Everybody Wants Free II

The week-end of free stuff continued. On Sunday, I headed over to Hey Meatballs! on College for, no surprise, some spaghetti and meatballs. They were having some kitchen issues resulting in a longer than normal wait for me. So they gave me some extra meatballs. Given the standard serving which is already enormous, this was a lot of meat. All very delicious, but it was a vegetarian dinner that night to balance things out.

Then it was off to the 660th Hart House concert on the University of Toronto campus. Recent Eckhart-Gramatte winner, Everett Hopfner, was playing some modern piano compositions. Oddly, the intimating sounding Hallucinations (Randolph Peters) was reasonably melodious with only slight descents into cacophony. Kotoka Suzuki's Hidden Voice, which supposedly contained quotations from classical pieces, was noisier. As an classical music amateur, I didn't recognize the shout-outs. It was easier with Douglas Finch's Preludes and Afterthoughts, in which he rearranged and reworked Chopin's well-known Preludes. The least modified passages were the most pleasing in retaining their charm.

I left after intermission for the final Pedestrian Sunday in Kensington Market. Some observations. One, Heavy Metal wankery only appeals to aging metal-heads, not anyone younger than 30. If two makes a trend, then Asian dudes on didgeridoo accompanied by Latin polyrhythm is a trend. Finally, Heavyweight Brass Band can really get the toes tapping. But $20 for a CD? Come on. Not even established acts charge that much, and indie bands usually price it around $10.

Everybody Wants Free

It turns out Friday was a day of getting free stuff, good and bad. Local yoga studio Octopus Garden celebrated their anniversary by hosting all free classes. So I was able to get my om on for the low price of $0. In the evening, as I was heading out to a concert, I was accosted by a middle-aged couple with a sob story about the woman going into "sugar-shock". I have seen and heard their scam before and wasn't swayed. Unfortunately further up the road, two separate couples were fleeced. One actually pulled out his wallet (so we were talking "real" money not just coins.) What some people will do for some free cash.

But on to more pleasant news. Local rock band The Balconies was hosting an invite-only party to preview their new album. I was able to score some free tickets via a promotional website. The Moniker Gallery sat just off Richmond and Queen. The acoustics weren't great, but the rented sound system was adequate. The corporate sponsors were providing free beer, though you were encouraged to tip the bartenders.

First up was Taylor Knox, an indie-pop band headed by the eponymous Knox. This trio played a bouncy groove with some gritty guitars on songs like Fire and Family Colours. With long, straggly hair and a laconic voice, the singer reminded me of Christopher Owens (Girls).

Just after 10 pm, The Balconies bounded up on stage primarily dressed in black. Over the 10 songs set, they would play high-energy and loud music with lots of hooks and catchy refrains. Jacquie was her usual crazy self: whipping her hair around, and dancing all over the stage. With a second guitarist, she was free to gesticulate and point more often. Some of their songs were a bit overlong but the partisan crowd loved both new tunes (Boys and Girls, Good and Ugly) and re-worked favourites (300 Pages, The Slo, Kill Count). As an appropriate nod to her female progenitors, the first encore song was an excellent cover of Crazy On You (Heart).

Have A Heart

Thursday night at the Great Hall, country singer Lindi Ortega had her album release party. There was already a good crowd at 9 pm for opener North Cote. The hirsute singer had a gruff voice and sang songs that sat somewhere between new country and indie rock. He reminded me of Tom Cochrane in his delivery and material. Most songs mined personal experiences whether back in his hometown of Regina (Counting Down The Days), working in a casino in Victoria BC (A Thousand Nights) or the death of his grandfather (Wheels). I appreciated the quiet honesty but the arrangements were forgettable.

Lindi Ortega started her set with Tin Star, off her new album of the same name. A personal reflection on her struggle to break into the music business in Nashville ("No billboard hits//No sold out nights"). Perhaps it was her parents in the balcony, but she admitted to being a bit emotional at the end of the song. Her Parton-esque quaver served her well on old numbers which leaned country (Cigarettes and Truckstop). The new songs had country tunes, too (Waitin' On My Luck To Change) but some carried more of a rock sound (Voodoo Mama, I Want You). She ventured over to the piano for two ballads: Songs About and a cover of Desperado. James Robertson kept the set lively with his wide range of lead guitar techniques from slide guitar, rockabilly picking, growling rock, or atmospheric pedal effects.

Future Tense

I don't usually go to Kool Haus, the cavernous club down by the lake, as the shows tend to cater to thousands and the sound system more suited to club beats. But I ventured down on Saturday to see Janelle Monae on her Electric Lady tour.

I was pleasantly surprised by the mix for opener Kae Sun. Every instrument sounded clear and pristine for his set. A Ghanaian-Canadian singer, his catchy songs wandered between reggae and pop. Though there were a few R'n'B love songs, his music concerned itself primarily with social issues (Lion on a Leash, Black Star Rising). His closing Weh Weh, a joyous "pidgin English" protest song was both danceable and thoughtful.

