5 Becomes 1

Sheezer

Friday night at Lee's Palace, there was a Halloween show hosted by Sheezer. Since they were competing on the same night with heavyweights like Death From Above 1979 and Dan Mangan, it was a smaller crowd than previous shows.

First up  was Donlands & Mortimer, an indie-rock band backed by a sax and trombone duo. The singing duty was split even between the drummer and the female guitar lead (Carmen Elle of Army Girls). They had a jazzy sound to their repertoire, sometimes sounding funky/Motown, sometimes avant-garde with discordant harmonies. I took to this band right away with their great tunes.

Donlands & Mortimer

This was my second encounter with The Elwins, a hipster-esque twee indie pop band. They certainly seem to enjoy performing on stage and engaging their fans. These fans were also cut from the same mold. I have nothing against hipsters - they're young, so go ahead and have fun. But I did snicker when the craggy bartender fixed his gimlet eyes on a fuzz-face lad inquiring for a PBR and spat out: "Never stocked 'em, never will!" Though they have clever hooks and lyrics, it's not coming together for me.

Sheezer came on stage dressed as the Spice Girls: Baby (Robin), Ginger (Laura), Scary (Alysha), Posh (Magali), and Sporty (Dana). They didn't chat much except to remark about some mic troubles early on. With 20 songs from Blue and Pinkerton, they had to split it up into 2 sets, which deflated the evening's energy somewhat. But the hard-core Weezer fans were unfazed and sang along to every song. As a casual Weezer listener, I felt some of tunes could be cut. Just gimme the good stuff! The first set ended with the upbeat The Good Life and the second set ended with the jammy Only In Dreams. They came back for an acoustic encore. Aside from the mic glitches (and a too quiet mix for the lead guitar) in the first few songs, it was probably the best sound mix I've heard recently (a testament to Lee's longevity) with all instruments and vocals shining through.

Too Much

Looking for a quick bite to eat Wednesday along St. Clair near Oakwood, I stumbled upon a restaurant with the odd name Much Me. They offered a selection of $4 beer and the tagline "And Much More at Much Me". I ordered a chicken sandwich ($8.99) and a salad as my side.

Before the sandwich came, the waiter brought a complementary bruschetta. It was crispy and was a good start. The arugula salad was the mildest arugula I've ever tasted. Is that a good thing? The chicken was nicely spiced though I wanted the melted goat cheese to have more bite. The caramelized onions, however, tasted like onion rings. Overall, a good enough meal for the price.

The name wasn't the only odd thing about this place, the decoration was quite the head-scratcher. It looked like somebody knew of Interior Design, but only in theory (in a different language). All the elements were strange, and none of them worked together. The pub seats and tables clashed with the booths. The sparse set-up made the restaurant looked only half-furnished. The room was divided into 2 areas by a partition mounted with rustic wooden squares. Sawed-off wooden bar seats were arrayed on the walls in rows like tombstones (or perhaps wooden dentures). A tabletop was turned into a wine rack and mounted (the only element that worked). Paintings had picture frames made from the sort of tiles you find in a kitchen back-splash. Most strangely, strips of laminated wood were glued randomly to various walls (and above the bar), sometimes making a crude picture like a ladder, or the outline of a house, but mostly at random angles and orientation.

Wasabi

Wasabi is a Japanese(ish) buffet house in Mississauga. Like most establishments in this suburban city, it is huge. There are 6-7 rooms with tables for 50-60 people per room. The main area contains the buffet with 2 live stations. One station has chefs preparing various sushi plates. Sushi is available in most Chinese buffet nowadays but there is more variety here. The second station makes yakitori (meat skewers) and other grilled dishes. The remaining buffet contains a mix of Asian and Canadian dishes such as noodles, onion rings, chicken fingers, and so on, all of which are deeply fried except for the salad and dessert bars.

It's typical buffet food though there is more Japanese food than at other Asian buffets. But all the sushi seem oddly sweet, and not just the mango and goat cheese maki. The grilled meat is reasonable tasty. The rest of the dishes are what you would expect for $16 at lunch-time, if you can ignore the feeling that you are clogging up your arteries with each mouthful. There is a fair variety of dessert include cheese cake, tiramisu, chocolate cake, and other baked goods.

Hurry Soft

Rustic decor

At this year's company Curling event, I did better than last year though everyone was still mostly a bunch of stumbling amateurs. For one thing, I didn't bruise up my knee blue and green slamming it into the ice. For another, I scored a couple of points to help our team to victory.

