Montreal Centre-Ville - Index

Montreal Centre-Ville - yannick nezet seguin - Index

BEYOND MONTREAL, BUT STILL MON-
TREALERS _ Over the past decade of touring with rock
bands, I have been constantly reminded of how much travelling
Montrealers do. I have a MONTREAL FRIEND living in just
about every major city in the U.S. and Europe, and there are
always a few others in their immediate orbit. One of the best
things about touring for a living is the luxury of staying close to
faraway friends.It’s incredible what one evening of fun a year can
do to keep a friendship alive.
NOVEMBER 2007 _ FIRST STOP, PARIS
With any trip I take, for pleasure or business, my priority is old
friends. I stayed on the Canal St-Martin with Colin, a one-time
roommate from my university years in Montreal. Colin is a
Montrealer who, after completing an M.A. in English lit in San
Francisco,moved to Paris years ago to teach English.
One of the first nights I was there, R U F U S
WAINWRIGHT was playing at Le Casino de Paris. He played
a great two-and-a-half-hour set, sprinkled with his anglo-
Montreal-style French (quite similar to mine,not French French,
not Québécois,but our special brand,and the French really seem
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BY
_ MELISSA AUF DER MAUR _
MONTRÉAL CENTRE_VILLE / PRINTEMPS 2008
© Carlos Serrao
to get a kick out of it).Backstage after the show,I was introduced
to Randy, who identified himself as the man who supported my
application to Concordia University’s photography department
in the early 1990s.He explained that while he was teaching there,
my mother had called and asked him to put in a good word for
me. He did and I was accepted. I never had him as a teacher,
because Concordia didn’t renew his contract that year.He says he
had no regrets, since “getting fired” inspired him to try his luck
living abroad.After a brief chapter in New York City,he now lives
in Paris and loves it.
A few nights later, Colin and I joined Randy and other
fun-loving ex-patriots from the U.K. and the U.S. at their
favourite smoky wine bar, LE BARON ROUGE near the
Bastille. We stood and drank the best wine and ate the finest
cheese and charcuterie I had all week. Randy and I both
remarked on how my father would have loved that bar, and how
there was a hint of the greatest parts of Montreal in the greatest
parts of Paris.
NEXT STOP, LONDON
Unwilling to limit a trip to Europe to one city, I jumped on the
convenient Eurostar, on a mission to visit some other
Montrealers living abroad. Born to a British mother and a
Montreal father,Alice, my closest friend from elementary school,
has lived between Montreal and London all her life. She settled
down in London more than a decade ago, but we discuss her
moving back to Montreal regularly.Alice’s father, Martin, is a
filmmaker who has also made London his home,but you can see,
and hear, THE MONTREALER IN HIM over every pint of
lager!
Then there is Fred, who was born in Italy and came to
McGill for his multiple degrees.I met him while I was attending
M.I.N.D. high school across the street from the McGill campus.
Our love of music and Montreal has kept us close all these years.
Fred will tell you that his time in this city clearly defined him.
Fred and Alice and Martin are like an extended FAMILY
to me. Our connection is based in Montreal, but our closeness is
maintained abroad. So, as we do every time I’m in London, we
held our Montreal reunion in a traditional British pub.
We remain Montrealers because we never stop referring to
this city—not Canada or Quebec, but this city. Montreal is a
major part of our IDENTITY.We also never stop contemplating
moving back here, despite the ridiculous winter. Montreal expatriots
like to stay in touch and never miss an opportunity to get
together and share the good things in life this city offers in abundance:
friendship,fine food,beauty and fun._