It's The Real Thing

Toronto doesn't have its own baked pastry but there are a few Montreal-style bagel shops in the city. Then I heard about "Turkish bagel" (simit) and wow, there's a café at King and Niagara offering this interesting treat called Simit and Chai.

Early Sunday afternoon, I dropped by. It was a bright place, in the hipster mold, with a trendy clientele. The café offered numerous Middle Eastern bite-site fares especially sweet dessert (other than baklava). I got the traditional offering of simit, pastirma, asiago cheese, and tomato ($11.50). What came out was a large, hollowing bagel liberally coated with sesame seed. It was a wonderful combination of flaviour between the cheese, tomato, and slight saltiness from the cured beef. The simit itself was toothsome and fragrant. I quite enjoyed this "street eat" though there was a bit of sticker shock since the simit itself was only $2/each if you bought a dozen.

Dance Dance Evolution

3 bands played at Massey Hall Friday night, and each in their own way didn't quite fit with the vibe of this venerable hall. First up was siblings Too Attached. Their low-key synth-pop couldn't quite get the early crowd to respond. There were some cheers for singer's Vivek Shraya coming out as transgender. Next up was noisy indie band Torres. The problem is that I've found that Massey Hall's acoustics (though famed) sound muddy when there are lots of guitar and effects. In this case, Mackenzie Scott's introspective lyrics got buried in the mix.

Tegan and Sara's set was generally fun and infectious in the dance-pop vein. But most people remained seated as per the usual Massey Hall crowd. The new songs off their latest album were undoubtedly pop, but the sisters had also converted most of their back catalogue to be more dance and synth. It was a bit hit-and-miss, some worked while others sounded dull and inane. Their older fans cheered loudly when the sisters brought out a guitar for a 3-song acoustic break. The newer numbers did allow them to finally get the butts off the seats with Closer, Boyfriend, and Stop Desire.

Pokey Man

I was wandering around Friday night before a concert looking for a place to eat. But all the restaurants along Dundas St. between University and Bay had long line-up. I suddenly remembered that there was a recent restaurant craze for the Hawaiian's dish of poke. And there was one just off the strip on Elizabeth St.

As it was hidden near the end of the small street, Poke Guys had mostly a crowd of students. I ordered a Sooo Fresh Bowl ($10.50). It certainly looked appetizing with its pile of seaweed salad, grape tomatoes, watermelon radish, pineapple, corn, and raw ahi tuna cubes. In fact, it was quite tasty. The rice had been prepared in the sushi-style: slightly sticky and with a hint of vinegar. Along with the seaweed, sesame seeds, and fish, it was like a deconstructed maki. But the addition of the other ingredients refreshed your palate. This poke idea is a great culinary tradition.

Dirty Women

Friday night, I was at the first of two sold-out shows by cover band Vag Halen. This all-female, queer-positive band usually does "cock rock" to reclaim the space for women. But these shows will be tributes to the women artists in rock.

A very young punk band called Hex opened the show. The female power trio, graduates of the Girls Rock Camp program, liked to mix things up with tempo and volume changes. Their original material was a bit rough compared to the classics they covered: Le Tigre's Deceptacon and Pattie Smith's Gloria. But the covers showed they had some chops.

Vag Halen came out groovy with White Rabbit but proceeded to destroy the crowd with numbers like Edge of 17, Happy House, New Radio, and Rock Star. The evening ended with a raging call for women empowerment with Yoko Ono's Women Power. Though it was loud and raucous for the bulk of their set, bassist Katie Richie entranced the crowd with the quiet Song for the Siren. But most of the night belonged to singer Vanessa Dunn. She put all male rockers to shame with her high-energy presence, all the while being 8-months pregnant, and letting it all hang out with a metal t-shirt rolled up above her swollen belly, and rocking black undies and pantyhose.

Sweet Harmonies

I was at The Dakota Thursday night for dual headliners Sweet Alibi and Jadea Kelly. Since Toronto was Kelly's home turf, though she moved to Texas about a year ago, Sweet Alibi took the stage first tonight. This trio from Winnipeg and their band had a country twang. But depending on who was on lead vocals, the style of music may be more pop, blues, or country. Their 3-part harmony was the one constant throughout.

Jadea Kelly also had a bit of country in all her songs. But she leaned more toward slow-burning heart-breakers. Let's hope some of those exes were merely imaginary otherwise she doesn't seem to have had much luck romantically. With so many musician friends in the crowd for both bands, a slew of guests came on stage. Sweet Alibi and Jadea Kelly joined each other during their respective sets; Kelly recruited Sarah Burton (who has also left the Toronto music scene for the U.S.) and Lydia Persaud (The O'Pears) to sing back-up; and a parade of singers made appearances including Rose McClellan, Kelly Prescott, Sarah Martin, and Peter Katz.

Full Moon

After seeing Raven Shields at the Mod Club, I headed down the street to the Monarch Tavern to see L Con's album release show. It was appropriate that a full moon hung overhead as Moon Milk is all about Lisa Conway's spacey sounds and ideas take on Italy Calvino's Cosmicomics. Supporting her was James Irwin, who brought a Bruce Springsteen's vibe to his set and Isla Craig, who combined sexy slow jams and folkie introspection. A full band support for Conway tonight made her cosmic musings come alive. Especially welcome was a second guitarist and a saxophonist to handle the solos and odd background effects.

Olio

It was a strange collection of bands at the Mod Club on Saturday. I'm guessing this had to do with the booker. Featurette was a 2-person crew doing 4-on-the-floor dance music. They tried to change things up with eclectic drum patterns and odd lyrics. Unfortunately, the backing tracks were too loud resulting in a set that wasn't subtle. Raven Shields, slender in a wide-collar suit, brought some intriguing androgyny to her mix of country/Americana set. But it was her bluesy Badlands that packed the most punch. Though headliner Paper Lions is known for their high-energy show, I couldn't stay.

South of the Border

I was in Ottawa for the week and decided to get some Mexican at a taqueria called Kukulkan. The interior interesting with figures painted into the tables, decorations on the walls, and even a tiled roof over the kitchen area.

I opted for the guacamole appetizer ($10.50), cactus salad ($11), and two tacos ($4/each). Each dish had both good and bad points. The guac was fresh and tasty but the accompanying corn chips were too hard. The salad was a little too acidic. The tacos and its ingredients were fresh and quite nice. But the portion was on the small side, surprising given how large the other two plates were. Given the area, pricy gourmet tacos may be a hard sell.

Main Dance

Monday night, I was at the Danforth Music Hall to see all-female rock band Warpaint from NY. Knowing that their latest had more pop feel, I positioned myself on the side where I can get more floor space to dance. I enjoyed this performance more than the last time they were in this venue. The shorter, dancier new numbers were a welcome addition to their set. These provided a welcome change of mood that allowed me to enjoy their old numbers better as they tend to run 7-8 minutes of zoned out effects.

Sunday Brunch

I found myself at The Horseshoe on a rare Sunday night show. I missed opener Rivergazer but was in time to catch Japanese Breakfast. Michelle Zauner immediately launched into their big hit Everybody Wants To Love You. None of her other songs were quite as poppy but her fans hung on her words. Headliner Porches played synth pop that carried a 80s sad-sack pop feel. They got my feet moving a bit but they weren't quite engaging enough for me to stay with the work week coming.