Free Bird

On Monday, I was at The Mod Club to hear a mostly instrumental set by Donna Grantis. I first encountered this guitarist when she played with Hill And The Sky Heroes while some in Toronto probably remembered her jazz trio. But most people first heard of Grantis when Prince called her to form a backing band with him called 3rdEYEGIRL. That call changed her life and she subsequently played at some of the biggest venues in the world in front of screaming fans. Grantis herself has since settled permanently in Minneapolis and on this new solo outing is returning to her jazz roots with a touch of rock.

This set left me feeling ambivalent. The band on stage was immensely talented but they didn't gel for me. I have written before about my own negative reaction to endless jazz solos. So that was already a turn off for me. Secondly, a lot of the extended ones came from keyboard player James Hill. His love of complicated, atonal solos didn't seem to fit to songs that were more rock or funk. Suphala's fine tabla playing seemed almost an afterthought. Local outfit Autorickshaw does a better synthesis of jazz and Indian drumming. So I appreciated the more straight-forward, rock numbers including during the encore when Grantis invited local friends to sing including SATE.

But other people obviously enjoyed the show more than me. There was one gentleman who yelled his appreciation almost non-stop between songs (and sometimes during them). Others were less obnoxious enthusiastic but still thrilled with the music.

Be Art Her

On Saturday, I was at Handlebar for 2 female-fronted bands who were unexpectedly surprising in different ways. This place is perhaps one of true dive bars left in Toronto if we go by the state and graffiti-evidence of the washroom. It, and the venue The Boat across the street, both cater to a younger crowd.

With the entire band in glitter make-up, and lead singer/guitarist Hannah Bussiere wearing a full sparkling outfit, it was expected that Luna Li would play some dreamy, slightly twee, indie pop. There was some of that with songs like Silver Into Rain, and especially when Bussiere did a solo turn where she layered both guitar and violin riffs. But they also book-ended their set with some hard-driving numbers. This material perhaps hint at a more propulsive direction for them.

Parisian band Halo Maud drove all day from Québec to end their World Tour here in Toronto. It must be slightly odd to play a much larger venue in Montréal a few days ago to doing a set in a small, seedy bar tonight. But they played an impressive set that got several converts lining up for some merch after the show. With her sharp cheek-bones and equally sharp vocal attack to the end of some words, Maud Nadal reminded me of Olivia Merilahti (The Dø). Her simply structured lyrics (both French and English) was reminiscent of some 60s French singers like Christophe. She also showcased a nice variety of guitar techniques. But sometimes Halo Maud would segue from an ethereal sound into an extended prog-rock sonic jam back-ended by their powerful, technical drummer.

Move Your Hips

On Wednesday, I was at The Drake Underground for a solo release album by Lydia Persaud. Opener Mikhail Laxton met Persaud via Instagram and the two have since collaborated when she found out this Aussie musician was currently living in Toronto. With his gruff beard and black outfit, I was expecting some country or americana. But Laxton had a powerful voice that inflected R'n'B. Most of his recent material (Streams, Hurricane, Maybe It's a Good Thing) revolved around an unfaithful ex and his new wife.

Similar to her December show with her folk band The O'Pears, Persaud has gone all-out tonight with a full band, backup singers, and a string quartet. The crowd danced to groovy bangers like More of Me, Honey Child and Well Wasted. She could also do slow-burn ballads like Would You Believe (an ode to love-at-first-sight, something Persaud had previously pooh-poohed), and Low Light where she was joined by her O'Pears pals Meg Contini and Jill Harris. It was interesting to hear about the genesis of each song from the mundane (subletting a bare-bones apartment) to more revealing (not having the energy to invest in a relationship). This was the sort of music that should be played on mainstream radio, elevating pop with superior songwriting.

You Know Something Jon

On Wednesday, I stopped off at Garfield Eats at Bloor and Dovercourt for lunch. This recent take-out spot has generated online chatter and articles, mostly not positive. It is certainly an odd endeavour: an officially Garfield licensed diner, the only one in North America (and Dubai), offering "bad pun" food like Garfuccinos and rewards like goupons. There was no place to sit here. Most of the former laundromat has been turned into kitchen space, with the rest of it devoted to Garfield merchandise.

