McSweeney’s List (22 May 2024)
When we were young, it was easy to celebrate new chapters. Admittedly, that was because everything was new, and it's easy to celebrate firsts. It's easy to be hyped and sentimental about the first day of school, but fast forward to halfway through your master's degree (shoutout Shaina!) and it's just a grind you've grown accustomed to. The first bunch of birthdays and holidays are big moments. Odds are that somewhere there is an album (digital or otherwise) of your younger self smiling earnestly with your first bike, first double digit cake…And those become fewer and farther between over the years. At some point we only give credit to the decades, and holiday magic becomes for the children, and we grow haggard as elves on Boxing Day. It's easy to become so jaded that chapters go unrecognized in adulthood. We become interested in attaining the next level and rarely credit the levels that got us there, nor appreciate the level we’re on. At one point high school seems like a minute ago, and in a heartbeat you get an invitation to the reunion. Without external landmarks like that to provide perspective on the distance of time, we’re propelled forward so fast, it feels like we're standing still.
On a whim the other day, I cut my dreads out. You had dreads? I know, I know, there were only four, and they were tucked in my giant pouffe of hair, making them barely noticeable to the general population. Everyone who knows me well knew I had them, and anyone trying to run their fingers through my hair would've caught a surprise. They were a part of me so inherent that when my anxiety dreams got tired of my teeth falling out, I'd have equally stressful dreams about my dreads falling out or breaking off. I'd been thinking about getting rid of them recently, putting the question to my all chick group chat, ready to do whatever the majority decided, and they said off with those dreads. I hadn't intended to do the deed myself, as I'm highly unqualified, but once I'd decided it was getting done, my patience evaporated. It wasn't until I'd cut them - feeling particularly light and touching my hair obsessively - that I did the math on how long I'd had them: 14 years. They were just about due for their own high school reunion. The older I get, the more abstract time seems, so I tried to remind myself of all the things that had changed in that time. My teenager had become a whole ass adult. I changed career paths and relationships. I published my first novel, and finally did stand-up comedy for the first time. Beyond those things, when I tried to remember who I truly was 14 years ago, I came up blank, not able to sense a true shift in self.
On Saturday night at Porchfest that clarity truly hit. I was watching the sunset, up a street I know well, mere blocks from my place-to-be-that-I’m-not-in-yet, having stepped away from the group. It's one of my favorite sunsets, always has been. And that's when I realized that the last time I'd lived near there, the last time those parks felt like my yard and that sunset felt like my private view, that's when I started growing my dreads. It was an understanding of time through the places I had been.
If someone had given me a fortune cookie 14 years ago, it might have said you won't return here until you are someone else. Just as legitimately, it could've said grow these now, and you’ll know when it's time to let them go. I would've doubted both, and yet, here they are, not only true, but simultaneous. A convergence of truths, an inescapable moment of recognition, and I really saw how far I'd come.
To distil it to its essential: you can't step on the same river twice. But sometimes, the essential is abstract bullshit, and what you need is a page that you can physically turn in order to empower your next chapter.
DOUBLE FEATURE
If you’re in the Mile End this evening, you’d better stop by NDQ for a double dose of comedy! At 7PM is The Poly Mic, and tonight’s 9PM slot features The Politics Show, hosted by Elie Gill! The Poly Mic is PWYC, and The Politics Show is $16.50!
WHAT: The Poly Mic / The Politics Show
WHERE: Bar Notre-Dame-Des-Quilles, 32 Rue Beaubien E, Montréal, QC H2S 1P8
WHEN: Wednesday, May 22 @ 7PM and 9PM
METRO: Beaubien (Orange)
DETAILS: Facebook
Touch Grass & Laugh Outside
For the past three years, this event has been a staple of summer evenings in NDG. A Saturday night tradition for residents and visitors alike, it provides a rare opportunity to enjoy the park's natural beauty while being entertained by top-notch comedy.
Now entering its fourth year, the Comedy Gang has some really huge surprises this season! The show is free, supported by generous donations. (Please note, these folks are too classy to tell you to bring some coin to toss their way, so I'm saying it. Put something in the damn hat.) Bring blankets, chairs, drinks, snacks, or whatever floats your boat, and settle in for a relaxed night of laughing your face off.
