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a, News

McGill seeks to appeal ATI commission decision

by Sam Pinto on

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McGill has filed an appeal to an Oct. 7 ruling made by the Commission d’accès à l’information, a decision that denied the university’s request for the ability to deny future Access to Information (ATI) requests at its discretion. The Quebec Court of Appeal will announce whether they accept the motion at a hearing on Dec. 4.

Last December, McGill filed a motion asking for the discretionary power to deny ATI requests that the university deemed “overly broad” or “frivolous.” McGill argued that an increase in ATI requests over the last year were causing the university financial strain and reducing efficiency.

“Following last week’s decision, McGill had a deadline of 10 days to file a motion which seeks permission to appeal that decision,” said Stephen Strople Secretary-General of the university. “This is part of the procedure, and we met that deadline.”

Kevin Paul, a McGill law student and respondent in the case, said he had expected McGill to file an appeal.

“I’m not surprised given that we already knew that McGill was very intensely pursuing the authority to deny future ATI requests,” Paul said.

Paul also emphasized that students should question the funds the administration is spending on the case.

“Students should really be asking how much money the administration is going to be spending on legal fees on this case,” he said. “This [appeal] adds dozens of hours to the lawyers’ fees […] and this is at a time of supposed austerity budget cuts and underfunding.”

Isaac Stethem, a masters student in political science and another respondent in the case, said these developments in the case place more financial strain on the students involved. He said respondents have so far been supported by donations.

“We, as students, are in a situation where it is very difficult for us to take on that kind of fight,” Stethem said. “I think that may well be the case that McGill assumes—that students, being people who generally don’t have the kinds of resources to deal with this kind of legal case, would just let things go and it would be much easier for them.” Regardless of legal fees, Paul said the respondents plan to move forward and contest the appeal.

In addition, McGill’s request to deny specific requests from 19 McGill students and alumni is ongoing, and will be decided through a mediation process that is expected to begin on Nov. 27.

a, Sports

Sports brief: Redmen soccer

by Mayaz Alam on

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Sophomore Goalkeeper Max Leblond was in fine form as he parried away five shots en route to the shutout and Man of the Match honours during a 0-0 draw as the McGill Redmen (3-4-4) played the UQAM Citadins (5-2-2). Although the Redmen played well defensively, they were unable to translate their offensive chances into goals despite the efforts of the RSEQ’s leading goalscorer Massimo Di Ioia.

On Sunday, in what was undoubtedly the Redmen’s most important game of the season, the squad was finally able to put the pieces together to trounce the UQTR Patriotes (3-6-2) with a final score of 4-0 in Trois-Rivieres on Sunday. Heading into the game, the Redmen were sitting in fifth place in the RSEQ with 10 points, just one point behind the last playoff spot, held by UQTR. McGill was unfazed by the importance of the game and netted goals from Redmen Alexander de Santis, Mohammed Kleit, Mawuena Mallet and Valentin Radevich. All four players are in their first season with McGill, and are a part of an enormous group of 16 rookies. However, as evidenced by McGill’s play during the second half of the season, the young squad has grown up following the rigours of RSEQ play and are ready to make a run at the post-season.

The Redmen currently have 13 points and are two points clear of UQTR, who are now fifth following Sunday’s outcome. If the Redmen either draw or win against Laval (5-1-4) on Sunday Oct. 27, they are almost certainly assured of reaching the playoffs as UQTR needs to beat the no. 4 ranked Montreal Carabins (6-2-2). In their previous matchup, McGill was able to sustain a lead until the 89th minute before settling for a draw. However, the team is on the rise, and looks primed and ready to fulfill its potential

a, Science & Technology

McGill alumni foster budding entrepreneurs on campus

by Remi Lu on

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It started with an email and ended with a company. For two McGill alumni, Brian Luong and Sepand Norouzi, the Next 36 program was the perfect opportunity to kick-start their entrepreneurial careers.

