Metamorphosis

Friday night, I took the streetcar to Little Italy for a concert. The Mod Club was a victim of the Covid shutdowns but quickly re-opened as The Axis Club. Once I got inside, I saw that the new owners had done renovations. Most notably, the lounge benches on the right side have been removed. This gave the audience more room to be closer to the stage. There were also cameras for live-streaming.

It was a good-sized audience for opener Grae. The pink-hair singer already had loud fans who cheered her on pop numbers like Forget You, Room In The Desert, and Boxes. She had airy, Lorde-esque vocals but this venue was still quite bass-heavy (from its club days) which muddied her voice in the mix.

Hannah Bussiere Kim (Luna Li) was flabbergasted that the hometown crowd was around 400-500 people. No wonder as the last time I saw her just before the pandemic, there were maybe 30 people at the Monarch Tavern. She has played to big crowds but only as an opener. In the last few months, they toured extensively with Japanese Breakfast and also had a head-lining tour with their debut album Duality. This showed with the assured stage presence tonight. At previous concerts, sometimes Bussiere would kill a set's momentum by taking too much time switching between guitar, violin, and harp. But with more experience (and stagehands), everything ran smooth enough for even a mid-set wardrobe change

I'm certain the pandemic changed the trajectory of Luna Li. Bussiere pointed out that she has played her songs at many sketchy Toronto spaces (I agree, because I was there). Even in 2020, there was only a small audience. It didn't look like things were moving in the right direction, unlike Michelle Zauner (Japanese Breakfast) who returned to Toronto to larger and larger venues. In fact, Zauner will playing at the 2,500-capacity History theatre in July. I won't be there as Toronto isn't my turf anymore and her concert tickets have now exceeded my budget.

But during the height of the pandemic, a series of 1-minute jams with Bussiere playing all the instruments went viral on social media as well as streaming platforms. It led to a "jams" EP and record deals. Not surprisingly then that halfway through Luna Li's set, they played 4-5 of those jams as a band. Many of her new fans were seeing her live for the first time tonight. But for every one (like the young lady beside me) who was awed at Bussiere's versatility, there were others who had already memorized all the songs (Silver Into Rain, Star Stuff, What You're Thinking). I was glad that Luna Li has found success (and leaving my orbit) but I did regret that they didn't play Opal Angel.

This transformation was serendipitous as Luni Li's "brand" is the butterfly. I'm pretty sure Bussiere has a butterfly tattoo. It's certainly in the band's name, on their merchandise, and one of her guitar is in the shape of a multi-coloured lepidoptera. Here's hoping her emergence lasts more than one summer.

I noticed how every West-End neighbourhood was busy. Some businesses/restaurants in the East-End did have customers, but on the other side of town, they were on the street walking or driving around, packed tight on the patio, and spilling out in long lines outside venues. After the concert, I saw that the line for club Revival across the way was stretched down the block all the way into the parking lot of the Metro grocery store.

I hadn't planned on taking the Greenwood bus ever again, but I took a chance for my return trip. Well, I didn't sit in a wet seat this time. But as I got off the subway, someone who was too busy staring at their phone slipped on and fell into a huge puddle of vomit. Their jacket and jeans were splashed with yellowish goo and bits of detritus. Yikes! This stop is cursed.

Dosa Method

I visited New Town diner partly because numerous Indian restaurants were closed on Tuesday. So Thursday evening, I went looking for a South Asian dining spot. Since it was partly below ground, I didn't realize how large Udupi Palace was until I stepped inside. It was nearly as big as fancy Nirvana in Mississauga but more utilitarian in furnishings.

Looking over the menu, I opted for the spring dosa ($11.75). I chose it because unlike the usual stuffing of potatoes and onions, this one promised a medley of vegetables. It came out pre-sliced into thirds with sambar and coconut chutney. Udupi was better than South Idian Dosa Mahal but not as good as Madras Masala. Mostly it lacked that crispy crunch of an excellent dosa. I did enjoy the mix of potatoes, cabbage, peas, tomatoes, and onions. Like other restaurants in Little India, Udupi doesn't stint on the spice. So you'll want to adjust your expectation and ask for a lower heat level than your go-to choice.

Out of the Loop

I had several errands in the West-End on Wednesday. First, it was off to get an eye exam. Despite being on the pricey end of the scale ($185), I guess they still couldn't afford the rent at Queen and Spadina. So the optometry/glasses store has relocated to the 8th floor of an older building. It was a great view looking North since their neighbours were still low-rise units. But 30-stories constructions were starting to crowd in. In any case, they won't be getting much foot-traffic anymore.

Afterwards, I was delayed getting to College St because there was a shouting match on the streetcar. Both parties were in the wrong in my view. The older gentleman didn't have to sit across from the two young women. On the other hand, they shouldn't have put feet up on the seats. Furthermore, it was pretty rich to yell about Covid distancing when you weren't wearing masks yourself. So I have to come down on the side of the old geezer.

I stopped off at Fresca to get my slice of "Toronto pizza" at the tail end of the lunch rush. The margherita, fresh from the oven and covered with Vietnamese scallion oil, was delicious. No pizzeria in Ottawa, and not many in Toronto either, can compare. I explained to the owners that I'm not around much anymore and I wished I had the cooking chops to learn their pizza-making secrets. Was the era of the 6six-style pizza nearing the end? Because 3 years after major throat surgery, one of the owner had diminished energy. They were re-evaluating their future plans to do more travelling and maybe closing up the shop.

To wrap up my West-End trip, I took the College streetcar to its terminus at the High Park loop. A family member will be visiting to see the cherry blossoms. On a map, it looked perfect: a single tram ride from the East-End at Greenwood Ave to its end-point. But it was a long, meandering walk from there to get to the trees with significant downhill and uphill sections. My relative is too old to make that trek. So it was good I had scoped out the terrain today. Instead, we'll have to start at High Park subway station. It will still be lengthy but mostly downhill. Then perhaps we can finish at Lakeshore and grab a bus back.

What's New is Old Again

A few weeks back, I went 3 stops past the Greenwood subway station to Main. From there, I was able to jump on the streetcar heading to Gerrard. I wanted to see if this was faster than taking several transfers to get home. It also gave me a chance to see other neighbourhoods.

When the streetcar turned from Coxwell to Gerrard, it passed by an old diner called New Town Family Restaurant. With its faded awning, this was no recent business to the area. I felt a sense of déjà vu because I have in fact passed by this exact spot before. Years ago, I had an idea to take every transit route from one terminal stop to the other endpoint. The theory being that I will see most of Toronto that way. I never did more than a handful of routes but I did take this one. I saw this particular restaurant back then, thought about returning, but never did.

On Tuesday, I finally made it inside for lunch. A poster claimed that the diner opened in 1948 even if the owner didn't look old enough to be the original proprietor. But the 2 women behind the counter and kitchen looked to have worked here for a while since they were on first-name basis with the local clientele. It was a simple menu of breakfast and lunch items like pancakes, bacon, and sandwiches. I ordered a chicken burger deluxe ($10.95).

It was a reasonable meal. My guess was that all the ingredients came from a bulk supplier like Sysco. But the fries were golden and crispy, the coleslaw neither too raw nor too sour, and the chicken burger had a good crunch. It reminded me of the old-school diner at Bloor and Dovercourt. That one got a second wind a few years back when the gentrified hipsters joined in with the regulars. I wonder if New Town was busier on the week-end or if the young folks were mostly hanging at joints like Black Pony and Lazy Daisy's. I'll be back before I leave for good.