Jay's List (What's Goin' On?) — July '25
What's happening in the Montreal lit scene this month?
Did we say we wanted it to be hot last month? That was clearly AN IMMENSE MISTAKE AND YE GODS OF WEATHER WE ARE SORRY. Yet despite some truly appalling temperatures, Montreal’s poorly ventilated reading spaces continue to boom. On the Discordia Review front, we’re co-promoting the legendary TRUTH SEEKERS’ BALL on Canada Day, and launching our first issue of Fellow Travellers a little later in the month (July 11).
I’m reliably informed other things are happening too, many of which are listed below.
As always, if we’re missing something, or you want your event included, please message @discordia.review on Instagram to propose an inclusion.
And if you’re on desktop, you can click the bar on the left to see all the dates and navigate around said dates. This list will expand as items are added.
1 JULY (TUES)
THE TRUTH SEEKERS' BALL: BRING YOUR OWN CONSPIRACY THEORY NIGHT
What: Fellow Traveller Dean McClure has brought his Truth Seekers’ Ball to venues around the globe, and it returns to Montreal for Canada Day. Simply prepare a 5- to 12-minute presentation (Powerpoint optional) on a conspiracy theory you either deeply believe in or have invented from whole cloth. Laptop, mic, and light refreshments provided for presenters.
Where: Bar L'hémisphère gauche (221 Beaubien Est).
When: 8pm until 11pm.
Who: Whoever’s medication happens to be running low. Hosted by Dean McClure.
How Much: Free. (Event link)
3 JULY (THURS)
MONTREAL REVIEW OF BOOKS SUMMER LAUNCH
What: MRB’s latest ish is about to ready to heave itself into being, accompanied as is traditional by a flood of viscera and gore. Some readers gather to observe the event.
Where: Casa del Popolo (4873 Boul. Saint-Laurent).
When: 7:00pm.
Who: H. Nigel Thomas, stephanie roberts, Gabrielle Drolet.
How Much: Free (but RSVP requested).
BOOK TALK WITH BETH KANDER AND JACQUELINE GOLDFINGER
What: Two playwrights with rather long CVs get together to chat about the craft.
Where: Argo Bookshop (1841 Rue Ste-Catherine O).
When: 7:00pm to 9:00pm.
Who: Beth Kander, Jacqueline Goldfinger.
How Much: Free (but RSVP requested).
AHOY #3 LAUNCH
What: Is Ahoy veiled in mystery, or have I simply never heard of them? Much to consider there, but info on their launch party at least is certainly thin on the ground: secret location (BYOB friendly), no readers announced (to foil the indictment on conspiracy charges no doubt), cheap n’ cheerful $8 tickets. Cool!
Where: idk!
When: 8pm to 11pm, readings start at 9pm.
Who: idk!
How Much: $8, or $20 for ticket + issue (Ticket link).
5 JULY (SAT)
PASTICHE #3 LAUNCH
What: “Bring your own wine” is kind of a great gimmick, especially since it doesn’t stipulate a limit on how many bottles you can bring. Organizers have vowed to provide “hors d’œuvres, readings, and live jazz” which sounds alright, and likely better as the wine flows.
Where: Café Tenini (248 Rue Villeneuve O).
When: 6pm to 10pm.
Who: Unknown!
How Much: $10. (Ticket link)
6 JULY (SUN)
ACCENT OPEN MIC
What: Popular biweekly bilingual open mic, this time on the theme of “Travel.” (Computer, play “Traveling” by the Vulgar Boatmen.)
Where: La Marche à côté (5043 rue Saint-Denis).
When: 8pm until 10pm.
Who: Whoever has the balls, along with Tanya Bellehumeur-Allatt, Brian O’Neill, and Orane Thibaud.
How Much: Free. (Event link)
8 JULY (TUES)
LIBRAIRIE SAINT-HENRI GLOBAL BOOK CLUB
What: The mononymous “Rachel” reads a book, possibly with a “club” (of which you are welcome to be a member). Book in this case is Good Will Come From the Sea by Christos Ikonomou.
Where: Librairie Saint-Henri (4622 rue Notre-Dame Ouest).
When: 6:30pm to 7:30pm.
Who: “Rachel.”
How Much: Free (But RSVP suggested… but also registrations appear to be [erroneously?] closed).
9 JULY (WEDS)
LIBRAIRIE SAINT-HENRI… UH, NON-GLOBAL BOOK CLUB
What: The mononymous “Casey” reads a book, possibly with a “club” (of which you are welcome to be a member). Book in this case is Bad Marie by Marcy Dermansky.
Where: Librairie Saint-Henri (4622 rue Notre-Dame Ouest).
When: 6:30pm to 7:30pm.
Who: “Casey.”
How Much: Free (But RSVP suggested… but also registrations appear to be [erroneously?] closed).
10 JULY (THURS)
JRG “NO UKULELES” OPEN MIC
What: The city has many lit open mics. This is probably the one that most resembles a gang of crows cackling at each other.
Where: Bar L'hémisphère gauche (221 Beaubien Est).
When: 8:30pm.
Who: Whoever has the balls, plus Jacob Wren and Chris Lloyd.
How Much: Free (Event link / IG).
11 JULY (FRI)
DISCORDIA REVIEW FELLOW TRAVELLERS NO. 1 LAUNCH
What: We’re launching the first collection of Fellow Travellers out into the world (featuring contributions from Dimitri Karakostas, “The Very Nice Interesting Singer Man” Matt Farley, Fawn Parker and many more) with a huge show at Outremont DIY space The Crumper. Expect frenzied ravings, acid commentary, and a heavy helping of the genuinely strange in the grand Discordia tradition.
Where: The Crumper (ask a punk [or y’know, DM us])
When: 8:00pm doors, 9pm show.
Who: kurichka, Amilcar John Nogueira, Kalden Dhatsenpa, Tara McGowan-Ross, IAN MARTIN, Riquita Lea, Jenna Jarvis, Dean McClure. Hosted by Eris.
How Much: $5 / PWYC. (BYOB) (Event link.)
NOUVEAU POEM #6
What: The adversary of all things good, at least when we happen to have booked a show on the same night, returns with a lengthy lineup (including deploying both tactical Mayas in their arsenal) to a spot unfamiliar to me. Our pal, or I should say rather our bitter enemy with whom we have always been at war, Pome’s Books will also be selling recent finds.
Where: Dye Jardin Papillon (9300 Rue Meilleur)
When: 8:00pm.
Who: Amanda Bylone, Viola Chen, Lucy Earle, Nora Collen Fulton, EJ Kneifel, Maya Stewart Pathak, Maya Martinez.
How Much: Free.
20 JULY (SUN)
ACCENT OPEN MIC
What: Popular biweekly bilingual open mic, this time on the theme of “Hypocrisy.” (Computer, play “Let the Knife Do the Talking” by Hypocrisy.)
Where: La Marche à côté (5043 rue Saint-Denis).
When: 8pm until 10pm.
Who: Whoever has the balls, along with features TBD.
How Much: Free. (Event link)
26 JULY (SAT)
MIC’D UP
What: Monthly spoken word show, with a theme of how “Art Lives in the Heart,” which is of course contrary to our contention that art moves through the small intestine and then the large, is held in the bowels, and then passed violently out of the sphincter.
Where: Afro Musee (533 Rue Ontario E)
When: 7:30pm.
Who: Whoever has the balls.
How Much: $20 (Event link TK.)
And looking ahead to August…
Watch this space for upcoming bullshit.
In memory of Jay Gobuty, who was Outrageous.