Walking into Parkdale’s Chantecler, the new Canadiana-fusion joint that’s opened up in the old Mangez space, you’d think it had been there forever. Named after a chicken breed native to Canada, the 26-seat Parkdale bistro has a warm, comfortable feel that’s accentuated with sophisticated attention to detail.
A black and white tile mosaic that spells the restaurant’s name was painstakingly laid out by co-owner Jacob Wharton-Shukster. Placed above the stunning 1935 Moffat stove on which co-owner and chef Jonathan Poon does his work, it’s symbolic of the joint venture between the two partners: a shared commitment to detail, hard work and beauty.
Wharton-Shukster and Poon worked together previously at Jamie Kennedy at the Gardiner. Poon brings impressive international expertise to Chantecler, having worked at Australian restaurants, where he focused on seafood, and having spent time in the kitchen at Copenhagen’s Noma. Here in Toronto, he was the chef de cuisine at Delux. Wharton-Shukster, meanwhile, worked front-of-house at Buca and Origin.
The menu is organized into smaller and larger plates ($9-$21). Wharton-Shukster suggests ordering several dishes and sharing.
“A lot of what we’re doing draws inspiration from different places,” he says. “That’s the heart of what Canadiana and Toronto is about.”
At $21, the pork neck with oysters, lettuce and XO sauce is the most expensive item on the menu. While it was challenging finding a supplier (pork neck is not a typical cut for Western butchery) Wharton-Shukster says it was worth the search. The nut-fed pork is lightly seared, accompanied by lettuce and two kusshi oysters from the West Coast. Heated in the pork broth, the lettuce comes on the plate slightly wilted. The house-made XO sauce, a Chinese sauce made from dried seafood, adds the Asian-fusion component that Poon is known for.
As a vegetarian dish, polenta is made from Ontario corn. Cooked slowly, it’s topped with a veggie ragout, finely diced shitake mushrooms, caramelized shallots and five-spice powder.
“It probably takes five days to make the dish,” Wharton-Shukster says of the polenta. “It’s totally worth it.”
And as for the restaurant’s namesake, currently there is only one poultry dish on the menu: the chicken consommé with smoked hen’s egg and hen-of-the-woods mushroom confit ($14).
So why is the whole restaurant named after a chicken?
“It’s subtle Canadiana. It’s part of our culture and history, but not immediately so,” Wharton-Shukster says. “And the French identity is sexy.”
Easing the way into what is bound to be a whirlwind Fashion Week, Monday’s line-up included two major draws: Lucian Matis and the Holt Renfrew show.
Matis, the hotly-debated runner-up on Project Runway Canada, elected to present his fall collection at The Fairmont Royal York, away from the main Fashion Week venue. Guests — including Sarah Gadon (in a tulle Lucian Matis number), Plaid magazine’s Odessa Paloma Parker and designer Wesley Badanjak — mingled and sipped on sparkling wine before heading into the ballroom. Accented in teal and bronze, the space features a painted ceiling from which hefty chandeliers are suspended, and served as an elegant backdrop to the collection. Less elegent was the process of finding the right seat, as the name cards seemed to have been arbitrarily arranged.
As the models made their way around the U-shaped runway, it was clear that Matis’ vision for the season was a darkly romantic one. Inspired by lines in nature — think butterfly wings, frosted ice and rock formations — much of the all-black collection was composed of looks prominently featuring a dense lace. A floor-length lace number starring a plunging neckline and a thigh-high slit was a definite highlight. While many of the looks were stunning, the parade of dresses felt a little bit repetitive and the pasties used with the sheerer garments were very distracting.
Some of the more opulent looks incorporated dark green iridescent feathers. A breathtaking ball gown was fitted on top before bursting into a feather-covered skirt; a feathered dress — complete with wing-like sleeves — veered into costume territory, seeming better suited to Mozart’s plumage-covered character Papageno than a party guest. As the show came to a close and Matis took his turn on the runway, much of the crowd stood up in appreciation, clearly impressed by the designer’s vision.
