September 25, 2008
Yes Tour Dates announced
Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Alan White will launch the "In The Present" tour starting November 4. They will be joined by keyboardist  Oliver Wakeman and vocalist and Montreal native Benoît David!

Benoît David, currently the lead singer of the Montreal-based Yes tribute band Close to the Edge and also lead singer of symphonic rock band Mystery, has been hired by Yes band members Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Alan White to replace Jon Anderson, currently recovering from a serious pulmonary illness. The band confirmed a series of 29 dates beginning on November 4 until December 17, but no Montreal dates for now. The group will probably announce another series of date for early 2009 and Montreal will most probably be included. Here are the two closest dates so far:

Tuesday, November 4 2008, Hamilton, ON Hamilton Place Theatre. 8:00 PM
Wednesday, November 5 2008, Toronto, ON Massey Hall. (tickets: $79.50 - $39.50) 8:00 PM

Tickets for both shows will be put on sale this Friday.

October 12, 2008
Dactylo's Halloween show!
Here's a rockin' way to spend Halloween evening: Quebec City band Dactylo will present a show at the Petit Medley (6206 St-Hubert Street, Montreal) on Friday, October 31 2008.

The group will play about 15 of their original compositions, with groovy costumes in honor of this unique evening of ghouls and goblins. Their style of funky-jazzy prog rock is influenced by the likes of Gentle Giant, Frank Zappa, Phish, Mr. Bungle and Yes. Check out their MySpace page at www.myspace.com/dactylo for a few cool audio excerpts.

Tickets are $10, doors open at 8:00 PM and the show will begin at 9:00.

July 25, 2008
Montreal Drum fest 2008: The lineup
Don't miss the 16th edition of the Montreal Drum Fest as the organizers have just released its programmation and what sensational lineup it is! The 2008 edition will be held on Saturday, October 25 and Sunday, October 26 2008 at the Salle Pierre-Mercure of the Centre Pierre-Péladeau in Montreal. Tickets for that will be available very soon. So here's who and what you'll see this year:

Saturday, October 25

LENNY WHITE (legendary drummer of Return to Forever)
accompanied by three musicians.

PAUL BROCHU (of UZEB fame), MARK KELSO, LARNELL LEWIS
with Julie Lamontagne's Groove band

HAKIM LUDIN, percussionniste (Afghnistan/Germany)

MARKUS CZENIA  (Germany)
watch a Youtube clip of the drummer in action

JOHNNY RABB

TOMMY CLUFETOS (Rob Zombie, Ted Nugent)

Sunday, October 26

SIMON PHILLIPS (TOTO, The Who, Jeff Beck)

MORGAN AGREN & THE MATS/MORGAN BAND
featuring Mats Oberg (keyboards) & Gustaf Hielm, Meshuggah's bassman)
Check out this amazing clip at http://www.drummerworld.com/Videos/Morganagren.html

ERIC VELEZ (Jennifer Lopez), JAFET MURGUIA & DANIEL DIAZ (Puerto Rico)

CHRIS PENNIE (Coheed & Cambria / Dillinger Escape Plan)
http://www.drummerworld.com/Videos/chrispennie.html

ERIC BOUDREAULT & WAZA
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=CxiCnqcRp4Y&NR=1

WOLFGANG HAFFNER (Germany)
http://www.drummerworld.com/Videos/wolfganghaffnergs.html

and the "ÉTOILES MONTANTES" YAMAHA SHOWCASE.

July 20, 2008
Arapacis at Bar St-Laurent 2
Montreal prog-metal band Arapacis will be back at the Bar St-Laurent 2 (5550 St-Laurent blvd.) on Saturday, November 1st 2008 at 8:00 PM. The power quartet is composed of Lizzie Fyre on lead vocals, Dmitri Makmak on bass and vocals, Jerry Fielden on lead guitar, synths and vocals and Pedro Osorio on drums. Visit their Myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/arapacismtl for a few excellent audio excerpts of their latest album, So Many Leapers.

