As we thaw out from our wintery pandemic slump, we're trying to remember how to have social lives while also asking ourselves, "Who the hell are all these people at the show who I've never seen before??" 

Pre-pandemic, it was easy to find "the scene" if you tried hard enough (and went to events consistently). But that natural flow of new faces was completely interrupted, and now many are left wondering where the scene is, and how to get invited. 

My FYP on Tiktok often features 19-year-olds asking how to get invited to Montreal's underground raves and DIY rock shows, and last summer NO WAVES answered that call. They threw a wildly successful outdoor show, which was heavily documented and shared all over social media. After that show, I heard from a younger neighbourhood friend that they would be the next cool band in town. Promoters supported the claim that they brought a crazy energetic crowd, so I knew I had to see them the next time they played.

NO WAVES played at Bar L'Escogriffe on Thursday, April 14th with Blue Skies Turn Black, and the lineup could easily have fit into any 2015 surfer punk garage rock-inspired playlist. Jess X embodies a punk Cherry Glazerr energy (the Haxel Princess era specifically), while Piss for Pumpkin was described to me as 'Bikini Kill but more metal.'

TVOD (Television Overdose) brought a pure punk energy, hanging from the ceiling, spraying water all over the crowd, and getting them hyped for the headliners. Everyone at the show (who looked like they had just stepped out of my queer alt TikTok algorithm) loved it, encouraging each other to mosh, eagerly looking around for their friends to join them in the pit.

I was pleasantly surprised that NO WAVES began their set with a zero-tolerance for harassment speech, telling creeps to gtfo and anyone who felt unsafe to tell the band or someone nearby what was happening so that they could help. Their sound is easily comparable to Surf Curse's "Buds," Vundabar's "Gawk" era, The Garden's "The Life and Times of a Paperclip," and of course (perhaps the band's namesake) FIDLAR's "No Waves." It felt like the 2015 Burger Records universe of music that I grew up with but without the reputation of SA and harassment that the label and their artists attained. 

NO WAVES had charming stage banter, introducing one song as "a real song that we wrote when we were 15," another as "a song I always say I won't show my friends and then I do," and their cover of Surf Curse's "Freaks" as "that song you've probably heard on TikTok," which made me feel old but also warmed my heart.

After the show, the drummer Sam shared with me that he was so happy that people were having a great time and emphasized that it's essential for the bands on stage to make sure their audience is as safe as possible. 

I also caught a sweet moment of a girl interviewing one of the band member's dads about the show and other attendees. She said she was making a documentary about the band, even though they didn't know how she was yet.

Uma, a long-time friend of the band and local Montrealer, had this to say about the night, "I feel like I've grown up with NO WAVES, so watching them go from playing in their parent's basements to a show like this is wild. They get better and better each time. Being able to grow up with access to this scene is life-changing. It's really beautiful out here, the crowd, the people, the music, all of it."

If anything, the show gave me hope for the up-and-coming Montreal DIY scene. It's inspiring to see people excited to be at a show, especially in what seems to be a more accepting and safe environment. 

You can catch NO WAVES' tour kick-off at Turbo Haüs in Montreal with Bummer Camp and Last Waltzon on April 22nd.

Malaika Astorga is the Co-Founder & Creative Director of Also Cool. She is a Mexican-Canadian visual artist, writer, and social media strategist currently based in Montreal.

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