The night’s second big-ticket show was held in the tents at David Pecaut Square, currently Fashion Week HQ. Among the throngs of attendees, we spotted model Stacey McKenzie, Flare magazine’s Lisa Tant and Liz Cabral, and gossip columnist Shinan Govani. As the lights dimmed, a male tap dancer with a huge grin worked his way down the runway as a piano belted out a ’20s jazz tune. After throwing in a split or two — to the crowd’s delight — the show began. With an all-Canadian soundtrack setting the scene (Arcade Fire, Feist and Austra were among the artists), select looks from Smythe, Dennis Merotto, Jeremy Laing, Mackage, Judith & Charles and TwentyCluny were sent down the runway.
Standout looks included Smythe’s green-on-green houndstooth jacket, which was paired with a funny equestrian-influenced cat hat, and a black leather jacket fronted in glossy black fur from Judith & Charles. A full-skirted coat with leather details from Mackage was an edgy feminine look for winter; Line’s knit skirt, which was shot with greys and pinks, was paired with a wool and leather jacket for a more youthful silhouette.
We liked TwentyCluny’s oatmeal dress with sequined epaulettes, but didn’t care for a belt spelling out the line’s name, which reminded us too much of Moschino for comfort. Laing (who just showed in New York) closed the show and was by far our favourite. A sporty charcoal grey and black tri-layered look fell effortlessly while a leather-sleeved tunic patterned with black lilies was a unique take on a floral print. Despite a stellar soundtrack (far better than last year’s) and the energetic opening, much of the Holts presentation lacked panache. Perhaps next season they’ll get it right.
In tomorrow’s Fashion Week Diaries: the latest looks from Chloé Comme Parris and Sid Neigum
Against a Toronto casino: Jerry Agar, host of his namesake radio program on CFRB, Newstalk 1010
Here is your non-moralistic, fiscally conservative reason not to have a casino in Toronto.
The reasons given for doing it are not legitimate. The province seems to have changed its mind on the issue strictly for revenue, as the province has a $16 billion deficit. First of all, McGuinty and his gang need to learn how to act responsibly with current money before they get any new dollars to play with, and we are a long way from that happening. Governments at all levels are swimming in money. But like drunks and gambling addicts, they spend beyond their means.
There is no indication that a casino would bring in additional revenue anyway.
A recent Globe and Mail report reads “revenues from casinos have dropped in recent years. In 2010, the OLG reported revenues from its resort casinos fell to $1.3 billion from $1.4 billion in 2009. Revenues from its other casinos, slots and racetracks also dipped slightly to $20.3 billion from $20.7 billion.”
With the government in charge, it is already a losing business. Fears are that all a Toronto casino would do is cannibalize revenue from existing Ontario casinos. Casinos, now that there are so many of them, do not draw tourists anywhere other than Vegas, it seems.
Another, even less legitimate reason some people want a casino is for additional fun and games in the city. Fun and games do not fall under the category of the legitimate function of government. I realize that governments often get in the entertainment business, but they should not. They aren’t any good at it. Their theatres and museums lose money. They blow taxpayer dollars on sports stadiums that many studies show do not increase revenue for a city. At best, all they do is shuffle current local dollars around from pocket to pocket.
If gambling is a legitimate source of fun and games that Toronto needs, then legalize it, license it and let the private sector run it the same way they run bars, restaurants and bowling alleys.
The successful operators will turn a profit at no risk to taxpayers, and the province and city can tax it.
For a Toronto casino: Randall the Handle, Sportsnet 590, The Fan’s radio host and gaming consultant
This is not the dark ages. People gamble. Locally, they’ll risk money on lotteries, bingo, sports, office pools, fantasy sports and horse racing, to name a few. Yet, folks that prefer table games, slot machines or poker must find their way to outlying casinos. With the masses gambling in one form or another, the question is not whether we should have a casino here in Toronto, but rather what the heck is taking so long?
If Toronto really wants to be a world-class metropolis, let’s act like one. Like it or not, a casino adds some glitz to a city. While a casino will not resurrect an economically depressed city, as you can’t simply put perfume on a pig, it will enhance an already thriving city by adding another entertainment option for residents and tourists alike. It will create jobs and commerce. The revenue will lessen the burden on taxpayers. Just ask any municipality that has been supplemented by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) slot machine revenue.
