Things to Do in Montreal: October 4-10

As the leaves turn colour and the sun still keeps the days warm, Montreal moves into the fall season with one of the city’s best film festivals, the opening of a new comedy club, world-class dance and theatre, plenty of good food, and live music from classical to jazz to rock…

(film world) See internationally-acclaimed feature and short films at the 42nd Festival du Nouveau Cinema, October 9-20. Robert Lepage and Pedro Pires open the festival with their psychological thriller Triptyque, followed by films such as Xavier Dolan’s Tom à la ferme, Jia Zhang Ke’s A Touch of Sin, Atom Egoyan’s The Devil’s Knot, Peter Greenaway’s Goltzius and the Pelican Company, Anthony Chen’s Ilo Ilo, and a wonderfully bizarre bunch of films in the festival’s Temps 0 series. As well, take a seat in the Quartier des spectacles once the sun goes down to see free outdoor screenings of classic films, and visit the festival’s headquarters for special screenings and parties.

(comedy theatre) Kids in the Hall comedian Dave Foley does stand-up to inaugurate the opening of Yuk Yuks comedy club at the Rialto Theatre, October 4-5. Musical comedy comes to the Segal Centre for Performing Arts with Broadway hit Ain’t Misbehavin’: The Fats Waller Musical Show. Acclaimed playwright Steve Galluccio’s The St. Leonard Chronicles follows up on his play-turned-film Mambo Italiano, at the Centaur Theatre to October 27. Montreal circus centre Tohu hosts Swiss company Zimmermann de Perrot’s family-friendly, acrobatic absurdist comedy Hans Was Heiri, October 1-13. And Disney on Ice: 100 Years of Magic, brings Mickey, Minnie and the gang to town to skate scenes from the Lion King, Finding Nemo, Toy Story and more, in English on October 10, 13-14, at the Bell Centre.

(fab food) Montreal’s gourmet food trucks gather at the Olympic Stadium Esplanade for the final First Fridays event of the year, 4-11 p.m. on October 4, organized by the Association des restaurateurs de rue du Québec and featuring food trucks dedicated to roast sausages, speciality cheese dishes, dim sum, burgers and more. And pizza lovers head towards the Jean Talon Market for Pizza Week in Little Italy, October 4-12, featuring specialty pizza at special prizes at over a dozen restaurants plus a culinary workshop at Pomodoro Restaurant on October 4.

(dance for today) A modern version of the dark fairy tale Sleeping Beauty visits Montreal this month as Les Grands Ballets Canadiens present Swedish choreographer Mats Ek’s take on the classic tale, October 10-26. Catch the final show of Montreal choreographer George Stamos’s creation Lik Lik Pic, contemporary dance inspired by fraternal gestures and animal impulses, with wild music to match, at Agora de la Danse, October 4. And as part of Place des Arts’ 50th anniversary, dance company O Vertigo performs free shows specifically choreographed for Place des Arts’ Espace culturel Georges-Émile-Lapalme, October 7-11 at noon, 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

(art, classical jazz) UK artist Elizabeth Price brings her thought-provoking Turner-prize-winning video installation The Woolworths Choir of 1979 to the Musee d’art contemporain starting October 9, while on October 5-6, the Musee hosts the Max And Iris Stern International Symposium 7, focusing on the question of abstraction in art history and current art practices, with talks by scholars, critics and international art experts. In classical music, conductor Valery Gergiev leads St-Petersburg’s Mariinsky Orchestra in Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2, The Rock Op.7 and Symphonic Dances, at the Maison symphonique de Montréal, October 4. Organ music welcomes the fall season at the 15th Orgue et Couleurs Fall Festival, with Halifax-based Sanctuary Trio at St. James United Church on Friday and Ensemble Vocalys performing Bach’s Cantata 147, at Église St. Jean-Baptiste-de-Lasalle on Saturday. And Montreal’s own Off Jazz Festival is back October 3-12, featuring over 100 jazz and experimental musicians in 27 concerts.

(live music) Though Pop Montreal is over, the rock show still goes on. Friday night sees hip hop star Kid Cudi at the Bell Centre, while Spanish singer-songwriter Jorge Drexler plays songs from his new album at Metropolis. The Blue Man Group entertains with their percussive, colourful new multimedia show at Place des Arts, October 4-6. On Saturday, Streetlight Manifesto, bring their brand of ska-punk from New Jersey to Metropolis on October 5. Detroit indie-dance band Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. get the dance floor hopping at Cabaret Mile End on October 5, while the next night is all about good-time, country-tinged rock with L.A.’s Family of the Year and Toronto’s Dinosaur Bones. LA singer-songwriter-skater Hanni El Khatib comes to Sala Rossa on October 7. Ladies of the Canyon croon in a country-folk style at Cabaret Mile End on October 8, while long-time UK prog purveyors Hawkwind fly in to Théâtre Corona. On October 9, UK electronic music producer Gold Panda mixes heavy beats, found sounds, and indie-pop, at the SAT, while Swiss-German duo Boy, two women who create catchy, danceable tunes, play Corona, and Islands return with new album Ski Mask, at Il Motore. On October 10, hear what’s going on in The Neighbourhood as the American rock band settles in at Corona, and Italian prog rockers and Dario Argento film-soundtrack makers Goblin return with Secret Chiefs 3 to Le National.