Mixer

First up at Nu Music Nite at the Horseshoe on Tuesday was Alx, a new band that was playing their 2nd show. But it was Allie Hughes, recruiting members of Moon King and Rouge, to do her songs. With keyboards, backing track, and a metronomic drummer, she has remixed these songs into dance/pop tunes. Despite the new look and sound, Allie couldn't resist incorporating some of her over-the-top antics from before such as rolling around on stage, or that slightly manic smile.

Next was Hello Beautiful, a band from Whitby. Similar to Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock, they combine rap with pop and punk rock. Most of their songs were up-tempo with catchy melodies and refrains, much to the delight of their fans. With strobe lights, guitar poses on the monitors, and jumping into the crowd for sing-a-longs they had a strong and practiced stage presence.

Jumple looked like Eastern European dudes who had just discovered 60s Brit rock or at least Austin Powers. Dressed in striped pants and groovy caps, sporting mustaches, and carrying accordions and violins, they promised fun music. But after the first song, about getting night munchies and eating fried chicken, the jokey nature of their music was clear. Things didn't improve much from that, but their fans did bop enthusiastically to the frequent exhortations of "Are you ready to jumple?"

ALX	Hello Beautiful

Zoom Zoom

Saturday afternoon, I went down to the Toronto Convention Centre for the autoshow. Taking over both the North and South Halls, it spanned several levels. The luxury showroom was the smallest but it showcased the most expensive models. From limited edition Aston Martin, to showy Lamborghini and Ferrari, and rarefied Bugatti, everyone was snapping away. In the two large showrooms devoted to regular cars, visitors treated them as giant multi-dealer lots: checking out the models and getting quotes. Other activities include signing up for every contest at every booth and receiving freebies. The gifts comprised mostly of branded tote-bags. I did get a bag of President's Choice Decadent chocolate chip cookies by filling out a short questionnaire. Although some manufacturers also showed electric or hybrid models, there was a separate area devoted to these cars. It became a drudgery after a while; I don't know how the salespeople and spokespersons do it.

I stayed longer than expected and didn't get to Grand Electric until after 7 pm. This was a mistake since the wait was 2.5 hours at this hot new restaurant. Heading over to Woodlot didn't help as the wait there was 40 minutes to an hour. That didn't apply if you knew the owner; the couple before me got a table without reservation on a busy night. Eating at Utopia was a poor final option as the quality has diminished considerably. An overly acidic dip followed by bland burger and sad fries. On second thought, Utopia probably hasn't lost their game. But every new bistro out there has upped theirs revealing the food here to be mediocre.

Plate of Beans

Mjolk is a store in the Junction specializing in clean, minimalist furniture and accessories from Sweden and elsewhere. To highlight their stock of Japanese ceramic dinnerware from Japanese ceramicist Masanobu Ando, they are having an exhibition of his work. On Thursday night, they had a reception welcoming him to Toronto.

At first glance, his pieces share the same minimalist, modern aesthetic: clean lines and smooth white textures. But then it becomes clear than all his pieces are lop-sided or uneven. Talking through a translator, Masanobu explains that he was mostly self-taught, although he did have training in sculpture and studied pottery. He is inspired by the European sensibility but wanted to also harken back to the simple ceramic pieces of rural Japan. By sometimes eschewing tools such as the pottery wheel, he was rejecting the perfectionism of machinery. "The plate feels different each time you hold it, making it always a novel experience. This is something you can't get with a uniform piece."

I can appreciate the approach, but they still looked too "amateurish", especially given the prices. I liked the pieces, such as a matching set of 4 small dishes, that evoked some symmetry. The wares such as the tiny soup spoons that were subtly different were more my style of "non-uniformity". One item that was genuinely surprising was a small pan that resembled a roughly-made cast iron pan. But it was also made out of ceramic and coated with metallic compounds. The result was a heavy-looking pan that was actually feather light to lift.

In addition to a charcuterie spread from Easton's, I also sampled glögg, a Swedish mulled wine made from red wine, orange, cinnamon, ginger, and other spices. Masanobu prepared a meticulous tea ceremony for the owners of Mjolk. Afterward, a number of guests also had a chance to participate in additional tea ceremonies in pairs.

Troubadours

This week's Wednesday Go Pop night at Supermarket in Kensington market featured a trio of solo singers. With only your voice and musical instrument, you have to work to engage an audience. First up was Alyssa Pridham, a singer and actress. Perhaps she was stressed from taking care of a 3-year-old while being 7 months pregnant as she confessed, but she was a bit rusty. She made several mistakes on the piano including a slightly audible expletive when she repeated a passage by mistake. Her songs had simple heartfelt lyrics that referenced light and sun metaphors, although sometimes there was an inclusion of an incongruous word (e.g., "over-analyzed") which was jarring. Her strongest numbers were Wisdom (co-written with Ron Sexsmith) and a song inspired by her Yoga background that used a mantra as its refrain.

