Songbird

I was at The Burdock on Thursday for a rare appearance by Ivy Mairi. First up was her friend Devarrow. She later confided that she organized the show because the latter wanted to play in Toronto during his tour. In both his music and banter, there was an earnestness to Devarrow's performance, accompanied by guitar, box drum, and a falsetto hitch in his voice. Unfortunately, the loud bar chatter rendered his softer songs like The Great Escape and Modern Ark almost unintelligible. He did better with bluesy, upbeat numbers like Fix and Down The Road.

Mairi came on stage and in a mock-serious manner told the crowd to keep it down: referring to her growing intolerance of bar noises in her "old age", even said her new album was called No Talker (it's actually Non Believer). The crowd did pipe down. Into that silence, her sweet voice gave us wonderful folk songs like Thrush, There Is A Thing, and Sad Man. For the occasion, she brought a few friends as a backing band: Kieran Adams (Diana), Caitlin Woefle-Obrien (Blunt Chunks), and long-time collaborator Matthew Bailey. She has been dabbling in pop music too so we were treated to sweet groovy jams like Julia and All Around Me. I've heard her doing backup vocals plenty of time (until I heard her last year in Kith and Kin) but rarely as a head-liner. This talented singer-songwriter need to step into the spotlight more often. Once a year is much too long between shows.

Gypsy Child

There was a downpour Saturday night, but The Mod Club had a packed house from country singer Lindi Ortega. First up was another local, Sam Cash, but without his band The Romantic Dogs. Interesting that Cash noted that his song Talk To Me came about because he was trying to write a "Tom Petty" song. This was the vibe I got from his set. In fact, he wryly noted that an online commenter had criticized his simple rhyming schemes. With most of his life taken place in booze joints: plays in bars, goes to bars, works in bars, numbers like Remedy and Marquee came from those experiences.

Though Ortega has moved to Nashville, a homecoming show is always special to her. Tonight, her folks were beaming down from the side balcony. Meanwhile, the full crowd was a mix of suburbanites, city cowboys, and tattoed hipsters. With a 20-song set (including encore), Ortega covered most of the songs off her new album including Ashes and the titular Faded Gloryville along with plenty of old favourites like Heaven Don't Have No Vacancy and Cigarettes & Truckstops. As evident in their titles, her music has a melancholic feel, evoking that old country sound, and perfectly complemented by the wavery tremolo in her voice. But with the bag of guitar tricks of "Champagne" James Robertson, there were plenty of boot-stomping jams too (I Ain't The Girl, Run Amuck, The Day You Die). A full band was a nice addition compared to her more stripped down show at The Great Hall. But honestly, Ortega and Robertson provided all the talent you'd want.

I spent half of the set front-row centre and the second half a bit further back and to the side. The problem was that the sound system at this venue are made for thumping club music. So near the front, I was up-close to Ortega (and her signature red boots) but could barely hear her. It was still not a perfect mix away from the stage but her big vocals were more audible.

Ironed Island

On Friday, I headed over to Roncesvalles for lunch at La Cubana. When I had dinner here at this Cuban diner, I recouped my cost by finding a $50 bill on the sidewalk. It was unlikely I would be as lucky again, but I'm sure my luck will hold for a Cuban pressed sandwich ($9) and some donuts ($5).

The sandwich came out hot and gooey. But it's best to wait for it to cool down. This allows the flavour of the salty ham to come through. In my mind, what makes this dish are the little tangy bursts provided by the pickles. The donuts were a nice combination of sugar and fat. They were larger than the version offered back at the parent restaurant Deluxe in the old days. The bigger size wasn't an improvement as it made the centre too doughy. Overall, this was a tasty lunch for a crisp but bright afternoon.

Days of Future Past

There were lots of screening for the "Back To The Future" movie around town. But on Wednesday, I went to the one at The Royal (after a big dinner at Hapa). It was the only independent theatre that was allowed to because they had reserved 8 months before. So Universal couldn't back out of the deal and make it a Cineplex exclusive.

That same nerdy foresight was also evident with the event organizers. Apparently, they had created a Facebook event some 10 years before. I don't know how many in the capacity crowd was part of the original invite, but we were all here now to enjoy the first two movies. Everybody had a great time with the first film. During intermission, I debated about if I should skip the 2nd movie. But I decided to stay.

