Pepperpot: Links for Friday

For your “Friday afternoon before a long weekend/trying to look busy”, here are some good reads. This post is brought to you courtesy of the deep-fried Mars bar I had last night at the CNE yesterday. That's one food I'm glad I tried, but can now mark it off the "Try It Once" list:

What’s Alan Watching does a guest post at House Next Door on his "5 for the Day: Underdog Sports Movies". I have to say it inspires me to go out and re-rent Diggstown and Major Leagues: “F*ck you Jobu, I’ll do it myself.”

Alan has just finished a terrific number of posts as he re-watched the entirety of Judd Apatow’s brilliant coming of age series Freaks & Geeks. He has detailed write-ups and analysis on each episode here.

Jenster at No Such Nonsense has her annual NFL Rundown: This Year's Big Questions post up. Go check it out and give her some feedback (Lord knows I can’t provide any). Having known Jen for years, she knows her stuff.

The list of musicians playing the U ofT and Ryerson university frosh week shows is pretty damned good. Torontoist breaks it down: Hidden Cameras and Stars play on Sept 7th on the U of T campus, while the more private Ryerson party on Centre Island (student ID cards required for entry) has M.I.A. , You Say Party! We Say Die! and k-os. M.I.A.? That’s a big “get” for Rye High. I think we had Treble Charger and Lowest of the Low playing our frosh week in the way back when.

Comic book fans rejoice Rob Schrab has announced he will be completing cult fave Scud the Disposable Assassin finally, 10 years after the penultimate issue. When last we left Scud, the robotic assassin was cradling the dead body of his one true love, was told by the angels of Heaven to kill the Earth. The last line: “I’ll do it”, and then no next issue as Rob went through some rough times. You can read Rob’s full account on just what the hell happened here. He’s back and better than ever now, so I’m looking forward to this long-awaited conclusion.
For more of Schrab’s work and Scud updates, keep checking out www.robschrab.com
(via Newsarama)

I really enjoyed the trip down memory lane with The AV Club lists 15 television sensations whose popularity faded fast, like The O.C. and Ally McBeal. So Heroes and Lost should take note. This article is also a good argument that it’s better to have a good show with a short perfect run (Arrested Development, Freaks & Geeks, Spaced) than to watch it eventually fade away into a lesser-version of itself (Also known by Alan Sepinwall as “Leave A Good Looking Corpse”).

Big surprise: World Wrestling Entertainment has suspended 10 of their performers connected to an Albany, New York investigation into the Signature Pharmacy outlet based out of Florida. No names of the wrestlers have been released but a 30-day suspension means that they’ll be absent from T.V. As of November 1st, any talent that is suspended will be identified publicly. You know that anyone who defended the WWE’s “Wellness Policy” in the wake of Chris Benoit’s murder-suicide has zero credibility right now. (Names of the wrestlers involved in the investigation can be found here.)

And some bands whose music I’ve been really enjoying lately: The National, Tegan and Sara, Shout Out Louds, The Hold Steady, and the new Stars album “In Our Bedroom After The War” is really good.

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Toronto International Film Festival picks

Here are the films I hope to see during the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival. Even though they are divided into First and Second Picks, I'd love to see them all, plus a few more at the bottom of this post. Pretty music heavy year with two Joy Division films, (Joy Division is a documentary, Control is the Ian Curtis biopic) and a documentary on Daniel Lanois (Here Is What Is). Seemed to be lots of Romanian and Australian contributions this year as well, with several films on world conflicts (Darfur, Iraq) and immigrant experience. Picks for the Advance Ticket Ordering are due at the College Park office by 1pm Friday.

My First Picks

California Dreamin' (Endless) (trying Romanian film this year)
Les Chansons d'amour (charming romantic musical farce from France)
The Band's Visit (from Israel - a small, uniformed Egyptian police band becomes lost in rural Israel on their way to performing at a concert. Cross cultural misunderstandings ensue)
Run, Fat Boy, Run (UK comedy - directed by David Schwimmer,with Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead) as the lead)
Philippine Science (high school life by way of the Philippines)
Smiley Face (Gregg Araki's new movie)
Here Is What Is (documentary on Daniel Lanois)
The Trap (Serbian film about a man who can save his child's life if only he will kill a mystery benefactor’s business rival)
Joy Division (documentary about the legendary band)

Second Picks (Back-up)

Control (Ian Curtis bio-pic - I may still try to get rush tickets for this)
No Country for Old Men (The Coen Brothers adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel of a drug deal gone wrong, described as "taunt" and "ruthless")
The Tracey Fragments (Canadian, directed by Bruce McDonald (Highway 61 (91), Dance Me Outside (94), Hard Core Logo (96)), starring Ellen Page, and music by Broken Social Scene. Yep, that's pretty Canadian)
Jar City (Icelandic murder mystery)
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (US - Wayne Wangs' new film about Chinese immigrants in America, centered around the conflict between a father and daughter)
A Gentle Breeze in the Village (sweet Japanese coming of age story)
It's a Free World... (UK - Two women form their own recruitment company and navigate the legally murky waters of hiring Eastern European migrant workers for wealthier European Union nations)

Stuff I would have liked to have seen:

Nocturna (Spanish animation), Roming (Romanian farce), The Savages (US - Laura Linney & Philip Seymour Hoffman as sister and brother0, Sukiyaki Western Django (Midnight Madness craziness), Continental, Un Film Sans Fusil (French Canadian), And Along Come Tourists (German), I Am From Titov Veles (Macedonian), Dainipponjin (more Midnight Madness craziness), A Stray Girlfriend (Argentina), Son Of Rambow (sweet looking UK movie about two young boys filming their own version of "Rambo), Persepolis (animated adaptation of the graphic novel about a girl growing up in Iran; well recieved at Cannes), Happiness (South Korea), Le Voyage Du Ballon Rouge (whimsical French movie starring Juliette Binoche)

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Stupid Stupid US Attorney General

Did embattled US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales deliberately choose to resign from office on the Monday when both Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert were off on a two week vacation?

Jamie Weinman of Macleans thought so on his blog, and so did Townie Bastard. Lord knows that both Stewart and Colbert have been getting some brilliant material from the fall of Gonzales, while shining the big bright "Our Leaders Are Incompetent At Best and Criminally Negligent At Worst" spotlight on the scandal on an almost daily basis. Did Gonzales deliberately choose to slip out the door while both shows were on a summer break? The timing, like everything to do with Gonzales, is suspicious.

