Repeat To End

It's probably been more than 10 years since I've been to Coda at Bloor and Bathurst. Back then, it was your run-of-the-mill bar venue. Recently, it has re-invented itself as a club catering to dance music and live DJs. I went there on Thursday for a free show sponsored by Absolut Vodka.

Inside, it was sleek and black. For tonight, everything was vodka-related, even the bottle service. Numerous Absolut hostesses tried to engage you with various corporate-sponsored "art". All the exhibits had to include their bottles in some way. The music was DJed (Ferenc Stenton, Jacques Greene) but there weren't actually too many dancers on the dance floor. Most were schmoozing and talking.

At around 11:30, synth-pop singer Allie X came on. Dressed in a pink-white tulle-esque concoction, she ran through the same set as her other performances. A small but vocal crowd sang along with every song. Unlike the rest of the tonight's crowd, they were more queer, diverse, and less shinily dressed. And just like her other shows, she once again ran into technical difficulties. This time, her wireless mic stopped working just before her last song Sanctuary. A quick switch to the venue's mic and off she went. The consummate professional, I'm not sure anybody noticed that with the mic change, Allie had to sing without feedback from her in-ear monitor.