Ottawa At Night Ottawa la nuit
Ottawa’s nightlife is changing fast. Discover who and what makes our city buzz from sundown to sunrise on the official City of Ottawa Nightlife Office podcast, Ottawa At Night. Filmed and recorded at Centretown's hi-fi listening lounge FONO, each episode spotlights the creators, workers, and decisionmakers shaping our city after dark.
La vie nocturne d’Ottawa évolue rapidement. Découvrez les personnes et les lieux qui font vibrer notre ville la nuit grâce au podcast officiel du Bureau de la vie nocturne de la Ville d’Ottawa, Ottawa la nuit. Filmé et enregistré à FONO, le salon d’écoute hi-fi au centre-ville, chaque épisode met en lumière les créateurs, travailleurs et décideurs qui façonnent notre ville une fois la nuit tombée.
Ottawa At Night Ottawa la nuit
Yolande Laroche, Remi Royale, David O'Meara
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La version française suit
This is the beat of Ottawa’s nightlife.
On the official City of Ottawa Nightlife Office podcast, Ottawa At Night, get to know the stories of the people working on stage, behind the bar, in the kitchen, at the studio and into the night, bringing our city to life from sunset to sunrise.
In the first episode, we sit down with musician and DJ Yolande Laroche (Orchidae, Pony Girl, KAY-fayb), entertainer and actor Remi Royale, and Ottawa’s English Poet Laureate, bartender of The Manx, David O’Meara.
Filmed and recorded at Centretown's hi-fi listening lounge FONO, discover what our guests love about Ottawa, their most memorable performance moments, and their aspirations for the city’s nightlife. Plus: exclusive performances by David O’Meara and Yolande Laroche!
Theme music by The Lionyls - “Can’t Get Enough”
Produced in collaboration with Baldwin Studios
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Voici le rythme de la vie nocturne d’Ottawa.
Dans le podcast officiel du Bureau de la vie nocturne de la Ville d’Ottawa, Ottawa la nuit, découvrez les histoires de celles et ceux qui travaillent sur scène, derrière le bar, en cuisine, en studio et après la tombée de la nuit—donnant vie à notre ville du coucher au lever du soleil.
Dans ce premier épisode, nous rencontrons la musicienne et DJ Yolande Laroche (Orchidae, Pony Girl, KAY-fayb), l’artiste et comédien Remi Royale, ainsi que le poète officiel anglophone d’Ottawa et barman au Manx, David O’Meara.
Tourné et enregistré au salon d’écoute hi-fi FONO au centre-ville, découvrez ce que nos invité.e.s aiment d’Ottawa, leurs moments de performance les plus mémorables, ainsi que leurs aspirations pour la vie nocturne de la ville. En plus : des performances exclusives de David O’Meara et de Yolande Laroche !
Musique par The Lionyls - « Can’t Get Enough »
Produit en collaboration avec Baldwin Studios
I'm Zoe Argyropolist Hunter from the City of Ottawa's Night Life Office, and you're joining us here at FONO in the heart of Centertown, and this is Ottawa at Night. Keep up with the night owls making our city buzz from sunset to sunrise, grass as a podcast official de la Ville d'Ottawa, presented by the Bureau de la Vie Nopti. So I'll start with some introductions. First, Remy, toy collector by day, crooner by night, local legend 24-7. Used to be a host on CKCU. How does it feel to be back on the mic? And last but not least, Ottawa's current poet laureate and beloved barman of Elgin Street. It's David O'Mara. Thanks so much for being here, David. You're just coming hot off of Verse Fest. Did you discover a new favorite poet this year? Awesome. To kick things off, I've asked the three of you to bring in an item that represents your relationship with Ottawa's nightlife. So let's play a little bit of show and tell to get to know you a little bit better.
SPEAKER_05I brought a t-shirt. This is a t-shirt from the festival that I was the founding artistic director for. So this was uh Verse Fest, which uh just wrapped up its 16th year. Um and uh other than a couple of COVID bumps, uh it's been going strong and and there were full houses at all the events this year. So uh there it is. Versefest, that's the logo, and uh yeah, 16 years. Amazing.
