The Beginning of History

On Monday evening, I headed over to the new 2500-capacity East-End venue called History. Located at The Beaches which is an out-of-the-way location (though not as much as Sound Academy/Rebel), I wouldn't normally bother going to these venues. So what happened?

A few years ago, with the rise of Asian female musicians like Japanese Breakfast and Mitski (and the smaller impact of Jay Som), I came across a U.K. singer named Rina Sawayama. I liked her songs online enough to get a ticket for an April 2020 show at the smallish Mod Club. Then came 2 years of pandemic where Sawayama's star rose (including a remix with Elton John). She was now in hot demand so the post-poned concert moved to a bigger venue. I'm renting a sublet in the East-End and not living in the West-End. And we both found ourselves at History.

This was a huge, spanking-new club with enough corporate money (including Drake) to hire a lot of staff. So even though I joined a line that wrapped around the block and heading off toward the lake, I made it to doors within 5-7 minutes. It was mostly standing room as the balconies and mezzanines only had a smattering of leather lounges for the VIPs.

The opening act was a DJ which was a lost opportunity for some local up-and-coming act. As far as I could tell, he wasn't even doing much live mixing/sampling and was simply queuing tracks with a bit of transition. Sawayama played a high-energy set with a guitarist/keytarist and drummer to supply live elements to backing tracks. She also had two dancers. There were some tracks (like STFU) that employed heavier rock sounds but it was primarily power pop (Comme Des Garçons, Dynasty, Love Me 4 Me).

It was perhaps a more-than-usual memorable concert for Sawayama. First, she remarked that it was a much larger audience than the last time she played Toronto for 300 people. Second, for her Mom's birthday tomorrow, Sawayama recorded everyone singing Happy Birthday. Finally, during her ballad Chosen Family, a Pride flag was thrown on stage (which she picked up and brandished) and signs saying "I heart Sawayama because ..." with hand-written reasons were held aloft. This left her emotional for a few moments at the end of the song.

I've been to shows where fans knew the lyrics. But to be at an all-ages concert of a relatively mainstream pop singer is a different beast. They didn't just know the songs but sang them with gusto. Some seemed to be almost overwhelmed with emotion as they reached out to their idol. This was a moment that changed someone's life.

On my way home, I was pleasantly surprised to see Little India hopping with people. Ramadan already ended on Sunday. So unless it was just post-Holiday celebrations, this area is the place to go if you want some late-night nosh in the East-End.

Mitski Beats

In my recall of the 3 female acts that I saw at The Horseshoe in 2016, I thought it was Michelle Zauner (Japanese Breakfast) who rose to stardom first. But actually Mitski had returned a few months later to the bigger Mod Club. Then it was the even larger Danforth Music Hall in 2018 and then the venerable Massey Hall in March of this year. I don't know why I missed the former but I definitely couldn't get tickets to the latter. So in fact, Miss Miyawaki achieved success first and she has gone beyond my horizon.

However, I was at that Mod Club show though apparently I never wrote it down. It has been too long for much details but I do remember that, instead of standing near the stage like usual, I stood about half-way back and to the side on the raised seating area. I thought that away from the bass-heavy speakers of this venue, I could understand the lyrics better. Also, the capacity crowd was attentive and rapt with her performance.

Despite her admonition at The Horseshoe that she doesn't do encore, Mitski did return for one that night. It was a cover of How Deep Is Your Love? I had approved of this choice and wished that all headliners did covers for encores. All the songs they wanted to sing should be part of the main set. It's a bit bullshit to save 1 or 2 tunes for the requisite callback.

More All

It was a drippy Sunday afternoon but as I had cleaned the apartment in the morning, I didn't want to slave over the stove to make lunch. I headed to Little India and stepped inside MotiMahal. Apparently this venerable restaurant has been opened since 1976. It was a good sign that a steady stream of South Asian customers came during my time there. It was a no-frills place: you order at the cash register and pick your options from the already prepared dishes. Once they finish baking your choice of flatbread, they call out your number for pick-up. There was also a plethora of Indian snacks and desserts.

