Hello Halo

Although there are 200,000 Filipinos here and numerous restaurants, they tend to be cheaper joints found in more immigrant-heavy areas. Lamesa, meaning table in Spanish and tagalog, is the first upscale Filipino restaurant in downtown Toronto. I dropped by Friday night to check out its menu about 2 months into its opening.

Adobo Pork Roll

Tuna Empanada

A $35 daily tasting menu got you a 3-course meal. For appetizers, I picked the Shrimp Pancit Canton ($8): sauteed shrimp, canton noodles, beans, carrots, and cabbage; and Green Mango Salad ($8): sour mango, carrot, radish with a bagoong caramel. For mains, the choices were Salmon Sinigang ($23): green beans, eggplant, tomatoes, and a daikon puree with a sour tamarind sauce; and Short Rib Nilaga ($23): cabbage, green beans, and a bone marrow potato puree with a ginger base.

Shrimp Canton

Mango Salad

First up was an amuse-bouche composed of deep-fried spring roll stuffed with adobo-style pork cheek. The roll was nicely crispy with earthy, meaty tones from the pork. A nice start. The noodles were chewy and greasily good with plumb and tasty shrimps. The mango salad had a nice bite to it, thanks to the (toned-down) shrimp paste accompaniment. These appetizers were the stand-out dishes.

Salmon Sinigang

Short Rib Nilaga

Both the salmon and the short rib were average. There was nothing to differentiate them from the all the other restaurants in town offering Continental/French-style cooking. For these prices, I'd rather have 3 more appetizers dishes.

The pre-dessert dish was more successful: small bite-site tuna empanada with plantain and creme anglais. The desserts suffered the same issue as the mains. They were tasty enough: Jackfruit creme brulee ($7) and Ovaltine Chocolate Mousse ($7) with sweet rice crisps but not memorable. Change the Jackfruit to, say, Durian, now you're talking!

Jackfruit Creme Brulee

Ovaltine Chocolate Mousse

The amuse-bouche, appetizers, and pre-dessert, which played up the distinctive Filipino flavour palette were more enjoyable (agreeing with me is the food critic at the Globe and Mail). Lamesa has to offer more of these instead of second-rate Continental cuisine. I would also prefer more tapas-style selection since $23 for a small piece of fish or pork did not make a good impression.

Jazz It Up

Friday afternoon, a capella group Retrocity gave a free performance at the Toronto Jazz Festival. Their set was definitely Michael Jackson inspired with Human Nature, Man In a Mirror, Rock With You (appropriately arranged as "Swing With You"), as well as snippets in several medleys. But they didn't neglect other 80s acts including Kate Bush (Cloud Busting), Toto (Africa), Queen (Killer Queen), and the Police (Synchronicity II, King of Pain). There were even some guilty pleasures such as Easy Lover, I Feel For You, and One Night In Bangkok. In a nod to the festival, in addition to Swing With You they performed a gospel and a jazz number.

It wasn't typical Jazz repertoire, but the crowd ate it up especially the Sesame Street Pinball song as well as a Sesame Street medley that started with the Sesame Street theme and then incorporated other children's shows (Mr. Rogers Neighborhood) as well as songs relating to streets and cities. With two standing ovations, and 2 encore calls, they went 15 minutes over their allotted 75-minute set time. But on such a sunny afternoon, no one was looking at their watch.

Viva Forever

At the last show with The Pining, an all-female alt-country band, I was curious why Terra Lightfoot was the guest guitarist while the regular guitarist, Emma Moss Brender was in the audience. Wednesday night, it made sense: Emma was leaving the band. The Pining held a farewell show for Emma at Ted's Collision, with both guitarists on board for the abbreviated set.

Ted's Collision and its air of benignful neglect, with its old tables, pool table, pinball and Ms. Pac-man tabletop is quite different from the glam lounges, Italian trats, and cheap sushi eats that dot Little Italy. But it was the perfect venue for some twangy alt-country tunes. The sound system was definitely lo-fi, but it was more than adequate for the small space. In fact, the 4-part harmonies and the quieter acoustic guitars and violin came through clearly, better than louder set-ups.

Each singer/songwriter had their own style. Some were fast and toe-tapping while others had a bluesy feel. It remains to be seen what Terra's style will be, though they did sing a new tune written by her. Emma specialized in slow, hurting song. Appropriately, the show ended with her singing the melancholic She's Gone.

