Theatre Review: A Christmas Carol

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11:14 am

Yes, the Eaton Centre’s Christmas tree is more glitzy than traditional this year and, yes, it was annoying when stores started playing Christmas music in November — bah humbug! But in this season of shopping-till-dropping and stuffing our faces, there is refuge from the commercially driven nature of the season; one that encourages everyone to become more communal and more loving towards each other. I’m referring to Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, of course.

Soulpepper Theatre has been putting on productions of the classic Christmas story for years now; with its magical quality and charismatic performances, it’s no wonder that it’s quickly becoming a beloved holiday tradition, much like eggnog lattes or attending an ugly Christmas sweater party.

What I found most unique about this particular Soulpepper performance was the stage. For this production, adapter/director Michael Shamata uses theatre-in-the-round staging, offering audience members the chance to see one another, sharing in their varied feelings: from bewilderment to hope, from despair to joy.

There was a unity in our theatre going experience that I found to be very endearing. One caveat to this setup was that it was difficult to hear the actors speak when their backs were to us. A bit more projection would be much appreciated, especially since each performer — from the Harlequins (Daniel Chapman-Smith, Tangara Jones) to the Cratchit children (Sabrina Nardi, Rhys Fulton-Doyle, Charlotte Dennis, Anton Gillis-Adelman) to Ebenezer Scrooge himself (phenomenally played by Jospeh Ziegler) — was worth every shilling to behold. John Jarvis, who pulled quadruple-duty as Jacob Marley and all three Ghosts, was another standout (and I’m still in awe of how quickly he could change costumes).

The stage itself was simple, but it wondrously transformed from Scrooge’s bedroom to the Christmas party thrown by Mr. Fezziwig (the exuberant Kevin Bundy) in a mere blink of an eye.

The costumes were exquisite, as was the perfectly timed choreography. And the lighting was gorgeous (the lighting scheme for Scrooge’s ticking clock was genius).

I really could praise the beauty of this play — both for its acting and its ambiance — until the Christmas of Yet to Come became Christmas Present, but what remains most special about this story is its resonance. Whether you say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” or “a Festivus for the rest of us,” the story’s message of generosity and universal love — and that everyone is deserving of a second chance — is the most important takeaway from this hectic holiday.

A Christmas Carol, Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 50 Tank House Lane, 416-866-8666. Now – Dec. 29

This Week in Sound: Arcade Fire, James Murphy, Thomas D’Arcy, Hayden, Evening Hymns, Great Bloomers

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3:45 pm

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Every Monday, we round up the most exciting music news happening in Toronto. In this edition: Arcade Fire is teaming up with LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, Hayden debuts the lead track from his new upcoming album and Evening Hymns will wrap up their tour at The Music Gallery.

I hope my desk mates will forgive me for disruptively yelling “Yes!” this morning after confirming this juicy, awesome bit of news: Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy are collaborating on a new record. Go ahead, you can jump for joy now too. Murphy (who also co-founded DFA Records), is known for electronica-doused dance punk — something that will surely take Win Butler’s haunting vocals into unknown and experimental territory. Sure, the rest of us will be waiting with bated breath for the 2013 release of the new record, but a few lucky bastards in the band’s native Montreal got to preview the tracks this week.

Small Sins frontman Thomas D’Arcy is no novice when it comes to the music scene — his brand of bright indie pop has been in regular rotation on TV shows and commercials. But for the first time ever, this winter will mark his debut as a solo artist with the release of What We Want, slated to drop in February 2013. Naturally, the record stays true to D’Arcy’s hooky and melodic style, but this time he has the freedom to take some risks, and flirts with droning, synth-soaked drama. To tide us over until the album comes out, the Maple Music Recordings team offers up a double track download here.

Iconic Toronto songwriter Hayden was recently signed to the epic mainstay label Arts & Crafts for the release of his seventh full-length, Us Alone. Last week, Hayden debuted the lead track, “Old Dreams,” a sign of the warm, rich and storied album expected to come in February 2013.