I choose a 3-selection veggie thali (only $11!) and opted for bhindi (okra), aloo (potatoes), and saag paneer (spinach with cottage cheese). It was a big, filling platter that came out. The naan bread wasn't as good as the equally no-frills Lahore Grill but I noticed that other people had chosen other breads. Since they make big batches of food for the never-ending crowd, this wasn't subtle flavour. In other words, everything was aggressively seasoned: salt, oil, and spices. But for a cheap eats, I have no complaints.

To work off that lunch, I walked around the neighbourhood mostly heading North. Since train-tracks separated South Riverdale from The Danforth, you could only cross on major streets like Jones, Greenwood or the pedestrian bridge at Pape. But at the end of Woodfield Rd, there was a semi-hidden tunnel covered with lively graffiti. It ran underneath the tracks and came out at Monarch Park. From there, you can walk easily to The Danforth.

When I circled back to Woodfield, there was yet another hidden path that ran parallel to the tracks all the way to Coxwell. As far as I could tell, this was a pedestrian walkway since every connection to a street (Hiawatha, Ashdale) involved stairs. Yet there was a single house with a garage and a parked car nestled on this lane. If I ever come this way again, I'll have to keep an eye out as to how this vehicle can get in and out of this area.

09/05/2022: I'm revisiting various restaurants before I leave the sublet. After a steak dinner ($14.50) at New Family diner, I took the pedestrian path from the end just north of the Coxwell Avenue Playground. The house was right next to Craven Rd, the only street that led directly into the path. The other interesting thing about Craven is that for its entire length from Queen St. to Danforth, it only has houses on one side. The other side is a fence that separates it from the backyards of Ashdale Ave.

And Then It Goes Back

I love the public library especially in Toronto. It provides services for everyone including free internet. It's true that at certain branches like Bloor/Gladstone and Lillian H. Smith (College/Spadina) you sometimes get homeless people acting out, but the library is for everyone. During my unemployment after the dot com crash, my fondest memory was going to Gladstone everyday, sitting in their quiet reading room/lounge (lost in the renovation), and going through the daily news. In fact, I relied on the library in a similar way during the start of the pandemic. Although 20 years later it was now digitally through my tablet while in lockdown in Ottawa. So one of my biggest annual charitable donation is to the TPL.

With a relative coming to stay for a few days at my sublet next week, I took advantage of another library perk: free passes to various cultural sites. I could only get 1 every Saturday so for the past 3 week-ends, I went to 3 different branches early in the morning: Jones/Gerrard, Spadina, and Pape/Danforth. With 2-person passes to the AGO, ROM, and the Bata Shoe Museum, this was a saving of around $130. All 3 were small branches (to maximize my chance of getting a pass) with Pape being the prettiest.

After visiting Pape, I walked along Danforth looking for an eatery that was opened at 9:30 am. I came across Boomerang Sandwich but it had nothing to do with Australian food. It was an Asian fusion place that, according to the lone server, opened about 2 months ago. There was Vietnamese banh mi and pho, Thai curry, and a few Chinese dishes. I was surprised that there were several vegetarian options so I tried the Vegetarian Beef Banh Mi ($8.99).

It was an all right breakfast. I liked that the meat substitute wasn't just tofu although I'm not sure the sauces were vegetarian. Sometimes Asian eateries have a different understanding of no-animal products. Instead of a Vietnamese baguette it was a soft sub. I thought it was better than the traditional Banh Mi Huy Ky on Gerrard but maybe not "100% more expensive" better. On the other hand, the rent on Danforth was likely much higher.

13/05/2022: I went back to try the vegetarian pho ($12.99). It was underwhelming. The broth did not have any richness and it was the same beef as the banh mi. Most importantly, besides the bean sprouts, it lacked any fresh veggies including garnishes such as thai basil, mint, and culantro which give pho that fragrant aroma.