This week I have been mostly ensconced at home due to the weather. On Friday, I ventured out in the afternoon to get a slice from 241 Pizza. The coldest weather in a decade, according to the news, was going to grip Ontario for 3 days. Despite the relatively milder cold, I could feel my face freezing up when the wind picked up. They weren't lying and I decided I wasn't going to trek to Bsmt 254 to see new bands Anastasia Coope and Autobahn from NYC. The previous day, with a lull in inclement weather, I also went out around lunchtime to do groceries and eat a veggie lunch ($9.99) from Pam's. I may only go there for the chicken roti from now on. They first wanted to charge me extra for the potatoes when it has always been rice with potatoes and a choice of two veggie ingredients. It wasn't so much the cost but rather some workers there didn't seem to know their own menu.
It wasn't the cold on Wednesday that kept me in but the snow. It came down Tuesday night and continued all through that day. I stepped outside for some cod patties ($4.85) from Progress Bakery across the street. But one look at the dirty snow, piled up and churned over by cars, at the intersection dissuaded me from going to see a free show with AloneKitty at Houndstooth. I would have to walk through several such crossings to get to the venue.
But I did brave the freezing temperature on Tuesday to visit a newly re-opened venue. The Concert Hall at 888 Yonge St. once hosted many acts from 60s icons, early rap legends, and 90s bands. I never saw any shows there because during my time in Toronto it was a TV studio. Under new ownership, it re-opened as a music venue in the late 2010s but its 1200-capacity made it expensive to rent. But post-pandemic, it seemed to have booked more artists.
Both the outside and the inside of this former Masonic Temple was quite impressive. Perhaps less awe-spiring was the round reception kiosk out of some 50s corporate headquarter. I appreciated that security was chill and did not involve aggressive bag-check and gate scanners. Though it filled up later, both on the ground and up in the wrap-around balcony, it was mostly empty when I arrived. So I grabbed a spot right at the front by the barrier, something I don't do anymore at larger venues. Frances Chang opened the night with her (synth) piano, and a collection of backing tracks controlled via foot pedals and a small mixing board. I didn't like the ADHD music in that each song would veer in many directions. I did enjoy Chang spreading the rhythm and beat across multiple instruments instead of just percussion.
It's always interesting to speculate when a larger crowd go see an artist. I didn't see Cate Le Bon at her earliest at The Rivoli or Drake Underground. But a few months after Drake, I saw her open for Warpaint at the larger Danforth Music Hall. As a head-liner, she still played at small clubs such as The Horseshoe (2016) and Velvet Underground (2017). I guessed she got more attention with the accessible Reward (2019) and Pompeii (2022) and a show at the larger Great Hall that I missed.
This concert, relocated here after a greater demand than The Great Hall, was in support of the new album Michelangelo Dying. As a heartbreak album (she toured with her ex at that Velvet show), it was a simple topic to hook people. Refrains like "I love you" (Daylight Matters) and "Is it worth it?" (Is It Worth It) were easy to sing or sway too. But the rest of Le Bon's lyrics remained elliptical and poetic, much different from straightforward pop songs. The best part was that with a bigger budget, she got a bigger band. With 3 multi-instrumentalists (sax, synth, guitar, tom-toms, even marimba) and a drummer and a bassist who sang back-up vocals, Le Bon's layered art-pop came to life. Then there was her singing which had both range and sensitivity. I listened to Michelangelo afterwards and the studio versions felt anemic in comparison.
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