McSweeney’s List (8 May 2024)
The majority of my favorite Montrealers are from away. When questioned about this, it took me a minute, but I came up with what I believe to be true: transplants to our fair city come here because they love the variety of Laid Back and World Class that we have to offer. They want to go to the countless festivals, venues, and various third wavy artisanal things we cultivate here. Someone born here does so accidentally, and all too often proceeds to take everything for granted. Montreal cool also means shrugging and complaining while drinking wine and eating baguette in a park, entirely ignoring how unique our wine-bread-park culture is. Arguably, the people from away, with their enthusiasm and bigger perspective, are the reason that Montreal is as cool as it is.
Recently one of my dearest Montrealers-By-Choice mentioned that we don't get proper springs here. I'd always had a hunch, but I'm not travelled enough to say such things with conviction. “We go from winter to summer,” he said, and I thought of how Easter in Montreal never looks like Easter commercials from the States. My American bestie has been sending me pictures of flowers in full bloom for weeks already, and I'm still not sure which jacket to wear. (Layers. The answer is always layers.) It got me thinking about the city specific seasons we do have, like Festival Season, and fkn Froshes-At-All-The-Bars Season. We're at the intersection of a couple of city-seasons right now. One is Moving-Students-Making-Messes Season, which hits some parts of town worse than others, and the other more joyful and universal one is Drinking-In-Parks Season. While I'm writing this on a grey, rainy Monday, I assure you, the D.I.P Season is here.
This past Friday I headed out to my regular Friday joint to do my regular Friday things, but when I got there, it was dead. Comics sat around the table waiting for an audience, and I feared my pocket of laughter would go to waste. “It's the first nice day,” the venue owner noted. “Even the people who intended to come stopped for a drink in the park, and lost the plot”. Fair enough, and fully relatable. I have been that well intentioned guest-to-be who never shows up. The evening wasn't turning out as planned, and there was plenty of night left to come, so what to do?
We made a false start to a bar that wasn't a bar but rather a chic restaurant, and no one cared to play that game. We gathered more friends-of-friends (nice weather is a sticky contagion that way), and a dog of a friend-of-friend, stocked up on Dep drinks with only a few moments to spare before 11, and headed to a playground. It was my first time sitting at a picnic table this year, my first time playing fetch with a dog this year, feeling the grass on my skin as I grabbed the stick over and over again. Finally, it was the right temperature without a jacket, and there wasn't a flying or biting bug to be found.
Now, I didn't know most of these people very well. Even the ones I did know were newer friends, people I met when the snow was deep, so these were my first ever park drinks with them. But these unplanned events, these spontaneous side quests, are where bonds are solidified. It was a diverse group, spanning a 15 year age range. There were parents, married folks, divorced folks. There were a couple of couples, and cheerfully single folks too. We came from different provinces, different countries, and there was a variety of cool education and diplomas, including one PhD. Besides the fact that we all knew each other tangentially through someone else, the only truly common thread was that we were all artists in our own rights. We all took crooked paths to where we are, and have no idea where the future will actually take us. Any pretensions we might have in a different setting are quickly erased by park drinks, and sneaking off to pee (us ladies snuck off to an actual bathroom, keeping it classy, obvs). Resources become communal once the stores close, and the picnic table becomes home base. For an evening we are timeless and young, even if we are really neither.
We took off, called by the siren song of the last metro. And while yes, I was left painfully hungover, I was also left thinking that if this is Montreal’s version of spring, I wouldn't want it any other way.
big night at the poly mic
The Poly Mic brings you some of the best LGBTQ+ comedians in Montreal, to enjoy having a cocktail on the emblematic queer bar.
Featuring local icon Eve Parker Finley (CBC, Canada Got Talent), Just For Laughs Discovery Series recording artist Andrew Khoury, and other up and coming hilarious comedians!
