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From chic to freak

Black and white in full colour at the Bal des Boys blowout

by JOHN CUSTODIO

Hochelaga-Maisonneuve is in for a big surprise. On New Year's Eve, multitudes of handsome men and a few stylish women will invade this normally quiet, traditionally working-class neighbourhood and congregate at the corner of Notre-Dame and Letourneux. There, in an old fire station, they will be called to worship by their high priests of dance. They will bump. They will grind. They will be transported. Then, in ecstatic exaltation, this mass of gleaming torsos will merge and become one large, pulsing organism of mutual adoration.

No, KLF isn't releasing a new video. It's the ninth edition of the Bal des Boys, the Bad Boy Club of Montreal's annual New Year's Eve blowout. Tammy Wynette will not be in the house, but DJs Mark Anthony, Neill MacLeod, and Serge Duchesne will. Individually, these three spinners are able to whip their acolytes into beat-crazed frenzies. Together, they're downright dangerous, as their stints at this year's Black & Blue party proved.

"This is the first time in a long time that Mark Anthony has even been available on New Year's Eve," said Caroline Rousse, BBCM's director of external affairs, "and anyone who was at our last Leather Ball knows what a great tag-team Neill and Serge make."

This is also the first time the Bad Boys will be holding this event at the Caserne Letourneux, and as it turns out, extended religious metaphors are well suited for describing this event. Designed by Wilfrid Vandal at the turn of the century, the Caserne was inspired by the Unity Temple in Chicago, one of Frank Lloyd Wright's modernist masterpieces. "We're always on the lookout for new venues," Rousse explained. "There aren't that many in Montreal for our kinds of parties, and we really wanted someplace novel, someplace chic."

Classy but sassy

"Chic" seems to be the favourite by-word for this party - the dress code is "black and white, art deco style" - but lest there be any confusion over the matter, Rousse makes it clear: this ain't your average black & white ball. "People might arrive in tuxedos, if they're coming from a formal dinner or whatever, but they won't stay in them for very long. By the end of the night, they'll have let it all go."

Not coincidentally, Rousse uses the same language to describe the multimedia show being put on by the BBCM dancers. "It's a surprise, so I don't want to tell you too much. The piece is called Time Code and I can tell you that they come out very restrained and classy at the beginning, but by the end of it, they really let it all hang out."

Of course, the Caserne is only the first stop in what is really a four-day pilgrimage. The Bal des Boys, like most BBCM events, is a movable feast of a party. Those who haven't had their fill on New Year's Eve can keep on keepin' on at the Morning Party at Club Stereo, which starts when the Bal ends. The day after that, there's La Nuit des Anges at Campus and the Jeans & Leather party at Club Parking - and that only takes us to Friday. On Saturday, the ritual continues at Club Stereo with the BBCM It's Not Over party. It all winds up on Sunday with the first T-dance of 2004 at Sky pub.

I'm exhausted already!

Bal des Boys is at Caserne Letourneux (4300 Notre-dame E.) on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 9pm, $55. For more Bal des Boys Weekend information, call 875-7026 or go to www.bbcm.org