nightlife etiquette with jeff mills & egyptian lover
(montreal → toronto weekend circuit)
It’s Sunday, I end up going to see Jeff Mills last minute after Mathieu texts me.
I pull up later than I should. We drop our coats at coat check. A stack of cups falls over, I hand them back to the bartender. I try to pay for my drink, but it’s been comped. I get my brain rinsed.
The following week, Système reopens. Mirrored ceilings, the sound system in full effect. Jacques Greene is playing all night. I get a Polaroid before his set. I take another of cardboard boxes being drilled into the wall as a temporary fix. I see all my friends.
I sleep for three and a half hours, then get on a train to Ottawa. I fall asleep face down on the food tray. I wake up, get a breakfast sandwich at the station, then take the next train to Toronto.
I try to sleep, but the train keeps honking. The forest is foggy, it reminds me of Skyrim. The rivers are so high that we’re delayed, and we all get a discount for next time. It’s Kylie’s release day, and I’m running on fumes, making sure that everyone has what they need.
Dora picks me up at Union Station. We talk nonstop until we get to her place. It’s nice to hear her so inspired, to hear her be so much of herself again. We drive through small Ontario towns, and I feel like a teenager, in a good way. We lie down, get back up, get ready, and then head back into the city.
We meet her friends and go to Standard Time. I run into old friends at coat check and on the dance floor. I’m dancing so hard that I only get one blurry photo of the lights dragging across the booth. Egyptian Lover is electrifying, inspiring. There’s a row of femme people who I assume are DJs, firmly planted at the front, leaning on the speakers, watching intently.
A friend I met as a teenager in Ottawa tells me I could probably just walk into the booth if I do it with confidence. I tell him he has to come with me, I’m too shy to do it alone. He tells me to believe in myself, but escorts me anyway. I text Dora to do the same, she makes it through.
I talk to Tony for a while. I ask him why he’s holding an empty water bottle. It’s nice to see him. It’s nice to hear such good music, to dance that hard.
Dora goes to take a Polaroid of me on the staircase. Tony comes down carrying a crate of vinyl and joins me. Later, I take a Polaroid of Dora outside while she’s taking a selfie. It turns out perfect.
We go to the Garrison. I run into Juliana and feel relieved. We order pizza at four in the morning. It arrives, but I’m asleep before I can eat it.
We sleep in. We leave the apartment, and Noah finds me soon after by chance. I’m wearing my Garden Party jacket, hard to miss. I’m happy to see him. It’s funny that we’re all in Toronto at the same time. Sam is somewhere nearby. I’ve been checking his location but haven’t seen him.
We walk through shops without buying anything. We have brunch where every item comes on its own plate, exactly as described. No frills, really good. We cycle through liquids: caffeine, water, Gatorade, Pho. We watch a horror movie and YouTube on the TV with Dora’s friends until it’s nighttime again, and we’re heading to a metal show.
The venue is on the second floor of a bar. Everyone is happy to be there. I’m happy to be there. The music washes over me. I close my eyes.
Halfway through the show, Sam texts me to meet him at Cafeteria. I walk over between sets. On my way out, a guy who’s been trying to talk to me all night wants to show Dora and me his custom license plate he bought off Facebook Marketplace. It says “GOTH GRLS.” We make him take a photo of us in front of it.
I walk under the underpass, and Sam meets me outside. I don’t pay for entry, Noah said something to the person doing door. The room is too bright and too big for what’s happening, but everyone has their phone flashlights out, encouraging the people on stage. Noah gets asked to DJ for a rapper and disappears.
Sam and I go outside to talk about music, to catch up. I go back to the metal show and catch the last act, it’s the best of the night.
We get tacos. I order in Spanish, which feels good. I don’t get to practice much, or maybe I’m just too shy, even though it was my first language.
We go to Low Bar, the dive everyone’s been telling me about. It feels like everyone knows each other. I feel welcome, the energy is warm. I appreciate that no one minds that I’m exhausted, almost nonverbal. They’re happy to keep me company anyway.
We drive back to Dora’s place and debrief the night.
We wake up at nine, go back to sleep, then wake up again at noon. We have breakfast, banana bread. I get back on the train.
At Union Station, I run into Raph. I was supposed to catch the Blue Hawaii show, but I got the venue wrong, so I’m glad to see her now. We talk for a while and head home to Montreal. We Uber together. It feels good to spend time together in these in-between spaces.
It feels like I was given a proper lesson in dance music, in DJing. Two weeks of it, proper nightlife education.
I feel inspired to go back home. I feel inspired to go back to Toronto.