Open Mic Community in Toronto: Must Get Out There!

As part of my 2017 resolutions (after many years of "attempting") I am going to "break" into the open mic scene and have been researching some of the events around town.

Due to its size, Toronto is a hub of musical activity with different sized venues (intimate to Air Canada Centre), all types of music represented, many bands calling Toronto as a base, recording facilities, etc. On the amateur and working professional side are communities of individuals who enjoy grabbing the stage with just a voice and a guitar and sharing their more personal original material or belting out some well known, sing along cover tunes.

I was surprised by the commitment of the hosts, in some cases being there weekly for years, and the availability of a house guitar, rather than bringing your own (in minus 20....that's a huge bonus!).

The first week in January as I began to compile the various events of each week night and attend them, was very quiet - not only due to the weather, I'm sure, but who (or who's liver) wants to go to a bar on a "school night" and start drinking after a wild New Year's Eve. Anyway, by week two, everything had picked up.

ALWAYS CALL ahead, as many of the online open mic websites, although appearing quite recent and updated, are not (Fox and Firkin Danforth - of which, one website advertised a free recording off the board of your performance)

Dora Keogh - Monday nights affair with two talented hosts who warm up the small crowd of mainly performers. The night I attended, most seemed to have some past recording or performing experience (they were really good!).  A narrow bar in the Danforth/Broadview area, the venue has a great sized stage in the back corner, with most of the entire bar's light focused on....you guessed it, the stage.  The Guinness seemed to be the popular choice among many of the performers and onlookers at this Irish pub, where the bartenders were from....Ireland.

Amsterdam Bicycle Club - Better known as the closed off section of the Esplanade location of the Old Spaghetti Factory.  Close to Union if you have to travel with your guitar.  The event was advertised at 9PM signup (930PM start), did not really commence until closer to 10pm.  The Amsterdam is a cozy, smaller, darker venue with a welcoming, larger stage and good stage lighting.  Some of the regulars will hop on the drums, bass, bongos to help accompany you.

The Old Nick - Essentially performers are playing in the front window along Danforth, so you will have onlookers...at your back. In the summer the windows can open, so you will be playing for the masses that stroll by as well as in the bar. A friendly host, Kyle, has been hosting for two years now (and is a drummer primarily, but you would not believe it based on his guitar playing and singing!).

The Cavern - Honestly, I have yet to attend.  It sounds like an interesting venue, for the fact if you a performer is downtown working late during the week, you could pop in and sing a couple of numbers from the repertoire.  More to report on that one later.

The Grover - Strangely held on Friday nights (versus during earlier in the week where the nights are quieter).  As such, you are going to have an audience here.  Lacking a stage, there is an area by the main window that is set up with microphone, amplifier, chair, house guitar and a PA.  The host was almost too good as an opening act, with a great smooth voice that should have been on American or Canadian Idol.  The food choices looked good and would be happy to eat there in the near future.

This is not an exhaustive list, and I will be adding more as they come across my radar and have checked them out.  Happy playing!

Trudeau's "Listening Tour": Are Canadians Really this Gullible and Stupid?

After missing one of Canada's most important starts to the New Year (Canada's150th) and after deliberately trying to cover up his "family" vacation plans while making poor judgements on the use of transportation means, The Justin finally comes clean.  Today is January 13th, and for nearly two weeks The Justin and his office have hid the details of this vacation that Trudeau prefers to believe he did nothing wrong. So much for the campaign of transperancy, facts and science.

And why another two Liberals on board along with their partners for Trudeau's "family" vacation? Why these two?

With the upcoming Davos conference (a conference of the business, political and economic elite), that he was suposed to attend, The Justin hastily assembles a small town, cross-Canada tour in the hopes of winning over Canadians.  Maybe he fancies himself a bit of an upcoming, touring Canadian band after seeing his friends at the final Tragically Hip concert (Ticketmaster did not apply to him like the rest of us long time fans who have travelled to see the Hip over decades). Where can I buy a "Listening Tour" t-shirt?

Perhaps these smaller town Canadians are immune to the increasing tax bases of the urban centres and larger population bases, erosion of employment that can quickly move anywhere (because Justin...it's 2017), less informed of the standards of a real Prime Minister, or plainly fall victim to the leftist media in Canada, blindly believing that everything in Canada is fine...and fine with our "elected leader"

If The Justin does not improve his motives, character and substance this is only the start of things to come.  And with our other two opposition parties in leadership disarray, this could continue for years to come.  This author will be guaging the "arrogance meter".  Stay tuned....

More Apologies From Federal Liberals: Are Any of These MPs Thinking?

Another day, another apology from a Liberal MP.  This time from the Minister of Natural Resources Jim Carr and his comments about bringing in authorities whether police or military with regards to pipeline protesters.  This coming days after (the fraudulent Canadian that is somehow still a MP) Maryam Monsef's apology to not only the opposition but her fellow Liberal colleagues that served on the electoral reform committee.  The quick response from (how is she a...) MP Maryam Monsef begs the question from many sources - did she actually read the report and it's findings? More smoke and mirrors from the Liberals on an obviously what will be actually failed promise.  See earlier post.

Back to MP Jim Carr, although his warning of bringing in the authorities was an aggressive statement, when you dig beyond what the media reports, it is even more inflammatory in nature. 

Typical media reports all pipelines the same - new pipelines, existing pipelines, pipelines in development, thinking of a pipeline, pipelines under a lake, over a lake, in sensitive areas, barren waste lands, native land or not - they are all reported the same. 