We could ask Gonzales, but he wouldn’t know because HE CAN’T REMEMBER A $*#&ING THING! (pardon me)

“He’s either a perjurer or a low-level pinhead”
Jon Stewart on Bill Moyer's Journal April 27, 2007 (YouTube)

A great clip from The Daily Show as they present the telenovela “Mommy, Why Is The Lying Man Still in Charge of the Law” (via Accordion Guy)

US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigns (CNN)

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"Generosity of spirit"

Writer Matt Seitz (The House Next Door) has known actor/writer Owen Wilson on and off since Owen’s “Bottle Rocket” days back in Dallas. Matt has written a really thoughtful essay on Owen Wilson, part living eulogy praising Owen, part condemnation of how the media is portraying the reported suicide attempt as the latest example of the “sad clown” stereotype, and going out of their way to manufacture signs that this was coming (the oft-sighted suicide scene in "The Royal Tenenbaums" which he co-wrote).

(Owen is a) "good-time shaman; when he appears, you smile, because know you're about to have fun. He makes good films better and bad films tolerable. Onscreen, he's a human sunbeam," and hopefully he will return from the abyss in which he finds himself, "a fog comprised of biography, present-tense experience and body chemistry" as Matt puts it, and make a full recovery.

(quotes pulled from ALOTT5MA)

I’ve been a fan of the bulk of Owen’s output, from his screenplay work to some really brilliant acting work. I mean, this was a guy who managed to get laughs out of me during “Armageddon”, and I’m smiling now thinking back on his roles in “Zoolander”, “Meet The Parents”, and “Shanghai Knights”, which were decent movies that were elevated largely to Owen’s performances. And I’m saying honestly, who hasn’t found themselves at a dark place in their own lives at one time or another? Owen just slipped further down than most of us. So now the media needs to respect his space, stop speculating, and just give him some time. Because he’ll get better. And he’ll start working again, and hopefully writing more.

All the best to you Owen, and when you come out of this, I plan to be in line to see your next success.

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Toronto Film Festival reminders

Here are some timely reminders for the 2007 Toronto Film Festival coming up in September. I will try my best to get some film picks up here this weekend or at least before Tuesday.

I imagine it would be a lot easier on a new MacBook – hello? Apple? Corporate sponsor? Are you there? Doesn't a marketing campaign centered on "a blogger covering the TIFF, using a MacBook, showing how easy it is for a first time user to keep up wiht the hectic pace of an international film festival" sound like an exciting marketing and publicity opportunity?

Oh, right, the film info:

The complete TIFF’07 film list, Gala Schedule, and Visa Screening Room Schedule is now live. The full schedule should be up on August 28th.

The stats:

· 349 films,
· films from 55 countries,
· 275 feature or mid-length films,
· 71 directorial debuts,
· and, over 230 international or North American premieres.

Gala and Visa Screening Room tickets will be available as of 10:00am on Saturday, August 25. Tickets for all other screenings go on sale on September 5th. These tickets comprise the remainder of available tickets after all the advance orders (passes and packages) have been been processed, so some of the more popular selections will be sold out before then.

The Festival’s programme book and Official Film Schedule in print and available August 28.

Ticket Passes & Package information can be found here. There are some packages that involve you ordering blind – basically the Film Festival Programmers pick your movies for you. I think that would be a great way to see the festival if the whole lottery system and order forms thing seems daunting (and it can be: I’ve been going to the fest for 7 years and the system still requires some know-how)

If you ordered the 10-Film Package like me or one of the other pass package that use the Advance Ordering system:

Tuesday, August 28, 2007
pick up: Advance Order Book, Programme Book and Official Film Schedule
available at: Festival Box Office at College Park
You will need both the Advance Order Book and Official Film Schedule to make your film selections

August 29 to 31, 2007
Make your film selections in the Advance Order Book

Friday, August 31, 2007, 1:00pm
Drop of your Advance Order Book by 1:00pm to participate in the Advance Draw
Accepted at the Festival Box Office at College Park only
Order Books received after 1:00pm will be processed separately

Monday, September 3, 2007
Pick up your complete Advance Orders. Available at the Festival Box Office at College Park only

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Robot grooves in new Spoon video

I introduced you to Keepon the Robot last April. Inventors Marek Michalowski of Carnegie Mellon University and Hideki Kozima of Japan's National Institute of Communications Technology programmed Keepon to react to stimuli through body language. Keepon "extracts extract the pulse of rhythm from music and move its silicone body in time", which was demonstrated in this demo video of Keepon grooving to a song by Spoon. The little guy's popularity has taken off, as he's the star of Spoon's new video for "Don't You Evah", along with his programmer Hideki Kozima.

BoingBoing - Dancing Robot in Spoon video

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Buskerfest takes over St Lawrence Market this weekend

Buskerfest starts today at St. Lawrence Market (Front & Jarvis), with dozens of incredibley talented street performers, musicians, and acrobats roaming the neighborhood, with talent from all over the world. If I could offer a suggestion: head over to the Hothouse Café (make a reservation) or the Irish Embassy for brunch and then roam about.

Buskerfest is on from August 23rd to 26th. Fri Aug 24, 2007 12:00 PM - 11:00 PM, Sat Aug 25, 2007 11:00 AM - 11:00 PM , Sun Aug 26, 2007 11:00 AM - 8:00 PM

Organizers expect about 350,000 spectators to come down over the course of the weekend, which is why Market Street will be blocked off until midnight Sunday. Admission is free, but on-site donations benefiting Epilepsy Toronto are encouraged

Road closures : Front Street between Jarvis and Scott will be shut down and Church from Front to the Esplanade will be closed from 9:30 Friday morning. All will also reopen Sunday at midnight.

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Is Josh Duhamel playing Duke?

It was inevitable on the heels of the success of "Transformers" but a movie adaptation of 80's toy and cartoon mainstays “G.I. Joe” has been green-lit into development. While the property has floated in movie development limbo for decades, the success of “Transformers” helped push G.I. Joe up the movie development priority list. There is also a "Transformers" sequel in the works; no word on "Thundercats", "He-Man", or "M.A.S.K.", but I'm sure proposals are floating around out there already.

Variety reports that Stephen Sommers (The Mummy) will direct the live-action film version of G.I. Joe, which is due in theaters in 2009.

While “G.I. Joe” served several futile tours of duty as a movie property, its momentum has been helped by “Transformers,” the movie transfer of another Hasbro brand. That di Bonaventura-produced film has grossed $667 million worldwide for studio partners DreamWorks and Paramount.

