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Barfly
This dubious cheap-beer dive appeals to chair-smashing patrons but also gritty local rock and blues bands of local renown. Wedge yourself in behind a raised caféteria counter and take in the itinerant vibes, a bit like Tom Waits or Jack Kerouac in their first 15 minutes of fame. The Sunday afternoon blues jam is legendary.
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Bistrot á Jojo
This smoky venue is the place for down 'n' dirty blues and rock groups nightly. If you are a fan and only have one night in Montréal this is the place to come. Sit close enough to see the band members' steam, or opt for a well-worn table at the rear that take the edge off the decibels.
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Blizzart's
Virtually unmarked from the street, this cool, discreet bar/club usually has teams of local club DJs who serve up jazz, funk, hip-hop, roots and dub to a small but sophisticated crowd. It's also a good place to just down a cold one.
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Bôîte à Marius
A wickedly cool, off-the-beaten track location for classic chanson . Les Deux Pierrots is so centrally located, this one falls off people's radars (even for Montrealers) but the place is awesome.
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Cabaret Music Hall
You'll never see Québécois chanson the same way again. Right at the Musée Just for Rire this venue fits 800 people and hosts everything from DJs to comedy shows, but it's the massively popular Soirées C'est Extra nights that most Montréalers know and love it for. Taking place every second Saturday, DJs remix popular Québécois folk hits and have people dancing and singing their hearts out until the wee hours.
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Café Campus
This eternally popular student club has great live acts, mostly French rock and live Québécois bands. In summer people wander in from the cafés and restaurants along rue Prince-Arthur for music and extra-cheap beer (happy hour is from to ).
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Café Chaos
This down 'n' dirty basement bar is just the place to catch the latest up-and-coming bands for a pittance in cover. Tuesdays there are two-for-one microbrews and turntable action with 80s glam rock, old pop classics and a pinch of punk. The bar is a workers' co-op that's definitely worth its weight in bong water. The downstairs Bar les Conneries runs a Wednesday oldies evening and hosts a variety of its own rock acts.
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Café La Pharmacie/L'Esperanza
This fantastic cafe regularly opens its space for performances and events. On any given night you could stumble across a book launch, a spoken word performance, a bluegrass band or an electronic music performance. Check their board for upcoming events.
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Club One
This big stage venue with table service and a bar serves up an eclectic mix of music, from pop and jazz to New Wave lounge. A product of its recent renovation is a nifty tap dispenser for Jägermeister to settle trendy stomachs.
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Club Soda
This venerable club hosts established acts such as Ranee Lee, a jazz singer in the Sarah Vaughan mould. New talent is embraced as well, with avant-garde groups, heavy metal and comedy acts performing in this hall with several hundred seats. Call for a recorded schedule.
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Cubano's Club
This undisputed hub of Afro-Cuban and Latin jazz in Montréal gives dance classes during the day and sets standards of dexterity at night. Highlight here are the big Cuban orchestras and the mambo competitions during the International Jazz Festival.
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Foufounes Electriques
A one-time bastion of the alternafreak, the 'electric buttocks' has lost its edge but still stages some neat events (eg a DJ 'starmaker' night or indoor skateboard contest). On weekends the student-grunge crowd plays pool and quaffs brews till the dance floor starts to gel. The wall art is still vintage creepy-crawly.
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House of Jazz
Formerly known as Biddle's, a fixture on the Montréal jazz scene until owner-bassist Charlie Biddle passed away in 2003. The ambience is a tad touristy but fun with fin-de-siècle decor and musical instruments hanging from the ceiling. There's no cover charge, and you can eat ribs or chicken for about C$15 per person including a drink. Prepare to wait if you haven't reserved.
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Hurley's Irish Pub
This incredibly cozy place features live rock and fiddling Celtic folk on the rear stage and beer-soaked football and soccer matches on big-screen TVs. Standard pub grub is also served - fish 'n' chips, meat pies and burgers.
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I Musici de Montréal
Under the leadership of Moscow-born violin-cellist Yuri Turovsky this 15-member chamber ensemble has won many awards for its baroque and contemporary performances. Over the past 20 years I Musici, which has its home stage at the Place des Arts, has recorded 43 CDs and toured in Europe and the USA.
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Jazz & Blues
Located in the McGill University student union building, the Jazz & Blues club stages regular concerts by McGill's excellent student bands.
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Jello Bar
This perennial favorite is the quintessential lounge bar with garish-glitzy loveseats, lava lamps and a hot-to-trot clientele. Order one of 50-plus martinis and listen to the latest Marvin Gaye imitator at one of the extended jam sessions (weekends only).
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La Sala Rossa
This hall seats 250 people and its weathered digs show off the indie acts and rock bands that regularly take the stage (The Dears once played here). But with such an eclectic location - Spanish social club and restaurant, you can expect shows offering DJs, reggae, jazz or spoken word.
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Le Magellan Bar
Once past the mock lighthouse out front you can enjoy a pleasant evening of eclectic offerings, from jazz to chansons. The interior is sprinkled with maritime doodads and the front terrace is great for people-watching.
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Le Va-et-Vient
This smoky but popular venue straddles the boundaries between restaurant, music venue and exhibition space. Order one of its tasty microbrews and special bistro burgers and settle down to an evening of jazz, Irish folk or roadhouse funk.
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Les Bobards
This good-natured bar in the Portuguese area of the Plateau draws a hyper-fun 20s crowd for its sizzling Latin-American beats with French lyrics. It's pretty dead until around when it's standing room only. There are free peanuts and modern art exhibits. Expect a cover charge when bands are brought in.
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Les Deux Pierrots
This club has been serenading an adoring public for over three decades. Québec singers encourage you to join in sing-alongs of heart-on-your-sleeve chansons in thick dialect. The lyrics waft out over the rear terrace in summer.
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Main Hall
You'll find a mix of everything here from rock bands to world music. Check the local free entertainment guides around town to see what's coming up. You can usually buy tickets at the door (generally around C$10 ) when the doors open at around , but the entertainment guides will also mention which secondhand music shops or other venues you may be able to buy them from.
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McGill Chamber Orchestra
Founded in 1939, this fine chamber ensemble is one of Canada's oldest. Concerts series are held at McGill's Pollack Concert Hall and other venues around the city. Its annual performance of the Messiah is extremely popular.
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McKibbin's
With its garage-sale furniture, McKibbin's cultivates a familiar, down-at-the-heels pub atmosphere. Live entertainment varies from Celtic, pop and punk music to informal drinking contests. The office crowd settles in at lunchtime for burgers, chicken wings and salads.