You immediately notice how pricey the menu is, given the lack of amenities and admittedly kitschy feel. It being Garfield-related, I had to order the spinach and mushroom lasagna ($17.99). It wasn't a very large lasagna given the price, but I liked it compared to people balking online about the orange sauce on the Garfield pizza and so on. There was a good crusted cheese on top and the pasta had a nice mouth-feel. The spinach and especially the mushroom were thick, substantial, and high quality. Maybe their claim of being farm-to-table, sourcing from local vendors, wasn't just marketing speak.

But it wasn't a full lunch and thus hard to justify the price. The farm-to-table aesthetic is welcome and unexpected. But all the custom packaging, oddly thick and durable, with Garfield comic strips and other design elements  must have a high cost overhead. Despite the re-box instructions, I have a hard time seeing who would actually re-use the cheese and oil-covered package as a tissue box. And would anyone actually turn those fancy pizza boxes into paper plates?

Up and Over

On Sunday night, I was at The Mod Club to catch 2 acts from Australia. It was opener's Carla Geneve first tour outside her native country. With a slight Aussie accent peeking through some words, guitar string bends, and observational lyrics on songs like Greg's Discount Chemist and I Hate You, Geneve had a vibe similar to her fellow compatriot Courtney Barnett. She endeared to the audience by declaring (and singing) that Neil Young was one of her favourite musicians.

The crowd tonight was closer in size to San Cisco's The Garrison gigs than the packed mob at their last Mod Club show. There was a number of Australian ex-pats to cheer them on. Their new songs, both from the next as-yet unreleased album (Flaws, Skin) and 2017's The Water (Hey, Did I Do You Wrong?, The Distance), felt more "grown-up" with more contemplative verses. But there was also plenty of the catchy, breezy hits from their earlier work including Fred Astaire, Awkward, and We Spend Too Much Time Together to keep their twenty-something fanbase dancing. The evening had a friendly living-room vibe with lead singer Jordi Davieson asking if the street party outside (Taste of Italy festival) was for The Raptors winning a hockey game, commenting on how polite the Canadian crowd was between songs unlike his fellow Aussies back home, and refusing good-naturedly to drink a shoey at the urging of the Aussies in the audience.

Play Along

Friday night, I made my way through the Taste Of Little Italy street festival to get to The Monarch Tavern. Though still busy, it didn't seem to have the same engagement as when it started. For one thing, the expanded patios were mostly empty.

Although it was officially an NXNE show, since it was a Dan Burke gig I expected the acts to not follow the schedule. Amazingly, they were no more than 10-15 minutes late. First act KNIFEY played a robust set of pop-punkish music. Thumbs up for the high energy but nothing I haven't heard before. I thought Rapport's music more engaging. Their updated take on dancey 80s pop were fun to bop to.

The next two acts had the best sets of the evening. Similar to her show last week at Dundas West Fest, Nyssa quickly commanded the room with her charismatic stage presence, big vocals, and dance-able but nihilistic songs. In fact, "headliner" Sir Babygirl gushed about Nyssa during her own set. I agreed that the latter was talented, but am more pessimistic about Nyssa's chance to "appear on billboards in a year" given today's music scene.

It was obvious the mostly queer crowd stayed for Sir Babygirl from New York. Kelsie Hogue pointed out she made "music for the gays". Her candid and breezy confessional banter between songs only endeared her to her fans. She admitted laughingly that when she made her debut album, she never expected that it would get much traction. So she packed it full of high-energy songs and ballads with big vocals. But now she has to sing them all live. And Sir Babygirl did struggle a bit with pitch, but not enough to detract from her set.

We The North By North East

On Thursday, I was at The Dakota Tavern for a NXNE "curated" show. Likely a combination of The Raptors playing to win the NBA Championship and a bill of unknown acts kept the crowd sparse.

