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MAN CAVE: Duding out in Toronto for Canadian Music Week
Saturday morning I picked up my bro-hort in Bucks County, and began the nine hour drive to Toronto for Canadian Music Week.
MAN CAVE: Duding out in Toronto for Canadian Music Week
Saturday morning I picked up my bro-hort in Bucks County, and began the nine hour drive to Toronto for Canadian Music Week. After more than one detour through central New York's Seneca Nation (thanks to a GPS which seemed to disaprove of our plans for North-of-the-border shenanigans) we arrived in Toronto, which reminded me of Manhattan without the swirling currents of garbage.
We checked in a Backpakers on Dundas hostel — the one location in Toronto that didn't accept U.S. dollars (which, yikes, is equal value with the Canadian buck). We paid $25 for a bed smack downtown in the fifth largest city in North America ... not too shabby. Getting to socialize with other travelers from different parts of the world is worth the price of admission alone. A clean and comfy bed is just the cherry on top.
After dinner at the Harbord House Gastro Pub, we walked to Lee's Palace, a rock club which boasted Trocadero-esque capacity with Johnny Brenda's-esque intimacy. A+.
The first band was The Balconies, a lady-fronted rock trio from Ottawa with a Yeah Yeah Yeah's-on-caffeine vibe but with more blues-scale guitar licks. They were followed by Paper Lions, a terribly catchy and high-energy Cold War Kids/New Pornographers hybrid. They wowed the audience with anthems about very Canadian things like hitting a moose with your van, and raising pints in pubs for the greater fellowship of man. In that order.
The headlining act was Electric Six — the only non-Canadian band (Detroit) to be playing Canadian Music Week this year. You know them from their idiosyncratic and hilarious music videos. Their punky disco-grunge was slightly less New Wave than usual, as they were sans synth-player. According to frontman Dick Valentine, their synthist wasn't alowed into the country by the Canadian government. This is likley untrue, as Valentine is known for saying things on stage that are entirely made up, presumably for the sake of self-enertainment. Regardless, they rocked, playing their usual mix of hits and deep cuts. They usually tour Philly yearly at J-Brenda's, and they're worth checking out.
Also worth checking out: Toronto's CN tower. It was cloudy so we were unable to verify the "you can see New York through the telescopes" rumor. But it did offer a bird's eye view of a bird's eye view, giving you a 360-degree vantage of one of the biggest (and nicest) cities ever.
Last but not least, it wouldn't be duder-onomy without stopping at the Anchor Bar Restaurant in Buffalo for the original Buffalo wing. Indulgence occurred. Discomfort ensued.
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