August 11, 2008
Zappa plays Zappa back in Montreal
Great news for fans of Frank Zappa music, Dweezil Zappa and his gang of merry musicians will hit Montreal once again, this time at the Gesù (1202 Bleury Street) on Friday, October 24 2008! The new Zappa Plays Zappa tour, called You Can't Fit On Stage Anymore! will feature a different show at every venue, and by going on the ZPZ site, you will even be able to vote for your favorite song, and the ones with more votes will be played! But that's not all, every performance will be recorded and will only be made available to ticket holders (a number printed on the ticket will permit you to download a hi-rez recording from the www.nugs.net website). But wait... there's more! How about incredible odds on winning a world class Super Swede electric guitar made by Hagstrom - at every show! (Check them out at www.hagstromguitars.com) A random name will be selected out of a hat - don't forget to sign up at the show - and the winner will be invited on stage to claim their prize! Who knows, maybe they'll get a chance to plug it in and play with the band? The show will begin at 8:00 PM and tickets are a bit pricey, at $145 and $115, available right now through Admission and at the Gesù boxoffice.

October 1st, 2008
Sieges Even is no more
German proggers Sieges Even have decided to call it quits, just weeks after the release of their highly anticipated eight album, Playgrounds.

Here is their official statement:
"Due to internal differences, the band decided to split up. Thanks to everybody who helped the band over the years. Arno and Markus will pursue their new band SUBSIGNAL
www.myspace.com/subsignalband

Alex and Oliver will also attend to their new projects
www.myspace.com/alexholzwarth
www.myspace.com/oliverholzwarth

Sieges Even, September 2008 (Alex Holzwarth, Oliver Holzwarth, Arno Menses, Markus Steffen)"

October 1st, 2008
Maestrium at Bistro de Paris
Montreal prog band Maestrium will present a show at Bistro de Paris (4536 St-Denis street, corner of Mont-Royal), on Saturday, October 18 2008, accompanied by local groups Blame Adrianne and Jeffoneiric. A great trio of alt-progressive rock bands with a metal edge. The show will begin at 9:00 and admission is free!

April 11, 2008
Blue Man Group at the Bell Center
Renowned percussive artists and highly theatrical act Blue Man Group will be at the Bell Center on Thursday, September 25 2008.

With their HOW TO BE A MEGASTAR TOUR 2.1, Blue Man Group embraces the rules, rituals and raw excitement of that most primal of group experiences: the arena rock concert! This full production tour features state-of-the-art concert technology and for their performance, BMG will be accompanied by an eight piece band. San Francisco-based multimedia artist Mike Relm opens the show with a mix of spins, scratches, music and video clips in a mash-up of pop-culture.

Tickets are $59.50 - $79.50 (+ service charges), available at the Bell Center Box Office and at all Admission outlets, online at www.geg.ca and www.admission.com.

July 20, 2008
Motörhead in Montreal!
Legends of old-school heavy metal, Motörhead will visit Montreal on Tuesday, September 16, 2008 at the Metropolis (59 Sainte-Catherine Street East, Montreal) and will be accompanied by The Misfits, Airbourne, Valient Thorr & Year Long Disaster.

The british hellraising trio composed of Lemmy Kilmister, Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee will shake the walls of the Metropolis and are currently on a world tour supporting their latest efforts, the Kiss of Death album and the Boneshaker DVD.

The concert will begin at 7:00 PM and tickets for that show are available through Ticketpro or at the Metropolis boxoffice and will cost $31.01 in advance or $33.66 at the door on the day of the show.

July 27 2008
Rock In Opposition 2009
Perhaps one of the most prestigious event in the world of avant garde music and RIO since the very first festival back in 1978 when Chris Cutler and Fred Frith started the whole RIO movement, the Rock In Opposition France Event 2007 was a resounding success and attracted people from all over the world. Now it's back!

The Rock In Opposition France Event 2009 will be held on April 17, 18, 19 2009 at the Maison de la Musique, Cap'Découverte in Carmaux, France. Here is the official announcement from the organizer, the legendary Roger Trigaux of the group Present:

"The first edition of the France R.I.O. Festival, held in Carmaux in 2007, confirmed the enthusiasm of a large audience, coming from all over the world to attend this event, that some have labelled historic. To keep away from a certain routine that could harm the integrity of our musical choices and to secure firm financial and artistic partnerships, we decided that the next installment of the France R.I.O. would take place in 2009.

