A Pause

After the blast of snow storm on Monday and the impending deep freeze for the rest of the week, I decided to take advantage of the lull on Tuesday for a quiet evening of music at The Burdock. Catholic Wilt aka Jesse James Laderoute (Blonde Elvis) played highly distorted somber music, his voice drenched in reverb. It was a hit and miss set for me. Queen of Swords (Aerin Fogel) had elliptical and metaphorical music. I would have liked a purely acoustic set between her and Kritty Uranowski because the simple backing tracks with their generic beats and chords didn't add much. The night ended with loom featuring Brooke Manning, Kyla Charter, and Leah Fay (July Talk). Over simple chord changes, they layered harmonies that interwove, swelled, and stretched. Manning's poetical lyrics had deceptive power. She should consider moving a little away from rhymes toward the partial free verse of Tamara Lindeman (The Weather Station), just to give her compositions more space. Their set ended with Crowded House's Don't Dream It's Over, made more "poignant" (in Manning's words) given the world today as opposed to when she used to cover it back in the late aughts.

Top of The Class

On Friday, I was back for the penultimate Class of 2019 show at The Monarch Tavern. I enjoyed this show more than the previous one, possibly because of the pop leanings made for more dance-able sets. Once again, it was quite a large crowd even for the early bands.

For Jane started the night with some power pop. The two singers took turns on several catchy songs including a potential novelty tune about dogs. They also did a nice job covering Mitski's Nobody. Rapport has fully embraced their neo-80s stylings with funky beats, synth samples, and sweet harmonies. The audience really got into their set. I liked Montreal's Sorry Girls but they might have played the wrong slot with their slower dream-pop. Though there were still plenty of listeners, people were definitely more into drinks and conversations by this time. I wished good luck to the next performer Ellis because her music is even more subdued, and headed on home.

D'un certain age

I had tickets to the sold-out all-ages show of King Princess at The Danforth Music Hall for Tuesday. But upon further reflection, though her music was catchy, I decided to leave this new queer pop icon to the young people and go do what old people do, listen to classical music at The Lula Lounge.

The title was intriguing: Mendelssohn and Chill. But was this an accurate and winking take on the slang meaning of "Netflix and chill" (as opposed to what old people think it means)? Pianist Sarah Hagen explained succinctly Debussy's 12 préludes (Book 1) before playing them in order on a baby grand. I was pleasantly surprised one was available here. There was little of the delicacy of his most famous work (Clair de lune); it was modern, violent, and in some passages almost atonal. I enjoyed it but it would take quite a connoisseur to use this music to get in the mood.

After a short intermission, she was joined by Drew Comstock (cello) and Aaron Schwebel (violin) for Mendelssohn's Piano Trio in C Minor. This was definitely sexy music. Each of the four movement had sex appeal from sweeping grandeur to furious speed to deep emotion. Tonight was the first collaboration for this trio. It came about through luck; Hagen was the aide/chauffeur driving Comstock and Schwebel around at a festival in B.C. It was only at the end of the week that they realized she was an accomplished pianist who has played Carnegie Hall. Hopefully, there will be more shows in the future.

New Year New Sights

I haven't been to a Lunar New Year celebration in years but on Saturday I decided to visit one despite a major snowstorm arriving in the afternoon. Since it was taking place in one of those giant exhibition halls near the airport, I thought it would also be a good opportunity to try out the new UP Express train between Union Station and Pearson International.

It was an interesting trip with a prompt and comfortable ride. Perhaps it was the morning hours, but there was hardly anyone heading to the airport. No wonder the province is subsidizing so much money for this transit option. It wound through locations I don't usually see including hidden waterways, patches of "wild" land, and industrial areas full of warehouse and detritus. It was a speedy trip until we got near Pearson. Maybe it was a combination of turns and other speed hazards, but the last 20% of the ride was as long as the first 80%.

For this particular excursion it wasn't an effective time-saver. For example, to get to the connecting bus for the exhibition hall, it took me 15 minutes to walk through several levels of Terminal 1. But I would take it if I was flying somewhere.