WHAT: The Poly Showcase with Eve Parker Finley
WHERE: Bar Notre-Dame-Des-Quilles, 32 Rue Beaubien E, Montréal, QC H2S 1P8
WHEN: Wednesday, May 8, @ 9 PM
METRO: Beaubien (Orange)
DETAILS: Facebook
TONIGHT
Gather your random-facts and general-knowledge friends for a night of trivia! The guys behind The World's Smallest Comedy Night host trivia at Hurley's Irish Pub every Wednesday night. From sports to pop culture, movies to food, they work hard to keep the questions fresh and fun. Alcoholic prizes will be awarded every round, and comedians take the stage to keep the vibes rolling! Bonus, the good and the menu is impressive, so it's a one stop good time. This week killer comedian (and the hypest of hype men) Vance Michel hosts.
WHAT: Trivia Night at Hurley's Irish Pub
WHERE: Hurley's Irish Pub, 1225 Crescent St., Montreal, H3G 2B1
WHEN: Wednesday, May 8, @ 8 PM
METRO: Lucien-L'Allier (Orange), Guy-Concordia (Green)
DETAILS: Facebook
RETAIL THERAPY
Pop Finds is back with another fab, artisanal shopping experience. Spoil yourself (or treat your mom) to a day of browsing, buying, food, photo booths and fun. My girl over at Le Ciel Parfum will have a private room where you and yours can whip up your new favourite perfumes! With 42 perfume notes up her proverbial sleeve, she'll help you sniff out what you love and concoct a scent that is truly and uniquely yours!
WHAT: Pop Finds Mother's Day Pop-Up
WHERE: 370 Rue Guy, Montreal, H3J 1S6
WHEN: Saturday, May 11, 11 AM - 5 PM
METRO: Guy-Concordia (Green)
DETAILS: Facebook
TEA TIME
The Afternoon Drag Cafe is an all-ages afternoon sober drag show. The goal of this show is to provide audience members an opportunity to engage with drag in a cozy cafe during the daytime and enjoy performances that are free of drinking or drug references, nudity, gore and very loud music and noises. Tickets are PWYC online or at the door (cash only). Online tickets are linked in the event discussion.
The Afternoon Drag Cafe acknowledges that we are meeting on Indigenous lands that have never been ceded by treaty. Colonialism has had devastating consequences on the land, waters and First Peoples. The Kanien’kehá:ka Nation has a deep connection to this territory, which they call Tiohtià:ke, and the waters that surround it. Tiohtià:ke is and has been a gathering place for many First Nations for many millennia.
Produced by Itsh and Timothy Toxic
This edition is a special one for Mother's day, Kings only.
WHAT: The Afternoon Drag Café
WHERE: Cafe l'Orbite, 406 Rue Notre-Dame, Montreal, H2Y 1C8
WHEN: Sunday, May 12, Seating @ 1 PM, Show @ 2 PM
METRO: Champ-de-Mars (Orange)
DETAILS: Facebook
YOU KNOW WHICH BOULEVARD
Your newest favourite multidisciplinary arts mic is back! Presented by Forget The Box, hosted by the multi-talented Andrew Jamieson, On The Boulevard is the only boulevard that matters this Sunday. Spoken word, comedy, music, magic, and things we haven't thought of are welcome! The show is PWYC with funds going to running Forget The Box, so we can keep talking about fantastic local artists. Want some stage time? All the details are right here: https://forms.gle/5Ybmt2Ppz44ScVu57
WHAT: On The Boulevard
WHERE: The Bifteck, 3702 St. Laurent Blvd., Montreal, H2X 2V4
WHEN: Sunday, May 12, Show @ 8 PM
METRO: St. Laurent (Green)
DETAILS: Facebook
COUCH COMEDY
A local YouTube series is making waves. Comedians Quin Lague and Kevin Campbell debuted Pussy Patrol: The Docuseries a few weeks ago, and now you can watch the first 3 episodes from your couch for free. It's a mocku-series that follows Lil Enis (Lague), and Special K (Campbell), Montreal rappers determined to hit it big. Obviously, hilarity ensues. From well crafted scripted moments to spontaneous run-ins with cops, they prove themselves committed to the bit. The characters themselves are nothing like the comedians, which only makes it funnier, and showcases their acting chops. You can't binge it: this series is in progress, with the first 3 episodes ready to hit your eyeballs now.
McSweeney’s List drops every Wednesday with the best events, workshops, and more, each week in Montreal!