So, the R.I.O. now becomes a biennial event. As the preparation of such an event is time-consuming, this frequency should provide us with the distance needed to conceive a programme as demanding and innovative as the first edition. Once again, the Rock In Opposition 2009 will be an event of international quality. It will be held in the same musical venue that proved to be the perfect setting for listeners to enjoy really innovative music in optimal conditions: the "Maison de la Musique de Cap Découverte".

With an additional feature however: a special Opening Day will also be organised in Albi. During the Festival, specific locations will be dedicated to record labels, press representatives or any relevant “movement” showing some fighting spirit in the field of contemporary musical expression. Specific venues will also be provided to facilitate dialogue between the musicians and the audience. Additional activities, such as artist residences, workshops, conferences, exhibitions and installations will also be organised within the framework of the festival. The programme will be finalised by the end of September 2008 but the “Artists” section of the website will be regularly updated in order to keep you informed of “work in progress”.

Rock is a struggle, a protest against injustice, a way of resisting everything that degrades the human being and his environment... A way of building a world more like us, a world based on self- and mutual respect... With no constraints and no concessions. More than ever, Rock has to innovate, provoke, confront... More than ever, Rock has to be in opposition..." - Roger Trigaux

The confirmed lineup as of today includes:

Day 1
The Muffins
Magma (40th anniversary performance)

Day 2
Present
Charles Hayward
Aranis
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum

Day 3
Yolk (Switzerland)
Koenji Hyakkei
Univers Zero
Janik Top Infernal Machina

Tickets will be available soon.

July 24, 2008
The Musical Box: A new show, a new lineup...
The Musical Box is moving on to new things. The renowned Genesis tribute band will take on a new challenge. After nearly 15 years at the helm of the band doing Gabriel-era performances, Denis Gagné, lead singer of the band steps down because the Musical Box will now present for the very first time a post-Gabriel era show... The Trick of The Tail tour! The new lineup will include David Myers on keyboards in the role of Tony Banks, François Gagnon on guitars in the role of Steve Hackett, Sébastien Lamothe on bass in the role of Mike Rutherford, Gregg Bendian (who originally replaced Martin Levac a year ago) on drums in the role of Bill Bruford, and the new guy... introducing Rob Belgard on lead vocals and drums in the role of Phil Collins. Visit their website where you'll see the setlist, the lineup and all the details of the brand new show.

A fantastic show, both visually and musically, as the band will interpret the 1976 performances of the Trick of the Tail tour, featuring at the time guest musician Bill Bruford. And just as it marked a new era for Genesis, this show will be a brave new frontier for The Musical Box as they will reproduce in painstaking detail the setlist, the special effects and lasers, the projections just as Genesis presented on that breakthrough tour in the mid 70s. TMB's new world tour will begin with its european leg from September through November 2008, and you can look forward to see them on this side of the Atlantic in early 2009!

August 6, 2008
Metal triple-bill at Café Chaos
A great evening of prog metal in perspective on Monday, August 18 2008 at the Café Chaos (2031 St-Denis, Montreal) with Winnipeg goth metal band Nocturnal Divinity along with Arapacis & Metao!

Nocturnal Divinity is currently on tour supporting their upcoming album, Somehow in Sorrow, to be released in early fall. Admission is $10 and the show begins at 10 PM.

July 26, 2008
Babylon Sister at La place à Côté
Steely Dan tribute band Babylon Sister will be at la Place à Côté (4571 Papineau Street, 514-522-4571) on Wednesday, August 13 2008. The band, with Marc Parent on guitar, features 13 musicians onstage, and they will perform all the old classic Steely Dan favorites like Rikki Don't Lose That Number, Do it Again and FM. The show will begin at 9:30 PM and admission price is $10.

July 15 2008
ProgMontreal sends you to the movies!
Win passes to the Montreal Premiere of
THE X-FILES - I WANT TO BELIEVE
Twentieth Century Fox, in association with ProgMontreal, invites you to the movie premiere of the long-awaited THE X-FILES - I WANT TO BELIEVE, starring David Duchovny as Fox Mulder and Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully, on Thursday, July 24 2008 at 10:00 PM at the Cinema Banque Scotia (977 Ste-Catherine Street West, Montreal).

