The Diving Bell - MTL Venue Series
The Diving Bell Social Club is a space fit for the impressive collage of events it hosts.
When I first went to the Diving Bell on a cold winter night, its unique nature was immediately evident. After climbing a sizable set of stairs I was through the looking glass, and into a vibrant world where drag queens host fun-filled trivia nights.
Drag trivia nights, hosted by the wonderful Bambi Dextrous every Monday, are just one of the many events that give the Diving Bell its reputation as one of the most diverse venues in Montreal. One night a stand up comedy show is hosted, and the next, a beloved Punk band is rocking out on the very same stage. This is no accident. I spoke to co-founder Austin Wrinch, who was drawn to the space’s versatility. After around 2 years at a smaller venue, Wrinch and his business partners felt it was time to move on and move up. “It was a perfect size to support local artists more conducively, but also it's still… versatile enough that we can support different things.”
The unused 3rd and 4th floors of a building on St. Laurent were the answer to their search. However, finding a location was only half the battle. The Diving Bell faced a slew of challenges, starting with a difficult landlord, and the rooms packed with junk that he insisted be moved instead of thrown away. “We rented… a 3 ton truck, and we filled that up 10 different times, so 30 tons of accumulated stuff that we got out of there.”
Photo by Jason Lopes
After a self-described “relatively unfinished” opening, the Diving Bell started hosting shows. Everything was going well until May of 2019, when Wrinch says the landlord died in the bar below, Champ’s, during a sold-out comedy show. His death exposed millions of dollars of debt, and left the owners of the Diving Bell exposed to rent-demanding mortgage lenders.
This was all sorted with a new building owner in January of 2020, just in time for the Covid Pandemic, which completely altered Montreal nightlife. Despite the uncertainty, the owners made the best of the shutdown.
“We were able to use the time that we had to actually do a bunch of, like the decorations and the lighting and all the stuff that we actually wanted to do initially…We spent alot of time kind of trying to make the space, kind of basically not leaning too hard in any one direction.”
Regarding this odd start, Wrinch says, “When people ask me now, ‘Oh how long’s the Diving Bell been here for?’, I find it kinda hard to actually give a number because it's like both like 5 years but also like 2 years.”
Either way, the Diving Bell is now an undoubted institution in the Montreal scene. Although this diversity meant it took longer for the Diving Bell to become well known, it also built a strong community foundation, allowing for multiple types of artists to be served, which was a priority for the founders. The Diving Bell now proudly hosts dance parties, drag shows, band sets, and so much more.
Some of Wrinch’s personal favourite events are Cover Nights which are hosted about once every two months. Local bands come together to perform short sets based on a given theme. The most recent Cover Night was an “Anti-Valentine’s Day” theme, with artists such as Alicia Clara belting melodramatic break up songs.
Photo by Sarah Royrock
Wrinch views these cover nights as “a really great opportunity to get a whole bunch of different bands all together, bands that probably wouldn’t play together normally… it always just feels like a really powerful community staff party.”
Wrinch also spoke about how these nights were good for paying the bands, as the door cost was split up and distributed. He also mentioned how the Diving Bell provides multi-track recordings of artists’ live performances, demonstrating the establishment’s commitment to promoting local art. The Diving Bell is truly a much-needed ally to performers in Montreal.
“The long-term goal is to create a space, obviously, that people want to play in, and also archiving as much as possible with pictures and videos and audio recordings just so that, you know, people walk away with more than just what they might be expecting.”
Some notable upcoming events include a new “Teenage Angst” cover night on April 20th, and “BYOB (Bring your own Band)” nights. BYOB is a hybrid competition in which 4 less-known bands play, with full backline provided. The audience then votes on their favourites in a bracket-style battle, where the winner takes all of the door money. Wrinch came up with this idea after an influx of booking requests from newer bands that, to his dismay, couldn’t all be accepted. The next Bring your own Band is on April 22nd. Interested bands can apply via a Google Form on the Diving Bell Instagram.
Photo by @Jasoncg2
For Wrinch, the variety is what makes the Diving Bell magical. “Some of the best shows are the ones I don’t even know about until they’re happening.” Through my conversation with Wrinch, I came to understand where the electric, blue-light bathed energy of the Diving Bell comes from: its founders, and their passion for the Montreal art community.
“We wanted to make a space that felt conducive for artists to play in, but also a space that like feels like it's a real space to perform, like it feels kinda worthy of all the time and effort people take to prepare something.”
Regardless of its rocky start, the Diving Bell has a bright future as a gathering place for artists of all kinds. You can pop in on any given night with the guarantee of a wacky, beautiful, community-centred event.
Photo by Dan Crowder
For more info, visit The Diving Bell Social Club