Founded in 2010, the Next 36 is an entrepreneurial and leadership program that helps develop Canada’s 36 most promising entrepreneurs. According to Luong and Norouzi, the goal of the program is to groom candidates to become the next founders and leaders of influential companies.

However, what separates the Next 36 from other start up initiatives is the program’s focus on the development of the individuals themselves rather than the ventures that candidates bring to the program. Once individuals are selected, they are grouped with others to build a company under the direction of the Next 36, which provides the proper training and tools.

“[The Next 36] is really focused on helping the person grow, as opposed to helping the company grow, which is the focus of other accelerators,” Norouzi noted.

Norouzi’s childhood obsession with computers translated into a major in software engineering at McGill. He joined the McGill Entrepreneurs Society (MES) in 2011 which helped cultivate his love for new business ventures. Through his relationship with the MES, Norouzi learned about the Next 36 from co-founder Claudia Hepburn and entered the program the following year.

In contrast, Luong’s experiences with entrepreneurship began in high school when he started a business that sold gyros to the student body. In the wake of his company’s success, Luong fell in love with the entrepreneurial lifestyle and decided to continue his involvement in start up ventures. He proceeded to create his CEGEP’s badminton team, as well as a painting and construction business in his first year at McGill. From there, he applied for Next 36 and has not looked back since.

“I love being able to start my own business, own it, and see everything that’s happening,” Luong said.

As a part of their experience with the Next 36, Luong and Norouzi started Glimpse, a website which helps people find appropriate neighbourhoods for their new home based on their needs, preferences, and lifestyle before they look at listings. The website is beginning to gain traction, and has the potential to change the way consumers approach real estate.

“We have real estate agents signed up,” Luong said. “We’re planning on integrating listings on the website soon [….] We realized that people have a hard time making decisions in general [so] we’re trying to build a technology that revolutionizes the way people make decisions.”

Having just recently begun its process of selecting its fourth cohort of candidates, the Next 36 has already seen a number of significant initiatives emerge from its program. Most notable amongst these is the Myo project from Thalmic Labs, a revolutionary gesture control machine that uses electrical activity in muscles to wirelessly control digital technology. Thalmic Labs was co-founded by Next 36 alumnus Stephen Lake during the program’s inaugural year. He was later joined by Scott Greenberg, a 2012 cohort of Next 36 who now sits on the development team.

Thalmic Labs has partnered with Y Combinator, one of the biggest accelerators in the world. With $14.5 million in backing, Myo is on track to become one of the most revolutionary pieces of technology in recent years.

As recent graduates of McGill, Luong and Norouzi are not quite ready to leave the university behind. Their goal is to help expand McGill’s entrepreneurial scene to be on par with the likes of the University of Toronto, Harvard, and Stanford. The duo hope that the increased entrepreneurial presence on campus will abate concerns about McGill’s recent drop in the world rankings.

“One way for [McGill] to stay competitive and relevant on a global scale is for it to become a more entrepreneurial university,” Luong said. “We’re speaking with the alumni departments and McGill faculty members right now to promote [innovation] on campus. [We want] to get other students at McGill to see entrepreneurship as a viable career path rather than students seeing it as a last resort.”

According to the Glimpse team, this is an excellent opportunity for McGill to increase its entrepreneurial presence in Canada.

“We feel that this is the perfect time to promote the growth of entrepreneurship and to [expand] it [further],” Norouzi said. “There’s no limit to what you can accomplish when you set your eyes on goals and move towards them.”

a, Art, Arts & Entertainment

Art imitates life, in all its monotony

by James Chapman on

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Jonas Mekas has been making movies ever since he stepped off the boat from Lithuania to Ellis Island in 1959. These films have covered a diverse array of topics and have ranged from the provoking and intellectually challenging to the downright bizarre. Known colloquially as the ‘godfather’ of American Avant-Garde cinema, he has put out an extensive body of work. Recently, his 365 Day Project has been showing at the PHI Centre here in Montréal. With absolutely no idea what to expect, I went down to take a look.