I'm Lovin' It

Bettye Lavette

The Big Sound plays Motown covers for fun every other month. Saturday night, they were opening for Bettye Lavette. It might not be their biggest crowd at 300, since their packed shows at The Great Hall probably approaches 400 or more. But it was a more diverse, mainstream crowd and so was probably their biggest stage.

As the full 26 member took to the stage including 8 singers, the size of the band caused some astonished murmurs from the crowd. From the opening number Dancing In The Street sung by Tanika Charles to the closing Ain't No Mountain High Enough, they had the audience singing along to every tune. There was some dancing to the side, but not a lot. This older set was more comfortable seated and clapping along.

All the singers were great, especially a new male crooner: tall and imposing in long dreadlocks, with a velvety smooth voice. But Maylee Todd was a towering stand-out. I have mentioned her stage presence in Big Sound previously and she topped those appearances. The crowd stood up 3 times and it was all on her numbers. The first and last, I Want You Back and Ain't No Mountain, may have been because these are admittedly great songs. But there was no doubt when people spontaneously leapt up on their feet, hooting and hollering, half-way through her slow scorching take on Who's Lovin' You (Jackson 5) that she was on fire.

Tanika Charles

The headliner was Bettye Lavette, a soul singer from the 60s who, like Lee Fields, found success much later in her career. She came up on stage belting out a high note. For the rest of the night, she treated the crowd to what felt like an intimate concert. She would tell personal stories in between every song. Her singing had a wonderful conversational tone even on the big notes, due to the phrasing and emotion she brought to every verse. On slow numbers such as Choices, Isn't It A Pity, and Love Reign O'er Me, she played to her strength. Her uptempo songs were less successful, with the exception of You Don't Know Me At All, because her band seemed unable to find that higher energy level.

Lazy Sunday

At the corner of College and Rusholme stood Marquee Video, a small independent video store specializing in foreign films, arty oeuvres, and other obscure movies. It lasted a few years but the neighbourhood hadn't fully gentrified yet, making it hard for to grow that niche market. The store is now a vintage clothing-and-record shop called Of a Kind, selling vinyls (both old and new) and various older items such as clothing, jewelry, shoes, and other knick-knacks.

Sunday afternoon, it hosted a series of 40 minute acoustic sets for NXNE. This was probably one of the smallest officially sanctioned NXNE site. I dropped by after Yoga to catch 2 of the bands. Hands & Teeth's 4-part harmonies would seem to be ideal for this setting and it was. The set gave the band a chance to break out the acoustic instruments including guitars, violins, recorder, and intriguingly a tiny pump organ. This instrument had about 2 octaves and was operated by pumping furiously two foot pedals. Their sweet harmonies filled the tiny space with layered music. Although with all the going-ons, Kevin Black was at his limit and had to sing one octave lower than usual for one song, unable to do his "girly-man voice" as Natasha Pasternak pointed out with a laugh. They ended their slot with a new song called Easy.

Next up was Lovely Killbots. Instead of sunny pop, they were all about catchy industrial dance-pop that oddly enough, also worked in the enclosed space. At first, during setup, it sounded like Ryan Beatty's aggressive drumming might overwhelm Lauralee Love's parts. But during their set, everything came together. It was perhaps a bit too early to dance, but toes were tapping.

I thought about staying for other bands but with all the events at NXNE over the last few days, I needed to get home and catch up on my sleep.

La Dolce Vita

Campagnolo is one of the new breeds of Italian restaurant that aims to bring fresh, light Italian fare back to Toronto. Located near Dundas and Bathurst, the wrap-around windows (a previously life as a Coffee Time) offers a view into clean, simple set-up of minimal adornment.

Roasted Oxtail and Bone Marrow

Spaghetti All'Amatriciana

Saturday night, I ordered the Roasted Bone Marrow with Oxtail and Plum Marmalade ($13) as an appetizer and House-Made Spaghetti All’Amatriciana ($18) as my main course. The marrow, scooped out of the bone, and deposited on cracker-like toasted bread was incredibly fatty and rich. This is not something you'd want to eat frequently. The oxtail added a darker, iron-rich taste to the dish. The fresh basil and plum sauce lightened up each bite.

The spaghetti was excellent: toothsome and perfectly al dente. The sauce was deep and flavourful, coating each strand with glistening tomato goodness, not too sweet. This was a nicely executed pasta dish and surprisingly substantial.