The righteous politicians and citizens may oppose a casino, but countless millions are being wagered anyway, just not within our walls.
Problem gamblers? Too bad. They represent a paltry percentage of people who gamble. People drink. I don’t see local LCBOs closing down because of alcoholics. What about obesity? Should we banish fries and shakes to the 705? The state does not need to protect us from ourselves. Drink responsibly, eat well, gamble responsibly. There is also a huge demand for a licensed poker facility. Other than the four-week span prior to and during the CNE, when 25 tables are full from open to close, there is nowhere locally to play poker legally. Other major cities across Canada, including Edmonton, Charlottetown, Winnipeg and Regina, are more practical than political and they are reaping the benefits from the popular game. As well, a legal poker room would impact the illegal underground clubs around town, of which there are dozens.
Those that remain in their caves on this issue need to come out and embrace the 21st century. A Toronto casino is a win, win, windfall.
It’s fair to say there’s been some major buzz in the Toronto blogosphere about Ursa, the new restaurant on Queen West that’s opened in the old Bar One space. Much of the ado surrounds the fact that the super-healthy menu, which includes probiotic delights such as homemade kefir, Kombucha fermented tea and house-cultured walnut yogurt, also happens to be super-tasty.
Ursa is run by Lucas and Jacob Sharkey-Pearce, brothers and first-time restaurateurs who, along with some other gigs (Lucas used to pull long days as an arborist’s assistant, while chef Jacob worked at restaurants such as Thuet Bistro and Centro), operated Two Brothers Inc., a catering and diet consulting business, since 2006. Their mostly silent partner is Terroni’s Cosimo Mammoliti, who has been friends with the brothers since they worked for him as teenagers.
We met with the Ursa brothers to get the lowdown about the Queen West newcomer.
1. At Ursa, local is great. But so is exotic. Ursa prioritizes local food, but Lucas doesn’t want to make a big deal out of it. “That’s just natural, how chefs have always been,” he says. Still, Ursa has sought out other ingredients from just about every corner of the earth, such as kumquat, pomegranate, Sichuan peppercorn leaf, yuzu, leatherwood and hibiscus syrup, to name a few.
2. People are seriously digging the root salad. Ursa’s root salad (pictured above, $13) is so far everyone’s favourite, Jacob says. It comes with the house-cultured walnut probiotic yogurt combined with raw, dehydrated and pickled vegetables. “Most people are floored that you can take carrots and radishes and make beautiful lines,” Jacob says.
3.The fish is fresh off the boat. The Ursa team keeps fairly mum about where it gets its food. Having said that, they told us that their fish comes from one of two Native fishers in Ontario who have year-round licenses. “One of our chefs drives four hours to pick up the fish direct,” Jacob tells us. “We’ve known the man since we were kids, and take the fish right off the boat.” Despite a changing menu, Jacob says Ursa will always have some kind of fresh-water fish on the menu.
4. Come for the food, stay for the booze. Just because Ursa serves root vegetables and yuzu doesn’t mean you can’t get the hard stuff. While it’s definitely a restaurant first and foremost, Ursa is open until 2 a.m., well after the kitchen closes at 11 p.m. Bar manager Clayton Cooper has created some impressive cocktails, such as the Triple E (named after his girlfriend), which is mint green tea with citrus Tanqueray gin and fresh lime ($12). Meanwhile, Jacob says they’re looking into serving some bar food Ursa-style until closing. You can bet it’ll be healthy.
5. The restaurant has a mascot. The name Ursa is partly inspired by Jacob’s childhood nickname, “Bear Cub” (which rhymes with Jacob). But the guys also say they want their restaurant to be connected with the femininity and strength associated with bears. “Mother bears are providers, but they’re also dangerous,” Lucas says. “Not that we want to hurt anyone.” Watch out for the Ursa mascot, a wooden toy bear that tends to get passed from table to table. Folks have fun twisting her around in different poses, and sometimes Lucas will put her on display in the front window, just for fun.
