Things to do in Montréal this week: September 27–October 3

This week splits cleanly: drizzle and grey light dominate Sunday through Friday, with Wednesday offering a brief pocket of dry overcast before the mercury climbs Thursday to a genuinely warm 28°C — then Saturday drops back cold. The smart move is indoor theatre and concerts early in the week, then pivoting to the one genuinely pleasant day before the weekend chill sets in.

Start Sunday with Ludovico Einaudi at Maison Symphonique de Montreal at Place Des Arts at 8:00 PM. The Italian pianist and composer trained at the Conservatorio Verdi in Milan and has built a career fusing classical composition with pop, rock, folk, and world influences — his work sits somewhere between Satie and film score, repetitive and hypnotic. At 8:00 PM on a drizzly evening, this is exactly the right place to be. Earlier that afternoon, if you want swing and vocal jazz, Frank Sinatra à Bublé runs at Cabaret du Casino de Montreal at 3:00 PM, a tribute pairing two voices across the swing catalogue. Later that night, Minyo Crusaders — a Japanese group rooted in min'yō folk tradition and world fusion — play Bar Le Ritz PDB at 8:00 PM if you want something off the beaten path.

Monday brings heavy drizzle, 11–16°C. Cortex, a French jazz funk group, takes the stage at L'Olympia (Olympia Theatre) at 7:30 PM — solid mid-week option if live music with an edge appeals. Tuesday remains damp and cool, but two strong draws converge: Boy Harsher, the American electronic music duo formed in Savannah and now based in Massachusetts, plays MTELUS at 8:00 PM; Theo Katzman, the multi-instrumentalist and founding member of funk band Vulfpeck, takes Le Studio TD at the same time. If you lean electronic and atmospheric, Boy Harsher. If you want grooved musicianship, Katzman. Wednesday clears to overcast and dry — good weather for walking, though temperatures stay moderate. Thursday breaks warm, climbing to 28°C by afternoon with only light drizzle in the forecast. This is the day to sit outside. If comedy pulls you, Bruce McCulloch — best known for The Kids in the Hall, the Canadian troupe that defined alternative comedy in the 1990s — performs at Beanfield Theatre on Thursday at 8:00 PM.

Beyond the stages, keep an eye on Verdun. A restaurant near Second Avenue was hit by arson overnight when a suspect threw an incendiary device through the window; minor damage, no injuries reported, but the neighbourhood will be watching the aftermath. The broader South Shore comedy circuit is active too — Theatre Manuvie in Brossard hosts Sam Breton on Tuesday, Simon Gouache on Wednesday, and Arnaud Soly on Thursday, all at 8:00 PM, if you're willing to drive the twelve kilometres south.

For Thursday's warm break, book a table at Maggie Oakes on the west side — a solid bar and grill where you can eat well before catching Bruce McCulloch. If the week's drizzle has you hankering for breakfast and coffee, Pigeon Café & Bar is the right call early in the week, tucked in with an easy espresso and something grilled before you navigate the rain.

If you have one night to commit, Thursday is your night: warm weather, Bruce McCulloch at 8:00 PM, and the only evening this week that actually feels like fall and not dampness. Everything else is either rainy or cold. Make it count.