On my way home, I noticed that the strip plaza at 1310 Dundas St. E (Mississauga) had a tiny Korean restaurant named Soft Tofu. Upon entering, I found out it was actually called Song's Cook and was significantly bigger on the inside. The large space was divided into smaller rooms with wooden frames and room dividers. Fake support beams suggest a rustic tavern.

The clientele was exclusively Korean which was a good sign. There were numerous dishes that I've never seen at Korean restaurants as well as the typical Bi Bim Bap. But since they were mostly fried I opted for the healthier grilled spanish mackerel appetizer ($6) and a bowl of seafood soon tofu ($6) with a side of rice ($2). The mackerel was a 2 large pieces of fish nicely grilled. In fact, it and the rice dish (plus complementary kim chi) would have been sufficient. The tofu soup had generous amount of seafood for $6: 5 clams, 1 oysters, 1 large unshelled shrimp, and several pieces of squid and regular shrimp. The tofu itself was only average, but it was a filling main.

Spanish Mackerel

Seafood Tofu

This restaurant has lots of interesting dishes, most of which are reasonably priced. It would make a good lunch spot or a quick bite after work. There is another location in North York.

No Mo

I've heard a lot about mole sauce which uses cacao as one of the ingredients. I decided to order the Mole Al Verde at El Jacal. It turns out I didn't like this incarnation. The mole was slightly sweet, which was an interesting taste for an entree. But with so much of it slopped onto the dish, I could not taste very much the chicken or the cheese. Only the rice held its own. Perhaps there is a better version somewhere else in Toronto.

The service was rather poor tonight. It took 20 min. before my order of a Coke arrived. The mole took even longer but I'm more sympathetic that the kitchen service is out of the hands of the waitstaff.

Hall of Sound

Tanika Charles

This Friday, it was another edition of The Big Sound at The Great Hall (Queen and Dovercourt). The Big Sound is a 20-piece Motown band composed of musicians from all genres who get together every 2 months to play.

Like before, the night started slowly with a DJ spinning Motown hits. Eventually, by the time the band took to the stage just after midnight, the venue was full with everybody dancing and shimmying. A great cheer greeted the first singer and it never stopped. I didn't realize how much dancing was going on until Tanika Charles singing Heatwave (Martha and the Vandellas). I stopped for a breather and wondered why I was still moving? Because the entire floor was shaking and undulating from 400+ people dancing.

Maylee Todd

Every singer had two songs and I was disappointed not seeing Maylee Todd taking the lead until her duet on You're All I Need To Get By (Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell). The male singer's visibly pregnant wife came on stage and it became a personal serenade. You can feel the whole place exhaled an "awww".

Their short set, only 10 songs, caught people by surprised. For myself, I thought Maylee should do more than 1 song as she was clearly the most dynamic singer on stage. To chants of "one more song", the band conferred quickly (probably didn't expect an encore), and came back to loud cheers. I was happy to see Maylee take the mike, and boy, did she ever blow the roof off the place with her high-octane rendition of the Jackson 5's ABC.

Red Shoe Sunday

Dreamer in my Dreams

For lunch on Sunday I dropped by Sky Blue Sky, a sandwich shop in Koreatown. I first heard of them a few weeks back as a special caterer for Hooded Fang's CD release party. Their tosta mista (Portuguese ham and cheese) was good but it's time to check out their specialties.

Located on the 2nd floor near Markham and Bloor above Joons', a Korean restaurant, SBS is a cozy place that can seat perhaps 20 people. There were 3 booths and a few tables, all covered with a red checkered table cloth, identical to their sandwich paper wrap. A few steps down from the main area is a slightly sunken "living" room, complete with a faux fireplace, and a great view of Bloor St. through the giant floor-to-ceiling window. There's a bookshelf next to the stairs with a "take a book, leave a book" policy.

Mandarin Orange & Walnut Salad

Like their shop name, all the sandwiches are named after Wilco's songs. I ordered the Dreamer in my Dreams ($4.99) - roast beef, caramelized onions and cheddar cheese. From the specials on the chalkboard, I also got a Mandarin Orange and Walnut salad ($2.99). The orange and walnut made a nice combination along with the lightly spiced salad topping, but the lettuce was bland. They should use a more flavourful salad base. The sandwich was tasty, especially with the melted cheese and grilled bread.

It's a comfortable place to grab a cheap lunch. The only caveat is that service seems to be a bit leisurely. There was only a handful of people but my order still took 15 min. On the other hand, you can order ahead via email.

