Three nights with Frank Turner

British folk-punk singer/songwriter Frank Turner launched his current North American tour in my living room on Jan. 25, and then played three more shows in the next two nights at a trio of other Toronto venues. Aside from Turner and Epitaph Canada's Tonni Maruyama and Keith Maurik, I was the only person present for all four performances.

Turner had promised on night one that he'd try to mix up his sets so people who saw him multiple times during his Toronto stay wouldn't get the same songs every time. While there were some repeats, mostly of songs I had no problem hearing over again, the Bahrain-born entertainer lived up to his word.

You can check the set list, and find a download link to about 40 minutes of the performance, from my abode here. 

Here are capsulized reviews of the other three shows:

Horseshoe Tavern, Tues. Jan. 26 

Turner packed the house for a free show at the Horseshoe, during which he opened with the same three songs as the night before: "I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous," "Try This At Home" and "Substitute." He followed that with "Isabel" and a Love Ire & Song favourite about the after-effects of a major bender, "The Real Damage." A female member of the audience was recruited to come on stage for a closing harmonica solo on "Dan's Song," and she acquitted herself reasonably well for someone who'd never played before.

"Sunshine State" was introduced by an amusing story about an ex-girlfriend who Turner realized wasn't particularly faithful. "Long Live The Queen" got a lot of people singing and clapping along and Love Ire & Song's title track was particularly strong.

Turner then offered up a cover of what he called the greatest song ever, Half Man Half Biscuit's "Vatican Broadside," which featured the stirring refrain, "Who the fucking hell are Slipknot?" The traditional folk ballad "Barbara Allen" and the Weakerthans' "Watermark," which Turner had performed during a radio interview with Dave Bookman on 102.1 The Edge a night earlier, rounded out the covers portion of the evening.

Turner was sweating profusely by the time he got to Poetry Of The Deed single/video "The Road," which had many in the impressively enthusiastic audience singing along. Things slowed down with "Journey Of The Magi," which he had told me earlier in the day was one of the two favourite songs he's written. Things livened up more for the last two numbers, "Photosynthesis" and "The Ballad Of Me And My Friends."

Gibson Guitar Lounge, Wed. Jan. 27 (early)
This was an invitation-only performance recorded for Punkradiocast.com and held at Gibson's showroom and performance/party space. I arrived early to find Turner in the showroom shredding away on a black electric Epiphone that he'd taken off the wall, something he said he loves but doesn't get the chance to do very often. He then joined us in the lounge where bottles of Steam Whistle beer and shots of Jagermeister were being given away.

Turner opened his set with "Nashville Tennessee." Then, noting his surroundings, he introduced "Romantic Fatigue" by saying, "Anybody that knows how to play guitar had absolutely no friends when they were a teenager." He claimed that "Romantic Fatigue" was the first song he'd written as a solo artist, and it was good to hear something I'd never heard him do before.

"Try This At Home" was next and was followed by another number I'd never heard him play before, "To Take You Home." He then introduced a new and still untitled song that he'd previously told me he was very happy with, which includes references to Bob Dylan and Patty Hearst sailing around on a pirate ship.

A request for "Substitute" was granted, and Turner said the next song was written for his "fuckin' cool" mom. It was "Faithful Son" and another cut I'd never heard live before. There was a request for a Take That cover that Turner had played on BBC Radio and, while he told a story about it, he didn't play the song. He instead covered a much, much better song: Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road." It was another first for me.

Turner finished his set with "The Ballad Of Me And My Friends" before rushing off to The Dakota Tavern, where I soon joined him at a table for a pre-show dinner.

The Dakota Tavern, Wed. Jan. 27 (late)
After filling the Horseshoe to capacity for the free show on Tuesday, I thought this smaller venue would be packed like a sardine can by people willing to pay seven bucks to see Turner, local rock hero Ian Blurton and psych-rock band Huron — who also acted as Blurton's accompanists. It was busy, but not as much as I had anticipated.

Turner opened with "I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous," the other of the two songs he ranks as his favourites. It was followed by "Father's Day" (during which Turner's voice cracked) and a cover of The Postal Service's "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight," which I didn't know the first time I heard Turner perform it last March in Austin, Texas at the Kerrang! party during the South By Southwest Music Festival.

