Where Montreal Nightlife Is Taking Shape Right Now, According to Lazer Cobra

This story originally appeared in a special edition The Main x URBANIA Micromag. Read the full collection here.

A queer Filipino-Montrealer born in Côte-des-Neiges, Lazer Cobra (who prefers to go by their IG handle for this piece) started out shooting corporate events and weddings before the pandemic pushed them towards nightlife: "I just started hearing so many rumours of all these parties popping up in the underground scene," they remember.

"Random locations on the mountain, off island, by the river. I knew I had to go out there and take photos of this because no one else was. This was history in the making.”

Since then, Lazer Cobra’s become an exceptionally plugged-in nightlife photographer. Named after the cheap laser beams that decorate underground raves and a throwaway reference to the movie Dodgeball, their socials serve as a record of years spent with a part of a city so defining to its character that it never stopped moving—even when it was supposed to.

Instead of portraying nightlife’s extremes of intensity (see: confetti cannons or VIP areas) and intimacy (dancefloor strangers making out), Lazer Cobra finds their own sweet spot in the "places where people would venture to really find themselves, or get lost in", as they put it.

In short, it’s about anonymity and legitimacy now: "I think everyone's tired of that (old) shit. Everyone just wants to get away from it and have a real genuine time and really connect. There's a certain uniform experience to (things like) bottle service and I think people have really caught on to that."

According to Lazer Cobra, the marker of a healthy night has nothing to do with the room itself. "One of the big indicators of a really healthy scene is how safe you feel in it. Some places you'll go in and just have people on the side leering and glaring, and you can just feel the heavy intentions. Some of these collectives work really hard to foster a safe environment for patrons to party. They take people's safety and accountability very seriously. That is something I love and would love to see more of."

The energy, in their view, is entirely with the promoters, the DJs, the communities building something specific. Adios, clubs: "Venues are more just hosting areas now."

Their approach is consciously Bourdainian: showing up, earning trust, letting the room tell its own story. "I love supporting these people, even if I'm just showing up for fun and taking photos. This is the part of history that should be remembered."

That instinct has led them toward the collectives and underground nights that have been quietly reshaping Montreal's scene—so who better to ask who’s putting in the work these days?

After all, in the years following COVID, Lazer Cobra describes watching promoters and DJs they've photographed in their early days go on to play in cities that are continents and oceans away from home. "Booking managers are in multiple cities all the time. Talent is always transferring from Montreal to Mexico City, down into Rio and São Paulo, into European circuits. I'm seeing them in their infantile stages, before they're getting big."

Where nightlife is taking shape, according to Lazer Cobra

For anyone trying to get their bearings, the advice is simple: stop chasing venues and start following collectives and DJs. Three rooms worth bookmarking as a starting point: Datcha for its monthly lineups of local and international talent; Le Système, recently renovated with a glass ceiling and a queer-adjacent crowd that sometimes brings in collectives; and Sans Soleil, small and vinyl-only, "a great place to create your relationship with music."

Beyond that, here's who they're watching:

• Virtualis — "They work so hard at fostering a very safe environment for patrons. I just love it when people dress up with such beautiful expression—you don't see these kinds of outfits anywhere else in Montreal aside from other queer scenes in other cities. They'll throw parties in places where no one else would, like the MAC. Imagine having a party there."