Yu Zoo

I have heard good things about venerable the Izakaya joint Ematei, tucked away north of Queen on tiny St. Patrick, from both written critics and word-of-mouth. On Friday, I finally decided to check it out. Apparently, a lot of people already knew about this gem as there was a 40-min wait for a spot.

So I made my way down to Yuzu on Adelaide. I didn't enjoy myself on my last visit. The food was a step-up from the usual all-you-can-eat-sushi, but I felt it wasn't a good deal for the price. On Friday night, it was completely full, which was a different that my previous experiences here. The vibe was a lot more lively, but the food ultimately disappointed again.

Everything was good, but there was always something slightly off about the dishes. The oysters was a bit too fishy; with one having gritty particles like sand. The duck gyoza was tasty, but sometimes bits of gristle and cartilage were left behind. The grilled black cod was the sole standout. Finally, the chef's plate had quite good sushi and maki, but the fish didn't quite have the flavourful and juiciness of stand-out sushi. Better than a Japanese buffet for sure, but for $84 I expected more.

Foot-Long

Before going to the Canada-Puerto Rico soccer game, I dropped by Island Foods, a place that I have passed by numerous times. This nondescript diner offers no-frills dining options: formica tables, plastic trays with a take-out counter. The roti was different than other places, having a slight sweetness. The chicken and potatoes interior was quite tasty, but not quite as stuffed as other places. The jerk chicken dinner had a good bite and had several pieces of lean chicken. But ironically,  jerk chicken is one dish where I do enjoy some crispy, oily skin. All in all, this is a good choice if you find yourself in the wasteland around King and Dufferin.

The BMO soccer stadium on the grounds of Exhibition Place was only half-full for this FIFA match-up between two (much) lesser soccer powers. But the people there were raucous: singing, chanting, waving flags. It was too bad that heavily favoured Canada had so few chances on goal despite dominating both halves. In fact, the best scoring chance was from Puerto Rico on a counter-attack. Unlike the ACC which is comprised of mostly Caucasians, well-off or middle-class, this wallet-friendly venue (except for the prices on the food and beer) had a sizeable visible minority cohort: blacks, south andians, hispanics, and asians abound.

It was a great fall night to be sitting outdoors as the rain came pouring down the rest of the week.

Random Walk

(C) ProArteDanza

Saturday night, I attended ProArteDanza's Season 2011 at the Fleck Theatre. Unlike other contemporary dance troupe, they use recognizably and extensively classical ballet but reconfigured for a contemporary setting. The first piece, Verwoben (german for weaving) has Marc Cardarelli, Mami Hata, and Brendan Wyatt dancing to Beethoven's Cello Sonata No. 3 in A-minor. In a series of interconnecting vignettes, the dancers move in intertwining patterns, and repeating small fragments. The last vignette is the most compelling, with the male dancers doing double-lifts of Ms. Hata. There is a playfulness where they danced solo, like little kids showing off to each other. This is Ms. Hata's Toronto debut since her relocation from Germany (Mannheim Ballet).

The second piece's more emotional content is better appealing to the Eastern European women in my area. En Parallèle has Tyler Gledhill and Marissa Parzei engaged in a torrid pas de deux. The ballet roots were most evident, with Parzei often up en pointe. Yet her sinuous poses reflected Tango or Flamenco influences. I enjoy the piece but the love/hate dynamics is cliche, as evidenced by every single dance on So You Think You Can Dance.

After the intermission, Pearline opens with a glowing white circle above the stage. Scrawled across its face, "The Moon". Down below, Hata and Louis Laberge-Côté are feeling extra playful. To the sounds of crickets and a hopping slide guitar, they dance and leap with abandon. Are they people or animals? Or animals pretending to be people or the reverse? What ever the case, there's plenty of leg rubbing, ear scratching, howling at the moon, and  humour in this fun piece.

The main piece is Fractals: a pattern of chaos choreographed by Guillaume Côté, principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada. All the dancers return in addition to Johanna Bergfelt, Valerie Calam, and Ryan Lee. Dressed in black, except for the male dancers' bare chests, they dance frenetically to fast industrial electronica drumming. They move in synchrony, break off, and regroup. Pairs of dancers will often invade each other's space with fast arm movements like Voguing on Speed. Their fingers and feet vibrate at high speed, resembling insect wings. It was a great piece, reminiscent of Pite's Emergence, but I could not discern the central conceit of the title. Fractals have a repeating pattern at every scale of resolution. I'm not sure how you would do it with people, but it has to be more than a group of dancers in lock-step.