Dance Hits

Friday night, I went to the Monarch Tavern to see Ivy Mairi. Incredibly, this modest bar was packed. I don't usually notice the DJ but Hemingway played some great funky cuts to really set the energy and mood for the crowd.

Before her last song, a slow burn (8 min!) electro-folk tune, Mairi said half-jokingly: "I'm an artist, I have many tastes". Though she book-ended her set with folk songs, Mairi has been writing more pop music. And her tastes seem to run in the same 80s dance as Carly Rae Jepsen's latest offerings. These catchy tunes such as Strange Love and All Around Me need to be put on the radio. She was backed by enthusiastic musicians including drummer Kieran Adams (Diana) and singer Caitlin Woelfle-O'Brien (Blunt Chunks).

The Future is Female

I had planned on going to 2 music shows on Saturday but when the schedules got changed I had to prune my plans. As such, I was only able to see opener Helena Deland for the Class of 2017 show at the Silver Dollar. The Montréal singer did a solo show in front of a fairly big crowd. Her guitar arrangement often included thumbing several bass notes.

I made it for the tail-end of Lido Piementa's act at the Mod Club. She combined propulsive dance beats and latin rhythm. Over which she overlaid some political lyrics. The packed audience didn't quite move to her exhortations but there were some takers at the front.

Speaking of which, Austra's new album Future Politics was timely given the current world events. Katie Stelmanis played several tracks of it, which often have a plaintive lyrical quality. Her older tracks were straight-up dance which got more audience involvement, though there were plenty who already knew the words to Future Politics. With the club vibe including lights and big sound, it was a better showcase of their music than the anemic show I saw at Yonge-Dundas square.

Uncoy Sushi

After a vigorous Sunday yoga class, I decided to try out trendy sushi place Saku on Queen St. Since their specialty is fusion sushi, i.e., the giant North America concoction, I got the Energy Roll ($12). But first was a traditional Tako Wasabi ($5). This spicy octopus salad was tasty with quite a substantial pile of dried seaweed wraps. The roll was composed of several huge pieces that included prawn tempura, avocado, spicy salmon, unagi and liberal application of various sauces. It was good but too much for one person. After 2 pieces I was tired of the flavour. This would have been better in a group where you only sampled a piece or two. As a full meal, it was too rich on its own.

Hot Mess

For lunch, I opted for Philthy Phillys for some cheese steak. The regular came in at $8.99. I got the beef and everything else including jalapēno except for the cheese whiz. After preparation, you could add even more toppings and sauces. I got a few more plus the Philthy Sauce (Whisky BBQ). Overall, there was a substantial amount of hot beef. But all the toppings including the sauce did detract by masking the flavour. Next time, I'll dial down the add-ons to let the more of the basic ingredients come through.