Brad Spurgeon's Blog

Having finished my weekend of work in Montreal on Sunday night in complete tranquility, and knowing that the Brutopia open mic starts late, and the list is often not made until around 10 p.m., I decided to eat a pizza at a restaurant up Crescent Street and not worry if I only got there at 10:30. I’d been a few times in years past to find it pretty empty, maybe five people on the list. Sunday, it proved fatal for my desire to play – and then put in a full day’s work on Monday morning before returning to Paris: Arriving at Brutopia at 10:30 or earlier, I found that I was No. 17 on the list!!!!

It was jam packed full of musicians and spectators, and there were several groups among the musicians on the list – i.e., major productions to get up and set up. So by about 00:45 I decided it was time to throw in the towel and admit defeat. I left Brutopia without playing, and with probably seven musicians – at three songs each – ahead of me before my turn.

Still, I really enjoyed the evening, the level of musicianship was very high, and the crowd and vibe was wonderful. The venue is one of the more lively and congenial in Montreal, in fact, on a stretch of road that has several pubs with music side-by-side; in fact, it is next door to the Crobar, where I played on the Wednesday evening. It was also great to see Danny Fonfeder again, and to look at, hold, hear and film one of his amazing Blueberry Guitars.

It was only this time that I noticed that the fabulous little stage is also visible from the floor above, but no one ever seems to sit up there, making it an even cooler setup than I ever thought. The evening was again MC’d by the cool Scott, who plays a means new-wave-like music beforehand, but I missed his set this time.

Anyway, that’s enough of run-on sentences and filling space with words between the videos – have a look at the vibe and a listen to the music yourself….


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