At the moment it gets dark at 4PM here in Montreal. There is not much to do here during the winter time except binge-watching a ton of TV series on Netflix and gaining weight.
Okay, yes, you can go ski or ice skate and play hockey, but many people like myself would rather be inside far, far away from the cold as much as possible. The first snowfall of the season is always exciting, but when winter stretches all the way to April, it can become really depressing quickly. Right after the holidays, it’s all downhill for a few months.
Wait until you see what I post in February, it will blow your mind away, literally. February is the worst month in Montreal. There is always a peak of people wanting to experience being crushed by a subway train. Suicide rates are through the roof. February, I hate you and cannot wait to see you.
Montreal just had its first wave of snowstorm and the city was covered in about a foot of the white stuff within a night. It’s always fun to be stuck in the snow and walk in puddles of slush. My friends from Hopeless even put on a show last week and was preparing to go on a tour. By the way, a tour for them starts with 3 shows in a row!
The first showcase had Crabe, Windpisser, Jesus Horse, Bearmace, and Hopeless Youth. It was bound to be an epic night, since the show was at a hidden venue.
Nothing mysterious about it being hidden though. It should remain hidden. I am not even allowed to say where it is, since the guy who owns the place does not want to get busted by the cops. Let’s just say that this “CBGB-ish” spot is illegal and is in a crack alley with people shooting heroin around. It’s situated in the middle of a bunch of lofts rented to squeegees, punks, and crackheads. It’s not even on the street and does not even have a sign.
I tagged along for the night.
First stop was Momesso. One of those old school hole-in-the-wall diners. Had that 14 inch sausage sub with some greasy fries. All freshly made there. It was delicious.
After that incredible meal, we had to go get the van and head to their studio to load it up with the gear.
The van was stuck in the snow so we had to dig it out.
Digging out a car out of a snow bank is a common activity here in Montreal.
I did it myself the other day and got out after 30 minutes and took another 30 minutes to park the car. Fun exercise involving many swear words.
Denis (guitar) and Alex aka Young Dave Mustaine (bass).
Julien can be seen filling out the van with the gear. He is the singer of Hopeless Youth, by the way. He brings out the good old screams and grunts.
We don’t care. In Canada, we drive with snow blocking our view on the road. We live on the edge 24/7.
Death House is situated somewhere behind this building.
“Only police officer knock!” Seen on the door of one of those sketchy houses.
There is a small path that leads to different spots. Death House is where the light is. This is right beside the train tracks at about 2 meters away. We ventured a bit further to check out the scenery.
From what the guys tell me, in the summer the area is 10 times sketchier. The winter gave it some charm. Like I said before, people stay inside in the winter. Even the meth heads.
Street art’s finest artists.
Death House is not even on a street.
Make sure you check out Hanksy’s episode about Montreal.
Just like in LA.
We finally headed back to the spot. Death House can fit approximately 50 people. The place is so small. It consists of one floor and a mezzanine. The whole place is covered with art and band posters. All around top to bottom. It is actually pretty decent and the dude running it seems to know what he is doing. Don’t mind the Skinhead bus boy that goes around to pick up cans and clean the place up.
John (lead guitar) is getting his social network ready for the show tonight.
I spotted the Deaner.
I was looking forward to see Bearmace perform that night. From what I’ve heard of them, they get pretty wild. And they did.
Hopeless Youth closed the night as the headliners. They came on strong with a new setlist including two new tracks. They set the bar high on their new compositions. Heavier and more violent riffs. I was blown away. A good amount of people showed despite the snowstorm. The showcase had a great variety of bands. Which is something that I enjoy since all the bands sound different and I discovered a few. Crabe was more abstract experimental metal, Windpisser was more into doom metal, Jesus Horse was grindcore oriented, Bearmace is straight up punk and Hopeless Youth cannot be classified. It was a good combination and the crowd seemed to have enjoyed every moment.
The guys are currently in the process of writing new songs and you should expect some new material in the new year.
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A video I made for Helpless Youth’s “Rain of Arrows.
Listen to:
HOPELESS YOUTH & THEIR ALBUM DISGUST