Stevie Wonder (photo courtesy of Montreal Jazz Fest)

In case you miraculously haven’t heard about it by now, Stevie Wonder is coming to the Montreal Jazz Fest this year! His free concert, tonight at 9:30 at the GM stage (corner of St-Catherine and Jeanne-Mance), kicks off the festivities, and approximately 100,000 people are expected to attend.

As the Gazette reports, despite the fact that only 8,700 people attended his Bell Centre performance back in 2007, tonight’s concert is on everyone’s to-do list. If you’re planning on going, I’d advise you to get there early to grab a seat or a section of land to stand on. Otherwise, you may be hearing Lil’ Stevie from several blocks away.

For more Jazz Fest programming, check out their website at montrealjazzfest.com, and for a quick hit of Stevie Wonder, check out this YouTube video of “For Once in My Life.”

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As I was walking around today looking for a place to eat, I thought it would be an interesting idea to poll people as to what are their favorite restaurants in Montreal.  So for the following categories what is your favorite place.  I’ve added my own favorites in parenthesis.

Beer (Biere et Companie)

Breakfast (Jardin Nelson)

Burgers (Les Belles Soeurs)

Cafe

Cajun/Creole

Caribbean

Chinese

Crepes (Jardin Nelson)

Deli

English/Irish

Fondue

French

German/Austrian/Polish

Greek (Ouzeri)

Indian (La Taj or Gandhi)

Italian

Japanese/Sushi

Lebanese

Mexican/Tex-Mex (Cafe de Matéo)

North African

Pastries

Pizza (Miss Italia)

Portugese

Poutine (Ma’ame Bolduc)

Quebecois

Ribs (Bofinger)

Salads

Sandwiches

Seafood

Steak

Thai

Vietnamese

So what are your favorites?

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It’s not at the Fringe festival, so you may not have heard about this one, but you definitely should! Theatre Ste-Catherine presents The Funny, Filthy & Perverted Variety Hour tonight through June 20 at 264 Ste-Catherine East. Doors open at 9:30 PM, show starts at 10 PM according to the website (although the Theatre’s website says the show starts at 8 PM—confusion!).

Performers include a variety of acts from burlesque, circus, comedy, music, sketch and stand-up genres, and the line-up changes every night. Hosts and hostesses include Eric Amber, Christophe Davidson, Seska Lee & Miss Sugarpuss. Performers tonight include Amanda Connell, The Dan D Lyons, Scarlett James, Lola Lamb, Seska Lee, Michael Lifshitz and Miss Sugarpuss. Check the show’s website for upcoming line-ups!

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Though it may not feel like it yet, with temperatures only in the low-twenties (that’s Celsius, for you crazy Yanks), summer is upon us. While the solstice isn’t until June 21, and you may stil be sporting a jacket in the evenings, Montrealers are gearing up for bigtime parties in this town of neverending festivals.

Wondering what to do with your bad self? Never fear! The Montreal Mirror’s Hot Summer Guide is online with plenty of festivals to check out. The Fringe Festival is just beginning this evening with their free opening night party, and shows get started in earnest on Friday. Also happening in June:

• Suoni per il Popolo Festival (through June 30)
• Nuit Blanche sur Tableau Noir (11-14)
• Festival Présence Autochtone (11-21)
• Eureka! Festival (12-14)
• Fringe Pop (13 & 18–21)
• L’Off Festival de Jazz (18–27)
• Virgin Music Festival (19–20)
• National Environmental Exhibition (19-21)
• Dimanches Salsafolie (’til Sept. 20)
• Loto-Québec Fireworks (June 13-Aug. 15)
• Montreal Baroque Music Festival (25-28)
• Montreal International Reggae Festival (26-28)
• Folk Festival on the Canal (27)

So what the heck are you waiting for? Get out there and get festive!

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Fringe 2009 logo (via montrealfringe.ca)

The annual St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival kicks off tomorrow night with an opening night party featuring the United Steel Workers of Montreal and Lake of Stew. Entry to the event is free, and the location is out in the open at Parc des Amériques. The party starts at 7 PM, so be there or be square!

“What the heck is a Fringe Festival?” you may be asking. As per their website, these are the four founding principles of all Canadian Fringe events:

1) No Artistic Direction. Artists are selected by lottery.
2) No Censorship. Artists have complete freedom to present ANYTHING.
3) Accessibility to artists. Anyone can apply to the lottery.
4) Accessibility to audience. Ticket prices are kept low and 100% of the ticket price is returned to the artists you see on stage.

Additionally, many of the Fringe shows are, as implied by the festival’s name, really out on the fringes of society—whether in terms of performance material or good taste. Fringe shows often push the boundaries of what we conceive of as typical theatrical performances, and can range from dance to musical performances to lectures to stand-up comedy to drama to audience participatory events and more. There are, truly, no limits on Fringe events beyond a performer’s imagination.

