Theme - What's with all the vampires? Vampires appear in folk tales and culture the world over, and go back as far as ancient Greece and Rome. Why are we so fascinated with them? With the Nosferatu remake being released on Christmas Day, vampires seemed like a great topic for kicking off this discussion group. Do you... Continue Reading →
Shows I saw in 2023
I’m super late doing this post. I usually try to do a retrospective post in the first few weeks of the year. I suspect it’s because I’d rather not look back on a lot of 2023 - the first 6 months were a horror show of stress due to a family member getting illegally evicted,... Continue Reading →
You’re an artist! Do as I say!
NB: Putting this up here so no one misses it. This is not an invitation to start a debate about Israel and Palestine. Ceasefire now. No anti-semitism or Islamophobia tolerated. I’ve noticed an odd trend of late. I subscribe to Nick Cave’s Red Hand Files, and a couple of years ago someone wrote in informing... Continue Reading →
Sinead O’Connor: I remember visions of you
Last Wednesday afternoon, I felt a sudden urge to listen to Visions of You by Jah Wobble. I particularly wanted to hear Sinead O'Connor's gorgeous backing vocals. It's a song that I sink into, feeling my breath deepen and my nerves calm as Jah's languorous bass line and Sinead's lilting vocals carry me off to... Continue Reading →
2022- The Year that live music returned
It's been three years since I wrote a year-end post about my favourite live shows. We all know why. Yes, I saw lots of livestreams and I will write a post about those. But this is about the year that my heart and soul got handed back to me, and I almost don't know where... Continue Reading →
Massey Hall open house – where magic happens
Is there anything better on a glorious sunny Sunday than to step into Massey Hall and be greeted with "Welcome! We invite you to wander and explore!" Anyone who had financially supported Massey Hall's massive two year renovation project was invited to an open house, and we were given free rein to explore to our... Continue Reading →
A Love Letter to the DJs of Twitch
A love letter to the DJs of Twitch and Mixcloud. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for bringing light and connection and genuine joy to the hellscape of the past two years. It was just a couple of weeks into lockdown, with the world plunged into chaos and confusion. No one knew what was... Continue Reading →
WHEN THE MIRAGE BECOMES REALITY
Bootblacks at Handlebar On November 11, I went to my first show in 18 months. A month after the fact, it still feels surreal and I'm still having a hard time articulating what it was like. As the pandemic dragged on, it felt like live music might never come back. I watched as concerts were... Continue Reading →
Hansa Studios: A Bowie Berlin Pilgrimage
I started writing this post last year, when we first went into lockdown. Just a few months earlier, my SO and I had visited Berlin and my thoughts kept returning to the utter magic of that trip. We had a huge list of things we wanted to do while we were there and we knew... Continue Reading →
Once upon a time, I was a music journalist
At the beginning of my second year of university, I walked into the campus newspaper office, walked right over to the entertainment section and walked out with my first writing assignment. The rest, as they say, is history, I wrote nonstop for the campus paper until I graduated, and was also managing editor of the... Continue Reading →
Rock 'n' Roll Animal 