Popcorn and Thrill

Instead of leaving town on Friday, I pushed back my departure to Saturday morning because Dwayne Gretzky announced their theme this week would be Movies Night. I suspected it would be a good show and it was. My month pass finally paid off, too. The pleasant weather brought out the party-goers and the line-up was still over 100 deep (and waiting) long after doors. So that's the VIP experience, being able to breeze past the hoi polloi.

Danielle Duval was a great opener for tonight, too. She was also part of the Dwayne experience, way back in 2012. Her music was still fast and high-energy, perfect for getting the crowd hyped. Her new songs have also evolved into more dance-rock than 80s new wave.

There were more women front and centre than last week. I think the lower chance of extended solo wankery was the difference. The themed set was hugely popular, with wild and enthusiastic crowd participation. It was better received than even their 90s-theme shows. Dwayne opened with the 20th century theme and came dressed as mostly 80s characters such as Marty McFly. There were instrumentals (007 theme, Gonna Fly Now, Miserlou), classics (Mrs Robinson, Don't You Forget About Me), and schmaltz (Everything I Do, My Heart Will Go On). I think it was also the first time they played anything from this century (Lose Yourself, Independent Women). But there were two missed opportunities in my opinion. First, 80s songs like Power of Love and Take My Breath Away were great, but where were the truly iconic themes like Footloose and Flashdance? Second, with Jill Harris in full leather as bad-girl Sandy, how could they not do Summer Nights or You're The One That I Want from Grease?

The second set continued the Greatest Hits feel of the evening as well as Dwayne Gretzky reprising a few songs from their Motown and 70s night. It wasn't officially Movie Night anymore, though they did sneak in Higher and Higher (Ghostbusters II), The Time of My Life (Dirty Dancing), and I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing (Armageddon). The final song of the night (The Weight), after a 3-number encore, gave everyone a turn at the mic, even the bassist in the back.

I won't be in town for their last residency show next Friday. But I don't think they'll be able to top tonight.

Meaty Meal

I went to Persian brunch spot Takht-e Tavoos when it first opened. But this restaurant is so popular with both Iranian ex-pats and locals that I haven't been back. But on a recent walk past the College and Dufferin corner, I noticed it wasn't quite as busy on a week-day. So on Friday, I dropped by for brunch.

This time around, I chose the hearty Dizi Sangi ($15). Also known as Abgoosht, this Iranian lamb stew is cooked for hours, along with onions, spices, and other ingredients. The liquid is drained into a separate bowl as a soup to be eaten with torn pieces of barbari (Persian bread). You are given a mortar and pestle-like combination to mash the rest into a paste to spread on the bread, along with some cool yogurt and spicy jalapeno.

The soup was exquite, rich, and fragrant. The barbari soaked up all that wonderful flavour. But I was on the fence about the "paste". First, I couldn't make it. There was still so much liquid in the lamb and chickpeas that my attempts to grind them up just sloshed them around. But mostly there was so much meat that after the first few delicious bites, it started to pall.

My suggestion is to eat them all together even if traditionally you are supposed to finish them separately. I would also love it if there was a version that dialed back the meat for more veggies.

By Any Other Name

Thursday night, I went to the Horseshoe to see country singer Whitney Rose. Since her move to Texas, this ex-PEI, ex-Toronto musician hasn't been seen much in these parts. So unlike her old weekly gigs at the Cameron House, this was one of the rare chance to see Rose. Her tour was to promote a new EP, written about her new home, called South Texas Suite.

Her regular house band, and sometimes tour mates, south of the border are composed of long-time musicians. Though accomplished, on-line clips show a bit of a laissez faire attitude. So I was happy to see this tour band was a group of young musicians, including her old lead guitarist Nichol Robertson. They brought a lot of energy to the songs and the dueling guitar solos would give any rock show a run for its money.

With a 20+ song set, Rose didn't do a lot of banter. Her rollicky, fast-paced, old-country tunes were her strength such as The Devil Wear My Boots and My Boots (She loves her boots including her signature rose ones that she wore underneath her black dress). Slower numbers were a bit hit and miss. There were some good ones, but none really approached the classics she covered like Stand By Your Man. There was often an retro vibe to the composition so it was appropriate she has a new song called Analog. With a 3rd LP in the works, this could be the year Rose breaks out into the mainstream.

L'amour fou

Lydia Persaud impressed me with The O'Pears and Dwayne Gretzky. So on Saturday, I went to the Burdock to hear her solo material. Opening for Persaud was a Montreal band, Jabbour, making their Toronto debut. This trio of older, very accomplished musicians played a blue-grass, folkie, toe-tapping set in both English and French. But except for 20 Bucks, I found their French songs like Son secret and Belle note more enjoyable. They were wittier with clever lyrics and rhyme.

Persaud has recruited some old friends (from her university days) and new (guitarist James Robertson from Dwayne Gretzky) for her band. Her powerful vocals, and nice ukulele playing, ranged over a wide number of genre from R&B to country. She mentioned that in Dwayne, she and Robertson play different roles for different songs, but tonight they get to be their true selves. That may be so in real-life, but I feel that from a brand perspective for a new artist, there may be too much eclecticism to get audience traction. But an EP is not even out yet, so we'll have to see.

That 70s Show

Friday night, I was once again at the Horseshoe for the Dwayne Gretzky residency. Once again, though the crowd was large, there were no line-ups outside. Perhaps I needn't have gotten that month pass after all. A welcome development inside, the opening band started early tonight.

But Texas King from London, ON was a bit hit and miss. They had some reasonably fun songs, though not really good enough to justify the excessive stage posturing. Their closing number, Come Find Me, was a genuinely great song. They should write more like that.

