Here's what the people behind the scenes are most excited about...unedited & bilingue.

THE Dounia Mikou, Press & Media Relations

Silver Apples
Chad Van Gaalen
Brian Borcherdt
Irma Thomas
Porn Pop

Tim White, Bookkeeper par excellence & musicphile

Vetiver - Gentle acoustic folk rock, beautiful arrangements and stellar harmonies, from former Devendra Banhart acolyte Andy Cabic, and his band of troubadours. Their show at Sala Rosa, on the "To Find Me Gone" tour, was one of my musical highlights of 2006. I can't wait to see them again!

Dark Meat - There was a full 2-page photo in Spin magazine a few months back, of this psychedelic Athens Georgia band; their 18 members spilling off the stage and into the crowd. It looked like a freak show! I want to see that at Club Lambi, up close and personal!

Nick Cave - What can I say. I'm old. And Nick Cave still turns my crank! I'll never tire of seeing this icon live. From the first time I saw him live, at the Rialto in 1989, I was a convert to the Church of Nick. And when he sings " Do You Love Me", I may just fall to my knees.

read on...

SoCalled's Porn Pop - And while I'm on my knees... For me personally, this may well be the highlight of the festival. Josh and Owen, scoring 50's gay porn, in the Cinema L'Amour. An old homo indie rocker's wet dream.

Black Kids - Oh the exuberance of youth! Sure, this is disposable flavour of the month fodder, but it's so tasty! Will it live up to the buzz? I can't wait to see. Something tells me that these Floridian brats are gonna pull it off. And as a bonus, The Virgins and Hot Springs.

Guillaume Decouflet, Producer/Artist Coordination

Darren Hayman


Nicole Crouch, Kids Pop Guru & Mother to us all

My faves: Popville cardboard city of course! We're gonna build a cardboard Mount Royal too. Who doesn't have beautiful memories of crawling through box mazes when they were little?

Daniel Seligman, Creative Director

Irma Thomas - the thought of this show gives me shivers. Irma is a true soul queen. In the intimate and cozy Ukrainian Federation, I'm sure she will be summoning all the spirits that have moved through the former church and synagogue over the last century.

Burt Bacharach- He is without question one of popular music's most important figures of the 20th century. To seem him in a church with a full band will be a treat and once in a lifetime experience.

The Persuasions - Everyone loves A Capella. These guys are the ones who popularized the genre. So yeah, before Boyz 2 Men and all that other stuff the Persuasions were making people smile, while they rocked the harmonies on the Brooklyn streets.

Elyse Weinberg - Who is Elyse Weinberg, where has she been. This mysterious folk singer's mere appearance is cause for celebration.

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble - everything I've ever seen from these dudes fucking rules. I love hip hop, I love brass bands and the thought of the 2 of them married in one organic package is pure magic.

Porn Pop - a little bit of shock, a little bit of schlock and all genius. Should be an unforgettable moment in cinematic history.

Shalabi's Masonic gig. It's esoteric, it's irreverent. All the musicians are incredible. Being in the Masonic temple alone is worth the experience but to have a piece specifically composed for the space is a treat.

Melanie Turner, Marketing & Funding & good-times maven

WED

Carmen Negrelli, Film Pop Programming Coordinator

WED
you say party we say die-11pm @ la tulipe
Dark Meat at-1am @ Lambi
THURS
the winks-midnight @ O Patro Vys
the lovely feathers-1am @ Benfica
FRI
Women, Chad van gaalen, Julie Doiron-7:30 @ UK federation
Crystal Moustache-10pm @ sapphir
PORNPOP-midnight @ cinema l'amour
SAT
Glory at Sea + One Man Band- 2pm @ portuguese
We are Wizards-3pm @ Cinema du Parc
The D'urbervilles-5pm @ Le Divan Orange (you can also catch them friday if you want)
Shapes and Sizes-9pm @ Les Saints
SUN
Welcome to Nollywood & God's Own Country- 3pm @ Cinema du Parc
Jem Cohen Master Class- 3pm @ UK federation
Baltimore Round Robin with Dan Deacon-9pm @ Eastern Bloc

Laurel Sprengelmeyer, Symposium Producer & Artist

Maximillian Lawrence wall sized synth being built in main hall and main hall being fixed up all nice in general.

Notman House. I just love that Notman House. We have to play hide and seek there again this year, but with more gusto.

Um, the whole Symposium, I guess. Jem Cohen, Lydia Lunch, beatboxing with the persuasions...what's not to love? Partial?..maybe.

Porn pop at Cinema L'amour. definitely going to be good.