After months of playing Europe and Canada, Toronto twosome Evening Hymns recently announced they will wrap up their tour at The Music Gallery on Dec. 20. Their latest record, Spectral Dusk, is seriously heavy stuff. It was composed after the death of lead singer Jonas Bonnetta’s dad and was recorded in a secluded log cabin near Ottawa. Fellow locals The Wooden Sky played backing band, and members of Timber Timbre and City & Colour also contributed. We suspect this will be one intimate show. Tickets are available here.

From Michael Bublé to Alvin and the Chipmunks, almost everyone seems to have a Christmas album under their belts these days. Thankfully, Paste Magazine has rounded up a sampler of holiday songs that certainly jingles our bells. It features local folksters Great Lake Swimmers and also — did we mention it’s free?

And lastly — but not leastly — check this new video from the Great Bloomers:

It’s game over for The Pinball Cafe

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3:09 pm

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The owners of Parkdale’s The Pinball Cafe have decided to shut down their business in response to city bylaws.

The Pinball Cafe opened in February of this year, before its business licence had been approved. Co-owner Jason Hazzard, who ran the venue with his wife Rachel, says that they didn’t expect any serious issues in getting a licence.

To their surprise, the café was denied its licence due to a zoning bylaw that forbids more than two pinball or other mechanical or electronic game machines in a restaurant or place of amusement. True to its namesake, The Pinball Cafe had many pinball machines — at one point, it had nine.

Still, rather than comply with the bylaw, the Hazzards decided to operate The Pinball Cafe illegally, without its licence.

“The bylaw is ridiculous,” Mr. Hazzard says. “It seems antiquated, in the age of Nintendo, that this would be an issue.”

After months of operating illegally, the Hazzards finally agreed to get rid of some of their pinball machines in order to get a business licence. But it was too late: Parkdale had been slapped with a ban on new restaurants and bars.

Tired of red tape — and of operating illegally — the Hazzards decided to call it quits.

City Councillor Gord Perks wrote on his website that the Hazzards could have demonstrated more cooperation with the city.

“I met with the owners of the Pinball Cafe in February of this year and urged them to get a business licence and offered them suggestions for two possible ways to do this. They could apply to the Committee of Adjustment to allow for a ‘variance’ from the zoning rules, or they could ask City Council to change the zoning of this property. It appears the owners did neither.”

Mr. Hazzard admits that his business woes are largely self-inflicted, but he does think it’s unfortunate that he had to deal with that type of bureaucracy in the first place.

“These aren’t the arcades of Yonge Street that were frequented by drug dealers,” he says.

Dave Matthews Band is all about the music at the ACC

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Friday night was the fifth time I had seen Dave Matthews Band live. This makes me little more than a novice next to many DMB diehards, but it did allow me to look past the 15-minute songs, a dynamic lights display and Dave’s mumbling in order to examine some of the smaller details that have made the band so successful in its 20-plus years of touring.

The first thing that struck me was the variety of the performance. After Leonard Cohen produced a pair of near-identical concerts at the Air Canada Centre, these Virginia-based alt-rockers put forth a completely different show from their most recent effort at Chicago’s United Center last Wednesday (which had also been entirely different from their Louisville show the day before).

The band’s 20-track effort at the Air Canada Centre on Friday carried over just nine of the same songs. The constants were primarily tracks off of DMB’s latest album, Away from the World, including forgettable offerings like “Belly Belly Nice” and “The Riff” but also the acoustically superb “Belly Full” (no truth to the rumours that the band may have been hungry when they produced the album).

DMB fans have long learned not to harp on what was missed (“Crash Into Me,” “#41” and “Ants Marching,” among other omissions) from an impressive musical anthology during a live show, but to celebrate what was heard – and often with energetic panache.

Not knowing what tracks to expect during a predictably unpredictable set, the crowd of 12,000 strongly (and loudly) responded to old favourites like “Jimi Thing,” “Gravedigger” and a lengthy, show-closing rendition of “Two Step.”