For more information on all of the Fringe shows (which run from June 11-21), be sure to check their website at montrealfringe.ca, or head on down to the beer tent and check out the action!

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In case you’re wondering what to do with your Thursday night, here’s a suggestion: the Opéra de Montréal is offering free admission to their latest performance of Lucia di Lammermoor. Granted, you’ll have to provide your own folding chair or blanket, as the freebie seats will all be outside (at Esplanade de la Place des Arts), but for those who can’t afford $46+taxes for even the cheapest nosebleed-section seats indoors, this is a pretty sweet deal.

The show starts at 8 PM, and according to their Facebook page, 33,000 people attended last year! You’ll definitely want to get there early to snag the primo spaces, especially as there’s construction going on in the area that could tie you up.

For more information on Lucia di Lammermoor, composer Donizetti, or to buy tickets to other performances, check out the Opéra de Montréal’s website (bilingual), or join their Facebook group (only available in French).

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It’s Montréal Museums Day today.

Admission to over 30 local museums and public transit are both free.

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As mentioned in a previous post, a coalition is forming to protest the proposed “revitalization” of the lower Main, and the destruction of Café Cleopatra and much of the red-light district. For those who are interested in supporting a more democratic approach to revamping this space, there will be a “Friends of Cabaret Cleo” rally event happening on Saturday, June 6, starting at 8 PM at the cabaret (1230 St-Laurent, 2nd floor). Attendees will be able to sign a petition (also available online and in PDF format, if you want to collect signatures beforehand), and there will be lectures, entertainment and performances, so if you can come on out, you should!

For more info on the rally, check out the Club Sin website, read Louis Rastelli’s article in the Montreal Mirror, or join the Red Alert! group on Facebook.

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The interior design school of Dawson College is having their annual vernissage of the final masterpieces of this year’s graduates. Appropriately hosted in the resplendent lobby of a building designed by Mies van der Rohe himself, this is a great event for the graduates to get exposure and for the public to get a good look at what three intense years of design school can produce.

Where: 1 Westmount Square, in the lobby (metro Atwater)
When: Thursday, May 28, 5:30pm - 9:00pm *
Complimentary food & drink: yes!

Check out the Facebook invite.

* The vernissage is this evening, but the projects will be left up for the public to see all day on Friday and Saturday.

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With lots of new green initiatives happening here in Montreal, like the recent introduction of the Bixi rental bikes, the STM has also decided to hop on board the environmentalism bandwagon. Montreal’s transit service is currently offering a contest that will allow 20 lucky folks to win free yearly passes for the bus and metro system. To enter, all you need to do is head to the newly redesigned (and much more bilingual!) STM website and click on the link.

The STM's new OPUS smartcards (photo via STM.info)

Of course, this is all a part of the promotion of the STM’s new OPUS card, since May 2009 is the last month that the old monthly passes are being sold, and the June 30 deadline for purchasing a reduced-price card for only $3.50 (the cards themselves will cost $7 a piece thereafter) fast approaches. Everybody eventually needs to switch over to the new smartcard service that OPUS provides, which allows for rechargable cards that can be used as daily, weekly or monthly unlimited service passes, or on a pay-per-ride basis. Paper tickets will no longer be accepted in the system after September 30, 2009, so it’s important for citizens to start the transition to the new reusable plastic cards.

On a final note, if you’re into Cirque du Soleil, they’re also offering free tickets to the “OVO” show, along with free monthly passes to get you there. Pretty sweet deals from our much-maligned public transportation system. Perhaps this will help bring the STM back into people’s good graces after their perpetual rate hikes and worker strikes.

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UPDATED: May 25, 2009, 4:44 pm

Cause for concern or mere progress? Montrealers will be interested to know that our so-called red-light district of lower St-Laurent is currently slated for some controversial renovations by a group called Angus Development Corp.

The scoop: The stretch of St-Laurent slated for reno is between Ste-Catherine and René-Lévesque, and according to a March 6, 2009 article in The Gazette, has been purchased by Angus, a “non-profit development corporation that wants to transform that part of the red light district into an eco-friendly showcase of art and socially responsible retail.” Sounds good, so far. Problem is, this developer is also trying to acquire the building that is currently home to such colourful (and historical) businesses as Café Cléopatra and the Montreal Pool Room.

Though the Gazette article also notes that “The report says the street level on St. Laurent would become an avenue dedicated to ‘responsible retail,’ lined with stores selling fair-trade and bio- and eco-friendly products that promote Quebec design,” and that although the company plans to put in a “restaurant, lounge or café,” no fast-food restaurants will be allowed, nor any chain stores.