Theatre Passe Muraille is turning to politics to fill the void on its stage left by the cancellation of half the run of Mary Walsh’s Dancing With Rage.
Walsh is currently laid up in St. John’s, Nfld., fighting a severe case of pneumonia. She had been due to bring her Marg Delahunty character to the Toronto stage at the start of the month, but all performances until March 17 have been cancelled.
Fearing that Walsh's entire run may have to be scrubbed, Passe Muraille is putting together a replacement program of two political plays, under the title Dancing Without Mary.
The series will kick off on March 16 with a play reading of Linda Griffith’s Maggie and Pierre, which focuses on former prime minister Pierre Trudeau. Maggie and Pierre premiered at Theatre Passe Muraille in 1980 and was a long-running success.
More controversially, Dancing Without Mary will also see Michael Healey’s Proud finding a stage. Healey will be reading an early draft of the play, which caused a stir last month when Healey claimed his work had been rejected by the Tarragon Theatre over fears it could libel Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Healey will be reading Proud at 7:30 p.m. on March 19.
While normally we wouldn’t recommend a punch in the box, the all-female sketch troupe that goes by the same titillating name would have to be the exception. Inspired by the immaculate orgasm, comedy group Punch in the Box has played to rave reviews since their immaculate conception two years ago. We chatted with cast member Ashley Botting about Cosmo magazine, going nude and what it feels like to play with the boys.
How did your troupe come about? We used to work together at The Second City. Once we all left, we were sitting around reading a Cosmo magazine. There was an article about “The Immaculate Orgasm” where women give themselves orgasms just by thinking about it. It was so ridiculous, we had to write a sketch about it, and we haven't stopped writing since.
So, for the older folks, what does Punch in the Box mean? It’s a drunken quilting bee.
What's it like being an all-female sketch troupe in a male-dominated industry? The key is to be so funny and smart, that you’re not “funny for a girl,” you're just funny. We are.
What's the difference between “male” humour and “female” humour? Is there a difference? If it’s bad humour, the males like dick jokes, and the females like to talk about their periods. If it's good humour, there isn’t a difference.
What's your biggest achievement so far? Winning Patron’s Pick for our showPick of the Fringe! at the 2010 Fringe Festival, and getting nominated for a Canadian Comedy Award for the same show.
What do you love most about sketch comedy? The unrelenting fame and fortune.
Where do you find your inspiration for your sketches? Our own lives, and sometimes Mother Africa.
What can we expect from your show? Some nudity, some swearing and very smart, funny sketch comedy.
Most outrageous sketch you’ve ever performed: We do a sketch where we are totally topless, holding our naked boobs the whole time.
Who would you love to perform with? Tina Fey.
What’s next on the horizon? A brand new show with all new sketches. And a new subscription to Cosmo.
So have any of you ever been punched in the box? That’s offensive.
The details
Troupe name: Punch in the Box Year established: 2010 Cast members: Ashley Botting, Karen Parker, Leslie Seiler Influences: Chardonnay Catch them at: Comedy Bar (945 Bloor St. W., 416-551-6540), March 19, 8 p.m.
The Greta Constantine show is arguably the most highly anticipated of each Fashion Week season in Toronto. This year, the label’s designers, Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong, opted to unveil their latest work at the Arcadian Loft.
The intimate venue featured an L-shaped runway and drew many notables — including singer Jully Black, actress Sarah Gadon and Post City’s fashion columnist, Jeanne Beker — in addition to a bevy of leggy socialites. Though the show ran late, guests were entertained with vodka-based beverages, keeping the mood buoyant. As the lights dimmed and the first models stormed out, the window blinds along one wall were raised to reveal the city’s skyline, which became an extension of the show.
Known for their jersey draping, Wong and Pickersgill pushed themselves beyond their comfort zone for this collection, with noteworthy results. While draping was still featured, a stricter silhouette was also present; waists were cinched and shoulders were emphasized, with each look easy to envision off the runway. Styled with a dramatic black eye (that worked better on some models than others), the Greta woman was powerfully seductive, demanding attention but not hogging the spotlight. The palette was sophisticated: the first half of the show featured deep jewel tones; the second was a series of black looks, often accented with white.
