Three-to-see this week in Montréal

While the month of December tends to be near the bottom of the pit when it comes to concert viewing standards in Montréal, this week spares those looking for top-notch acts from ici and elsewhere.
 
Tuesday December 3^rd at Il Motore (179 Jean-Talon Ouest) sees cosmic Americana cowboy Cass McCombs ride into town aboard his latest horse:  The sprawling, weird, and wonderful double-disc he calls Big Wheel and Others. McCombs has quietly crafted one of the undergrounds most impressive singer-songwriter resumés, and his latest opus solidifies his place in the folk meets rock meets pop meets country blues pantheon.
 
On Thursday December 5^th at Casa del Popolo (4873 Saint-Laurent) go say hello to Chicago in the form of the most excellent Bare Mutants, led by indie mainstay Jered Gummere – you know him from such bands as The Muggles, Defilers, Real Cool Killers, Guilty Pleasures, and The Ponys. As heard on the group’s debut The Affliction, The Bare Mutants practice an organ garage rock voodoo as hear through early Jesus and Mary Chain amplifiers.
 
Closing out the week at Il Motore is perhaps the week’s most intriguing bill, a meeting of sorts between Montréal and Stockholm. From here the always stellar No Joy, hot on the heels of their brand new EP Pastel and Pass Out, a short offering of interplanetary pop and floating guitar fuzz. Acting as their foil for the night are the Swedish wonders Holograms, a punk outfit who love their extras sugary and sweet, presenting to the world songs from their great second record Forever.