Archive for the Category ◊ Music ◊
Live music in Yonge-Dundas Square, where I ended up after dinner.
Of course, I got the title from the 60′s hit song by the Lovin’ Spoonful, and here’s a cover by Joe Cocker:
I like the heritage bit at the end (which has no meaning if you’ve not watched Canadian TV). Lyrics behind the jump:
I have a category in my sidebar for ‘Local Colour’ which was originally a subcategory of ‘Expat Life’. I was writing about what it was like to live in semi-rural Pennsylvania and my observations of little eccentricities like gigantic inflatable crabs on seafood restaurants nowhere near the sea. Now that I’m not living there anymore, I wasn’t sure what to do with ‘Local Colour’, and decided recently to promote it from subcategory and expand it to include local colour from wherever I live.
I have a mental list of places I need to visit while I live here, and Communist’s Daughter is one of them. It’s a tiny bar that’s popular with the locals and within walking distance of my own neighbourhood. I haven’t been there yet because I’m not really a barfly, and the fact that it’s small and often jam-packed is somewhat of a deterrent. Apparently the only way to get a seat is to go early on a weeknight. Sometime this summer, maybe on the way home from work, I’ll wander over there and check it out myself. In the meantime I found this video online, shot by my friend Sai, that’ll give you an idea of why it’s so popular.
Review on Yelp: http://www.yelp.ca/biz/communists-daughter-toronto
What made me think of this place was a conversation from last night, which turned out to be an unexpected evening with documentary filmmakers. What began as a key drop-off at a pub (I was lending my car) turned out to be seven hours of commingling with doc people, which for me is always interesting. Photography and videography are bedfellows, and the driving forces behind documentary films are the same for photojournalism: non-fiction storytelling. While I do far less story-telling here than I have in the past, in person I tell more stories than ever — mainly because as I get older there are more stories to tell. Thus the evening grew longer and longer…
The gathering at Pauper’s Pub in the Annex was a monthly meeting for doc people, and from there Jan and I went to a coffee bar a few doors down to meet another documentary filmmaker. The Green Beanery closed at 10pm (it used to be a bank — check out The Vault), so she suggested we head over to a place further west called Three Speed, which was hopping. The back patio was the only place left with seating, but it was perfect for a spring evening — spacious yet cozy.
For someone who claims not to be a barfly, last night was practically a pub crawl.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Sarah’s Bar & Cafe
http://www.drummersinexile.com/
http://www.meetup.com/Power-Circle/
More than drummers, there were musicians, too…
The set is best viewed as a [slideshow], or [thumbnails] or in the Pictobrowser below:
Tonight was the first time I checked out Dawn Langstroth’s music, and I’m glad I did, finally. She’s got the chops and her songwriting compliments the qualities of her voice. If you’re Canadian you may already know her name — she’s Anne Murray‘s daughter. I’ve watched a few of her videos and at times I can see the resemblance in their faces and hear a little similarity in the timbre of their voices, but their vocal styles are quite different and Dawn’s music takes a darker tone, especially in the lyrics.
Check out Dawn’s website (the videos are better quality there than on YouTube). I especially like her acoustic version of “You Don’t Know Me”.
One of my favourite photos from the art gallery wedding last month, this was taken at the end of the night during the last dance. It never fails to amaze the guests that I stay until the very end (most photographers don’t), but that’s because I like to capture these moments. It’s worth it.
These are the groom’s parents, who’ve been married more than 40 years. She told me they got married and started their family when she was 17 years old. Here they are, grandparents of six, totally oblivious to me and everyone else at 1 o’clock in the morning and looking into each others’ eyes with love and happiness.
“We still hold hands when we watch television.”
I wish this kind of love for every couple.
I have to say, even though I now fall in the ranks of the “older generation” and am not a fan of all these Canadian artists, I have nothing curmudgeonly or cynical to say about this remixed version of K’naan’s song. (Does it count if I say I’m glad Nickelback’s not in it?) I did find it mildly amusing that “Young Artists For Haiti” included a few older rockers and stuck them in the back — is that Tom Cochrane at 2:19/3:38 and Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo at 2:22?
In fact, as a song and as a video, I like it very much. I’ve watched it several times and grow to like it a little more each time. As well, there are images that really hit home, eg. the tiny child with the big eyes and wee smile at 3:56 tugged at my heartstrings at every video play. It is aimed to inspire a younger generation (and I believe it will), their voices sound great, and the message isn’t drowned out by “oversinging” like the kind you would find in a show like Idol. I also liked that they included at least a bit of French!
