OTTawa ’ S LIve MuSIc
venueS BY FaTeeMa SaYanI
Scene and Heard
OTTawa ’ S LIve MuSIc
venueS BY FaTeeMa SaYanI
Over the years , music fans have gathered in venues large and small to see the next big thing , rising talent , and passing fadster . For Canada ’ s 150th birthday , we take a celebratory spin through some of the city ’ s top live music hangouts — from longstanding watering holes to faded concert halls .
Barrymore ’ s The historic Bank Street institution has seen its ups and downs . It ’ s been a movie theatre , a strip joint , and a concert hall . It has changed hands many times , has declared bankruptcy , was a pre-Tinder hookup spot , and had a bubble machine installed . These days it ’ s a dance hall with many longing for the live shows of yore to return . In its heyday , it was the city ’ s biggest club with a capacity of 500 — selling it out was a career highlight . It filled easily when U2 , Tina Turner , Dave Matthews , R . E . M ., The Tragically Hip , and Radiohead played there .
Zaphod Beeblebrox The Electric Ballroom has been the favourite hangout of generations of undergrads weaned on $ 2.50 Tuesdays and electric-bluish-green-hued Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasters , one of many nods to The Hitchhiker ’ s Guide to the Galaxy . Impresario Eugene Haslam was the club ’ s long-time owner and firebrand until he passed the torch to DJ Lowpass — sometimes known as Ryan King — who is sticking with the hybrid method of live music followed by the dance-floor revelry that has kept the place in business since 1992 .
The Black Sheep Inn It ’ s affectionately known as the juke-joint dive bar and has a haywired stylistic compass when it comes to music . For 22 years , Paul Symes has been bringing in
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chamber music , hurtin ’ -tune troubadours , garage bands , reggae acts , and the curious . The Black Sheep is a storied foundation of the Wakefield strip prosaically located on a bend in the Gatineau River where the steam train used to travel . On warm nights , musicians and patrons often jump in for a dip .
The Mercury Lounge The self-styled 21st Century Soul Club has a morphability that sees it host launches , salons , and screenings , in addition to dozens of mid-career types who come to bust a move to the global beats of resident DJ Trevor Walker ; he ’ s been around for the club ’ s two-decade existence . At a 140-head capacity , the two-level Market bar is bachelor-pad intimate , making past shows with Nitin Sawhney , Gil Scott-Heron , and
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20 where . ca march / april 2017