Latest from Montreal Gazette
Montreal Gazette
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Montreal Gazette
Freed: Here's to the beautiful chaos of Montreal summers
I was driving home two weeks ago, working my way though a bewildering maze of street festivals separating me from my home. St-Laurent Blvd. was closed for 11 days for a street fair from Sherbrooke St. to Mont-Royal Ave. Mont-Royal was closed for three kilometres for a summer-long street fest. Nearby, Rachel Ave. was mobbed by a big Portuguese festival where families danced, while munching on bifana sandwiches. Unsure how to get home, I consulted Google Maps, which replied: 'HA! HA! You've got to be kidding. No way you're getting there by car.' OK, I'm exaggerating, but it almost seems possible as our city explodes with summer festivals and closed streets, while a hundred traffic jams bloom. But I'm not complaining, just admiring the beautiful chaos that I love about this city every summer. What chaos? The meandering mobs: In Montreal, we shut down streets for summer as casually as other cities shut their street lights each morning. If you could watch from overhead, you'd see a vast citywide river of humanity streaming through never-ending street festivals. Everyone weaves in and out of each other's way on foot, bike, e-scooter e-bike, hoverboard, baby stroller and the occasional unicycle. All while skirting orange cones that have been there for so many years they have permanent resident status and may qualify for health coverage. It's utter anarchy, with no rules, yet it flows seamlessly: uncontrolled but controlled at the same time. It's Montreal! Free festivities: In festival season, our city becomes one vast, crowded living room and everyone's invited, from Grand Prix high rollers to the unhoused. There's no admission, whether it's the N.D.G. Porchfest, Monkland street fair or St-Laurent/Bernard/Duluth/Carifête/Circus street fests. In the last two weeks, I've seen free Spanish sidewalk troubadours, Portuguese castanet players and Caribbean trumpeters. And with the jazz fest starting, free-dom has only begun. Last Friday night I went to the Francos de Montréal festival to see a well-known 'rap slameur' from France named 'Grand Corps Malade.' More than 50,000 people from every corner of Earth were jammed into the Quartier des Spectacles, but it felt as warm and intimate as a small jazz club. The French performer revealed he had moved to Montreal last year, and the crowd cheered endlessly as he talked about his new love for snowblowers. He even sang a poetic love song to Montreal in French with lines like: 'Des grosses voitures qui klaxonnent … et l'influence Anglo-Saxonne.' (The big trucks that honk and the Anglo-Saxon influence.) He finished the song with this line: 'Et moi aussi je connais des mots: GO HABS GO!' (And I, too, know the words: GO HABS GO!) The immense crowd went wild, holding up tens of thousands of phone flashlights in a four-block homemade light show. It was an utterly beautiful Montreal moment that could happen almost nowhere else on the continent. Toronto can't shut down an array of major streets like us all summer. Premier Doug Ford is already busy trying to tear down three of Toronto's bike lanes to 'fight traffic congestion.' Meanwhile in the U.S., if our massive ethnically diverse audiences ever showed up at an event, they'd call in ICE to deport half the crowd. Controlled chaos: Our festival organizers move fences, barriers and massive crowds around like grandmasters moving chess pieces. They throw up giant screens in hours with better reception than my TV. They put up 5,000-person rain tents on Ste-Catherine St. faster than I could erect a two-man pup tent. Only theirs don't leak. After each show, small trucks tour the streets cleaning up beer stains before they dry and hauling away garbage in bags the size of duplexes. In fact, the festival zone's streets are cleaner during its massive festivals than they are the rest of the year. Maybe we should give our major festival organizers the keys to city hall, then let them run the rest of the city. Jazz fest for mayor! Peace, no police: Everything's made easier by mellow Montrealers, well-behaved crowds that never swing anything more dangerous than a hip. Decade after decade, we gather in vast multitudes at the jazz fest, Carifête, Osheaga, Grand Prix and other mega events, yet we've never had a bad incident. There are fewer disputes at our giant Montreal festivals than there are at bingo night in a Chicago seniors' home. Years ago, I brought a showbiz friend from L.A. to our jazz fest and she freaked out in the densely packed crowds, warning me how dangerous a mob can get when it panics. She knew: she'd been at the Rodney King riots. I told her this wasn't L.A., just routine Montreal festival foot traffic, but she wouldn't believe me and demanded we leave NOW! Then, amid the mob I spotted someone I knew and hauled my friend over to meet her. It was my mom, then in her late 80s, swinging her hips to the music. My L.A. friend's face instantly changed from a tense grimace to a big grin and we spent a long, lovely night there. So as summer gets into gear, be sure to drop in on the festivities. Don't forget to bring your mother.
