Music
I'm on a (MEG) Boat
On Sunday night, there's usually not a whole lot of stuff going on, even in a hot city like Montreal. Last Sunday was an exception to the rule: for the last day of the MEG Montreal festival, things went out in a bang. For a solid three and a half hours, lucky cruisers bounced along the St. Lawrence to the expertly mixed tunes of Beat Torrent, Black Devil Disco Club, The Juan MacLean and last-minute addition Bonobo aboard the MEG Boat. If only my colleague Valerie hadn't gotten stuck in the mess and mayhem of Osheaga, she would've been able to testify to this: being on a boat is damn cool.
With enough alcohol on board to counter any seasickness you might feel, and enough music to blast your ears, the MEG boat is more than a short cruise: it's a social event.
The crowd was more than varied: on top of the usual suspects, the hoes and the bros and the hot chicks in high heels, there was the occasional inflatable animal-holding, buoy-toting, captain hat-wearing eccentric, and even entire groups of guys decked out in sailor outfits. Appropriate for dinner with the girlfriend's parents? Hell no. Appropriate for a cruise to hot tunes? Hell yes.
The only downside? I was told MEG expected 800 people to show up, and that's a lot, even for a big boat; the main deck was beyond crowded, and getting from point A to point B was a bit of an ordeal. The organization was slightly messy, and I did wait almost an entire set for a single drink. But hey, it's not all negative: at least there wasn't a huge line to the bathrooms.
Many thanks to Chloé-Laëtitia Thomas for letting me take advantage of her photo skills.
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Things went horribly wrong during that party as 4 security guys handcuffed a guy, threw him in an isolated dark room for 3 hours and physically assaulted him -taking advantage of the fact that he was too wasted to defend himself. One man kicked him in the face while he was handcuffed and his money mysteriously disappeared.
The victim went to the hospital were the abuse was noted by a doctor. No apology has been issued from Meg Montreal or Legion security, who's had a bad rep for being physically abusive with party-goers.
Thanks for the post Gabby, glad you had fun :)
The MEG Montreal organisation learned about this sad news after the MEG Boat party. Of course, we strongly condemn this practice. We are in contact with the client, the cruises organisation and the security company employed by it.
In hope that everything will sort out.
The MEG Montreal Team.
And I would like to share my thoughts about the night.
Personally I think the concept is SICK! Your on a boat listening to great tunes and enjoying a wonderful view.
However, sadly enough, the organisation is just bad. The ticket says it starts at 11pm and ends at 3.30am. 4.5hours of fun, right? Well no! The boat arrived around 00.15 ( so we stood in line for 1.5hours considering you arrive a bit before the hour on the ticket. No alcohol, no music, no nothing). The boat itself only started to move around 1 AM! And then for legal issues they have to wait till they pass the Jean-Cartier bridge to blast the music. Find a way around this huge problem of 2.5 hours standing
Bottom line : You expect roughly 5 hours of fun but you barely get 2 hours. ( because the boat is back at the docks at 3.30 precisely, of course)
800 people on a boat is a lot, but it works! Most people go on the front deck and it could get crowded there. But there is plenty of space to chill on the boat ( not that you have time for that). However their bar service sucks too! 1 person behind a little improvised bar made out of tables ( like when kids sell orange juice on the street, ridiculous). Barmaids are defiantly not able to keep up with the demands( huge $ loss for them) and on top of that drinks are supper expensive( that was to expect thought)
The comment above about security scared me a bit, but I have to say security was one of the few things that in my eyes did a great job. Handling a boat with 800 drunks on it might not always be that easy.
Would I do it again for 45$, 2h.5h of waiting and 2h of partying? NO! Was it a nice experience? Sure, but the organisation still has a lot of work to do!