Hasbro’s Goldner said that the mythology of G.I Joe was fleshed out during the 1980s through 155 issues of Marvel Comics, as well as an animated TV series. There are about 30 core characters, good and evil, that can be exploited in films.

“Marrying Steve’s vision with 25 years of this brand mythology feels like a great way to go forward,” Goldner said.

(Variety, by way of Newsarama Blog)

One popular rumor is that we'd see the Joes working alongside a British officer, played by Jason Stantham, whose methods conflict with the American army team.

So who’d you like to see in it, both character and actor-wise? I figure you have to have at least Duke, Snake-Eyes, Roadblock, and Scarlet. Maybe you populate the movie with other characters in the background who are fan favourites, like in the X-Men movies, so you get all the fanboys going "Dude, that's totally Recondo in the top left corner of the screen".

Odd thought: one of the challenges to the film would be in playing the masked characters. Several of the most popular main characters in the series wear full masks: Destro, Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, Cobra Commander. And actors find it difficult to act when they have a full mask obscuring their features. The Spider-Man franchise avoided this by having Spider-Man lose or shred his mask every 5 minutes, but I don’t think it would work here.

Toss your actor/character wish lists into the comment section.

Yo Joe! The 3 3/4" G.I. Joe Collector's Site

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"Don't piss off Clive Davis"

Kelly Clarkson was coaching Canadian Idols hopefuls this week. First piece of advice from Ms. Clarkson ought to be: “Don’t piss-off Clive Davis.”

Clarkson recently apologized to Clive Davis, the head of RCA and powerhouse producer, for comments she made, such as ‘I get you don’t like my album. You’re 80; you’re not supposed to.’ Said album was the underwhelming “My December”:

Clarkson decided not to reunite with any of the producers who helped craft (Breakaway)’s five ultra-catchy top 20 singles, insiders say that BMG Label Group's chairman, 40-year music veteran Clive Davis, sat on My December for four months, hoping she'd change her mind. She wouldn't. (Entertainment Weekly)

Seeing as how Davis is responsible for like, a thousand Grammy’s for best albums and song (including the dynasty that was Whitney Houston), perhaps Ms. Clarkson should have listened to the octogenarian.

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Mike Myer's hockey comedy set to hit Toronto

How many things in this next paragraph make you go WTF?

Imagine a movie being made. It's a hockey comedy involving Jessica Alba as the Toronto Maple Leaf's owner, Verne "Mini Me" Troyer as the coach, Justin Timberlake as an L.A. King hockey player named Jaccque, who's trying to steal the wife of a Maple Leaf star played by Romany Malco (the hoodrat hittin' Jay from "40 Year Old Virgin"). Now is that something that would interest you?

If anyone but Mike Myers was behind this movie, I'd worry. But Mike has both the comedy and the hockey chops to make this work. And frankly, I'm just glad this isn't one more Will Farrell wacky sports comedy (dude, it's getting old).

Mike's next movie is "The Love Guru", set to start filming in Toronto next month with a release date of June 2008. Myers wrote the script, in collaboration with Graham Gordy, and Marco Schanbel makes his directing debut after working on Austin Powers and Meet The Fockers.

"The Love Guru" focuses on Pitka (Myers), American dumped at the gates of an ashram in India who returns to the States as a self-help guru. His skills are put to the test when he's hired to provide marriage counseling for a Toronto Maple Leafs star (Malco) and his wife. When the player's wife begins dating Jacques Grande (Timberlake), a professional rival on the Los Angeles Kings, he goes into a slump, causing tensions with the Maple Leafs' owner (Alba) and coach (Troyer).

Justin Timberlake has proven to be a comedic secret weapon after his recent appearances hosting Saturday Night Live, and I'm looking forward to seeing Romany Malco hitting the puck bunnies rather than the hoodrats. Filming in Toronto starts next month, along with an expected influx of Timberlake and Alba obsessed paparazzi.

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Concerts: More Spoon, more rehab, more music

Spoon's October 15 show has been moved from the Phoenix to the Kool Haus, so that would mean more tickets are going to be available through Ticketmaster.ca. (via Chromewaves)

No surprise here: Amy Winehouse has pulled out of her North American tour, including her appearance at V-Fest Toronto in September. No replacement has been named yet, but Frank at Chromewaves has the full line-up for V-Fest. LOL at Frank’s line that Amy Winehouse has a “burgeoning career as a cautionary tale.” (via Chromewaves)

Queens of The Stone Age will be playing Toronto on October 15 at Hummingbird Centre and October 16 in Montreal at Metropolis. Tickets on sale Friday August 31 at 10 am. (via For the ‘records’)

The Exclaim Wood, Wires & Whisky Tour featuring Elliot Brood, The Acorn, Plants & Animals, and Sunparlour Players, plus special guests makes its way across Canada starting in Montreal @ Casa Del Popolo on October 11 and ending in St. John, Nfld at Elwoods on November 24. The tour stops in Toronto for at show at Lee's Palace on November 16. (via For the ‘records’)

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Teeth on the Dial - TV news

There’s a word to describe the reaction of fans of the late great show "Veronica Mars" and "Heroes": geekgasm. Kristen Bell will be guest-starring in a multi-episode story arc on "Heroes" next season. That’s a big “get” for the show, as “Lost” was also wooing her for a role. Variety reports that Bell will play play "Elle, a character described as a sexy, mysterious young lady who has ties to the supposed death of Peter, H.R.G.’s past and the future of Claire. Elle will kick off her arc by committing a serious crime, though it’s unclear whether she’s good or bad."

File under “irony”: YouTube yanks clip of Colbert & Jon Stewart talking about YouTube deposition. A clip of them talking about getting deposed has been replaced by the message: "This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Viacom International Inc."

HBO has renewed "Flight of the Conchords" and "Entourage" HBO also cancelled David Milch’s show “John From Cincinnati”, but bad news for fans of Milch’s former show “Deadwood”: it’s pretty unlikely that we’ll get those movies that were suggested as a way to wrap up the series. Alan Sepinwall explains why "Deadwood" movies are likely not going to happen.

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The Daily Show in Iraq this week

Be sure to watch the Daily Show this week for something different: frontline reports from Iraq without the use of green screen special effect. A regular bit on the show is to have "live coverage" from various places around the world, when in actuality it's in the studio 10 feet from Jon Stewart's desk.

