Pizza Pair

Saturday morning, I headed to St. Clair Ave for the 4th anniversary of The Repair Café. This DYI initiative has volunteers of all stripes, but mostly sewers of clothes and fixers of household items, help to fix various broken goods. I brought along a small TV soundbar that has a non-working aux input. If an item was fixed, a bell would ring. Unfortunately, only a few dings sounded while I was there and it didn't include my piece. I think most electronic items were simply too old; there were better results in the sewing room. But it was a convivial atmosphere and a fun idea.

Looking around for a lunch spot, I finally ended up at Pizza E Pazzi with a diavola pizza ($15) and a pint of Krambucher ($9). It was an attractive pie, covered with the olive oil, fior di latte (mozzarella from cow's milk as opposed to the pricier buffalo), spicy salami, and chili. The crust was thin and freshly baked. Pazzi claims official "Neapolitan" designation but the dough was just a step below the best pizzeria in the city. Still, it was a nice lunch.

All Dolled Up

Friday evening after work, I stopped by Dolly's, a new restaurant at Bloor and Lansdowne. This was yet another venture in the Playa Cabana restaurant empire. This one promises filipino comfort food as a tribute to head honcho Dave Sidhu's mother, hence the self-described mojito bar and panciteria on the signage.

I ordered Kinilaw ($12) and, no surprise, Pancit Bihon ($12). The first dish was a wonderful take on the ceviche. Along with tender albacore tuna and the usual tangy base, there was tasty blend of Asian flavour including thick coconut cream and crunchy shrimp chips. The second dish looked great, red prawns sitting on an abundant bed of egg and glass noodles. There was also soft-boiled egg, green onions, and bits of chicken. I wasn't quite as enamored of this entree. The blend didn't seem balanced: too much glass noodles, not enough chicken. It was oily and a bit one note. However, toward the end, once the plate had cooled down to room temperature, the pancit had a better mouth-feel. So perhaps this is a dish that tastes better the next day.

Slip and Slide

Wednesday night, I went to The Burdock to see slide guitarist Christine Bougie. I've seen her plenty of times supporting other acts but tonight it will be her own material off her new instrumental album, Whistle Up A World. The distinctive sound of the slide guitar is usually associated with country music. So it was interesting to hear it in other types of composition.

Bougie started the evening by herself, looping in multiple riffs and effects. It had a bit a shoe-gaze feel. She was joined by musicians on synths and drum. Essentially, her parts were transposed to these instruments for this show. I didn't that added much as they were for the most part buzzy chords and slow arpeggios. There was a good variety of genre including a cover of I Just Wasn't Made For These Times.

Gonna Make You Sweat

Another spring, another Big Shiny Dwayne, where supergroup cover band Dwayne Gretzky sells out two nights at The Phoenix in their ode to all things 90s. I was there on Friday night to witness the packed crowd sang along at the top of their lungs. Perhaps D.G. has become a victim of their own success, as apparently the back was too crammed for enjoyment, not to mention fighting breaking out between drunk revelers. Well, there was still some room at the front. And although we had our share of obnoxiously drunk bros, an increasingly common sight at D.G. shows, it was mostly a love-in.

One nice change to Gretzky shows, especially these themed nights, was the inclusion of more genre of music than just male-dominated indie/rock. Some music snobs were a bit put out, but there was still plenty of Nirvana, RATM, and Radiohead for them. The rest of us welcomed Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Lisa Loeb, and Destiny's Child. There was also plenty of cheese of all type from Live (Lightning Crashes) to C&C (Everybody Dance Now). I prefer the 2nd kind myself because you can at least dance to it.

For the encore, they covered both Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys, including full costumes and dance choreography. Now that's fan service. I miss Robin Hatch (now with Rural Alberta Advantage) on keys/vocals, but lately the addition of the singers of The O'Pears (Lydia Persaud, Jill Harris, Megan Contini) has been fantastic.

Punk-tastic

Saturday night at The Smiling Buddha was one of those shows where the music was fun and everyone enjoyed themselves. I should go to more punk, or at least pop-punk, shows if they are all this great.

I missed Triples but arrived just in time for Bueller to take the stage. What a great band, full of young players, bopping out short, punchy songs that they obviously love. I've been seeing a lot of new punk-ish bands with women in them and the wonderful vibe these musicians bring is great to behold. Bueller had some great tunes including Bubblegum and Beach Bod.

The fun times continued with another pop-punk band. T-Rexstasy was making their first Canadian tour from New York City. This all-female band brought theatricality, joyful harmonies, and plenty of head-bangers.

The show ended with another local band, Pony. They didn't quite have the fun vibes of the previous two bands, going for a heavier, garage sound. This was unusual compared to their recordings on bandcamp. Perhaps they needed a better mixer behind the sound board.