Unfortunately, for Janelle Monae's set, the volume was cranked up, turning the music into a heavy bludgeon without much subtlety. Monae's soaring vocals became painful screeches. I thought that it was my proximity to the stage but looking around, I saw lots of enthusiastic acknowledgement for her songs but not much joyful dancing (even for popular Tight Rope). The music retained its power, but did not groove. What a waste of her eclectic and funky oeuvre.

However, Janelle Monae was an assured performer. She carried the black and white stage colours into her wardrobe from Polo-esque pants and shirt, to striped leather jackets, and even a Varsity-style bomber with a large M on the front. Monae danced, strutted, jived, did several call-and-responses, got the audience to kneel down, and even crowd-surfed from the stage to the back of the packed venue. The only time she was still was in the beginning when she, wrapped tight in a strait-jacket, was wheeled on stage by egg-head scientists/handlers. A dangerous creation? No doubt.

Who Fed Mr. Hong?

That would be Miao Yin and her dragon blood. But not being an undead sorcerer, I had to find something more corporeal for Saturday lunch. So I dropped into Maggie's near College and Bathurst. This all-day breakfast diner has been around for close to a decade. But like the similar Mars Food and Aunties and Uncles on the same stretch, it's easy to pass it by.

It was warm and cozy inside the snug resto, with muted blue walls and a few local art pieces for sale, as rain started to come down. I got a poached eggs combination platter ($7.99). It was a large serving with some nice touches: an assortment of fresh fruit, and 4 large pieces of fragrant Eastern Europe sausages instead of the typical smaller breakfast sausages. The garlic fries disappointed with its wilted softness, especially compared to recent openings that served golden, crunchy fries. Overall though, it was a filling plate with good flavour; cheaper than trendy diners, tastier than hole-in-the-walls.

Ready, Steady, Go

With gentrification, The Queen Of Sheba on Bloor has been replaced by The Steady, a cafe/bar that also offers a compact menu of eats. Unusually, it has both carnivore friendly and vegan dishes. I dropped by on Friday to check out the new space.

Other places aim for a trendy "cheap" look with carefully chosen used benches or tables. The cheap look here does not play to trends: lumpy floors, a few arty hangings, indifferent paint colors. Along with Neko Case on the stereo, it was like visiting someone's first apartment.

The crab cakes ($8) came on a bed of baby spinach. They were good, not too greasy, but lacked a strong flavour. The dill infused dipping sauce was a nice tangy complement. The short ribs ($13) had a sad carrot slaw. It had no crunch, even the pecan nuts were soggy. Yet the ribs were delicious. The marinated meat fell off the bone, soft, and toothsome.

With cheap beer, DJ'd music, and homey dishes, this is a good hangout. It probably won't impress any first dates though, unless you're looking for the frugal bohemian type.

Bytowne Boogie

Ottawa is well-known for its dinner parties, not for going out. This is doubly true for holiday week-ends. But though I was in the nation's Capital for Thanksgiving, I decided to check out the live music scene Saturday night.

Arriving at Mavericks, I was surprised to see the black-clad, tattooed crowd on the sidewalk. I thought I was going to a dance party. It turns out they came from the upstairs venue of Cafe Def Cut; there was a metal show going on. The audience inside Mavericks was the more typical hipster/college crowd. Silkken Laumann was setting up. A side-project for members of The Acorn, they played four-on-the-floor thumping dance music (though they veered now and then to complex poly-rhythm) and even brought their own spinning lights. But their indie background came through in the guitar riffs and emotive vocals.

The headliners were Diana, a synth-pop trio from Toronto. Their songs were definitely slower and more atmospheric (Perpetual Surrender, New House). Though they did get some upraised arms for indie hit "Born Again". The mix buried slightly singer Carmen Elle's airy vocals but she was able to engage the crowd with some assured stage presence.

Polish Combatants Hall 2013

On Thursday, folk singer Basia Bulat finally debuted her third album Tall Tall Shadows at the 1st of a 3 night residency at this old-fashioned hall. A few years back, this was the first venue I attended after a long hiatus from live music (and Basia was one of the first new artists I discovered.) Inside, they had set up a mixture of cabaret-style and row seats. But there were insufficient chairs already set up so new arrivals simply grabbed another one from the pile. The resulting willy-nilly layout probably broke all fire codes: too close together, no clear exit aisle, etc.

Ironically, the opener Simone Schmidt was also at that "first" concert but with her old band One Hundred Dollars. Tonight, armed with her guitar, she played songs from her solo effort Fiver plus a tune or two from her new outfit The Highest Order. With good acoustics and a respectful, attentive crowd, her lyrics came through clearly. Not for the optimist, they were uniformingly depressing. From the grimy working-class Rage of Plastics to the sad Gone Alone, this was folk-country at its most down. She got a laugh with her last song, a murder ballad, when she prefaced it by saying that it was her job to bring everybody down so they can be lift up by Basia's voice.

