The Wheat Sheaf - hot but not hot.

So, YDC and I took a little Tuesday night jaunt down to check out the Wheat Sheaf, as promised. Yes, it took me a week to write about it. Yes, this is the first time I've been a little bored since last week. Sue me. No, wait, don't.

Anyway, Tuesday night means wing deals at many places across town, and it also means that our beloved Leafs are on. The Wheat Sheaf seemed as good of a place as any to combine those two of my favourite past times, with the third one - delicious Creemore Pilsner.

Despite what a somewhat confused employee may tell you on the phone, you can reserve a table, and if you're going on a Tuesday, I'd suggest it. The place had a mixed crowd - about what you'd expect of a place plopped down at Bathurst & King. Very light on the douches, with a smattering of students, some young professionals decompressing after work, a few foreign expats that make a beeline for the exit when the game starts, and, from the looks of it, mostly just nice normal folks out to catch the game. +1.

The Place... is pretty standard pub, a little on the divey side (+1), belying the fact it's been there slinging pints & chaw since 1849, long before King West was a place where Maserattis would parade around on a Thursday. Lots of flat screen TVs, and a somewhat faded projection screen at the one end.

The Service... not the most attentive in the world, by any stretch. Several times the pitchers ran dry, were scooped up, and not replaced. Our guy seemed a little impatient (and I don't even think we were being dicks...), like he wasn't the biggest fan of his job. -1.

The Wings... as far as quality of cooking, they were badass. They came out piping hot & fresh... crispy on the outside, steamy on the inside - perfectly cooked. Nice size to 'em. The sauce was another story, unfortunately. Being manly men, we got suicide... The sauce was tightly rationed, with some dry patches on the ol' girls, so we ordered another little vessel of suicide. It didn't make them any hotter, but it was at least tasty. My guess would be a cayenne pepper based sauce, with that nice peppery flavour... but I would barely even describe them as medium.

Sunday-Tuesday are wing nights. 1/2 price - we got 30 for around 13 bucks, and stuffed our fat faces thoroughly.

The Verdict... I'll give them another shot to see if they were just having a bad sauce night... but only because they were so perfectly cooked. If they cranked up the Scovilles by a factor of 5, they'd be a regular part of my repetoire.

Wing Night finder? You don't say!

Probably about the best idea I've heard since I spent the weekend back home with Uncle Jordy and Uncle Jon (note: not related, nor uncles. Except Jordy, but he's not my uncle, so it doesn't count).

Hotwings.ca has a user-generated list of wing joints, wing nights, reviews, and a Google map that lets you see who has deals on, and where the award-winners can be found. It even tracks the top-10 per city.

Bookmarks, add bookmark. Use often. Tonight we're checking out our beloved Maple Leafs at the Wheat Sheaf, and seeing if their 55 cent wings measure up to the delicious expectations I have of them...

Indie Week Wrapup

What a great week of music... well, a great 5 days of music. From all accounts, there were some incredibly energetic shows. I managed to catch only two shows, as so-called "real life" tends to get in the way of fun from time to time.

Thursday night at the Bovine was a good time. We arrived mid-set for Die by Remote, who were putting on a solid, if somewhat uninspired show. It felt like they were paying more attention to the music than they were to entertaining the crowd. Nothing wrong with their sound, they just need to up their energy level & crowd interaction.

Then, there was a round of shots, and a few Molson Stock Ales to wash them down.

The second set was The Waxmen out of Scarborough. They play a 90's rock style, and showed a lot of versaitility. The first song was Tea Party-esque, the second Foo-Fighters-ish, and so forth. A lot of versatility, but not a lot of flow in the set. Great energy on the stage, and each song was well played.

Another round of shots, and a few more beers with pictures of an anchor on them. Sensing a theme?

Then came My Son the Hurricane, the ol' rock band with a 7 piece horn section, that crammed themselves in to the tiny Bovine stage. They played an energetic set, capped off with their brassy cover of Metallica's For Whom the Bell Tolls... The sound mixing was a little off, so Jacob Bergsma, the vocalist, was a little washed out by the horns. For these guys to take it to the next level, I think they've got to start bringing the singer from the videos out for more live shows, and spread the solos around a little more. The guitar & trombone solos were great, but I'd like to see what the rest of the band's got...

More shots. Chicks putting the moves on other chicks. More beer. Nice.

Discovery of the night? The Treble Warriors, a self-described rock-reggae band with great energy, and good arrangements. It was either them, or the copious amounts of alcohol that had me swaying (likely both), so in order to get a better idea of what they're about, I'm going to do what you should do - download their free album, and give it a listen on a SundayFunday.

Totally worth the Hangover from Hell on the Friday. No loud noises, please.