Memorable looks included a draped one-sleeved gown in a deep teal, and a mini black frock that incorporated a harness into the bodice. A white dress featured cutouts at the waist and hugged the body just so; it appeared demure from the front, but revealed a beautifully cut open back, and was a favourite on the night.
The post-show excitement was palpable and most of the audience was in agreement: the collection was exceptional.
Every week we gather our favourite tweets from in and around Toronto’s fashion scene. This week, Toronto Fashion Week madness has already begun! Even though it officially starts next week, we’ve got the insider tweets about Mackage, Roxanne Nikki and Amanda Lew Kee.
Who cares about coats when Heather Marks and Zombie Boy are in the room? Just kidding. Check out @Mackage’s new collection via @FashionCanada:
@Mackage kicks off Toronto Fashion Week(s) with Heather Marks and Zombie Boy. View the photos now! stjo.es/znXjrQ
The founder of fashion platform @notjustalabel is travelling India in search of their brightest talents and just got a major high-five from fashion royalty:
Excited to have British Council + @Vogue_Italia behind our efforts to discover new designers in India! Read more here: bit.ly/wnJL6k
If you haven’t heard yet, new wave rockers Metric will be releasing their latest studio album, Synthetica, on June 12. That’s 6/12/12 — there must be some kind of astrological mojo at work. Here’s what guitarist Jimmy Shaw says about the new LP — the band’s fifth — in a press release: “[It’s] the culmination of everything we’ve done. We’ve always had a sound in our heads that we hoped to realize. We finally heard it coming back out of the speakers this time.”
Singer Emily Haines, meanwhile, first envisioned the word “Synthetica” as the name for a particularly resilient skin-job from Blade Runner, a female replicant who voices an inner monologue of all your human imperfections. “If you imagine a nightmarishly fake version of me as a pop star, that’s her,” she says. “And this record was about me saying, I’m going to give more to the music than ever, but there’s no way I’m going to turn into someone like that.” As she sings on the album’s hard-rocking title track, “We’re all the time confined to fit the mold / but I won’t ever let them make a loser of my soul."
A couple of festival dates have already been posted to Ticketmaster (Sasquatch in Washington state and Buzz Beach Ball in Kansas City), but nothing local just yet. Stay tuned.
Carole Pope, Army Girls and Sir Ian Blurton!
It’s looking to be an interesting night of rock at the Bovine Sex Club on Saturday. Local legend Carole Pope of Rough Trade and that “High School Confidential” song we all know (and are slightly creeped out by, but still enjoy) will be headlining. She released her second solo album in 2011, dubbed Landfall. Joining Pope on the bill are two cool local acts including an excellent two-piece outfit called Army Girls, who are really doing some good things, as well as another indie legend from the Toronto scene, Sir Ian Blurton, who retired his hard rocking’ trio C’mon late last year. That’s a damn fine night of music folks. Check it out.
Caribou opens for Radiohead
Ontario’s acclaimed electronic music artiste Caribou (a.k.a. Dan Snaith) will continue his great Radiohead adventure this spring and summer. It’s been announced that the kid wonder will open for the band on its upcoming world tour, which incidentally stops at Downsview Park on June 16. This is big. Originally, Caribou, a Juno Award and Polaris Prize-winning musician, was one of the re-mixers included on Radiohead’s 2011 album TKOL RMX 1234567. Apparently, they liked it.
Cold Specks readying her breakout album
Etobicoke’s Al Spx, better known by her stage name Cold Specks, has announced a release date of May 21 for her debut album, I Predict a Graceful Expulsion. The Arts & Crafts artist relocated to the U.K. and released her debut single “Holland” last year, and she’s been riding a wave of acclaim ever since, including an appearance on Later With Jools Holland. It does help that she describes her sound as “doom soul” and is just shy enough to get people’s attention as we all try to figure out what she’s about. She cites the Lomax field recordings as an influence, similar to Brad Barr from the The Barr Brothers. Cold Specks will be touring Canada with the Great Lake Swimmers in May and June, including a Toronto date at the Danforth Music Hall on June 2. A not-to-be-missed show.
