Boys‘ Night Out In Montreal

by Terje Anderson

Like any major city, Montreal boasts a
well-developed gay bar scene. At least
three dozen gay men's bars exist across the
city, most of them concentrated in an area
known as "be Village."

The Village, a heavily gay area along
Ste. Catherine Street Est (East in English)
and between St. Denis and Papineau, is a
relatively new phenomenon. Until the early
eighties, most of the gay scene was concen-
trated in the traditional downtown, and
there was no gay-identified residential
neighborhood to speak of.

Virtually overnight that changed, and
by the mid-1980's, the Village had grown
from a handful of neighborhood bars into a
full-fledged gay neighborhood, even elect-
ing openly gay members to the City Coun-
cil and the Quebec National Assembly.

But while any tour of the Montreal bars

will, by nature, focus on this area, my
favorite Montreal bar is actually one out-
side of the Village. La California ( 14 12 Ste.
Elisabeth, a small side street just off Ste.
Catherine, three blocks west of St. Denis) is
worth going slightly out of your way. A
relaxed bar where people tend to hang out
with friends (around the downstairs fire-
place in the winter, or on the outside ter-
rasse during the summer), it is conducive to
conversation and easy socializing. La Cali-
fornia is a good place to go early in the
evening, or on a weekend afternoon (Mon-
healers frequently meet each other there for
a drink after work or before going out to

dinner). But things continue well into the ,

early morning hours here, and the upstairs
pool-table area is very lively and cruisy.
And, unlike most other men's bars, women
are welcome. It’s a good place to start a bar
tour.

Lots of tourists

WEDDINGS

CQD

Buriington VT 05401

(802)-865-2403

LESBIAN AND GAY
JOINING CEREMONIES

Create our own ceremony
to ce[e rate your [ove and
procfllim your spiritual union.

aredrawn to the strip
bars, and recently
many Montrealers
have adopted them
as a fun part of an
evening out on the
town. Campus (1111
Ste. Catherine Est) is
arguably the best of
these, with a con-
tinuous floor show,
attractive dancers,
porn videos, and a
crowd which fre-
quently rivals the

clude Sans Limite (1474 Ste. Catherine
Est), Super Club David (1478 Ste. Cather-
ine Est), and La Fiesta Tropicale (75 Ste.
Catherine Est). Unlike in most American
cities, in Montreal the dancers take off
everything, so don't sit tooclose to the stage
if you're easily embarrassed.

The big dance bars these days are
Jungle (1400 Montcalm, comer of Ste.
Catherine Est), Bronx (802 Ste. Catherine
Est, site of the old Maximum Security). and
Max (1166 Ste. Catherine Est). Each at-
tracts its own audience. Jungle and Bronx
tend to the younger and trendier set, while
Max is a bit more mixed in age and attitude.
Jungle is for both men and women, while
Max retains an all-male policy. The re-
cently opened Bronx has been picketed for
its men-only door policy, and has desig-
nated certain nights as mixed. All feature
good dance floors and sound systems, and
all are great for cnrising too.

K.O.X. (1182 Montcalm, one block
south of Ste. Catherine) intimidates some
people a bit more than it should. While the
c1ientele's tastes run to leather/denirn and
S&M, the crowd is definitely more diverse
than that, and no one is sneered at for his
choice of uniform. Anyone (male that is)
can have a good time there. Usually
packed, on a good night K.O.X. has an
energy level no other spot in town can rival,
with great dancing, billiards, and cruising.
Give it a try - at least once.

Those who are more serious about
their leather will want to try La Track (1584
Ste. Catherine Est), which has recently
expanded to add additional dance space but
kept the same self-consciously butch at-
mosphere. Taveme Rocky and Bar Rocky
II ( 1661-63 Ste. Catherine Est), which offer
a wider mix of ages than found in many of

(continued on next page)

fflmor tfie 5' ni ' nee our dancers for looks.
refationsliip lg; y]::l:ymg([Z:a[[y The atmosphere is
procfizim tfie Eoruf you cfierisli. fun, upbeat and
"unsleazy."
Rev. Giita Clark, ordained minister Other bars of-
fering similar fare in-
Counsefing to resofve
ay amffesfiian coupler
aruffamify issues.
gay arufferfiian coupfes
and parenting worfisliops ofi‘erec£
Erica Marks, S.A.C., C.H.
Partners in Recovery and Growth
182 Main Street

  
   
   
  
  

C8”... Bruce Howden or Jim O'Donnell

BMH

Stand out
from the herd.

We can put you
right on target.

great graphics
quality printing

86407 1 98
graphic design & printing