Presented by the German Consulate General as part of the 75th anniversary of German-Canadian diplomatic relations
Fifty years ago, boldly dressed characters stood out in the urban landscape. Mohawk hairstyles, ripped jeans, studded bracelets and jackets—this is the image that usually comes to mind when we hear the word “punk.” We also think of loud, powerful music with provocative lyrics shouted at the top of our lungs. But behind the images associated with this subculture lay a genuine cultural protest movement that had a significant impact on society. Punks used their lifestyle and music to express their rejection of the established order and consumer society. Fifty years later, what remains of this movement? Come and discover or relive this exceptional period in a fun and festive way at the Goethe-Institut. A presentation by the German Consulate General in Montreal as part of the 75th anniversary of German-Canadian diplomatic relations.
Let's awaken the punk in us and remake the world... for one Nuit blanche!
On the program:
7 :00 pm – Midnight
Electrifying Tagtool Jam
7 :30 pm – 8 :30 pm
Discussion about punk music in Germany and Quebec with Dennis Kastrup (Berlin/Montreal) and Alan Lord (Montreal)
7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Mini German Courses
8:00 pm – 1:00 am
Pop-up hair salon with Olympus Hair Studio and the opportunity to capture the moment thanks to a photo booth
9:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Subversive zine workshops with Mélina Lopez—Racine and Roxanne Mallet
9 :00 pm – 1 :00 am
Wild Dance floor featuring German and international punk classics
About Dennis Kastrup
Dennis Kastrup is producing regularly segments about technology, art and cultural issues for public radio stations like Deutschlandfunk, Deutschlandfunk Kultur, radioeins, Dlf Nova, Westdeutscher Rundfunk, 1Live, Norddeutscher Rundfunk, Bayrischer Rundfunk in Germany and Radio Canada in Canada. He is also known for his works as a podcaster, moderator and specialist in the field of artificial intelligence and music.
Dennis Kastrup was born in Bielefeld in 1976 and grew up there. After spending time abroad in the United States, he graduated from the Marienschule der Ursulinen. This was followed by community service in Bethel and several semesters at the universities of Bielefeld, Detmold, and Paderborn. During this time, he developed a passion for music, which led Kastrup to the local campus radio station Hertz 87.9, where he spent three years, ultimately becoming music editor-in-chief. In 2003, he moved to Berlin and gained his first experience for public radio at radioeins. Over the decades, Kastrup worked for various radio stations and magazines. Today, he commutes between Berlin and Montréal.
About Alan Lord
Alan Lord, born in 1954, is a trilingual musician/composer/author/civil engineer who lives in Montreal. He is known as “the Boris Vian of Quebec.” He has been part of Montreal's punk/new wave scene since 1978, opening for the B-52's, the Ramones, Nina Hagen, and Bérurier Noir, producing an album for Lucien Francoeur, and being interviewed in the documentaries MTL Punk, Montreal New Wave, and Francoeur: On achève bien les rockers. He was the guitarist and main composer for the legendary band Vent du Mont Schärr and then wrote the hit Bonyeu des Colocs, which is now part of Quebec's cultural heritage. In 2019, he released the album Malades Mantras with his Pagan Gurus/Gourous païens, followed by Joyeux Supplices in 2022 and The New Dark Ages in 2025.
During the 1980s, he was an impresario of avant-garde counterculture, producing the Ultimatum festivals featuring William Burroughs, Kathy Acker, and Chris Kraus—among hundreds of writers and musicians from Montreal, New York, and Canada. The audio-visual archives of these festivals are part of the Alan Lord Collection at Concordia University.
He has published several books, has poems in a few anthologies, and is mentioned in several books, including the biography of his friend “Beat” Herbert Huncke. His memoir of the wild 1980s, High Friends In Low Places, was released on November 1, 2022.
As an engineer, he built the Montreal Biodome, as well as several buildings and bridges, including the signature cable-stayed bridge on St-Jacques Street next to the MUHC. He has been married to a conference interpreter for 37 years, and they have a 24-year-old son who is studying finance at Concordia University.
