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Apollon: A new pillar of Village nightlife is erected

More : Apollon, Apollon Nightclub, Dance music, DJ Shawn Riker, Gay Villagel, Pascal Lefebvre, Station C

by RG - 2B staff on November 18, 2011

Just a few weeks after the opening of Katakombes in the basement of Station C just a few weeks ago, the team of Le Parking fame, Greg Thibault and Pascal Lefebvre, are set to open their new club upstairs, Apollon. Named after the Greek god of the sun, the owners are hoping it will become a pillar of Village nightlife.

There has been a buzz floating around the former “Station C” since this past summer when a flyer touting “a new era in Montreal nightlife” starting circulating. Some may remember when it housed one of Montreal’s most legendary clubs, the Kox, or when it was a multidisciplinary art space, or maybe when it was turned into a giant sex club around the time that Montreal hosted the Outgames. This Village landmark has about as much sentimental value as it does historical and architectural and it is about to be reborn once again.

Lefebvre showed us around the newly renovated space, assuring us that everything will be ready for the club to open on November 17. As with the opening of Katakombes, Pascal Lefebvre insists on the need, in his opinion, for renewal in the Village, to offer up events that could attract other people, notably those who don’t have the habit of going out in the Village.

Lefebvre wants his new space to be different from the emblematic club that he has owned for the past decade, Le Parking. “Apollon is opening in a different context: it’s going to be more of a party, and not only a space where the guest DJ is the star of the night. We want people to come first for the space, that they breathe some life into it, and discover some DJs from outside the Village.”

Four theme nights every week

The official opening of Apollon will be Saturday December 10 and will be hosted by DJ Shawn Riker. Several performances will take place throughout the evening, including acrobatics, and gift bags will be handed out. Stéphane Grondin will be spinning for the club’s New Year’s party on December 31.

Pascal Lefebvre is “very excited” to see what people will think of Apollon, “a beautiful club, unpretentious, where the cover is affordable,” he says. The cover charge is $4 on Thursdays and Fridays, $8 on Saturdays, and $5 on Sundays.

Thrusdays will be dedicated to the student night “City Beats” and hip hop music. Fridays will be Top Video night. This concept, which has already appeared in other cities, will make its premier in the Village: a giant LCD screen will show the music videos of the songs that are being mixed live. In honour of the club’s name, Saturdays will be called Olympe. But don’t think that will a name like this that the club will be reserved for an elite clientele! Lefebvre also hasn’t excluded the possibility of big name DJs coming for some special events. On Sundays, the club hosts Luxure, with a more relaxed ambiance for those a bit of reprieve from the weekend.

The different floors of Apollon and Katacombes will be linked by a staircase, but Pascal Lefebvre insists that the basement will be reserved exclusively for men. As a crowning touch, they will begin building a rooftop terrace in the spring.

Apollon Opening (Photo by Edson Emilio AKA El Negro)

Turning the page on Parking

Apollon will help fill the gap left by the closing of Parking, which closed its doors permanently on November 7. For Lefebvre, he has turned the page. “Le Parking has had its time. We were the first club to start inviting international names. But the economy was no longer good for these types of establishments with international DJs.”

Lefebvre has no regrets. « Le Parking was a very positive experience. But the time had come for a renewal. Lots of people had good memories in Le Parking, and I did too. »

Apollon

1450 rue Ste-Catherine E.

www.apollonmtl.com

And for a video mash-up for tonight’s opening: