

Jacco Gardner at Bar le Ritz PDB
Dutch multi-instrumentalist Jacco Gardner has a penchant for creating intricate psychedelic pop, with his low-key vocals careening within his sprawling compositions. With albums recorded primarily with vintage instruments he’s collected form around the world, we’ll have a chance to see how his elaborate recordings transmit to the stage when he rolls into Bar le Ritz this week, with opener Calvin Love. 9:00 pm, $12/$14, 179 Jean Talon West.

Guantanamo Baywatch at L’Escogriffe
Portland’s Guantanamo Baywatch started off as thrashy surf punk band, but have since evolved into a fully-formed 60’s-infused rock band, incorporating elements of soul and country music into their bag of tricks. New Brunswick’s Astral Gunk and local one-man band Paul Jacobs open up. 9:00 pm, $8, 4467 saint-Denis. 

Zola Jesus at Sala Rossa
Zola Jesus‘ music is a hodgepodge of styles, with Nika Roza Danilova’s mesmerizing vocals set against a musical backdrop ranging from dark chamber rock to ebullient synth pop. Her set at Phi Centre a few months back received rave reviews, so expect this show to sell out quickly. Local industrial project Âmes Sanglantes opens. 8:00 pm, $20, 4848 St-Laurent.

Wednesday, June 17

Coliseum and Obliterations at Sala Rossa
Vancouver’s White Lung were initially supposed to headline this bill, but they’ve had to cancel all of their current Canadian tour dates to due to an immigration issue with vocalist Mish Way. However, her husband’s band, LA Black Flag disciples Obliterations (who we caught a few months back) are still on the bill, alongside Louisville’s massively heavy Coliseum, and locals Fakes. 8:00 pm, $8/$10, 4848 St-Laurent.

Ken Mode and Fight Amp at Turbo Haus
This show is a double album release for Winnipeg’s Ken Mode and Philly’s Fight Amp. Two of the most impressive noise-rock bands going, this bill is stacked even further with Montreal’s own reigning kings of heaviness The Great Sabatini, as well as Fashion Police, featuring members of Trigger Effect. 9:00 pm, 5011 Notre Dame Ouest.