Better Late Than Never

I accept, but don't like, how music shows often start later than their set times. Only a few venues such as The Horseshoe Tavern keep on a strict schedule, at least for the early bands. But on Saturday, it was a blessing as I was late for a few shows.

In the late afternoon, I headed down to The Distillery district to catch some free music at the Toronto Jazz Festival. But I was bogged down at Castle Frank subway station. The bus was not only late but while pulling out of the station, it was blocked by some belligerent teens. They had run directly in front of the bus as it began to move. When the driver wouldn't open the door, one threw a soft drink at the windshield. So we had to wait until while the police was called to move them from the bus' path.

The Jessica Stuart Few was still doing soundcheck when I finally arrived. They went through songs from both albums (Kid Dream, Two Sides To Every Story), new tunes (I Like To Ride My Bicycle) as well as a fun cover of Rihanna's Only Girl (In The World). For the show, their music seemed to have a jazzier vibe on the solos and song selections. The only downer was that the stage was located just inside a beer patio. So a fair number of attendees who didn't want to pay for overpriced drinks watched the show peering over the wooden fence barriers. Corporate sponsors are a mixed blessing.

After dinner, I was also running late for Rouge's show at Superkitty for Pride Week. But they haven't gone on yet and Sina Skyn opened the show. Her dance music fitted in with the vibe but watching someone singing mostly to backing tracks wasn't too interesting. The dance-pop music of Rouge was a good fit for the night, which would end with Carmen Electra on stage. Inspired by Robyn and The Eurythmics (they covered Love Is A Stranger), but "not the Dragonnettes" as they reminded the MC, they got the crowd dancing to singles (Modern Lovers I, Destruction) from their debut 7" and plenty of new songs such as Get It Right and We Don't Need To Talk Loud. For their biggest stage yet, they were in full skimpy outfit with lots of glitter. Joining them on stage for the fun was Geordie Gordon (The Magic) on guitar and even some dancers, with even skimpier outfits.