Know Your Nights OUT!

One of the most important things to know about the Village nightclub scene in Montreal is which club to go to on which night. What difference could this possibly make you ask? A huge difference! If you happen to find yourself out at the wrong club you risk finding yourself either a) alone or b) surrounded by a select few odd folks who aren't the type you're looking for. Let's take this by club by club and spot by spot:

Sky

A pretty decent standard for all villagers. Known for their awesome 5 à 7 on Fridays, it turns out to be the same night you want to go clubbing there. Fridays at Sky bring together a healthy mix of young and old, straight and gay (and all things in between), good music and awesome drink deals. The only tricky things about Sky is trying to find your friends within the club. Given the sheer number of floors and rooms, it's easy to lose track of your crowd. If they're not cell-dependant (like me) you'll be screwed looking for them.

On the plus side, the different rooms really give a fun blend to the place. With techno, hip-hop and pop-dance rooms, you'll have your pick. Plus, there are always different theme nights and shows in the Sky Pub/Cabaret downstairs. When summer rolls around, it's the first terrasse open and the hottest place to take a pitcher of sangria with your friends...perhaps even a place to meet up with that summer crush of yours :) But regardless of the season, you know it's Friday when you're at Sky!

Unity

Unity is a big club with a vast cavern in the middle of it...a bit like the little bottoms that hang out there most nights (like attracts like). This place is a magnet for the more, shall we say "effeminate" boys of the Village. The two happening nights at this place are Fridays and Saturdays...but that depends on your type of crowd. Fridays are very young nights. I mean very young. I mean 90%-of-the-club-has-fake-cards young. Saturdays, depending on the week, attract a more diverse crowd, mainly due to the invited DJs that pop-in to do a set.

With a decent terrasse in the summer time, the younglings flock to this oasis to cruise their kin. With two rooms and generally great music, Unity is a crowd pleaser and oftentimes one of the first stops for neo-gays on their ventures into the Village.

Parking

If you've come in search of men, look no further. Parking is home to some of the hottest nights out for "real men" in the Village. This is the place where you're likely to spot every hot guy from your gym in the same night. And that night my dears is Saturday night! Show up around midnight (before 11 it's free cover) and you'll have your buffet of hot twenty-something to thirty-something boys strutting the bodies they've spent hours sculpting at the gym that week. And no need to imagine what they look like under their muscle-tees...usually by 1 AM the t-shirts are off and it's a mass of sweaty guys dancing to hot techno-dance music on the main floor.

Drinks are decently priced and the atmosphere is a blend of techno-trendy and dark and sleazy that leaves you feeling just the right kind of dirty by 3 AM. With local and international DJs spinning week after week, you're sure to get your sample of the newest club hits. The only thing to watch out for, depending on your taste in men of course, are roving bears that may try to grab you on the dance-floor!

Cabaret Mado

Though not really considered a "club" this drag-cabaret is the shit for those who are looking to have a drink with friends, see a kitsch show and dance until the end of the night without being swarmed by a massive crowd of uglies. The night to go out to Mado: Tuesday! Why? For one, weekends there are filled with old tourists (mostly suburban straight women) who aren't quite as fun. Plus, Tuesdays are hosted by the mama of the cabaret herself: Mado.

Tuesdays offer a themed drag show in an intimate environment. The other bonus of Tuesdays is the simple fact that the cabaret stays open for dancing til 3 AM after the show is done. Mid-week blues vaporize on the stage as you dance your tush off to some of the most kitsch and popular dance hits DJ Mado puts on for all the kids to dance to. Crowd is generally mixed with a slight tip towards the younger end of the scale.

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So to give you a day-by-day breakdown of the clubs above...

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  Tuesday: Cabaret Mado


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  Friday: Sky or Unity


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  Saturday: Parking or Unity

Look for more nights-out-suggestions as the blog progresses ;)