Year End Review

A friend invited me to a Zoom chat for our university group. So on Wednesday, I logged in after dinner to virtually meet up with the old gang. Like any dinner party, it overstayed its welcome; this 5-hour hang was probably 90 minutes too long. But it was good to see familiar faces, some of whom I haven't seen in almost 15 years.

Given this year, COVID news cropped up several times. No one was personally affected health-wise and everyone was lucky enough to be able to work from home. Most had kids so there was a lot kvetching around that, regardless if they were physically back in school or studying online. The challenges between managing work-life and home-life remained even when you didn't have to commute. Other annoyances included cutting your own hair, sharing the internet, or finding time to eat as a family. A few lamented that they were surprised how little together-time they actually had despite so much time spent at home.

These experiences were bemusing as I didn't have these responsibilities. I had to admit to my buddies that overall it has been enjoyable for me: eating in the park at lunchtime, walking all over Toronto; I have never spent so much time outdoors. One thing we did have in common was the march of time. So there was much commiseration (and comparison) about all the ways our bodies were failing us.

One family was building their house from the ground up after a fire. They regaled us with 3 years of bureaucratic run-arounds and contractor woes. And they still have 4 more months to go (in the best case scenario). Others had less dramatic home ownership problems. As a renter, I only contributed the bizarre situation of my landlord in his last few months.

One thing that stood out for me was an interaction with an old friend within the larger group chat. I had forgotten about our camaraderie since we lost touch. I don't usually enjoy being around loud people but I found their boisterousness charming. Perhaps it was self-serving since tonight they thought all my corny jokes and quips utterly hysterical! So I lamented that this easy rapport with another person was something rare for me. If only I could be this copacetic with more people.

Buon Natale

Christmas lunch was scheduled for the 27th. But with an Ontario-wide lockdown in place for Boxing Day, my family moved it to Christmas Day. No doubt there were many people who were doing the exact same thing: changing plans, fast-forwarding schedules, and so on. Health authorities are right that these half-hearted measures by the Ford government are less effective.

However, we did limit ourselves to individual households. This was not a 100% buffer zone since throughout the day, other members of my extended family visited to deliver gifts and stayed for a quick chat. This just goes to show how easily people underestimate contact risks.

With a smaller gathering, it was a simple lunch: spring rolls and turkey and shrimp fried noodles. Dessert was fresh fruit and a (dried) cake from a co-worker that seemed to have been made from sliced bread and icing. Still, there was plenty of cheer as a nephew was arriving in a few months.

I reflected that this was the first Christmas without the whole clan. For a long time, everybody came. In the past few years, with the younger generation living further away and in-law visits to other cities becoming more common, it was getting harder to organize a get-together that accommodated everyone. But this year was the first time that the familias was fragmented into separate households. I wonder if this will be a blip or an acceleration of an ongoing process.

Two Houses Not Alike In Diggity

Great Conjunction

It was a sunny Monday morning in Ottawa. People online were excited that Jupiter and Saturn would meet in a Great Conjunction on the Winter Solstice. But with clouds moving in later on, there was zero chance that I could see anything tonight. But a potted Gerbera Daisy did produce two cheerful blooms. I have been quite lazy over the last several weeks. Without my own space, I haven't practiced yoga at all. I have walked outside every few days but only for practical reasons like getting groceries.

I needed to buy a few items today. But instead of heading straight there, I decided to take a few detours like my recent strolls in Toronto. It started at a little strip mall at Montreal Rd and Elwood. Businesses here struggle along for a few years then fold. Previous iterations included a Middle Eastern joint called Garlic King and a taqueria named Kukulkan. Currently, there was a falafel place (Quick Break) and a pastry shop (Petits Macarons) although the latter does mostly online orders and wholesale to stores like Farm Boy.

I passed by Lockwood Park which was really more of a parkette. The houses along Elvina were small bungalows sitting on large plots. A small trail near Mowat led to Kinsmen Park. Surrounded by houses, it reminded me of Sadra Park in midtown Toronto sans Hydro towers. But given the size of those private backyards, I wonder if anyone would bother to use this public space.

Crownhill St. was also a bungalow-heavy road but the mixture of semi-detached and townhouses along Steel looked new. Another small trail off Marissa spilled onto Fairfield Park. Finally, this felt like a place where you could linger. Wooden boards have been put up to form a hockey rink (though no ice yet). There was a playground, some benches, and a bit of space to relax. This wasn't Dufferin Grove (neither in size nor tree cover) or even Vermont Square but it could be reasonably inviting in summer.