Turner reprised the Dylan on the pirate ship song and, like on Tuesday night, asked for a volunteer to play harmonica on "Dan's Song." Another woman filled the role admirably. The new and still untitled drinking song that Turner had performed at my place was brought out again, as was "Try This At Home" and "Heartless Bastard Motherfucker" after a request. He played "Jet Lag" and admitted that he was feeling the combined effects of jet lag from his flight from England and fatigue from partying upon his arrival.

"My voice is a little fucked today, which is entirely my fault," Turner said before launching into "Long Live The Queen."

"Back In The Day" and "The Road" kept things rolling before Turner acknowledged, "I can't believe that so many people give a shit about what I do when I haven't spent much time here."

Turner promised to return again soon (though his concert calendar is packed through the first half of the year, so far) and concluded with "The Ballad Of Me And My Friends."

The boisterous crowd demanded an encore, which Turner said would deprive him of time with drugs and supermodels. But he gave in and led a rousing sing-along version of Abba's "Dancing Queen" that had almost everyone in the basement club joining in.

The final installment of my "Turner In Toronto" saga, a Q&A transcript of a conversation recorded at the Horseshoe Tavern on the afternoon of Jan. 26, will appear on this page after an article I wrote about Turner is posted on the Spinner web site.

Bomp! 2 Born In The Garage

Bomp! was a fanzine that was originally titled Who Put The Bomp after a 1961 doo-wop hit. The circulation was very small and just 21 issues were published from 1970 until its demise in 1979 (a 22nd was shelved for financial reasons in 1981), but its influence was remarkable.

Bomp! became a bible for fans of garage rock, punk, power pop, British invasion, girl groups, new wave, rockabilly, surf, rock 'n' roll and psychedelia, and the mag featured early work from such notable music writers as Richard Meltzer, Greil Marcus, Dave Marsh and Lester Bangs.

The zine begat Bomp Records, which launched in 1974 and following a hiatus is still going today after releasing music from the likes of the Flamin' Groovies, The Modern Lovers, Iggy Pop, The Plimsouls, Josie Cotton, Dead Boys, Devo, The Romantics, Spacemen 3, The Germs, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Warlocks and Black Lips.

All of this was the brainchild of music fan and collector Greg Shaw, who died in 2004 at age 55. But his business partner and ex-wife Suzy has kept the Bomp label going and edited Bomp! 2 Born In The Garage with music writer Mike Stax, the editor and publisher of Ugly Things magazine.

The 311-page follow-up to Bomp! Saving The World One Record At A Time features retrospective essays from the two editors, cover illustrator William Stout, Jon Savage, Ken Barnes and Alec Palao. But it's the  page reproductions from the original magazine, which was originally produced on a mimeograph machine, that are the heart of the book.

Even after it became a glossy magazine, Bomp! still looked somewhat amateurish. But it served its niche readership well by covering big and small-name bands from the '50s and '60s and more current acts that shared their rock 'n' roll spirit.

Flip through the pages and you'll find a Kinks discography and a Troggs article from 1971, a Gene Vincent tribute from 1972, examinations of '60s British rock and American rock 'n' roll television shows from 1973, retrospectives on The Standells and The Seeds from 1974, a history of Michigan rock, a look at Beatles novelties, a discography of California surf instrumentals and a Roky Erickson interview from 1975, a look at Dave Edmunds, the Shangri-Las, Mexican punk rock and '60s Swedish sounds from 1976, and a treatise on the aesthetic of psychedelic music from 1978.

The type is pretty small, so you'll need good eyes or a pair of glasses to read much of the reproduced material. But if you're into any of the aforementioned music genres or artists, you should consider picking this up whether you remember Bomp! or if reading this overview is the first you've heard of it.

The internet has totally changed the way people disseminate information and find out about music, but Bomp! 2 Born In The Garage acts as an interesting time capsule of the way things used to be.

Toronto's CN Tower: No longer number one, but still pretty cool
Most holidays to Canada, or at least for those who don't have a fear of heights, are incomplete without a visit to Toronto's CN Tower.
This engineering marvel may no longer be the world's tallest free-standing structure, as it was for 31 years after it opened to the public in 1976, but the 2010 Book of Guinness World Records still lists it as the world's tallest tower.
The magnificent views of the city and across Lake Ontario from its different observation levels haven't changed. Visibility on a clear day can reach 160 kilometres. 

