You might not know this, but the Montreal rave community has more than a few pick up artists living off of it's back, like fleas. Or lice. Or even weevils. These pick up artists are students of The Game, and members of a loosely connected community of men who methodically try to pick up women.

Montreal is one of the hub cities for this worldwide pick up community. It's part of a corridor of creepiness, along with Kingston and Toronto. All three cities have given birth to important members of the pick up community, though the guys from Kingston and Toronto eventually moved to the states. Our guy from Montreal though, is still here. He founded the Montreal Lair, a secret little group where men meet in real life to talk about their exploits, share tips, and plan pick-up expeditions. Several ravers are members of the lair (pronounced lay-her).

Ladies, a few simple tricks to spot a pick up artist. These don't work on all of them, but I've caught some in the wild before and ruined their night using the following guidelines, so these might help you out.

Pick up artists are generally fashion conscious, and will be overdressed when compared to the men around them. Their clothing will often be a perfect fit, while most straight Canadian men wear clothing that's a size too large. Their belts will always match their shoes, they'll wear layers to complete their look, and they'll almost always have at least one standout piece of bling - like a necklace, a bracelet, or a hat.

Basically, if they have the fashion sense of a gay man but they don't like sucking cock, there's a good chance they're a pick up artist. Of course, there's a chance they're a metrosexual, or have had some fashion sense beaten into them by one of their girlfriends, so you can't depend on looks alone to determine if they're creepy players or not.

Pick up artists who are out trolling for women generally do it with the help of a wingman. They'll often start out by socializing a bit with everybody in the area they're targeting to get a feel for the group, and to lower everyone's guards. Once they start hitting on their victims, they don't want interference, so that's why they butter people up. They are more social than most people, but it's a slightly mechanical kind of socializing. It stands out if you know what to look for. Once the crowd is buttered up, the pick up artist will focus a great deal of attention on whoever is closest to their victim. A best friend, a boyfriend, a brother. Whatever. They'll try to win them over, and failing that, they'll have their wingman play interference while they chat up their target.

Pick up artists, like dogs, come in a variety of breeds. Some play direct game, others have a more labyrinthine method that relies heavily on structure. They'll start with an opener, a question or statement that's meant to evoke a response from you. It might be something weird like "hey, my friend and I were having an argument, and we need an female perspective - who do women find more attractive, David Bowie or Johnnie Depp", or it could be something innocuous.

Most openers will either include or be followed by a time constraint - a sentence that places an apparent limit on how long their conversation with you will be. It'll be something along the lines "i'm going to meet my friends, but before I do, I need to ask you guys something...". They might not even have any friends to meet, but that doesn't matter. They just need you to think that you're not going to stick around for long - they're to busy to glomp onto you like a leech. Keep your ears open for time constraints. They're a red a flag.

One more thing to look out for - the ever popular neg. The prettier you are, the more popular you seem to be, the more likely you'll find yourself at the end of a neg, a minor insult or comment meant to put you on the defense. The goal of the neg is to create a social power imbalance that demands a resolution. He wants you to want his approval, and he insults you in order to compel you to defend yourself. He's making you make him like you. The neg is the players way of convincing you to convince him that you're awesome. He's tricking you into trying to pick him up.

There are thousands of little creepy tricks that these pick up artists employ to get women interested. Some are more effective then others, but many of these players are methodical, and will often spend countless hours trying different techniques in the wild in order to get an idea of what works and what doesn't. Every pick up artist has a different arsenal at their disposal, one that they personally developed over months and even years of experimentation.

These pseudo-casanovas might exist in every city, but because of Montreal's prominence in the seduction scene, you're much more likely to bump into a pick up artist here then you are anywhere else, with the exception of Vegas and L.A our rave scene is perhaps the most afflicted community on the island, since pick up artists consider raver girls to be easy pickings.

You've been warned, ladies!