Famous or Infamous

There's hints that Basia Bulat can play big venues. She's always sold out her shows in Toronto, although they were for smaller spots like The Mod Club or Polish Combatants Hall. Her debut at Massey Hall didn't quite fill the large venue, even with the specially reduced ticket price of $18.93. But with a second pop album out this year, bookers was likely betting that she could move to the 1500-capacity Danforth Music Hall.

A sold-out crowd was raucous for the home-town singer, who is currently residing in Montréal. For long-time fans, there was perhaps some disappointment because Bulat only played 2 songs from her older, folkier albums. She has fully embraced the pop sound from Tall Tall Shadows and Good Advice. I'd never thought I'd see raise-the-roof arms at a Bulat show. She is also developing a great pop persona amid a full band, sparkly outfit, and professional lighting. Luckily, it wasn't the awkward dancing of the past few shows. Someone commented that she sounded better live. It's true. The muddy mix of Good Advice doesn't do justice to the range and strength of her voice, her playing chops from piano to guitar to churango, and her charming stage presence.

Bonjay opened the night with a booty-shaking mix of grimey dance music and modern reggae. Though some people gave in to her exhortation to "move!", most didn't seem to know what to make of this force on stage even if they were blown away by her powerhouse vocals.

Ain't Nuthing But A G Thang

On a rainy Wednesday night, I fell asleep after dinner. I woke up groggy and realized I had already missed sets by Fiver and Jesi Jordan at newish venue Baby G. But I willed myself into a quick change to get there for the album release of my favourite indie sister group, Tasseomancy. They haven't made much noise in Toronto lately. I thought it was because one of them had moved to Montreal. It turns out it was further than that: sunny Los Angeles.

I was also taken aback by the size of the crowd. Who were all these people and where were they at previous shows? Looking at their baby (heh) faces, they were hipsters checking out a new venue in a gentrifying neighbourhood. By hipsters, I simply mean attractive, young folks who can stay out late on a week-night; the era of mustaches, beards, and manic pixie clothes has mostly moved on in Toronto. It doesn't really matter because tonight, Tasseomancy did strictly all new material from Do Easy. They still write literary, often elliptical verses, but the new sound has less of that folky, Old World (Eastern European) feel.

Cairo On

On Saturday, I went for an early (8:30 am) brunch at Egyptian spot Maha's. Partly because I'm an early riser, but mostly this busy diner has a reputation for long lines. In fact, by 9, the waiting list had stretched to 30 minutes.

The tiny space can seat 23, but only because tables were squeezed into every nook. You accepted the crowding, since it feels like being in the warm sun-room of a well-traveled and charming friend. This familial atmosphere wasn't far from reality as the main workers were the son, daughter, and matriarch of the Maha clan.

I opted for the Shakshuka ($12) and a side order of Foole ($6). The traditional Shakshuka is a concoction of poached eggs and tomatoes, Baha's version was the African style of scrambled eggs with sautéed tomatoes. In any case, it was soft, fragrant and made tasty mouthful with the pita-like balady bread. Possibly the best egg dish in the city. The foole, a soup made from fava beans, tomatoes, and onions, was equally filling and had wonderful subtle flavour. I came the following week-end for the date grilled cheese ($12) which was even better. This date-stuffed sandwich was closer to a sweet French toast than your typical grilled cheese. Every bite was a revelation.

Maha's deserve its loyal, and patient, customers. One caveat, on my second visit, I was treated to a snobby barista scenario. I had never encountered anything like it and had thought that "scolding coffee artiste" only existed in hipster parodies like Portlandia. So maybe stick to tea if your patience for arrogant servers is low.

Newton's Laws

On Friday, I was at the Fleck Dance Theatre to see dance troupe Pro Arte Danza. This year, I came away with mixed feelings as these offerings weren't as compelling as their interpretations of Beethoven's 9th. The first was a remount of Diversion. In dim illumination and fog, dancers appeared from the back, bodies struggling against each other. They would often be dragged back into the darkness. This push/pull where partners switched between cooperation and conflict played out throughout the piece in various groupings and even solos.

In contrast, Fearful Symmetries, named after the music by John Adams, was all frenetic movement. The main image were the dancers running in place, a Buster Keaton-esque modern rat race for millenials. Interestingly, there was incorporation of hip-hop movement; this group has previously hewed closer to the classical ballet side of contemporary dance. I found the music enervating and stressful, to the point where I considered leaving the theatre. So this was not my favourite piece from this company.