But this time it's real. Correspondent Rob Riggle, who has combat experience as a major in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, spent five days in Iraq last week filming segments while on tour with the USO. While the Daily Show is a "fake news" show, they have a great opportunity to reach out to the troops in Iraq. Riggle is ideally suited for this story, as a comedic actor with experience in combat theatre having served in Kosovo and Afghanistan. He was likely better suited than most of the press corp embedded with the army. And the point of the stories are to entertain the troops as much as the audience, so I'm looking forward to watching.

The Daily Show airs Mon - Thurs at 11pm on the Comedy Network, and 12:05am on CTV.

There's a good full write-up at "Daily Show" comics venture to Iraq (Yahoo News).

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Inter-racial buddy comedy done right

The teaser for Harold & Kumar 2, due in early 2008.

Unfortunately the boys don't make it to Amsterdam: Kumar is suspected of being a terrorist, so they go on the run from Homeland Security. The rumoured title is "Harold & Kumar Two: High Alert", and a number of cast members from the classic "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle" may turn up.

(via ALOTT5MA)

Harold & Kumar 2 (Wikipedia)

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Toronto Comic Arts Festival this weekend

This weekend sees the return of the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, a celebration of visual storytelling where, Karen Whaley at Torontoist described it, "fans call comic books 'graphic novels' and story protagonists are often neurotic everymen rather than superheroes". And speaking as a neurotic everyman, it's a fine line-up and a great way to spend the day. And did I mention admission is free? And there are bound to be deals and freebies?

The TCAF will be be held at the Old Vic building (93 Charles Street West) at the University of Toronto campus on August 18 and 19. There will be over 200 creators from Canada, the United States, and Europe will be in attendance, with exhibitions, lectures, readings, and workshops running all weekend. And just like we're known for the best comedians and news anchors, Canada also produces the best graphic novelists. Canadians like Chester Brown, Svetlana Chmakova, Darwyn Cooke (who also drew this year's fine TCAF poster at left), Bryan Lee O’Malley and Seth are recognized as among the best graphic storytellers in the world, particularly in the fields of manga and alternative comics. Not to mention Canada is also home to eminent English-language comics publisher Drawn & Quarterly of Montreal.

Torontoist and BlogTO both have great previews of the TCAF, with schedules for specific artists and publishers, such as Drawn and Quarterly, Oni Press, and gorgeous anthologies like FLIGHT.

Songs & Pictures Party at Sneaky Dees
The official TCAF party is Saturday Night

(via Karen Whaley at Torontoist)

When the festival is done for the day on Saturday, head over to Sneaky Dees (431 College Street) and find out when happens when cartoonists get their rock on.

Opening the show is Kupek, Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O'Malley's one-man-band. According to O'Malley, "Scott Pilgrim 4 is set inside Sneaky Dees. Meta!"

Then, Violet Miranda: Girl Pirate creator Willow Dawson will take the stage as saw-player and vocalist with atmospheric alt/folk band Little Brown Bat.

On last is Jakub Zapotoczny and Brenden Fletcher of the band Ragni. Instead of creating a standard CD sleeve for their debut album, they worked with Karl Kerschl to create a 72-page graphic novel that suits the themes of their songs, fusing music and art.

TCAF PARTY SONGS & PICTURES - Live Music featuring Kupek, Little Brown Bat, and RagniSneaky Dees, 431 College St. @ Bathurst, Second FloorSaturday, August 18th, Doors Open at 9PM. $5 Cover. More info at: http://torontocomics.com/tcaf/events.html#sath

Toronto Comic Arts Festival is presented by The Beguiling, North America’s finest purveyor of comic books, graphic novels and high art funny books.

TCAF line-up

Includes: Chester Brown, Darwyn Cooke, Evan Dorkin, Paul Gravett, James Jean, Joe Matt, Paul Pope, Seth, Adrian Alphona, J. Bone, Scott Chantler, Svetlana Chmakova, Becky Cloonan, Danielle Corsetto, Arthur Dela Cruz, Sara Dyer, Tim Fish, Mike Huddleston, Kevin Huizenga, Stuart Immonen, Karl Kerschl, Hope Larson, Jeff Lemiere, Ryan North, Jim Ottaviani, Bryan Lee O’Malley, Chris Pitzer, Dave Roman, Jim Rugg, Thomas Scioli, Marc Siegel, Dave Sim, Kean Soo, Richard Stevens, Cameron Stewart, Jamie Tanner, Raina Telgemeier, Jason Thompson, J. Torres, James Turner, Maurice Vellekoop, Jose Villarrubia, Chip Zdarsky, and many others.

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Pass the pepto-bismol...

In her upcoming movie, Mary-Kate Olsen locks lips with Ben Kingsley.

ew ew ew ew ew ew ew

I really could go to my grave without having to picture that.

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A Filipino Jailhouse Thriller

I may be the last person on the internet to not have watched this yet. I certainly heard about it, it's been on the news and all over the web, but now I've finally watched it. Ladies and Gentlemen: 1,500 inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, Cebu, Philippines doing the dance from Michael Jackson's "Thriller".

This is apparently part of their exercise routine. I wonder if they drew straws to pick who played the girl or just held auditions.

In addition to this, we have them performing Queen's "Radio Ga Ga" and "I Will Follow Him" from the movie Sister Act.

This is the reason the internet was created.

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Be Kind, Rewind - trailer for Michel Gondry's latest film

The trailer for the new film by director Michel Gondry is up. Be Kind, Rewind is a comedy pairing Jack Black and Mos Def as video store clerks who come up with a way to replace all their damaged inventory: they make their own versions.

Be Kind, Rewind trailer (YouTube)

Michel Gondry is responsible for one of my favourite movies, the unconventional love story Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and my favourite concert film, Dave Chappelle's Block Party, not to mention a helluva lot of my favourite music videos. I've got my fingers crossed that this may run at the Toronto International Film Festival, but otherwise it's in limited release on December 21st 2007, and wide release in the new year.

That's quite the inspired pairing of Jack Black and Mos Def. Mos is hella-funny but his laid back manner will balance nicely off Jack Black's manic hurricane of a personality.

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When you have to choose between truth and legend, ... I say choose the legend.

Factory Records co-founder Tony Wilson succumbed to cancer last week at age 57. Hugely influential in the Manchester music scene, Tony had a hand in the success of Joy Division, New Order, Stones Roses, and The Happy Mondays. The bands he signed to his label have gone on to influence countless bands, including Bloc Party and The Killers. He was a supporter of the punk scene, he co-founded Factory Records, and his club The Hacienda was reputed to be the birthplace of rave culture. Despite it’s pop culture significance, The Hacienda closed in the 90s because it was losing money: no body was buy alcohol because they were too busy doing drugs and dancing.