It turns out Morgan Cameron Ross also collaborated with Ron Sexsmith when he opened his set with We've All Had Broken Hearts. Another strong romantic song is It's You written with Carleton Stone, which was mentioned and also performed by the latter a few weeks ago. I wonder if they will both record it. Melancholic confessional songs were his strength. When he went back in his repertoire, including songs from his old band Bird of Wales, they were more up-tempo and catchier but lacked originality. He ended his set getting two volunteers and the audience to sing along to Let It Go.

Ben Caplan had only 1 casual smoker with him: local bassist Michael Luongo. It didn't matter. He won over the stand-offish Toronto crowd with his funny stream-of-consciousness banter and songs such as Beautiful, Drift Apart, and a darker Que Sera Sera called Stranger. There is a Eastern European sensibility to his music due to the numerous ululating wordless refrains as well as his folkloric lyrics. Whether or not he's Jewish with interjections of "boychik" and "l'chaim", he debuted a new song that re-imagines Abraham proceeding with the slaughter of Isaac despite the intervention of the angel as a metaphor for the current state of the world. For his encore, to an off-handed request for a Disney song, he did his own take on Scar's Be Prepared and ended the night with his rocking Bang To Break The Drum.

Go Fish

The tiny fish market/take-out called Fish Store near Grace and College opened some 7 or 8 years ago. Before Subway, Pita a Go Go, Ghazale and others came, it was one of the first non-Chi-Chi food places in Little Italy. Unfortunately, it was also one of those places that you keep meaning to try but never do.

Almost a decade later, on a sunny holiday Monday morning, I decided it's time to try some fish from here. The inside was even tinier than I thought. There was room to display some filet for purchase, a cash register, a grill, and 2 small tables which can seat maybe 5 if everybody squeezed in. It so happened that they were already occupied by a group of teenagers (is this a thing for teens now? Eating healthy fish sandwiches.) So I got my Arctic Char sandwich to go ($9.80 with tax), sat on the bench outside, and had lunch. The fish was nicely grilled, and the leafy greens were fresh.

It wasn't exceptional food but this take-out has reasonable prices and a good selection. With more than 10 types of fish, you get more choices than most restaurants except sushi joints. Besides sandwiches, you can also get fish wraps, fish with brown rice and veggies ... you get the idea.

Unchained Melodies

At Concord and College, between Dovercourt and Ossington, can be found a Portuguese community centre in the basement of a nondescript building. As one migh imagine, it held appeal only for locals. Recently, it was converted into a pub/dance club called The Cave. But it still haven't caught the attention of most people. The owner has been trying to book trendier acts to boost its profile.

So it was with some bemusement that the few regulars on hand Saturday night watched as an invasion, albeit small, of bearded hipsters and their eclectically dressed ladies descended onto the venue to watch a trio of electronic synth acts. The below-street-level stuccoed door didn't inspire much confidence but the inside was bright and reasonably spacious. It was much cleaner than more venerable venues in this city. The caves of Lascaux and stalactites painted walls were pure cheese, but perhaps it can be appreciated ironically by the younger crowd.

First up was Miss Elizabeth, a just formed trio playing sustained synth chords over canned drum beats. The singer relied on wailing falsetto and reverb. Not much fun. Second was Triple Gangers,  an 80s inspired trio. With a more partisan crowd, they gave a livelier performance than their showing at the Drake with The Lovely Killbots. A fun standout this time was a belated but raunchy song about the Christmas season.

The main act was Light Fires, a collaboration between Obijou drummer James Bunton and Regina the gentle lady. She wasn't so gentle though, getting the crowd to dance to such songs as Let's Get Divorced. Regina is the alter-ego of Gentleman Reg, in a blond wig and tight outfit, channelling post Kabbalah "Hung Up" Madonna. But instead of 80s aerobics/dance with yoga moves, Regina replaced the tantric hip thrusts with the other 80s staple: enthusiastic karate gestures. Her experience allowed her to make full use of the tiny stage: wild arm swings, microphone stand flipping, even a bar chair got used. It was no doubt quite different than what happened here in the old days. The underpowered sound system prevented the music, especially the bass and dance beats, from getting truly primal.

Folk Music

Saturday afternoon, I went to the Delta Chelsea hotel on Gerrard to check out Winterfolk, a 3 day free music festival highlighting folk, blues, and root music. There were four venues within the hotel: the Monarch pub, the hotel cafeteria became the marketplace, a reception hall was the community room, and a listening room up on the 27th floor hosted the more intimate shows.