Until I saw her support Rich Aucoin for his new record, I haven't seen much of Robin Hatch since her days with Dwayne Gretzky and Sheezer. In the interim, she has played with acts like Our Lady Peace and RAA. But for her recent solo effort, Hatch has released an album of experimental piano. It was interesting to listen to typical experiences like a break-up or other personal crisis (as outlined by Hatch) transform as purely instrumental pieces.

My favourite set of the evening was Sure's brand of punk pop. They made songs about doing MDMA and drinking alone at home fun and not too self-pitying. It helped that their laissez-faire and droll banter between numbers kept things upbeat.

The final act was a synth-pop outfit called Bunny composed of musicians from other bands. Definitely, I heard some sweet bass groove and punchy drums. But there was something a little odd with guitar and vocals that was a bit off-kilter. I'm not sure I want weirdness when I just need to bop along.

As for the game, hosts The Elwins had set up a projector showing it next to the stage. As one band pointed out, it was ok to cheer for The Raptors during their set. They'll just pretend that people were just really into their songs. Everything worked out: the team won the championship and everyone was happy.

Bangers

On Wednesday, I went to a high-energy show at The Mod Club featuring 2 artists from New Orleans. First up was rapper Alfred Banks. As he was in the business for 10 years, his style is not the newer trap or mumble rap. It had a bit of an older technique. He was able to urge the laid-back Toronto crowd to get more rowdy after a couple of songs with the help of his hype-man/DJ. The latter's favourite move was blasting horns, usually only heard at sports arena. The newer material centered around Banks' success in the last 3 years including a Volkswagen TV spot that allowed him to move from the grittier Magnolia Projects to the Garden District.

The crowd didn't need to be hyped for headliner Tank and The Bangas. The Mod Club is smaller than The Bangas last visit at The Danforth Music Hall. But tonight's audience was louder and more animated. They were rewarded with an ebullient and eclectic set from this large band. There were so many elements in their music: rock, gospel, hip-hop. And whether it was singing, rap, or spoken word, lead singer Tarriona Ball kept the mood joyful throughout the evening. The addition of a co-singer and background vocals (and hype-woman) compared to the last show added more musical fun.

Last time, I was preoccupied with some work worries for the next day and only half-listened to their set. But I was fully engaged with their show tonight and worked up a sweat dancing and singing along. What a wonderful way to energize for the rest of the week.

Super Saturday

Saturday was the sort of day that made urban-living exciting. Along with bright sunshine, it seemed that every neighbourhood in the city had something going on. I decided to check out 3 events: Dundas West Fest, desiFEST, and a show by U.S. Girls.

Several years on, the Dundas West Fest street festival stretching from Ossington to Lansdowne was still going strong. The crowd was large and lively. These festivals always have many food and other vendors setting up stalls. But I think Dundas' success is due to the numerous restaurants and bars setting up large temporary patios. This allowed people to linger and kept the party atmosphere going all day. I was there in the early afternoon for Andrew Cash and Moscow Apartment. The political songs of the former would be more interesting if they had better lyrics. The teen musicians of the latter band continued to impress me with their music. But I'm glad they are getting new gear because you shouldn't have to re-tune your guitars on every song. I returned in the evening for a powerhouse performance from Nyssa. As her set progressed, she was able to draw an ever-growing crowd with her swaggering stage presence and her catchy but nihilistic numbers. Lou Reed meets Elvis meets Carol Pope, several people were asking the sound tech for her name after the set.

From the West End, I then headed downtown to desiFEST at Yonge-Dundas Square. It was also packed with people enjoying South Asian food, games (like Carrom), and live music. I caught the tail end of XD Pro and his roster of guest performers. But I was there for rapper and singer Raja Kumari. With a hype-woman DJ, Kumari went through her biggest hits (Come Up, Believe In You, City Slums, Shook). Perhaps she was surprised that the crowd wasn't as raucous as expected, but Kumari kept telling the "aunties and uncles" that this new hip-hop sound was what the kids were into. But it wasn't because they didn't like her music, but because Torontonians (of all ethnic backgrounds) tended more toward polite appreciation and less wild abandonment.