I don't usually indulge in drinks (more money for food) but tonight I had a phil collins ($12) and a gin martini ($11).

Dog House

Paper Lions

Over the course of NXNE, Live In Bellwoods hosted short acoustic sets at Trinity Bellwoods park over 4 days. This year, it took place inside a round depression known as the Dog Bowl, since it is located near the dog off-leash area. I visited on Saturday afternoon to experience some outdoor music.

A late edition to the line-up, the singer from White Buffalo sang dark, rambling stories. Though enjoyable, his weary Americana didn't resonate with the young hipster crowd. Maybe when they get another decade or two of experience. In contrast, Nicholas Doubleyou & the B-squad also sang long stories. But their young age, same as the audience, and "youthful" concerns connected better with the ice-cream-eating, beer-drinking, sun-tanning 20-somethings.

Ben Caplan

Paper Lions had a outstanding set, playing through their 6-song acoustic EP. Strong 4-part harmonies and lyrical content distinguished their sound. They ended their slot by moving to the middle of the crowd and got people to sing along to Polly Hill and Travelling. Ben Caplan also gave a strong performance with his trademark banter and raspy folk songs. His set was cut short by the organizer since they were running late.

This was the major negative with this event. They were an hour late before White Buffalo, not originally scheduled, came on. In between artists, people would stand around and chat for 5-10 minutes before setting up for the next performance. By the time Ben Caplan came on, we were close to 1.5 hours behind schedule. I didn't bother to stick around for the remaining acts.

Garcon, Un Table S'il Vous Plait

When La Palette pulled up stakes and left Kensington Market, a Frenchman moved in and established Le Kensington Bistro. Despite the good reviews, it got lost in the buzz for places like Black Hoof or Grand Central. But it's doing well, especially on a gloriously sunny Friday morning.

I sat on the patio, watching people passing by. Exclamations of joy or pain came drifting out from inside the restaurant, depending on how France was doing in its Euro 2012 match. For appetizer, I ordered the mussels basquaise ($10). It was a generous 1/2 lb (10-17) of mussels steamed with tomato, fennel, and red pepper. A light and delicious start to lunch.

Mussels Basquaises

Chicken Rotisserie

I was tempted for the classic steak-frites but I was feeling like chicken today so I opted for a half rotisserie chicken ($16) with fries. It was so juicy and tender, even the leaner breast portions. I like chicken skin to be crispy, but here though soft it was flavourful. The fries were a tad greasy, but dipped in rich aioli it was a guilty pleasure.

It was a wonderful meal for a leisurely day. It would have been perfect if across from me sat a slender Parisienne, in a summer dress and a stylish hat. But l'homme propose, Dieu dispose.

Play Like You Mean It

The NXNE Thursday night line-up at The Horseshoe sounded amazing, but the middle part of the show made me regret not getting a wrist-band to check out other venues. But first, the two dynamite acts that book-end the night.

I have seen Ben Caplan twice in solo mode where he engages an unfamiliar audience with his out-sized personality and folksy songs. Thursday night was no different. He might have opened the night to a fairly empty room (except for the phalanx of photographers taking advantage of the roominess for some NXNE photos), but halfway through the set, the crowd has materialized and eager to join in the fun. Despite the abbreviated timeslot at NXNE, he was still able to ad-lib funny banter and sing-a-longs. His secret weapon for tonight was a complete band (the Casual Smokers) comprising mostly of local musicians (upright bass, clarinet, violin) but also his drummer from Halifax. What a wonderful experience his songs were with full instrumentation: lively, rich, and infectious.

The Bright Light Social Hour blew me away at a Canadian Music Week early set and I was eager to hear them close out the night. With the 2 am set, only about 50-60 people stuck around: a surprisingly number of which were already fans, the rest were friends being dragged along and a few night-owls. We were in for a sweat-soaked, dancing good time: blistering guitar, funky bass, towering vocals, and monster drums. This was 70s-inspired funk meets Led Zeppelin with Shanty, Back and Forth, and Detroit. They ended the night with a pedal-to-the-medal Young Man Blues (Mose Allison/The Who) that left the crowd grinning ear-to-ear.