Montreal Gazette
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Montreal Gazette
Alouettes aren't the same team without injured QB Davis Alexander
The Alouettes better hope Davis Alexander, their 26-year-old starting quarterback, is a quick healer. They're simply not the same team without him. And unless Alexander recovers quickly from the hamstring injury he suffered June 19 at Edmonton, this team is in serious trouble. Through one game, at least, McLeod Bethel-Thompson isn't the answer, despite everything he has accomplished in his career. As good and as accurate as the 36-year-old was in practice during the week, he was unable to duplicate any of that against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats' swarming defence on Friday night. The Alouettes suffered their first loss of the season and were badly outplayed in this ugly 35-17 setback before 20,911 Hamilton Stadium spectators. Perhaps it was the effects of three successive road games catching up to Montreal? But, more than likely, it was the absence of Alexander that derailed a team that started the season with a 3-0 record. The Ticats, coming off a bye in the schedule, won for the first time in three games — and exposed the visitors in the process. The Als, who entered this contest having scored a CFL-leading 105 points, failed to penetrate Hamilton's end zone for more than 55 minutes until completing an eight-play, 64-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown pass to Cole Spieker. Until that point, Montreal's scoring consisted of three Jose Maltos field goals and a Joseph Zema punt single. Bethel-Thompson and the Alouettes couldn't score a touchdown despite scrimmaging from the Hamilton 4 in the third quarter. There was no chemistry between Bethel-Thompson and his receivers. Tyson Philpot, who should have been counted on heavily because of the absence of injured Austin Mack, didn't make his first catch until just before halftime. Indeed, that was the first time Bethel-Thompson attempted a pass to him. Spieker was Montreal's leading receiver, with six receptions for 57 yards. Tyler Snead also had six catches, producing 55 yards. Charleston Rambo, arguably the Als' most-dangerous deep threat, had five receptions for 49 yards, while Philpot had four catches for 41 yards. Montreal's longest passing play was 17 yards — a feat accomplished three times, by Spieker, Snead and Philpot. When the Alouettes decided Alexander was their quarterback of the future, they traded Cody Fajardo to Edmonton last winter for Bethel-Thompson, a two-time Grey Cup champion who has passed for more than 17,000 yards and 94 touchdowns in his career. Bethel-Thompson, making his first start for Montreal, completed 24 of 41 passes for 203 yards, but also proved to be his own worst enemy and was intercepted twice. Granted, he could be excused for one of the turnovers. A third quarter attempt deflected off rookie tailback Travis Theis and into the hands of rookie Canadian middle-linebacker Devin Veresuk. Veresuk, selected second overall in this year's Canadian college draft, returned the ball 36 yards for a touchdown. Incredibly, the Alouettes trailed only by eight points following Spieker's touchdown and a defensive stop. But with 2:27 remaining in the fourth quarter and Montreal scrimmaging from inside its 10, Bethel-Thompson fumbled Justin Lawrence's snap — one that was slightly off centre, but one he, nonetheless, got his hands on. The ball was recovered in the end zone by Hamilton's Julian Howsare, which put the game out of reach. For the first time this season, the play selection of head coach Jason Maas was bizarre to say the least. Although the Ticats had allowed a league-high average of 145.5 yards rushing, Maas called only 10 running plays — three each by Bethel-Thompson and short-yardage quarterback Caleb Evans. Sean Thomas-Erlington had two carries. Theis and Stevie Scott III each had one. Theis's one carry in the third quarter produced an 11-yard gain, yet he never was utilized again. It made no sense. 'We, as a team, didn't perform well enough to win a game in all three phases,' Maas said in Hamilton. 'It's not a one-person game. But I'm sure there's things (Bethel-Thompson) would like to execute better.' It was a contest that screamed for the Als' defence to make a play. And while they tried valiantly, they couldn't produce a game-defining moment. They did create a turnover on downs on Hamilton's opening possession. And the Ticats required three plays from the Montreal 1 before Kenny Lawler scored on a pass from Bo Levi Mitchell before halftime. Safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy had Montreal's only sack, while linebacker Geoffrey Cantin-Arku forced and recovered a Jevoni Robinson fumble in the first quarter. But more was required. 'We gave up the two turnovers for touchdowns, which didn't help us on the scoreboard,' Maas said in Hamilton. 'Our defence wasn't on the field for those. We need to do a better job protecting the ball and not giving up those plays, allow our defence to play the way they're accustomed to playing.' The Alouettes were threatening to run away with the East Division, but now could be pressured for first place should the Redblacks win at home against Toronto on Sunday night, putting Ottawa only two points behind Montreal. This story was originally published June 28, 2025 at 12:14 AM.
