Band van robberies: ruining Montreal's musical rep

 For musicians, nothing says welcome to Montreal more than getting their gear robbed.
   The most recent high-profile victim of this city’s bad reputation for ripping off touring rock bands is British power pop sensation Lower Than Atlantis, whose return is not imminent after having $3,500 of gear stolen on November 24.
    “We’re never coming back to Montreal again,” guitarist Ben Samson told me. The group had their passports, computers and cameras stolen from their van after a show at The Underworld.
   Samson says that the band had followed instructions and brought their gear inside for the gig but had left it unattended outside for a few minutes while they were re-loading their equipment at around 10:30 p.m.
    Their insurers will not reimburse them for the loss on the grounds that it was taken from an unattended vehicle.
    Samson said he wasn’t impressed with the efforts of the Montreal police to deal with the theft.
    “The police didn’t even come outside to look,” he said. “It’s like anybody could take whatever they want and nobody is going to do anything,”
    The group tweeted the news to their 8,000-plus followers, who in turn unleashed a torrent of sympathy and rage towards the city. Some fans vowed to chip in to help the band continue their tour stateside, others blogged about “douchebag Montreal thieves.”
    Another recent victim was the California punk band Nothington whose goods were swiped Oct. 12 after a show at Foufounes.
    Foufounes manager Jason Bissessar bought the band shots afterwards to ease the pain, but could do little to stop the epidemic that has marked Montreal as the worst place for gear theft, made all the more possible because many musicians don’t stick around to file reports.
    “Usually these bands leave the next day. They don’t have time to follow up,” said Bessessar. “The thieves will take anything. I’ve seen boxes of t-shirts stolen but sometimes they even get the equipment. If you steal a guitar you can resell it for $700 a pop.”
    The Stooges, Hedley, Camper van Beethoven, Elliot Brood, and Black Halos are among the groups who are reported to have had goods stolen in Montreal. And even local bands get their stuff stolen, including Mauro Pezzente, bassist of Godspeed You Black Emperor! who recently posted a Facebook status begging for help recovering his stolen bass.
    “It’s necessary to be ultra paranoid because these people are super quick about their work, they smash open a window and be gone, tour vans are easy to spot,” said Massimo Pezzemte of the Salla Rossa, “Even veteran bands get their stuff stolen, I’ve even seen bands have their stuff stolen while they were having lunch.”
    James Arsenian Beard of Montreal-based Endast said that thieves once broken into his band’s van right directly in front of their drummer’s apartment.
   “Losing gear can be horribly devastating for a band,” Beard said. “Most bands don't have the funding to cover the cost of insurance, and those that do have to wait months before their insurance claim can cover the cost of the lost gear. In the meantime, if you are on tour and no longer have the tools of your trade, you are forced to go home and no longer able to feed yourself or even work to pay for the gas required to get home.”
    The problem has been known for quite some time but in spite of repeated requests for information, a spokeswoman for the Montreal police said she could not locate any alerts about the problem. One former downtown police commander told MacLean’s magazine a while back there are roughly 18 such thefts reported each year.
    A city of Montreal rep was also unable to explain what the impact of the musical equipment thefts was to the reputation of a city keen on promoting its music culture.
    “I always warn my bands before coming to Montreal,” said Toronto rock promoter Dan Burke, who was a longtime Montreal journalist.
    He mused on that the ongoing thefts, combined with the high-profile recent murders of promoter Matt Garner and musician Ban News Brown don’t paint a pretty picture of Montreal’s music scene “You’ve got promoters and artists getting murdered, bands getting their equipment stolen… It’s business as usual in Montreal.“

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(alternate version of the same story below)


      One of the least-understandable problems in Montreal is the decades-old tradition of robbing visiting musicians.
   A few months ago I wrote about this issue elsewhere and was easily able to track down professional touring bands who had their equipment recently stolen while visiting Montreal.
  Some bands, including rising British sensations Lower than Atlantis vow never to return here after their nasty experience with Montreal thieves.
   The Brits lost their passports, computers, and other valuables from their van about a year ago.
   You almost have to applaud the thieves for daring risking beatings at some healthy young men. They include the California-based punk Nothington. One of their band members came face-to-face with a large thief last year who was breaking into their van.

Lower than Atlantis seen posing in Montreal with fans

   The band member dashed inside for reinforcement but the thief stealthily grabbed what he could and was gone by their return. The rocker I interviewed felt terrible not just about the loss of goods, but also about the fact that he wasn't able to catch the thief himself.
   The city has known about this problem for quite some time but local police are unmotivated to tackle it.
   Ben Samson of Lower Than Atlantis told me this following his band's terrible experience here: “The police didn't even come outside to look at. It's like you could take whatever nobody is going to do anything, We’ve got nothing now."
    Other bands who have had their gear stolen in Montreal include The Stooges, Hedley, Camper van Beethoven, Elliot Brood, Rufio, Black Halos and even locals get robbed, including Endast, Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Obey the Brave and Men Without Hats.
   Our city's administration had poured tens of millions of dollars into its efforts of trying to convince others that we're a city devoted to the arts, but they have failed to deal with this longstanding issue which could be easily attacked with a few arrests.
   One obvious solution would be to set up a series of bait vans around town and load them up with cameras, GPS trackers and then just wait.
   Perhaps there's a reality show about this to be made. Stay tuned.