Backstreet

1. Overview

For much of the 1990s, Backstreet was one of the nerve centres of Montreal heavy metal culture. Located at 382 Mayor Street, only a short distance from Sainte-Catherine Street, the club attracted a clientele that came not only to attend concerts, but to reconnect with its community.

Its history extends far beyond that of a simple metal bar. Backstreet hosted local bands as well as international touring acts and welcomed several generations of musicians, technicians, promoters and regulars. Through its different incarnations — Backstreet, Cathouse and Backstreet Underground — 382 Mayor remained an important address in Montreal's underground scene for nearly a decade.

Its evolution also reflected the transformation of alternative music during the 1990s. Heavy metal remained at the heart of its identity, but death metal, punk, hardcore, alternative rock and even hip-hop eventually shared the same stage.

2. 382 Mayor Before Backstreet

The musical history of 382 Mayor Street did not begin with Backstreet. Several establishments occupied the premises beforehand, creating a degree of continuity in the address's association with nightlife and music in downtown Montreal.

MCPA archives trace this history back to Tarot, associated with the address in 1974. Later, Le Garage occupied the premises from 1986 to 1988, followed by Mars beginning in 1988.

When Backstreet's future owners took over the location, some of the décor associated with Mars and Le Garage was retained. The new club therefore emerged inside a space that already possessed its own history.

3. 1990: The Birth of Backstreet

Backstreet opened in October 1990. The project was founded by Nick, Roman, Louis, Jerry and Maurice, five heavy metal enthusiasts who wanted to create a venue that reflected their own musical culture.

The timing was especially favourable. Metal was undergoing a period of dramatic transformation. Hard rock still dominated an important part of the market, while thrash, death metal and other more extreme forms were developing their own scenes.

Montreal already possessed a firmly established metal community. The fire that destroyed La Brique's Drummond Street location in April 1990 had, however, temporarily deprived part of that community of one of its principal meeting places. A few months later, the arrival of Backstreet helped reshape the geography of downtown Montreal metal.

4. A Four-Room Club

Backstreet was distinguished in part by its unusual layout. The establishment contained four rooms, each with a different purpose and atmosphere, helping give the club a distinctive personality.

Accounts describe entering Backstreet as stepping into a world separated from the outside. The décor, organization of the spaces, music and clientele combined to create an environment in which regulars could fully express their connection to rock and metal culture.

This aspect is important: the Backstreet experience extended far beyond the stage. The establishment simultaneously functioned as a bar, concert venue, social space and meeting place.

5. A Community Above All

Backstreet's success relied heavily on a loyal clientele. Regulars returned week after week, regardless of whether a particular band was appearing.

In an era before social media, specialized bars served a function that is difficult to reproduce today. They operated as the physical network of a scene: people learned about upcoming concerts, discovered new bands, exchanged records and information, and above all encountered the same people night after night.

For part of Montreal's metal community, Backstreet therefore became more than a nightlife destination. It became a place of belonging.

6. James Shaffer and Life Behind the Scenes

From the beginning of Backstreet, James Shaffer joined the technical team. A sound engineer who had previously worked with Metallica in 1987 in connection with the Monsters of Rock tour, Shaffer served as Backstreet's sound engineer and production manager until 1993.

His testimony, collected by MCPA, offers a rare glimpse into the day-to-day work required to operate a small concert venue.

Behind every concert were hours of preparation rarely visible to the audience: the arrival of the bands, equipment setup, soundchecks, lighting, logistics and teardown after the show.

7. Louis Adams and the Booking

One of the most important figures in Backstreet's history was Louis “Louie” Adams. Responsible for booking and involved in the club's management, Adams directly helped shape its musical identity.

According to James Shaffer, Adams booked bands for Backstreet in collaboration with DKD, a connection that helped the club attract numerous hard rock and metal touring acts.

Programming quickly became one of the venue's strengths. Local artists shared the stage with international acts, and Backstreet gradually established itself as a recognized stop on Montreal's rock and metal circuit.

8. Backstreet and La Brique

The history of Backstreet is closely connected with that of La Brique. The two clubs became symbols of a period when Montreal supported several venues strongly identified with hard rock and heavy metal.