The Indie Week Finale on Sunday was a great showcase. From what I understand, the top bands from each night played on the Saturday at different bars, and the top band from each of those shows got a spot in the finals.

The winner played in the third timeslot, so I completely missed them... but Tiny Danza out of Toronto apparently rocked it pretty hard. Again, I'll have to listen to a few tunes online and see what they're made of. Congrats, boys!

We arrived to the sounds of Sherman Downey and the Ambiguous Case, a folk-rock-bluegrassy band out of Newfoundland. An unusual combination of acordian, guitar, mandolin, bass, banjo, brass & drums, they played harmonies like Great Big Sea sings 'em. All very talented musicians, and they played quite well together. At times it felt like the interludes dragged on a little, which I think kept the crowd from getting overly involved in it, but definitely no shortage of talent.

Calgary's Zoo Lion were next, with straight up four piece alt-rock, and they were rocking hard. Their set was fun and danceable, and overall high quality. They played well to the crowd, and entertained well. None of their songs stood out as particularly remarkable, but it was all good. ;-)

Surprise of the night? Courage My Love... I heard a rumour that the two girls and the guy in this rock trio were high school age... can anyone confirm that? If that's the case, their talent definitely outstrips their years. If that's not the case, then I'll bet they get ID'ed at every LCBO. Regardless, they put on a solid show, even if the lead guitarist/vocalist seemed surprised when the crowd got into it. Ha! A lot of fun, and definitely one to watch.

My personal favourite set of the night was the Ascot Royals (yes, I will eventually turn that link into the actual video. They can do such fancy things on computers now). A classic 5-piece rock band (guitar, vocals, bass, keyboard, drums) with incredibly slick sets. Each song was good individually, but they also know how to build a set. Even with the quick 20 minutes that they had, they built the energy level, and each song flowed nicely into the next. Their personalities and energy shone through in their playing, and their interaction with the crowd. Keep an eye on these fellas, they may go somewhere.

Definitely worth the monday morning hangover (NB: no capital letters = relatively minor hangover). Are you sensing a theme?

Great upcoming shows.

Indie Music Week - Oct 12-17th

Alright, this is setting up to be a great week of music. That is, as long as you like up & coming bands playing their asses off for a shot at some big exposure. I'm super pumped to see My Son the Hurricane again (October 13th at the Bovine Sex Club)... maybe I'll throw my man-panties on the stage...

The Indie Week website links to all of the band pages, so you can check them out, as I'll be doing. Some standouts in my mind so far include the clean, soulful rock of The Murder Plans (Oct 14th @ the Underground Garage, cover $??), the sultry voice of Tara Priya (four shows during the week - check her site), and The Suburbians, the winners of the Indie Week honours from Ireland (five shows - check their site).

One can't miss show is the "Best of the Fest" finale at Tattoo Rock Parlour. The top 10 bands will be playing in a showdown. $10 cover, doors open at 7. You can score tickets in advance, which I've got. We'll be rolling 7 deep on this night. Probably rocking 7 deep too.

Or, if you can't decide, and you're bored on a Wednesday, just check the Launch Party at the Hideout... $10, and a 4 am last call. What more do you need to help your hump day keep humping?

The links to tickets on the website doesn't work, so you've got to go directly to TicketScene.ca to pick 'em up.

Adaline - November 12 - El Mocambo

Thanks to my sister for the hookup on this one. A Vancouver songstress with a velvet voice. I haven't quite figured out how to categorize her style yet, and I may never. Either way - smooth lyrics, cheeky instrumentals, and a bit of a slinky edge to her voice. This is the Toronto release party for her new album "Modern Romantics," produced and played on by Hawksley Workman. Not sure if he'll be out in support on this night, but there are two electrochickpop acts opening for her. Check the Facebook page for the full details. $10. Doors at 8:30.

Trombone Shorty - November 17 - Opera House

I'm really looking forward to this one. Trombone Shorty is one super talented trombone & trumpet player from Nawlins. He mashes up jazz, funk, r&b, hip hop, blues and straight-ahead rock and or roll. He's got a new album out, and is touring really friggin' hard to push it. Toronto is the only Canadian stop on the tour, and it's one night only at the Opera House. Tickets are $34 from Ticketmaster. Doors at 9.

Support local music, or else suffer its absence in silence. ;-)

The Grid T.O.

Just a quick heads-up as to a great website I stumbled across...

(yes, I'm painfully aware that this is hardly a groundbreaking discovery, but just bear with me. I'm from a small town. Things move slower there.)

The Grid T.O. is a community-based web magazine that gives neighbourhood by neighbourhood breakdowns of what's going on in the city. Blogs (please don't leave me), music, festivals, fashion, art - all the same 'tings I'm out to discover. Yes, I'll be picking up some tips from there. No, I won't be jealous if you go there. There's a lot of love for this city. Spread it.