Steve Bug + Jay Hunsberger + Stephen Beaupré @ Station C

November 18th – It was freezing outside and the temperature inside Montréal's Station C was no better. It was cold, very cold, and it was also apparent that the future home of the Kloc Late Night Club wasn't quite ready to accomodate customers. Steve Bug's set would therefore serve as a sort of pre-opening for this new establishment that was supposed to stay open until 5am (instead of 3, like regular Québec bars).


The place filled up late, and the very inviting grooves proposed by Mr. Beaupré were played before and empty room. Hunsberger's live performance started to bring in more people, perhaps intrigued by the elaborate musical propositions the man was orchestrating on his laptop computer.

The night only truly took off at 2AM when Steve Bug took over. The man's beats easily began to dissipate the frigid air and the party's momentum started to build. Everyone was dancing, everyone was having fun. Bug started teasing us with intelligent grooves that promised an amazing finale was still to come.

That's when the Kloc's management came in and cut the music. It was explained that neighborhood bars were attempting to stop the event from going as planned, and that we would have to leave an hour early. Steve Bug seemed as disappointed as everyone.

That the Kloc's competition intervened to stop the event from going on until five is unfortunate. If they did so because The Kloc was operating illegally, then their attitude is only fair game.

Ultimately, the victim here is not the club but its customers, and perhaps the real responsibility in this matter lies with the promoters and the venue itself. After all, don't tell me it wouldn't have been possible to prevent all this mess by obtaining the proper permits BEFORE letting customers through the door? It's not good policy to 'Burn' your clientele previous to being officially open for business.

The Kloc's "late night club" concept is interesting. Let's just hope they get their act together quickly and that this scenario doesn't repeat itself. Montréal clubbers may be forgiving, but they're not stupid.

As for Steve Bug: let's hope the man from Poker Flat comes back soon and gives us a proper set. Until then, we'll always have Bugnology.

The Kloc takes a licking and keeps on ticking.