Adding to the varied feel of the two-and-a-half hour performance were several riveting solos that highlighted the musical talents of each band member. While Stefan Lessard’s bass solo and Jeff Coffin’s saxophone solo were well-received, the biggest ovations were saved for the heart of the band: violinist Boyd Tinsley and drummer Carter Beauford. Tinsley’s violin solo during “Jimi Thing” might have earned the loudest response of the night.

Then there was the titular lead singer, who spent the night putting a great deal of energy into getting his new Away from the World material across to his loyal audience. I’ve always held an unfulfilled hope that Matthews would provide a glimpse of his excellent sense of humour (as seen in his turn in Just Go With It and in the recent Christmas song contest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon) while on stage, but he has remained steadfast that his live shows are about the music and not about him talking.

Judging from the reaction from the adoring crowd on hand at the ACC, I don’t think anyone minded.

Friday Restaurant Recap: Dr. Laffa, Cajú, Toucan Taco Bar, Cafuné, Terroni

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3:48 pm

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Friday Restaurant Recap rounds up the week’s Toronto restaurant news. In this edition: a popular Middle Eastern restaurant expands, one Brazilian restaurant opens while another closes, a wine bar for the Junction and more.

Opening soon

Popular Israeli-Iraqi restaurant Dr. Laffa is opening a new location at Bathurst and Lawrence. Owners are also looking to franchise the business, so there will soon be more Dr. Laffa for everyone.
Fans of The Cupcake Girls take note: a Toronto location of Heather White and Lori Joyce’s cupcake franchise is coming to Leaside, most likely by early February of next year.
A liquor license application sign for Bricco Kitchen and Wine Bar has gone up at 3047 Dundas West, in the Junction. [The Grid]

Newly opened

Chef Eric Wood has opened Hawthorne Food and Drink near Richmond and Church.
A new Brazilian restaurant and coffee shop, Cafuné, has opened in Cabbagetown. [Cafuné]
Ossington gets even more interesting with two new additions: ODDSEOUL and Rock Lobster Food Co.
Sang Kim has opened Yakitori Bar on Baldwin Street. Soon to come: Seoul Food Co., which will share a space with the aforementioned eatery. [Toronto Life]

Closing

According to a press release, Queen West’s Cajú restaurant is closing on Dec. 22 after more than 10 years in business.
Queen East’s Toucan Taco Bar has closed, but owner Richard Henry tells us that he has new plans for the space, though he’s not ready to reveal them just yet.

Change-ups

Midtown’s People’s Chicken has a new name, again. This time around, it’s known as Seven44. For decades, the venue was known as Chick ‘n’ Deli.
The team behind Terroni is opening a bakery adjacent to its Queen West restaurant. Details are scarce for now, but it will be called Il Forno del Sud, and it should be open by spring 2013. [The Grid]

Gentleman’s Choice: a wool sweater that’s both festive and freakin’ cool

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When you need something to keep you warm while window shopping on chilly Queen West or checking out Christmas decorations on a date in Yorkville, you better make sure it looks damn good, too.

It’s only natural to reach for a pullover, but it’s rare to find one that keeps things slick without toeing the “ironic sweater” line as well. This lambswool sweater features some incredibly wearable contrast, thanks to its deep navy and red colours which reigns in the overall pattern. Following J. Crew’s signature trim aesthetic, this one won’t bulk up your frame either. Layer a small-check shirt underneath or don some busy merino wool socks for some cool weather texture that clashes at its finest.

$148. Available at J. Crew at Eaton Centre, 218 Yonge St.

Movie Review: Sushi Girl

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11:07 am

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It is a meeting of the minds. Deranged, crass and criminal minds; minds that belong to a group of felons who are convening to discuss a heist that turned sour six years ago. Cultured and respectable as they are — or at least hope to be — they gather for an evening of nyotaimori, the practice of eating sushi off the body of a naked woman.

