Stereo 2025 From A Former Stereohead Living Now In Miami

 

Enter Stereo: Montreal’s After-Hours Temple

Imagine a place where the music is a living pulse, where every beat hits you in the body, and where midnight means just the beginning. Welcome to Stereo, Montreal’s legendary after-hours nightclub—an immersive temple of house, techno, and community.

Where Sound Is the Star

What makes Stereo stand out isn't flashy décor or VIP exclusivity—it’s the sound system. Built with precision and engineered for perfection (think “box-in-a-box” walls on shock absorbers that let the floor float), every note lands with clarity and power. DJs feel it, dancers feel it, and then the music just takes over.

A Haven of Accepting Energy

Inside these walls, nothing matters but the beat. It’s not about how you look, how you dance, or where you come from. This is a place for all of us, united by music. You’ll see people smiling, dancing free, slipping into the groove without judgment.

Sets That Take You Somewhere Else

Over the years, Stereo has hosted giants—Richie Hawtin, David Morales, Victor Calderone, Loco Dice, Chus, and more. Each night unfolds like a musical journey:

• David Morales’s birthday bash felt like being invited into the DJ’s home. It was warm, communal, electrifying—everyone felt the love.

• With Loco Dice, the crowd turned magical. Songs dropped and it was impossible not to dance—flags and energy everywhere.

• Victor Calderone’s sets didn’t just move bodies—they moved souls. Each build-up, each drop, made you feel wrapped up in a wave of sound and warmth.

Parties That Grow Into Marathons

A night at Stereo isn't just a night out. The doors open in the early hours—sometimes as late as 2 AM—and don’t close until late morning, or even early afternoon. You’ll dance until exhaustion, find moments of rest (that 20-minute “Stereo siesta”), then get pulled back in by the soundtrack of your night.

A Temple Worth Saving

Stereo’s story is one of resilience. A fire could have ended it—but fans, DJs, volunteers, and the community rallied to rebuild. It reopened with even more commitment to being a home for music lovers.

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What to Expect If You’ve Never Been

1. Sound that owns you. From the moment you step in, the bass and clarity make everything else fade away.

2. A crowd that’s real. No posturing. Just people dancing together in the same rhythm.

3. Sets that matter. More than music—they’re crafted experiences, emotional and physical in equal measure.

4. A night that unfolds. It won’t be over when you think it should. In fact, that’s the beauty of it.

5. A legacy of love. Stereo isn’t just a club. It’s a movement, rebuilt from ashes and held together by its devoted community.

Patius Crypto Run 2024

 Either you know what is happening at the moment, or you are still one of those that have not touched or played with Crypto, which could be a blessing or a curse.

In 2013, when this blog was a bit more popular that today, the first bull crypto run was underway. I remember at the time that I was still fully immerse in my after-hours club life, and beginning to discover Crypto.  I recall that I even posted a QR Code on the front page and I got some Bitcoin donations. I don't like to think too much about that cause I don't remember where I stored my Wallet Seed Phrase, thus is pointless to even check what I might have there.

Then 2015 came when the 2nd  Bull run began, but this time I did not pay too much attention to Crypto, too many things were happening in my life, and this is when in 2016 I moved to the US.  You probably realize why I kind of stop writing here, not that I didn't have interesting things to say, specially because I moved to Miami, and you would expect that I would have continued writing about nightlife in this amazing city, but my afterhours life kind of mellowed down.

Then 2020 happened, and I decided to embrace Crypto, and I was able to buy some ETH below USD 1,000 - did buy some Bitcoin but at the time I thought it was out of my league, just think about that guys, especially since we have now reached its all time high above USD 73,000.

2021 was just craziness, I made money, and because you like how it feels, the greed make you do riskier trade, and yes, I lost money (don't even know how much - actually, I do), but also made money.  I experienced everything you can think about it. Started with Crypto.com app, then eventually moved to decentralized spaces, and created Metamask wallets, and other wallets, got rugged a couple of times, saw some investment go from USD 700 to USD 5 in a blink of an eye, and also kept seeing the experience from other traders, especially on Reddit.

When the Bear market began in 2022, I was left holding bags in some of tokens I owned. Of course you are always telling yourself "if I had sold this crypto when it was $$ I could had made $$$$".

2024 is here, and it feels like we are at the beginning of another Bull run, and of course, like others, I believe I have the experience to make it this time around - then I look at my portfolio and I see I own 5 different meme coins (not in red by the way), and then I return to reality and must remind myself that I cannot get emotional with Crypto.  I must remember I cannot time the market, just make sure to remember to investigate your crypto opportunities,  to be aware of phishing scams - 160 days ago I lost all my Audius tokens because I clicked on the wrong site - those are what we call graduation tuition events, and if you don't learn from it, you shouldn't be trading crypto.