To participate, simply send us an email at bob@progmontreal.com entitled "I WANT TO BELIEVE" with your postal address before Sunday, July 20 at midnight – 10 winners will get an invitation for 2 persons by mail to the English version premiere. Don't miss it! In theatres Friday, July 25!

June 15, 2008
By The Way featuring Clément Larose
On Friday, July 11 2008 at La Place à Côté (4571 Papineau Street, Montreal), Clément Larose, guitarist of the group Relayers, will present his latest project, "By The Way", a musical improvisation show featuring renown drummer Magella Cormier (Alain Caron, Michel Cusson, Michel Donato, James Gelfand), Lauréat Cormier on bass, Simon C. Lapointe on keyboards along with Clément on guitars. Tickets are $10, available in advance at La Place à Côté or by calling 450-651-1387, or at the door on the day of the show.

June 15, 2008
Exit Stage Left plays at Woodstock en Beauce
Rush tribute band Exit Stage Left (featuring none other than Mystery's Michel St-Père on guitars and keyboards) will be playing at the highly popular Woodstock en Beauce Festival (Rang 8, Saint-Éphrem-de-Beauce / Sainte-Clotilde-de-Beauce) on Saturday, June 28 2008 at 5:30 PM on the Molson Dry Stage. The 4 day festival will also feature Bran Van 3000, Dennis DeYoung, Blinded by Faith and Merkabah among others.

March 7, 2008
Steely Dan to perform at the Montreal Jazz Fest!
Steely Dan will be in Montreal for the very first time at the Montreal Jazz Fest on Tuesday, July 1st and Wednesday, July 2nd 2008 at the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier of the Place Des Arts (175, Ste-Catherine west, Montreal).

Their music has hypnotized us for 35 years. Complex, melodic pieces, a continual musical evolution, and a peerless sophistication, whether coloured by the rock sound of their early days or the jazz-rock fusion that followed. Finally—finally!—Walter Becker and Donald Fagen bring their musicians and their legacy to a Montreal concert stage—and it’s all happening at the Montreal Jazz Festival this summer! A historic concert event!

Tickets cost $91.35 - $141.35 and are available right now through the Jazz fest website, through www.admission.com and at all Admission outlets, as well as the Place Des Arts boxoffice.

June 15, 2008
Heavy MTL: more additions!
Gillett Entertainment Group is proud to announce the creation of HEAVY MTL, a unique event in North America, which will take place on Saturday June 21st and Sunday June 22nd 2008 at Parc Jean-Drapeau. Loud, intense, heavy, HEAVY MTL will feature over 30 hard rock and metal bands performing on different stages located outdoors on the breathtaking site that is the Saint-Hélène Island.

To launch this premier new Metal event we are delighted to announce that we are bringing metal legends Iron Maiden and their “Somewhere Back in Time Tour World Tour” to Montreal for the opening day, Saturday June 21nd. ‘Maiden Mania’ has been gripping countries around the planet as tickets for the tour fly out of box offices everywhere. In Canada alone the major arena in Toronto sold out 3 months in advance and recently it took just a couple of days for Iron Maiden to sell out all 60,000 tickets for their five shows in Western Canadian arenas! And HEAVY MTL now gives metal fans in Eastern Canada a chance to see this inspirational band and spectacular show outdoors in a wonderful setting.

Headlining on Sunday June 22 will be Mötley Crüe, who, since the band’s beginnings in 1981, have become one of rock music’s most notorious acts.  Multi-platinum albums like Girls, Girls, Girls and Dr. Feelgood have cemented the group’s place in rock royalty and produced a string of top ten hits. Following yesterday’s (April 15) press conference held in Los Angeles, Mötley Crüe revealed that the original members of the band (Bass guitarist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and singer Vince Neil) will go on tour this summer as part of “Crüe Fest 08”.. During the press conference, Mötley Crüe also announced that they will release “Saints of Los Angeles,” their first new studio album recorded with all of the original band members in over a decade, on June 17th.

Latest additions to the lineup are Warrant, Your Favorite Enemies and Deathboat. Sadly, because of a scheduling conflict, Rev Theory had to pull out of the lineup at the last minute.