The rest of the bill was nowhere near as good though Hooded Fang fared best. They had a rather large crowd for a 10 pm slot, probably because of the various best bets from the alt-weeklies and blogs. But these recommendations are dated because Hooded Fang, down permanently to 4 members, have moved away from their multi-layered sunny pop to a grungier, lo-fi sound. In fact, since I saw them last, they have gone even noisier than the 60s surf-rock sound of their sophomore album. They won't win as many converts with this new sound but there were a few people looking for merchandise after the set. Even in this strip-down set-up, it's usually their catchy hooks that engages the crowd.

And now, the rest of the night. I've heard that P.S. I Love You was loud, and they were. But I felt no energy from their set. Unknown Mortal Orchestra also dragged with their long jammy effort. The capacity crowd certainly enjoyed the 1 am set of Bran Van 3000. But even with the spectacle of confetti, balloons, and singing to familiar 90s hit, how could they ignore the sloppiness of a few songs? Or the female vocalist who sang off-key for almost the entire set? Those 3 hours really tested my resolve and patience.

That's No Lady

The Aves

Wednesday was the first night for NXNE 2012. I decided to make my base The Painted Lady, a bar at the corner of Dundas and Ossington. It may be a great place to hang out with friends but it was a terrible venue for live music. The long and narrow bar was even narrower at the back where the tiny stage was located. It didn't help that the tables near the stage were not removed, leaving an aisle only 1-2 people wide, and stranding most attendees behind the tables several metres from the band. Add an underpowered sound system, and no wonder the out-of-town bands seem dismayed at the set-up. (The burlesque dancer shaking her tassels at the front bar probably didn't help.)

Avery Island came from nearby Whitby. They started their set with some technical difficulties. Namely, the drummer and bassist were lost on their way to the venue. Nothing to do but for to start with just the 2 guitarists. The full band finally arrived halfway through their set. Their indie-rock didn't make much impression on me, except that the drumming was hesitant and the transitions were a bit rough around the edges.

Next up was The Aves, a young band from Australia who was doing a mini-North American tour (mostly the East Coast.) They were cohesive and tight. Though they played a number of styles, most of their songs sounded like an updated take on 50s/60s pop. The same territory being mined by such acts as Dum Dum Girls, but more polished. These were also their strongest and catchiest tunes. A minor negative was the lack of good stage banter from the band to connect with the audience. "We're from Australia" and "This song is about ... well, it's a song" were rather enigmatic.

Animal Talk traveled from Boston to bring their brand of "post-dance rock". From the groovy bass to the short, staccato chords to the falsetto singing, it was about danceable music. Though the songs had catchy moments, they often descend into long jammy sections that killed the momentum. In fact, their cover of Easy Lover was the funkiest song of their set, showing that it's not easy to do feel-good dance tunes.

Sidney York, based in Vancouver, has been going across Canada by train with Tracks on Tracks, an initiative to have live bands travel across the country playing shows. The last stop was Toronto just in time for NXNE. It was a miracle that they were able to stuff all their instruments and themselves on that tiny stage. They even found room to jump and dance while playing their brand of twee pop. But for every ukelele, there was a bassoon and oboe to keep things grounded. It's lazy (and privileging) to describe female-fronted bands as sexy but when you have a coquettish singer and songs such as Doctor, Doctor and Mile-High Love, sexy-fun (though not sexy-va-va-voom) was the mood of the set.

Avengers Assemble!

When by chance I caught Hill Kourkoutis' acoustic set last fall, I was struck by the strong melodies and harmony of her songs. On Monday night, I went to the Drake Underground for her CD release party to see how she would perform with a full band as Hill and the Sky Heroes.

They had transformed the stage into a sci-fi setting. A bright light shone behind a perforated wall, beaming rays of starlight into the room. The sound mix was balanced and clear, putting emphasis on Hill's and Taibah's strong vocals. The lead guitarist pumped out bright chords and wakka-wakka riffs, joining the growing ranks of excellent local female guitarists (see Army Girls, The Box Tiger, The Balconies). Tonight they had some guests including Serena Ryder, Damhnait Doyle, and a guy on a sousaphone who helped finish the set (as well as a kazoo chorus).

Most of the crowd seemed to be family and friends, including a few of her teachers from high school. However, they are playing an NXNE set. They will no doubt become more well-known soon with their catchy surf-rock.

Illuminating

Sunday night, the Luminato festival had a free concert: 3 hours of Rufus Wainwright. Specifically, a 1 hour Rufus Wainwright songbook interpreted by other singers, and the Canadian debut of his new album Out Of The Game where the singer/songwriter will sing all the tracks as well as some old favourites.