A few more streets and I finally arrived at Ogilvie. This was a let-down as a destination. Instead of a bustling but friendly street like St. Clair, this was an arterial road dotted with big-box stores (Costco, Canadian Tire) and other suburban outdoor malls. So this wasn't a total bomb as a walk but it did reinforced my feeling that Ottawa is mostly a failure in urban planning.

Pick Me

For the final installment of her live-stream concerts on Thursday, Molly Tuttle decided to have a socially distanced "pickin' party" where the focus will be on guitars. It turned out to be a typical Tuttle set: a blue-grass combination of her own tunes plus songs she has covered in the past.

The set started with a bang with toe-tapping originals Save This Heart and Supermoon. Even a Rolling Stones' cover (She's A Rainbow) sounded like a classic blue-grass number. But it wouldn't be a party without guests. Tuttle had mini-sets with local Nashville talents: Daniel Donato, David Grier, and Ellen Angelico. It was quite a feast to watch Tuttle trade licks with her guests while highlighting other people's music including Fox On The Run (Manfred Mann), Soldier's Joy (Bill Munroe), Angeline The Baker (Stephen Foster), and Georgia On A Fast Train (Billy Joe Shaver). Her White Freightliner Blues (Townes Van Zandt) with Grier was astonishing, even better than her duet with Tommy Emmanuel. She thanked him for supporting her when she first moved to Nashville, and also for "stealing his licks". Tuttle's collab with Ellen Angelico wasn't quite as blistering, but the latter had a knack for writing oddball tunes including a song about someone who wanted to experience love but wasn't sure what it was.

Her backing band of Annie Clements and Megan Jane played a more supporting role tonight. But there was plenty in the chat who wanted them to tour together. In fact, the audience was the most active during this show, perhaps excited by the talent on stage. The supportive messages and appreciative emojis filled up the screen throughout the set.

Live With Lido (and Lido)

Tuesday afternoon, Lido Pimienta was live-streaming on Youtube as LidoTV. I thought that it would be a pre-recorded show but was pleasantly surprised that it was live. Her team had built a "living room" with bright, kitschy décor including several of her artwork on the walls. Over the next hour, Pimienta enthralled her audience with songs from her latest release Miss Colombia.

With only her on stage, she found a way to make both the music and the visuals engaging. There were multiple cameras but they weren't intrusive. One even offered a kaleidoscopic effect now and then. On the audio side, it wasn't all backing tracks. Piementa used live looping to layer multiple vocals during her performance. This made songs including her 2 singles from this album: Nada and Eso Que Tu Haces as well as numbers like Pelo Cucu and Resisto Y Va interesting and different from the album.

There were even several costume changes. During these breaks, they aired videos of a "Lido Shopping Network" where she attempted to (wink) sell merchandise. Her sales patter became increasingly surreal and absurd as Pimienta implored her fans to buy vinyls (you won't play them, so hang them as paintings), CDs (having 3 kids is expensive, she's in debt to her record label), and calendars or small prints of her artwork (give them to your parents, they won't use it, so you can take them back later, it's like a double gift). Her natural humour translated perfectly to the screen.

The audience loved both the over-the-top antics and the singing. They were watching from around the world, though most were from Spanish-speaking countries. The dearth of local fans (i.e., Canadians) despite her credentials: a previous record won the Polaris prize, the new one was short-listed for the Polaris as well as a recent Grammy nomination, was puzzling. It reminded me of numerous Toronto musicians who only found success after leaving Canada such as Stacey, Allie X (L.A.), and Michelle Guverich (Berlin).

Vs The World

It's funny how you can get tired from doing nothing all day. So I woke up from a Friday nap too late to catch Nyssa's live show at Lee's Palace. Luckily, this live stream was available to watch the next day. I settled in on Saturday to give it a look-see.

This would have been an album release so the set was comprised of songs from her latest work. But in addition to numbers like Greenback Dollar, Bye Bye Jubilee and Misty Morning, there were also unreleased music (Innisfree Blues, Appetite 4 Destruction). Nyssa continued to mine storytelling songs (Go Away Evil, Full Of Love) but the focus has narrowed to snapshots instead of grander narratives. This was also the first time I have seen her play an instrument during a 4-song acoustic section with her childhood friend Zack Burgess. Her penultimate song, Ann-Margret's It's a Nice World To Visit (But Not To Live In), may be the most obscure cover I've witnessed but appropriate for 2020.

