Notes From the Scene
Chicks Dig It has moved…
..to its new regular location, The Apothecary (340 Adelaide Street West, at Peter Street).
The story, according to their mailing list message, is that the owner of the Temple Bar (their original venue), wanted them to stick to a strictly house-music playlist. “Genre prejudice,” the Chicks replied. The Chicks often mix it up, throwing in some reggae, jungle, dub and other tracks where the musicians decided to veer from their drum machines’ default settings. Apparently, the Temple Bar management thought that a steady diet of dance music in 4/4 time (that is, music with a straight “one-two-three-four” beat) was better for drumming up business at the bar. I suggest that they drop their ridiculous drinks prices instead.
Fortunately, Chicks Dig It found a new venue in a less out-of-the-way location: The Apothecary, at the corner of Adelaide and Peter Street (it’s one block south of Fez Batik). It’s smaller than Temple Bar, but it makes up for its size by having an enclosed patio, which will make for some interesting nights once the weather warms up. This Monday’s line-up starts with Chocolate, Sabrina and AMTrak and finishes with Freedom and Denise Benson.
I’ll be there with accordion in tow. Toronto locals who want to have a pre-Chicks Dig It drink chez moi (I have a lot of beer and live four blocks away from the venue) should e-mail me.
The street really does find its own uses for things
There’s an interesting article in a local free magazine called neksis that takes a look at the resurgence of cocaine use. The article is a set of short essays on cocaine use written from all kinds of perspectives — one from a drug dealer, one from an enthusiast, one from a club-goer, and so on.
The observation I found most interesting was the bouncer’s. He noted that the suits had taken to sniffing coke off their Palm Pilot screens. It’s quiet dark and in the bathrooms of many clubs, and the Palm’s backlight comes in pretty handy. I suspect the real high-rollers are snorting off their iPaq screens. They’re pricey, and their screens are quite bright.
I see a great product opportunity: imagine WriteRight Palm screen protective sheets that have been chemically treated to change colour according to the purity of the cocaine placed on them. Damn, I’m full of million dollar ideas.
I wonder if Microsoft can take advantage of this with a new slogan for Windows CE: Where do you want to do blow today?
Lindi Gigs
Lindi is playing two gigs in the near future. The first is at the Steam Whistle Brewery as part of a showcase of independent recording artists on March 15th (the ides of March!). Then we’ll play at C’est What on April 6th in a battle of the homophones: the tall icelandic gentle giant of folk rock, Lindy, vs. Lindi, accordion-powered sweetheart of the cabaret.
Be there or suck mightily.
I still have to write about the Lindi gig I played last Friday. It’ll probably go up tomorrow.
Hair
My friend Chris once chided me about my expensive gel. All I have to say is when you have your hair cut longer than standard-issue prison buzz, hair care becomes important, boy!
Based on my recommendation, my housemate Paul went to See Fu Hair Design (corner of Sullivan and Spadina, a half block from our house) to get his hair cut. As expected, he loved the experience. He very well could be the first gwei lo as well as the tallest person ever to set foot in the place.
See Fu is staffed with very cute club-clothed Chinese girls with anime-coloured hair who start and end your haircut with a very nice scalp massage and shoulder rub (I’m probably risking having the place flooded with otaku fanboys by singing the praises of their cute staff). A haircut at See Fu may take an hour — it’s no place to go if you’re in a hurry — but you’ll be way to mellowed out to care about the time anyway. They’re also very meticulous about their scissor and shear work, performing it with the zest of an Asian kid doing the computer science homework for the entire 2nd floor wing of the womens’ residence at university (yup, that was me, and it paid off in spades).
See Fu will eventually move into its new location, inside E-Zone, half a block south. E-Zone is a strange business that I would like to see succeed, if only for it quirky charm. E-Zone is a combination bubble tea cafe, Asian food lunch restaurant and hair salon. Any place that has cute hairstylists, mango bubble tea and satay chicken on a stick for 49 cents is cool by me.
The only downside is the language barrier; many of the staff can barely speak English. Don’t be shy, and be prepared to repeat yourself and use gestures. The other thing that may drive you crazy is the canto-pop that they’ve always got on their sound system. If you’re not into that kind of thing, the hour you spend there may drive you bonkers. Minor quibbles aside, I highly recommend it.
Recommended Reading
You might want to check out my original posting on Chicks Dig It and eye magazine’s article.
neksis one of a wave of new free magazines that have appeared at hipster stores and cafes all over Toronto (other magazines include Dojo and Trucker). According to their FAQ, they cover “hip hop, electronica, sex, drugs (they have a drug column written by University of Toronto Professor Konstantine Zakzanis, a Ph. D. in neuropsychology!), politics and whatever else we find interesting to a demographic (18-30 year olds) that isn’t often targeted by mainstream media”. In addition to the print magazine, they also have a Slashdot-like discussion site.
Hmmm…I’m just a shade older than neksis’ target demographic. Good thing I don’t look it. Or act it.
By the way, neksis’ Zakzanis says that using E will mess with your RAM.
The Lindi gig on March 15th will be my second performance at the Steam Whistle Brewery. My first is documented here.