Tonight, both sets from Dwayne Gretzky came from the 70s, or as their blurb says: "the decade our parents won't shut up about." The first set had more rock number from Neil Young to Black Sabbath. The second set spanned more 70s genre with appearances by ABBA, The Bee Gees, some Motown (Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye), and disco (Chic - Le Freak). This gave Jill Harris and Lydia Persaud more time in the spotlight. So we got more appreciation for their awesome 70s get-up, coordinated dancing, and gorgeous singing.

Material World

On Thursday, I went to an early show at Lula Lounge. A cappella band Retrocity specialized in complex arrangements of 80s songs. I last saw them at The Mod Club at their sophomore album release party. With the dinner-show format at Lula, the atmosphere was more staid.

I've seen them enough to know that they always put on an impressive vocal show. Lately, they've been incorporating some minor choreography on stage, usually to humorous effect. Tonight, opening song Mr. Roboto included a daft punkesque dance routine. It's also more interesting for me to hear new songs from them. There were some fun ones tonight including several jazz covers (Everybody Wants To Rule The World, Hot for Teacher) and some CanCon (Go For Soda). The latter was a preview of an upcoming show at the Sing! festival to celebrate Canada's 150. Given recent world events, Retrocity's lush harmony on Don't Dream It's Over with the lyrics "They come, they come/To build a wall between us/We know they won't win" seemed to affect the audience unexpectedly deeply.

Fungi

During my recent stroll along Dundas St. W, I noticed a new pizza joint across from Queen Margherita Pizza. After yoga on Sunday, as I'm always craving carbs post-class, I opted to give it a try. After ordering a slice of all mushrooms for $5, I finally realized why the name Dovercourt Village Pizza sounded familiar, though incongruous for this area. This must be a second location for the one at Bloor and Dovercourt which made a splash in the media for its spam concoction. Well, I didn't think much of that one. So with some ruefulness, I took a bite.

It was better this time around. The abundant cheese topping and mushroom gave the slice rich earthiness. But like other take-out places based on the thin slice (e.g., North of Brooklyn), this combination doesn't quite work. You can't reheat a thin slice. So even with a quick pop back in the oven, the slice was still unheated. Left-over cold pizza from the fridge has its own marvelous quality, but room-temperature pizza is simply not appetizing.

Wyrd Music

Thursday night, I went to the Velvet Underground to see two musicians who have been collaborating recently: Cate Le Bon and Tim Presley. Due to some visa issues with their regular band members, they shared the same backing band. Namely, 2 local Canadian musicians augmented with Le Bon playing bass for Pressley's set and him manning the drums for hers. It gave a rather close-knit bonhomie feel to the evening.

Their music also shared a similar feel alternating between songs with unusual, angular harmonies and propulsive tunes driven by punchy, crisp chords. Presley's lyrics were straightforward, with a trance feel in its repetition. Le Bon's were more imaginistic, fragmented and elliptical.

Wall of Sound

Friday night, I was at the Horseshoe Tavern for the annual Dwayne Gretzky February residence. I hadn't plan on going this year and braving the long lines, but they offered month-long passes that also let you skip the line-up. Opener Dan Edmonds entertained the crowd with a short set of country-tinged pop. What made his set was his deft guitar picking which gave a nice kick to his tunes.

The first set is always a themed one and tonight was Motown. The entire band was decked out in black and white with the 2 leads going all out in snazzy suits. The boys thrilled the crowd with favourties like Signed, Sealed, Deliver, Tracks of my Tears, and (Reach Out). But what made the night were the ladies of The O'Pears. They've been doing guest back-ups individually in past shows, but they were all there tonight, decked out in full-length dresses and white gloves. They sang harmony on every song and had plenty of chance to sing lead from Jackson 5 tunes (I'll Be There) to classic duets (Ain't No Mountain). But it was their Supremes numbers (You Can't Hurry Love, Stop In The Name of Love) complete with choreography that made the night.

I pondered staying for the regular set. But one drawback with these shows is that with their early doors and late-night partying, the crowd becomes increasingly sloshed. There was a (literal) falling-down drunk behind me. I thought about the inebriation level after another 2 hours and decided a good night sleep was preferable.

Future Past

Groundhog's Day holds a special spot for me. But the usual haunts are gone: Black Skirt is now Cafeteria, one of Playa Cabana's restaurants, and Rikishi has closed. The elderly sushi chef is probably either too weak to keep working or has passed on; he was already past his retirement age years ago.

So I decided to recreate a few routines I did way back when. The first was a lunch-time visit to Pho Linh. This no-longer hole-in-the-wall is still in business, decades later. The clientele has also greatly expanded from the Vietnamese community to other East Asians, as well as Caucasians and the Portuguese and Latinos in the neighbourhood. No doubt it's good for a few more decades.

In the early afternoon, I walked to Eaton Centre along Dundas St. W. This was one of my route when I worked for a nasty boss and his underlings near Shuter St. These walks gave me energy before entering my soul-numbing office. This street has definitely gentrified: niche shops that specialized in knives or crochet; ubiquitous coffee shops; and re-purposed former dives like Mây, a former Vietnamese karaoke.

In the Eaton Centre, I watched break-out singer Kiesza did a short acoustic 3-song set including her new single Dearly Beloved for her sponsor, cosmetics company Mac. Afterward, I dropped by Japango. This was my first exposure to better quality sushi. The tiny space with the closely packed tables still evokes the only-in-Japan feel. And the sushi deluxe dinner ($30) delivered some good sushi. I thought about indulging in the omakase dinner like before. But it has gone up to $100, and there are now better sushi joints in Toronto for that price.