Morgan Le Meh

On Friday, my first choice for lunch had a 45 min wait, so I wandered around the Danforth and Greenwood area and settled on Morgans. This gastropub wasn't busy so the service was brisk. I opted for their classic burger ($10.99) with extra sautée onions ($1.50). The dish came with fries or salad. The ingredients was fresh and nicely presented. The burger was good, thick and juicy, certainly better than my last burger. The onions didn't add much. This was essentially spiffed up bar food. I'd probably consider this spot if I was in the area but it's not a destination place.

Help Me Rhonda

It was a sparse early crowd at Lee's Palace for Montreal band Foreign Diplomats. That was too bad because their modern take on 70s disco/glam rock had some catchy guitar and beats a bigger, more dance-friendly audience might have enjoyed. Throughout their set, I was feeling a bit Miike Snow.

More people heard the second band Curses though they weren't quite as compelling. To be fair, they were a young pop-punk band with a small repertoire of tunes. So their exhortations and hype to the crowd came off as either oblivious or obnoxious, depending on your temperament.

It was a respectable but not sold-out crowd for the album release of The Balconies. So I don't know if it paid off financially for them to put together a special 9-member band for tonight, but their fans had a great time. The Balconies had gone silent for a while after their second album. Their recent show at Yonge-Dundas show-casing music off the new album Rhonda didn't impress me. Tonight they also concentrated almost exclusively on the new music but it worked better this time round.

 There were several reasons: fans who already knew the lyrics to the new songs; a bigger, more robust sound system; and backup singers, synth, and a horn section added interesting layer and texture to their continuing move to a mainstream sound. Though The Balconies have sanded off their off-kilter indie edge, they can still write catchy hooks and refrains on numbers like Money, Money. Jacquie Neville was still a magnetic front-woman with her big voice and guitar chops. The Balconies ended their set with Guilty Pleasures, a worthy sing-along replacement for Do It In The Dark, with its invitation of "I don't want to keep you up all night but I've been drinking".

Sins of the Father

This year at Factory Theatre, they have boldly ventured away from the lily-white Toronto theatre scene with all plays written and mostly acted by persons of color. Some pearl clutching was involved: "Sure that's great but will they be good?" Despite the sea-lioning, the season still needed strong contenders, unfair though expectations may be. Acquiesce by David Yee made an excellent start.

His biracial character Sin seemed to own a pair of magical luggage (calling J.K. Rowling to the courtesy phone). They contained a sink for cleaning up, Buddhist incense for not-so-filial sons, and other odds and ends. He's in Hong Kong to see his cousin Kai (Richard Lee), and to wrap up, quite unwillingly, funeral arrangements for his dead, and estranged, father (John Ng).

As the play progressed, and what looked at first to be flashbacks and interstitials, such as those with his girlfriend Nine (Rosie Simon) become increasingly surreal: a talking Paddington bear, vanishing letters; with scenes and characters intruding and overlapping, there's a feeling that we are actually witnessing a man breaking down and experiencing hallucinations. Perhaps one of the characters, most likely Sin, is stuck in Bardo (the Buddhist's "purgatory").

Though Nine play a crucial role, it's a play mostly about men. But maybe that's the point: toxic masculinity has no winners, and a world without women voices can only have suffering.

Repent

Going to Hey Meatball! for Sunday brunch was a regular occurrence for me. But I noticed that compared to other spots in Little Italy, this diner didn't get much foot traffic. So I wasn't surprised when they finally closed up shop. This past Sunday, I dropped by to check out the new contender: Burgatory. Their burgers were named after the seven deadly sins. I opted for the spicy Wrath burger ($9.99) and added a combo drink and some Himalayan sea salt fries ($3.99).

The meat patty was thick and substantial with good beef. But I thought the blend was a tad on the dry side and could use more seasoning. In fact, without the good condiments and sauce, it would have been on the meh side of the equation. I don't know why restaurants use brioche buns. Maybe cause it looks and sounds "classy". The fries were better than most of these burger joints but not quite at McDonald's level.

This new spot doesn't seem to get much foot traffic either. I feel they're positioned in an awkward spot: too pricey to be a regular take-out option, not upscale enough to be a destination spot. It'll be interesting to see if they can make a go of it.