For dinner on Monday, I ordered an even more iconic Chinese-Canadian combo from South Pacific because this one included Sweet and Sour chicken balls. The old lady has started to recognize me as regular because she waved and then made mysterious hand signals. I don't recall the last time I've had these staples, but my memory hinted that they were tough and mostly batter. But these ones were tender and had plenty of stuffing.
I was at The Horseshoe Tavern for their Uncovered night. 3 new-ish bands from Niagara Falls, Hamilton, and Burlington played to a crowd of friends and family. Sunshine Express was a bit all over the place: pop, noise, a touch of dance or funk. Their set-up was also eclectic including pedal guitar and sampler. The vocals sounded auto-tuned but that was likely for effect. Sunshine needed a bit more seasoning though.
Rexford Drive also needed more time to cook though they do have a coherent sound: the sort that involved sing-along and shout-and-response choruses. The lead singer gave a shout-out that they were "honoured to play at the legendary Horseshoe". This was par for the course but given the hundreds of free shows over the years, it wasn't that hard to play here.
I left before Maria Gabriella took the stage. Maybe I should have stayed because with a more mature sound she could become the Canadian Laufey. In general, all these young kids have a tough road. Maybe 1 in a 100 band in Toronto achieved some success. It would be even harder if you were based in a smaller city. But it wasn't impossible to find success
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