Shaggy Sing

Tuesday night, two hirsute men did sets at The Great Hall. Dressed in a Canadian tuxedo, Spencer Burton gave us a mix of americana/country tunes. He spent almost as much time talking to the audience as singing, probably because he hasn't been off his farm in 3 months. Luckily, his stories were interesting and told with an engaging humour. I actually found his "children" songs, written for his kids, to be the most fun. Along with his gregariousness and laid-back personality, he would make a great children entertainer like Fred Penner (another hairy troubadour) if he toned down all the cursing.

Ben Caplan is even more magnificently bearded than Burton, with an out-sized stage presence. This East-Coaster loves Eastern European/klemzer-esque music full of wordy stories and images. His 4-piece touring band was joined tonight on a few songs by two local musicians. Along with Caplan, they have been working some sort of theatre/musical act to debut later this year. So the audience was treated to 2 numbers from this show. Caplan has always exuded a manic preacher vibe, but on one of the theatrical piece he actually segued into an extended fire-and-brimstone sermon. I wouldn't have been surprised if someone had become filled with the Holy Spirit and collapsed.

Munch Music

With the majority of venues located in the West End, Feast In The East tries to bring more live music to East End Toronto. On Saturday, I went to the 61st edition at the Matt Durant Studio. This workspace/art gallery, near Queen St East and Greenwood, is the farthest Feast location I've been to.

With the artwork on the wall using re-purposed material like hardwood slats and clothe irons, a vinyl collection in its own nook, extra decorations by Roxanne Ignatius, crepes being made in the work area, and a large gathering of young, attractive people, this felt like going to a house party if I had cooler friends. The downside was the lackadaisical approach to the start times so I only saw 2 of the 4 acts scheduled before heading home.

Merival started the evening with a low-key set of acoustic songs including a cover of Head Over Heels (Tears For Fears). One nice thing was the respectful silence for the musicians. Although during Sandro Perri's set, especially during a long instrumental number, and an equally long and verbose closer, a new song with probably 30 verses about the current state of the world we live in, the chatter started to pick up in the back room. His deft touch on the guitar made for an interesting set.

Origin of Species

On Saturday, I went to The National Ballet to see an eclectic mix of modern ballet pieces, or maybe non-narrative as some of them are several decades old. The newest piece, and a "challenging main course" as the ballet talk speaker noted, was Genus from Wayne McGregor. This was the North American remount of his original work with The Paris Ballet. Dancers dressed in black with white patterns resembling skeletal blotches, or perhaps moth coloration, danced across the stage in twos, threes, and solo movements. They sometimes mimicked each other, always a half-step out of sync, other times in random frenzy. Hazy mirror surfaces reflected their movements from all sides. Extreme extensions are followed by loss of limb control. Natural scenery was projected overhead for the most part, with a section that showed 19th century monographs detailing discovery and classification of insects.

After intermission, 3 "dessert" pieces were presented. Tarantella (George Balachine) showcased the technical prowess of a country couple. As I'm don't love Balachine, I'm glad it only ran 7 minutes. Self and Soul (Robert Binet) was submitted for the Erik Bruhne 2016 competition. I thought it was interesting but still revealed the relative youth of its choreographer. The Concert (Jerome Robbins) was definitely the crowd-pleaser. A group of concert-goers to a Chopin recital, the enthusiast, the introvert, the society girl, and other stereotypes gave us a glimpse into their reverie and daydream as they listened to Andrei Streliaev. There were plenty of gags including out-of-sync dancers and even a mallet over the head prop.

Once Upon A Time

On Friday, I was at The Harbourfront Theatre for this year's Kalanidhi dance. I couldn't stay for all 3 performances but I did catch the first piece entitled A Story and a Song from Navarasa Dance (LA/Boston). A couple of friends vied with each other to tell a good story. The winner was a love story about a woman who can turn into a flowering tree. Those on stage through traditional Indian dances, yoga postures, silk aerials, and Malkhamb (an Indian rope or pole-based acrobatic form) acted out the story: from her simple life, through her courtship with a prince, and all the complications that follow marriage. There were also Indian chants, songs, and kids' rhymes, but also some modern winks including the woman's sisters singing Beyoncé's All The Single Ladies.

It was a fun composition although some of the audience participation fell flat since the theatre was sparsely attended. Overall, it wasn't quite as thrilling as Sapargati from a few years ago, which used the same choreographic foundation to tell a story that felt mythic and filled with grandeur.