Today I'm sick and tired of paying ETH gas prices, and this is the reason I have decided to liquidate most of my ETH chain token, just keeping my ETH of course.  Mostly moved to Solana, which I wish I had done earlier (there you have, the I wish....), nevertheless if you are in the market, make sure to take profits, because once you do, you will be playing with the house money.

Good luck everyone in this new Bull Crypto Run. 

(((Stereo 101))) - Montreal - 2024 Edition

It has been almost 8 years since I left Montreal. That is how long I haven't

visited the temple of House Music, one of the best Afterhours clubs I had the opportunity to visit, and I miss those hardwood made dancing floors; which in case you don't know, helps to minimize the impact on your knees from your countless hours of dancing. 

I clearly remember the first time I experienced Stereo, and it was so much fun that I searched in the internet like-minded people, until I finally found this great public forum called MTLNIGHTS.COM (RIP) - this is where the Patius name and this blog comes from (story for another post).  The forum was visited by people from the Club, DJs, everyone involved in the scene and more.

One of the Stereo founders, James Forbes, also used to be an active member on the site, ad he posted the story on how Stereo was created, and I feel is time to post again the story, especially since Stereo is still rocking the world of many people, not just in Montreal, but around the world, this incredible afterhours in Montreal, which I still call my second home.

Part I

Little tidbits you probably don't know:

1. How Stereo got its name:

We were trying to come up with something for two years, and when Angel came on board, he wasn't any more help...the 8 of us went back and forth, and about a month before the publicity for the opening had to be ready, Shirin, who ended up being the original cash girl suggested Stereo, which we all hated...

But it grew on us, and clearly grew on Montreal, the UK and NYC as well...

I'll fill you in on how we found the money to get it all started next time...that is close to unbelievable...so is how it ever got open in the first place...

J

Part II

How Stereo got its first financier...

We had just written a business plan, sometime in 1996...and were wondering where the hell we were going to get cash to start the club...this was long before Angel, Mark, and Alain came on the scene...it was a serious work in progress...

So the bunch of us were partying at Playground, and after a night of dancing like idiots, a guy named Andre walked up to us and asked us who we were, and basically said: I just sold my shares in soft image, made a ton of money, and I really like your style...if you have anything cool to invest in, call me and let me know...

So we met with him the next day...and the rest is history...

Andre in 2001 to his wife 'stereo was the worst mistake I ever made...I don't know what I was thinking"...

And so it goes...

;)

J

Next time, how Angel got on board, and how to get Italians to do hundreds of thousands of dollars of free work...

Part III

So, one day, Mark Anthony just opened up and said that he knew a guy, Angel Moraes (of whom I was certainly aware), who had a sound system on the order of the SF who wanted to open a club in MTL but had no financing, nor a space. Just so happened we had both...the rest is history...no joke, that simple, that easy... However, during construction, I mentioned to the partners that i though the architectural drawings for the space, which were drawn up in Germany, were off...they said the new owner was an architect, and he wouldn't make any errors... So, we cut 70-90 k of steel for the floor, only to find that 'gasp' it was cut for a floor about 2 feet wider and 1 foot longer...indeed, the floor plans were wrong. Now the issue was how to get the new floor installed when all the moolah was gone. So, I went to the Italian steel and cement guy, said to him that what we were building was our cathedral, our church...and asked if he was a Catholic...he said yes...so I said, "if this was a church in your 'hood, would you work for free?' to which he said 'yes'... The floor went in, I promised my partners would pay him...I think he got his money about two years later, to my shame... The bottom line...the place has lived on borrowed time since it was built, has a mind of its own, and is its own beast...I understand that, Angel understands that, Greg understands that, Michael understands that, Alain understands that, Scott understands that, Luc understands that, Kamil understands that, and even David understands that...precious few others ever did...but thanks to all those who kept her alive for so long... You made my dreams come true...I have spent more time in that space than any other human being...been to the depths of despair, and the heights of exstacy...and I made a living at it as well... Thanks again for all the memories!!! She made men and bitches of us all. J

I really hope James will write his memoirs of Stereo, if Stereo didn't make him rich, I'm sure the memoirs would. I was relatively new to the afterhours scene when I met these incredible people, some are still my good friends today - and I have to thank (((Stereo))) for educating me about music, to enjoy a night of dancing, to enjoy life in this little secret many Montrealers have never been or know it exists.

XL & Victor Calderore at Stereo, Montreal Oct 8, 2007

The night Victor Calderone almost got booed at Stereo in Montreal. This was an epic evening, and forgive my mini rant at the beginning, I was not happy with some changes Stereo had done back then. Happy to report that is no longer the case.

DJ Ana Paula and Patrick Guay at Parking - Montreal - Oct 2007

This was the first time I saw Ana Paula, this incredible Brazilian DJ, spinning at the former Parking Nightclub in Montreal, Canada. It was such an amazing evening - and here is my review.