by SCOTT C

Chances are, you might be a little shaken up if you happened to be down at Vinyl Lounge on Saturday night, when all hell broke loose outside the club. Apparently, a fight that had started inside the tiny spot on Bleury (formerly Luba Lounge) moved its way outside and into the street. That’s when one of the people involved pulled a gun and fired several shots at a 20-year-old guy who was visiting Montreal with some friends from Toronto for the weekend. That guy is now dead. Even though there were lots of witnesses, police have yet to track down the killer, who jumped in a car and sped off into the night.

That shit just hit me like a brick. Imagine you’re from Toronto, and, tired of seeing all the gun violence on the news, you’re feeling like you can’t even go out downtown anymore because some shit might go down inside the club. So, you and some friends decide to dip up to Montreal for the weekend and get far away from the possibility of shots being fired, only to have everything go pear-shaped.

I’ve been following a lot of the stories coming out of Toronto over the last couple months, not to mention the way the press has been jumping all over the rash of gun-related violence that has permeated that city. If people want to think that the flow of illegal guns to Canada is concentrated in Toronto, I would think again. Two other guys were stopped by the cops at St-Laurent and des Pins last weekend, and were relieved of two 9mm pistols that they just happened to have in the car. I just can’t believe that someone would blatantly shoot and kill someone else in cold blood for no dumb-ass reason, and right in front of a bunch of people! It’s disgusting.

I would suggest that if you were there, and haven’t already talked to the cops about what you may or may not have seen, that you step forward with any info that could help catch this guy. Remember, this didn’t happen in some cul-de-sac in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, but right downtown and outside a place that you’ve probably been to. I played some records there myself not even two weeks ago.

Apart from the unfortunate Toronto connection I’ve just mentioned, some of you might be interested in making the trip to T-Dot for this Saturday, Dec. 3. Toronto’s Drake Hotel Underground (1150 Queen St. W.) is hosting auditions for any singers, dancers, rappers or comedians who think they can hold their own on the legendary, career-building stage of Harlem’s Apollo Theater in New York City. The Apollo judges will be in Toronto, seeing potential talent from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you think you’ve got what it takes to perform on the same stage that launched careers for people like Ella Fitzgerald, D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill and Bill Cosby, you better leave soon. I think there could be a line-up. For more info, check out www.thedrakehotel.ca or www.apollotheater.com.

JE NE SUIS PAS PARFAIT COMME VOUS... fathead@videotron.ca

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