Power Mapping

For the last month, Papermaps has been the resident artist for Elvis Monday at the Drake hotel. I decided to wrap up this holiday week-end by going to their last show Monday night.

First up was a duo playing "World Music". A didgeridoo player, with bells around his feet, sitting on a box drum kept the beat and drone going by playing on his wooden tube, stamping out beats, and tapping on the drum. His didgeridoo was hooked up to an effects pedal, allowing his to add interesting reverb and manipulate the sound. His companion played poly-rhythmic patterns on a hand-held electronic drum pad, furiously switching between sound effects: tom-toms, snares, screeches, and cymbals. It was odd but an interesting melange of aboriginal and latin-inspired sounds.

Wendy Versus was up next. Composed of 2 members of Papermaps (Wendy and Dean) and a 3rd who did double duty on the electronic drum machines and bass guitar, they veered more to electro-pop. They had some catchy tunes but a few weaknesses live. First, they needed to speed up some of their dancey numbers because the songs have the same beat. Second, it would be better to have a strong finish to their songs. Trailing off and petering out on numerous tunes weakened their performance.

After Wendy and Dean re-configured their set-up, they were joined by 3 other members for Papermaps. This band played good songs, often with catchy choruses and guitar hooks. Dean started the show with a solo on Wishful Thinker, slowly being joined by his bandmates as the song progressed. They concentrated on newer numbers from their upcoming EP such as Nobody's Perfect, Break, and Interior Ghost. Their cover of Fleetwood Mac's The Chain got feet moving. The show ended with their anthemic signature song You Are My Gallows. Given the power-ballad nature of a lot of their songs (i.e., soft verse followed by rocking refrain), I would like to see more animated stage presence from Papermaps, even if "guitar face" and such antics may seem a bit cliche.

Waystation

Roasted tomato soup

For years, the village of Actinolite was for me a Greyhound bus stop between Toronto and Ottawa. Stopping at an official rest stop near Actinolite Junction, it was a chance to stretch your legs and maybe grab a sandwich. Now on a barren stretch of Toronto near Ossington and Dupont, an eponymously named restaurant has sprung up manned by one of Actinolite's native son.

On Saturday night, the restaurant was bright with floor-to-ceiling glass. Clean lines and table offered a quiet,  grown-up feel. Actinolite is definitely trying to buck the bohemian knick-knacks of most recent Toronto restaurants. The menu concentrated on simple dishes using local ingredients.

For the first course, I opted for a cold tomato soup ($10). A refreshing and cool appetizer, it was rich and creamy from the creme fraiche. The basil and tarragon added nice minty notes, and the grape tomatoes gave bursts of freshness. The feta didn't work quite as well, being a little too salty for the concoction. It was a wonderful soup for the Toronto heat.

Lamb soffrito

For the main, I ordered a grilled Ontario lamb rack ($28). The lamb soffrito was juicy and tender, with just a hint of redness. Two polenta gave a good toothsome chew to the dish. The fresh peas, carrots, and pine nuts were soft without being overdone. There was a hint of acidity thanks to tiny lemon zests. The dish was a nice combination of flavours and texture. If there was a downside it was the small portion size (6 bite-size slices) compared to the price.

This upscale restaurant is the first sign of gentrification on this strip. It will be interesting to see what else develops here in the next few years.

Fabulous Baker Boys

Banh Mi

With the recent trend of food breaking out of the ethnic ghetto, Banh Mi Boys at Queen and Spadina offers more upscale versions of Vietnamese subs as well as fusion fares such as Kimchi fries. On Saturday, I headed over for lunch.

Along with pricier food, the small diner (enough seats for about 16 people) aimed for a hipper look. One wall was made of long, untreated wooden planks. Along the other was painted classic Asian imagery done in bold graphics. Asian-American hip-hop pulsed over the speakers.

For my sub, I chose braised beef cheeks ($5.99) from choices that included pulled pork, fried chicken, and duck confit. The sub tasted great, having similar tastes to the original banh mi thanks to the crunchy bun and a generous topping of sweet-and-sour pickled carrots and radishes. The fresh cilantro completed the authentic touch. The meat was rich and flavourful, with the sauce soaking nicely into the soft bread. But for 3 times the price of a typical banh mi, I wished they went totally upscale and use actual french baguettes. This is the traditional bread that is used, though most Vietnamese places don't bother because of the cost.

Steamed Bao

The steamed bao ($3.49) was a deconstructed version of the breakfast dumpling. You get a taco-ish shell instead of a wrapped bun, though made with the same slightly sweet dough, and can pick the same toppings as the sandwich. I opted for the 5 spice pork belly. It was a good couple of bites but didn't work as a bao. The pickled toppings, as well as the sauce, overpowered the dough and the distinctive taste of the bao was missing: steamed pork, boiled egg, and lap xuong (cured sausage).

The service was quick, at least early on when the place isn't quite as busy. You do have to line-up after your order to pick up your food.

French Connection

The first time I saw The Do, they were playing for about 30 people at WrongBar. Since they are much more successful in France, their home country, and in other parts of Europe, I wasn't sure they'd ever be back. Turns out that for the release of their sophomore album "Both Ways, Open Jaws", they have returned for a mini-tour in North America. They played a show Friday night at Lee's Palace.

Whether it was because they are still relatively unknown here or that there were better known shows (Osheaga festival in Montreal, Jesus and Mary Chain), a crowd of less than 100 were at the venue. A fair number of them were francophones. Well, those of us attending appreciated the rare opportunity to be up-close right up against the stage.

One advantage of seeing a "known" band is that even with this small tour, they had a couple of roadies and a sound engineer. The roadies helped set up their large collection of instruments, from guitars, basses, to saxophones and pots-and-pan percussions in record time. The sound guy made this the clearest, most well-balanced show I've heard at this venue. Olivia's vocals always came through strong and every instrument, no matter how small, was heard.

Olivia came on stage wearing a semi-transparent violet dress with ruffled neckwear that later came off. She was elfin and a bit otherwordly with her model features, high cheek-bones, and slender frame. Her voice was similarly soft and light. The Do's songs play to that strength and are often wistful ballads such as opener A Mess Like This or Dust It Off. But they didn't confine themselves to twee Bjork-like numbers, certainly not Dan who jumped from synth to bass to saxophone. There were rock songs including Aha and The Wicked And The Blind. Often, they would take a quiet song like Too Insistent and gave it a harder edge.

The small, but enthusiastic crowd cheered on every number. They surprised the band by singing along to a canned intro of "Do Re Mi" (Sound of Music). At one point during Slippery Slope, the front of the stage almost became a mosh pit. It was a fun night of catchy hooks, sing-a-long choruses, and songs whose lyrics had unusual turns of phrase.

Set List: A Mess Like This, Aha, Gonna Be Sick, The Bridge Is Broken, Too Insistent, Dust It Off, The Wicked and The Blind, On My Shoulders, Smash Them All, Slippery Slope, Calendar (Encore).