By: Sara-Louise Bowrey / John Bownas
Leonard Cohen, Arcade Fire, Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
Just three of the many musical exports that Montreal is perhaps best known for.
Our pilgrimage to this lovely city wasn’t, however, to pay homage to the greats. Rather it was to unearth some of the best new and emerging (or sometimes established, but hidden) bands and singers the city and the country have to offer.
For our band reviews from M for Montreal 2022 click HERE...we found some corkers!
And along the way we were given the chance over a long and snowy weekend in November to get inside a whole bunch of the coolest little venues in and around the downtown red light area (sorry, we should now say ‘Quartier des spectacles’, although Google maps still hasn’t caught up with that rebranding) – and up to Plateau Mont-Royal and Little Portugal.
From our base at the excellent and well-positioned Hotel Zero 1, we were just a stone’s throw from Club Soda and Café Cleopatre. And although a lot of the other gig spaces were a 30-40 minute walk away, there were a few different roads to wander up and down to explore the city’s many independent stores, thrift/vintage shops, restaurants and bars.
Or failing that it was an easy matter of hailing a cab – and we never had to wait more than about three to five minutes for a ride.
Montreal is a city of architectural contrasts, as its older buildings are interspersed with modern blocks and criss-crossed by busy urban highways – but it retains a huge amount of character and charm, and never feels imposing or sterile. In fact much the opposite, there’s an organic charm to many of the streets we explored, with small businesses thriving, despite the fact that the city has not escaped the global march away from high streets, which has left some glaring gaps in many of the less-profitable retail frontages.
Montreal live music venues we visited
But back to the venues…and here they are on a map:
Club Soda
Club Soda was probably the most commercial venue space we encountered, and it has previously hosted gigs by Oasis, Amy Winehouse, and Counting Crows, to name but a few. It’s a well-proportioned space, with a large stage at the end of a long two-tiered room surrounded by balcony seating. The sound quality is excellent (in fact it was in every venue we encountered), the beer was good, and the vibe was friendly.
Cafe Cleopatre
Meanwhile, across the road, we accidentally wandered into the downstairs ‘gentleman’s club’ part of Club Cleopatre, before finding the live music part of the venue upstairs. This is an historic building and one of the city’s oldest performance spaces, which now sees a diverse range of shows performed to a wide range of audiences. Don’t be put off by the slightly seedy feel outside – but do remember to take cash, as we guess the regular patrons have rejected card payments to avoid awkward moments over the monthly joint credit card statements.
Cafe Campus / Petit Campus
Café Campus and Petit Campus are a two-for the price of one pair of gig spaces in the same building. Not surprisingly, Petit Campus is the smaller of the two, with more of a cocktail lounge vibe and is where most of the live shows seem to take place – whilst its big sister is generally more of a weekly nightclub space with a high raised stage and a little more glitz. The building is definitely within walking distance of your room if you are staying at Zero 1.
L’Escogriffe Bar Spectale and Quai des Brumes (‘port of shadows’) are literally next door to each other on Saint Denis Street and O Patro Vys is 30-seconds away around the corner on Mont-Royale Ave East
L’Escrogriffe
L’Escogriffe was one of our favourite venues of the weekend. It’s a no-frills type of place, but feels like it has the history of a thousand bands oozing through every pore. The stage is low but wide and deep enough to not have singers backed up against the drum kit. There are pillars, but they don’t obstruct the view of the stage. Sit at the back or stand at the front, it’s your choice.
Quai des Brumes
Quai des Brumes also ticked lots of boxes for us. Walking in you squeeze past a high but somewhat small stage into a long room with the bar at the rear. The friendly staff were happy to stash our drinks for us when we realised we didn’t have time to finish them before running back to see another band next door – and they were there and ready when we cam back 30 minutes later.
Daytime gigs with daylight coming in are cool enough – but when it gets dark and the lights come on it turns into a super-cool space packed with smokey atmosphere.
Le Ministere
Le Ministere sits behind the monolithic Greek/Roman pillars of the former Bank of Montreal building on St Laurent Boulevard and has that ‘sweet-spot’ capacity of just under 300 (288 to be very precise!). This is the perfect size for newer bands to fill without too much trouble – but still feels ‘full’ with half that number once the lights are down.
It’s a relative newcomer to the Montreal scene, only opening in 2017, but it’s been very highly specified in terms of acoustics and lighting, and the fact that a new venue has opened and is thriving in an era where many are closing their doors is a testament to the strength of live music in this city.
Le Belmont
Le Belmont is just across the intersection from Le Ministere, and offers up a two-part space, with a bar at the front of the building and long live space set behind this, with it’s own bar at the rear. The stage is a nice height, and is narrow but deep, and the sound is really good… to the point where if you are stood in the front bar and listening to the live set being piped through you would think it was a recording.
Turbo Haus
Turbo Haüs is in the St-Denis Street Latin Quarter of Montreal, just 15 minutes from our base at Hotel Zero 1. The venue was established by members of a local hardcore punk band, Trigger Effect, and only opened its doors in this location in 2018, but has previously had a longer history, initially on St Antoine St until 2013, and then above a wine bar in an old bank building on Notre-Dame West.
For anyone who knows Camden Town it’s a little bit like a one-floor version of Barfly, with a bar totally separate from the gig space, meaning people can come in for a drink without even knowing there is a band on… or visa versa.
The live room is probably full-to-bursting with 100 people in it… but that’s great for young and emerging bands. The sound is great, and you are right in the face of the action.
If you just want to chill in the cool bar next door…that’s encouraged too.
Casa del Popolo
Casa Del Popolo (The House of the People) is the furthest from Hotel Zero 1, but still only 35 minutes if you are happy walking (uphill in places).
We made the mistake of not realising it was a double-fronted venue, with the left-hand side being the performance space (including a small bar), and the right being a café/bar, with access to the gig-space at the rear.
That led to us standing outside in the cold for twenty minutes waiting for the door to open – when we should have just gone straight in on the right into the warm and rather inviting public bar. Once we realised our mistake we kicked ourselves for missing the chance to spend more time in a really chilled out but cosy restaurant where people were clearly enjoying the food and drink on offer.
Once through into the second room the initial feel was of a slightly sterile space… but we shouldn’t have worried, because once the lights came down, the stage lights came on, and the PA kicked into gear we knew we’d come to the right place.