The exhibition, titled In Praise of the Ordinary, took 38 hours of video footage shot in daily increments over the course of a year, and compiled it onto 12 separate screens. Every individual screen represented a month in the artist’s life, and the films shown on each were played in chronological order.  The Festival du Nouveau Cinéma and the Foundation for Contemporary Art put on the whole affair, with guest curator Anna Kekeres there to ensure the exposition went as smoothly as possible.

Saying things went ‘smoothly’ is a subjective definition, but none of the logistical drama typically associated with conceptually complex exhibits was present. To give some idea of what the exhibition was like, the opening video depicted Mekas giving an earnest and inspiring speech about the nature of film in a workshop before dancing to 1930s Eastern European music for the rest of the video. At one point during the dancing, the word ‘terrorist’ flashed onscreen, and was never seen again.

Many of the films were interesting enough to hold my attention, despite the mundane subject matter.  Some were even genuinely moving; a 30 second clip of an empty coffee shop with a lazy tune playing on the radio made me feel inexplicably nostalgic.  On the other hand, some films were just plain strange—one was just a woman’s feet, and nothing else, for six minutes straight.

On the whole, the movies were distinctly reminiscent of a bygone era and came off as heartwarming more than anything else. Mekas contrasts the old-time lifestyle shown on camera with the digital means by which the exhibit is presented, almost poking fun at modern ‘videographers’ who seem bent on recording things 24/7. The reason people aren’t normally filming every second of their lives is because the majority of those seconds don’t merit being captured on film. Again, it’s art, and thus, subjective; but good on Mekas if he’s lampooning this mentality, as I think he is.

The man himself is charming and friendly, though brief in his explanation of the exhibit. The crowd present at the opening seemed to really enjoy the films, though I did see a few faces walk away from them sharing my distinctly confused expression. I went in not knowing what to expect, and left feeling confounded—though a little happier, I think.

Jonas Mekas’ In Praise of the Ordinary has been showing since Oct. 11, and will be open until Oct. 26 at the PHI Centre. Admission is

a, Student Life

Beauty in simplicity

by Adrien Hu on

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Somedays, clothes become frustrating. A brief look in the mirror and negotiations with the garments begin. Suddenly, dressing oneself quickly turns into a 3-D jigsaw puzzle of colours, textures, and shapes. In the end, we often just want something simple and pleasant.

On the corner of Ave. Laurier and l’Esplanade, boutique François Beauregard embodies this simplicity; the space is modest and charming. Upon entering the shop, you are greeted by delicate porcelain fixtures of birds taking flight. The walls are divided horizontally into white and tiffany blue, giving the impression that one is travelling across the horizon as one wanders through the shop. Chandeliers take on the form of elegant birds nests. Shaped to resemble delicate twigs, they complete the theme and atmosphere, illuminating the space with light. The boutique reflects a refined form of nature—an inviting retreat to the disenchanted traveller.

With delicacy and expertise, owner and designer François Beauregard carries this charm into his creations. The sides of the boutique are graced by a collection of elegant dresses,  masterfully constructed blouses, pants, and skirts. Tables stationed at the center of the room present classic staples: a selection of v-neck T’s, crew necks, and Donna tank tops. Each item is crafted with care, and the style is one of gentle sophistication. A humble array of colours and shades—navy, white, and greys—line the walls with subtle blossoms of pastels, corals, and red.

Each item is crisp in its lines and fits well to the body. Creases are integrated perfectly, forming smooth but defined shapes. The clothes emphasize the natural curves of the feminine figure, but are reserved and graceful. Several pieces feature a swift, arched curve for the back, catering to a woman with timeless taste.

Beauregard describes his design aesthetic as effortless, charming, but poised—drawing on the intersectionality of American and European culture.

