Mall Rats

Long Winter has been expanding from its home base at The Great Hall to other venues including the AGO. But it scored a social media coup when it was able to host a special show at The Galleria Mall. This sad mall sits at Dupont and Dufferin and has been neglected for years. But now developers have snapped it up for condo development. This "last call" status, combined with perhaps an (ironic or not) nostalgia for the suburban mall experience, made this one of the hottest event this Saturday.

Advanced tickets were long sold-out given the demand, though I did get one myself. So I wasn't surprise to see the non-ticket line snaking around the mall entrance when I arrived. How was the experience inside the first (and last) Long Winter Galleria evening? It was a little like Nuit Blanche, some highlights and a bunch of disappointments. The minor disappointments included the various art installations dotted throughout the space. They weren't compelling and too few in number. People had more fun playing the arcade video games, having instant portraits at the photo booth, and getting their fortune told at the electronic palm reader.

The main disappointment was the odd capacity limits being imposed by over-zealous security, which I've experienced at other, recent Long Winter shows. I've been in busier malls during Holiday periods, and at venues like Lee's Palace and Horseshoe where it was insanely packed. So I'm not sure why there were restrictions that left a space mostly empty.

The highlight was the stage set up in the food court. Even better, most of the bands that played (Teenanger, New Fries, VCR, S.H.I.T.) were loud and furious, which seemed a perfect antithesis to a "mall experience". And that sort of music didn't suffer too much from the terrible sound. I also enjoyed the "Shoppers Dance Mart" inside an empty storefront. I haven't danced to beat-heavy dance/techno in a long time. It would have been even better if the space was filled more than 40% (while a queue 50-people long waited in the mall corridor).

With my cheaper advanced ticket, it wasn't a bad Saturday night. But if I was waiting in that long line  outside to pay $20, I'd think it was a rip-off. The people who had the best evening was likely the couple who kept their food kiosk open, selling hot dogs, pop-corn, pop and other mall food. They've probably never been busier.