Woodstock (Montréal)

1. Overview

Woodstock can be traced in Montreal listings and cultural columns as a non-institutional place of diffusion: a venue where one might encounter local rock bands, themed nights, and more “DIY” proposals (video, performances, image collages). Its visibility in the press between 1993 and 1995 makes it possible to reconstruct—through fragments— a porous venue identity: both a live room and a platform for one-off initiatives. ¹

Two traits stand out clearly in the corpus: (1) a firm anchoring in the Main’s rock/alternative circuit, and (2) a function as a platform for community events and media experiments. In summer 1994, The Gazette associates Woodstock with CKUT’s Noisy Neighbours, described as a “jazzy din”, suggesting stylistic openness (toward jazz/free/impro margins) inside a venue otherwise identified with rock/alt. ⁸

2. A Main bar in the alternative circuits

Located at 3781 Saint-Laurent Blvd., Woodstock appears repeatedly in going-out columns as a stopover point for a nightlife culture tied to alternative networks. In 1993, press notices explicitly connect it to rock shows and to tours/posters circulating among downtown rooms (Metropolis, Spectrum, Foufounes, etc.), situating Woodstock inside a circuit rather than a “standalone venue” logic. ²

This place within the network is also visible in the variety of offerings: concerts, benefits, events mixing music and media arts, and nights advertised at low door prices (e.g., $5 in some mentions). ²

The presence of touring international acts is also documented. In fall 1993, as the single Creep circulates heavily on MusiquePlus, the British band Radiohead is announced for a “hit-and-run gig” at Woodstock on November 2, 1993, with tickets at $11.50. ¹⁰

A column published shortly afterward confirms that Radiohead played a “tight, sweaty, deliriously received” show at Woodstock, emphasizing both performance intensity and an enthusiastic audience response. The mention places Woodstock as a genuine stop on an international touring route, able to host major artists at an early stage. ¹¹

In 1994, the same “tour stop” logic appears in the piece on Shonen Knife: the Woodstock date is announced with an opening act, a specific price, and ticketing details—typical operational signals of venues integrated into touring circuits. ⁷

3. 1993: benefits, DIY, and “Scratch Video”

A December 1993 notice indicates that a benefit show at Bar Woodstock (from 6 p.m. to midnight) is organized for the Share the Warmth Foundation. The listing specifies the door price ($5) and encourages donations of non-perishable goods, while naming local rock-scene participants (including Mack Mackenzie, Three O’Clock Train, Jerry Jerry, and Titanic). ³

Around the same time, Woodstock is also advertised as the site of a DIY scratch-video event, described as a “mindmeld” where several local “media freaks” recompose borrowed imagery—and the project is explicitly linked to the collective / happening named Nos amis la TV. ⁴

A French-language article in Le Devoir (December 2, 1993) reinforces this reading: “Scratch Vidéo” is presented as the first public manifestation of Nos amis la TV, featuring an “iconoclastic revision” of television moments, and lists participants including Jean-François Boucher, François Chicoine, Patrick Masbourian, Andy Mollition, Robert Morin, and Vox. ⁵

Heavy attendance at certain nights also creates logistical issues. A November 1993 column describes a situation deemed dangerous when leaving a show at Woodstock: dozens of patrons are held back by security while a crowd piles up in a narrow stairwell, due to a badly placed coat check. The columnist evokes a “potentially tragic” crush risk and calls for immediate changes to the layout. ¹²

4. 1994: community events and mixed scenes

In October 1994, Woodstock is mentioned as the site of a benefit (“Benefunk ’94”) for Head & Hands, an organization known for providing free services (medical, legal, counseling) to youth. The notice announces a stylistically mixed bill (funk, hip-hop, rap, reggae, acid jazz) and names several acts, including Trevor Reid, Human Touch, Illegal Jazz Poets (Ottawa), Shades of Culture, Babelfish, Public Enema, and the N.D.G. Symphony, with advance and door prices. ⁶

This kind of listing—where programming is fused with social mission—strengthens the idea of Woodstock as a platform: the venue hosts “standard” bar concerts, but also serves as an anchor point for mobilizing events (benefits, neighborhood initiatives, media projects). ³

The The Gazette column (July 1994) adds a key clue: Woodstock is connected to a CKUT-linked series (“Noisy Neighbours”), and the same clipping suggests artists circulating toward the club in hopes of building a show series. This confirms Woodstock as both a Main bar and a network node (radio, local scenes, experimentation). ⁸

5. 1995: the “pay-to-play” debate

In June 1995, a long English-language press piece about relationships between bands and concert venues cites Woodstock in the debate over so-called pay-to-play. Woodstock is named as a “place” associated with these discussions, and the article stages the tension between bar economics, the risks of a night, and conditions offered to musicians. ⁷

Crucially, the article identifies Joseph Valiquette (Woodstock) and explicitly reports his desire not to be “known as a pay-to-play place.” This mention provides a rare nominative anchor (management) within the venue’s active period. ⁹

In this reading, Woodstock appears less as a simple address than as a symptom: that of a scene where emerging bands seek stages, bars seek profitability, and business models become a public subject in themselves. ⁷

Around the same time, other mentions confirm continuity in programming and rock/alt scenes: for instance, the Bif Naked piece situates Woodstock inside a network of dates and artists. ¹³

Finally, benefits continue: a January 1995 notice links Woodstock to an event with a minimum fundraising target (for the Starlight Foundation), confirming the “community” dimension right up to the end of the cycle. ¹⁶

6. 1995: the end of Woodstock and reconfiguration

In 1995, several signals point to an end of cycle: Woodstock gradually stops being mentioned as an autonomous entity, while the 3781 address circulates in the press as a space in transformation (renovation, new project, “brand old but totally reno’d”). ⁸

A late-1995 reference explicitly mentions a “Woodstock” space described as renovated and reoccupied within a rock programming context (e.g., nights with Tinker and Stellar Dweller). ⁹

Transition The shift is also documented in French: La Presse (September 21, 1995) announces “Woodstock is dead, long live the Silver!”, describing an explicit rebranding of the space (new name, new positioning, new aesthetics). ¹⁴

Finally, the post-Woodstock reconfiguration is clarified by the brief “Woodstock revisited” (The Gazette, November 30, 1995), which refers to the venue “once occupied by Woodstock” and names Patrick Mercier as co-owner of a project tied to renovation and investment (a marker of transformation in both space and operating logic). ¹⁵

Even without an official opening/closing act presented here, the set of clippings supports a cautious reading: Woodstock is documented as an active venue at least between 1993 and 1995, then as the name of a “space” whose occupancy and identity change rapidly. ^{8, 9, 14, 15}