originally sent November 25th, 2004
| The Cycle of Life - Since coming back to Toronto I have observed that life here, for me, is an endlessly repeating series of cycles. Some come and go like clockwork, month by month or year by year, while others take a couple of decades to move the full circle. And in this update I go all the way back to the 1980s when I was living in Europe, learning guitar, picking up a bit of German (and some of the language too) and generally just finding myself. Turns out I was under the couch all along, but that's another story. This story starts off with: | |||
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The Reunion - I used to live in Zürich, in Switzerland, and while there I performed the one and only concert of my entire life. As a gag I played and sang as the opening act for the Dutch band The Nits in front of about 1500 people at the Zürich Volkshaus. As a result I got to know the band, and I have followed their career ever since. They are amazing, and I turned them on to quite a few of my friends, including keyboardist Kevin Hearn, who is now part of the incredibly successful Canadian band Barenaked Ladies. And so, last summer, when the Nits were traveling through Eastern Canada, Kevin organized for them to come to Toronto and have BNL perform as their opening act. 20 years ago it was me, now it's Barenaked Ladies! Read the whole story here. |
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The Gathering - One summer tradition that seems to be developing for me is the annual long weekend retreat up to my friend Evan Penny's cabin on Pickerel River, near Parry Sound. I went last year to his cottage on the same long weekend, and much of the troupe this time around were the same gang as last year. And like last year there was plenty of time spent canoeing, relaxing, admiring of Group of 7 scenery, and watching the sun go down. And everybody there, except me of course, was an amazing cook! (but my French Toast recipe seemd to wow them when I finally was forced to make my meal contribution). For me, any opportunity to get up north in the summer is always welcome, and so another summer getaway long weekend revolved around... |
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The Road Trip - Near the end of August I went with my old friend Halina (far right, 2nd row) and her 2 daughters (far left 2nd row) on a cottage country road trip. We hit 3 cottages in 6 days, and our 2nd stop was to hook up with friends of Halina's at Stephenson's Lodge, just north of Peterborough, (a series of rustic family rental cabins). The property is on Barry's Bay, and I got some spectacular shots of the mist coming off the lake early in the morning as the sun was rising. What I was doing up that early is anyone's guess! But the northern scenery continued as we made our way to the cottage of our mutual friend Tracey. In fact we visited here the same time last summer too! But with views like this and a beach like this, what better way to enjoy the last days of summer? | ||
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The Passing Parade - Unfortunately I can't spend every summer weekend up at a lake, so while I'm in town I like to take in as much exotic culture as I can. And film festivals are huge here in Toronto. If you like to sit on your arse, in the dark, eating popcorn, then this is the vacation spot for you. There's a film festival almost every week, and they're all annual events! My lovely friend Lina (left) is a local mover and shaker and she was my connection for getting quite a few screening passes at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, but this year I've also attended festivals of: documentaries; short films; digital films; Latino films; dance films; psychology films; world cinema films; Asian films... etc. etc etc. (and I truly never tire of it!). | ||
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The New Friends - Another thing I love to do here in Toronto is go to see live bands. My friend Adeliana (left) works with me at my day job, and we've been to a few shows together, but the favourite had to be Lisa Loeb. Ade is a huge fan and I have to admit I was taken with her as well after seeing the show. I enjoy checking out lots of live bands (local & international) and I've managed to see great shows by such groups as: Scotland's Camera Obscura; local T.O. sensations the Broken Social Scene; the unbelievably likeable Ben Lee; Montréal all-girl band Pony Up (with the extremely fetching Lisa Smith on bass); the return of Scotland's The Delgados; the orderly chaos of England's Clinic; the last show by NYC's Luna; and the laid back bearded vibe of Toronto's own Hayden. |
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The Older Friends - Nights on the town are always full of surprises. Take the time I ran into my old pal Bob Dobbs who was in town from New York for the McLuhan Festival (He is a trip - check him out online!). We both just happened to be at The Drake Hotel Underground to see Argentinian songstress Juana Molina. I see a lot of great stuff at The Drake, as they have a very cool and eclectic booking policy - from the swampy crooning of Jolie Holland, to the riveting bravado of Eleni Mandell. In fact Eleni's show was one of the best this year! But that said, I NEVER tire of seeing my pal, and cabaret superstar, Lenni Jabour. Whether performing solo with her cellist, or staging her uproarious 3rd Floor revue, she turns The Drake, or anywhere, into a cozy Parisian boudoir. | ||
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The Not-so-regular - He doesn't tour all the time, but every few years I can count on the legendary Morrissey to grace our town with yet another fantastic live appearance. However this time, because I had written a review of his latest CD for a friend's music magazine, I got to see the show for free - provided I write a concert review for a local online music publication. Well, I was happy to do it, but the edited online version is probably no longer posted, so here's the UNEDITED version. The pic (left) was taken by a pro photographer from the Toronto Sun newspaper, and accompanied my online review. I was too far away for snaps, but years ago I got close enough to take these pix at his show in Hamilton. And in case any major fans (like me) care... this was his Toronto gig set list. | ||
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The Unplanned - And then, every once in a while, you do something you never thought you would - like spending hungover Saturday afternoon at a meet-and-greet for British Comedian Eddie Izzard. I mainly went down for my friend Alex, who is a slightly bigger fan than me, but seeing Mr Izz in person during his stand-up/Q&A routine was well worth it since I missed his sold-out stand up show last year. I also took on some unexpected design projects this year, including 2 CD covers - one for my friend Tom's band The Backstabbers, and one for my friend Damian's band The New Black (& now I'm guest-listed for life by both). And yet, despite all the brushes with fame, my life in Toronto really just revolves around work, sleep and keeping warm now that winter's here. Brrrr! | ||
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that's that. Life goes on and we fall into well-worn patterns. F'rinstance: every year I dress up as The Devil for the Hallowe'en party (although this year I was introducing myself as George Bush); every year I give people socks for Christmas; and every winter I wonder what on earth I did when I left the beautiful beaches of The Bahamas to come back to a country where women spend more than half the year with their midriffs covered. I think I may need some tropical sun before this year is out. Adios y'all! |
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