Jeremy Porter Road Blog

Road Blog: Friday September 06, 2024 - Montréal, QC

Road Blog
September 6, 2024
Montréal, Québec, Canada

I packed out of my AirBB in Mississauga around 9am on Friday morning and headed into Toronto to pick up David Picco for our trip east to Montréal. He was waiting on his porch in the South Parkdale neighborhood when I drove up and double parked. I ran into The Abbott coffee shop and got a coffee to-go and we were off. Toronto traffic was terrible as always, but we trudged forward and eventually made it out of the city, with one major gaffe that cost us about a 25-minute detour. The journey was largely uneventful, save some construction and a pretty driving rain for the first couple hours, but it cleared up around Kingston and it’s been smooth sailing since. Well, except for a quick restroom stop at an EnRoute service plaza where a perhaps slightly buzzed Picco announced to me loudly and boldly in the crowded men’s room how he’d recently had penis reduction surgery.

Montréal traffic wasn’t a whole lot better than Toronto, but we crawled our way over to the borough of Verdun, where my pals and our hosts Eric Kearns and Trixie live. I’ve known Eric for about 13 years now, since I first played Montréal in 2010 and he was a bachelor. We’re staying in an apartment above theirs and the accommodations are awesome, with private bedrooms, a beautiful deck looking towards the city, and beers in the fridge. Eric was wearing a Montréal Expos shirt that looks like he probably got it at a game when he was a kid, and Trixie greeted us with her usual charm and smile and it was great to see here again too.

After about an hour of downtime to shake off the road it was time to head into the city. Karen Jacobsen - The GPS Girl continues to be troublesome on this trip as Kearns guided us towards Barfly on a more efficient route. I’m a bit concerned about Karen and hope she gets her shit together before I start touring the states in 2 weeks. We passed a cute girl on a Suzuki with a puppy wearing sunglasses in a backpack and she said we could take a photo at a stoplight. Picco was smitten, and thought the girl was cute too, and I curmudgeonly debated the need to put your dog in a backpack and take it on a motorcycle ride (despite the amusing visual) to his and Kearns’ dismay. We passed by the Leonard Cohen mural and after one lap around the block landed rock star parking right in front of Barly on Rue St. Laurent, Montréal’s busiest street.

We loaded in our gear and merch, said hi to the owner and good friend Fross Tee Anthony, and headed out on foot for some food while Kearns prepared for the Hangover Golf Tournament draft at the bar. Pitarifique is a corner sandwich shop I’ve been eating at since I’ve been coming to Montréal, and it seems to just get better over time. While I’ve always loved the Poutine at La Banquise and have wanted to go back for years, the line is usually around the block and I just haven’t have the time or patience for that. That said, the poutine at Pitarifique is amazing, and perhaps a more authentic, albeit simpler and less extravagant, experience, while also being closer to Barfly and a faster meal. Their sandwiches rule too, and my lamb/beef gyro pita was just as good as the poutine. Bellies full and a night of debauchery ahead, we walked back to Barlfy. I called TrooperGirl22 back home and comforted her in her grieving over not being able to find anyone to go see The Sadies with her in London, Ontario tonight, and promised we’d find a Sadies show to hit before too long.

Barfly is a small, Montréal Canadiens-themed music venue that sits in the heart of Montréal’s main drag. I first played there 14 years ago today, in 2010, solo-acoustic, on my first ever Canadian run, supporting my solo album Party of One. The bar is loaded with character and characters, with owner Anthony perched on his stool in the corner, preaching the gospel about the upcoming Canadiens’ season, the spread of the Eagles-Packers game in Brasil, and American politics. It’s always great to see him and get caught up. He’s awesome.

Picco and I shot a game of pool (he beat me, but it was close, down to the 8 ball) while Kearns wrapped up the draft, and we got ready to play. Good friends Ilse, Dave, and Luc came in and it was great getting caught up with them. Luc was the drummer for Alex Soria’s bands Chino and The Nils, and played with my pal Mark Goodwin as well in his band The Mighty FFud. Mark recently passed away and his name came up a few times over the evening. He was a good guy, always nice to me, and the Montréal music scene just isn’t quite the same without him. We determined throughout the night that Luc was on some bills that I was also on, and he got a kick out of the show archives on my website.

Gwendo Lyn helped us dial in the PA and Dave went on sometime around 9:30 to a pretty good room. He played a great set and I loved hearing his version of Steve Earle’s “Fort Worth Blues,” as we’d talked about Steve and that tune earlier on the drive. I went on after and did my best to keep the attention of the distracted and socializing crowd who seemed to fade in and out of attention, but I had fun and played ok. People perked up a bit when I played my version of “Fountains” by The Nils, as Alex was well known at Barfly. After the set it was a couple rounds of drinks, ran into pal Curt, load-out, goodbyes, and back to casa Kearns.

Picco and I said goodnight to Kearns and poured a couple glasses of whiskey as we came down from the excitement of the active, busy evening and chatted music business and Saturday plans until about 2:30am. This morning I was up around an unusually late 7:45am and diving into the road blog over a cup of coffee so strong it could wake Leonard Cohen from the grave. We’re back at Barfly tonight, after being unceremoniously dropped from another gig just a few days ago that we had booked and confirmed months ago a venue a couple hours outside of the city, but so goes the music business, and the apathy and disrespect that indie/DIY musicians face daily. While that was a drag, we’re beyond grateful that Anthony and Gwendolyn were open to having us back tonight, and I’ll never complain about playing Barfly. It’s one of my favorite joints. So if you’re here – please come out tonight and let’s end this Canadian run in style! Now, for an afternoon in Montréal! Xo