 
The tower is 553 metres tall at the tip of its communications antenna, and the top sky pod observation level is at 447 metres. If you don't want to go quite that high, you can look 342 metres straight down to the ground through a glass floor.
Elevators with floor to ceiling windows (and one with a glass floor) take you up and down the outside of the tower, so you can get a great perspective on your way to the top and get some last looks as you leave.
If you want to take your time and enjoy a meal during your visit, the revolving 360 Restaurant offers fine dining, and you're sure to find a vintage you like from its world's highest wine cellar. Horizons on the 346-metre Look Out level and the Far Coast Cafe at the tower's base offer other food options.
Visitors can watch a film on the construction of the tower in the Maple Leaf Cinema, or seek thrills in the Himalamazon motion theatre ride. It might be a good idea to take that in before you eat.
A large gift shop featuring a wide array of CN Tower and Canadian collectibles should satiate souvenir seekers.
It's still not official, and it's still a few years away even if it gets the bureaucratic go-ahead, but a large aquarium has been proposed for land around the base of the tower. Combined with the adjacent Rogers Centre, home of the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team and Toronto Argonauts football squad, the addition will make it easy to spend pretty much a full day and night in the vicinity.
The CN Tower is open every day but Christmas from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. There are a variety of pricing packages, depending on what attractions you want to take in.

Camper Van Beethoven, Cracker and a near-brawl at Lee's Palace
I've seen Cracker at least a half-dozen times over the years, most recently last June at this same Toronto venue, but I'd only seen Camper Van Beethoven once before at a similar double bill to this one in Austin, Texas the night I turned 40 four years ago.
I have five CVB albums and was quite a fan of its eclectic and quirky music back in the mid- to late '80s, so I was looking forward to the current incarnation of the reunited group more so than Cracker. Both bands are fronted by singer/guitarist David Lowery and, with only a short break for a change-over, he was on stage for close to three hours on Saturday night. So was drummer Frank Funaro, who was also doing double-duty in both groups. The CVB lineup was completed by bassist/vocalist Victor Krummenacher, violinist/guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Jonathan Segel and lead guitarist Greg Lisher.
Segel's violin gave the handful of instrumentals played throughout the set a gypsy/klezmer flavour. I enjoyed them, but would have preferred a few more songs with lyrics in their place.

Early highlights included "Sweethearts," "Eye Of Fatima" and a cover of Black Flag's "Wasted" performed at about half the speed of the original. "Shut Us Down" and "Good Guys & Bad Guys" followed, with the latter ending in dub reggae fashion. "The History Of Utah" was exemplary, and then Lowery launched a diatribe against the police in Montreal, where the band had its gear stolen a few years back. Lowery was recently with Cracker in Iraq and he claimed the cops there were better trained and more helpful than those in Canada's largest French-speaking city.
The music continued with "Might Makes Right" and "Hippy Chix" before CVB pulled out its most popular song, "Take The Skinheads Bowling." It's still great 25 years after being released on the Telephone Free Landslide Victory album.
The home stretch included "The Day That Lassie Went To The Moon," "Opi Rides Again — Club Med Sucks" (which included some hardcore punk elements) and "Seven Languages," before things ended with the band's popular cover of the early Staus Quo hit, "Pictures Of Matchstick Men."
The performance was fine, but I found the set list a bit lacking. I would  have been ecstatic to hear "Heart,"  "Joe Stalin's Cadillac," "We Saw Jerry's Daughter," "Where The Hell Is Bill?" and a few others. But it's rare for CVB to make it to these parts, so just seeing them should be good enough without my quibbling.

Lowery and his longtime Cracker co-conspirator, guitarist/vocalist Johnny Hickman, then took the stage with Funaro and bassist Sal Maida. They opened the set with "Friends" from last year's Sunrise In The Land Of Milk And Honey, a very good album that didn't get as much recognition as it deserved when it came out last year.