Um...too many shows to mention! Vetiver, Irma T., Jean-Jacques Perrey...yeah. i'm there.

Hilary Leftick, Executive Producer of the Festival, future president of the universe

1. any show at the Uk Fed. a hidden treasure of Montreal's heritage. One of the most intimate spaces in the city, and home to the Ukrainian National Federation. It doesn't get better then this my friends and who knows how much longer before someone has the genius idea to turn it into condos. This year Pop and the Federation are presenting the shows together, don't miss Olga Zelman the daughter of the famous Mike Zelman (last seen preforming at the federation here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtOkJ63X5yo ). This kid has a pair of pipes like no other, get ready she is opening up for irma thomas, weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

2. Gazeebow Unit - oh what's that? they arn't playing ! shoot. what happened? Gazeebow unit are you out there? when will you please play the festival??? IT's too bad cause the cRAP your pants showcase looks amazing. random recipe, grand analog, e-603 and ira lee? what??? Go check that shit out and seriouslement Gazeebow unit, when are you gonna get here already??? are you waiting till your legal to drink?

3. Sister nancy - i spoke to her on the phone. she is cool. she knows what's up.

4. Colin Stetson - have you heard the rumors? we'll their true. You will be blown away, literally. Do not miss this. I can't stress this enough.

5. Uninhibited Gesticulations at kids pop. Nuff said, right? do you know what that means? i don't but i wrote it in a grant proposal for kids pop, which in the end was unsuccessful, hmmmmmm

6. Peorogies at Puce Pop. I know i was suppose to limit it to 5 but its just a light snack. very delicious !!

Vincent Lafrenaye-Lamontagne, Communications & Web

1- Experimental: Silver Apples and Zombie-Zombie. Because they represent the kind of fucked-up music I know and love. For me, there's only one rule in weirdo sounds. Give at least one thing to the listener to hold on to. The steady, solid rhythms of the drummers help propel the cold electronic distortion into trancey heights. It gets me lifted!

2- Rock'n'roll: Japandroids and Dark Meat. I just discovered J-Droids and I've been listening to it on repeat since. Sounds like a mix between indie screams, blues duos and Sonic Youth. They're what No Age should've been. Dark Meat are already a classic for me, as their last show at Zoobizarre totally blew my mind. Club Lambi should be sick too, and it's a free show!

3- Festive: Hypnotic Brass Ensemble and Bocce. We were lucky this year with brass bands. Last time it was Boban Markovic, now it's those crazy chigagoans. Bocce was one of my favorite discoveries of last year with We're marching on. They have a new EP coming out and I can't wait to hear it!

4- Pop: Lovely Feathers and Persuasions. When I heard the first album from the lovelies a long time ago, I thought it was a good record. Strangely, it grew on me so much that while I loved other local bands more intensely (hear Arcade Fire and Islands), it's that damn "Pope John Paul" song that comes back to mind all the time. It's always a pleasure to ear new music from them!!! The Persuasions are a legendary band, what can I say, it's going to be something else.

5- Folk: Elyse Weinberg and The Dodos. Folk is not my forte, but I still like a good story and Cori Bishop's comeback is a charming one. The Dodos make really different, propulsive folk music that proves acoustic music can be energetic.

This is for individual bands, but the best lineups are in the Baltimore Round Robins and the Weird Punk Series. Don't miss 'em!

Jenny Craig, Puces Pop Director & Wonderwoman

Wednesday - 10:00 baby dee
Thursday - 9:00 irma, 11:30 silver apples
Friday - 8:00 burt, 10:30 Herman Dune, 12:00 porn pop
Saturday - 9:00 baltimore round robin
Sunday - 9:30 animation party with live performance by HOOLIGANSHIP at the benfica (IN 3D - SUPER COOL!)

Annie Quenneville, Rédactrice du programme

1) Dark Meat, Quatro et invités (mercredi 1er octobre Club Lambi)
Je vais un peu prêcher pour ma paroisse ici en vous suggérant de venir voir Dark Meat le mercredi 1er octobre au Club Lambi. Les 17 musiciens, incluant 2 drummers et une section de cuivres, donnent toujours le meilleur show que t'as jamais vu, imbibé de sueur et de confettis. Et en plus, il réussissent à unir deux adjectifs impossibles, soit punks et hippies. Quatro sera aussi de la partie. Moitié-musiciens, moitié-motards, le groupe est composé de Mingo L'Indien (Georges Léningrad) et des garçons de Duchess Says. Les autres groupes invités sont les dangereux Devil Eyes et les ils-existent-depuis-une-