SPEAKER_00Happy, sweet 16 in VerseFest.
SPEAKER_01Um my lunettes fumé and honestly, I think an outfit is beau, but um porta lunette fumé this, I adore so. Alright, so that's a complement uh outfit.
SPEAKER_02I brought the belt of all belts. This is what gives me my power, and I've been wearing it around my waist at different sizes, of course, over the past 31 years.
SPEAKER_00It's growing weird.
SPEAKER_02It has no choice. All those delicious hot dogs.
SPEAKER_00So is this a custom-made thing or it is?
SPEAKER_02Well, it was made by the gods, but I had a lot of input into it.
SPEAKER_00And I see your friend here has a prototype.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. That was also forged in uh by the blacksmiths of Valhalla to become the smaller belt of all belts.
SPEAKER_05Suddenly my t-shirt seems very insignificant.
SPEAKER_00So to start to set the mood, David, I've asked you to do a reading for us today to give us kind of uh an atmospheric feel for nightlife.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I've got uh a poem here. Uh this is from an earlier book of mine. Um I often get in quite late, three or four in the morning after shift, and uh I always find that the cab drivers or Uber drivers are uh starting a day when I finish mine. So this was sort of it was sort of inspired by that. This is called From a Dawn Taxi. Me, I start at four, the cabby says, then wrestles the gear shift till it grinds, finds its slot, hunkers down into first. The shortwave throws static crackling out of Europe. It's a whole other day there, and he's already in it, while I'm in the back with night's final fringes. I like the slippery minutes of a dark and tiny hour. Only a few conspire with this cobalt blue air. The street lamps bead past my window like a string of lambent pearls, the darker gaps between them whipping softly across our faces, like frames you never see on a turning reel of film. The cabby checks his clock, trades a thick accent with a hoarse voice at dispatch, then troubles the dial on his radio, failed peace talks, late breaking reports from the world, the car slips through amber, its tailights leaving the tinted street behind, the storefronts and corners, a bridge's arc, another morning in history. Yeah, it feels a little uh out of date with the dispatch uh Uber.
SPEAKER_00That being said, I feel like the emotion of the poem still rings true today.
SPEAKER_05I was ca trying to capture a mood anyway.
SPEAKER_00I'm gonna start off with you. Okay. Um I'd like to know a little bit more about how working at the Minx as long as you have has uh impacted your career as a poet.
SPEAKER_05Well, I mean, uh you know, bartaning is kind of the classic artist's uh job because uh you can kind of shift your hours around and you have a little more freedom to go on tour or or perform, etc. So I don't know if it's shaped my career, but but it certainly has helped me do the things I want to do: writing, performing, going and doing readings, etc. So it's just a very uh great way to move around and and uh change your schedule and and make a little bit of money to keep your head above water, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um bartender. Um music private, alright, it's the chance to be flexible with my horror in general. But I've also passion for what I feel and I tried the energy for the fear.
SPEAKER_00And is that your eleventh have been a purpose of Yolande La Roche?
SPEAKER_01Okay they are telling cute, but uh you have really made it.
SPEAKER_00It's safe to say that the three of you around the table are not strangers to me, and I feel like don't need an introduction, but maybe for you, Remy. I'm gonna ask, can you tell the listeners at home a little bit about what you do and how you've made 30 years of Remy Royale this year possible in a city like Oz?
SPEAKER_02I'm uh a complete entertainer. I am a quadruple threat. I dance, I sing, I make people laugh, I embarrass myself. Those are the four things. But uh it's mostly I sing songs and I improvise and uh interact with the crowd. I have a wireless mic and I sing cheesy songs and yeah, and then kind of uh just get into the moment. Do you remember your first show? Uh yeah, it was at the Duke of Somerset. And I guess it was like uh kind of a Barry White song, actually.
SPEAKER_04Okay.