Backed by a band of local musicians, Royal Wood, Alejandro Ribera, Sarah Slean, Liam Titcomb, Andrew Rodriguez, Krystle Warren and Teddy Thompson (both are on Rufus' band and also solo artists) had two turns. The first time round, the mix was underpowered, robbing some of the richness from the songs. Ms Rubera and Ms Warren also took to the Feist-school of slurred syllables. Apparently the way to honour an acclaimed songwriter is to mangle his words to unintelligibility. But Thompson sang a hurting Maker Makes that wowed the crowd.

From then, the second round was much better. Slean sang a soaring Poses and both Ribera (The Art Teacher) and Warren (Baby) finally showcased their talent: deep, rich voices. Everybody came on stage to end the set with April Fools.

Teddy Thompson and the Rufus band

Martha Wainwright

Wainwright came out in the dark and sang an a capella version of Candles, joined in harmony by his band. It was a spine-tingling start and got the crowd cheering. The lights came out, revealing Rufus in an outfit straight from Vegas by way of Texas: wildly decorated jean jacket and pants with a ruffled black top. Over the next 1.5 hours, he sang 11 of the 12 songs from the new album. He also included classics such as The One You Love and Going To A Town. But the most emotionally powerful moments were the stripped down songs: a duet with Martha Wainwright on I Am A Diamond - a tribute to his deceased mother Kate McGarrigle, a trio on One Man Guy - written by his father Loudon Wainwright III, and Dinner At Eight during the encore. He ended the night exhorting the crowd to dance to Bitter Tears.

I have heard of Rufus Wainwright but have never listened to his music. There was a strong undercurrent of cabaret throughout his songs: sad, lyrically dense, often with shifts in keys or melodies. He has a beautiful soaring voice that he used judiciously - no Celine Dion syndrome here. It was a great night of well-written songs.

Alejandro Ribera

Sarah Slean

Set List: Candles, Rashida, Song Of You, Greek Song, April Fools, The One You Love, I Am A Diamond, Respectible Dive, Out Of The Game, Jericho, Sometimes You Need, Perfect Man, One Man Guy, Going To A Town, Welcome To The Ball, Montauk, 14th Street.

Encore: Dinner At Eight, Bitter Tears.

All The World's A Stage

At the corner of Bloor and St. Clarens near Lansdowne stands an old building with large windows and intricate architectural friezes. I'm not sure what it was 60-70 years ago, but for the past decade it has been home to a number of transient businesses: a lounge, a dollar store. The Mercer Union, an artist-run collective, has recently moved in. For the 2012 season, Summerworks held its launch party there Saturday night.

It was an opportunity for the organizers to announce some schedules including the line-up for the Live Performance Art series and the Music series. For the Music series, they are taking a different approach this year: the marquee events will not simply be named bands playing like previous years, but new collaborations between musicians and other performance artists.

Speaking of performances, the evening ostensibly had a full gamut of acts. But that didn't pan out as expected. All night, the MC Ron Pederson (National Theatre Of The World) and everyone else fought against the din of the crowd. People were there to schmooze, talk and drink. Combined with echoing high-ceiling of the main space, it was a lost cause. The cerebral acts including a reading from Daniel MacIvor's new play I, Animal, a poem about a Mexican cathedral, and songs from Ivy Mairi (Bruce Peninsula) were buried in the noise. There were also silly skits: Birdtown and Swanville's Bohemian Rhapsody sung by the dictators from their production "The Physical Ramifications of Attempted Global Domination" and Atomic Vaudeville's Batman dancing to Bollywood hits.

Summerworks Mascot

Dancing Despots

The night belonged to the meet and greet between aspiring actors, directors, producers, and all the various people involved in theatre or the arts. There was also a large complimentary spread of cheese, pizza, meat, sliders, and fruit that went relatively untouched. The chefs told us to feel free to pack a doggie bag; so I made out like a bandit. Surprising really, were there no "starving artists"? Or perhaps it was a matter of will-power: staying slender and attractive? Because this was the slimmest and most good-looking group of folks I've met lately.