When Backstreet opened in October 1990, La Brique was temporarily closed following the fire that had destroyed its Drummond Street location. When La Brique reopened on Sainte-Catherine Street in 1991, the two establishments coexisted.

A friendly rivalry developed between the two venues. Each had its own regulars and personality, but both participated in the same musical ecosystem.

Their coexistence above all demonstrates the size reached by Montreal's metal community: it had become large enough to support several specialized establishments at the same time.

9. After the Forum Concerts

Backstreet's reputation gradually extended beyond that of a local bar. According to accounts associated with the club, musicians visiting Montreal sometimes went there after their concerts, particularly when their bands were appearing at the Forum.

Reported visitors include Lemmy of Motörhead, Lars Ulrich of Metallica, Gene Simmons of Kiss, as well as Adrian Smith, Dave Murray and Steve Harris of Iron Maiden. Members of Winger, Slaughter, Pantera, Anthrax and Skid Row are also said to have visited the club.

Even “Weird Al” Yankovic appears among the visitors remembered in accounts connected with Backstreet.

During one of its concerts at the Forum, Warrant reportedly mentioned Backstreet to the crowd as one of its preferred destinations after the show.

These memories, transmitted mainly by people who worked at or frequented Backstreet, illustrate the reputation the club acquired within the music community.

10. A Concert Venue

With a reported capacity of 870 people, Backstreet hosted an exceptionally broad range of artists over the years.

Metal in its various forms naturally occupied a central place. Cannibal Corpse, Obituary, Annihilator, Voivod, Suffocation, Vader, Dismember, Nuclear Assault, Sacrifice, Varga and many others reflected the venue's commitment to heavy and extreme music.

But the programming extended far beyond that framework. DRI, DOA, Dee Dee Ramone, Ice-T, Aldo Nova, Ugly Kid Joe, Blind Melon, The Legendary Pink Dots, I Mother Earth, The Stranglers, Steppenwolf, Our Lady Peace, FireHouse, Polvo, Monster Magnet, Superchunk, Voodoo Glow Skulls, GrimSkunk and Shades of Culture were also among the documented artists.

This diversity reveals a venue whose identity remained deeply rooted in metal while its stage gradually opened to the broader spectrum of rock and underground culture in the early 1990s.

11. 1994: Cathouse

In 1994, following an agreement among the owners, Backstreet changed its name to Cathouse.

The new name did not signal the disappearance of the venue's musical purpose. The 382 Mayor location continued to host programming strongly associated with metal, punk, hardcore and alternative scenes.

The Cathouse period featured artists including Killing Joke, Stabbing Westward, Gilby Clarke, Cannibal Corpse, Six Feet Under, Suffocation, Kataklysm, Brutal Truth, Enslaved, Absu, Broken Hope, Cryptopsy, Pungent Stench, Malevolent Creation, Necronomicon, Quo Vadis, The Asexuals, Samiam, Down by Law and ALL.

The programming also extended into hip-hop with artists such as Das EFX and Onyx, while Insane Clown Posse further blurred the boundaries between different underground cultures.

12. 1996: Backstreet Underground

In 1996, the Backstreet name returned in a new form: Backstreet Underground.

The choice of the word “Underground” neatly summarized the evolution the venue had undergone since its opening. Heavy metal remained an essential part of its identity, but the establishment had now become part of a broader alternative culture where extreme metal, punk, hardcore and other marginal forms of music intersected.

This final incarnation extended the story that had begun in October 1990 for nearly another two years.

13. 1997: The Rockbitch Controversy

In 1997, Backstreet Underground found itself at the centre of a controversy involving the British group Rockbitch, whose performances combined music with sexually explicit stage acts.

News of their planned Montreal appearance generated substantial media coverage and attracted the attention of authorities. The members of the band were permitted to enter Canada, but did not possess the work permits required to perform.

Contrary to what has sometimes been repeated since, Rockbitch ultimately did not perform at Backstreet Underground. The musicians did, however, meet at the venue with journalists who had been covering the controversy surrounding their visit for several days.

