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.

Nuit Blanche - October 1 - 7 pm 'til Sunrise

This will be another first for me. Nuit Blanche is the French term for an all-nighter. With my raising, usually an all-nighter involves copious amounts of alcohol, and/or a very vigorous... err... friend... so meandering about and checking out art installations all over the downtown will be a change of pace. Then again, there are enough bars in the downtown core to make the combination bar-hop-art-crawl into one multi-headed hydra of awesomeness.

The idea started in Nantes, France in 1984, and quickly became an international sensation. Nowadays, over 120 cities worldwide have a night, or several nights that they shut down city streets, and have all manner of art - sculpture, light, performance, painting - you name it, it's probably there.

This year's will be the 6th event in Toronto, and feature 130 installations all over the downtown core. They've got a handy map and night planner app for smartphones to help you plan your trapsing. I'm going with the age-old travel method of tagging along with people who've been paying more attention than I. That'll free me up to pay more attention to my rigorous training regimen for the Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer tournament that I'll be spending dawn-til-dusk playing in. Burning the day at both ends FTW.

So, enough fluff. What's on my hit list for the night?

Sans Façon - "Limelight" - Glasgow, UK

The concept is simple - they replace ordinary streetlights with spotlights, making the street into an impromptu stage, where we're the performers. The artists say that their "work aims to question places and invites a renewed outlook at everyday situations." Maybe a little overstating, but it'll be fun to see how people ham it up in the glow...

Grosvenor Street, just west of Yonge.

Kurt Firla, Elliott Mealia and Po-Mo Inc. - "Ride the Rocket" - Toronto, ON

Kind of like a simulation ride at an amusement park, this bad boy is going everywhere and nowhere at once. Dreamed up by animators and comedians, it's a stationary street car that will "visit" all kinds of far flung locales, with a trained "TTC driver" (who we all hope will stay awake for the duration...) to guide the tour. Probably a big line for this one.

600 Bay Street.

Christine Irving & Interactive Art - "The Heart Machine, 2010" - Toronto, ON

Flames shooting 25 feet in the air from a 16 foot high symbolic representation of the human heart? The only thing that could make that cooler (and cause a corresponding jump in the demand for natural gas in the Province) is if it shot flames in the air on command from passers-by. Oh, wait, they thought of that. Touch the sensors that represent the arteries, and try not to toast any pidgeons in the process. People got to play with this at Burning Man this year. Now it's our turn. To be fair, it's supposed to be 9 degrees on Saturday, so we need it a little more than those dirty hippies in the desert, right?

640 Bay St.

Artist Bloc - "The Happiness Project" - Toronto, ON

Each room in the studio building is designed as the artist's take on happiness... then people will be in there musing about happy thoughts, while orchestral music plays in the background. I may just curl up here for a nap... 134 Ossington Ave.

Of course, these are just four that caught my eye out of what I've seen so far. There are tons of things to see on this night... and you should never refuse the opportunity to have your city become your playground.

I'm bringing my camera.... this may be that catalyst for that T.O. Slideshow I've been pondering for this thing.

My Son The Hurricane

So, my very first night of bandventuring in the Tdot turned up a wicked find. I'm not quite sure how to categorize these guys - maybe a live band mashup? I've been describing them to friends as "ska/funk/rockers with some white boy nerd rap mixed in," though I'm not sure if that even covers the spread. They're a standard rock band, plus a vocalist (sometimes two), but what really makes them amazing is the 7-piece horn section. Three saxamaphones, two trombones, plus three trumpets and/or a flugelhorn and/or a sousaphone. They call themselves a brass funk band, but I'm not sure if that tells the story.

Annnyhoooo... I caught them at the Horseshoe, which is one of the big stops along the way for any band of significance, or should-be significance. For some reason they were on at 10 - a little early for how good they are. I'm hope that the next time they're back, they'll be one of the main acts. They absolutely killed it. Big big sound, great energy, and a well-put together set made them stand out in what was a solid lineup for the night.

These kids have been together for two years, and they're already tight. Actually, I'd say they were better live than they are on the video. I'm looking forward to seeing where they go from here. Check their Facebook page for show dates, or follow them on Twitter.