Last summer, Grumman '78 skyrocketed to fame, its overwhelming success a play on Montreal's lack of street food. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, I might have to slap you across the face with one of their not-Mexican-but-Mexican-inspired tacos and throw you under the truck it came from. But as the sunny days faded, so did the Grumman '78 craze. Yes, they appeared at a few winter events and held the occasional taco party at headquarters, but frankly, they dropped from my radar when the season put a strain on chowing down tacos street side.

But now, there's no need to wait on the weather. Or chase after the truck for that matter. Grumman '78 recently opened a permanent stand in the food court of the Faubourg. That means tacos all year round, at functioning hours of the day, in one very convenient location.

Tonight, some of Montreal's finest DJs will get behind the decks to honour the late Adam Yauch, aka MCA of the Beastie Boys, in a benefit show we're producing with Pop Montreal. It'll be a night of good tunes, sick beats, and lots of vinyl scratching in memory of one of hip-hop's greatest innovators.

Jon Cohen is soft-spoken, but unrestrained when it comes to enthusiasm for the work itself, the people that inspire, the community. That small lovely electric light is no doubt part of the contribution he's made (you know, aside from the music he's played) in bands like The Dears and The Social Register; in his own successful solo project; and now in the flourishing of his festival: a celebration of that small lonely light that graces a stage in the body of the One Wo/Man Band...

"My name is Jon Cohen, of the Jon Cohen Experimental. I'm the founder & artistic director for the one-man band festival (18th to 20th of May 2012), an original new music festival in its maiden year here in Montreal, which celebrates and showcases exclusively, the talents and creativity of one man/ one woman bands from all over the world. I started out as a musician in a band and gradually moved into a one man band format which has allowed me to make a living touring the world and now I want to bring this unique phenomenon into one big amazing music fest exclusive to the solo performer."

Une Vie Inutile is Simon Paquet's second novel published at one of my favourite small presses, Héliotrope. Unlike the life of the main character implied by the book's title, it is far from being a useless read. I'm going to urge all of you French-reading bros and babes to get interested in some local franco literature because the voice of the main character, Normand, is everything that is great about so much francophone Québécois writing. He is cynical, self-deprecating, with a tar-black sense of humour and just the appropriate pinch of suicidal tendencies.

Saturday is International Food Revolution Day. It's about real food that's locally sourced, sustainable, and delicious. And education. Sound like Jamie Oliver? Yup. He's the man behind the day. And Montreal is getting on the band wagon. Well, we were already on the band wagon. This is just an excuse to take the band wagon for a joyride this weekend. On the menu: food fests, bake sales, and raw vegan desserts with a side of yoga and ballet.

It's the Wednesday before Victoria Day and we can officially say that Festival season is underway in Montreal. This long weekend alone there's Montreal's punk focused Pouzzafest, the start of Piknic Electronik's 10th season and a brand new fest to add to the mix: The One Man Band Fest. The organizer of this last one, Jon Cohen, joins us this week as guest host to tell us about the 3 day affair of shows, workshops and more useful events for solo artists. And, lest we forget, there's also our own Midnight Poutine event going down: a Beastie Boys themed dance party tribute in honour of MCA (R.I.P. Adam Yauch). It's got a great line-up of DJs, it's co-organized by the always awesome Pop Montreal and all door proceeds go to the Canadian Cancer Society.



Podcast | Get the podcast here.
iTunes | Add the Weekend Playlist Podcast to iTunes.
RSS | Add the Weekend Playlist Podcast feed to your RSS Reader.
Search | Search the audio on Podzinger.