We're Not Worthy

Saturday night, despite the record-breaking cold (-12.5C) and first snowfall of the year, I headed over to the Phoenix for a night of covers with Dwayne Gretzky called Dwayne's World. They claimed this was their biggest venue (though they have played at Kool Haus). Perhaps it was the biggest with an audience there specifically to see them.

With the pristine sound of this venue, they thrilled the packed audience with Psycho-killer, 10th Avenue Freeze-out, and You Can't Hurry Love. It was a mixed crowd compared to their usual gigs at the Dakota. In addition to the usual hipsters, there were recent teens sighing over some Gretzky-ites (who have had previous careers in "boy band" Sweet Thing, Popular Mechanics for Kids, TV spots), bros, and a range of aging attendees: some were around when those 80s songs first came out, and some were even around when those 70s tunes first played. Dwayne Gretzky also played songs new to their repertoire: Foxy Lady, I Am The Walrus, Rosanna, Sledgehammer, etc. Perhaps in tribute to Tyler Kyte's Aerosmith t-shirt, they covered them too, although it was the maudlin 90s Aerosmith with Crying. No matter, that's the kind of song that has the crowd singing.

It was too bad Allie Hughes couldn't make it. Robin Hatch did a great job with Hughes' usual numbers (Barracuda, I Want You Back). Hatch has a nice voice, but if she sounded as big as Hughes at the Phoenix, the latter would have blown the roof off. They did bring on a red-head to do Hughes' soprano part on Bohemian Rhapsody. After that huge closing number (of a second set), the crowd still demanded a 3-song encore. At more than 2.5 hours of music, Dwayne Gretzky may possibly be the hardest working band in Toronto.

There's a lot of fun in being at a large venue, but downsides too. Exhibit A: the drunken dude who dove into the crowd from the stage (nobody caught him). Exhibit B: the immensely disgusting floor after the show, covered in beer, probably vomit, and littered with empty bottles and cups. I made my way gingerly through the detritus and hailed a cab home, all the while humming: "slip out the back, Jack. Make a new plan, Stan"

Let's Dance

Friday night was the first Dwayne Gretzky residency at The Horseshoe Tavern. This cover band supergroup has been playing Fridays in February for the past couple of years. As they have grown in popularity, you have to make a bigger effort to get in. But it was a bit mad tonight. I got there 15 min before door and the line was 200 deep. When doors open at 9 pm, there were probably another 200 behind me.Things were looking dodgy for a while as they started to hold up the line for people on the guest list but I finally got in around 9:45.

Why the hoopla? Each Gretzky residency show comprised of a special "theme" set and their usual smorgasbord set. Tonight, it was their tribute to David Bowie. First up though was opener Midday Swim. It may have been their biggest crowd but they had a good pop sound including We Got The Feeling and She Has Time that went over well.

The members of Dwayne Gretzky came out all glammed up with glitter, make-up, and snazzy duds in tribute to the circa Stardust era. The audience roared with their first song: Space Oddity. From there, it was a huge set of Bowie classics, probably close to 20 songs. In many ways, it was better tribute than Holy Holy's a few weeks ago. For one thing, rock'n'roll is a "young man's game" and Dwayne Gretzky has never phoned in a performance. But mostly it was the variety of Bowie songs they played.

Like Holy Holy, they did plenty of old classics including Life on Mars, Ziggy Stardust, Changes, and Suffragette City. But by not limiting themselves to early Bowie, they also did great covers of Fame, Heroes, Modern Love and China Girl. The breadth of songs allowed every member (even those who normally just played bass or drums) plus several guest singers to have a go. The set ended with a vigorous sing-a-long to Young American. I was debating my decision in that long line but it was worth the wait.

Not Dad Yet

On Saturday, I was at the 2nd show of Dwayne Gretzky's tribute to 90s music at The Phoenix. This is the 6th year for Big Shiny Dwayne and the crowd was as full as ever. As time marches on, even the youngest were in their thirties and a good chunk were likely nearing the half-century mark. But if the music of your youth is now dad-rock, Dwayne Gretzky made it fun to listen to these covers.