WHAT: Stand Up Comedy in NDG/Girouard Park
WHERE: Girouard Park, in the outfield of the baseball diamond, Corner of Girouard & Côte St. Antoine
WHEN: Every summer Saturday, 745 PM - 10 PM
METRO: Vendôme (Orange)
DETAILS: Facebook
SPECIAL EDITION
For those unaware, Forget The Box runs a biweekly MULTIDISCIPLINARY open mic, On The Boulevard, at the legendary Bar Bifteck in the heart of the Plateau. This Sunday we’re very excited to present our special FRINGE EDITION of On The Boulevard, hosted by Creative Director Andrew Jamieson! Representatives from numerous Fringe and OFF-Fringe productions will be on hand to promote their shows in the upcoming festival, (which starts this week) and we’ll be announcing the winners of the Forget The Box X FringeMTL 2024 Review Lottery LIVE!
As well, we’ll have some great friends of Forget The Box on the lineup, telling jokes to make you laugh, playing tunes to make your toe tap, including Abby Stonehouse, Alo Azimov, Naghmeh, and more!
On The Boulevard is an important fundraiser for Forget The Box, helping us cover costs, and continue to spotlight the important ground level, underground, and marginalized art in Montreal.
ACCESSIBILITY: The event takes place on the second floor of Bifteck, up a single flight of stairs. If we can assist in any way, please send a message ahead of time.]
[Bifteck is CASH ONLY]
WHAT: On The Boulevard - FRINGE EDITION
WHERE: Bar Bifteck, 3702 St Laurent Blvd, Montreal, Quebec H2X 2V4
WHEN: Sunday, May 26 - Doors @ 8PM / Show @ 9PM
METRO: Sherbrooke (Orange)
DETAILS: Facebook
TRIBUTE TO ONE OF THE GREATEST
On May 27th, come to Barbossa for a tribute to Cole Porter, one of Sophie Lane’s favourite 30-40’s era composers! She’ll be singing arrangements of Porter’s classic tunes accompanied by a band. Come pop by for a swinging evening of jazz— and stay for the jam afterwards !!
Featuring:
Joao Menegale Barbi, Esteban Montana Martinez, and Ryan Bennett.
WHAT: Anything Goes - Cole Porter Tribute Night
WHERE: Barbossa, 3956 A St Laurent Blvd, Montreal, Quebec H2W 1Y3
WHEN: Monday, May 27 @ 8PM
METRO: Sherbrooke (Orange)
GIVING BACK
We at FTB love Mina Minou. Sure, she's a fabulous performer and consummate professional, but she's also kind, warm, and goes out of her way for the artistic community of Montreal. It's especially hard for helpers to ask for help, so when they do, we have to turn out double, ya know? So here's the deal: Mina Minou is holding an immigration fundraiser to help with the fees as she works to become a permanent resident of Canada.
For those who don't know, Mina Minou is part of Lust Cove, and is a queer, working artist of colour living the classic gig economy life…and government papers are expensive, ya feel? So, get ready for a fun, sexy, weird, hot night of cabaret in support of Mina Minou and her immigration journey!
The lineup is delicious, featuring: Kaya Koko, Malinka Molotov, Minx Arcana, Freya Moon, Irony, Yaya Havana, Phoenix Inana, Diyosa Haliya, and more!
There will be lots of raffle prizes, plus some other things that are just uh, too salacious to put in print.
WHAT: Fuck Borders (Immigration Fundraiser for Mina Minou)
WHERE: Café Cléopatra, 1230 Boulevard St. Laurent Montréal, QC H2X 2S5
WHEN: Thursday, May 30, Doors @ 730 PM, Show @ 9 PM
METRO: St. Laurent (Green)
TICKETS: Eventbrite
A SPECIAL EXPERIENCE
Sure, laughs are great, but laughs with a comedian at a comedy show are markedly better. In case you don't have any comics on hand, local comedian, producer, and the hypest hype-man Vance Michel will be your guide.
Take a tour of the legendary Hurley's Irish Pub, grab a bite and a pint, and talk about the Montreal comedy scene without someone on the inside. Comedy nerds and comedians will enjoy his deep comedy knowledge, and his perspective from his years doing the damn thing.
Meet and greet some of the comics performing, and maybe even catch Vance himself doing a set. He's got stories galore, and knows all the funny people worth knowing, and that makes this an experience you won't soon forget.
DETAILS: AirBnb Experiences
McSweeney’s List drops every Wednesday with the best events, workshops, and more, each week in Montreal!