“It’s minimalist, very simple, very modern,” Beauregard said. “[It is] a little bit of a mix between American classics [and] European-French. So that’s the look—very simple. I would [take] the American basic like T-shirts, shirts […] and mix it up in an European way.”

All of Beauregard’s designs are conceptualized in the back-room studio. The processes is very traditional; the sketching, fabric selection, cutting, draping, and sewing are all done by hand and finished with a meticulous eye for detail.

In the Montreal fashion scene, Beauregard’s minimalistic design is second to none. To the modest and chic McGill student who takes value in comfortable, stylish, and delicately alluring pieces, this is the place. Of course, simple is in no way synonymous with limited options. On the contrary, the boutique houses an impressive collection of styles. For added variety, Beauregard also carries several brands from Europe and the U.S. to complement his staples.

For the student, boutique Francois Beauregard is a luxury because in the midst of midterms and crises, one can take comfort in the hug of cotton, silk, and cashmere. There is certainly a value to being able to wear quality-tailored clothing and it affirms that, in a life where everything changes in a blink of an eye, the ensemble—and you—are beautiful in simplicity.

 

 

a, Private, Sports

Redmen blank opponents in Homecoming sweep

by Remi Lu on

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Homecoming Week celebrations were certainly in store for the McGill Redmen, as they trounced the Ottawa Gee-Gees on Friday with a final score of 6-0. The team followed up the win with a dominant victory over the UQTR Patriotes at McConnell Arena, posting a score of 3-0. Second-year kinesiology masters student Andrew Flemming guarded the net for McGill in the first shut-out, while rookie goaltender Jacob Chouinard added to the team’s shut-out total in their match against UQTR.

Following Friday evening’s matchup with the Gee-Gees, the Redmen faced the Patriotes for the first of two meetings this season. McGill quickly settled into a rhythm in the opening period, maintaining strong offensive pressure on their opponents by shifting the puck around the UQTR defence. The teamwork paid off as rookie forward Jan Kaminsky finally broke through the Patriotes’ blue line at 8:06, scoring his second goal of the season. Second-year Education student David Rose added to the Redmen total two minutes later, putting McGill up 2-0 to end the first.

McGill’s offence has developed well this season under Head Coach Kelly Nobes. He has been able to implement his offensive and defensive game plans with his young roster.

“We’ve been doing a good job of getting pucks to the net and getting guys driving the lanes,” Nobes said. “We’ve scored goals on second and third opportunities, which you need to do. Our penalty killing has been outstanding. We’ve killed off about 14 to 15 penalties this weekend [….] We’re able to use all 20 guys, so that’s key to winning for sure.”

Despite a scoreless second period, the Redmen came out with a sense of urgency and aggression, immediately putting pressure on UQTR goalie Marc-Etienne Gelinas once more. McGill’s up-tempo offence translated into a 43-41 shots on net advantage. Seven minutes into the final stanza, defenceman and co-captain Ryan McKiernan fired a rocket shot down the middle of the ice to net McGill a 3-0 lead. Second-year right-winger Max Le Sieur was credited with an assist for the goal, along with second-year centre Jonathan Brunelle. Other Redmen on the scoresheet included Cedric McNicoll, Neil Blunden, and Patrick Deslisle-Houde. McGill held onto the advantage to finish the game despite a few last minute scares from UQTR.

(Luke Orlando / McGill Tribune)
(Luke Orlando / McGill Tribune)

“We wanted to have another consistent effort tonight,” Nobes said. “We wanted to play with more of a physical edge, be disciplined. We wanted to get pucks in behind their [defence], get moving, and really establish the pace.”

This year’s roster has witnessed a relatively large overhaul, as the team lost many long-time veterans to graduation. Included among the losses was goalie Hubert Morin, the face of the Redmen for the past few years. However, it is clear that the changeover at the goalie position has caused few problems, with previous back-up Flemming posting two shut-outs and rookie Chouinard recording another.