Here is the complete Heavy MTL lineup so far:

Saturday June 21st
IRON MAIDEN
Mastodon
Hammerfall
Unexpect
Three Inches of Blood
Overkill
Type O Negative
Symphony X
Hatebreed
Dethklok
Lauren Harris

Sunday June 22nd
Mötley Crüe
Voivod
Priestess
Drowning Pool
Shadows Fall
Anthrax
Three Days Grace
Disturbed
Warrant
Your Favorite Enemies
Death Boat

From Hard Rock to Death metal, from 80’s Glam to Modern Rock, the purpose of Heavy MTL is to give fans a chance to celebrate their love for all things heavy! Tickets are available at the Bell Centre box office and at all Admission outlets, by phone at (514) 790-1245 or 1-800-361-4595 and online at www.heavymtl.com or www.geg.ca . Single day ticket are $75 (+ service charges) and the weekend pass is $135 (+ service charges).

June 5, 2008
Jelly Fiche outdoors performance!
Montreal progressive rock band Jelly Fiche will present an outdoors show in downtown Montreal, at the Parc Portugal (on the corner of Marie-Anne and St-Laurent) on Saturday, June 14 2008. Their performance will begin at 1:00 PM and admission is free.

The band will perform songs from their album Tout Ce Que J'ai Rêvé. The intense performance of Jelly Fiche will transport the listeners into a remarkable journey where elements of rock and jazz combined with the theatrical play of lead vocalist Syd brings the songs to life. Their music is influenced by bands like Pink Floyd, King Crimson, The Beatles, Gentle Giant, David Bowie, Chick Corea, Led Zeppelin, Sam Roberts and Coldplay.

Jelly Fiche is at the forefront of the new Quebec progressive rock scene with their concept album inspired by the great 70’s Quebec prog bands like, Maneige and Harmonium. Visit Jelly Fiche's MySpace page at www.myspace.com/jellyfiche.

The group will also perform at the Festival de poésie Festivoix (1606 Notre Dame, Bar Le Charlot, Trois-Rivières) on Saturday, July 5 2008. Their performance will begin at 8:00 PM and admission is free.

June 2, 2008
Flower Kings news
As previously mentioned, the Flower Kings have added two new members to their lineup, Erik Hammarström on drums and Ola Heden on vocals, keyboards and guitar. Their first show with this new lineup will be at the Loreley fest in Germany on July 19.

The various band members are also working on several side projects including a new Karmakanic CD featuring Jonas Reingold and a new project from Tomas Bodin called Cinematograph. There are two other unnamed projects in the works also, featuring Roine Stolt and Jonas Reingold... these guys really keep busy! New member Erik Hammarstöm is also featured on the new Brighteye Brison CD entitled Believers and Deceivers which was released a few days ago. The Flower Kings will get together in a few weeks to start rehearsing for the upcoming US tour this summer (August 24-30, 2008).

May 19, 2008
Addicted Bones to open for TMB at the Bell Center!
Montreal band Addicted Bones will present the opening show for The Musical Box at the Bell Center on Friday, May 30 2008. The music of Addicted Bones is a clever blend of alternative and progressive with celtic tones and the band is composed of Annie Saumur on lead vocals, Martin Robert on guitars, Jonathan Moorman on violin, Serge Larouche on bass and Frédéric Brossoit on drums. Their 20-25 min. performance will be a memorable moment as The Musical Box continues the tradition of inviting great local artists for their opening acts, like Vecteur K and Jean-Philippe Gariépy.

April 5, 2008
Dactylo at La Place à Côté!
Montreal band Dactylo will be at La Place à Côté (4571 Papineau, Montreal) on Saturday, May 31 2008.

The cool progressive/jazz/funk band is composed of Hubert Bélanger on violin, bass and vocals, Bruno Coulombe on guitars, Julie Descheneau on vocals, flute and percussion, François Desrosiers on sax and keyboards, Mathieu Gagnon on bass, keyboards and vocals, Bruno Pucella on the trumpet and Louka Sirois on drums. Their influences vary from Harmonium, King Crimson and Mahavishnu Orchestra to Anekdoten, Björk, Rush, Yes and Frank Zappa. They sound a bit like a Québécois version of Frogg Café!

The show begins around 9:00 PM and tickets are $7 in advance or $9 at the door, and are available at La Place à Côté or through Bruno Coulombe at brunocoulombe33@hotmail.com .