SPEAKER_02Uh uh qualify to satisfy you, I believe. But uh back then I had a band and uh it was just an accordion player, a bass player, and a drummer. So and I had a French accent and stuff, but uh the character has evolved a lot more since then.
SPEAKER_00So you long is the first Pony Girl?
SPEAKER_01Oh my okay. Um I was at an University of Ottawa. We were two and um we had a cafe, I think it was Cafe Alt in the hall. We had uh organized show and it was Oh my I was telling me to perform my chant over a public. And I was a microphone here and I just murmured the movies. For me, it was marked because it was my concert of this genre. I've always had a concerts orchestral or ensemble, music. It's the first time I've had a go to be in a band, and I was okay, I've had chant, but I continue, I've essayed.
SPEAKER_02Have you bought it or not?
SPEAKER_01Um it was correct. I think there's just 10 people who have this show, alright. It's a memory on my Instagram.
SPEAKER_00How about you, David? Any memories on your Instagram from Ottawa performances past?
SPEAKER_05Oh thank God no. There's no there's no rec record of that.
SPEAKER_02We're from back in the old days where you could burn those photos. Yeah, that's right.
SPEAKER_05I'm I'm very grateful when I first started writing and reading poetry that there's yeah, there's no uh there was no photos being taken.
SPEAKER_00Aaron Powell It goes without saying that the three of you are part of pretty different scenes in Ottawa. We have an entertainer, a musician, a poet, um, but there's certainly overlap. I was wondering if the three of you could maybe speak to that overlap and what you've discovered, maybe entering different spaces, if there's if you've had new experiences that have stood out to you and doing that, what the support is like.
SPEAKER_02Well, Dave's a poet, and sometimes I delve into poetry, for example. There once was a man from Bar Haven. No, just kidding.
SPEAKER_05But to that point, uh you know, you're you're you were saying earlier you had the four things that you're you excel at. I also try to embarrass myself.
SPEAKER_02A lot of experience to get as good at embarrassing yourself as me. Like uh we've done shows where there's been poets, like comedians, and music. It's uh yeah, like uh some venues kind of I like it when they mix everything together. It's good to have a bit of because if you just have the same like three rock bands in a row, it's kind of boring.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think it's important to like have this intersection of of different arts meeting. And for me as a as a musician who's in multiple bands and um in also playing different genres, I I've been finding that there's like so much more space these days for different styles of music. Um and also just being kind of like a chameleon and just it's been really fun to explore the different spaces and and how I can bring out different personalities with my music.
SPEAKER_02I once had a dog open up for me. No way. What kind of dog? Claudette, uh the dancing poodle. Wow, actually. That's beautiful. She pushed a little cart with a little puppy in it, like a little baby carrots, and yeah.
SPEAKER_05Another great intersection of two different art forms.
SPEAKER_02Unfortunately, Claudette, the dancing poodle, is passed on. But the puppy that she pushed around in the carriage took over. Okay. Oh, okay. Well, it was a nice succession of uh talent. Understudy.
SPEAKER_00Yoland, come an artist francophone. Why do you respect Ottawa?
SPEAKER_01Okay, I should say honest with you. Um I'd be at Orleans. And honestly, I was totally pretty at work as soon as possible. But um University of Ottawa and um I was for my village. Um coming to work with Pony Girl, and exploring the scenes community and artistic. It's like I was like, 'Oh, it's very nice.' And there are gens who made me. And also when I was at all, um it's like I was like, 'Okay, it's really a bad community.' There are freak back. I adore totally like I was a freak, I've been an artist. I think it's really possible. And it's like I've been my life at Ottawa Getsino in Ottawa.
SPEAKER_00Super. How about you, David?
SPEAKER_05Well, every time I try to cross the the border of the city, they drag me back in. I don't know. No, um I don't know. I I I mean I I love all the stuff that goes on here. I've I've certainly got a whole bunch of friends, and there's uh a really great support system. It's a uh it's a it's a great place to work and write.
SPEAKER_00A great place to work and write should be like the sign as you enter the city, you know? And Remy, what are your thoughts?