On the final stop of a busy day, I made my way to the East End for an electrifying show by U.S. Girls at The Opera House. It was the loudest audience yet for Meghan Remy. It was impossible to keep still with her brand of socially conscious disco-esque music. But I confess that if I wasn't familiar with her songs, I wouldn't be able to understand her lyrics. I don't know if this is the onset of hearing problems from age and exposure or the sound tech's failure to correctly mix Remy's light and quiet vocals.

Won't You Cry For Me

On Friday, I was at Longboat Hall for a special show by Oh Susanna! The opener was a solo set by Halifax musician Mo Kenney. I liked the variety of styles and techniques she played on her guitar. But her lyrics were middle of the road, especially compared to my last show with Jenny Berkel and Misha Bower.

20 years ago, Susanne Ungerleider released her first album Johnstown. 6 albums later, it was obvious Johnstown established her musical career. On this anniversary, she has re-released it on vinyl and doing a small mini-tour. Throughout the set, she also gave the attentive crowd some insight into the stories or motivations behind these songs. There were 2 overarching threads. First, some of the desperation of Vancouver's downtown Eastside was part of her unconscious experience. Along with her own insecurities, this was reflected in the darkness of some songs. At the same time, she had just relocated to Toronto and found a welcoming community of like-minded friends and musicians. This allowed some brightness to shine through as well.

Listening to these songs live, it was clear Ungerleider founded her voice early. The story-telling hallmark of her lyrics was present from the very beginning. From the opening murder ballad Johnstown to the last hopeful tune Tangled and Wild, each song was rich in details. Long-time friend Justin Rutledge joined her Oh My Good Ol' Gal, making explicit the duet nature of the song. Ungerleider joked that she would love to have other musicians from that era like Luke Doucet return but they had gigs with some guy named Jim Cuddy.

White Elephant

On Thursday, I was at The Burdock for an eclectic presentation called Elephant In The Room. This will be the first in a series conceived by Tamara Lindeman (The Weather Station) to discuss climate crisis: a metaphorical elephant that most people don't want to talk about. The guests tonight were all musicians who ostensibly also have connection to this topic.

Lindeman started by talking about how her generation of Millenials have grown up in the shadow of this but don't acknowledge it among themselves except in a half-joking manner. She laid out a number of consequences from the IPCC report for the most optimistic scenario: an increase of 1.5C. The litany of bad news seemed to overwhelm her at times. After a short improvised number, Jazz pianist Tanya Gill talked about her own activism especially with her son in Fridays For Future, a movement started by Swedish teen Greta Thunberg.

Members of Extinction Rebellion joined Lindeman for a song. Then guest Brooke Manning (loom) explained her ongoing education as an end-of-life doula in training; the connection being that death in Western cultures was another event that inspired great fear but also ignored in everyday conversation. Finally, Chris Cummings (Marker Starling) ended the evening with a trio of songs about theatre, books, and the movie Husbands.

There were some interesting moments, but I was hoping for more focus. First, a veteran organizer's perspective would have been welcomed. Second, if this was about finally naming and owning the climate crisis, then allowing the audience to speak of their own hopes and fears would be both cathartic and encouraged a less passive atmosphere.

Playtime

Since The National Ballet had a 1991 commissioned piece from choreographer William Forsythe, they decided to put on a retrospective on him titled Physical Thinking including two Canadian premieres. On a rainy Wednesday night, I went down to the Four Seasons Centre to check it out.

The evening started with those premieres: The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude and Approximate Sonata 2016. Forsythe liked to have his dancers execute lightning-quick turns, jumps, and limb movements. They often start with some classical set-up whether solo, pairs, or groups, veer off into more contemporary sequences, and circled back to that balletic foundation. I felt there was often a playful quality to the dancing. Exactitude had Schubert's Allegro Vivace (Symphony No. 9) to drive the piece. Approximate's spare score allowed us to hear the footwork and even breathing from the several pas-de-deux.

