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Montreal’s best bagel, St Viateur or Fairmount? Festival Kinetik 2013 video: Daniel Graves, Aesthetic Perfection.

daniel graves, aesthetic perfection singer

It’s the return of the bagelhead! Enjoy my spanking new travel video about the edgy, kooky attractions in Montreal, Quebec.

The episode features magic shops, pop art, and Daniel Graves — vocalist of Aesthetic Perfection, who performed at Kinetik Festival 2013!

For the full story, read my Huffington Post article. It gives an overview of Montreal’s best alternative fashion, clubs and more.

Please press play above, and thumb’s up below if you found my coverage useful. Merci beaucoup mes amis!

fairmount bagels montreal, best bagel shop

Montreal is famous for its bagels, and locals have strong opinions over which bakery does it best: Fairmount or St Viateur. Since the top two contenders were a short walk from Le Belmont (the venue for Kinetik Music Festival), Daniel and I put them to the test.

Fairmount (74 Avenue Fairmount Ouest) has a variety of flavors, and offers bagels with smoked salmon and cream cheese.

st viateur bagel, logo

St Viateur (263 Rue Saint Viateur Ouest) has a frightful logo.

daniel graves, aesthetic perfection, kinetik festival

But the wall of accolades must mean something.

maison du bagel montreal, boulangerie

Which bagel did we like the most? You’ll have to view our fun video to find out!

bagelhead, japanese bagelheads

PS: if you don’t get the “bagel head” joke, this Japanese forehead inflation article will fill you in.

best montreal bagels, st viateur, fairmount

Thanks to my friend Lauren for joining me on my French-Canadian journey, and to Tourism Montreal for making it possible.

What was your favorite moment in the travel episode? For more coverage of Montreal and Vancouver, browse the Alt Canada category of my blog.

Montreal Goth shopping: retro vintage alternative clothing. Bazaar of the Bizarre, Creatures, Diabolik.

Montreal street art, mural

Let’s continue our Montreal Alternative Adventure with a red light district walk, rockabilly vintage shops, and council of sausage dogs! On the second day, I wore…

Black hooded leather jacket: Danier Canada
Metal rings skater skirt and leggings: GladNews, from Shibuya 109 Tokyo
Black stud ankle boots: Yosuke, from Shibuya109
Eyeballs purse: Izzue Hong Kong
White cateye sunglasses: Dolce and Gabbana

steampunk leather masks, bazaar of bizarre montreal

Lauren and I stopped by Bazaar of the Bizarre, an “extravaganza of unusual arts/crafts and wearable goods” that takes place at the same as Kinetik Festival. Designers set up tables and sold handmade items, such as these leather masks with beaks and tentacles.

Montreal kinetik festival, goth clothes, shops

I heart the hard-shell spiky purses, masquerade masks, and haunting prints on book pages.

Montreal steampunk, gothic fashion stores

Steampunk, Goth, cyber and metal subcultures all come together at the Bazaar.

cafe chaos, bar passeport

After, we went on the Candyass & King Red Light Tour. As we walked through the historical district, our guides spoke about notable people and places, such as burlesque star Lili St-Cyr and punk Cafe Chaos.

cafe cleopatra, burlesque club

Many underground venues have shut down, but strip club Café Cléopâtre has stood its ground.

Montreal fashion blogger, canadian fashion blog

We learned about ongoing attempts to “cleanse” the Red Light district, from New France up to today. The duo tells us the struggle continues between artists and developers, preservation and progress.

panda bear art, drawing, cute

One of the many great things about Montreal: art is everywhere. I couldn’t resist taking a photo of this panda painting.

dachshund un, united nations dogs

And how brilliant is this public art exhibit? “Dachshund UN” — a United Nations represented by sausage dogs!

un sausage dogs, quebec weird art

Artists Bennett Miller set up this canine conference at Quartier des Spectacles. Each wiener dog had a human handler underneath.

Montreal goth shop, gothic clothes

This racy store window’s caption made me laugh. “Unexpected turbulence.”

troll dolls, vintage toys

How about shopping? For retro and rockabilly fans, these shops are a must: Kitsch ‘n’ Swell and Rokokonut (3968-9 St Laurent Blvd).

Montreal vintage shop, Kitsch 'n' Swell

It’s vintage clothing paradise, from 1950s dresses to leopard print loungewear.

1970s makeup, magazine

The stores also carry books and home goods, such as this 1970s magazine.

Rokokonut, retro clothing

Can you spot my alien antenna in the mirror? There are quite a few cute boutiques around St Laurent Boulevard. We had fun strolling around and stopping for coffee.

creatures, diabolik, montreal goth shops

Quite a few readers recommended the Goth/Alternative fashion boutiques Creatures and Diabolik. Both are on Avenue Mont-Royal; we sadly didn’t have time to check them out, but hopefully you’ll get a chance to visit and let me know what you think.

Montreal outfit post, red light district

Did I miss any key Montreal alt shopping destinations? What do you think of the sausage dog United Nations?

More dark Montreal tips on Goth Me Out’s site and my Alternative Canada blog category. The video is next, featuring… bagelheads!

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