SPEAKER_02Well, exactly like what Dave said, you know, it's uh good support system. It's I mean the city's getting bigger. There used to be a bit more of a small town feel where all the bars were like downtown. Now it's spreading out more, you know? Like there's bars in Canada that I've never been to, and those people have never really been downtown, so it's kind of changed, but like back in the day, like we all went to each other's shows. Like what? Maybe there's four live bars. Sometimes you'd be in each other's bands, and you'd always see Ottawa has everything that I need, and and maybe uh maybe even there's less distraction that there is in other cities, bigger cities, where you get more work done and you're able to be more creative.
SPEAKER_00I mean, much to consider. There's lots of reasons to love Ottawa, and I think we're feeling that around the table. So I'd like to switch gears a little bit and now get into some hot takes of this or that. The rules are simple. I present you with two options. You choose the one that's your favorite, and you might have to defend it across the table.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_00So I'm gonna start with you, David. Picture this you have a Sunday night alone to yourself, sometimes a rarity in your world. How are you spending it? Are you shooting pinball at House of Targ or are you seeing the latest flick at the bytown?
SPEAKER_05Probably House of Targ, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Okay, are you a pinball wizard?
SPEAKER_05I just really like low ceilings.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And then you got the Mayfair right across the street if you want to do both and save on some. But those ceilings are too high.
SPEAKER_00Okay, escapade. Yeah. And Remy, a question for you now. I'm wondering. Imagine that you've wrapped up at the Minx. Worst case scenario, the the kitchen's closed. You go outside, you have to choose a late night eat at Elgin Street Diner or the Zach's. Where are you going?
SPEAKER_02Oh well, you know, uh, I had to stop going to Elgin Street Diner after my Manx performances because uh as their onion ring poutine almost killed me. Like every single time. And and I mean I love Zach's too. Zach's is newer to Elgin Street, of course. But uh I'd rather go to Zach's for breakfast than like uh those fries are like coated and stuff. And uh but that Elgin Street uh Elgin Street uh Onion Ring Putine like for three, four years, I think, uh after each performance. And and it's huge, and then go straight to sleep, you know. That would that would put another another notch in the belt of all belts, you know.
SPEAKER_00Rest in peace in the onion ring poutine.
SPEAKER_02Oh, it's so good. My goodness, that dark gravy. Dark, dark gravy.
SPEAKER_00Another question for Yolande. Imagine that his amis at Ottawa for the prime.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Um Okay, I think that would depend on my ammy. Is that my ammy is chill or my ammy soir, she's bluegrass that beat, you know?
SPEAKER_05The added bonus of the laugh. Yeah, the then the bartender is there, so an uh another good Pembroke boy. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Okay, so you're originally from Pembroke. So more lore being revealed. Okay, another question for you. This one is also midnight snack related. And I know that you're in the East End, so maybe this one speaks to you. Um, if you're going down Breedow Street late at night, are you pledging allegiance to the three brothers or um Swarm Palace?
SPEAKER_02Shaworm and Palace, yes. Yes. Well, by the banks, there used to be a place called Marouche. Yes. And a friend of ours, Peter Keyswalter, wrote a song about it that went Marouche, Marouche, the best Middle Eastern fair. Marouche, Marouche for Swarma and Donaire. Marouche, Marouche, right near the Scotia Bank. Marouche, Marouche, on Elgin south of Frank.
SPEAKER_04Marouche Marouche Marouche Marouche Very accurate.
SPEAKER_05I remember who that was. It was down where um um That's in the street. And there was a lineup up the stairs and halfway down the street up to the bars.
SPEAKER_02Peter wrote the song for the Marouch man, and uh he was so into it. You know, he had a cassette and he'd play it in his ghetto blaster, and every 10 minutes he'd play it and then get up on the counter and dance. It was uh it was quite a spectacle. It's pretty cool. While taking orders. While taking orders and shaving that beef. That's right.
SPEAKER_00Do you know if he's still around?
