Remember The Time

In gentrifying Toronto, live venues disappear regularly. And sometimes old ones get re-purposed/discovered by the younger generation. One such is the Owl's Club in a run-down legion hall near Bloor and Dovercourt. So when I was there on Saturday for the final show of Entire Cities, there was a nostalgic vibe coming from both the venue and the audience, mostly 30-somethings who were transitioning out of all-night parties into adult responsibilities. As the evening progressed, there were a lot of people running into friends they haven't seen in years.

It was an eclectic show because the lead singer of Entire Cities just wanted to hear some good stuff and meet up with some old buddies. So the evening started with Kashka. Her duo set of electro pop kept the chill vibe for the early crowd. Then Val Heimpel provided some topical stand-up comedy about the travails of work and dating in the 21st century.

Things got loud with LILIM, a feminist metal band. The venue wasn't really equipped for their volume so it was an unfortunately muddy set. With less clarity to their provocative lyrics, it didn't sound as innovative. Meghan Harrison then entertained the crowd with her rambling poetry about nerdy pursuits like Weezer and High Fidelity.

Melody McKiver combined violin looping and First Nations concerns and imagery in a powerful set. Nich Worby came out of semi-retirement (and a Thanksgiving dinner stupor) for a few indie tunes. Finally, Entire Cities played their final set. It was catchy pop in the Arcade Fires mold, and obviously meant a lot to the audience. As they sang along, the songs likely brought back collective memories of being young and new to Toronto. It was good enough music to make me wished I had heard of them when they started 12 years ago.