Plumb-ing the depths
Do you remember The Waltons? No, no, not John-Boy and that American TV show from the ’70s. I’m talking about that Canadian indie band from the ’90s. Remember their debut album Lik My Traktor? Pretty good stuff. They won a few awards including a Juno for Best New Group in 1994. They broke up around 2001, but apparently the singer, Jason Plumb, never really went away. He’s got big plans this month, too. Long story short, he’s started a new record label, SoccerMom Records, and he’s going to be releasing a new album with his band, Jason Plumb and the Willing, entitled All Is More Than Both on March 27. Sure, that’s cool. But what is really exciting is that Plumb is also releasing new solo albums from all of his bandmates: Cody Gamracy, Creosote (a.k.a. Gord Smith), Dan Silljer and Jeff McLeod. In a press release, Plumb says, “I couldn’t be more proud of all these guys. Their recording projects crushed all expectations. I am truly one of the luckiest singer/songwriters in the world to have such a talented bunch of dudes to make music with.” The label is also going to have a big, whizbang showcase for Canadian Music Week on March 24 at The Painted Lady on Ossington.
So hip it hurts
The Tragically Hip are back in the studio, working on a follow-up to the 2009 release We Are The Same — another platinum-selling, number one album for the iconic Canadian band fronted by Gord Downie. The new release will be the band’s 12th full-length studio record since 1989, when the album Up to Here launched the Kingston-based quintet onto the world with now-iconic tracks including “New Orleans Is Sinking” and “Blow at High Dough.” In honour of the occasion, we dug up this clip from one of the band’s early club dates, followed by a clip the band released of the current studio session. Watch, all you shoe-gazers out there, and learn how to front a band from a true master. Enjoy.
Death From Above, minus the Above
Sebastien Grainger, a social media provocateur, musical mastermind and member of the explosive Toronto. duo Death From Above 1979, who are playing Edgefest this year on July 14, is readying a new song as a solo artist. “Ghosts,” which Grainger tweeted will be produced by Dave Hamelin, formerly of The Stills and currently in Eight and a Half. Given the generally electronic direction Hamelin has taken since leaving The Stills, my guess is that Grainger was digging the analog shenanigans and wanted to get in on the action. He’s a talented dude, and I’m expecting a cool song. The big question though, is when DFA is going to go into the studio. Tweet that Grainger.
Animal House: The Musical, featuring music by the Barenaked Ladies. Seriously?
According to an article in the New York Times, Universal Pictures Stage Productions is developing a musical based on the 1978 comedy National Lampoon’s Animal House. The article goes on to state that the production will feature a score by the Barenaked Ladies. Back in the Steven Page days, the band composed music for the Stratford Festival production of As You Like It in 2005. Page subsequently left the band, but continues to work at Stratford from time to time.
Swim with the fishes
Speaking of the Great Lake Swimmers, as the band prepares to release its bitchin’ new album, New Wild Everywhere, another gem from their catalogue is up on a site called noisetrade.com for free. Right now, fans can log on and get Great Lake Swimmers’ The Legion Sessions. Once you get the album sent to your email inbox, you have the option of leaving the band a tip. And, in this case, all the money collected will be most generously donated to the environmental group Lake Ontario Waterkeeper. That is just cool.
Cookie!!
So we already know that one of the artists formerly part of Broken Social Scene has popped up in the band Eight and a Half, and now one of the founding members of the aforementioned hipster collective has announced a new (and yet old) project. Bassist Brendan Canning, along with Bernard Maiezza, Damon Richardson and Jeen O’Brien will be releasing a new Cookie Duster album called When Fly Was Easy on May 15 through Maple Music Recordings. This is the band’s second album, a follow-up that took about a decade. The band, as the story goes, was formed when By Divine Right and Change of Heart toured together. The moniker is, of course, a cheeky reference to a moustache. The first single, “Two Feet Stand Up,” is a poppy, toe-tapping number buoyed by the sparkling vocals of O’Brien. And, I have to say, I’m a bit excited.