Much to the disbelief of many readers of Metro or 24, the pipelines approved by the Liberals are the replacement of one EXISTING pipeline and the EXPANSION of another EXISTING pipeline.  The routes, the access needed and a lot of the work has been done already.  This is not a scene out of Avatar where the big, bad machines of development are pressing through the thickly forested utopias destroying everything in sight. 

So, although there will always be differing views on topics so environmentally and economically charged, shame on the extremist protesters for spewing untruths and fiction so offside the media cannot help themselves to cover these outrageous claims, but also shame on Jim Carr too - playing the bad cop when in fact he only has a bark, no bite.

Oh! Justin on the TV now, apologizing at the AFN conference...

Canadian Football: Canada's Vanier Cup - the Most Underrated Game

Even older than the SuperBowl, the 52nd Vanier cup proved to be yet another close affair as represented by two of Canada's most prolific football programs - University of Calgary and Universite Laval.

Thanks to Canadians' apathy to our own cultural and sporting institutions, I managed to PVR the event on SportsNet (who covers the event in a commendable way every year) and watch Canada's university game the following weekend - with no spoilers. Hats off to Tim Micallef who is the only Anglophone sportscaster in Canada that makes an effort on the French-Canadian accent when pronouncing last names. 

Lacking the cache of US style marching bands, big time scholarships and million dollar coaches at the "college"level, the Vanier Cup has managed to demonstrate some incredible finishes and suspenseful games over the last seven years at least, with just our own home-grown boys.  It has survived as its own independent event and also tucked in with the Grey Cup weekend (the McMaster-Laval match in 2011 was an insane Vanier Cup final - the most memorable football game I have ever attended). 

Although, the interest ebbs and flows in various regions of the country (highest in the Prairies and La Belle Province), the outpouring of interest and importance is none better than the die-hard regional following in Quebec City where Canadian University Football (now referred to as U Sports) is "Big League", in a city devoid of all professional sports and the size of an NHL market. 

Maryam Monsef Is An Undeserving, Insulting, Fraudulent MP...and Canadian: Long Live "First Past the Post"!

This is a must see. http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/video-maryam-monsef-vs-everyone-in-question-period-as-she-attacks-mps-who-worked-on-electoral-reform

Liberals have vowed to kill the First Past the Post system (unilaterally - really?!).  Well, what's happened over the last nearly 10 years? Lost elections by the Liberals even trying such desperate, banana republic measures to form coalitions in toppling previous winning and democratically elected governments, and going so far as to proposing "changing the rules of the game" as an integral part of the party's 2015 election platform....in time for the next election! WHAAAAAAT?!?!?

Since then, the Liberals have won a (shocking and suprise) majority - and all of a sudden the foot is not on the gas pedal anymore.  The MP and "unofficial Canadian" Maryam Monsef (who must resign according to the Liberal's own interpretation of revoking citizenship based on lying or incorrect information on applications) even insulted an "all-party" committee on election reform during question period and its 400 page report that was "not good enough".

Maybe Canadians want to think really hard about this. The last election, the Liberals won 39.5% of the votes and 54% of the seats in the House of Commons.   If proportional representation or a method linked to the popular vote is actually pushed ahead by the Liberals, then Ontario's agenda will win every time. Canada - do you want this?

Long Live "First Past the Post!"

Liberal Advent Calendar

I saw a "Trudeau-scented candle" in an inept email that came my way recently,  Scented? Does it smell like b#llsh!t?  Afterward, I then started thinking what would have been a bigger seller. Immediately what came to mind - a "Justin Advent Calendar".  Every square that is opened up adds another C$1.0B to Canada's deficit levels.  Oh! And of course, the calendars would be paid for by taxpayers.  Merry Christmas.

The Justin and His Cuban, Chinese Cohorts

As posted earlier, the comparisons between "The Justin" and his Father, Pierre ("P.E.T.") are becoming more and more apparent.  Not only has The Justin played out like his Father before him acknowledging the death and honouring the life of a communist dictator, whom which he has met, 

The Justin also blatantly has held court with wealthy Chinese "businessmen" (they are called "billionaires" in the media).  Whether Chinese or Chinese-Canadian, lacking specific residency evidence, my hunch is that a good part of this group spends most of its time outside of Canada; yet has the ear of Canada's leadership and how policy and laws are conducted in this country....for Canadians.  

May I remind readers, and never are these connections made by our robotic and mundane news networks, the timing of when these cash-for-access meetings were held immediately preceded an announcement by a Chinese insurance company Anbang (as referred to by the Globe & Mail, "A massive Chinese insurance company with a murky ownership structure") purchasing a significant stake in a British Columbia senior care provider (“Retirement Concepts”), resulting in an important role in the delivery of health care in B.C.  In this country where health care is deemed to be sacred and any outside, non-governmental or foreign providers are vehemently frowned upon, I will write this again.  A Chinese insurance company has purchased a significant stake in a British Columbia senior care provider, resulting in an important role in the delivery of health care in B.C.

Due to the size of this +$1.0B investment, this is deemed to be a “foreign takeover” and as such is currently under scrutiny by the federal government’s Investment Review Division (all transactions greater than the $600-million threshold need to be considered in light of a “net benefit” test to Canada).  The decision will be up to Innovation Minister Navdeep “what does an Innovation Minister do?” Bains.  Minister Bains, who unlike other members of The Justin’s cabinet, is actually and officially Canadian…that’s right Maryam Monsef. 

Another connection the media at large have failed to outline, this Anbang purchase of Retirement Concepts comes at a time when British Columbia Premier Christy Clark is seeking both hard and soft trade-offs with regards to the recent Trans Mountain pipeline announcement by her fellow Liberal, The Justin. Hmmmmm…….