Blades of Steel Strings

Over the last 2 weeks, The World Cup of Hockey Tournament has been taking place in Toronto. As part of that, the organizers have set up a Fan Zone near The Distillery District. On Saturday, I headed there to check out the free entertainment.

I arrived just as illusionist Darcy Oake was starting his act. There were locked box body swaps, mind reading tricks, rope manipulation, and ending with a lock-pick escape from a water-filled box encasing his head. Afterwards, super-group cover band Dwayne Gretzky did a set of self-proclaimed "dad rock". Though they have been selling The Phoenix and The Danforth, there was but a handful of people, and mostly kids, for their set. The large crowd for Oake had disappeared between shows.

But DG soldiered on and went through a 75-min set low on banter but jam-packed with music, eventually pulling in fairly large audience. With members taken from various bands, they often need to recruit other musicians depending on schedule. But I haven't been to a Gretzky show with so many core members missing: most conspicuously pianist Robin Hatch (Our Lady Peace). Singer Ivy Mairi didn't try to do Hatch's more rock-and-roll covers like You Oughta Know or Barracuda but her sweet voice was perfect for older classics like Be My Baby and Preacher Man.

Learn How To Fly

Friday night, I went down to Yonge-Dundas Square for the Walk of Fame Festival. Throughout the week, various venues in Toronto had concerts (both paid and free) celebrating established artists as well as promsing newcomers. By what criteria? Beats me. There were also art exhibits and other events.

I made it in time to see one of my favourite band: The Balconies. They've been keeping a low profile since their last release a few years back. Tonight, they showcased all new material off their upcoming album: Rhonda. To be honest, I'm on the fence about this new direction. They've always straddled the line between radio-friendly rock and spiky indie, but sparked by wild-eyed antics of lead singer Jacquie Neville, there was energy in their jangly chords and driving rhythm. The new songs have sanded off that interesting edge.

A bit let-down, I didn't feel like staying around but decided to listen to one or two songs from the head-liner Zeus. What a pleasant surprise. Full of 60s-esque harmony and chords combined with indie wit and humour, both their old and new stuff were dance-able and fun.

End of BOFF

This week-end was the 6th and final year for the Bloor-Ossington Folk Festival due to some funding falling through. Since Saturday was blustery downpour for most of the day, I only ventured out in the evening to catch the last 2 acts of the 1st day: Hooded Fang and Julie Doiron and the Wrong Guys.

First, a clarification on the "folk festival" bit. The organizers used "folk" to mean "people", so bands were usually in the indie or even garage mold, not necessarily soothing ukuleles and acoustic guitars. So a few curious visitors who dropped in with a program guide were quickly driven away by the cacophony: a combination of the bad sound mix and the loud music.

Watching Hooded Fang complete transformation from plinking twee-pop ear-worms to propulsive lo-fi garage is like meeting a nephew who has graduated to piercings and tattoos from Elmos and teddy bears. The new stuff's good, but boy was it loud and repetitive. As for the thrashing Wrong Guys, fronted by the dulcet voice of Doiron, it was a glimpse into an alternate universe where Feist, having blown out her vocals and needing to change her singing style, still decided to keep playing punk rock instead of switching to pop. They announced that they would be heading to the Prairies to finally record their first album.

The Story of O

Thursday night, I was at the Music Gallery for two bands: Ozere and The O'Pears. Both acts were natural fit for the intimate acoustic of this working church. Ozere opened the evening with some "classical folk". Mandolin, cello, violins, and voice evoked Celtic folk, middle eastern scales, and classical harmonies. They also did a few more pop numbers include a cover of Cat Stevens' Doris.

For their debut release show, The O'Pears, normally a trio of singers, has recruited a full backing band. They ran through most of songs from Like Those Nights including Long Winter, Suffering Fool, and Hard Bargain. They also did some "old material", which for these young women was all the way back in 2012. The music ranged from folk, to blues, to even hints of gospel. What tied it all together was their strong and intricate harmony. In fact, I thought their strongest numbers was just them. This was mostly because the mid-tempo pop-ish arrangements for the band were a bit middle-of-the-road and dull.

Young, photogenic, and talented, The O'Pears would probably be more well-known already if they had pop leanings. But if First Aid Kit and Lennon and Maisy can build successful careers, these women should have a good shot.

Let's Go To The Ex

It's been years since I've been to the National Exhibition for the full CNE experience, although I have gone to see live shows at the Bandshell. But I was asked by a squeamish friend to be the partner for her daughter, who was ready to graduate to the big rides at the adult Midway. So we made our way down on Labour Day Monday. Turns out the young lady was game, and certainly braver than myself at her age, even going on several upside-down rides.

Since I did the Midway, I decided I might as well go whole-hog and visit the food building as well. There have been "stunt dishes" over the last several years. I didn't read about any such offerings this year, but there was some buzz for Kanpai's ramen burger.

Apparently there has been long line-ups, but I didn't have a long wait today for the burger ($10.69) and some "durty fries" ($6.19). The fries was the better dish. Well, not the fries themselves as they were typical: gold outside, mushy inside. (Nobody seems to know how to cook fries but McDonald's). But the Japanese-inspired toppings including teriyaki butter were interesting. As for the burger, the patty was actually quite thick and juicy. The mushy ramen buns, however, didn't really add to the experience.