The major part of it was their professionalism and passion. You don't regularly sell-out thousand-capacity venues by phoning it in as a bar band. So whether it was rock, indie, R'n'B, or any other genre, they played with gusto and skill. As the years go by, the band itself has also changed. Singer Carleigh Aikins has taken on more lead vocals. Her strong, slightly raspy voice lent itself well to indie (Everyday Is A Winding Road), R'n'B (I Try), and rock ballad on a blistering duet with Tyler Kite on Aerosmith's Cryin'. Meg Contini, still involved in harmonies, only sang on 2 numbers: My Heart Will Go On and Everybody Dance Now. But they induced some of the biggest crowd reaction tonight.

Speaking of the latter song, Dwayne Gretzky sometimes does well-known, slightly cheesy dance number of boy-bands as part of an encore. But they have upped their game for this show and commissioned a full choreographic routine for Everybody Dance Now replete with high-energy 90s dance moves like Running Man, Prep, and Kid'n'Play. The members must have spent hours practicing this on top of their band practice; the work was much appreciated by the fans. When the lights finally came up on the last song, big grins were plastered on every face in the crowd.

Golden Slumber

With Omicron restrictions and also being in Ottawa, I didn't have any New Year Eve plans. To be fair, with the rare exception, this has always been true. But I decided that I should at least get something instead of looking inside my fridge. So I ordered a large Habanera ($23.95) with extra green olives ($2.50) from Golden Crust Pizza for lunch. This business was on my To-Try list when I saw it next to Mia's Indian and Idriss. But the owner had just moved from St. Laurent to Montreal Road into the old location of Kukulkan (and short-lived Quick Break).

Their pie was better than both Milano's and Gabriel Pizza. I've almost despaired of finding good pizza here. This won't win any prizes outside of Ottawa but the crust had a nice blistered edge. Interestingly, the shop's name wasn't just some random moniker because the crust was actually an egg-coloured yellow. The rest of the ingredients was typical but you do get plenty of gooey cheese, chicken, hot peppers, and mushrooms. It was a filling lunch and I took a short nap afterwards (for staying up past my usual bedtime later that night).

In the evening, I watched a livestream from cover band supergroup Dwayne Gretzky. They were supposed to have their 10th annual NYE show at new venue History (owned by Drake) in Toronto's East End. But with rising infection, concert venues have shuttered again. So they decided to do a live broadcast on Youtube from their rehearsal studio in The Junction area for a second time.

Unlike last year, I didn't stay up until past 3 a.m. as the band played for all 5 time zones in Canada. I caught their show for 2 sets (2.5 time zones) with around 4500 other watchers. The viewership was smaller and less international than their previous go-round. But some who randomly stumbled upon their stream last year, such as Sergio from Brazil, re-appeared. I guess Dwayne has made some non-Canadian fans.

Similar to their Ottawa show, they book-ended their first set with Fleetwood Mac (Don't Stop, The Chain). Dwayne has settled into a dad-rock vibe (Solsbury Hill, Mr. Blue Sky, Once In A Lifetime) but their fans have also aged. At the start of the second set, they were "simulcast" on the official City of Toronto livestream for 2 songs. It was also 80s heavy and more danceable (Like A Prayer, Dance With Somebody, Dancing Queen). Dwayne played a perfect song (Final Countdown) as the clock came up on 12 am for EST time zone.

There was some last-minute hiccups for tonight. A handful of band-members/production crew couldn't make it including Gord Hyland (sax) and Lydia Persaud (vocals). Dwayne was vague  about their absences during the show but from social media posts I knew that, unfortunately, several people had just tested positive for Covid. They were missed by the audience especially with Persaud.