March 5, 2008
Slow hand in Montreal
One of the greatest guitarists of our century, Eric Clapton, will be back in Montréal after a long 10 year's absence, at the Bell Center on Wednesday, May 28 2008, with opening act Robert Randolph and The Family Band.

Eric Clapton's career has endured for more than 40 years, resulting in 18 Grammy Awards and he has earned the distinct honor of being the only triple inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Considered one of the world's finest guitarists, Clapton was a member of such seminal rock bands as Cream and Blind Faith. Clapton also created countless hits as part of his solo career beginning in 1970 with the release of the self-titled Eric Clapton album following through to 2005's Back Home.

After a busy year filled with a world tour, an epic guitar festival and a highly-anticipated autobiography, Eric Clapton recently released the ultimate career CD retrospective for the artist known as “Slowhand.” Complete Clapton is a 2-disc career-spanning album released by Reprise Records in stores now, arriving at the same time as Clapton, The Autobiography in bookstores nationwide. This is the first time the full breadth of Clapton's musical works is contained in one set. Complete Clapton also features songs from two co-produced albums, Riding With the King, a collaboration with iconic blues man BB King, and The Road To Escondido, a partnership with long time friend and guitar great J.J. Cale.

Don’t miss guitar legend Eric Clapton when he takes the stage at the Bell Centre on May 28th. His last visit in Montreal was back in September 18, 1998.

Tickets are $69.50 - $89.50 - $124.50, available at the Bell Centre box office and at all Admission outlets, by phone at (514) 790-1245 or 1-800-361-4595, online at www.admission.com and www.geg.ca.

May 22, 2008
Kids Eat Crayons at the Café Campus!
Montreal avant prog-jazz band Kids Eat Crayons will be at the Petit Café Campus (57, Prince Arthur East) on Sunday, May 25 2008, along with opening band Goreflex.

Kids Eat Crayons is a highly original, experimental jazz project with a prog metal edge, inspired by the likes of Frank Zappa, Mike Patton, Charles Mingus, The Locust, The New Pornographers, Wayne Shorter, John Zorn and Tom Waits among others. The band features Jean-Philippe Major (of Crimson Sunset) on vocals, Scott Kingsley on bass, Craig Sauvé on guitars, D. W. Lee on drums, Steve Reid on alto saxophone, David Ryshpan on piano and Ben Henriques on tenor saxophone.

The show begins around 9:00 PM, don't miss it!

April 13, 2008
D Project: A new album
Following the resounding success of his 1st album Shimmering Lights, Stéphane Desbien's D Project will follow up soon with a new CD entitled The Sagarmatha Dilemma. Stéphane explores new musical horizons as he interprets the mount Everest experience in his own special way, and once again, author and producer Francis Roy takes care of the lyrics. Stéphane's new album will be released on June 28, 2008 on the Ozéta label.

April 11, 2008
The Gourishankar's latest release
Highly acclaimed russian prog band The Gourishankar is about to re-release on Unicorn Digital their first album entitled Close Grip, originally released in 2003. Their first official international CD release (2nd Hands, released by Unicorn Digital on March 15, 2007) revealed their unique style of music, which blends many musical horizons. The band was formed in 2002 by guitarist Nomy Agranson and keyboardist Doran Usher, in Syktyvkar, Russia. Aside from the aforementioned album, the band self-released their first EP, Integral Symphony, in 2002, and Close Grip one year later.

Here is the tracklist for Close Grip: 01 - Gripped by Fear . . 2:04 • 02 - Insomnia . . 7:28 • 03 - Sweet Earth . . 8:02 • 04 - In the Hope . . 2:17 • 05 - Wind of night . . 8:59 • 06 - Autumn Frost . . 10:57 • 07 - Close to Death . . 3:13 • 08 - For Nobody (Gentle Giant cover, bonus track) . . 4:39

April 11, 2008
Celtic Frost now voiceless...
Heavy metal band Celtic Frost is in a bad place right now. This article from their website: "Singer and guitarist Tom Gabriel Fischer has left Celtic Frost due to the irresolvable, severe erosion of the personal basis so urgently required to collaborate within a band so unique, volatile, and ambitious." TGF is a major part of the sound and energy of this band. A replacement will be hard to find.