If you still haven’t yet, I urge you to watch the brilliant semi-fictional film 24 Hour Party People, which tells Tony Wilson’s story and that of the Manchester scene.

A number of obituaries and eulogies can be found here, and (c/o Chromewaves) NME has remembrances from Creation Records founder Alan McGee, Factory Records graphic designer Peter Saville and Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris and Peter Hook of Joy Division and New Order. You’ll see words describing Tony Wilson like “innovator”, “pioneer”, “visionary”, "larger than life", and “twat”. His contributions to modern music are numerous and I thank Tony for that. God Bless you man, and thanks for all the good music.

I liked the quote from 24 Hour Party People that ALOTT5MA used, that if not said by Tony Wilson, certainly captured his contributions:

"And tonight something equally epoch-making is taking place. See? They're applauding the DJ. Not the music, not the musician, not the creator, but the medium. This is it. The birth of rave culture. The beatification of the beat. The dance age. This is the moment when even the white man starts dancing. Welcome to Manchester."

Here's a terrific segment from a 2002 program called "That Tony Wilson", that pretty much summarizes who Tony Wilson was, with interviews with New Order and Tony himself.



Here's the scene from 24 Hour Party People where Tony Wilson (Steve Coogan) meets God. It may have indeed gone something like this. Top gear mate.



Tony Wilson - wikipedia

YouTube - Joy Division LIVE 9-15-1979 Transmission & She's Lost Control

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Damage estimated at $20,000 or 1000 lap dances

Infamous Toronto strip club The Brass Rail almost went up in flames. An electrical fire started early Saturday morning in the humongous garish sign out front: it spans the whole front of the building, about 4 storeys high. The fire was contained to the sign and the club is open. The smell of melted plastic platform shoes and boiled vats of vanilla perfume may still linger.

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Openings & Closings in Toronto

Long-time College Street neighbours Ciao Edie and Andy Poolhall will be united at last. In mid-September, the two bars (same ownership) will become one as the wall dividing the two is removed thus merging the spaces into a 500 capacity club complete with ten unisex toilets (thank God, Andy’s was one of the few places where the men’s room line is longer than the women’s). Ciao Edie will remain open for most of the summer, but Andy’s will be closed starting August 6th, 2007. I’ve always enjoyed the “everyone is welcome to do there thing” vibe at Andy Poolhall, and I hope the Friday night Synchro open format sessions with Denise Benson & friends continue.

The re-building continues on the much-derided yet iconic Sassafraz in Yorkville, which burned down last December. Sassafraz went on for years as the centre of Yorkville, cruising along more on the constant flow of celebrities more than the quality food and drinks. Essentially seen as a “star-f*cker” of a restaurant, there was much schadenfreude when it burned to the ground. And, like the career of Sharon Stone, it just won’t die. Amusingly the owners Zoran and Vasko Kocovski say that "We hear you, Toronto," and seem to have a sense of humour. They've taken the comments and criticisms from various Toronto blogs and quoted both the good and the bad on their walls. Now whether they take that criticism and improve their business remains to be seen. Sassafraz is aiming to re-open in early September, in order to coincide with the Toronto Film Festival.

The Sparrow on Ossington shut down.

Ever wondered why the massive space formerly home to Lucid nightclub on John St. has been closed so long? The new club owners are mired in lawsuits with partners. The space is massive, and was originally built to house Sony Playdium. I can’t imagine how much money you’d have to be raking in to turn a profit – the overhead must be enormous. The new owners have been working for more than a year on the space, which is to be reborn as Circa. Now, for the umpteenth time, they’ve announced Circa will open this summer. I remain skeptical.

Most of the scoops via Martiniboys.com

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Whedon Watch

An interview with Joss Whedon on The Onion A.V. Club has Joss giving updates on several of his the projects he has on the go, from TV and movies to his comic book writing. He’s doing a great run on X-Men, and I can’t recommend enough the collected hardcover collection of his first 12 issues, Astonishing X-Men. Makes you wish Whedon could get his hands on the movie franchise.

“I never would have killed Wesley if we hadn’t been cancelled.”

The Serenity Collector's Edition 2-Disc DVD goes on sale August 21st, and includes a Feature Commentary with Joss Whedon, Nathan Fillion (Mal), Adam Baldwin (Jane), Summer Glau (River) and Ron Glass (Book), in addition to all sorts of behind the scenes goodies and deleted scenes.

We’re finally going to get that Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) spin-off movie, currently optioned by BBC. “Ripper” will be about the pre-Buffy Giles, before he became a Watcher.

Look for Oz to return in the Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season 8 comic. Faith returns in this month’s “episode”.

Joss Whedon panel report from San Diego Comic Con

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Leaving on a jet plane....

A collection of airline related links:

How many of you heard about Air Canada's new policy that pets are no longer welcome on their flights, and they have to be shipped via Air Canada Cargo? Air Canada says they need the room for luggage, so Fido has to either be kenneled or shipped separately. Working animals (seeing eye dogs) are still allowed in the cabin. Claiming your cat is your life partner won't get him a seat though.

So here are some articles on some new players on the block.

Porter Air is a small boutique airline that's been operating out of the Toronto Island Airport for under a year. They use twin-propeller planes, and specialize in short-haul routes between Toronto to Montreal, Halifax, and Ottawa, with a New York run starting in the new year. For only a bit more than you'd pay for a Via Rail fare to Montreal, you get there in about an hour. Bonus: no trip to Pearson Airport, you actually fly in and out of downtown Toronto.

From all reports I've heard, the planes are quiet, comfortable, and the service is excellent, especially compared to "cattle class" experiences among modern carriers. It's like what if Wallpaper magazine created an airline, which is what we're meant to think. Wallpaper founder Tyler Brule established the Winkreative creative design agency, which is responsible for all of Porter's branding, including the little racoon logo and in-flight magazines. Porter really sells you on making a customer feel like a guest: the lounges are business class quality, with free drinks, nibbles, and Wi-Fi. The snack and beverage service on all flights are included, with complimentary soft drinks, wine and beer. That's novel in these days of no-frill flight travel.

Blog TO recently took a Porter flight from Toronto to Montreal and had a great experience, also offering tips to lessen some of the hassles associated with air travel. Looks like it's ideal for weekend getaways and business. Postive word-of-mouth and the expectations of more US destinations means that Porter Air would be the first airline I'd look to for travel.