Carleigh Aikins was an excellent substitute for harmony and lead vocals on songs that played to her strength (Joplin's Piece of My Heart). But I have noticed recently that Lydia Persaud has taken a star-turn with this group. Her versatility and emotive delivery make her a magnetic presence. So whenever the production spliced in her performances (Patsy Cline's Crazy, Queen's Somebody To Love) from previous shows, the chat went crazy for her singing. But we were lucky with the return of Michael Brushey, the other drummer/percussionist for Dwayne. He has spent the last two pandemic years back in his native Newfoundland. Brushey was more "technically proficient" so we got some drum-crazy numbers that have been missing from Dwayne's sets lately including Tom Sawyer.

It was a great night but I sensed a slight dip in the energy level compared to past shows. Probably the letdown of not playing at History as well as the last-minute positive tests weighed on their minds. Hopefully in 2022 things will look up for Dwayne Gretzky and everyone else, too. I already have tickets for their October show at the iconic Massey Hall.

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.

Be Mine

On Friday, the Horseshoe Tavern was packed for Valentine's Day. There were lots of couples but also many groups of unattached singles. The ages ranged from early 20s to late 50s because cover band Dwayne Gretzky has broad appeal. They promised to play a "love set" entitled Covers Are For Lovers.

Country singer Whitney Rose was the opening act. She was excited to play her first full set here, though she could usually be found just down the block at the Cameron House. It was already a large crowd, though not yet at capacity, and receptive to her mix of country music and 50s pop. The men were also taken with her slender form and gorgeous features. Perhaps as a nod to the evening, her band did a number of covers tonight including Be My Baby, Stupid Cupid, and It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels. Her songs were also well received including First Rodeo, Old School Soul and the saucy The Devil Wore My Boots Last Night.

Before Dwayne Gretzky played, two DJs from radio station Indie88 made introductions. Ironic that they were tonight's sponsor and had set up a "selfie" booth because, well, they wouldn't be caught dead playing any of these songs. Not classics like Somebody To Love and You Can't Hurry Love and certainly not cheese such as Crying (Aerosmith), Bed of Roses, and The Power of Love. It was all love songs in the 1st set, and plenty of the same in the 2nd though there were also other standards like Under Pressure and Sledgehammer. Songs stayed on the romantic side but there were a few "bone songs": Make It With Chu (Queen of the Stone Age) and Superfreak and 1 break-up tune; Robin Hatch's blistering cover of You Oughta Know got the crowd, especially the ladies, amped up. Guest singers such as Sam Cash singing Alison or Whitney Rose on Islands In The Stream were greeted with loud cheers.

It was loud, packed, and fun. But finally, Dwayne Gretzky ended at last call and people headed home. There weren't too many drunks tonight, though oddly most of them were women who had to be supported out by their wing-woman.

99 Problems

As the heat dome continues to smother Toronto and keeps me from good night's sleep, I decided to head down to the Dakota Tavern, a dive bar that can host about 120 people or so, to listen to some live music. It is the last week of a month-long residency every Tuesday night for Dwayne Gretzky. Besides Dwayne Gretzky, I have no idea who is in the line-up.

First up is Molly Rankin from the Maritimes. Her band plays a 50s retro sound with a few songs venturing into folk territory. Allie Hughes then takes the stage to play an abbreviated set. I've noticed this before, but her upper register is so big that once she starts her diva-esque wailing, the mike starts to clip. I have also noticed from previous shows that she puts on this slightly off-kilter glassy-eyed smiling persona. But looking at her interactions off-stage, I'm starting to wonder if it really is a stage affect.

Dwayne Gretzky finally takes the stage a little after 12 am. Comprising of members from Sweet Thing with a rotating line-up, tonight it would be Allie Hughes and her drummer, the bassist from Molly Rankin on guitar, and Spookey Reuben, they play cover songs from every genre: 60s soul, 80s rock, even 90s hip-hop. They get the packed house dancing and singing for almost 2 hours straight. The tunes finally end at 2 am. For a $7 cover, you sure get your money's worth.

They are so popular that their residency has been extended to August. So every Tuesday, they'll be taking the stage. It's not a bad way to earn a couple of hundreds regularly. I wonder if they'll do weddings, because that wouldn't be a steep fee, and being still young and passionate, they blow any wedding band out of the water.

