Wrong Frequency

On Thursday, I popped by a small gallery on Markham St. at Bloor. With the huge Honest Ed's department store being turned into a condo within the next few years, the developers have created a centre to tout their vision complete with miniature-scale setup. Since there will supposedly be initiatives to involve the neighbourhood including artists in the development, this pre-cursor space will also host artists and musicians. Tonight, it included a selection of 15 years of Wavelength (a weekly indie showcase) posters and concert photos.

I suspected the bare venue probably wouldn't have great sound. So when weird-pop outfit Animalia started their set, it was a bit of a disaster. Then you have middle-aged doyens, with drinks in hand, who pushed their way to the front, only to stand there chit-chatting (and occasionally exclaiming, "I like her voice!") The cherry on top was the second floor, which was open over the "stage", so that all that din came floating down. Singer Jill Krasnicki actually cursed out the upstair talkers.

I didn't think it was going to improve for the second band so I made my exit after the set. But I did take a quick look at the photos and posters. Most of the shots were banal close-ups. As for the posters, it was a bit depressing to realize that probably 99% of the bands started and ended in obscurity. Only Do Make Say Think and The Constantines achieved any success.