May 30th, 2012 | by Jason C. McLean
I'd like to take a break from the revolution for a moment to say goodbye to a few old friends: several historic buildings that were part of Montreal's fabled Red Light District. That's what the activist artists in the Save the Main Coalition did this past Sunday as they staged a Funeral for the Main. The mock funeral, complete with a priest giving the last rights, pall bearers, hysterical mourners, a coffin and everyone dressed in black, drew 40 people in front of Cafe Cleopatre
December 30th, 2011 | by Dawn McSweeney
Ever see the slacker classic Joe’s Apartment? That’s the one with Jerry O’Connell starring alongside some well trained cockroaches as a mid west boy in his first foray into quasi-manhood in NYC, conveniently landing a rent controlled apartment, subsequently discovering his landlord is trying to kill him off so they can tear down the building and put up a maximum security penitentiary. Well, the same thing’s happening on the Main. Basically
March 25th, 2011 | by Jason C. McLean
Strength in numbers is strength for sure, but does it ever go beyond that? Well, sometimes it does. Sometimes the people united can actually defeat much greater foes. That's exactly what has happened in the case of the artists of Café Cleopatre versus the City of Montreal and the Angus development corporation (SDA). If you haven't been following the story from the get-go, allow me to recap
March 6th, 2011 | by Jason C. McLean
It looks like the independent burlesque, fetish and drag artists who call the second floor of Café Cleopatre on St-Laurent their artistic home will be able to continue doing so, at least for a while. City-backed developer Angus Development (SDA) told Radio Canada that they have scrapped their plans to expropriate the venue, and now plan to build two 13-storey buildings on either side of Cafe Cleo. This turn of events brings to a temporary end what is probably the biggest local David versus Goliath story to come about in a long while
December 26th, 2010 | by Jason C. McLean
I must admit, I'm a bit confused. I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to write about here. It's a year-in-review piece, so at least the time frame is solid, but the subject matter, hmm, that's another story. You see, I don't really have a clear beat. I started off 2010 as a theatre writer, but now that's done by others and occasionally me, at least when it comes to burlesque shows (heh heh, but seriously, check out my reviews of Blood Ballet and Glam Gam). I do write about news and politics, even in this space, but I'm not the only one, so this can't be a year in the news piece. I could write about the year it was for FTB. (and in fact I will, but that's coming up New Year's Eve, not here.) So I guess I'm just going to have to talk about the year in random things that caught my attention
December 21st, 2010 | by Jason C. McLean
For supporters of Café Cleopatre and the heritage of Montreal's historic Red Light District, Christmas may come early this year and I'm not talking about the Glam Gam holiday show that wrapped up last weekend, either. Angus head Christian Yaccarini confirmed to Cyberpresse that he may just throw in the towel and give up on his company's ongoing attempt to expropriate the legendary burlesque, drag and fetish performance space and downstairs strip club. For several years, Yaccarini's Société de développement Angus (SDA), with the full blessing and encouragement of Montreal mayor Gerald Tremblay and his administration, has been buying up spots on St-Laurent boulevard between St-Catherine and the Monument Nationale theatre and leaving them vacant, creating a virtual ghost town around the lone holdout Cleopatre. They hope to raize the area and replace what was recently a thriving community experiencing a rebirth with a giant skyscraper to house Hydro Quebec offices. Meanwhile, a coalition of artists, historians, academics and residents have been fighting this plan tooth and nail in the media, at City Hall, at the Office de consultation public and recently in the courts. It's this case brought by Cleo owner Johnny Zoumboulakis that may finally break Yaccarini's stubbornness on the matter. He argued that it might just not be worth it to keep paying legal fees when, as he put it in French, "Cleo's lawyers just don't want to come to an agreement."
September 24th, 2010 | by Hugo Trottier
Hugo's first series with FTB is the 35th anniversary show Cabaret Cléopâtre Grand Spectacle: 35 years of travesty and was held April 24, 2010. Hugo was invited by his friend Velma Candyass, he leader of the Montreal Burlesque Dance Troop, the Dead Dolls, to explore and photograph the event. The 35th anniversary show focused on creating awareness about the forced expropriation the Café may be facing due to the building of the new Hydro Québec offices. We've also been covering this story on FTB since June 2009.
