Weekend plans | Waiting for May

Clay and Friends at MTelus

The happy band of Clay and Friends have just released a new eight-song EP, STUNT, in which we find their irresistible blend of funk, soul and hip-hop. The Montreal quintet will certainly bring a lot of warmth to this more than chilly spring, while its Marathon Popular will stop this Saturday at the MTelus. “Drink water, call your mom” is one of Clay and Friends’ slogans, which will certainly make us dance like there is no tomorrow. But if we stay hydrated, we should be fine.

Josée Lapointe, The Press

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I will come less often

After a notable appearance at the Salle Jean-Claude-Germain at the Center du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui, playwright and actress Camille Paré-Poirier arrives at the Cinquième Salle at Place des Arts with the play I will come less often. For almost four years, the young woman recorded the conversations she had with Pauline, her nonagenarian grandmother. She produced a moving work on the limits of close assistance, on the strength of filial love and on what remains when memory fails. Remember: tissues, necessary at times, are provided!

Until April 27 at the Cinquième Salle at Place des Arts

Stéphanie Morin, The Press

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Revenge and obliviona Hamlet revisited

Big crush on Revenge and obliviona play by Quebecer Olivier Kemeid, which has its roots in the famous Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet. Here, the central character is a theater graduate (Gabriel Lemire, breathtaking) who begins to doubt everyone after the death of his father. Would anyone have dared to murder him? The questions consume him while around him, life continues inexorably. A dark tragedy which nevertheless shines like a jewel, carried by a solid cast.

At the Quat ‘sous theater, until May 11

Stéphanie Morin, The Press

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Big names in Anglo rap at Belmont

In the space of a week, The Belmont will welcome some of the best English-speaking rappers from Montreal, then Stove God Cooks, a New Yorker who regularly collaborates with Westside Gunn, co-founder of Griselda. This Thursday, the show Big Dawgs Only will bring together MCs Rvlr Magz, JRed The Doctor, Mori$$ Regal, Borden and Justice McFly as well as DJs and producers 80Rock and Pro-V. The first artists will take the stage at 10:30 p.m. The following Thursday, May 2, the new master of choruses as raw as they are catchy will present pieces from his album Reasonable Drought, produced by Roc Marciano, and more recent pieces. Stove God Cooks will be preceded on stage by brother duo The Yutes, after 8 p.m.

At Belmont, April 25 (Big Dawgs Only) and May 2 (Stove God Cooks)

Pascal LeBlanc, The Press

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The Fait Maison event in Quebec

Ahead of International Dance Day, celebrated on April 29, the Maison pour la danse, in Quebec, presents the 4^e edition of Fait Maison. This free meeting is an invitation to discover the world of dance and to experiment with it. Two days of festivities are on the program, with performances – including immersion in the world of four emerging artists –, dance classes of all kinds, an exhibition, a youth show, dance evenings and an improvisation evening . Some 30 artists of this living art will take part in the event which is aimed at everyone, young and old, novice or experienced.

April 26 and 27, at the Maison pour la danse

Iris Gagnon-Paradis, The Press

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Great food by Annie-Claude Deschênes

If it were necessary to determine who in Quebec is the most worthy heir of Iggy Pop, the name of Annie-Claude Deschênes would undoubtedly arrive not far from the top of the list. On stage with the electro-punk band Duchess Says, then with the group PyPy, the veteran of Montreal counterculture sweated blood and water, risking her pride and/or her physical integrity, as if she feared more the indifference than death. With Table manners, her first solo album to be launched on April 26 at 8 p.m. at the Phi Center, the singer trades her abrasiveness for electro-pop combining themes as distant as decorum and mass surveillance – think Kraftwerk, but with Brigitte Fontaine at its head. She has not, however, given up her desire to experience the possibilities of what a musical performance can be: during her performances (a word chosen on purpose), our captivating die-hard not only moves behind her numerous machines, but also in the preparation of small dishes, which its public can taste. The expression dinner show will rarely have designated something so unwise.

At the Phi Center on April 26, 8 p.m.

Dominic Tardif, The Press

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