The set progressed with "I See The Light" and "Waiting For You Girl" before things took a turn for the strange when Lowery challenged a heckler to come on stage and talk to him because he "wanted to show Americans that there are some assholes in Canada." The lout eventually made it to a microphone and told everyone that he thought Cracker sucked and was boring.
Hickman, who was in great form on guitar and with his voice all night, took offence. He took off his guitar, got in a shoving match with the non-fan and put up his fists in anticipation of a dust-up. Security stepped in and Lowery and the heckler continued to trade insults until the man was forcibly removed from the stage and the building.
Lowery thought the goof had a bit of a German accent, which led to him telling a long story involving "traditional German folk songs about whores," which became a very roundabout introduction to "Euro-Trash Girl." There seemed to be an extra edge to the performance after the tension that had previously overtaken the club, and it worked in Cracker's favour.
Lisher was invited back on stage for "One Fine Day," which featured him and Hickman ripping off explosive dual solos. "Give Me One More Chance" turned into a guitar fest when Lisher stuck around for it.
Two more new songs, "Yalla Yalla (Let's Go)" and "Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out With Me," led to some masterful music storytelling by Lowery in "Duty Free." The opening chords of "Low" drew a big burst of excited recognition from the crowd, and the song ended the 75-minute set.
Hickman rose to the occasion to open the encore by singing the rollicking country-rock number, "Lonesome Johnny Blues." The slower and more sombre "Big Dipper" concluded the encore, but most of the audience stuck around and persuaded Cracker to return with Lisher and Krummenacher in tow for a rendition of CVB's "The Long Plastic Hallway."
It was a spirited performance but, like with CVB, I've been to Cracker shows with more enjoyable set lists. "Teen Angst (What The World Needs Now)," "This Is Cracker Soul," "Get Off This," "Happy Birthday To Me," "Mr. Wrong" and "Movie Star" were all notable by their absences.
So it wasn't the best Cracker show I've seen, but the band is in good form and well worth checking out if you haven't caught it for a few years. Or if you think the band is dull, let it know. That should cause some excitement.

Explore Toronto's Hockey Hall of Fame

For fans of the most exciting sport on ice, one of the highlights of their holidays to Canada is visiting Toronto's Hockey Hall of Fame.

The current hall is located in a historic former bank building at the corner of Yonge and Front streets downtown. It opened in 1993 after $27 million in renovations, and has made several additions and improvements since then. It now features 57,000 square feet of one-of-a-kind exhibits, state-of-the-art theatres, hands-on interactive games and hockey's most precious artifacts.

An interesting display of goalie masks greets visitors in the entrance foyer. You then move into the NHL Zone, which features a variety of artifacts and is guarded by nine-foot-tall statues of hockey greats Cyclone Taylor and Ken Dryden. A trip to a full-size replica of the dressing room of Dryden's team, the Montreal Canadiens, from the Montreal Forum is next.

A section on NHL dynasties focuses on nine of the greatest teams in history, from the Ottawa Senators of the '20s to the Edmonton Oilers of the '80s. If you want to sit down for a while, the 128-seat Hartland Molson Theatre has most recently been showing a film called The Stanley Cup Odyssey. Panasonic Hometown Hockey, a tribute to grassroots hockey, is next on the route.

One of the most fun parts of the hall is the interactive NHLPA Be A Player Zone, where you can shoot pucks and try to score on a computer-simulated goaltender or go between the pipes to try and stop shots by simulated snipers.

If you're more verbose than coordinated, go ahead and try your hand at being a play-by-play announcer in the TSN/RDS Broadcast Zone, which looks at the evolution of hockey broadcasting. You can then play hockey video games in the 2K Sports NHL2K Zone. If you'd rather tax your brain than your fingers, test your hockey trivia knowledge in the Pepsi Game Time area.

Hockey cards, tickets, coins, games, dolls, apparel, pennants and food items from around the world are displayed in the Upper Deck Collector's Corner.

You might want to rest again by this time, so relax in the 120-seat Esso Theatre and watch archival film and video footage from the Hockey Hall of Fame archives.

Olympic and international hockey receive worthy recognition in the World of Hockey area and the interactive Global Game Encounter zone.

The highlight of the visit is the Verizon Great Hall, which features portraits and biographical information about every member who's been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The National Hockey League's major trophies, including the Stanley Cup, can also be found in this area, which includes a refurbished bank vault. It's this area that truly makes this place a shrine to the game.

You can pick up souvenirs from your visit at a store on the way out.

General admission is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and $10 for youths. Kids under three are admitted for free.