Thus, Sushi Girl — a pulpy, bloody, entertaining piece of grindhouse-style cinema — sees this naked woman (Cortney Palm), who is unable to talk, move, or react to anything that is going on around her, literally at the centre of the action. And while she doesn’t watch, the sounds and screams are enough to make anyone squirm. This is a meeting that does not move amicably.

The action oscillates from a dark, desolate restaurant in the present to the past, back to when the group was optimistic before a diamond heist went wrong. Six years later, they are looking for resolution, along with their loot.

The baritone-voiced and imposing Tony Todd (of Candyman fame) plays Duke, the leader of the clan. As much fun as it is to watch him play evildoer, though, it is Mark Hamill — yes, that Mark Hamill — who steals the spotlight.

Hamill is Crow, a slovenly, sadistic, effeminate deviant whose perverse stares and greasy hair make him all the more scary compared to his other cohorts, including the brutish Max (Andy Mackenzie) and reformed Francis (James Duval). Hamill delivers clichéd lines with conviction, and is strangely captivating every creepy step of the way, eliciting both revulsion and laughter.

It is a movie fit for a different time, but is worthy enough to amuse even those who aren’t familiar with the famous cast or the esoteric allusions to classic, gratuitous entertainment from the ’80s and onward (including a great turn of phrase from Robocop — you’ll know the one).

A few other notable actors, such as Sonny Chiba and Danny Trejo, make small appearances in this surprisingly satisfying piece of dark and twisty nostalgic cinema, which is reminiscent of the far superior Reservoir Dogs.

Sushi Girl (wisely) doesn’t try to be anything bigger or different than what it is: an entertaining and gory revenge thriller starring some iconic actors at their most fiendish, along with one very disciplined and very ominous sushi girl.

Sushi Girl, The Projection Booth Metro, 677 Bloor St. W. Dec. 9-13. The Projection Booth East, 1035 Gerrard St. E., Dec. 7-20

Tony Aspler’s Weekly Wine Pick: an easy-drinking red from Greece

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10:19 am

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Made from the local Agiorgitiko grape (a.k.a St. George), this well-priced wine has a deep ruby colour and a nose of tobacco leaf, cedar and cherries. It is an easy drinking wine with a sweet flavour that finishes dry and savoury with ripe tannins.

Food match: lamb stew, provolone cheese

Cavino Grande Reserve Nemea 2006, Greece, $14.95. Vintages #295618

Post City Magazines’ wine columnist, Tony Aspler, has written 14 books on wine and food. Tony also created the Ontario Wine Awards. He can be heard on 680News.

Q&A with The Vinyl Cafe’s host, Stuart McLean

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1:55 pm

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Since 1998 The Vinyl Cafe Christmas Tour has become pretty much a tradition across Canada. Written and hosted by Stuart McLean, The Vinyl Cafe is a CBC variety radio show featuring funny stories about a second-hand record store owner, Dave, and his family and friends. The tour (and the requisite jukebox) stops in Toronto this weekend, so we chatted with its host about the show’s enduring quality.

It wouldn’t seem like the holidays in the city without Stuart McLean. How did you manage to weave yourself into the culture of the city?
Our Christmas show is a tradition, and this is the time of year for traditions. We have people who have been coming to our show with their families for almost two decades now. And I think they like that it is a tradition that they can share with their parents and their kids. There aren’t many things like that these days.

To what do you attribute the enduring quality of The Vinyl Cafe?
I think we celebrate the importance of the unimportant, the small things that make our life rich and memorable. Our lives and our relationships are made out of little moments. And we never know which of these moments are going to count and which ones will be forgotten. It’s never the things you think. It’s the smoke, never the fire.

Have you heard Samuel L. Jackson narrate the book Go the F**k to Sleep? Is there some hidden, X-rated Vinyl Cafe story that you break out at parties?
I’ve seen the book, but I haven’t heard the recording. I thought the book was pretty funny. We have all felt like that.