More Than Fifty Ways

I spent the week following Christmas cocooning thanks to both public holidays and paid time-off. With New Year's Eve on the last Sunday of 2023, there were likely parties and events in Ottawa. But to be honest, I rarely celebrated New Year's even in Toronto. It was thanks to streaming shows during the pandemic that I actually stayed up past midnight in the last few years.

The success of last year's combination of a live concert at History venue and streaming on Youtube convinced supergroup cover band Dwayne Gretzky to continue this tradition. So I settled to watch my 4th New Year Eve's stream even though I tapped out after midnight at the end of their 2nd set. I caught up with their final set the next morning.

For this year's concert, Dwayne's line-up grew to 17 members with the addition of a horn section. Their presence added a lot of oomph to the arrangements; Dwayne's version of You Can Call Me Al never sounded so good especially with Anh Phung's flute solo. With 13 years of existence, they also reached a milestone in their career. Midway through the 1st set, they played the 800th cover song in their repertoire: Tears For Fears' Head Over Heels. Song 801 came soon after with James Baley's spirited rendition of Love The One You're With.

Set two was also a lot of fun and ended on a high note with Meg Contini's How Will I Know and a full-band cover of Everybody (Backstreet's Back) complete with dance choreography. It was 12:30 am and I needed to call it a night. When I came back the next morning, someone in the chat had mentioned that set 3 was the best one yet. The final hour was wall-to-wall bangers: Jill Harris' impeccable German for 99 Nuftballoons, Lydia Persaud's assured Hold The Line, Contini's soaring Alone,  Carleigh Aikin's blistering Piece of My Heart, and Baley's joyful Freedom! 90.

Though Dwayne has always done "oldies", in the early days it was still a young crowd. But perhaps 13 years later, they have aged out with both Gen Z and the tail end of the Millennials cohort. I barely saw anyone under 40 in the crowd shots. In fact, many attendees were on the other side of the mid-century mark. It didn't help that Dwayne only played 2 songs released in the last 25 years: Backstreet's Back and The Darkness' I Believe In A Thing Called Love for the encore. Even an unhip grump like myself know that "modern music sucks" is a laughable attitude. As professional musicians, they'd probably feel the same but maybe they don't want to alienate their core demographics. Come on Dwayne Gretzky, it's not yet time to play on cruise ships!

Festivus Miracle

On Thursday, I got off at the Lyon LRT station and walked to The Bronson Centre. This neighbourhood reminded me of the likely fate of Sherbourne St. in Toronto: a few turn-of-the-century buildings surrounded by tall complexes, some decades-old and now looking a bit run-down and others new shiny 21st century constructions. Which would make The Bronson the equivalent of The Phoenix. But it turned out to be a smaller Danforth Music Hall.

This used to be a Catholic high school until it became a community centre for non-profit businesses and the auditorium was turned into a concert venue. When I first walked through the doors, things did not look auspicious. As far as I could tell, there were 2 single-unit washrooms for several hundred people. But once inside the main space, I was impressed by a great sound system including line array speakers and a large stage. It was actually better than The Danforth by having front fill speakers and the soundboard positioned at the halfway point. I hadn't heard such clear and balanced vocals, especially from a larger venue, in a while. But this improvement was actually a recent pre-pandemic renovation.

I was here to see Dwayne Gretzky, the cover band supergroup. As much as I enjoyed their New Year's Eve and 99-songs livestream,  in-person music hit a different sweet spot. They book-ended their set with Fleetwood Mac's Don't Stop and The Chain. In between they covered the 70s (Waterloo), 80s (Video Killed The Radio Star), and 90s (Walking On Broken Glass). The mostly middle-aged crowd loved all these classics but I prefer when Dwayne include more non-Dad Rock numbers. I had an early morning trip so I couldn't stay to see if they did songs newer than 1995 in their 2nd set.

All the members are consummate musicians which is why they haven't transitioned into tired bar band. But I thought Lydia Persaud had the best presence tonight. She commanded the stage when she sang lead vocals. I suspect this magnetic quality was due to the fact that unlike her buddies in Dwayne, she still performs in numerous non-Dwayne shows as background harmony but also singing her own music (including opening for Martha Wainwright a few days prior).