Ambitious plans for Montreal’s storied Main, but some citizens are protesting these changes as signs of gentrification and the destruction of local history. Montreal-based burlesque troupe, the Dead Doll Dancers, are fighting to save this stretch of St-Laurent, as most of their shows take place at Café Cleopatra. In fact, a Facebook user named Amy Hudston has been circulating information about upcoming planning meetings, suggesting that “anyone who is concerned about cultural elitism, gentrification, sex workers rights, travesty theatre, historical architecture, expropriation, etc.” attend to voice their opinions.

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Today started off grey, cold and rainy—more like San Francisco weather than the type of stuff we normally get in Montreal! Since my original plan had been to go downtown, have lunch with a friend, and then wander around taking pix that I could share with you, and the rain had kept me from bringing my camera, I decided to instead consult Flickr to see if they had any interesting shots.

As it turns out, they do!

The first one I wanted to share with you is actually a shot of some rad graffiti, the photo of which was contributed by Flickr user christopher.woo:

"Montreal Graffiti" by Christopher Woo

This photo reminded me of a shot I had on my camera, another piece of street art I’d taken a picture of when I was out and about last week near Chinatown:

Jazz graffiti by Omen (photo by Laura Roberts)

I snapped a photo of it because I recognized a famous shot of Billie Holiday in the design, and then realized the artist had also included John Coltrane and Miles Davis, three jazz legends. Who was this graffiti artist, who threw up images of jazz musicians instead of his own tags? As I cropped the photo down a bit in Photoshop, I noticed the tag that said “Omen514.com“, which I looked up to find the artist’s website and plenty more shots of his street art.

If you go to Omen’s gallery you can see a lot of cool pieces, including some that are painted “legally” (i.e. with a building owner’s permission), as well as some works on canvas. If you’re interested in checking out Omen’s work in person, he’s got a show coming up in July at the FIMA visual arts festival here in Montreal. I hadn’t even realized Montreal had a visual arts festival, so that was news to me.

Finally, if you’re interested in learning more about Omen, be sure to check out this 2002 article, “‘Trane spotting” from the Montreal Mirror, which gives a brief overview of his background and raison d’être.

Stay tuned for my next installment on street art: Roadsworth!

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Entrance to the Co-op Bookstore, 2150 Bishop (photo by Laura Roberts)

As my first post on Metblogs, I’d like to give a shout out to my friends at the Concordia Co-op Bookstore. These guys and gals rock my world, as they’re one of the best independent bookstores in Montreal. Oddly enough, they seem to have trouble getting bodies in the store, despite their extremely unique selection, with an emphasis on sexy books, feminism and queer literature, political and DIY stuff, and just plain rad savings on day-to-day items like pens, notebooks and even flat-tire kits for your bike.

Honestly, it’s a no-brainer to shop there. Why? Because they ALWAYS charge below suggested retail prices on everything in the store! If you become a member ($10 FOR LIFE!), you’ll get even bigger discounts, but you DON’T have to be a member to shop here.

All in all, it’s a winning proposition. You can find new books, used books, and even textbooks there. If you’re an artistic type who makes zines or t-shirts, you can even consider their Artisan Consignment services to sell your wares. They’ve always got interesting events happening, which you can find out via their Facebook page, or through their email newsletters, and the people who work there are super friendly and kick-ass.

Seriously, what are you waiting for? Go to the Co-op Bookstore at 2150 Bishop, on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday between noon and 5PM (their summer hours), and check it out!

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The crack of the bat. Crowd chatter and cheers. The honest smell of hot-dogs and leather mitts ready to snap up bleacher-bound balls like Venus flytraps. Salt assaults from the fresh pretzel on my tongue.

I miss the Expos.

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Over the six years that I’ve been in Montreal, I had visited the lecture hall at the Redpath Museum for professional lectures.  The corridor leading to the hall had skeletons of various sea creatures and there was a nice little diorama near the entrance.  Since this is on the campus of McGill University, I assumed that there were either classrooms or offices on the floors above and that this was the extent of the “museum”.

Then one day last fall our office was asked to do some consulting work on the building.  This required climbing to the floors above and eventually the roof.  When I reached the second floor, I was completely blown away.  It was like finding a hidden treasure.  A full natural history museum complete with a dinosaur skeleton.

So I resolved that I would return with the family in order to get a better look.  Our daughter had suddenly become infatuated with dinosaurs this spring after being introduced to them in school.  So we made an excursion downtown to visit the museum.  I have to say I’m greatly impressed. My point of comparison is the Field Museum back in my old hometown of Chicago.  The Redpath Museum has all the main exhibits that the Field Museum has, but boiled down enough to be covered in a leisurely Sunday afternoon (or maybe even a long lunch hour).  It also has an emphasis on items from Quebec.

And on top of it all, the museum is free.  It is open from 9 to 5 during the week and only from 1 to 5 on Sunday during the weekend.  It’s definitely worth a visit for both the young and old.

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