A family can visit the Hockey Hall of Fame for less than the cost of a single ticket to watch the Toronto Maple Leafs play down the street at the Air Canada Centre, and you're going to see more entertaining hockey than that sad-sack team has provided this season.

The Sojourners — The Sojourners

The Sojourners are three Vancouver-based men who grew up separately singing in churches in Texas, Illinois and Louisiana, and have been doing it professionally on their own for almost 50 years each.
This self-titled album is the second since Will Sanders, Ron Small and Marcus Mosely first got together a few years back to add vocals to a Jim Byrne album. I'm not familiar with their 2007 Hold On debut, but I'm awfully impressed with this record.
The trio worked with west coast roots music guru Steve Dawson, who produced the album and played guitar and other stringed instruments on it. Mike Kalanj's Hammond B3 organ also plays a key role throughout the 11-track disc, including an excellent solo on "Strange Man."
The Sojourners rearrange traditional gospel songs — including "Brother Moses Smote The Water," "Great Day," "Another Soldier Gone" and "By And By" — and also interpret such somewhat more familiar secular songs as Los Lobos' "The Neighbourhood" and Motherlode's "When I Die."
Individual members sing lead on certain songs, but I most enjoy when they combine for wonderful three-part harmonies on "Brother Moses," "It's Hard To Stumble (When You're On Your Knees)" and "By And By," which features some guest mandolin from Jesse Zubot.
You don't have to be a God-fearing person to enjoy The Sojourners approach, which is largely upbeat and blends gospel, soul, blues, doo-wop, pop and a hint of country.
The Polaris Music Prize has never had a gospel album make its short list, but The Sojourners would be right near the top of my ballot if voting ended today — and I'm pretty sure it will still be close five months from now when it counts.
I give The Sojourners a 9/10.
Black Hen Music will release The Sojourners on Jan. 19. You can hear four songs here. 

Deadstring Brothers — Sao Paulo

This Detroit band's 2006 Bloodshot Records debut, Starving Winter Report, impressed me and made me draw comparisons to The Band, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan for the way it effectively fused blues, rock and country elements. Its 2007 follow-up, Silver Mountain, had too much of a Black Crowes vibe in places and was a comparative disappointment. 
Sao Paulo is a bit better, but I still much prefer Starving Winter Report. Exile On Main Street-era Stones influences are all over this 10-song, 38-minute album. That works best on "Smile," "Can't Make It Through The Night" and the boogie-woogie piano-inclusive "Houston."
Female backing vocals work well wherever they're used.
Organ and slide guitar make "The River Song" stand out, and the rootsy ballad "Yesterday's Style" — augmented with piano and accordion — are the other highlights.
The title track and "The Same Old Rule" are more blues-based, while "Adalee" and closer "Always A Friend Of Mine" are slower and don't add much.
I'll give this album 6/10. 
Bloodshot will release Sao Paulo in North America on Feb. 23.

My Friday 
I was invited by a member of my baseball team to play in a four-on-four, skins format volleyball tournament on Friday. We didn't win any money, but it was good exercise and a lot of fun. I got to do a lot of scrambling around, diving and setting, which I don't get to do as much for We Still Go Down, our six-person co-ed volleyball team that inexplicably won the Thursday night intermediate division in the Toronto Sport and Social Club league last week. Thanks to Mark for inviting me, and Bob and Richie for also being on Friday's team.


I drove home from Scarborough, got a quick bite to eat, made myself look reasonably presentable and went to The Velvet Underground for XM Satellite Radio Canada's The Verge's "Thank God It's Not Another Xmas Party." I was given a guitar pick with a Molson Canadian logo on it upon arrival, which was good for a free can. I'm not a fan of the beer, but I guess I can't argue with free, and there was no other alternative available.

I arrived too late to see Dinosaur Bones, but was there to see Toronto's Still Life Still take the stage at 10 p.m. The band's Girls Come Too debut full-length was released by Arts & Crafts this summer, and there were quite a few girls at the foot of the stage who had obviously come to see the dance-rock group that dedicated its set to iconoclastic club booker Dan Burke. The sound was kind of muddy and the vocals were mixed too low, but the sound improved as the 35-minute set went on. I thought the group was okay, but nothing exceptional.