After all, we were all here on October 21, 2015 because that was the day Marty McFly travelled 30 years into the future from 1985. And now the future was here. Well, he only spent about 20 minutes in 2015. My memory didn't serve me wrong, the rest of the movie was a jumbled mess. It was fun to look at their predictions, outside of the flying cars. Even in 1985, no one would seriously suggest  there'd be flying cars in 30 years. That was just a fan-service to the throwaway line from the first movie: "Where we're going, we don't need roads." Interestingly, the rest of the futuristic stuff was just an exaggerated version of the original 1985 trends including the day-glo business clothes, punky "gang" outfit, and (the fear of) working for a Japanese boss.

Hapa Days

I was in Little Italy to see a special screening of Back To The Future at The Royal. So I took advantage of the cheap "Hapa Hour" at Hapa Izakaya to grab some dinner. It's not half-price anymore, but you do save a couple of dollars per dish. Looking over the menu, I selected Saba ($7), Agedashi ($4), Ika ($6), and Ishiyaki ($7).

There's a lot of interaction with the waitress. When she brought out the Saba dish, she completed  the process by doing a quick sear of the mackerel with a portable torch. The fish itself was reasonably tasty with an earthy flavour. Unlike other restaurants, the fried tofu of Agedeshi was coated with a spicy sauce. So there was a nice kick to the dish. The tofu had a nice crisp skin providing a nice contrast to the soft interior.

The Ishiyaki, a stone bowl filled with rice, came topped with a fried egg and other ingredients. But the waitress quickly mixed it all together, primarily so that the prawns would finish cooking. So I was warned not to eat right away. While waiting, I tried instead the grilled squid (Ika). The mayo that came with the dish didn't do much for me. But the squid was soft and chewy. Next time I'll ask for extra grill time because the end-pieces that got a bit more flame had a nice fragrant taste. Finally, it was time for the rice. I chose the Nasi Goreng version of the Ishiyaki so there was a definite Thai/Malay feel with its spiciness and slight hint of cilantro and other curry spices (and plenty of crispy shrimp). It was slightly too much food but I couldn't leave off all that deliciousness.

Equals Awesome

In North America, there's not much exposure to Japanese music except through the prism of J-Pop and Idol bands. But like any music scene, there are bands exploring genres outside the mainstream. So on Saturday, I was at Lee's Palace to see Tricot.

To cut to the case, this was the most accomplished band I've ever seen. These 4 women on guitars and bass with loaner Yamaguchi (Detroit7) on drums out-rocked everyone. Given the typical designation of of Tricot as math rock, I was expecting intricate techniques and shifting time signatures. There was plenty of that, but I was blown away by the fiery performance. This explains why they are the only band I've ever seen to do stretches and warm-ups before their set. It was an hour plus sweat-drenched work-out.

They weren't alone though. From the first song, the usually staid Toronto crowd went absolutely bonkers. Every song had enough propulsive passages to fuel delirious mosh pit ramming, arm-raising jumps, crowd-surfing, and spontaneous "hey, hey, hey" stadium chants. The ones in the back may have avoided the frenzy for their own safety but they had plenty of "yeah!" screams for the fancy guitarwork, trippy bass runs, and explosive drums. Singer Nakajima told the crowd: "Do you like dance? Do you like party? Fuck your body!" and they agreed. I've never experienced a show this wild.

There were only 2 minor downsides. One, the venue should have been full instead of 2/3 because Toronto missed out on an electric performance. Two, the merch table was cleaned out. People were standing in line for merchandise from the moment the doors opened. So many of us hoping to score an album or a t-shirt was out-of-luck.

Opener New Design with their tapped riffs had a proggy feel that was a good fit, but Hey Rocco's jokey grunge didn't find many converts.

What Lies Beneath

Saturday was the first truly nippy Fall day. So for lunch, I headed over to Runnymede and St. Clair to Pho Son. This Vietnamese restaurant serves your usual beef noodle soup (pho) and other typical dishes. But it was the "blood congee" (chao long) that I was interested in eating.

