MTELUS

Nine lives facing Sainte-Catherine

The ice rink opened in 1884 at 59 rue Sainte-Catherine Est ended up being a summer theater and, in 1893, the Théâtre français. For three decades it hosted spoken theater: Sarah Bernhardt passed through that stage in 1905. The building became a cinema in 1923, burned down at the beginning of the 1930s, and was redecorated by Emmanuel Briffa, the same architect of the Théâtre Outremont. Later it was an adult cinema until the closure of 1981.

From Métropolis nightclub to concert machine

It reopened in 1987 as a nightclub under the name Métropolis. Ten years later, L'Équipe Spectra bought the property and converted it into a live concert hall. There, the identity that still matters to the dance floor was fixed: David Bowie, Prince, Björk, Radiohead, Green Day, The White Stripes, Beck, or Coldplay, and a Quebec roster that goes from Les Cowboys Fringants to Jean Leloup, the artist with the most sets in the room. In 2011, Pollstar placed it as the ninth club venue in the world by ticket sales (147,092) and the first in Canada.

The MTELUS christening

In December 2016, TELUS announced a 5 million dollar ten-year plan to modernize the venue. On September 12, 2017, the official opening was celebrated as MTELUS, with a free concert by Radio Radio and A Tribe Called Red, among others. evenko manages the programming in alliance with Live Nation. The main activity remains the concert; occasionally the venue recovers the nightclub gesture for parties, galas, and corporate events.

Electronics under the arch

MUTEK has used the room as an electronic club venue, with night programs labeled Métropolis. The recent calendar mixes rock and rap with dance floor dates: Tinlicker, Virtual Riot, Thylacine, or Boy Harsher. In 2023, Solotech installed an L-Acoustics K3 system—arrays of ten K3 and KS28 subwoofers per side—designed for the lower balcony and the historic box, replacing a dV-DOSC that had served for more than twenty years.

Two rooms, 2300 bodies

The standing capacity reaches 2300 people; the annex M2, of more than 200, functions as an intimate room, VIP, or Belle Époque-style chandelier cabaret. There is balcony seating—no elevator—, a cloakroom, several bars, and an LED stage screen. It is in the Quartier des Spectacles, a step away from the Saint-Laurent metro.