April 11, 2008
Crucible Electric Chamber Ensemble
Longueuil guitar-based group The Crucible Electric Chamber Ensemble will be playing at the Centre St-Ambroise (5080 St-Ambroise, Montreal) on Friday, May 9, 2008, accompanied by Osmosaïc and You and Me.

The experimental/avant band is composed of Christopher Cousineau on guitars, vocals and programming, Matthew Marchant on guitar, Jean-François Pinard on the Warr guitar and Luc Leduc on drums & percussion. Their RIO influence music is inspired by classical composers like Vivaldi and Satie, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Zappa, King Crimson, Univers Zéro, Art Zoyd, Present, Art Bears and CGT. Listen to some captivating tracks on their MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/thecrucibleece. The show begins at 8:30 and admission is $5.

April 11, 2008
Fanfare Pourpour at le Lion d'Or!
On Friday, April 18 2008 at the Lion d'Or (1676 Ontario Street East, Montreal), Karen Young, Magnolia, Amélie Veille and Sylvie Laliberté unite their voices to the magical melodies of the Fanfare Pourpour for a benefit concert for the Auberges du Cœur. The show begins around 8:00 PM and tickets are $39.50, available through Ticketpro and at the door on the day of the show.

April 11, 2008
New "Original" Asia CD and live webcast
Following the reunion and subsequent tour of the original four members of legendary supergroup Asia in 2006, John Wetton, Carl Palmer, Steve Howe and Geoff Downes have gone back in the studios to prepare a new album. This new CD, entitled Phoenix will be released on Tuesday April 15, 2008, and to celebrate this event, the band members will present a 2-hour live webcast ( at 8:00 PM, EDT) of their performance at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York, which will be available for all to view on their website at http://www.originalasia.com/ .

March 15, 2008
Jon Anderson in Joliette
Check out the latest concert review of the Jon Anderson solo concert at the the salle Rolland Brunelle in Joliette on Friday, March 14 2008, by visiting our Concert Reviews page.

February 23, 2008
Arapacis at Bar St-Laurent 2
Montreal prog metal band Arapacis will be at the Bar St-Laurent 2 (5550 St-Laurent Blvd, Montreal) on Saturday, March 29 2008, accompanied by the group Sins Under City Lights.

The group, who's currently recordint their second album, is composed of Lizzie Fyre on lead vocals, Dmitri Makmak on bass, Jerry Fielden on guitars, synthetizers and vocals and Pedro Osorio on drums.

The show begins at 8:00 PM and admission is $5.

March 13, 2008
Crucible Electric Chamber Ensemble at the Studio7
Longueuil guitar-based group The Crucible Electric Chamber Ensemble will be playing at the Studio7-L'Underground (141 Ann Street, suite 201, Montreal • corner of Wellington, two blocks from Peel) on Saturday, March 29, 2008.

The experimental/avant band is composed of Christopher Cousineau on guitars, vocals and programming, Matthew Marchant on guitar, Jean-François Pinard on the Warr guitar and Luc Leduc on drums & percussion. Their RIO influence music is inspired by classical composers like Vivaldi and Satie, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Zappa, King Crimson, Univers Zéro, Art Zoyd, Present, Art Bears and CGT. Listen to some captivating tracks on their MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/thecrucibleece. Admission is $10, we'll see you there!

March 13, 2008
New ProgQuébec releases
ProgQuébec will add three new releases to their catalog on May 27, 2008; Jacques Blais Thèmes, Offenbach St-Chrone de Néant and Offenbach Bulldozer.

Jacques Blais - Thèmes: Outstanding album by talented songwriter and guitarist from the 70s which is about half-instrumental. Numerous musicians from Contraction perform on this (Lachapelle, Laferrière, Perrotte) and Christiane Robichaud even appears on one track. The material is very much in the same vein as Contraction's work even though the music is by and large composed by Blais. This gem is being remastered from the original tapes.

Offenbach - St-Chrone de Néant: The second album by Offenbach, originally released in 1973. Offenbach is considered the definitive Montreal blues-rock band. Their earlier work is closer to organ-driven proto-prog/hard rock such as Deep Purple. This cult favorite album was recorded live in front of 5000 people at the St. Joseph's Oratory and is sung mostly in Latin, being their version of the Mass of the Dead. This album will be remastered from the original show recording and feature the remainder of the performance that was not included on the original album as bonus tracks.