The episode therefore became part of Backstreet's history despite the fact that the concert itself never took place.

14. 1998: The Final Night

After several incarnations and nearly eight years under the Backstreet identity, the club's history came to an end on February 28, 1998.

The final performance was by Mr Hyde, closing a period during which 382 Mayor had hosted hundreds of evenings and helped create lasting memories for several generations of regulars.

The closure also marked the disappearance of one of the last major landmarks of a particular downtown Montreal metal geography of the 1990s.

15. From Metal to Afterhours

382 Mayor did not remain silent for long. Beginning in 1999, the former Backstreet premises were occupied by Amsterdam XXX No Limit, an afterhours club that sought, among other things, to compete with Montreal clubs such as Sona and Stereo.

The transformation reflects the evolution of Montreal nightlife at the end of the 1990s. A space once identified with guitars, heavy metal and hardcore now became part of electronic and afterhours culture.

The trajectory also recalls that of 32 Sainte-Catherine Street West, where La Brique had given way to Le Dôme a few years earlier. In both cases, an address identified with rock and metal was taken over by a new generation of nightlife culture.

16. Legacy

Backstreet remains one of the most evocative venues associated with the golden age of Montreal heavy metal. Yet its importance does not rest solely on the famous bands that appeared on its stage or on the international musicians who are remembered as having visited the bar after their concerts.

Its true legacy lies in the community that formed around it. During the 1990s, Backstreet gave a scene a physical place where people could meet, discover new bands and build their own collective memory.

The transition from Backstreet to Cathouse and later Backstreet Underground also reflects the rapid transformation of Montreal's alternative cultures. The club began primarily as a hard rock and heavy metal gathering place, then gradually became a crossroads where extreme metal, punk, hardcore, alternative rock and hip-hop could coexist.

Alongside La Brique, Backstreet now stands as one of the major symbols of a period when Montreal music communities were built around bars and small venues that functioned as places of social interaction just as much as places for concerts.

17. Louis Adams (1964–2014)

A figure inseparable from the history of Backstreet, Louis “Louie” Adams was involved in the club's management and, above all, its booking. His work, particularly in collaboration with DKD, helped bring several important hard rock and metal acts to 382 Mayor.

Adams grew up in Montreal and attended high school in Lachine in the early 1980s. Of Black and Indian ancestry from Saint Vincent, he became a well-known figure within Montreal's metal community over the years.

After Backstreet disappeared, his name remained closely associated with the club's peak years and with the many artists he helped bring to the venue.

Louis Adams died tragically in Lachine in November 2014 at the age of 49. A father of three, he was remembered by those close to him as a generous, cheerful man deeply devoted to his friends and family.

18. Timeline

1974 — Tarot is associated with 382 Mayor Street.

1986–1988 — Le Garage occupies the premises.

1988 — The establishment becomes Mars.

October 1990 — Backstreet opens, founded by Nick, Roman, Louis, Jerry and Maurice.

1990–1993 — James Shaffer works as the venue's sound engineer and production manager.

Early 1990s — Backstreet establishes itself as one of the major venues in Montreal's hard rock and heavy metal scene and maintains a friendly rivalry with La Brique.

1990–1994 — DRI, Cannibal Corpse, Obituary, Ice-T, Annihilator, Blind Melon, Voivod, Steppenwolf, Suffocation, Nuclear Assault, Monster Magnet and numerous other artists perform at the club.

1994 — Backstreet becomes Cathouse.

1994–1996 — Cathouse hosts artists including Killing Joke, Stabbing Westward, Gilby Clarke, Cannibal Corpse, Six Feet Under, Suffocation, Kataklysm, Brutal Truth, Enslaved, Cryptopsy, Down by Law, ALL, Das EFX and Onyx.

1996 — The venue is renamed Backstreet Underground.

1997 — The controversial visit by Rockbitch attracts significant media attention. The planned concert ultimately does not take place.

February 28, 1998 — Final Backstreet Underground performance with Mr Hyde, followed by the club's permanent closure.

1999 — The premises are taken over by the afterhours club Amsterdam XXX No Limit.

November 2014 — Death of Louis Adams, an important figure in Backstreet's history.