Montreal Gazette
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Montreal Gazette
Joining Canadiens ‘a dream come true' for Noah Dobson
Montreal Canadiens By A big part of the Canadiens' rebuilding plan has been making Montreal a destination where players want to both come and stay. Jeff Gorton, the executive vice-president of hockey operations, general manager Kent Hughes and head coach Martin St. Louis have all worked hard on that front and it's starting to pay off. Not only were the Canadiens able to acquire Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders in exchange for the 16th and 17th overall picks at Friday night's NHL Draft along with forward Emil Heineman, they were also able to get the 25-year-old defenceman to sign an eight-year, US$76-million contract with an annual salary-cap hit of US$9.5 million. 'Without hesitation ... it was a no-brainer for me,' Dobson said during a video conference Friday night about signing to play in Montreal for eight years. 'Just the opportunity to be part of the Montreal Canadiens, it's an honour. It's the best hockey market in the world. The fans are incredible. I love playing at the Bell Centre. Just also the group of players they have already and the talent they have on the team and what they've been building, I'm just super-excited to join that group and add to it. I'm excited what we can do down the road here in the future. 'I think if you look at the steps they took last season, the pieces they have and the talent on the roster, you can't help but get excited to join that group,' Dobson added about the Canadiens being the youngest team to make the playoffs last season in Year 3 of a rebuilding process. 'Everyone's still young and to join that group is exciting. I know what they've been building the last few years and it's a special group from what I've heard. I'm excited to join that group and see what we can do. Just super-excited.' The Canadiens are super-excited about being able to get the 6-foot-4, 200-pound Dobson, who was selected by the Islanders in the first round (12th overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft. Dobson and the Islanders struggled last season and the Summerside, P.E.I., native finished with 10-29-39 totals in 71 games to go along with a minus-16. The previous season, Dobson had 10-60-70 totals and was plus-12. 'I think it was a difficult season at times as a whole — not just individually, but as a team,' Dobson said about last season. 'We struggled to score a lot collectively as a team, especially earlier in the year. The team dealt with a lot of injuries, a lot of moving parts in and out. Like any season, there's highs and lows throughout that. I think just taking a learning experience, dealing with it as a team and individually, struggling to score and produce and having to find ways to be effective each night when things aren't going in was something I really tried to learn from and grow and evolve.' After the Islanders missed the playoffs, Dobson played with Team Canada at the IIHF World Championship, where Canadiens defenceman Mike Matheson was a teammate. 'I think at those events and when you're around guys from different other teams you're always just asking what things are like in different places because you never know, right? Things like this happen,' Dobson said. 'I just know from in the past, doing camps with (Matheson) before, he's talked very highly of the Canadiens and the coaching staff and the group of players and just the organization as a whole. So I definitely had that in the back of my head.' Dobson said it was a 'crazy couple of days' before the trade was made, adding it was a mutual decision for the Islanders and him to part ways. The Islanders had the No. 1 overall pick at Friday night's draft and took defenceman Matthew Schaefer of the OHL's Erie Otters. The Islanders then took Swedish winger Victor Eklund with the 16th pick and Kashawn Aitcheson, a defenceman with the OHL's Barrie Colts, with the 17th pick. What made Dobson's situation more stressful over the past few days is he's getting married on Monday. He said the trade talks really heated up on Friday morning. 'When I found I was going to be a Montreal Canadien, extremely excited and grateful for the opportunity and really looking forward to it,' he said. Dobson added for a kid who grew up in Canada it's a 'dream come true' to play for the Canadiens. 'The atmosphere at the Bell Centre, there's nothing quite like it,' he said. 'I know from my first seasons in the NHL, it's always my favourite road game in the league is when we come to the Bell Centre. So I'm looking forward to the first time stepping on the ice there with the Montreal Canadiens sweater and just trying to feed off the energy and passion from the fans because it's truly an honour and a privilege to play for the Montreal Canadiens.'
