Tag: night

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N.34 Listening, Dancing and Foolishness

As one a.m. rungs around, I’m still at La Récré on DeLorimier.
First time here, never heard of it before coming.
It’s super artistic, a little trashy in all the right ways and imbued with an air of creative freedom.

Now, if you know me a little, finding me in a bar in the early hours of the morning is not a regular occurrence anymore. I’ve played in so many in my younger days that it still feels like going to the office.

I go to bars for two reasons: Music and Dance.
Tonight, both are here to greet me.

The more I hang in these sorts of places, the crowd somehow keeps getting younger and younger.

I can already picture myself being an old rocker of a dude rippin’ the guitar for a bunch of 20 year olds. It ain’t so far off.

And so is Life.

The wheel turns.
The planet spins.
The ink empties itself on the page
My mustache grows ticker by the minute and damn am I glad to be living!

Tonight, it’s ‘’Sacré Jam’’.
An event of free dancing and musical improv.
My good pal Amine hit me up and told me I’d fit in.

He put me in a team of musicians I do not know, I get there fifteen minutes before showtime and we play for an hour. Just my kind of party!

A highly creative place takes hold when I tune the way I play not only to the musicians on the stage but also to the myriad of dancers. At first, I may be trying to consciously match a person’s movements but pretty soon, I forget who plays what first and the whole thing just flows like a ferocious spring river.

To take it a step further, I tune the way I play to the venue and how it emanates at that moment. If I want to go beyond all of that, I tune into the universe: I plug in the vastness of silence and accept everything that comes.

Now that’s my kind of party!

The further I grow into musicality, the more I know the interconnectivity of all things.

Socializing is a lot like jamming.
Telling a good story is a lot like musical composing: choosing textures, colors, build ups and punch lines to get the point across. Organizing events is a lot like having a great conversation.

There is no separation. Information can easily crossover one domain to another.
Knowing one thing deeply opens a lot of doors.
It gets easier to venture into unexpected territories.

Boy am I glad to be living!

As 2 a.m. rungs around, I’m getting philosophical again and I am reminded of a very important fact:

Even the wisest of fools needs a good night’s sleep.

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N.29 Montreal by Night


The cold season is beginning.
Sunset is at 4 p.m.

It’s the perfect time of year for vampires and nightlife lovers who work the next day: night starts at 6 p.m.
However, the show starts at 9 p.m so it’s a shame for your sleep.


The unique sound of the Bonze Trio gives you jitters like too much coffee.
With unshackled creative flow, the band mixes jazz, drum n’ bass, funk, modern music, and smoldering rock.

A trio that, as we say in my language, “goddamn this rocks!.”
Trying to count the time signatures is enough to make your cranium go bald.

Montreal at night is a world where anything is possible.
If the band is good, you can travel across the universe for 20 bucks.

Le Bonze Trio are not only unparalleled university musicians who bounce musical ideas off of each other, but also great friends. You can tell by the jokes that brilliantly fill the gaps between songs.

When winter is in full swing, you have to brave the cold, the slush, and seasonal fatigue to get to the concert hall. You hesitate to leave your house, but once you’re there, you don’t regret it.

Life is short, and I intend to reap the rewards of my Montreal artistic culture.
Without our artists, Montreal’s nightlife could be summed up to “meh.” Without an audience to share their passions with, they might as well stay in their jam space jamming with friends.

Don’t forget to go cheer on and enjoy what’s happening within the walls of our theaters after the sun has set.

If you’re hesitant to go out, do as our artists do in winter: you’ll sleep in February.
Unless you’re in college, in which case you never sleep, but that’s another story.

Please excuse me for a moment, I must put down my pencil in exchange for an intoxicating and energetic dance to the sounds of drum n’ bass playing behind me.

I’ll be back, wait for me!

Well, what had to happen happened.
When you dance too much, you forget to write.
What do you do in that case?
You go back to dancing the next day.

From one universe to another, I find myself in an African trance with DJ Afrofoly and Gotta Lago on percussion.

At the conservatory of music of Montreal, I find myself at an ecstatic dance party.
My camera and pencil are my passes to Montreal’s cultural nightlife.

Between two stiff dance moves, I whip out my camera and capture the heat of the action. Tonight, I’m a picture taking cowboy!

From the balafon and African songs to solidly modern beats,
It’s a blend of ages.

From yesterday to today, music is found in the company of dance.
It is the perfect ambassador of trance.

It’s easier to go far away when a rhythm keeps us firmly rooted.
It’s like a tree. The taller it grows toward the sky, the deeper its roots spread into the ground.

The better the music,
the more passionate the dance.

Well, that’s it. You’ll have to excuse me, I must once again put down my pen and leave you to your business. Sometimes, after a Saturday night dance session that lasts until 11 p.m., the best show in town is going home to sleep.

Ciao amigos!