“Our goaltending has been [strong],” Nobes said. “We’re getting good production… from both of our goalies.”

Rounding out the team are 21 players in their first or second year. Coach Nobes is high on the potential of his young roster following last year’s tough season.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” Nobes said. “The guys are having a great time together[….] They’ve got a lot of energy. We’re coming together quickly.”

The Redmen now have a conference record of 3-1-0, in stark contrast to last season’s struggles against OUA teams. McGill’s sole loss has come at the hands of the Ryerson Rams, a winnable game that was dropped in overtime. With a fresh roster and young talent, the Redmen hope to once again challenge for the CIS Championship.

McGill faces the Carleton Ravens this Friday, Oct. 25 in the first of two match-ups.

a, Creative

NBA Canada Series — Timberwolves 104, Celtics 89

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a, Opinion

Considering the harms of sports culture

by Tyler Michaels on

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Last week, the Tribune ran a feature titled “Why McGill can’t ‘Pack the Stadium,” which discusses the lack of a sports culture at McGill. It argued that the numerous other entertainment options in Montreal, a shortage of athletics funding, and a few specific features of McGill’s athletic facilities, were the reasons why more McGill students aren’t McGill sports fans.

The question of “why don’t people at McGill get involved in athletics or become fans?” is a valid one. However, last week’s article ignored the structural, institutional, and cultural aspects that might alienate McGillians from a sports culture. Furthermore, it seems to propose that such a culture is a good thing, while failing to recognize the negative side-effects of sports culture.

It’s obviously possible that if McGill Athletics advertised more effectively they might be able to get more people out to the games. But maybe it’s not the cold or the overwhelming other entertainment options in Montreal, but rather the perceptions of athletics and athletes themselves that keeps McGill students from becoming sports fans. Perhaps McGill students don’t go to sports games because they, for very legitimate reasons, were dissuaded from coming to an athletics game long before they ever arrived in Montreal, or at least, before game day.

Perhaps they were dissuaded by previous negative experiences with ‘jocks’ in their high schools. Or maybe it was when they walked into the McConnell Arena and had a ticket checker call them a “fag” and maliciously suggest that they wanted to be “pat down,” as happened to a student earlier this year. Maybe it’s because they find the members of McGill sports teams that they know personally to be misogynistic and sexist. Maybe it’s the separation of sports teams into ‘male’ or ‘female,’ which leaves no space for their gender identity. Or that they were alienated by the sign in the Athletics facilities put up—and eventually taken down—this summer that said “Be a Man!” and then listed sexist stereotypes about what ‘being a man’ entailed.

Maybe they were put of by the team name “Redmen” which, yeah, okay, maybe is named after a Scottish kilt or something, but still seems kinda racist, and is kind of like naming a team “the Rapists” after an author with the (unfortunate) last name Rape and then defending the team name by saying “No! Wait! It’s not offensive! It’s a reference to a famous author! Don’t get so worked up!”

Some of the above listed are not the fault of McGill Athletics. Others are. In any case, they underscore a pretty major issue that was unexamined in last week’s piece: maybe people at McGill aren’t going to games because sports, organized athletics, players, etc. have been excluding them for most of their lives, and this doesn’t make them want to go to games and cheer on these athletes. This culture of exclusion in sports at large is not the specific fault of McGill Athletics, but the onus should be on McGill Athletics to prove to people that unlike athletics at every university in the world, the one at McGill is not oppressive nor exclusionary.

 

Do we want a culture of athletics on campus?

I also wonder what people have in mind when they envision a ‘strong culture of athletics,’ and particularly how they would see it manifesting at McGill. Obviously, it would include a stadium packed with fans for every game; but are those fans drunk fans? Do they host post-game ragers in packed (frat) houses? Does it include a culture of adoration of athletes on campus? In short, are they envisioning—and idealizing—a McGill-ified version of the culture of athletics that exists at many of our institutional cousins south of the border?