This celebration was hosted by the local Vietnamese community. Various groups and associations had set up a "village" with different areas including a rural farm. There was a section full of vendors and sponsors leading to a large concert area. Being only past noon, it was local talent currently on stage instead of the more marquee names. With a lack of on-site kitchen facilities, the food kiosks (mostly affiliated with Buddhist temples) had to make do with portable gas burners for the soups and selling pre-made food like spring rolls and banh mi. I sampled some vegetarian Hue-style noodle soup, some sprint rolls, peanut mango salad, and a tapioca ball and coconut milk dessert.

With the snow sleeting down and rendering visibility to almost none, I decided to leave early before the roads become totally impassable.

Dance Not Dance

On Friday, I was at The Baby G for a showcase of artists affiliated with Eggplant Music, a licensing outfit. I was surprised at the size of the crowd, even if it doesn't take much to fill the tiny space. It was an eclectic show sure to both delight and bore different portions of the young audience. Joshua Van Tassel was first up for a knob-twiddling ambient set full of effects, samples, and undulating music. Luckily, there was actually something to watch, live projections manipulated in real-time by his collaborator. Her set-up, some sort of video equivalent of a sound-board, was interesting to look at.

Next up was Alyson McNamara. She had a light singing voice that flitted charmingly over adult contemporary lyrics. Then it was back to immobile ambient music, this time with a slight Irish lilt with C.R. Gillespie duo on synth and violin.

Finally, the entire crowd was into the show thanks to the 80s-inspired, synth pop music of Bossie. From Meteor and There Will Be Time to a cover of the Sailor Moon theme seguing into Strawberry Moon, her set got the audience to get down and bougie. One young gyrating gentleman, like a hipster version of Mr. Bean, was totally into the music. His jerky motions may have lacked coordination, but it was enthusiastic and committed.

Indochine Eats

On Friday, I finally wandered through The Stockyards at Keele and St. Clair. On the one hand, it's good that this industrial area has been re-developed. On the other hand, this outdoor outlet mall-esque set of shops, surrounded by multi-level parking garages, seems wastefully incongruous in Toronto's urban setting.

For lunch, I stopped at Sweet a la Mode. Donald Duong, the Vietnamese-Canadian owner and pastry chef of this spot used to run defunct Dessert Trends on Harbord St. I even had his freshly made croissants back when he had a wedding shop on Dundas St. Well, it was a good thing I stopped by today as this restaurant was closing at the end of the month for unspecified medical reasons.

I opted for a French version of the banh mi, a wild mushroom and brie baguette ($14) and a Tiramisu cup ($6.50). The baguette was rich and tasty but the decorative squirts of balsamic vinegar made it messy to hold the bread. The tiramisu was smooth and light. Bonus points: you can eat the chocolate container too. If Sweet a la Mode wasn't closing, I would certainly be back to try more dishes and maybe even their High Tea events.

Love The Noise

I have attended several The Pursuit of Happiness shows recently including their show at the tiny The Supermarket for the 30th anniversary of their debut album Love Junk. I didn't want to wallow in any more nostalgia but the prospect of listening to them with perhaps close to a thousand fans was too much to resist. So on Saturday, I got a last-minute ticket for The Danforth Music Hall.

Opening tonight on a mutual mini-tour through London and Toronto was another 90s Canadian band: Odds. Some of their fans thought the bill should have flipped. I really enjoyed their, in the words of the lead singer, "existential angst that you can dance to". Though the songs were new to me, I finally recognized Heterosexual Man and Someone Who's Cool (joined on stage by Steven Page and Tom Wilson).

Similar to the gig at The Supermarket TPOH ran through Love Junk front to back, except for leaving their biggest hit I'm An Adult Now till the end. With so many fans, they probably haven't played for crowd this loud in a long time. Some of those people came all the way from New York and Chicago, and even attended both shows. For an encore, TPOH played some other hits including Gretzky Rocks and Two Girls In One. The night ended with a "supergroup cover" as Odds and Page came on stage for When Doves Cry.

