Up a short flight of stairs, above Boulevard Saint Laurent, is one of the city’s top venues. From the outside, the only signage is plain black, but inside hides a true cabaret theatre.

It was love at first sight, but before I saw it with my own eyes, I admit I was skeptical. When I was first invited to a comedy show at Espace Joie de Vivre, my friend's description gave me pause: it's in a basement. BYOB. The entrance is in the alley. I wondered aloud if we were going to someone's apartment, and my plus one wondered if we would be trapped in a stuffy room with cigarette smokers. Thankfully, we were both entirely wrong.

Despite opening only half a year ago, Lux has already proven itself to be a gathering place for underground Montreal creatives.

I was a fan of comedy before I became a comic, and that perspective primed me for a nostalgia I hadn’t anticipated. If you’re into comedy, you have probably listened to many podcasts with seasoned comics waxing poetic about the scenes in LA or NYC.

The Montreal FRINGE Festival Corporation was founded by Kris Kieren and Nick Morra, and incorporated in 1991. In 2000, the company’s name was changed to the MainLine Theatre, allowing for year-round productions. Most importantly, MainLine’s venue, situated above Segal’s grocery store at St. Laurent and Duluth, opened in 2005 as a centre for the city’s English theatre community.

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.

To visit The Artloft for the first time is to be initiated into a secret little society—one that would have you transported into a world of passionate presence, creativity and human connection.

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.