If so, I think this should give pause. In addition to packing the stadium with fans, “strong culture[s] of athletics” such as these tend also to have other unfortunate correlates. These include a culture of binge-drinking that alienates the many people on campus who choose not to imbibe (at McGill, 10.2% of students at our school report never having drank according to McGill’s 2013 American College Health Association’s National College Health Assessment survey). They also valorize athletes (especially hyper-masculine male athletes) which gives them a near-mythical status that allows them to get away with crimes like sexual assault.

Another way of saying this is that I don’t think that anywhere on earth there exists a positive “strong culture of athletics.” As such, if the McGill “culture of athletics” is going to look anything like what it’s like at other schools, I don’t want it at my university. I only want a strong culture of athletics here if it’s going to be inclusive, positive, and non-oppressive. If my friends and aquaintances’ past experiences with McGill Athletics and sports teams are any indication, this doesn’t seem like the most likely scenario. Considering the unfortunate incidents mentioned above, McGill Athletics—though well-intentioned and trying hard to be more inclusive—is simply not ready for a bigger role on our campus. It has alienated and hurt McGillians despite its minimal relevance, and I can’t imagine that these types of incidents would somehow decrease in frequency if sports and athletics took a more prominent place in campus life.

 

This commentary was printed in abridged form in the October 22nd issue of the McGill Tribune.

a, News

Pilot ‘myInvolvement’ tool to record extra-curriculars

by Natalie Wong on

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This semester marks the pilot stage of myInvolvement, a web-based tool designed to showcase workshops, events, and volunteer opportunities available to McGill students. The project provides a way for students to gain awareness of extra-curricular activities and for faculty and staff to track students’ involvement. It also allows initiatives taking place on campus to publicize their events. 

 

Tool to capture involvement for all students

MyInvolvement gives students access to information about extra-curricular activities by providing tools to search, register, and track participation in extra-curricular activities. It also provides students with a Co-Curricular Record of Involvement (CCRI) from McGill, which is an official document that provides a summary of students’ extra-curricular activities to go along with their academic transcripts.

Lina Di Genova, who is responsible for myInvolvement and is the manager of student assessment for McGill Student Services, said that this initiative fills the need for a more supportive campus environment where students can recognize the contributions they make to campus life.

“After looking at years of survey data, we wanted to make sure that such a tool could capture involvement for all students—undergraduate or graduate—and in the future, create spaces for all different student initiatives to have the equal opportunity to get out there in the community,” Di Genova said.

MyInvolvement assists faculty and staff in promoting activities that students are eligible to participate in. Di Genova outlined the vision for the initiative, which is to encompass the maximum possible number of organizations across the university and to allow these groups to present themselves from one accessible, consolidated source for students.

“We wanted it to grow to allow different organizations across McGill to capture involvement in a way that was meaningful for their organization,” Lina said.

Anurag Dhir, community engagement coordinator of McGill’s Social Equity and Diversity Education (SEDE) Office, said it is important for students to be recognized for their involvement in the community within and beyond McGill.

“The fact that there is now a tool that helps collect this information as well as promote all engagement opportunities is a great initiative,” Dhir said. “The success in its application will be based on how well it reflects the diversity of engagement opportunities available through McGill.”

 

Getting involved 

Because MyInvolvement is currently in its pilot stage, students have the opportunity to voice their opinions and be a part of consultation aimed at improving the initiative. According to Di Genova, 23 organizations currently belong to the program and over 1,500 students are using it.

Students can find out which organizations are using the tool through myInvolvement’s website. A link to the site will be added to Minerva in the future.

“We have received really positive feedback,” Di Genova said. “Students who have participated through Community Engagement Day have started to suggest activities that they want. We’re going to include some of it, so it’s a neat feature that students have intuitively started to think about all these other [involvement] opportunities.”

Laura Couteille, U0 Arts, said myInvolvement helped her make sense of the information given to students who are new to McGill.