The version that’s on the CBC website is longer and includes part of an interview with K’naan and spokespeople for the three Canadian humanitarian charities which benefit from the sales of the song and video. Links are here:
Young Artists For Haiti (official site): http://www.youngartistsforhaiti.net/
(purchase the mp3 for C$1.29, video for C$2.29)
Young Artists For Haiti (Facebook site): http://www.facebook.com/youngartistsforhaiti
World Vision Canada: http://www.worldvision.ca/
Free the Children: http://www.freethechildren.com/
War Child: http://www.warchild.ca/
At breakfast I discovered I needed to make a milk run and the brilliant sunshine convinced me to bring the camera and 50mm f/1.8 lens with me. I turned it into a looped photo-walk starting with a latte at the local cafe and ending with a trip to the grocery store. The thing about shooting in your own neighbourhood is that it tests your power of observation. I’ve lived here nearly three years, but I will be the first to admit that there is lots of exploring yet to do. Here’s what I shot, in no particular order:
Video for today: a film project video of “Neighborhood #2 (Laika)” by Montreal band Arcade Fire, acted by children. (Director: Jay Cheel) “Laika” is one of my favourite songs off the Funeral album.
I very nearly lost a bet tonight, while the country held its breath for the entire third period of the mens hockey game when Team Canada dodged a bullet from Team Slovakia. At no time was I absolutely, 100% sure Canada would win, but I was fully prepared to live up to my promise of buying a Slovak hockey jersey and wearing it if Canada lost its game tonight. I would’ve even worn it in the office, where I’d never live down the scorn. As of Friday afternoon, I heard people in the office were on the phones booking flights to Vancouver and tickets from the internet for the gold medal game on Sunday — that’s how confident everyone was that Canada would win tonight.
I think in sport anything can happen and once in a while national pride from even a small country like Slovakia can surprise people. And it did!
I sent the message to Radovan several days ago after Slovakia beat Sweden, with every intention of ponying up the cash for a Slovak jersey if they beat the odds. If they did, Radovan probably wouldn’t be sipping the icewine I brought over from Toronto last June like he is in this picture, he’d be slugging it back like it was beer. In fact, making a trip back to Bratislava (which was part of my high-stakes bet) would probably land me in a big party in the streets.
No matter which country won, I’d be the least disappointed (non-Slovak) since I’m a Canadian who likes Slovakia and would love it if either team beat the USA. Ha!
As it stands, Slovakia made a valiant effort while Canada scared the living daylights out of everyone from Vancouver Island to Newfoundland by nearly blowing a 3-goal lead. As an ode to gutsy Slovakia, I dug back through my archives from last year and proffer a few more trip photos from Bratislava. I had a great 37th birthday there!
More Bratislava photos can be found here (the album is very far from complete!).
Video from today: a photo slideshow of Slovakia from YouTube
I had a great Saturday, volunteering during the day and spending the evening at a friend’s house, eating excellent food and enjoying everyone’s company. A fun evening that didn’t end until 3am! So when I woke up this morning and looked up at a skylight filled with blue sky, I knew the best way to top off this weekend would be to shoot outside. It was just a matter of deciding where to shoot.
I really miss living by the ocean (Vancouver’s Olympic news footage backdropped by the ocean and mountains is making me verklempt!), but living by Lake Ontario brings similar feelings of tranquility, as mass bodies of water tend to do. I’ve lived inland before — Winnipeg, Banff, Canberra, Scranton, to name a few places — but I always found myself drawn to the water’s edge.
Last winter when I shot the Irish Famine Memorial it was cold and windy and probably 20 degrees lower. This afternoon it was mercifully sunny and without wind, but I was glad to have brought my glove-mittens, which I use to shoot because they keep my hands warm while leaving my fingers free to control the camera settings.
I started off in the park across the street from the main gate to the CNE, walking east along the municipal marina, by the ferry to City Centre Airport, continuing to the Irish Famine Memorial. There were plenty of joggers, but not many people strolling about. A few photographers, natch. The weather couldn’t be better!
Photos best viewed as a [slideshow], as [thumbnails], or in the Pictobrowser below:
Video for today: Roch Voisine performing “Helene” live in the ’80s. [official site] I had a crush on him growing up, along with thousands of other young Canadian girls. (See why.) Voisine is from New Brunswick, a bilingual singer-songwriter who is probably more famous in francophone Canada even though he has music in both English and French. I was listening to an interview with him on CBC earlier, and he’s currently doing a stint as an Olympic hockey sportscaster for a station in France! Apparently Voisine had his sights set on becoming a hockey player until an injury ended that dream. Even though he’s known as a musician, I suppose people in France consider him enough of an authority on hockey to be a commentator for them. There you go: diversify your skills and life will become much more interesting…
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