by KRISTIAN GRAVENOR

The West End has always had plenty of musicians, but comparatively few places for them to perform. That may be slowly changing.

One NDG musical wheeler-dealer has invoked a country solution to a city problem. "In small rural communities, where there's no venues, you'll see punk kids doing shows out of church basements," says Alex Megelas. "It's not something you see here much." Over the summer, Megelas, who also runs local indie label Grenadine, has held seven youth-oriented events at the Underground, (3850 Royal, in the basement of the Wesley United Church) on behalf of Head and Hands, a youth outreach community organization.

His Underground series created a buzz with its mission to "match up youth talent with established performers to provide a really positive first live experience." Bands like The Complications and Wintersleep made rare rockstar appearances there.

But ironically, the end-of-year showcase performance of the West End apprentice musicians won't happen anywhere near where they live: no venue big enough to accommodate the show could be found. So it goes to the Sala Rossa (4848 St-Laurent, Thursday, Aug. 18, 8 p.m. all ages, free).

Hopes for an NDG musical renaissance are now focused on the Cinema V, aka the Empress Cultural Centre. The long-abandoned theatre is opening its 400-seat downstairs space to bands sometime next spring. But funding issues will make it a no-frills spot.

"We're just bringing it up to safety code now," says Jodi Michaels, the Empress Cultural Centre consultant. "Artists will have to bring their own special lighting. We might not even install seats."

Meantime, the area does have a burgeoning scene, according to the observations of relative newcomer José Bernatchez, who has owned the DJ/graffiti-styled Subv gallery on Sherbrooke for a year. "I think there's a special vibe in NDG that's unbeatable," he says. Nearby, the Shäika Café, at 5526 Sherbrooke W., hosts a live acoustic set every night starting at 9 p.m.

Over the years, noise-wary neighbours have driven live bands out of the area. Frank DiTella, owner of the Typhoon on Monkland, fought an unsuccessful marathon battle to let musicians play at his bar. "Musicians still ask to play here and we tell them we're not allowed to have them," he says. "It has nothing to do with us not wanting live bands. Our customers want it. We want it. But there's nothing we can do."

Mike Griffin, owner of Honey Martin's on Sherbrooke W., went through a five-year battle to keep music alive at his minuscule bar (which is large enough for a musician or two). Authorities received 76 noise complaints, all of them, he says, from a single neighbour. Griffin's now been cleared to allow live music, however, thanks to his own petition of supportive nearby residents. "There has to be a balance between people in the community who benefit from culture and others less receptive," says Griffin. But he still worries about further trouble. "The government of Quebec considers liquor permits a privilege, not a right, so they can revoke it at any time."

The nearby Avanti Bar, also on Sherbrooke, stopped its live music, and another onetime venue, Rainbow-ites, on de Maisonneuve, has a disconnected telephone. According to a borough by-law passed January 6, 2003, bars that close for an extended period cannot reopen as bars. No new bars are permitted to open anywhere in Côte-des-Neiges-NDG except if they're located on St-Jacques, west of Madison.