"Pull My Baterang"

"White skin-u girl-u, girl-u heart-u black-u"

Rolling In The Eats

To help promote the shipping container eateries at Bathurst and Dundas, four food trucks stopped by Saturday: El Gastronomo, Toasted Tangerine, Rome'N Chariot, and Buster's Sea Cove. There was also a small market selling fresh fruit and vegetables, and a few jewellery vendors. Not feeling too peckish for lunch, I grabbed a crab roll ($10) from Buster's and a chicken bunjo ($5) from the Indian eatery.

Inside a buttery toasted bun was a substantial helping of chunky Alaskan crab. The mix of chives and mayo made it moist and summery. I couldn't taste the mango salsa though and the pickle slice was too sour and soggy. The meal also came with a bag Mrs. Vickie's potato chips. The bunjo was an Indian street food take on the sloppy joe. The chicken version was a sausage bun stuffed with butter chicken, curry lentils, and topped with coriander and green chili. The seller (Tony Sabherwal, owner of the Magic Oven organic pizza chain) advised me to let the sauce soak into the bun. Boy, he was right! The gooey bread tasted great with the curry stuffing and the chili gave enough spicy kick to keep things interesting.

Crab roll

Indian bunjo

Wandering Troubadour

Friday night, the Great Hall hosted two wandering troubadours specializing in story-telling folk songs. Coming down from the North West Territories was Sarah MacDougall. A slight girl on a loosely tuned guitar, she sang songs such as Crow's Lament and Permafrost with a quavering raspiness. The seated crowd took a while to respond to her songs. The Toronto reserve hadn't fully melted when she ended her set with a sing-along, with only about half the crowd joining in on the chorus.

The floor of the venue had plastic chairs out instead of the usual standing only. Cameras were located everywhere, including one on a small crane at the rear. The back of the stage was covered with a metallic mesh that gleamed from the extensive lighting. It was the last night of his 6-month tour, and Peter Katz was recording a commercial DVD to commemorate this live performance. Though he usually sings solo, he was joined onstage tonight by some local musicians, providing drums, piano, violin, and slide guitar. He also had excellent back-up/duet singing from guests The Good Lovelies and Emma-Lee.

Drawing on both new material such as Win Your Heart, Little One, Days and Night (Still Mind Still) and older songs including Son, Carried Away, and Till You Come Home (First Of The Last To Know), every song told a story (and had a back-story that Katz was keen to tell the attentive audience.) He loved to bring a song to a crescendo and then dial it back to barely audible string plucks on his guitar.

The introspective nature of his music made for an appreciative crowd, but not an energetic one. It wasn't until the closing encore number, a full band cover of  The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down in tribute to Levon Helm, that the roof was finally raised.

I'm An Arsehole

A few months back, a friend told me that although she liked me, not many people do. I laughed and told her she's right: I'm a bit of a dick. My quiet demeanour has me lumped with the "nice guys" but I've got habits that don't endear me to people. Getting to the point, after a potluck bbq Thursday night, and one too many glasses of wine, I dreamt that I let my inner douchebag shone through. But I disguised my dickish-ness as clever jokes and witty insults. People responded positively and thought I was hilarious. Now, would this work in the real world?

No Strings Attached

Wednesday night, Comedy Bar held a Puppet Explosion (a "puppet slam") where 8 troupes of puppeteers had about 7-8 minutes to put on a skit. The MC for the evening, the blue Cyril Sneer-esque Frank Feltman, kept the proceedings moving along with his acerbic wit. At one point, he improvised current events (being a news anchor) based on audience suggestions. Keeping him from being too cynical was his tiny, effervescent co-host Puppet What What.

The evening started with a funny skit from Michael Harding (Applefun Puppetry) about the going-ons at a farm. Seems that a squirrel has been dropping nuts on Chicken Little, prompting some over-the-top "The sky is falling" antics from the hen. Jamie Shannon was next, animating a sadly frayed, abandoned, old puppet known as "Happy Bunny". Well, the bunny wasn't too upbeat about his upkeep.

Unfortunately, there were more misses than hits. TAAPA's (The Actors Academy For the Puppetry Arts) two skits: an ad-lib exercise (though without audience input) and lip-syncing to Weird Al tunes had long stretches of awkward silence. Bricoteer's "Fill Me Up" about a lonely martini glass in a dance club filled with other glasses (Pick-up Artist, Curvy Mama, Local Celeb) was DOA until the end when there was winking innuendo about battery-powered cocktail whisks.

