9 to 5 in the 416

The last few months I've been blogging while jobless, which has been both liberating (especially in terms of having time to blog) and constricting (in not being able to take advantage of the free time because of a lack in funds). It has been wonderful being able to wander around the streets of Toronto, seeing what the city has to offer, but now it's time to get back to reality.

And in this way, I think my comparison between London and Toronto will be much more accurate now because my lifestyle will return to a working in the day routine. This also probably means my blogs will be less frequent but heyho, whatchagonnado?

So far, taking away the actual type of work I'm doing and the type of organization I'm working for, the most noticable difference is the commute - though I'm using the subway, and the length of commute is almost the same (10 min less in Toronto), the sheer volume of people in London is so staggering that it feels very different. People think they're on top of each other in the subway here. They aren't.

In other news, I went to see a hilarious show last night called 'Pomme is French for Apple', which is essentially a children-of-Caribbean-parents-in-Toronto-style-Vagina-Monologuesque comedy. I was pretty much rolling on the floor laughing through the hour and a half show put on by two very funny women. (Also the intro skit was mad funny, and definitely worth finding out who those two women are).

It's on for the next few days, so if you are in Toronto and want to cry with laughter for a few hours for $20, I would definitely recommend it to everyone (including men) who has a sense of humour and doesn't mind their mind being pulled through the gutter for a little while. Caribbean people or people who've been around lots of Caribbean people will find it especially funny. The venue is also a really cool place, and served very tasty rum punch.

Check out a teaser here:

jolie Anjulie

Anjulie puts on an amazing show for a non-deserving crowd at Viva in Hamilton.

(photo homorazzi.com)

I've never been out in Hamilton to party before, and one night is not a lot to judge a small suburban town on, but I'm unlikely to go partying in Hamilton again. Although Hesse Village is quite quaint, and made me think 'why on earth did urban planners not build this type of High Street feel in Mississauga' the actual party scene, or at least Viva itself, was substandard. Well, maybe ideal for a 19 year old, of which there were many. But considering that Anjulie is a massive gig for a venue so far from Toronto, the club should have done much better with promotion. All of Hamilton should have been at Viva watching the pint sized singer belt out her hits and soon to be hits.

She's got some mad catchy tunes, and a wicked stage presence that boosts her warm yet husky vocals. Two fly girls flanked her with spirited moves while Anjulie nailed songs like 'fucking sexy' (have assumed the song name here:)), 'brand new bitch' and the recently released anthem 'stand behind the music'. Her strong vocals combined with tight rapping reminds me of a combination of Gwen Stefani - though thankfully Anjulie's lyrics have meaning and intelligence - and M.I.A. She is not comparable to most of today's pop starlettes because she actually writes her own music. Hooray for not pandering to the synthetically created 'gems' of today's pop world. She even writes other singer's music, notably this year, 'Don't call me baby' sung by Kreesha Turner.

If you haven't seen Anjulie, check her out. She's performing tomorrow night at Nathan Philips Square for Citytv's New Year's Eve bash, go down or watch it on tv.

I'm definitely looking forward to catching her again, this time in the 416.

Stand Behind the Music video

time travel gone wrong

You're right, it was a bizarre choice, but the tickets were free. Medieval Times. We're 28 not 8, but fun was had.

Medieval Times is quite an unusual evening. Mostly unusual because even though you know the outcome of the knights fighting is set (and you know it both intellectually and visually. some of the fakes are laughably terrible) you still have this strange sense of 'green or dieeeeee' when your knight bounds out. Green knight was the badass backstabber knight. Embarrassing. But not as embarrassing as my friend missing the rose thrown to her by the green knight because her hands were covered in delicious chicken juice. 

Verdict:

atmosphere - fun. you're expected to yell, which is liberating in itself. most people were our age. there were probably 20 kids in total. there's a lot of stuff (read crap) to buy. we also had the advantage of a really good heckler in the audience. good hecklers are hard to find.

performance - the story line and knights fighting is obviously for kids, but it is pretty strange. the horses dancing was incredible (although we did all feel sorry for the horse. mild animal abuse? i'm not sure), and i'm certain they were doing a complicated cha cha cha. 

venue - every seat is close. the performers are right in front of you and the set up works perfectly for what's happening

food - LOADS of it. chicken was delicious. tomato soup was also decent. the rest of it not great. drinks were overpriced but considering the rest of TO beer prices, fairly reasonable for an event like this.

overall - pretty hilarious but won't be going again. 

Noah and the Whale at the Pheonix

WBrit indie folk band Noah and the Whale played at the Pheonix Concert Theatre last night, showcasing their 2011 album Last Night on Earth.

The Pheonix is more or less in Cabbagetown and a surprising location for a venue as it seems to be in the bottom of an apartment building, surrounded by apartment buildings. Inside the Pheonix is good, not too big, not to small and with lots of bars. I haven't been to an all ages concert in Toronto, and the gate that split the drinking section in the back with the underagers in the front was a bit strange but we drank a few beers pre show (and during a funny country performance by two Southern girls with big melancholic voices. never did find out what they were called. anyone know?).

Noah and the Whale took a couple of songs to really engage with the audience, but once they did, the show was fantastic. I think in large part due to the amazing lighting. It seriously made the mood. The front man, Charlie Fink, was very engaging and I quite liked his sharp little arm movements, like his arm was trying to dance and his body wouldn't quite let it. Also, his attempt at sexiness was pretty hilarious, especially as a lot of these front men take themselves a little seriously.

They could have turned up the volume on the violin as it gives them quite a distinct feel that you couldn't really hear last night. Their set list was described as a 3 course meal with 'romance' as the main and 'good times' for pudding. I wasn't sure what the appetizer was, but the crowd seemed to quite like the analogy. All their musicians were excellent, though the bassist is obviously new to long hair and could do with a fringe.

All in all a good showing and I'll be listening to more Noah and the Whale because of it. Great lyrics and fun melodies. Also, would definitely go back to the Pheonix for a concert, venue and crowd were both a-ok.