Meligrove Band was what I wanted to see most, and the quartet hit the stage at 10:55. I really liked the group's 2000 debut, Stars & Guitars, and was reasonably impressed with 2002's Let It Grow and 2006's Planets Conspire, which was released by V2 Records before it went out of business. I used to see the group a fair amount early this decade, but it had been a few years since I last caught a show. The band seems to have a harder rocking sound than what I remember from the past, and the last song was almost metallic. A new album is finished and the Meligroves are talking to labels about releasing it next year.

The Verge's Jeff Leake is always good for funneling me free drinks at his events, and tonight was no different. Thanks again, Leake.

Arts & Crafts' David Tysowski told me that his band, The Order Of Good Cheer, is the opening act for Tuesday's "Bookie & Arkells' 2nd Annual Holiday Bash" at the Horseshoe Tavern. Hollerado (perhaps singer/guitarist Menno Versteeg will want me to cut his hair again) is also on the bill, and I've had fun every time I've seen it. Arkells will top things of by performing a Motown dance party set. It's free, but collections will be taken to support the OSPCA and The Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada. It should be a good night and, if I'm on pace to get all my assignments done before Christmas, I'll be there.

The Junction was the final band of Friday's concert. The quartet plays slightly alternative rock and, again, I thought the set was satisfactory but nothing special. I thought I heard the group doing The Cure's "Close To Me" as I walked upstairs from the washroom, but it was an original with a similar melody. But I know for sure that The Junction did a Pink Floyd cover. I think it was "Welcome To The Machine," but I was chatting at the bar and wasn't listening that closely, so I won't say that with 100-per-cent certainty.
The Junction ended at 12:40. I talked some more, had a nightcap, and walked home.

np The Paperbacks — Lit From Within

The changing look of the Bowery 
I've usually hung out around the Lower East Side, East Village and Greenwich Village at night during my occasional New York City breaks, and always thought it would be cool and convenient to stay in the heart of the area, so I booked into the St. Marks Hotel in historic St. Mark's Place.
The rooms are small and spartan, but it's hard to beat the price and the location just north of the Bowery. Plus, you can say that you stayed in the same building where the late and notoriously nasty punk rocker, GG Allin, once lived.
But the Bowery and the surrounding neighbourhood has changed a bit since I was last here. There have been two nice additions, but one major and unfortunate subtraction.
The Cooper Union's new academic building just opened this past summer and the environmentally friendly structure is quite stunning. See for yourself:

The other edifice isn't quite as new, but is just as interesting. The seven-storey New Museum (located at 235 Bowery between Stanton and Rivington streets) was designed by Tokyo-based architects and houses a variety of contemporary art. As far as I'm concerned, the building itself is a piece of art:

I'd trade both of these beautiful buildings, however, for the return of a badly missed dive bar, but legendary live music venue: CBGB.

Patti Smith closed the club with a performance in October 2006, and the location at  315 Bowery near Bleecker Street has been converted into a John Varvatos retail store. The place where The Ramones, Talking Heads, Blondie, Television and many other great bands first made names for themselves is now selling overpriced, trendy, urban chic menswear.

But at least the store has retained some of CBGB's grungy atmosphere and kept some of the old walls — covered in posters, stickers and graffiti — as they were. That still wasn't incentive enough to spend any money in the store. Let's call it a combination of silent protest and me being cheap.

Gentrification can have some advantages in certain cases. I just hope it doesn't totally overtake the Bowery. I prefer live music over leather belts. Here are two shots of what CBGB has become:

Take a walk with me on New York City's High Line

It's the hustle and bustle that attracts many people to the Big Apple, but one of the best New York City breaks to escape all of that — without leaving a couple of Manhattan's trendiest neighbourhoods — is the High Line.
The High Line was originally an elevated railway line built in the 1930s to take trains off streets and eliminate accidents, but had become an unused eyesore since the final locomotive (pulling three carloads of frozen turkeys) used it in 1980. The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation has now transformed it into a cutting-edge public park that offers excellent views of Manhattan and the Hudson River, even though it's only 30 feet off the ground.
While some of the railroad ties remain and add character, the safely lit High Line now also features concrete paths bordered with gardens and trees. There's also a water feature and fountains, commissioned artwork, a sun deck, restrooms and fixed and movable benches that allow you can sit and relax. If you want a snack, a limited number of regularly changing local vendors are permitted to sell their goodies.
One of the most intriguing parts of the High Line is 10th Avenue Square, which features stepped benches leading down to a viewing platform with a window that looks directly up the street.
Tours, lectures, performances and events are scheduled regularly for the security-patrolled structure.
The first section of the wheelchair-accessible High Line opened in June 2009 and runs from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to West 20th Street between 10th and 11th avenues in Chelsea. It can be accessed along the route on 14th, 16th and 18th streets, with the first two of those having elevators.
A second section running to West 30th Street is expected to open sometime in 2010 and will include a lawn area for picnics. When the final section is added, the High Line will continue up to and around the West Side Rail Yards at West 34th Street by the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. It will be 1.45 miles long at completion.
Old warehouses and factories in the surrounding former industrial area have been transformed into art galleries, design studios, stores, restaurants, museums, condominiums and apartments. The eco-friendly High Line should only inspire more positive development and make other local building owners take better care of the many rooftops people pass by while strolling its path.
About the only negative thing I can think of about the innovative High Line is that you can't walk dogs on it.
A similar rail viaduct has been converted into a park in Paris France called the Promenade Plantée. Similar projects are being developed in St. Louis, Philadelphia, Jersey City, Chicago and Rotterdam. If Toronto's Gardiner Expressway is ever taken out of service, as some people would like to see, a High Line-like park would be a great use of part of it.
The High Line is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily during the winter and until 10 p.m. when the days get longer and warmer.
Take a walk north along the High Line with me with these photos I took in August:

Grant Hart's still hot, on wax and on stage

Grant Hart's Hot Wax, which came out a couple of months ago, surprised me by how good it was — considering it was his first album in 10 years. And now I can say the same thing about his performance in support of the disc.
But first, I should also pay respect to opening act Massey Harris, composed of veteran Toronto musicians Scott Bradshaw and Gord Cumming. Bradshaw's acoustic and Cumming's sublime slide guitar blend wonderfully, and Cumming's backing vocals similarly complement Bradshaw's leads.
The duo's set featured both Bradshaw originals, including the terrific "Way Beyond The Nicotine," and well-chosen covers that included Fred Eaglesmith's "Little Buffalo," Bob Dylan's "Something's Burning, Baby" and Willie P. Bennett's "Job Disorder."
A much bigger crowd witnessed Bradshaw (as part of Groovy Religion) open for Hart (as part of Husker Du) 22 years ago, but the 100-or-so people that came out to the gig showed warm appreciation for Massey Harris.

Hart, looking positively Parisian with a black beret and thin moustache, took the stage at 11:15 p.m. and played until almost 1 a.m. While he's best known as a drummer for his time in Husker Du, Hart has played guitar with Nova Mob and as a solo artist — and he handled his Gibson hollow body electric guitar (adorned with a Canadian flag decal) pretty well.
Hart's set covered his whole career, including the most recent chapter with Hot Wax's "You're The Reflection Of The Moon On The Water," "Barbara," "I Knew All About You Since Then," "Narcissus, Narcissus" and "My Regrets." There were other solo songs (including my favourite, the brilliant "2541"), and Nova Mob's "The Last Days Of Pompeii" drew some whoops from a few fans up front.
But it was the large number of Husker Du songs that probably elicited the biggest responses. "Never Talking To You" and "The Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill" were good, but "Charity, Chastity, Prudence And Hope" really showcased Hart's gift for writing rocking yet melodic songs. The 27-song main set also featured Husker Du's "Back From Somewhere," "Turn On The News" and a great "Green Eyes."
Hart had taken requests near the end of his set, and did again after stepping off the stage for less than a minute and returning for an encore of four Husker Du songs.
"It's Not Funny Anymore" was followed by "Keep Hangin' On," but it was the third song that really hit home for me. "Diane," which depicts a brutal rape and murder, might lack the shock value it had when it first appeared on 1983's Metal Circus and doesn't have the visceral force of Husker Du's version, but it's still very powerful. Things ended on a more upbeat note with "Flexible Flyer," which left the audience wanting more.
Although Hart looks a bit pale and thin, and maybe even slightly sickly, his set was much longer than when former Husker Du bandmate (and nemesis) Bob Mould performed at Toronto's Mod Club a few months ago. And he seemed in good spirits and was friendly when I briefly talked to him, so hopefully all is well.
Sure, it would have been better to hear full band versions of most of these songs. And I was disappointed that my request for "Books About UFOs" fell by the wayside. But apart from those very minor quibbles, I'm sure that the members of the too-small audience would agree that they definitely got a good bang for their buck.