No Smoking Please

On Sunday, after a packed yoga class filled with people doing their New Year resolution, I headed to The Grow Op for lunch. The tongue-in-cheek restaurant offered a vegetarian/vegan selection of eats that are meant to-go. This could explain why the spot itself didn't have many diners or tables. I  settled on a caponata sandwich ($9.75).

It was a good meal with soft focaccia bread stuffed with a mix of tasty greens including eggplant, capers, olives and parsley. It was a bit messy so I had to watch out for stuff falling out. The sandwich was a bit small but I suppose you are paying for good ingredients.

Real World

The first show of the Class of 2019 band series took place on Saturday at The Monarch Tavern. The local bands who played tonight didn't need a fancy sound system given their garage band vibes. Nevertheless, the muddy mix made everybody sounded bad.

This series is supposed to highlight "ones-to-watch" bands. I assumed that, at the very least, these were "seniors" about to graduate (i.e., on the cusp of some success). But maybe the promoter Dan Burke also wanted to include fresh-faced froshes, too. Because with only 1 year together, Weak Hands didn't have a lot of original material and still needed to find a cohesive sound.

I saw The Effens cover CCR last year. Now they were back in their grungy elements. But I couldn't tell with the bad sound. Nikki Fierce had different problems: mostly a flickering bass due to a faulty tuner pedal. Once that was fixed, I enjoyed their feminist psychedelic rock set. But it didn't fit with the previous vibe. By this time, the tiny venue was in full swing as the crowd finally made it out. But late-nights aren't for these old bones anymore so I headed home and leave Orville Peck and Gloin for the youngsters.

Ethical Eats

After weeks of rich holiday meals, it was time to start eating healthy again for the New Year. So on Saturday, I headed to Virtuous Pie on College St. This new outpost of the Vancouver franchise offers vegan pizzas, ice cream, and other comfort food. Looking over my choices, I opted for the calabrese ($13) and a glass of lime lemongrass kombucha ($5).

The presentation of the pizza looked quite appetizing. Luckily, it wasn't just about looking good. The pie was quite tasty with a good mix of flavour. I'm not a fan of vegan cheese and rather do without but it provided good texture here. I was surprised by the spicy kick, stronger than most pizza joints. It was a nice heat but saturated my palate such that the lighter fennel fronds didn't register as strongly. Overall, this was a great lunch and the rest of the menu looked good for return visits.

Doth Time Waste Me

As the years go by, the Christmas Holidays are changing slowly but surely. My family is unusual in that a large number of us reside in Ottawa; so Christmas has been about big celebrations. But as the younger generations have started to move away or have other priorities such as visiting in-laws in other cities or just taking a holiday vacation, less people are around for these events. This year, it meant that there were 2 meals, one at Christmas and one near New Year's, to accommodate everybody's schedule. Eventually though, we will have to accept that these family gatherings will shrink in size.

On the bright side, we hosted some distant cousins this year. One of them I haven't seen in more than 20 years. Without regular contact to soften the passage of time, it's always a bit shocking to see how someone has aged "all at once" so to speak. And bittersweet as well knowing that we will likely not meet again for another 20. He does live in tropical Maui, so perhaps there's incentive for me to see him sooner.

Same goes with friends. Though many still live in the area, I only visited 2 close ones. Over a salsa-canning session, I caught up with a high-school buddy. A major event is occurring in the New Year for him as the family restaurant is closing after 20 years. On Thursday, I met up with another high-school friend at Crust and Crate, the sort of pizzeria that tries to overcome its big-box mall location by being quirky. His family had just returned from a vacation in Japan the previous day. He was recently transferred back to Ottawa from a military base posting about 2 hours ago. So there was now more time to spend with the family than just on week-ends.

As I pack up to return to Toronto today, I wonder what the new year will hold for me. Will it be small, imperceptible changes or large, major events? As someone who loves routine, I know what my tendencies are. But sometimes you don't have a choice, and sometimes you should make a choice.