Spending most of his night swinging from front to back stages, Hugo captured the intimate and controversial side of the performers. The burlesque artists performances centered on dramatic impersonations of blue collars workers in the City of Montreal
July 8th, 2010 | by Jason C. McLean
A stone's throw from all the action at the Jazz fest taking place in the city's brand-new Place des festivals, Café Cleopatre sits surrounded by art-covered boarded-up buildings waiting to know if it will still be there next year. Across the street, though, there is life and things are being built…or at least that was the case last week. Construction has stopped on Angus Development's 2-22 project which was supposed to house the Imago group, CIBL Radio and La Vitrine Culturelle among others. Apparently, the federal and provincial funding needed for these groups to occupy the space hasn't come through yet. Angus head Christian Yaccarini told La Presse that he is confident that all the contracts will be signed and construction will resume real soon and Montreal mayor Gerald Tremblay is holding a cheque is in the mail-type attitude to the delay telling the Gazette that he has full confidence in Ottawa and Quebec City. Despite these attempts at being positive
May 31st, 2010 | by Jason C. McLean
The artsits of Café Cleopatre have some new neighbours. No, the businesses evicted by the Angus Development Corporation and the city haven't returned, but at least now, the boarded-up look is gone and has been replaced by graffiti
May 15th, 2010 | by Jason C. McLean
Imagine if all political decisions were made in an inclusive manner where all those who had something to say could do so, provided they signed up enough in advance. Now imagine if this was done with the help of images, twenty of them, each projected on a screen for twenty seconds while the speakers had their say. Welcome to the world of Pecha Kucha, an event that started in Japan and is now held in over 300 cities around the world, Montreal being a place where it really has caught on
May 7th, 2010 | by Jason C. McLean
"It's a strip club with video poker machines!" With that statement in an email sent to supporters last June, developer Christian Yaccarini ruled out the possibility that there was anything more to Café Cleopatre and dismissed the importance of the independent fetish, burlesque and drag artists who are performing to packed houses on the Cleo's second floor every week. Now, it seems like Yaccarini wants to make that statement a reality
April 10th, 2010 | by Jason C. McLean
You'd think that several independent artists performing on a rare Vaudeville-era thrust stage and keeping alive a tradition that dates back over a century in a historic building in the heart of an emerging entertainment district is the sort of thing that warrants promotion. Or, at the very least, a listing.
March 21st, 2010 | by Jason C. McLean
Apparently, the new design of the 2-22 Ste-Catherine building is good enough for Gerald Tremblay that it won't undergo a public consultation process and construction can start May 2nd. No word on if the city is planning a consultation process on Angus development's proposed new design for the controversial Quadrilaterre project, but there will be one whether the mayor wants it or not
February 27th, 2010 | by Jason C. McLean
After admitting that his twelve-storey office tower planned for the Quartier de Spectacles had to be scaled back to just five floors as well as his company's fundraising difficulties, Christian Yaccarini, the head of the Angus Development Corporation, lashed out at the city's public consultation process and the artists trying to save Café Cleopatre from demolition. Now word comes that his company's deal with the City of Montreal is being investigated by Montreal's vérificateur général
February 11th, 2010 | by Jason C. McLean
Parody is the sincerest form of flattery. Well, yes it can be, but it can also be a powerful weapon that can be used to call bullshit on those who spew it all around. For a current example, one only has to look to the artists of the Save The Main Coalition
December 31st, 2009 | by Jason C. McLean
In Montreal this year, gentrification was on a bit of a rampage. It claimed the Cock n'Bull Pub back in August and while this legendary drinkery has plans to re-open soon in a new location, the old spot is still quite a loss. Another loss on the horizon, sadly, is Le Medley. One attempt to offer an alternative to this beast of boring was shut down rather quickly when Montreal police forcibly shut down the Autonomous Social Centre
