Bar Le Ritz PDB - MTL Venue Series

The first time I experienced Bar Le RItz PDB was this past summer; I left the woods where I now live to attend a friend’s birthday party. The venue is one big room, when you walk in you’ve arrived…it’s a place that just is, and so I felt comfortable to just be as well.

Little did I know those walls held shows for Amyl and The Sniffers, Cigarettes After Sex, Yellow Days, Peach Pit, Men I Trust, Japanese Breakfast, Big Thief, Kikagaku Moyo, Car Seat Headrest, King Gizzard And the Lizard Wizard, and many more.

Recently I spoke with the owner of Bar Le Ritz PDB, Meyer Billurcu, and asked him how the venue came to be. The story begins long before Le Ritz was born, in the year 2000. That was the year Meyer and friend Brian started Blue Skies Turn Black as a creative endeavour and hobby. You may recognize BSTB because it now books much of Montreal’s concert scene. Barfly is where it began, and then expanded throughout the city. 

Photo by Doug Hollingworth

“Concert promotion is really risky…we take on all the risk for the least reward. I remember distinctly in 2007 we put on a show where everyone made money (the bands, the venue), but us. We actually lost quite a bit…so we decided something had to change. If we owned our own venue we could alleviate some of our risk when investing in shows we wanted to bring to Montreal.” BSTB was then booking mostly at Casa Del Popolo and La Sala Rossa. Though both had become popular to the point that confirming an event less than six months in advance had become difficult. Two to three months was preferred, so until “something changed”, BSTB was bound to branch out once more. A collaboration with a couple Casa and Sala contributors then came together to open a new room. In November of 2008, Il Motore kicked off.

The partnership of five that held Il Motore together, didn’t go as planned. As one can probably imagine, heads butt. One by one, partners left, Brian leaving BSTB as well. Meyer was then responsible for it all. “My lease was up and I'll be frank, I was thinking of closing. I was getting by but Il Motore was barely breaking even, and it was becoming too much work.”

Efrim and Thierry from the band Godspeed You! Black Emperor then reached out to Meyer. A band he respected before BSTB was even a thought, he willingly assumed they wanted to book a new show…but once they met in person, he discovered investing in Il Motore interested them. They saw its future not only as a venue, but as a neighbourhood bar that was open 7 days a week. They also shared two requests, “can we renovate,” and “can we change the name.” A handshake agreement was made and a few months later in September of 2014, Bar Le Ritz PDB emerged…PDB standing for Punks Don't Bend. The iconic red, white, yellow, and blue wood paneled walls that surround the stage and help “deaden” the sound, (to avoid the instruments causing a cacophony on stage), is now the location’s dead giveaway. 

Photo by Doug Hollingworth

But the “bar” aspect never truly took off. One room for both a venue and a bar equals opportunity for patrons to arrive at an event that charges cover, when they are hoping to just buy a beer. Meyer found himself fully responsible for the space once again, prior to the pandemic. 

That’s when John Hatz of iloveneon stepped in, he and Meyer had already partnered up Neon with BSTB. The Ritz is now a venue full time, meaning they only open their doors when rented. “While we may not be open 7 days a week anymore I'd say the Ritz is booked about 250 nights a year.” They host concerts, dance parties, drag shows…even a few wedding receptions, to Meyer’s own surprise…“they thought the graffiti gave the place character.”

I recently recognized those toilet walls when they flashed across a friend’s social media story. It may be the most written on washroom I’ve ever witnessed. There have never been plans to paint though, (thankfully), if renovation occurred it would be to create facilities that are more gender inclusive than they are now. I asked how the bathroom became all-gender, and was told their patrons were listened to, that being inclusive is important. 

I also asked if Meyer wanted to mention any memorable moments…“November 19th, 2021.” After lockdowns and restrictions they were able to open at full capacity, and dancing was legal again. “There was definitely something in the air that night. It started with a sold out show by local band Fleece which was then followed by a dance party hosted by Glitter Bomb. After 18 months it felt good to feel free again.”

Cinema 1999 Posters - Connor Willumsen

A favourite event series of his involved a 35mm film projector being brought by Adam Abouaccar to the Ritz for Cinema 1999. A movie night which featured films that weren’t readily available on a streaming service…a curated selection. “[Adam] also commissioned this amazing local artist named Connor Willumsen to make limited edition silkscreen prints for each screening, I always made sure to grab one.”

Personally, I’ll never forget holding a script workshop for the indie feature Ever After on their stage, or seeing Ethel Cain grace the same platform for a sold-out crowd of three hundred…I cried and I’m certain I wasn’t the only one. Or the time I caught Zopa play, and Michael Imperioli (of The Sopranos and more recently The White Lotus), signed napkins and whatever else was brought to him. Bar Le Ritz PDB creates space for intimacy, and everyone is welcome.  

“We invite all genres of music to Le Ritz, DJs, artists, performers, etc., but we have zero tolerance for any hate…any disrespect towards another because they are different.”

To book Bar Le Ritz PDB contact Meyer Billurcu via email: meyer@blueskiesturnblack.com