I was in the community room from 1 to 3 pm, listening to the best of Sarah's café, a pub on the Danforth that has an open mic Sunday afternoon. Each hour had 4 singers sitting together up on the small stage, showcasing their songs in round-robin fashion. The first group included Jo-Anne Park, Daniel McKenzie, Alan McKinley, and Mark Martyre. The second group had Caitlin Gallagher, Chris Scian, Frank Patrick, and Meghan Smith. Jo-Anne, Alan, Caitlin, and Meghan did mostly covers that were average, though the latter two also had some simple but original songs. Daniel, Mark, and Chris sang confessional songs mining the well-trodden ground of pop tropes, only occasionally having a novel or new lyric. Frank had the most well-received tunes, forgoing sad songs for up-tempo numbers. His experienced stage presence livened up his performance,  though his tendency to add comic sound effects got quickly tiresome. Caitlin generated the most buzz from the small crowd because her voice was remarkably strong and mature-sounding for an 11-year-old. She could benefit from some vocal training since it was a bit thin at the top end. It's encouraging that she is starting to shift from covers to original songs, since the novelty of precociousness won't last.

In her group, Caitlin sang only two songs because they ran out of time. Frank was apologetic since he was the last to perform. But the fault lies with the host. His inane chatter throughout the hour ate up the time she would have had. I looked over the acts in the other rooms but the impersonal and cavernous hotel experience felt disconnected from the spirit of a folk music festival. I left feeling vaguely dissatisfied, since I experienced nothing that was at all different from mainstream pop.

Heart Wide Open

I haven't been venturing out after work due to my low energy level from the persistent illness. But I wanted to make a special effort for a free yoga event Thursday night. The National Ballet was opening its practice studio at 470 Queens Quay West for a special class. There will be live music from a trio of National Ballet orchestra players. Perhaps some dancers might join as well.

Enough people were also interested that even though I went down an hour before the 7:15 pm start, thinking it was early enough, the line was already a hundred long. I got in but apparently some people were cut off when the 150 limit was reached. With so many, we were packed tight mat to mat. So it wasn't the spacious dance space that we all no doubt envisioned, but there was a special vibe when practicing with so many people.

Or rather with so many women. In that crowd of 150, there were less than 10 men. The class started with the instructor asking us to write down on a paper heart our thoughts on love: what is love, what do we love, who do we love? Keeping that intention in mind, she led us through an hour-long class concentrating on heart and chest opening postures. The trio of cello and violins played throughout the practice excerpts from Sleeping Beauty (the show starts in a few weeks) as well as other pieces including Greensleeves and Four Seasons.

After savasana, everyone got a chocolate heart on their mat. There were also light snacks and drinks afterwards in the reception area. Oddly, the practice left me feeling more alone instead of feeling more connected.

West-End Pide

I was walking one block west of the Ossington subway station when I noticed that there was a new restaurant called Pidza that also serves Turkish Pide. How exciting! Perhaps I don't have to venture to the East end.

While waiting for my Turkish sausage and egg pide ($8.99), I talked to the owner. It turns out there are 4 similar shops with the remaining two at Wilson and on the Danforth. This shop uses an oven with a conveyor belt, think Quizno toasting their subs, instead of the pizza oven of Pizza Pide. The dough seems to come out the same though.

The presentation isn't as nice. Everything is cut up and plopped down on styrofoam plates. There was also less topping on the pide making it less enjoyable. The vegetarian option looks to have more toppings, but in general not as mouthwatering as the competition. Unless the lahmacun is as good as the menu photo suggests, I'll still have to make my way to Gerrard and Pape to get my Middle Eastern pizza fix.

Year of the Dudgeon?

There is belief that a given year is better for some animal signs. I wonder if this is a bad year for me. I have been particularly clumsy, dropping this and that. Surprising since as I get older I notice more deliberation in my movement, no doubt practice for my doddering phase. Recently, I dodged two potentially nasty accidents. As I was cooking, a roll of paper towel fell next to a heated stove. I instinctively grabbed for it to avoid a fire, dropping my chef's knife, which landed two inches from my foot.

Over this past week, I've been unable to go out because of the slowest developing cold ever. Apparently my immune system is only strong enough to lose a rear-guard action. Each night, my body progressively worsens. First, a few dry cough. Then a slight chill down the back. The cough grows longer. A sniffle appears. By Superbowl night, I fully expect a full-blown fever.

One bright spot was dinner at Black Skirt on Thursday. I'm always pleasantly surprised by the good sized portion. I actually wanted to try Bestellen next door, but this meat/mead bistro hasn't opened yet. The mixed green ($5.95) went well with the speducci ($8.95), four generous skewers of salted and grilled lamb drizzled with olive oil. The main was a pan-seared tilapia with asparagus and olives ($20). A large filet, lightly cooked, topped with salty and slightly sour olives. Compared to other places which might give you two or three spears, there were maybe seven or eight here. This makes for a filling dinner but not a pleasant bathroom experience the next day.