It took Dwayne Gretzky almost 10 years after their inception before they finally played in Ottawa in 2019. It was a good crowd tonight but not at full capacity. They did experience a Dwayne's first: some Christmas songs were added to this "Holiday" show. Ottawans need to up their participation. After all, this band is gearing up to play at History, the new 2500-capacity venue, on New Year's Eve.

Big Shiny Tunes 3

On Friday, I was at the 3rd 90s theme show by Dwayne Gretzky, a "supergroup" cover band. Unlike their winter residency at the Horseshoe, Phoenix Theatre is much more spacious so people took their time to get here. Also, the hometown Raptors was fighting for their playoff lives at the ACC.

Though there was a mix of genre in both sets, Gretzky skewed more rock in the 1st and pop in the 2nd. So the first 1.5 hours got us 1979, Spoonman, and My Iron Lung while the second 1.5 hours came with Wannabe, No Scrubs, Always Be My Baby. There were few elitists in the crowd so everybody was into almost everything although some tunes like You Oughta Know and Sabotage got bigger cheers. The lighters came out with a tribute to Gord Downey when they covered Bobcaygeon. With these live shows, the energy from both the audience and band is so contagious that a groaner like Mr. Jones which might get you some side-eye at a party turns into a loud sing-along when it's done by guest singer Max Kerman (The Arkells).

Like the Sheezer show, I finally got a t-shirt from Dwayne Gretzky. But will this also be my last Gretzky show, too? Well, at the very least, I don't want to wait 45 min in line for a possible door entry at the Horseshoe or the Dakota anymore.

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.

Se7en

Dwayne Gretzky, supergroup cover band, did their 6th annual ode to the 90s (Big Shiny Dwayne) back in 2019. But because of the pandemic, it wasn't until Friday night that they returned to The Phoenix for the next edition. With the 90s now 30-years-old and rapidly fading out of view, most everyone there was getting long in the tooth. But people were still enthusiastic enough to cheer and sing to every song.

Early Dwayne shows, including Big Shiny, tended to be male-heavy and leaned toward rock numbers. But the women have now achieved parity in the set list. This was a good thing since it also added more genres and variety to the music. It would be ridiculous to ignore the calibre of female singers in the band: The O'Pears (Jill Harris, Lydia Persaud, Meg Contini) and Carleigh Aikins. So we got indie (Hand In My Pocket - Alanis Morissette), pop (Never Ever - All Saints), ska-lite (Don't Speak - No Doubt), and ballad (It's All Coming Back To Me Now - Céline Dion).

It's always fun to hear the classics return like I'm Not Sick But I'm Not Well (Flagpole Sitta), My Hero (Foo Fighters), Just (Radiohead). But it's more fun to hear new songs in the repertoire. Tonight, we got such disparate numbers as Everything is Everything (Lauren Hill), Crash Into Me (Dave Matthews), and Blue (Eiffel 65). For the latter, Nick Rose sang it while dressed in a green zentai suit. As bandleader Tyler Kyte pointed out: only at a Dwayne Gretzky show will you hear these songs together.

There was no boy-band/girl-band choreography tonight but we did get Rodrigo doing his usual over-the-top performance of a cheesy song. This time it was Santana's Smooth. The encore wrapped up the night with the one-two punch of All My Life (K-Ci & Jojo) and Tubthumping (Chumbawamba). The first with its' sing-along heart-on-sleeve chorus (All my life/I've waited for someone like you) with all 6 singers harmonizing got the audience right in the feels. The second with its' defiant lyrics (I get knocked down but I get up again) seemed to be the pandemic anthem to get everyone jumping in a frenzy.

Movember Rain

Cover band Dwayne Gretzky has a 4 week residency at The Dakota Tavern this month. As part of Movember, both them and their fans have grown increasingly hirsute. I dropped by Wednesday day for some singing action.

