Tiny Tunes

On Thursday, I was at The Gladstone Hotel's Melody Bar for the second installment of Venusfest, a new concert series that aims to highlight female-identified artists. The inaugural show was an all-day event that I was unabled to attend. Tonight was a smaller affair with two acts. First up was Dorothea Paas, accompanied by a full band including Kritty Uranowski (Patti Cake). They constructed fuzzy pop soundscapes that surged and ebbed.

Headliner was sister-duo Tasseomancy. In some ways, they could be the musician's musicians as there were several singers in the audience. It was easy to see why. Their set, exuding a warm living-room feel, are comprised of elliptical songs with lyrics dense in literary references and imagery. This is not to say that their music isn't also full of melodic hooks and harmonies. But a Tasseomancy show is for impressing that boho girl with the vintage dress who carries a journal planner.

Girl Band

Friday night, I was at The Tranzac for a great show. It's been awhile since I've been to this venue and they've done a bit of remodeling. There was a retro feel to the evening and it started with opener Cindy Lee. Dressed in a mini skirt with platinum blonde hair, this singer invoked a Marilyn Monroe vibe. But the set was more jangly garage band.

Headliner U.S. Girls opened with singer Meghan Remy doing an acapella duet in front of the stage. Then the stage curtains pulled back to reveal a surprise. For this mini-tour, or perhaps for only selected venues, she has assembled a 10-piece band. There were numerous familiar faces in the Toronto music scene including Kieran Adams (Diana) and Basia Bulat.

Remy sings unapologetically about feminist issues but with a 60s vibe that you can hear through the samples she loops. But now expanded to a huge band, it was impossible to miss the groove and danceability in her music. As her set went on and I marveled at her James Brown-esque performance, I also realized this wonderful show was being wasted. First, the reserved Toronto audience, especially the indie crowd here tonight, just couldn't loosen up enough to dance. Remy even pointed that out twice with some playful gestures. To be fair, it was also the venue. The Tranzac has a big stage to accommodate the band, most bar-sized venues could not. But the sound system here is high-school gym lame.

Given financial constraints, I doubt Remy could assemble this band very often. Given that she ran out of merch tonight, hopefully she could build enough of a fan-base to play at The Phoenix or even The Danforth Music Hall one day. Then the rest of the Toronto and the world can dance to the music of this powerhouse.

Buddha Feast

It was pouring rain Saturday morning when I headed over to Chinatown to buy some groceries. I've been eyeing the new vegan Vietnamese restaurant Saigon Lotus. So I decided to stop by for lunch. It had a bit of a combination vibe between your typical no-frills Asian diner and something more hipster-friendly. I picked 2 dishes that most vegetarians could not order in a regular Vietnamese restaurant.

First up was mushroom rice roll or banh cuon nam ($5). The dish came in appetizer size here instead of a full entree. It was quite a nice take. The chopped up mushroom was an excellent substitute for the ground pork and their version of vegan fish sauce was good. For the main course, I ordered the hu tieu my tho ($7.50). The regular version would be a hodge-podge of meat including pork, liver, shrimp and so on. This version was quite nice, rich and vagrant. I actually did not like all the soy protein substitutes. After a while, they all taste the same. I understand they're trying to replicate the "assorted meat" essence of this noodle soup but I think one would have been sufficient. The rich vegetarian broth, tasty noodles, and various greens was more than enough.

All Grown Up

Friday night I was at The Horseshoe for another nostalgia night. That is, time to see another band from the 80s that I didn't see the first time around. The evening did not start auspiciously with The James Clark Institute. Their hype-woman/merch seller made perhaps too big a pitch to me because this opener did not live up to it. Though it was all recently composed, they sounded like they were playing music from the 80s. It was as if the singer-songwriter had frozen his musical tastes and haven't listen to anything new in the last 25 years. Will head-liner The Pursuit of Happiness sound equally ossified, given that they will playing actual 80s songs?

My fear was unfounded. Though they played a few songs from their later repertoire, lead singer Mo Berg promised the packed and rowdy crowd only half-jokingly that it would be "all hits all the time". So it was definitely an 80s sound complete with extended guitar solos but played with high-octane energy. Both Mo Berg and Kris Abbott channeled loud crisp guitar with the latter definitely still looked "rock-and-roll". To be fair, Berg never looked that way even way back when. He can definite sing and pen some great songs including I'm An Adult Now, Cigarette Dangles, Hard To Laugh. Through a full set and 3 encores, the audience enjoyed every moment. Some had flown in from as far away as California to see this rare appearance.