“During the first few weeks of school, there were so many pamphlets and events and groups that it was overwhelming, but MyInvolvement’s easy-to-navigate Organizations Directory helps make sense of it all,” Couteille said.

Kaelan Forgues, U0 Management, expressed a similar sentiment.

“Being engaged with myInvolvement has brought me access to opportunities that I would have originally been interested in but not aware of,” Forgues said.

 

Growing initiative at McGill

According to Di Genova, the initiative will continue to grow as the extent of services offered expands.

“We wanted the co-curricular record to reflect the McGill student life, so we’re expanding it to include workshop training, professional development activities, volunteer opportunities,” Di Genova said. “It will keep growing and is definitely something to keep an eye on.”

a, Arts & Entertainment, Music

School of Ska

by Max Bledstein on

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“Two roads before you, and you must make your choice,” legendary ska singer Roy Panton intoned during the final night of the 2013 Montreal Ska Festival.  His words aptly described the contrast between the final two nights of the festival, though thankfully for many Montreal ska fans, they didn’t have to make a decision.

Friday night’s events took place at Café Campus, and it was clear from the wide assortment of hair colours, piercings, and ripped jeans among the crowd what kind of a night this would be.  Sure enough, once local band The Real Deal took the stage, the near-capacity venue was consumed by spirited fans gleefully moshing with one another and an infectious outbreak of crowdsurfing.  Their set consisted of songs that mostly sounded like Blink-182 B-sides, but the audience wasn’t willing to let The Real Deal’s derivative tunes get in the way of them having a good time.

After The Real Deal played, Montreal favourites Kman and the 45s, a band the audience responded to by ratcheting up their exuberance even further.  Their efforts were rewarded with several ska covers of Ramones classics halfway through the set, which were easily its highlight.

The night concluded with veterans Big D and the Kids Table which were clearly the act that most people had come out to see that night.  Frontman David McWane fed the crowd’s excitement with an immediate burst of energy upon taking the stage, which didn’t wane over the course of the set.  The crowd matched his enthusiasm, and by the end of their set, most seemed more than willing to listen to them for the rest of the night.

(Luke Orlando / McGill Tribune)
(Luke Orlando / McGill Tribune)

Saturday night brought a shift to the larger and more upscale Club Soda: here, both the makeup of the audience and the music itself reflected the change in venue.  Gone were the ripped jeans, dreadlocks, and faded plaid jackets that had permeated Café Campus; instead, they were replaced by slacks, grey hair, and collared shirts.

Chicago act Green Room Rockers made it immediately clear that Saturday was going to be different with a melodic guitar solo from Ryan Frahm that showed a level of virtuosity not seen in any of Friday’s bands.  Frahm’s playing only improved as the set progressed.  His proficiency was complemented by the range of genres that could be heard as they played.  The impressive scope of their music was encapsulated by “You and I,” a song that began with a 12/8 gospel feel, before seamlessly transitioning into a 4/4 Jimmy Cliff-esque reggae sound.

Next came Panton and Yvonne Harrison, who were backed by Minnesota band The Prizefighters.  Their seemingly effortless vocals were a welcome contrast to the testosterone-laden shouts that dominated Friday’s sets.  Harrison’s vocals in particular cut above the band in a way that drew attention to their simple elegance.

The night ended with veteran New York City band The Slackers.  Like Green Room Rockers, their set welcomed a variety of styles ranging from ska to rocksteady to rockabilly.  The Slackers were helped by saxophonist Dave Hillyard, whose witty quote of the standard “I’ll Remember You” (popularized by Elvis Presley)  in an early solo was only one of many delightful moments throughout the night.

The festival concluded with an after-party at Ye Olde Orchard that featured local band Danny Rebel and the KGB.  The crowd practically danced on top of the band, bringing back the grungy feel that had been prevalent on Friday.  Truly, there was something for all sorts of Jamaican music fans at the 2013 Montreal Ska Festival.

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