Nothing spectacular happened for me for New Year's Eve but it was still fun. My buddy and I ventured downtown hoping to catch Peter Elkas at the Rivoli in Toronto because according to the Local Rabbits web site, it said Pete was playing every Wednesday throughout December, including the 31st. So I thought we could catch his set then head over to Nathan Phillips Square for the festivities there. I didn't count on the traffic coming off the highway into the city, due to the R.I.D.E. program in effect. Then finding parking was another matter. I barely missed hitting some party revellers who weren't paying attention when they were walking across the street. By the time, we found parking and made it to the Rivoli, it was after 10:30pm and Peter Elkas' set was only suppose to be 45 minutes starting at 10pm. I wasn't even sure he was playing yesterday because the sign outside did not advertise it; I didn't even bother asking anyone there. So we headed over to Nathan Phillips Square, watched the live musical acts, including Melanie Durrant, The Salads, Glenn Lewis, and the cast of Mamma Mia! and then the countdown happened, everyone went nuts and that was it. There were some bozos who decided to climb some of the surrounding trees and people thought that the branches would give way and they would eventually fall; alas, they never did fall and some police officers eventually told them to get down. As people made their way away from Nathan Phillips Square, the crowd invaded the street as if Toronto had just won the Stanley Cup. However, as the polite Canadians we are, everybody kept their composure and no trouble ever ensued. We made the drive back home and decided to get some coffee and we found the only Tim Hortons open apparently, because the place was packed.
So it was literally and figuratively a dry New Year's Eve(no alcohol consumed, no wild partying); oh well there's always next year! ;-)
.
.
.
.
And to start off the New Year on a musical note, why is it that I'm the last of the indierock music geeks to have heard of Ted Leo/Pharmacists. These guys have been making all the top music year-end lists and I've been becoming acquainted with their music over the past week or so through the various mp3's available over the internet. So as a public service to anyone reading(anyone? anyone?), I give you the links below to those mp3's I have come across. Enjoy!
- The Sword in the Stone -> link to Lookout! Records
- Squeaky Fingers -> link to Lookout! Records
- Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone -> link to www.epitonic.com
- Under The Hedge -> link to www.epitonic.com
- The High Party -> link to www.epitonic.com
- Come Baby Come -> link to www.epitonic.com
- Walking Through -> link to www.epitonic.com
- Dirty Old Town -> mp3
- Timorous Me -> mp3
- Tell Balgeary, Balgaury Is Dead -> mp3
- The Latest Dart -> mp3
ps. Also Ted Leo/The Pharmacists performed a live set on WFMU's 'The Cherry Blossom Clinic' on July 19, 2003. Click here to listen to the show!
No comments:
Post a Comment