Montreal Gazette
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Montreal Gazette
Skies clear just in time for magic Blue Rodeo show at jazz fest
Music By The skies cleared just in time for Blue Rodeo. Of course, they did. It's the magic of the Montreal International Jazz Festival, but it's also the magical ties that bind this Toronto band to their fans ici. The forecast all week insisted there was a 90- to 100-per-cent chance of rain at 9:30 on Friday night, but the folks at MétéoMédia clearly haven't been listening to the Five Days in July album often enough. There was no way the big free outdoor Blue Rodeo show at the jazz fest was going to be rained out. And the fans knew it. The crowd stretched all the way back to Ste-Catherine St. and anyone who stayed home because of the forecast will be kicking themselves when their friends tell them how inspirational this soirée was. By the time Jim Cuddy got to belt out Try, the very first Blue Rodeo hit, as the encore and sitting at the keyboard, there was no getting away from the fact this was one of the great Blue Rodeo shows here. I mean not that there have been any Blue Rodeo shows much less than life-affirming. I was there Friday night with my daughter Devan reminiscing about the epic Blue Rodeo shows we'd seen at Théâtre St. Denis and Place des Arts. Friday, they ended with Lost Together and if you weren't choking up just a little bit, then you just don't love this thing called rock'n'roll. You could see Cuddy and fellow lead singer Greg Keelor were just loving this as much as the audience. 'Merci beaucoup,' Cuddy said, near the end. 'Nous adorons Montréal.' Later, Cuddy said: 'We'd like to thank the rain for taking a little break for us and mainly we'd like to thank you for coming out in spite of the weather.' Highlights included an incredibly intense take on Diamond Mine with Keelor rocking his vocal hard, a brilliant Trust Yourself with thousands singing along, and the anthems Til I Am Myself Again and Hasn't Hit Me Yet, which were just as great as you might imagine. I bumped into promoter Rubin Fogel, who was talking about how the first show they did in Montreal was at Club Soda in January 1988, back when they were hardly known here. A year later, that was no longer the case. Close to 40 years on, many of those same fans are still at the rendezvous. One of those was Anita Stephenson. She and her two sisters came from Guelph just to see Blue Rodeo. She's a huge fan and spent the entire drive here playing Blue Rodeo tracks and singing along to them, which kind of drove her two sisters, Janet and Susan, a little crazy. Anita's seen them 15 times. 'They're Canadian and they're part of our culture,' Stephenson said. 'They brought this Canadiana. They weren't forced to go touring in the U.S. I think the songs are great, the people are great, it's a mix of country and rock, but it's not true country. Some songs are more romantic, some are straight-up anthems. I just like it all.' Her sister Janet said they're not nearly as fanatical as Antia, 'but we support our baby sister.' And they're also making a 'girls' weekend' of it, hanging out at the jazz festival for two days. 'Look at the smile on our face,' Janet said. 'I feel like a little kid,' Anita said. Patrick Beaudet has been a Blue Rodeo fan since 1989, the year he first saw them at the Spectrum. 'I fell in love the first night I saw them,' Beaudet said. Friday night was his 12 th Blue Rodeo show and a forecast predicting heavy rainfall wasn't going to keep him away. 'I'm a fan fini, good weather, bad weather, I was going to be at this show,' Beaudet said. 'I can easily cry listening to Blue Rodeo. It hits me viscerally, inside me, profoundly. It's the lyrics, the harmonies. I like Oasis, Pulp, British rock, but I love the Canadian roots of Blue Rodeo.' Stéphane Fortin is also a hardcore fan and has been for over 30 years. 'I love the melodies,' Fortin said. 'And music is all about emotion.'
Montreal Gazette
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Montreal Gazette
Liveblog: Are Canadiens done dealing on NHL Draft Day?
Montreal Canadiens The Canadiens rocked the hockey world by reportedly dealing their two first-round picks in advance of tonight's NHL Draft at the L.A. Live's Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The broadcast begins at 7 p.m. (SN, TVA Sports). Here's what you need to know about tonight's first round: This year's draft is moving to a decentralized format, like the NBA and NFL. Team executives, coaches and scouts will remain in their home cities with commissioner Gary Bettman announcing the first-round picks. So, no draft floor drama. The Canadiens had two first-round picks: No. 16 and No. 17, but reportedly traded both and forward Emil Heineman to the New York Islanders for defenceman Noah Dobson. Dobson also reportedly received an eight-year extension worth $9.5 million annually. Earlier this week, executive vice-president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton said in terms of transactions they won't 'do anything that's stupid.' This story was originally published