This show didn't engage me as much as previous Nyssa shows. As a relatively unknown musician, she often plays to a new crowd. Part of the magic is to watch her magnetic stage presence convert a disinterested audience. Without people there, it wasn't as fun to experience. Furthermore, this was a pre-recorded show with voice-overs, post-production video editing, and so on. This makes for a slicker presentation but at least for me, takes away from the live show aspect. I'm not in the habit of watching an hour-long music video.

I'm also feeling the equivalent of Zoom fatigue. I've been reading my old reviews of shows and even just a few years on, many only elicit a few seconds of remembrance (maybe due to my aphantasia?) There are even some where I don't remember being there at all. So frankly, I doubt these virtual shows during the pandemic will create lasting memories for me. In fact, an even more nagging question: should I even bother with actual live events once things go back to normal?

Songs For A Winter's Night

It's not quite winter yet in Toronto on Thursday though there was apparently a glorious sunset. Here in Ottawa, there was snow on the ground. I normally miss The O'Pears' annual Christmas show (except for 2017 and 2018), but they were live-streaming this year.

Their stage, in a living room or basement, looked too big to be inside a typical semi-detached house in Toronto. They must be ensconced somewhere out in the country. It looked cozy and welcoming, even the plastic partitions between the singers were decorated with garlands. At first, I was skeptical watching this over Zoom; a show early on with Sara Slean was only so-so. With a small "crew" handling multiple cameras and a professionally mic-ed set-up, it was much better tonight. Video quality could probably be HD on a different platform but it was reasonably crisp and audio quality was superb. The big advantage was that we could watch other viewers and the band could see our faces. Since many included friends and family of Lydia Persaud, Jill Harris, and Meg Contini, the ladies were quite emotional at various points in the evening.

An O'Pears show is all about those glorious harmonies and they delivered in spades. From beautiful originals like Morning Song, Lady Winter to covers (Joni Mitchell's River, Have Your A Merry Little Christmas), they wrapped the audience in layers of sonic warmth. Having a full band was also a treat especially tonight. Steve Lavery (drums), Joshua Van Tassel (piano), Ben Whiteley (bass), and Christine Bougie (slide/electric guitar) all played on The O'Pears sophomore album. But this was the first time they were together as a "real" band. Some proceeds from tonight was benefiting grass-root organization Toronto Indigenous Harm Reduction. The O'Pears also took the time to highlight emergencies that has come to the forefront this year including the BLM marches, homeless encampments, and Indigenous reconciliation.

Revolution 3

Thursday night was the second installment of a Molly Tuttle show from The Basement in Nashville with Annie Clements and Megan Jane. Tonight's theme: songs about social change and revolution. It started with Big Yellow Taxi (Joni Mitchell) and ended with (What's So Funny Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding (Nick Lowe). In between were numerous tunes challenging the status quo.

There were only few songs about actual revolution, if we are talking about collective action, like Talking 'Bout A Revolution (Tracy Chapman) and We Shall Not Be Moved (Labour Version)(Woody Guthrie). There were plenty of numbers highlighting injustices in the world: Working Girl Blues (Hazel Dickens), Ohio (Neil Young), What's Going On (Marvin Gaye), and War (Bob Marley). Tuttle also covered songs about an individual's challenge to societal attitudes like Rebel Girl (Bikini Kill), Born This Way (Lady Gaga), Not Ready To Make Nice (The Chicks) and The Man (Taylor Swift).

As in her previous show, she brought a virtuosic playing and often a blue-grass feel to the song. Even on her electric guitar, I noticed that her solos tended toward crisp, clean notes instead of the stylings more common to rock (string bends, pedal effects, whammy bar). Her cover of Anais Mitchell's Why We Build The Wall was excellent. Without the swell of voices repeating its verses, it didn't have the thrumming gravitas that electrified me when I first heard it. But on the other hand, Tuttle's solos for that song was outstanding.

On the technical side though, the show was a mess. The sound was excellent but the video was out-of-sync for the whole evening. In addition, many people were unable to log in to watch. So the live chat filled with more complaints than praise. It was distracting like chatty barflies at a venue. The mismatched visuals also detracted from the experience as part of the thrill of seeing Molly Tuttle is to watch her work the frets. Because of these problems, the platform Mandolin offered a 24-hour replay option for ticket holders unlike the first broadcast.