She was right. Bulat's light, alto voice with its quaver lifted everyone's spirit. Paradoxical, since her new songs were also equally dark. Written after the loss of a close friend, most overtly referenced in Paris Or Asterdam ("Every time I feel myself unravelling, I can tell myself that you've been travelling, all this time"), each song dealt with dissolution and pain (It Can't Be You; Five, Four). I have heard most of these songs over the last year, but it was wonderful to finally hear them with a full band including Bobby Bulat on drums and Ben Whiteley (New Country Rehab) on bass.

Bulat has also evolved as a musician. Although she did play multiple folk instruments: piano, charango, strummed harp, hammered dulcimer, she has also added effects pedals for her guitar and sometimes vocals (Never Let Me Go) and even synth (Wires, Promise Not To Think About Love). Bulat even sang and bopped around sans instrument like a mainstream pop idol on a few numbers. She winkingly begged the audience's forgiveness for "going electric". Covering every song from the new release and a handful of old favourites, Bulat was elated at the well-deserved 2 standing ovations.

Drift Apart

Thursday night, I dropped by local bar Drift on my way home. This is a nice, casual place with a great selection of beer and dishes. Though I have been here several times, I don't know why I don't frequent this place more often since the prices are quite reasonable.

I skipped the booze because I was too hungry to imbibe and got a corn chowder soup ($6) and a Chipotle pulled chicken sandwich ($10). The soup was thick and hot, well-balanced between the sweet corn, salty bacon, and starchy potatoes. Add the generous sprinkling of chives and this was a filling start. The sandwich was gooey from the sauce. Essentially, they've taken a typical pulled "meat" entree, complete with sauce and coleslaw, and stuffed it inside a sandwich. The chicken was tender and the slaw gave a nice crunch. But the sauce was over-seasoned and too sweet. It overpowered the dish after a few bites.

Dance Softly

I went down to Fleck Theatre on Saturday to watch ProArteDanza. This contemporary dance troupe always put on a physical, kinetic show. This year, there was a melange of music that was reflected in the first piece. Since their 2nd dance was to the classical music (Beethoven's 9th - 3rd Movement) and their last dance is to industrial dance, it seemed appropriate that their 1st piece had both.

A Canadian premiere of Shifting Silence (2011 Mannheim), Tyler Gledhill stood in a rectangle of light clad in tight red pants. He would begin to manipulate and jerk his limbs, seemingly disconnected and disturbed by his body. The other dancers came in dressed in grey, and over the course of several vignettes, would either interact with each other and occasionally mirroring Gledhill's movements. Delphine Leroux was his counterpart in a red dress. Were they others or his different aspects of his own psyche? It was interesting that the men (Ben Landsberg, Ryan Lee) and female dancer Mami Hata used soft, supple, classic lines while the women (Leroux, Erin Poole, Anisa Tejpar) were often frenetic and angular. With each pas de deux with Gledhill, he finally arrived at a stillness within himself.

After intermission, it was the world premiere of Beethoven's 9th - 3rd Movement, this troupe's ongoing attempt to choreograph contemporary dance with classical, symphonic music not written for dance. The dancing was also more classical, though the interaction with wooden chairs was modern. They would sit down, only be tipped over by other dancers. Or else they leapt off the chairs or balanced precariously on them. At one point, each dancer was joined to one other by holding onto two chairs; this hybrid snake twisted and turned into complex shapes.

The final piece was a remount of a 2011 piece called Fractals. Just as the before, I was impressed by the military precision of the furious movement. There was a strong similarity to Emergence. This was a major crowd pleaser. As I looked over Ai Wei Wei's Bicycle Forever later in the evening for Nuit Blanche, the 4000 bicycles locked together reminded me of this piece. The human soul (or the modern version) finds repeating patterns to be enchanting and beautiful.

Two Down

After I bought some snacks in Chinatown on Saturday, I made my way through Kensington Market. I was accosted by a burly (and possible mentally ill) drunk who went on a bizarre and long saga about his supposed time with the Hell's Angels and their confrontation with the Hong Kong Triads. The upside was that afterwards I found myself passing by 7 Lives right at opening time. I walked past this tiny taco joint (SoCal and Tijuana style) several times in the summer and it was always busy with a line-up from the get-go. But there was no customer yet, so here's my chance.

I ordered a carnita taco ($4) and a blackened mahi mahi taco ($5). The counter had a selection of sauces but I found that even the hottest habanero only packed a mild punch. The pork taco was delicious, thick and tasty chunks balanced with a good selection of fresh avocado, onions, and tomatoes. The fish was also good, but its lightness could not compete with the bold flavours of the other ingredients including the corn tacos. These tacos, like all recent "gourmet" taco places, are about twice as expensive as your Mexican-run diners. The carnita was worth the money, though without my cheap Asian snacks, I would have been quite a bit lighter in the wallet to get a filling lunch.