D. Trevlon takes his chances with new record

D. Trevlon's To: The Dusty Moon And You was one of my favourite albums of 2005. He followed the folk-country record with 2007's seven-song Dance Under The Stars EP. Like its predecessor, it was an acoustic record with gently stirring songs that managed to embed themselves in both your head and heart.
The Kirkland Lake, Ont. native, who now resides on Canada's west coast, saved $1,600 and recently went into Vancouver's The Hive studios with guitarist Johnny Wildcat (Mongoose) and drummer Stephen Lyons (Fond Of Tigers). They came out with eight new songs on a still unreleased record Trevlon plans on titling I'll Take My Chances.
"I wanted to call it I'll Take My Chances because I had no idea what was going to happen," says the singer, songwriter, whistler and musician. "I was getting bored of playing the solo folk thing and needed a change."
Producer/engineer Jesse Gander recorded the music live off the floor and also played keyboards on two tracks. Trevlon and Wildcat played bass.
Record opener "Man Of Investigation" is more up-tempo than Trevlon's past solo material, as are several other tracks. "Headin' Home" is a catchy pop-rock number, while "Operator" is an excellent power-pop song.
There's some impressive guitar work on the slower, blues-based "See It In Your Eyes" and the quicker-paced "Original Girl" and "Sunset."
Piano and backing vocals make "On A Mountain" stand out, and the record ends in a relatively slow and gentle way with "Frozen Blue Star."
Trevlon took his chances and now has a band and an album that you should keep an eye out for sometime next year.
You can find out more about Trevlon and hear some of his older tunes on his MySpace and SonicBids pages.

I made the Jingle Bell Rocks! blog:

http://jinglebellrocks.blogspot.com/2009/12/msnbc-sings-jingle-bell-rocks-doc.html

Los Straitjackets, El Vez, The El Vettes and Santez

There was lots of fun to be had at Toronto's Lee's Palace on Tuesday night when the Flying Bordellos, Los Straitjackets and El Vez with his lovely El Vettes hit the stage for a holiday season-themed show we'll call Mex-Mas.
Santez was on hand to document the night by taking notes and photos. He also raised money for The Kidney Foundation Of Canada by allowing fans to have their pictures taken with him in exchange for a five-dollar contribution to the charity. He matched all the donations and is sending a $90 cheque off this week.
If you weren't at the show, but want to feel like you were, check out this review and these photos from the evening:

 

Robyn Hitchcock — I Often Dream Of Trains In New York

This performance of Hitchcock's third solo album, 1984's primarily acoustic I Often Dream Of Trains, was recorded at New York City's Symphony Space 53 weeks ago.

Hitchcock was joined at the acoustic concert by Terry Edwards (vocals, keyboards, trumpet, soprano sax, guitar), Tim Keegan (vocals, guitar), Gaida Hinnawi (vocals) and Amir El Saffar (trumpet).

I Often Dream Of Trains isn't among my favourite albums from Hitchcock's catalogue (including his Soft Boys and Egyptians records) and contains few songs that I've seen him play live, apart from the excellent "Sometimes I Wish I Was A Pretty Girl," which starts the CD as a "cassette fragment."

Most of the songs are pretty gentle and mellow, but pleasant pop material can be found in "Sounds Great When You're Dead," "This Could Be The Day," "Ye Sleeping Knights Of Jesus" (which was covered by The Replacements on 1985's The Shit Hits The Fans live album), the title track, "I Used To Say I Love You," "My Favourite Buildings," "That's Fantastic Mother Church," "America," "Up To Our Nex" and "Goodnight I Say."

The one song that really stands out for its uniqueness is the a cappella "Uncorrected Personality Traits," which comes across as Monty Python meets a barbershop quartet.

This package also includes a DVD of the concert that features an introduction, soundcheck, credits and a short film called Beyond Basingstoke. Like with most of the DVDs I own, I haven't had a chance to sit down and watch it yet.

I Often Dream Of Trains In New York probably isn't essential for most Hitchcock fans, but more dedicated followers (I'm staring right at you, Craig Laskey) should have a stronger appreciation.