Diamonds are forever
Local basketball-lovin’ glam rocker Diamond Rings is finishing work on a new album, in addition to being up for a Juno Award in the Best New Artist category. After leaving his first band, indie rockers The D’Urbervilles, John O’Regan reinvented himself as the glam-tastic Diamond Rings. It wasn’t a home run right away, but thanks to the catchy pop hooks and a breakout single in “Wait & See,” it wasn’t long before John O was garnering significant attention, including an Artist to Watch mention in Rolling Stone — all of it well-deserved — leading up to his debut album, Special Affections. Now, it’s time for the follow-up. Oh, the pressure! The timing is right: new album, possible Juno Award, growing fan base around the world. This could be the year of Diamond Rings.
Our round up of the best things to see and do in Toronto this weekend. In this edition: take a class with the Poet Laureate, geek out at ComiCon, head to the ballet or solve a crime. Really, the world’s your oyster.
Canadian Parlimentary Poet Laureate, Fred Wah, gives a workshop on writing poetry for big occasions. Budding writers are encouraged to bring in their own poems inspired by love, death, birth, anger or admiration. Expect tricky questions like, Can a poem “in honor of” compare to a poem “for”? We’re going to think about that for a while and get back to you. Of Swallows, 283 College St., Upper Seminar Room, March 10, 1:30 p.m. – 5 p.m. $75.
Canadian singer Jann Arden brings her cross-Canada tour to Toronto for two nights. Arden’s on the road with her latest album, Uncover Me 2, the brilliantly named follow up to her 2007 effort, Uncover Me. The new album features covers of songs by The Beach, Fleetwood Mac and The Smiths, among others. 178 Victoria St., 416-872-4255. March 9 & 10, 7:30 p.m. $59 – $79.
This two-day event, presented by Fan Expo, features artists, writers and stars from popular anime and comic books. There will also be workshops on how to create your own comic, celebrity photo ops and a Q&A session with Buffy the Vampire Slayer star, Charisma Carpenter. Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Building, 222 Bremner Blvd. March 10, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. & March 11, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Single-day pass, $20, two-day access, $30.
The classic tale of a princess who pricks her finger on a spinning wheel and falls into a deep sleep, only to be awoken by some lip action from a hunky prince, is brought to the stage by Karen Kain. The ballet follows Rudolph Nuryev’s 1972 adaptation of Marius Petipa’s original choreography, set to the score by Tchaikovsky. The Walter Carsen Centre, 470 Queens Quay W., 416-345-9595, March 10 – 18.
Over March break, tours of this 1920s museum are being spiced up with a bit of skullduggery. An expensive jewel has been stolen, and it’s up to the museum’s younger visitors to solve it. Expect “And I would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for you meddling kids” jokes. 285 Spadina Rd., 416-392-6910, March 10 – 18. Adult $8, senior $5, child $4.
Hundreds of comic book fans and pop-culture enthusiasts (a.k.a. nerds) will descend upon the Metro Toronto Convention Centre this weekend for the ultimate geek out: Toronto Comicon, a two day event where people are free to fly their freak flag proudly. We talked to Curtis Armstrong (Booger from Revenge of the Nerds) about crazy fans, gross-out humour and the appeal of nerds.
When you were filming Revenge of the Nerds, did you have the feeling that you were making something that would have pop-cultural posterity? Not at all. I don’t think anyone thought that. We loved the idea of it and we loved doing it. And we thought it was a nice movie. It was funny, it was saying something and it had a good message to it as well. It did okay. And we thought that was the end of it. But once it started on cable and then video, we started to see it was having a life on its own. It was surprising over time to realize it meant so much to people.