During the intermission, some dancers came out to the Atrium to lead any interested audience members in a sequence of simple movements. It turns out these would show up in The Second Detail. The music often contained snippets that evoked in an attenuated way a particular genre of music. Similarly, the dancers often shifted into movements that felt like 20s flapper girl or tango but not quite. Detail ended with a dancer, dressed in a white tropical dress, gyrating wildly through the corps. This presented quite an interesting contrast to their silver tights and constrained movements.

Here Fishy Fishy

I found myself on Baldwin around lunch-time on Wednesday. This strip always had a high density of restaurants. But I didn't realized most of them are now Asian spots. I guess it has been a few years since I came by.

I stopped by new restaurant Koh Lipe which offers Southern Thai, a rare variation on Thai food in Toronto. Similar to a number of places I've been to lately, it was divided into two levels; both were bright and cheery. Upstair had colourful, traditional Thai fish ornaments following a painted rowboat. The first page of the menu had typical dishes, so I flipped to the overleaf where there were more interesting options. I finally settled for Choo Chee Pla Too ($18.95).

The dish turned out to be 3 fried mackerels, complete with heads. Luckily, there weren't too many bones. The smoky and strong flavour of the fish nicely matched with the spicy and rich coconut curry. Though the busy lunch crowd stuck to the phad thai and rice from the lunch specials, I was glad to have chosen a better dish. There were other dishes that caught my eye and I will definitely return to Koh Lipe especially to try those stink beans.

Storytime

On Tuesday, I was at The Burdock for two fine storytellers. Singer Jenny Berkel opened the night with her sister Trixie for a set of "small" songs. Each number encompassed a specific situation with subtle details. Her low, throaty vocals contrasted nicely with her sister's airy harmonies. I suspect Berkel is a guitarist first because her playing was full of interesting ornamentation and riffs.

Misha Bower usually sings with Bruce Peninsula. Tonight was the debut of her solo album. I had a quick listen before the show. Bower's vocalistic style involved a lot of rounded and stretched words that made for mushy melodies. Luckily, it was much better live and allowed you to appreciate the imagery and stories in songs like Trying To Have It All and Man of Thirty. The band, including Berkel on piano and harmony, kept things low-key while Bower let her voice swoop and soar. She told a long, engaging story about her relationship with her mother that shed light on the lyrics of the last song I'm All About. It was a powerful set that I don't often witness at live shows.

Mod Munchies

On Tuesday, I checked out a new addition to the Ossington strip called The Shozan Room. The owners used to have a traditional Japanese spot on Baldwin that was damaged due to a fire in the area. But when they opened this restaurant, they decided to offer a new, modern take on Japanese cuisine.

Shozan is divided into 2 rooms. The casual ground-level area offered izakaya snacks. Upstairs, the room was dark walls, with 2 long tables, and booths separated by painted glass partitions. A kimono hung by the small windows. The menu was likewise more upscale.

Looking over my options I selected Soft Shell Crab Croquettes ($14), Sea Bass Sashimi ($12), and the Red Devil Roll ($15.25). The miso garlic tartar sauce made a nice dipping sauce for the rich and crunchy croquette. However, I wonder if it was a waste of crab as like most fried food, you mostly taste the oil and batter. I'm not sure the advantage of using kombu (kelp) to cure fish. Nevertheless, the sea bass was toothsome. The balance between the fennel, apple sauce, sweet figs, and savoury smoked eggplant made a nice foundation for the fish. Finally, the 8-piece Devil Roll was also excellent. There was 2 kinds of salmon, spicy salmon centre, cured salmon on the outside. It was also topped off with generous amount of black tobiko (fish roe) and juicy ikura (salmon roe). Even the wasabi, although not real wasabi, was milder and better flavoured than the standard green horseradish.
This was a nice dinner. It was pricier than your typical sushi joint but worth the money. If you're still feeling a bit peckish for budgetary reasons afterward, Bobbie Sue's Mac + Cheese is literally just around the corner.