Foufounes Electriques

In 1983, 3 friends decided to open a cultural center/ bar focused on showcasing different types of art. The place would be baptized Foufounes Electriques (Electric Ass).

When asked to explain the name of the club, Normand (the clubs co-founder) answers: “Ass, girls and boys have one, so it’s not really sexual, and Electric sounds dancy, so that’s how the name came about”

When Foufs opened it’s doors, the place looked more like a public artist hang out than an actual bar. One regular event that brought a lot of visibility to the bar was the «peinture en direct» evenings.

An original concept by co-founder François Gourd, where he would ask cool local and international artists to create live paintings on canvas, on people or on the walls… All attendees’ really enjoyed the «peinture en direct» sessions. Even The National came by for some coverage of the beloved sessions. Other forms of art at Foufounes included electronic video festivals, DIY fashion shows, and of course, the music.

Towards the end of the 80s Normand became the sole owner of the bar, and started to build what would become one of the hottest stages in North America. The show room got a total renovation, the sound equipment was renewed, and new employees came into the fold. One of them was Sylvain Houde, who started out by spinning, and quickly moved on to producing concerts. Bands like Front 242, GG Allin, Bérurier Noir, etc. were brought in by Sylvain.

A little time passed, and during the early 1990s Dan Webster was hired as the production manager to book more shows. Dan went all out, never thinking twice about hosting hot new bands, even the draws where often modest. If you hung out at Foufounes during the early 90s, you would of have been able to see Mudhoney, Superchunk, Nirvana, the Melvins and New Model Army in the same month. Normand recalls a certain month of May where Foufs had 31 shows in 31 days!

In January 1993, to many renovations, to many expansions, and low income shows forced Foufounes to close down. Leaving everybody pretty depressed about it. But it would only last 6 months, before a solution was found to re-open Foufs.

During the 90s, Foufounes appeared to be the Canadian CBGB’s, already recognized worldwide as a great alternative venue, the best bands of the times would come to play. Bands like Green Day, Smashing Pumpkins, L7, Eric’s Trip, Nirvana, Social Distortion, the Young Gods, Jawbreaker, Suffocation, Queens of the Stone Age, Neurosis, Fu Manchu, the Misfits, and so on… If a show was to big for the venue, the Foufs production team would putt it on somewhere else. Like how the Bad Brains and Nick Cave show were put on at the Rialto.

Today, the dance floor has taken a new rise, but Foufs still remains a leading venue in Montreal for all genres of music. Foufounes Electriques was and still is an institution, at a time when the city really needed someone/somewhere to host the best bands, Foufs revealed itself as a pillar for the Montreal underground scene.