Why do you think people responded so well to the movie? I think because everyone thinks they are those people. Tony Edwards and Bobby Carradine [the other actors in the movie], how they approached it, they did it with absolute conviction and seriousness. We rehearsed a lot for the movie and there was a lot of rewriting and a lot of improv on the set. People who saw the movie, they connected with it. I realized the extent of the connection when I’d have some jock on the street, some ex-football player, a good looking, muscled guy, come up to me and tell me how important the movie was to him because he was an outcast too. It’s hard to believe, but the truth is he probably did feel like an outcast on some level. So it really had a strong effect because people will ultimately feel like nerds.
Nerds are cool now. Do you think the film could be made today and still be relevant? They tried to make it. There was a film in production just a few years ago. It was the same story, but new characters. And they tried to shoot it and the script, from what I heard, was so explicit and so horrible and so gross, in the way that movies now have progressively become more and more shocking in an attempt to get attention. The movie fell apart and didn’t finish. There is a genuine innocence to that [first] movie — and we thought we were pushing the envelope at that time. Our movie was gross, but it seems almost benign now. There was a sweetness to it in spite of the gross stuff and I think that tends to be lost now. I think the energy is now on “how can we be more gross now? How can we be more offensive?”
How often are you stopped by people and asked about Booger? Every day. It’s astounding. I’m older, but I’ve always looked pretty much the same, so I get it constantly. It’s quite something to have that many people remember something after so many years. Especially for someone who belched and stuff.
Describe the Comic Con experience for us. Is it really mayhem? Not really. The ones I’ve been to are pretty well organized. You spend as much time as you want at the table and the rest of the time, you go off. I’m lucky this time, I have a couple of evenings free, so I can have a nice dinner somewhere. Sometimes you wonder, “Why have I been in the business for this long?” But when you meet those people who love your movies, you can’t help but think, “this is why I still do it.”
How many autographs do you sign in a day? God, I have no idea. It’s a lot.
What’s the craziest thing you’ve witnessed at a Comic Con? Once, there was a guy who came up to me. He pulled up his pant leg and he had my face tattooed on his calf as Booger. It was a picture from the movie. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I’m looking at the guy, who was in his late 20s, and thinking, “What’s going to happen when he’s 70? Is he going to think, ‘Why did I do that?’”
Did you ever idolize a film or a character the way these fans do today? Not too many in the movies. I was a movie fan, but books tended to be more my thing than movies. If there were something in movies, it would have to be Laurel and Hardy or Humphrey Bogart. Alec Guinness. George C. Scott. And I always loved the character actors too. But I went for literary stuff. I was a Sherlock Holmes fan, Washington Irving. That kind of thing was more my speed.
Have you ever been to Toronto before? My grandmother is from Canada. I have a cabin a few hours away from Toronto. I love Toronto. The problem is that I don’t get much of a chance to be here. The thing is, I get to Toronto and I want to get to my cabin. But I do love the people, the restaurants; it’s a great, great town.
Amanda Lew Kee, a Ryerson grad who recently worked with the National Ballet, opted to present her Rogue Fashion Week Fall/Winter show at The Hoxton last night.
The audience assumed there would be a runway show of some sort. Instead, Lew Kee managed to surprise — but not necessarily titillate — with a video presentation. Lew Kee herself stepped into the models’ shoes and strutted her stuff across two adjacent screens as show-goers craned their necks, attempting to suss out what exactly was happening (those in the back had little hope and took to chatting amongst themselves).
Those who could see were fed a diet of black-on-black (which seemed spot on judging by the lack of colour we spotted around the room). With the collection completely comprised of separates, Lew Kee chose to play with texture, shape and layers. Some of the designer’s strongest work has been in black, so we were pleased to see her return to her forte.
Waists were both high and dropped; a dress starring a leather fringe skirt managed to feel futuristic while referencing the roaring ‘20s. Standout pieces included a felted wool-cashmere jacket — with fox-fur sleeves — and a zipper-fronted blouse that matched stretch cotton, satin and mesh.
While we appreciated Lew Kee’s unconventional approach to her show, it’s impossible to get a true feel for clothes from a screen (especially since she’s had construction issues in the past); a marriage of the tangible and the non would likely have been a better — and more truthful — bet.
Amanda Lew Kee is stocked by Jacflash (1036 Queen St. W., 416-516-8766) and a2zane.com