Opener Danielle Duval was a tiny compact guitarist. Backed by her band, including Gretzky's bassist, she played a driving, power pop reminiscent of Katrina and The Waves on numbers like Ambulance and Imposter. Among the toes tapping for her music were those of TV anchor Peter Mansbridge.

But he didn't stay for Dwayne Gretzky's set, which started off a little shaggy. Even perenially favourite Let Me Roll It devolved into a discordant set of solos. But the early missteps gave way to crowd sing-alongs including Psycho Killer, Blinded By The Light, and Under Pressure. Allie Hughes is taking more lead turns. Along with her usual take on Be My Baby, she cooed her way through The Cardigans' Love Fool and let loose her big pipes on Pat Benatar's Heartbreaker.

CanCon

Friday night, I was at the last show of the Dwayne Gretzky residency at the Horseshoe. Even though it was only 9:30, there was already a line-up outside. This prompted some complaints including a few about "suburbanites". True, inside the packed venue, there was a range of grooming and dress styles. It was subtly different than the crowd for their shows at The Dakota. But you only start to sell out venues like The Horseshoe or Danforth Music Hall once you have a bigger "average Joe" fanbase.

Appropriately, Harlan Pepper opened tonight. I first saw them as the unofficial house band backing Toronto musicians doing covers of "Winnipeg songwriters". On their own songs, they cycled between twangy country numbers such as Chug Along and rock with a bit of soul like Bang Bang Boom. They had some good tunes so their set felt surprisingly short. People definitely wanted to hear more.

For their final themed set, Gretzky was doing Canadiana. With these sets, it could feel a bit cliche. So there was a bit of the Classic Rock radio vibe because although there were some new numbers including a New Pornographers song, it was mostly familiar songs including Courage (Tragically Hip), Help Me (Joni Mitchell), and One Week (Bare-naked Ladies). But with oddball Bud The Spud (Stompin Tom), an intense Danko Jones covering Doesn't Really Matter (Platinum Blonde), and a note-perfect Tom Sawyer (Rush) after Nick Rose quipped: "Are you ready for this?", you just have to surrender to the moment.

For the second set, they continued to sneak in more Canadian content including You Oughta Know (Alanis Morissette) and Lost Together (Blue Rodeo). But there were plenty of other popular tunes. At 1:45 am, the crowd was still up for an encore. With 15 minutes to closing time, Dwayne Gretzky finished off with I Want You Back, Under Pressure, and Blinded By The Light. After that, it was time to make my way past the bleary drunks and head on home.

Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad

After listening to dating stories, I headed over to The Dakota for some live music. Most bars are normally quiet on a Monday night. But with supergroup cover band Dwayne Gretzky doing a last-minute gig here, the joint was hopping. Given that I will likely miss their New Year Eve show at the Danforth Music Hall, I was hoping for some new tunes that have been added to their extensive repertoire.

So it was great to hear several popular hits making it into the set-list tonight including You're So Vain (Carly Simon), Everybody Wants to Rule The World (Tears For Fears), Africa (Toto), and Let's Dance (David Bowie). Of course, there were also perennial favourites like Barracuda or Whole Lotta Love. Since Dwayne Gretzky doesn't play note-for-note, it was interesting to compare the solo styles of the guitarists. One favoured fast fingers and the other lots of tremolo and string bending. A Gretzky show usually runs until the wee hours. But although there were 3 sets scheduled, I headed home after 2 to get some rest for work tomorrow.

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.

All Good Things

Tuesday night was the last show for Dwayne Gretzky after a 3-month residency at The Dakota Tavern. As usual, a local band opened up for them. This time around it was Hands & Teeth, a 5-member indie pop band. They specialize in 4-part harmony songs. As an nod to cover night, half of their set were Beatles cover including a long version of I Want You/She's So Heavy. They have a good sound and catchy tunes.

For the last show, Dwayne Gretzky played all the "Greatest Hits" including Be My Baby and My Best Friend's Girl. Yet even at the tail end, they still include newer songs in the set such as Thunder Road and even a brand new tune: Just A Girl (No Doubt). There were plenty of guests including the all-girl country band Ladies of The Canyon doing Dreams (Fleetwood Mac). Lots of crowd participation including an exhortation to go wild on the last song of the set.