What special guests do you have in store for us?
I am very excited about the musicians at the show this year. We are travelling with the Vinylettes — three women from right here in Toronto … wonderful singers. They can really belt it out. They are going to close the show with a gospel number that gets me up on my feet every time I’ve heard them rehearse it. And we’ll also be joined by Vancouver singer-songwriter Reid Jamieson. I don't know why more people don’t already know about Reid. He should be a household name.

What inspired these characters in the first place?
I was working on Peter Gzowski’s show Morningside, and the music producer of that show, David Amer, came to me one day and said, “We should do a radio show together.” Dave would choose the music. I would introduce it. I liked the idea, but I thought that it needed more … so I came up with the character of Dave, owner of the World's Smallest Record Store. At first, I was going to be Dave. The idea was that I was going to have a plan of opening a record store, but eventually I landed on a fictional character. That’s where Dave came from.

Stuart McLean & The Vinyl Cafe, The Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, 1 Front St. E., 416-368-6161. Dec. 7 to 9.

The Cupcake Girls take on Leaside

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1:25 pm

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Vancouver cupcake queens Heather White and Lori Joyce — stars of The Cupcake Girls — have been teasing us for months now with promises that their cupcake shop franchise would soon make its way to Toronto. Well, it looks like they’ve finally settled on Leaside as the neighbourhood, with a new shop currently undergoing construction near Laird Drive and Millwood Road.

The venue is slated to open in early February, which should make Valentine’s Day celebrations extra sweet.

Cupcakes, 85 Laird Dr., Unit 4A, 416-287-2253

Grab of the Week: a luxurious scented candle from a Toronto retailer

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12:29 pm

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Online shopping can make searching for gifts, especially at this time of year, a heck of a lot easier. Still, when you don't know where to start, trolling through website after website can be daunting. Enter The Gift Network, a Canadian website that launched last week offering products from over 200 independent boutiques across the country.

Even though we could have easily picked something from Vancouver or Calgary, we chose this luxe ceramic candle from a Toronto retailer. Add this one to your shopping cart for the woman who appreciates the finer things in life.

Jardins du Seda France ceramic candle, $54.95. Available at Putti Fine Furnishings and online at The Gift Network

Gracie Carroll is a Toronto-based freelance writer whose work has appeared in ELLE UK, ELLEcanada.com, Plaid magazine and FILLER magazine. Keep up with her daily blog at www.graciecarroll.com.

Weekend Warrior: Christmas by Lamplight, Dave Matthews Band, Fan Fiction: Game of Thrones, Toronto Motorcycle Show, City of Craft,

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It’s beginning to look a lot ‘light’ Christmas

For three Saturday evenings beginning this weekend, you can celebrate Christmas like a pioneer at Black Creek Pioneer Village’s Christmas by Lamplight. Wander through the decorated Victorian village along with carolers and Santa himself. You can also indulge in a traditional Christmas dinner as well.

You win or you die, or maybe you laugh

If you love the show Game of Thrones and you love to laugh, then you might want to head over to the Black Swan on Saturday, when its Fan Fiction comedy show takes on the critically-acclaimed HBO series for a night of hilarity mixed with hierarchy.

Go hog wild

Motorcycle fans will want to pop a wheelie when the Toronto Motorcycle Show revs into town this week at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Get the heads up on what’s new in bikes, and participate in such events as She Rides Night (for the lady drivers) and the Yamaha Riding Academy for Kids.

Gettin’ crafty

Here’s a hint for baffled holiday shoppers: everyone loves a unique gift, especially one that’s homemade. If you’re not crafty enough to create one yourself, then you should head over to the City of Craft this weekend and pick up a special gift for that special someone.

DMB crashes into ACC

If you’re anything like us, Dave Matthews Band reminds you of sing-alongs around the campfire in plaid shirts and Birkenstocks and “Ants Marching” on constant repeat. Relive the ’90s when the band drops by the ACC on Friday night.