SPEAKER_05No, they closed a while ago, Dave.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_05But the thing about Ottawa is there's one every uh block and a half, so you kind of don't it doesn't need to be a destination. You can if you just suddenly decide you need some you know, shawarma, you'll find one.
SPEAKER_02I remember Tony's Donaire, the first like one of the first shawarma places beside Barrymore's back in. When I first moved to Ottawa in '84, I got so good.
SPEAKER_00Wow. Major shawarma history. Yeah, totally. I want you all to imagine that you have a magic wand and you could transform Ottawa's nightlife just with a wave of your hand. You are the night boss, and for one night you can make Ottawa's nightlife dreams come true.
SPEAKER_05And maybe we could transform a couple of shoppers drug marts into some music venues.
SPEAKER_00Let's say you wanted to build your ideal music venue. What does that look like?
SPEAKER_05Ottawa for a while, and I think it's changing, but there was a while where we had either s some great small clubs or we had like the stadium, and there was not a lot of middle ground, like 3,000 capacity kind of so we we did for a period miss a lot of good music, good entertainment that was coming through town, or they wouldn't come through town, they would skip it because but now what the Bronson Center has been redone, history is opening up, there's a few other places that are our larger uh spaces, and I I think we're kind of entering a period where we're we're getting a really nice mix of different size venues for different kinds of whether it's music, readings, dance, etc. So I'm I'm excited about that.
SPEAKER_00And how about you, Remy? What would you do as the night boss?
SPEAKER_02Oh my god, I'd just create a uh underground like tunnel system so that we could avoid the snow. And uh basically it'd just be like these tunnels where you can get from bar to bar, venue to venue, and uh kind of like uh the Moorlocks, I guess, like from Or Carlton. Yeah, like Carlton. So maybe we just move every single venue to Carlton, and then they get the hell out of there, and we take it over, and then that's just tunnels everywhere. And then you have kiosk with like wine and swarmas, you know, and the tunnels and stuff, and um yeah, maybe cots in case you want to just fall asleep randomly in some place. It's a whole network of tunnels.
SPEAKER_00Okay, we've got tunnels, heated tunnels, right?
SPEAKER_02Because that's the whole point, is to avoid the snow and the slush.
SPEAKER_00So these are all great ideas. I think you should run for the next term of Nightlife Council when it opens up in the fall, and maybe you can advise some of these ideas.
SPEAKER_04I'll bring my shovel.
SPEAKER_00Shovels in the ground. Avan Kwon Kit. Do you have any parting words for our audience at home?
SPEAKER_01I would say uh try to make art no matter what. It doesn't have to be professional, just just make art, just feed feed yourself.
SPEAKER_05The people who like to say that Ottawa's boring, they're generally the people who have never lived here. And I think when they say these things, they uh are advertising their lack of imagination because there's lots going on here and uh uh lots of exciting things.
SPEAKER_02I agree. It's uh lack of imagination, it's uh it's not a boring city, it's just boring people who can't figure it out. Sorry to call those people out, but fun is what you make it, and that's what it is. If you can't have fun, you just can't have fun.
SPEAKER_00Thanks so much, you three, for joining me again on the show today. What are we doing after?
SPEAKER_02Going out, getting an onion ring poutine.
SPEAKER_00Performing a song. That's right. I've asked one of our esteemed guests, Yolanda, to perform exclusively here live at Phono, one of her songs that's not yet been released. Voici Yolande La Roche avec sa chanson, I Want Your Body. Issi Live Chez Phono Oh Center Town.
SPEAKER_03Love is a table you wanna sit. I hope that I am your love. I hope that I am your love. If a love is a table you wanna swallow, I hope that I am your love. I hope that I am your love. Get your buddy right.
SPEAKER_00Merci encore à nos premiers invités. Tune in next time to experience what happens when Ottawa's favorite wax spinning DJ swaps places with a new kid on the block. Keep up with the Ottawa Nightlife office on our website at OttawaatNight.ca and on Instagram at OTTnightNui. And if you're looking for a completely accessible version of this podcast, you can go to the City of Ottawa's YouTube channel.ca slash podcast.