Unfortunately, I had to leave once again after the 1st set at 12:45 am. But the twitter-verse tells me that apparently they kept at it until 3:30 am.

Rockabilly

It's end of month again, so time to check in with Dwayne Gretzky for another Tuesday night of fun covers. The opening act tonight was a country singer named Maia Davies (Ladies of the Canyon). Her bar band played a countrified rock that fits in with the rockabilly roots of the Dakota Tavern. But the young crowd who were there to sing "greatest hits" songs were only polite toward her twangy confessionals. However, her last 3 numbers Crime, Country Stars, and Slavery did pack enough sonic and lyrical punch to get more enthusiastic cheering.

Dwayne Gretzky was even bigger than usual. In addition to the regulars, they were joined by Robin Hatch (Sheezer), Allie Hughes, and Dan Kanter (Justin Bieber's guitarist). A saxophonist jumped up on stage for a song. With Robin on piano, the regular pianist decided to pull out his accordion instead. Dan was ecstatic on his guitar (there's probably not much "rock" in Bieber's oeuvre), ripping out solos after solo culminating in an extended jam of Neil Young's Southern Man that was even longer than a previous effort in July.

With the first set ending on such a high note, I debated whether or not to stay for the second set. But it was already 12:30 am and us old geezers have to go to work the next day. 

Cover Me

The last Young Lions Music Club show I attended was a sparse affair at the El Mocambo. This time round they got a hit at the Horseshoe Tavern. The venue was packed to the rafters with Saturday night revellers for cover band Dwayne Gretzky.

First up was opening band Rouge. Benefitting from a later start, they got an appreciable crowd bopping to their synth-pop. With presence in the gay community, there was a strong contingent of lesbians at the front. The all-girl trio also did covers tonight but have switched from Britney Spears songs also done pop style to rock songs with one of the keyboardist moving to bass and adding a guest guitarist. But their own songs were much more fun to dance to.

When Dwayne Gretzky took to the stage at 11:20, there were still lots of girls at the front, though these were now swooning over the hunky male singers. But there were also hipsters, bros, MILFs in tight dresses and heels, and middle-agers. The band was 10 strong tonight, with Allie Hughes and Robin Hatch on back-up vocals and keyboard. From the opening numbers "Let Me Roll It" and "The Boys Are Back In Town", the band was energized for the entire two sets. The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, and even some Can-con, it was a parade of hits. As usual for their concert, the cheesiness of cover tunes was missing due to the high energy, talent, and enjoyment exhibited by everyone on stage.

The sound at the Horseshoe was exceptional and the songs left everyone, on stage and off, drenched in sweat and in search of some liquid refreshments. A great night for some dancing to ward off that January freeze.

Bigger Than Jebus

On Friday, I went to the 1st show of cover band Dwayne Gretzky's February residency at The Horseshoe. It's a bit incredible that they are now more popular than many "original" bands: witness their sold-out NYE show at the 2,000+ Danforth Music Hall. Unsurprisingly, there was already a line-up when I arrived at 9:30 and the bar was at capacity by 10 pm.

So Sam Cash and the Romantic Dogs experienced a rarity for most openers: playing to a full house. Though they played straight up rock, Cash sang like a young Bob Dylan. The first couple of songs sounded generic and didn't get much reaction. But the second half of their set had more interesting numbers (Steal My Car, That Was The Summer) that finally got some positive responses.

Tonight must be "Hits" night because Dwayne Gretzky packed both sets with crowd-pleasers: Psycho Killer, Under Pressure, I Want You Back. They have started to add more 80s numbers including Let's Dance and Sledgehammer. The crowd ate up all the tunes and even managed to dance despite the sardine atmosphere. For the music cognoscenti/hipsters, there was a 4 song Paul Simon mini-set including Boy In The Bucket and Graceland in the 1st set, and a couple of The Band tunes to open and close out the 2nd set.