Offenbach - Bulldozer: The third album by Offenbach, also originally released in 1973. This was the soundtrack to a film by Offenbach member Pierre Harel. This album includes a few instrumentals as well as alternate versions of hits from their first album, Soap Opera. It is one of the most obscure early Offenbach albums and will finally be reissued in May with two bonus tracks.

March 10, 2008
Yes tour planned for 2008
March 7, 2008, from Yesworld - It's official—Yes is back! Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, and Alan White are planning a world tour, with Oliver Wakeman, Rick's exceptionally talented son, sitting in on keyboards. Tour dates to be announced very soon so stay tuned!

March 1st, 2008
Änglagård reunion?
The mythical swedish prog band Änglagård, considered by many to be the holy grail of contemporary progressive music, might be coming out of their long hibernation! The group, who often refers to itself as a "slug on valium" because of their inactivity, have been discussing the possibility of re-releasing their epic albums Hybris and Epilog, both of which are long out of print, and band members Jonas, Anna and Johan have been meeting weekly to play some new material... This is quite encouraging since the band had been inactive ever since their glorious performance at NEARFest in 2003. Änglagård producer Mattias Olson mentions this in his blog at http://www.myspace.com/Molesome, check out the entry for 2/22/2008.

March 1st, 2008
Progtoberfest IV
One of fall's coolest prog fests, ProgtoberFest, will return to the Ottawa/Gatineau region this fall as we are pleased to announce that the date for this year's edition will be Saturday October 18th 2008.

NEW LOCATION
Progtoberfest IV will be held this year at the 228-seat Salle Jean-Despréz-Maison du Citoyen (25 rue Laurier, Gatineau • 819-595-7455), located right beside the Museum of Civilization in the Hull section of Gatineau.

Bands and ticket info will be announced shortly

March 5, 2008
Tornado of Souls at the Cabaret Playhouse
Megadeth tribute band Tornado of Souls will be at the Cabaret Playhouse (5656 Park Avenue, Montreal) on Saturday, March 8 2008, accompanied by metal band Insurgent.

The power quartet is composed of Frederic Brossoit on drums , Luis-Alberto Sanchez on guitars, Steve Gosselin on vocals and guitar and Mathieu Gagnon on bass. The show begins at 9:00 PM, don't miss 'em!

February 23, 2008
Echolyn news
One of the finest progressive bands in north America, echolyn, is keeping quite busy these days! The band is hard at work composing the material for their 9th studio album, untitled as of yet. It will probably be released in the early days of June 2008 and promises to "deliver a CD full of fresh, innovative, and 100 proof echolyn material". As of early February, the band has completed 4 compositions, and have found the intensity and vibe that they are renowned for and have, without a doubt, forged into areas they have not explored before. Brett Kull says: "All of us are excited to see where the writing will take us. It is always an emotional journey and we look forward to conveying the finished product to you." With hard work and tight deadlines, they hope to be recording the album by April at Brett’s new studio called Area 602, followed by mixing and mastering in May.

Look forward to an update on echolyn's website soon, with new video and audio clips, commentaries of the writing and recording process. Also a page will be set up that will include new press photos, and artwork for download.

Cowboy Poems Free re-released
Finally, the acclaimed 2000 album will be available again! With all new artwork, the Cowboy Poems Free album has been carefully and completely remixed and remastered to showcase the power of the music and lyrics. Focusing on 20th Century Americana, 1900-1949, this truly lyrical album shines like it finally should! The new package will be completed in February and will be available in March.

NEARFest 2008
Echolyn has been asked to perform at the 10-year anniversary of NEARFest! The band also plans to prepare a tour that would include a few East Coast dates including possibly the province of Quebec and they might also go to Europe again. Stay tuned for gigs!

Brett Kull solo album
Brett Kull’s 2nd solo album is called Last Of The Curlews and delivers on a variety of levels. Beautiful arrangements, understated musicianship, lyrical potency, and stellar production are all bursting out on this new release. Containing 14 new songs, this CD spans three years of writing and will also be released in early June.