Montreal is a city of beautiful dichotomies. It is Janus-faced, a split personality balancing beautiful days of beautiful people doing beautiful things with bleak undergrounds, hellish weather, and crumbling city cores.
That's what this issue is all about, the yin and the yang, our underbelly and our upper crust, our triumphs and our tribulations. Case in point: In the last 48 hours, we shed our layers and drank in sunny parks one day, and were sitting in the dark writing this newsletter on a dying battery the next as nearly half the city lost its power in an ice storm.
If Montreal were a Dungeons and Dragons character, it'd be chaotic neutral. Not quite good or bad, it'd be a rebel hedonistically doing as it pleases while trying tnot to infringe on anyone else's good time. Montreal ain't the Joker, and it's not Batman. It's more like Catwoman, watching the action happen.
For readers who care about Montreal
Create a free account to read this story and access 3 articles per month, plus our weekly Bulletin.
![The Bulletin: Gore and Comedy at the Cinema, Go Habs Go, and Pizza with Your Pint [Issue #179]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.sanity.io%2Fimages%2F2edxk5v7%2Fproduction%2F8c053d166c0ab06c0db059302092e7fa9bae8cc2-1024x683.jpg&w=2560&q=75)
![The Bulletin: A Japanese Konbini's Birthday, Subterranean Art, and Ping Pong Ramen [Issue #178]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstorage.ghost.io%2Fc%2F00%2Fe5%2F00e5bf23-2b72-4a48-92bb-496245b79d2a%2Fcontent%2Fimages%2F2026%2F04%2F6565miminori_1774653049_3862390094170806020_61742082836.jpg&w=2560&q=75)
![The Bulletin: Post-Punk in the Dome, Mechanical Animals, and a Bookstore Block Party [Issue #177]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstorage.ghost.io%2Fc%2F00%2Fe5%2F00e5bf23-2b72-4a48-92bb-496245b79d2a%2Fcontent%2Fimages%2F2026%2F04%2FRousseau_Marie-La-Securite-Plazapalooza9.jpg&w=2560&q=75)
![The Bulletin: Limited Edition Donuts, the Laotian & Cambodian New Year, and Axe Throwing With Syrup [Issue #176]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstorage.ghost.io%2Fc%2F00%2Fe5%2F00e5bf23-2b72-4a48-92bb-496245b79d2a%2Fcontent%2Fimages%2F2026%2F04%2F666611733_1552423200221238_6290974934334965786_n.jpg&w=2560&q=75)
![The Bulletin: Roman Sculpture and Italo Disco, Maple Xiao Long Bao, and an Easter Costume Party [Issue #175]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstorage.ghost.io%2Fc%2F00%2Fe5%2F00e5bf23-2b72-4a48-92bb-496245b79d2a%2Fcontent%2Fimages%2F2026%2F04%2Fdragonflowershop_1774527049_3861317818415766725_374138086-1.jpg&w=2560&q=75)
![The Bulletin: Downtown Gets a Jazz Room, Blasting Pink Floyd in a Church, and Girl Dinners [Issue #174]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstorage.ghost.io%2Fc%2F00%2Fe5%2F00e5bf23-2b72-4a48-92bb-496245b79d2a%2Fcontent%2Fimages%2F2026%2F03%2Fvesiaphotography_1774185491_3858469647058590483_32210843-1.jpg&w=2560&q=75)
![The Bulletin: Suing the CIA over mind-control experiments, our crumbling downtown, and a new comedy festival [Issue #19]](https://storage.ghost.io/c/00/e5/00e5bf23-2b72-4a48-92bb-496245b79d2a/content/images/2023/04/manny-fortin-sZ7zb0oAEh0-unsplash.jpg)
![The Bulletin: Going all-in for the holidays [Issue #156]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstorage.ghost.io%2Fc%2F00%2Fe5%2F00e5bf23-2b72-4a48-92bb-496245b79d2a%2Fcontent%2Fimages%2F2025%2F11%2F52515334508_0b44b90e61_b.jpg&w=2560&q=75)
![The Bulletin: Who's afraid of the big bad weekend? 😱 [Issue #153]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstorage.ghost.io%2Fc%2F00%2Fe5%2F00e5bf23-2b72-4a48-92bb-496245b79d2a%2Fcontent%2Fimages%2F2025%2F10%2Fkarelchladek_1730826900_3494590103315691884_306845664.jpg&w=2560&q=75)
![The Bulletin: We've got some big things cooking [Issue #158]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstorage.ghost.io%2Fc%2F00%2Fe5%2F00e5bf23-2b72-4a48-92bb-496245b79d2a%2Fcontent%2Fimages%2F2025%2F12%2FCROWD.jpg&w=2560&q=75)
![The Bulletin: The incoming weather’s hot, but this lineup’s hotter. 🥵 [Issue #149]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstorage.ghost.io%2Fc%2F00%2Fe5%2F00e5bf23-2b72-4a48-92bb-496245b79d2a%2Fcontent%2Fimages%2F2025%2F10%2Fla-force---pop-montreal---rialto-theatre-by-eva-blue-21.jpg&w=2560&q=75)
![The Bulletin: Disco queens, Nordic festivities, and the Great Underground Race [Issue #167]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstorage.ghost.io%2Fc%2F00%2Fe5%2F00e5bf23-2b72-4a48-92bb-496245b79d2a%2Fcontent%2Fimages%2F2026%2F02%2F55281-2.jpg&w=2560&q=75)
![The Bulletin: A hyperpop party, live blacksmithing, a toy drive, and late-night raves [Issue #159]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstorage.ghost.io%2Fc%2F00%2Fe5%2F00e5bf23-2b72-4a48-92bb-496245b79d2a%2Fcontent%2Fimages%2F2025%2F12%2F53468450156_7b9de7959e_b.jpg&w=2560&q=75)
![The Bulletin: Reviving the 1930s, illegal taxis and churches, and 1,000-year-old parties [Issue #18]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstorage.ghost.io%2Fc%2F00%2Fe5%2F00e5bf23-2b72-4a48-92bb-496245b79d2a%2Fcontent%2Fimages%2F2023%2F03%2Ftravellingclickers_329015939_227475376444309_1787713067108738062_n.jpg&w=256&q=75)
![The Bulletin: From Ice Storm 2 to Summer Weather In 7 Days or Less [Issue #20]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstorage.ghost.io%2Fc%2F00%2Fe5%2F00e5bf23-2b72-4a48-92bb-496245b79d2a%2Fcontent%2Fimages%2F2023%2F04%2F9wrkurjkahw81.png&w=256&q=75)
Comments
Welcome to The Main's comments section!
Share your thoughts and join the conversation. Please be respectful and constructive.
No comments yet. Be the first!