The $8 bowl came out looking both large and deceptively placid. But it was the content hidden in the soup that was the star. Although the idea of eating organ meat and blood sausage may deter the squeamish, these were delicious. And they didn't really have a strong flavour to turn off a picky eater. For example, there was no liver. The congee was warm and filling. Unlike Chinese congee, it was less gloopy. Though the portion seemed enormous, I didn't really feel overstuffed. In fact, I had room for a couple of fresh rolls ($4).

On The Road Again

Friday for lunch, I headed over to Sukho Thai at Dundas St and Dufferin. This is the western-most outpost of this food mini-empire. The room was large but felt cozy with dark wood and a copper ceiling. Too bad the giant TV sets ruined the ambiance.

I ordered some fried spring roll ($6) and the "Sukho Thai" pad thai ($13). The spring rolls were hot, crispy, and tasted great dipped in the slightly sweet sauce. The pad thai had quite a bite (I asked for the thai spicy option) and lacked the usual ketchup taste. But on the downside, it seemed a touch oily. It had good flavour but not particularly outstanding. It's strange that with the recent renaissance in Thai spots, we're getting yumy new choices like Khao Soi but no one can do a good job on a standard dish like pad thai.

The Thorn Bird

Wednesday night, I headed over to The Phoenix to see Quebeçoise singer Beatrice Martin (Coeur de Pirate). There was traffic diversion because of a bomb scare at Yonge and Bay so when I arrived opener Kandle was already several songs into her set. Unlike some "bad shows" she had done, there were already several hundred people there staking out a prime spot for Martin. So she was able to showcase her bluesy torch songs including So Bad, Control Me, and Not Up To Me. Her 3 piece band did a good job replicating the psychedelic feel of her debut album. Given the heavily francophone audience, too bad she didn't do her cover of Effeuille moi le coeur.

Martin has an emotional spot for Toronto (as she eluded to tonight as well as at her Massey Hall show) given that she mostly sings in French. But her set tonight contained quite a few English songs  (Carry On, The Way Back Home, Undone) from her latest album Roses. These were more pop and she also spent more time standing in front of a mic. Well, doing some flowy stream-of-consciousness dancing. They were warmly received but lyrically lacked the richness of her older material. It wasn't entirely due to the language change, even French songs like Crier tout bas were simpler. Her gamine, sweet voice couldn't quite carry the new material. So when she sat down at her piano for old favourites including Saint-Laurent, Place de la République, and Comme des enfants, the rapturous reception went up a notch.

She has some dedicated fans including one gentleman who flew from Paris. Incredulous, Martin told him that he must know she was playing there in 3 weeks. As for that Toronto fan support (the home opener between Leafs and Habs happening across town notwithstanding), Coeur de Pirate rewarded the crowd with her own wistful version of Drake's Hold On, We're Going Home.

In The Ghetto?

There are food biases that determine that some "ethnic" food have to be cheap while mainstream (some of which were "ethnic" a few decades back) can charge more. So after returning to Kabab House near Bloor and Dufferin on Monday, I'm conflicted about my lunch there.

On the one hand, halal meat probably costs more as an ingredient. Also, the beef curry I had was fragrant and tasty. And yet the dish was a small bowl accompanied by a huge pile of rice. There definitely wasn't enough entrée, and the presentation was a bit unappetizing. From a food/price ratio, you can get more bang for the buck at several other places along this block. So do I keep supporting this new restaurant or go back to those cheaper joints? It's a dilemma.

Al Thee Weed

I was in Ottawa for a wedding on Thursday. This was slightly unexpected since I thought my wedding-attending days were over for the next little while. This particular mah-wiage took place on the campus of a post-secondary school for two reasons: one, to take advantage of the gardens maintained by the botany department; two, to rent out the restaurant ran by the hospitality department.

Some may question having students in charge of the kitchen for an important event, but there there were perks. When the back-of-the-house came out for acknowledgements, it was clear you get access to a large kitchen fairly cheap, unlike your typical caterer. The waitstaff was also eager, but not as polished as they were working there for pay (even if they were also students) and not credit.

The 4-course meal itself was average. But then I've rarely had memorable food at weddings so it was par for the course. The presentation itself was "fine-dining". I suppose all those chefs-in-training wanted to show off their skill. It was all pretty to look at but most restaurants in Toronto have stepped away from this level of fussiness.