June 15 - In collaboration with ExploreMusic, M For Montréal took over the legendary Horseshoe Tavern for their M on the Road showcase, featuring mainly bands from the electric city itself, a hotbed of music talent all their own.

Obviously Montréal has had an immutable voice when it comes to music - consider bands like Stars, Arcade Fire, Corey Hart - but the explosive talent of their rock groups is too easily missed in the shadow of their indie giants.



Red Mass took the stage at 11 p.m., and instantly exploded into their energetic blend of rock, pop and funk. Their story is an interesting one; more a collective than a band, Red Mass is like an ongoing musical project between like-minded individuals regardless of physical boundaries.

The band operated as a five-piece at the Horseshoe, excepting an unfortunately lengthy period in which guitarist Roy Vucino laboured to fix a broken string on his guitar. The band didn't falter, however, and carried on with their tight rock music through the gap, actually gaining momentum rather than losing it.



Then it was time for Parlovr to perform. No stranger to Fanshawe students, this band is so widely flavoured and influenced that it's impossible to describe them excepting with words like 'charismatic' or 'frenetic' - simply put, they're a brilliant trio that bounce back and forth onstage and leave the kind of impression that lasts long after the ringing in your ears has stopped.

The Horseshoe packed in time for Parlovr's set, the entire upper area crammed full of people wanting to see the group. They began with a tribute to the Vancouver Canucks Stanley Cup loss in the form of a swelling scream, leading everyone in the bar from a mumble to a roar... then proceeded to maintain that level of power with their performance.



It is nearly impossible to get a photo of the group - they don't stop moving for a single second.



For a long time to come, when NXNE attendees talk about the 2011 festival, they will be talking about M For Montréal and Parlovr's time there.

And further, if the showcase at the Horseshoe was any indication of their rock talent, Montréal will undoutedly start to come up in the same breath as Toronto and Vancouver when discussing exceptional music scenes in Canada - a pedigree par none.