Salon Son & Image

By Stephen Mejias • Posted: Mar 31, 2009

Back in the winter of 1999, just a few months before I started working for Stereophile, I took a month-long train trip. One of my first stops was in Montreal. I could not have spent more than three or four days there, but they were a very fulfilling and memorable three or four days.

I walk to the top of Parc du Mont-Royal. I fall in love one million times. That sort of thing.

I meet kind and beautiful people (Jane, Steven, Leo, Sophie, Masa, Anne, Greg, Maggie). We exchange addresses and phone numbers, and, though I haven't spoken to them in years, I think of them often.

I'm staying at the Auberge Jeunesse on Rue Mackay, just off of the Boulevard Rene-Levesque. (It's coming back to me as I write these words.) My last memory of the time and the place: I'm wandering back to the hostel. It must be three in the morning, and I am practically blinded by drunkenness and other things. I don't know how many hours were spent at the bar (Hell's Kitchen, ironically) with Anne and Greg, drinking and doing other things. Anne, by the way, is beautiful and sweet. She draws a map for me, complete with shortcuts and points of interest ("Here is the Insectarium, and here is the Olympic Stadium…."). And, long after the bar is closed and doors are locked, she continues to serve me beers in frosty, barrel-shaped mugs. I think I love her. I have no idea what Greg looks like or what his relationship is to Anne, but he is kind and generous. I like him. I'm trying to remember their faces as I wander down some dark avenue, streetlights blurring into stars, and I begin to cry. I'm never going to find my way back to the hostel. I'm blind and I'm sick and I'm alone, and I'm too far from home.

I am thanking God, very seriously. It is a miracle: I'm stumbling into the hostel. I might have fallen at the front desk. I remember sliding the key card through the slot, and that's it. I wake up at 4pm the next afternoon, and it's just about time to catch the train out of Montreal.

I haven't been back since, but I love the city.

Montreal is
two spiral staircases

one is red, one is green

going up up up
in different directions.

It'll all come rushing back to me, I'm sure, when John Atkinson and I arrive tomorrow night for Salon Son & Image. I'm also sure that I won't be getting drunk and doing other things. We'll be blogging our bums off. Please tune in for all the action.

Comments

Submitted by Henry Bowles on March 31, 2009 - 9:27pm.

Stephen Gonzo Mejias?

Submitted by Max on April 1, 2009 - 1:09pm.

Mais alors, Stéphane, when in Rome... You must, at the very least, venture out for a good meal, preferably accompanied by an appropriate libation of the vinous variety, no?

Submitted by Christian on April 1, 2009 - 1:41pm.

Have fun in Montreal. It such a wonderful place. If you do partake in a beverage I have always been a fan of Brutopia a kind of low key place with some great music and fantastic home brews. Don't forget Schwartz's or Lester's (my favourite) for smoked meat.

Submitted by Robert on April 1, 2009 - 6:41pm.

OK, a couple of things you need to know. First of all, take some time off to go to the italian quarter on Saint-Laurent north of Jean-Talon and grab something at Caffe Italia. If you feel like walking, go east from the hotel till you reach Saint-Laurent (also called The Main - not "main" but THE Main). Walk north, through Le Plateau, where the hip young people go, then take left on Jean-Talon where you'll find Marché Jean-Talon. On your way down, Saint-Laurent will lead you to Chinatown (eat at the Deer Garden). Continue South and you'll reach Old Montreal and the River.You might want to take a walk in Westmount (west of the hotel). From there you can walk up to Parc du Mont-Royal. Weather is gonna be super nice tomorrow. For a bit of french athmosphere, dine at Le Petit Extra or L'Express.And if you feel like listening to some music, stop at suite 701-706 where you'll find yours truly. I'll play some Trentemoller and pretend I'm still 20. Drop by late in the afternoon a

Submitted by Robert on April 1, 2009 - 6:43pm.

... This part went awol ...Drop by late in the afternoon and have a glass of wine or come see us on friday and watch us cure our headache on some Lizz Wright - or will it be Jane Birkin?

Submitted by Robert on April 1, 2009 - 7:04pm.

I forgot! You must absolutely take the walk along Saint-Patrick Canal. The Canal starts in the western part of old Montreal. It is beautiful and takes you right back to the old industrial part (circa 1900). With a good pair of walking shoes you'll reach the old Atwater Market in about 90 minutes at brisk pace (corner Atwater - like in "at water"). Have a sorbet from the street vendor (lemon is delicious) and taste the most wonderful cheeses you'll find outside France at la Fromagerie Hamel.

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