Now this looks like the modern ideal of an in-flight experience: Virgin America is now flying in the US and the perks are sweet: in-flight multi-media, movies on demand, instant messenger network on the flight, comfortable coach class (those words don't normally go together), massage chairs. Check out BoingBoing for why Virgin Rules the Future of Flight


A good idea/bad idea to pass the time on a Iqualit - St. John's flight, via Townie Bastard:

Loading a bunch of comedy albums onto my iPod was both a good and bad thing. Listening to Patton Oswalt was about the only thing that prevented me from going insane sitting on the tarmac in Iqaluit. The downside is I think I ruptured something trying not to laughout loud.

The worst of it was during the end of one of his records when he was imitatinga series of radio ads done for ESPN by a coked out 70s movie producer. I actually had to stop the record and compose myself before I exploded. The people sitting next to me (including one reading bible pamphlets)must have thought I was insane.

I tend to use the comedy albums on car trips, where I can giggle in privacy. Also not recommended for in-flight albums: David Sedaris at Carnegie Hall

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Remember to have your QB spayed and neutered

TVGuide.com: OK, last question: Where do you stand on spaying and neutering?

Drew Carey: Absolutely. Very for it.

TVGuide.com: Maybe even do it twice to the pet for good measure?

Drew Carey: I think if I do get Price Is Right, I'll keep saying that at the end of the show and carry it on. [Going off on a tangent] Hey, listen, are you going to boycott the NFL if Michael Vick plays? [In mid-July, the Atlanta Falcons star was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of sponsoring a dog-fighting operation so grisly the losing dogs either died in combat or were electrocuted, drowned, hanged or shot.] If he plays, I'm not only going to find someone with picket signs, I'm going to join the picket and if I have time and my travel schedule allows, I'm going to picket the stadium if I can. After what happened with the Duke guys, I don't want to be rushing to judgment, but even if a little bit of it is true, if he knew what was going on and he didn't step in, f--k him. Get rid of him. If he did nothing, and silence is consent, f--k him, man. And f--k the NFL. Honestly. If they think they can wrap themselves in the American flag and sing the National Anthem twice and think we'll forget this, when guys are getting arrested for beating their wives and killing dogs.... We're supposed to go, "Oh well"? F--k you. It makes me so mad."

- Drew Carey, new host of The Price Is Right, goes on a tangent when asked if he will continue Bob Barker's traditional end-of-show reminder to have your pets spayed and neutered.

Drew Carey Clears the Air About His New Game-show Gigs

by Matt Webb Mitovich (TV Guide.com)

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TV Returns: Sometimes they come back

Sometimes They Come Back Part 1 - Dead Like Me resurrected

Dead Like Me was a quirky Showtime cable series about the lives of grim reapers, and specifically on Georgia (Ellen Muth) an 18 year old slacker who is employed as a reaper after a flaming piece of the MIR Space Station hits her (it was a toilet seat). It was a fun show, it was morbid and moving, it was a critical hit, it had a loyal following, and it was cancelled after two seasons. Since then it’s enjoyed a healthy life in reruns on cable and DVD sales, but fans like myself wondered how the story would have continued.

So it was a pleasant surprise to see that Dead Like Me has seen a resurrection of sorts, as MGM Studios announced that filming on a Dead Like Me straight-to-DVD movie has wrapped, with a release date expected within the year.

Ellen Muth (Georgia) returns as the lead, with everyone in the cast returning, with the exceptions of Laura Harris (Daisy Adair), whose role is now played by Sarah Wynter (24), and Mandy Patinkin (Rube). Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond on Lost) was cast as a new character named Cameron - the head undead who hands out assignments to the reapers, taking over the slot once occupied by Patinkin.If all goes well, according to MGM's head of Corporate Development Charlie Cohen, we’ll see more Dead Like Me movies, or perhaps even another television series. "If it's a series of movies that's fine. If someone saw it and thinks it makes sense to bring it back as an episodic tv series, we're open to anything," he said. However, MGM has not optioned the cast at this point.

Dead Like Me – TV.com

MGM resurrects Dead Like Me

Sometimes They Come Back Part 2 - Michael returns to Lost

Harold Perrineau (Michael) returns to Lost for Season 4. It hasn’t been said at what point he’s returning, but it looks like it’s not just a guest starring role, but a return to the regular cast. When last we saw Michael, he and his son Walt were on a slow boat off the island, having sold out his fellow castaways for a chance to save get him and his son off the island. While Walt (or an apparition of him) appeared in last season’s finale, nothing has been seen of Michael since. Producers have also said that next year will use both flashbacks and flash-forwards, so I’d guess we’re more likely to see Michael in the flash-forwards rather than returning to the island. Having Michael appear in the flash-forwards (to present day) would also be a handy way to explain away the fact the actor playing his son Walt had a major growth spurt and can likely look Michael in the eye now. Then again, it’d be interesting to see Michael back on the island, reunited with those castaways (Hurley, Sawyer, etc.) he betrayed.

Sometimes They Come Back Part 3 - Joss Whedon approves continuing Angel as comic book mini-series

Fans of the show Angel take note: an Angel – Complete Series DVD boxed set is coming out. But the big news is that series creator Joss Whedon announced at San Diego Comic Con that he’s sanctioned a comic series to act as an official Season 6. Angel – After The Fall will be set in the aftermath of the climatic series finale that saw the main characters seriously outmatched and outnumbered in an alley, and ended with them diving into battle, their fates unknown. Whedon has always stated that a sixth season of Angel was already mapped out by the time the WB network cancelled the show. A release date for the mini-series hasn’t been announced yet.
The announcement of Angel – After The Fall comes on the heels of the success of the Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Season 8 comic book series, which has managed to capture the dialogue and charactization of the TV characters, without being limited in terms of scope and special effects like a conventional TV series.

I recommend ordering the trade paperback collecting the first story arc of the Buffy Season 8 comic, and is written by Joss Whedon. Buffy - The Long Road Home is available for pre-order from Amazon, and is due in November.

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Gone daddy gone....

OK cats and dogs, I'm off to the cottage weekend. I'll be back Monday to catch up the blog. I really need to recharge the batteries (as you can tell by the slowdown in posts).

So enjoy the weekend. I'm looking forward to morning coffee with Bailey's, flaking on the lake with my iPod, and catching up with friends.

