The Club & Music Scene

Comedy

The once red-hot market for comedy clubs across North America may have cooled, but it lives on in Montréal, mostly because the city is the home to the highly regarded Juste pour Rire (Just for Laughs) Festival (tel. 888/244-3155; www.hahaha.com) held every summer. Those who have so far avoided the comedy-club experience should know that profanity, bathroom humor, and ethnic slurs are common fodder for performers. To avoid becoming objects of the comedians' barbs, it's wise to sit well back from the stage. Check before buying tickets whether the show is in French or English.

Dance Clubs

As elsewhere, Montréal's dance clubs change in popularity in the blink of an eye and new ones sprout like toadstools after a heavy rain, withering just as quickly. For the latest, quiz concierges or waiters -- whoever looks as if they might follow the scene. Here are a few that appear more likely to survive. At some, you may encounter steroid abusers with funny haircuts guarding the doors. Usually they'll let you inside; the admittance game is rarely as strict as the "hipper than thou" criteria at some Los Angeles clubs.

Folk, Rock & Pop

Montréal has a strong showing of innovative alternative rock; homegrown outfits include Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. (The band Of Montreal, by the way, is actually from Athens, Georgia.) Scores of bars, cafés, theaters, clubs, and even churches present live music on at least an occasional basis, even if only at Sunday brunch. The performers, local or touring, draw from every idiom, from metal to funk to folky vocals. Here are a few places that focus their energies on music.

Jazz & Blues

The respected and heavily attended Festival International de Jazz, held every summer in the city, caters to the public's interest in this original American art form. During the 11 days of the event, close to 150 indoor shows are scheduled, and there are countless outdoor performances as well. Wynton Marsalis, Harry Connick, Jr., Keith Jarrett, and even Bob Dylan have been featured in recent years, although it costs serious money to hear stars of such magnitude and tickets sell out months in advance. Fortunately, hundreds of other concerts are free. "Jazz" is broadly interpreted to include everything from Dixieland to reggae, world beat, and the unclassifiable experimental. For information on the festival, call tel. 888/515-0515 or visit www.montrealjazzfest.com.