A Pause

After the blast of snow storm on Monday and the impending deep freeze for the rest of the week, I decided to take advantage of the lull on Tuesday for a quiet evening of music at The Burdock. Catholic Wilt aka Jesse James Laderoute (Blonde Elvis) played highly distorted somber music, his voice drenched in reverb. It was a hit and miss set for me. Queen of Swords (Aerin Fogel) had elliptical and metaphorical music. I would have liked a purely acoustic set between her and Kritty Uranowski because the simple backing tracks with their generic beats and chords didn't add much. The night ended with loom featuring Brooke Manning, Kyla Charter, and Leah Fay (July Talk). Over simple chord changes, they layered harmonies that interwove, swelled, and stretched. Manning's poetical lyrics had deceptive power. She should consider moving a little away from rhymes toward the partial free verse of Tamara Lindeman (The Weather Station), just to give her compositions more space. Their set ended with Crowded House's Don't Dream It's Over, made more "poignant" (in Manning's words) given the world today as opposed to when she used to cover it back in the late aughts.

Top of The Class

On Friday, I was back for the penultimate Class of 2019 show at The Monarch Tavern. I enjoyed this show more than the previous one, possibly because of the pop leanings made for more dance-able sets. Once again, it was quite a large crowd even for the early bands.

For Jane started the night with some power pop. The two singers took turns on several catchy songs including a potential novelty tune about dogs. They also did a nice job covering Mitski's Nobody. Rapport has fully embraced their neo-80s stylings with funky beats, synth samples, and sweet harmonies. The audience really got into their set. I liked Montreal's Sorry Girls but they might have played the wrong slot with their slower dream-pop. Though there were still plenty of listeners, people were definitely more into drinks and conversations by this time. I wished good luck to the next performer Ellis because her music is even more subdued, and headed on home.

D'un certain age

I had tickets to the sold-out all-ages show of King Princess at The Danforth Music Hall for Tuesday. But upon further reflection, though her music was catchy, I decided to leave this new queer pop icon to the young people and go do what old people do, listen to classical music at The Lula Lounge.

The title was intriguing: Mendelssohn and Chill. But was this an accurate and winking take on the slang meaning of "Netflix and chill" (as opposed to what old people think it means)? Pianist Sarah Hagen explained succinctly Debussy's 12 préludes (Book 1) before playing them in order on a baby grand. I was pleasantly surprised one was available here. There was little of the delicacy of his most famous work (Clair de lune); it was modern, violent, and in some passages almost atonal. I enjoyed it but it would take quite a connoisseur to use this music to get in the mood.

After a short intermission, she was joined by Drew Comstock (cello) and Aaron Schwebel (violin) for Mendelssohn's Piano Trio in C Minor. This was definitely sexy music. Each of the four movement had sex appeal from sweeping grandeur to furious speed to deep emotion. Tonight was the first collaboration for this trio. It came about through luck; Hagen was the aide/chauffeur driving Comstock and Schwebel around at a festival in B.C. It was only at the end of the week that they realized she was an accomplished pianist who has played Carnegie Hall. Hopefully, there will be more shows in the future.

New Year New Sights

I haven't been to a Lunar New Year celebration in years but on Saturday I decided to visit one despite a major snowstorm arriving in the afternoon. Since it was taking place in one of those giant exhibition halls near the airport, I thought it would also be a good opportunity to try out the new UP Express train between Union Station and Pearson International.

It was an interesting trip with a prompt and comfortable ride. Perhaps it was the morning hours, but there was hardly anyone heading to the airport. No wonder the province is subsidizing so much money for this transit option. It wound through locations I don't usually see including hidden waterways, patches of "wild" land, and industrial areas full of warehouse and detritus. It was a speedy trip until we got near Pearson. Maybe it was a combination of turns and other speed hazards, but the last 20% of the ride was as long as the first 80%.

For this particular excursion it wasn't an effective time-saver. For example, to get to the connecting bus for the exhibition hall, it took me 15 minutes to walk through several levels of Terminal 1. But I would take it if I was flying somewhere.

This celebration was hosted by the local Vietnamese community. Various groups and associations had set up a "village" with different areas including a rural farm. There was a section full of vendors and sponsors leading to a large concert area. Being only past noon, it was local talent currently on stage instead of the more marquee names. With a lack of on-site kitchen facilities, the food kiosks (mostly affiliated with Buddhist temples) had to make do with portable gas burners for the soups and selling pre-made food like spring rolls and banh mi. I sampled some vegetarian Hue-style noodle soup, some sprint rolls, peanut mango salad, and a tapioca ball and coconut milk dessert.

With the snow sleeting down and rendering visibility to almost none, I decided to leave early before the roads become totally impassable.