Others did better: Banjo Puppets sang an uplifting folk song with Randy Carrot; Puppet Tamer interacted with his ventriloquist Parrot and a disembodied head (the Scottish Angus); and Unraku had their sleek and suave brown rabbit groove bunraku-style to "You Can't Touch This".

I think there was some mismatched expectations. Because of the setting, the audience was expecting more comedic material, possibly a little blue. As a "slam", close cousin to open mic night, you are going to get more experimental and amateur performances.

Frank Feltman and Puppet What What, even though they were ostensibly there in secondary roles, were the outstanding act. It could be fun to have them host other Comedy Bar's improv shows such as MonkeyToast or Catch 23. In fact, have the stronger puppeteers join in with "human" performers in improv sketches.

Mighty Aphrodite

On Tuesday, Venus was scheduled to pass between Earth and the Sun. The next occurrence won't happen until 2117, long after I'm dead. Not wanting to miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime Transit of Venus, I headed down to Varsity Stadium at Bloor and St. George to join 5000 other people viewing this celestial event. But, speaking of movement, I was late because I had to unclog some blockage at my place. Oh, dear, to miss out over some pipe problems?

Luckily, there were volunteers outside the stadium handing out special glasses. I grabbed two pairs and headed up to Dupont to my Yoga class. We passed around the specs and looked at that little tiny black dot against the blazing sun. The class became a dedication to Venus and comprised of gentler Yin practices such as meditation and long holds. It was interesting to contemplate several thoughts. The obvious one being that in 100 years, everyone I'm practicing with will be long gone including myself.

Never On Sunday

With the work-week looming, I nevertheless decided to stay up late Sunday night for some live music at The Dakota Tavern. Dwayne Gretzky hasn't performed since January, but they were gearing up for several appearances in the next few weeks including at NXNE. Tonight, they return to The Dakota where they did a 3-month stay all through last summer.

As always, their professionalism (3 sets) is coupled with an enthusiasm for live performance. Their enjoyment of each other and for the crowd was evident: laughter, smiles, funny asides. Some members of the audience even joined in the fun, notably a bearded guy on the cowbell that almost descended into embarrassing mood-killer but at the last minute transformed into a fun extended jam. It was interesting to guess people's ages based on their response. For every classic song such as The Beatles' "Something" or CCR's "Proud Mary", there was Springsteen's "Thunder Road" or even Bryan Adams' "Run To You" that is not part of some younger person's experience.

In fact, Dwayne Gretzky's repertoire is heavy on songs 20 years old or even older (60s, 70s, 80s). This might confirm an old fogey's smug assertion that "music was better back in the day". But  there are lots of great new songs, even within the past decade. It'd be great to see Allie Hughes (one of the Dwayne Gretzky-ers) take on Amy Winehouse or Adele or have them throw in a Sweet Thing song. After all, a couple of them belong to that band. Tiny nitpick aside, a few drowsy nods at work the next day was worth it for some great music. I guess summer's officially here. Shake your thang.

Under The Stars

Wendy Versus

Coming home on a blustery, rainy Friday, I peeled off my soaked clothes. I thought about just staying in tonight, but the weather cleared up enough that I decided to head down to Sneaky Dee's for a CD release party.

The venue had blank posters and paper scattered around so you can write your well-wishes and draw something using the supplied crayons in a nod to the album entitled "Crayon Wars". The first act was Patrick Grant. He played an airy indie pop that didn't make much impression on me.

Second up was Lovely Killbots. This electronic duo played a propulsive dance pop with interesting percussive flourishes and lyrics. For the last few shows, they have a video guy on hand to sync up their video visuals with the music for a more integrated sci-fi experience. The mix was good tonight, allowing drummer Ryan's harmony to be heard clearly, interwoven with singer Lauralee's vocals.

The headliners, Wendy Versus, came on around 11:30. Composed of 2 members of Papermaps, Wendy and Dean, and a 3rd member, Owen, on drum machines/effects and bass, their music was mostly electro pop with a few songs venturing into dance territory. In contrast to Papermaps, Wendy sang lead on this project. She had a strong, rich voice in the lower register but her soft, breathy upper range got swallowed up by the live instrumentals. Dean punctuated the electronica with judicious chords and clean, ringing arpeggios. The only negative was the synth drums, which did not provide enough muscularity. Along with the dreamy feel of most songs, there wasn't enough incentive for the crowd to start dancing. Their vinyl would be perfect for a laid-back night at home, but they might consider adding some punch for live performances.