I leave with these:

44 things said at the Spotlight on Warren Ellis panel at San Diego Comic Con

Official teaser for Batman: The Dark Knight. Heath Ledger as the Joker, Aaron Eckhardt as Harvey Dent, possibly Anthony Michael Hall as Edward Nigma. Rumour is that it could be a villains free-for-all. I think that, unlike Spider-Man 3, this could work if you skip the origins and just say that after a year of Batman fighting in Gotham, there are a lot of costumed lunatics running around.



Video teaser of the Iron Man from San Diego Comic Con. Iron Man is the big summer blockbuster for next summer:



Neil Young, 1971 - Heart of Gold




Ciao.

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The Male of the Species

Based on a conversation with a friend, I put this forth to my readers. The term cougar is used frequently (but not really justly, some taking offence) to describe an older woman who preys on younger guys, either in a dating or casual way. Some signs of cougar-ness include mom's wearing their daughter's clothes, and 40 -year olds wearing clubwear to work.

But to the question: in the interest of gender equality, what name do you have for the male equivalent of a cougar? The old mid-life crisis kicks in and you go trolling for 20 year olds.

We're going with the age old formula to determine age appropriateness: (Your Age/2 +7).

This ties in to the game I play at bars and restaurants called "Date or Daughter", as in "is that his date or his daughter?" If you're participating in this game, you might be a male cougar.

A friend suggested "Jackal", but I'd pick "Puma" or "Panther" just to keep it in the cat family.

Creepy old dude is applicable.

Answering "what do you call a guy who tries to pick up significantly younger women?" with "Jason" is not accepted.

• a "Liger"... a liger crosses the species boundry as much as a sleezy old man crosses the age boundry.
• Provided by an anonymous source: '"my boss"but that's not really the answer your looking for'
• I'd go with Coyote - cause most of the time they are out for themselves with little care to the rest of the world, oh and they're dumb to - picture "wile E Coyote"

Thoughts?

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Why were Questlove and Kamal missing from The Roots line-up on Sunday?

One of the keys to the success of The Roots is ?uestlove (aka Questlove, aka Ahmir Thompson). ?uestlove is the charismatic, giant-fro’d frontman of the band, and he runs the show from behind the drum kit. He drums, does arrangements, produces, and he loves it all. You can see this at the live shows especially, or watch the "Dave Chappelle’s Block Party" concert film, where you see Questlove calling the shots on stage.

When The Roots hit the stage at The Rogers Picnic on Sunday without Questlove, it was a notable absent. I'd been looking forward to seeing him again and I kept looking around for him, expecting him to pop on stage after each song. We didn’t get a shout out or explanation, so all we had was speculation. Was Quest stopped at the border? Sick? Someone in his family took ill? Did he eat at one of those tourist-trap restaurant boats at Harbourfront and get food poisoning? (stay away from the clam chowder)

And no disrespect to Kamal, who was also absent. It’s just that Questlove is the guy most identified with The Roots, the frontman. And no disrespect to Frankie Knuckles, who is The Roots second drummer, and who held it down on the main kit.

I was a bit concerned so the next day I checked in on the OkayPlayer (their label) forum and found this:

justinwak posts:
"?uestlove shows no love for Toronto @ Rogers Picnic"

and kamal aswell...both were m.i.a...I was seriously gonna come on and post right after the show saying how crap that was (especially after the CRAZY show they put on in march) But Lupe and De La definately redeem itbut still why no quest and kamal?im looking for qoolquest for the answer!

So right off the bat a poster on the forum assumed that the absence was a diss to Toronto and led to a “crap” performance. Not cool.

Which led to Questlove’s response:

"for future reference"In response to Reply # 0

a) its pretty much common knowledge that we are THE most responsible act in hip hop period.

so if something comes up sorta out of the ordinary you know that pretty much something beyond an act of god kept me from being there.

the point of this response isn't to give an explanation.

but its to train you players in your approach in asking about "what happened".
most of yall come from the defense (?uest shows no love)

now--if some shit occurred like my mom dying or my left leg getting chopped off in an accident then you'd feel a lil small no?

not that those things happen but it would be nice not to see a selfish post (regardless of the "well i pay my money etc..." issue)---or a post that "hints" at that (this is such a post)

how about a "is he alright? man something must have been an emergency for him not to show up at his own gig"

and to answer we did everything short of walk on hot coals to get there....there was NOTHING we could do,thank you for your "concern"

vvvvvvvv is EL

Inclement weather grounded Kamal and ?uestlove's flight. No drama, no diss. So just trust The Roots to hit it that much harder the next time they come to Toronto to show us some love.

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The Roots turn up some needed heat at The Rogers Picnic

Fort York has been the site of many historical battles. At least, I assume so: Grade 9 history was a long time ago. But last Sunday (trumpets blaring) the battle was fought for the love and the dollars of discerning music fans at the inaugural Rogers Picnic.

Or, rather, a bunch of us showed up at Fort York for the privilege of paying $3 for a small bottle of water while baking in the sun, all for the sake of seeing an eclectic line-up of bands known for strong live performances.

The line-up for the Rogers Picnic was taking a "cover all your bases" approach with performances from The Roots, Bedouin Soundclash, Bad Brains, Little Brother, Apostle of Hustle, Tegan and Sara, The New Pornographers, and The Dears. Between sets we were treated to some solid DJ sets from the Team Canada DJs and a special guest set from Maseo of De La Soul before The Roots played (and that wasn’t the last we’d see of Maseo).

It was a good day, but not a great one I'd rave about, thanks to crappy sound, a missing frontman, and some dick-moves on the organizer's part regarding water.

The Performances:

This was a show where I’d say I was into 50% of the line-up. I’ve seen The Dears, The New Pornographers and The Roots before, and they’ve always had solid live shows.

Unfortunately the troubles associated with a festival style show like this undermined what could have been a great day.

The Dears' performance was marred by sound problems, as a muddy mix and dropped vocals undermined their ability to connect with the crowd. When you play orchestral power pop, you need to hear the all the elements of the performance to get the full effect. Songs like “Death or Life” and “Lost in the Plot” were still exciting live, but the whole performance seemed to have the wind sucked out of it after stumbling out of the gate. I don’t think they were pulling in any new fans with the sound being as it was, which is a shame given the diverse range of music fans in the crowd.

The New Pornographers fared better with the sound and the crowds. The New Pornographers, like Broken Social Scene, have a number of members who rotate in and out based on availability. Early in their career, the main female singer for the band was Neko Case. Neko’s solo career is booming, so she isn’t able to tour with the band as much. Kathryn Calder from the band Immaculate Machine (and lead frontman A.C. Newman’s niece, but they didn't know that until after she began singing with the band) began singing with them a year or two ago and has taken to the role really well. The fans used to view Kathryn as a substitute singer, but now she’s a staple of the live shows.

It was fantastic to hear Kathryn stake her claim on early hits like “Mass Romantic”, and the crowd started bopping to some of the newer songs from the upcoming “Challenger” album. As she mentioned to the crowd, the band has a knack of playing in Toronto under adverse conditions: Sunday it was in the blazing afternoon, while last winter they played a gig at Nathan Phillips Square under a wind-chill warning. Today they played to an appreciative crowd and Closing the set with “Sing Me Spanish Techno” and “Bleeding Heart Show” managed to lift me a couple feet off the ground and had me beaming like the sun.


Tegan and Sara, rocked a harder than I expected. It's not like I was expecting Lilith Fair or anything, but they kicked some ass out there. I’d take issue with the guy Ray overheard describing them as “The Canadian Dixie Chicks”. The only grounds for comparison are that charming women, who play guitar and are excellent songwriters, front both acts. Nonetheless they won over a lot of new fans on Sunday with their playing and their playfulness with the crowd.

At this point of the day, I had lost track of time and forgotten the line-up. My forgetfulness may have increased in relation to my proximity to the beer garden, when reggae punk group Bad Brains started up. I had assumed the only bands left to play at this point were Bedouin Soundclash and The Roots. Four hardcore songs in and I turn to Rayzer: “Dude, Bedouin Soundclash have gotten aggressive!” His look was enough to snap me back and make me remember Washington DC punk outfit Bad Brains were on the bill and playing before Bedouin.

The eclectic made it hard to keep a flow through the day. It went from indie pop to rasta-punk to reggae-lite to hip-hop, which kept the crowds moving in and out of the stage area pretty constantly towards the end of the day.


The Roots brought the house down. Notably absent were Questlove (drums/frontman) and Kamal (keys), who apparently had transportation issues (it’s wasn’t a no-show: Quest and Kamal would have given anything to be there). Real shame too, but the show went on. I admit though, without knowing whether it was illness or transportation problems, I kept thinking after each song that I’d see Questlove emerge from the wings, with bags in hand and shout “I’m here, let’s do this!” or fight his way past hospital orderlies while strapped to an I.V. But no problem, it just means they’re going to rock that much harder next time here.

The show had the same energy as the show I saw in March. MC Black Thought laid down a constant flow of lyrics and motion, keeping the crowd hyped. The Brass Heaven horns were swinging, Leon "Hub" Hubbard was thumping the bass, and Kirk was killing on lead guitar, filling in for the keyboard parts as well as singing. Frankie Knuckles did well manning the drum kit, as they plowed through songs from The Roots extensive catalogue, while tearing into versions of “Jungle Boogie” and “Everybody Is A Star”.


As I always say, The Roots always go beyond a straightforward hip-hop show, incorporating funk, soul, r&b, and rock. But true to form, you never know what to expect as The Roots handed the stage over to Posdnuos and Maceo from De La Soul for a song or two. Not to mention the surprise appearance by red-hot rapper Lupe Fiasco, which led to Pos, Maceo, Lupe and Black Thought jamming on stage. It was crazy good as it just turned into a house party in the middle of Fort York. There was a legacy of hip-hop up there on stage with the past, present, and future vibing together.

With the noise bylaws in effect, the show had to wrap up at 11pm, but even with the conservatively short set (90 minutes is short for The Roots, that March gig was about 2 hours and change), they made the show for me.

The Venue and The Organizers

The beauty of a concert at Fort York is that it's easy to get to transit-wise. When I saw that the show was "The Rogers Picnic", I was a bit pessimistic. It wasn't like I expected picnic baskets and coolers, but I at least hoped for the laid back vibe that I've felt at some of Broken Social Scene shows on Olympic island. The first sign my general cynicism was not misplaced? We weren't allowed to bring in bottled water. Not even the usual one bottle with the seal intact. Now I don't know if that's Rogers policy, or if Embrace Productions or REMG Entertainment had any input in that decision, but that is a dick-ish move that reaks of a money grab, charging $3 for 500 ml., especially on a hot summer day. I do acknowledge the complimentary sunscreen and alcohol-hand wash were appreciated, but still: dicks.

The place was covered in Rogers and Nokia marketing, but that’s to be expected. Lord knows you wouldn't want to forget Rogers ponyed up the cash for this soiree. And you can’t have a music festival without that cross-marketed youth-oriented synergy.

I didn’t spot too many people bringing their own food, just in case it got pulled at the door, but there was pleasant surprise when I saw the food tents. Rogers went with local “cool, youth-oriented” businesses for the food and beverage services. One of my favourite late night Queen Street restaurant/diners, Shanghai Cowgirl, was running the food and beer, with Ackee Tree supplying roti and jerk chicken. Local brewers Amsterdam Breweries and Great Lakes supplied the beer. So at least the food and beer was tasty; or at least, what we could get of it.

Now I don’t know if any of these businesses are used to serving 7500+ people in rapid succession, but the food lines were about 30 – 45 minutes at their peak. I sort of expected slow service and long lines at a festival event, but I was annoyed when I’m waiting 30 minutes in line to order chicken roti, get to the front of the line, and get told that “we have to run back to the restaurant to get more roti, so it’ll be about 15 minutes”. Yes, the jerk chicken I had was great, but couldn’t you have a runner already on the way, rather than wait until the last roti was used before you went for more?

And Shanghai seemed to have separate lines going: one for burgers and meat, one for fruit and smoothies, one for perogies, and one for fried things. In theory, this means two separate line-ups if you wanted some poutine with your burger, which doesn’t seem like a sound plan to me. I’m wondering if Rogers traded “quick and reliable planning” for “hip and cool eats”?

Similarly, the beer tent started having “tap” problems and service slowed down quick. How do you run out of beer and have tap issues when you’re literally a block from the Amsterdam Brewery facilities?

The Verdict

Too many hic-cups (water, food, sound problems) kept this show at an “it was a good day” level rather than “that was fantastic”. The Roots made the day for me, and I’m definitely a fan of Tegan and Sara now.

If the organizers can learn some lessons from this year and improve, then I’m willing to check the show next year. Ease up on the water confiscation, plan out the food side of things so we don’t get jammed in line like that, maybe a bit more cohesion to the line-up, and we’re all good.

But just in case, I’m reserving a camping spot for the Hillside Festival next year. It's their 10th anniversary next year, and I’d rather bet on the sure thing.

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