Q&A: Kim Cattrall, starring in Toronto’s production of Private Lives

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10:24 am

Kim Cattrall might be best known for her role as Samantha Jones in Sex and the City, but there is more to this actress than a narcissistic nymphomaniac. A classically trained stage actress, Cattrall has managed to craft an enduring career that includes both TV and film work as well as stage productions. In 2010, she began a critically acclaimed run of Noël Coward’s play Private Lives in London’s West End. The Toronto production sees Cattrall star opposite local actor Paul Gross. The show opens Sept. 16 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre.

Tell me about Private Lives, the play you’re bringing to Toronto this month.
This is a play that was written in the early ’30s that Noël Coward wrote for himself and his very dear friend Gertrude Lawrence. It’s beautifully written; it’s actually my favourite Noël Coward play. It’s about a couple who were married for three years and they’ve been divorced for five and now each of them has married someone else. And they meet again in this hotel on their separate honeymoons.

How is Private Lives, being a decades-old play, still relatable to a modern audience?
Well I think that great writing about the human condition doesn’t really change, no matter how many tiny computers and other things we have in this technological age. What we want — to love and be loved — and the sacrifices we go through, the dreams and disappointments he was writing about, that’s what Homer wrote about. We are creatures of habit.

What appealed to you about playing the character Amanda?
This was the original romantic comedy. The genre didn’t really exist before Noël Coward wrote this. There was comedy, but this was a real romantic comedy, and it spawned a lot of films in the ‘30s and ’40s in the romantic comedy genre. And I love those films.

I was fortunate enough to work with Richard Eyre [in London], a director who ran the National Theatre for over 12 years. I had never done Coward before and had always wanted to. He saw this as a very down-to-earth, gritty, truthful, funny, hilarious and painful intercourse between these two couples, these two women and two men colliding on stage — literally and figuratively!

Will the production in Toronto have some of that same grit and realism?
Yes, I think so. There’s a dark side to it, especially the Eliot character. He strikes Amanda repeatedly. Today, he’d be considered a wife beater. But the thing about Amanda is she gets it as good as she gives; she hits him too. She gives back. There are the very early seeds of feminism in Amanda, inspired by those heroines of the ’30s and ’40s. She wants to see the world, she has an appetite to see the ways other people live, to see other civilizations. She’s very on it, she’s very aware and has a tremendous amount of strength. There’s a lot to play there. I’ve done many plays and many film and TV characters and I think Sex and the City and this have been the two projects that I really had the most fun doing.

Well, it sounds like Amanda has some similarities to Samantha Jones.
I like those kinds of characters, whether I’m doing someone like in Ghost Writer, who is very contained, or Monica Velour, who’s literally letting it all hang out, the common goal for me as an actress is to play women who are strong and to give them dignity.

Did you find it was difficult to separate yourself from the character of Samantha Jones following the massive success of Sex and the City?
Well, it was interesting. When you’re on a long-term job and it comes to an end, you say “What now?” There is a let down after doing something that was exploring all types of new territory for women. It was so exciting to be part of that and go on that ride and then, abruptly, it was over. I took some time and discovered that I needed to go home — to Canada and to England — and there I found people who wanted to hire me to do things that were different. I did several plays in London and it just sort of grew. So I thought to myself, “I’d like to play other roles, let’s see what’s out there.” And people were very eager to work with me, and I was very excited about that.

Do you have any involvement in the upcoming Sex and the City prequel?
I know nothing about it. I hear rumours, but I don’t really know anything concrete — you probably know more than I do!

Well, we heard that Blake Lively might be playing the young Samantha Jones. What do you think about that casting?
I hadn’t heard that, but I had heard that she’s dating Leonardo DiCaprio! You know, I’ve never really watched Gossip Girl, but I think she’s a good actress — I’ve seen her in a few films. She’s quite talented and she’s certainly beautiful, so I think that would be terrific if she were playing any one of the characters.

What do you like about performing in Toronto?
There’s a tremendous amount of support in Toronto for theatre. I went to see a lot of theatre when I was living in Toronto, I very much enjoyed living in Toronto. I remember my film experiences and theatre experiences as being very much supported by the city and the people of the city.

Do you have any favourite places to visit in Toronto when you’re back in town?
I’m a big fan of Jamie Kennedy. I think he’s a true artist and I love his restaurants. And I just love the size of Toronto, I love the architecture; the ROM is a beautiful museum. I love Casa Loma too — it’s an odd building, one of a kind. I used live on Spadina Road and I loved that area for its Hungarian and Greek restaurants that serve all this different fare. Toronto is a wonderful place to eat.

Are you still very involved in film or has your focus shifted to theatre?
It’s always been theatre, film and television. I have such a wonderful time doing theatre, and I’m excited to be working with Paul Gross, who is so talented. It’s a trill to do a play that I know quite well and to do it again with a new leading man, in a new city — one of my favourite cities.

Had you worked with Paul Gross before?
No, I’d never met him. I admired his work. I knew he was Canadian. You know, there’s this whole contingency — people in showbiz, if you’re from Canada and you find out someone else is Canadian — they’re not just an actor, they’re Canadian. So I’m very much looking forward to starring with him.

I know you also wrote a few books. Any plans for another one in the works?
No, I don’t actually. I enjoyed the experience I had in the literary world, but I much prefer being an actor.

Private Lives, Royal Alexandra Theatre, Sept. 16 – Oct. 30

Grab of the Week: a fierce leopard print clutch by Rebecca Minkoff, available at A2Zane

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8:25 am

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In the world of fashion, the leopard print is considered to be practically neutral. It is as essential to the wardrobe as a basic white T-shirt or a good pair of jeans — adding a hint of wild spots to a simple outfit can take it to a whole new level of fierce.

After all the TIFF galas and parties this week, you might be running low on outfit ideas. There are still a few days left, so why not spruce up your little black dress with a standout clutch? Easy! We love Rebecca Minkoff’s oversized cheetah fling clutch from Toronto’s online accessories retailer, A2Zane.

$375. Available at A2Zane, 1040 Queen Street W., 416-803-7754

The Breakfast Hub: Toronto’s intellectual strippers, a City Hall rat, Dubya’s T.O. trip cancelled, irony on the gravy train and more

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6:07 am

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Toronto’s strippers are apparently some of the “most intellectual” in the country. With a third of the city’s strippers enrolled in college or university, students can earn big bucks in tips and table dancing, not that we would know what goes on in strip joints.
[Canoe]

There’s a rat in City Hall. Literally. The rodent ran amok in City Hall last night, and managed to bite a staff member before it’s life was ended. Maybe the rat was on the hunt for gravy.
[Globe and Mail]

Dubya’s Toronto trip has been cancelled. The former president of the United States opted out of a trip to a Christian college in the city.
[CBC]

Captain of Toronto’s new Lingerie Football League team and Doug Ford’s daughter, Krista Ford, bares all (so to speak) in an interview. Reveals "mangiacakes" are a staple at Ford family dinners.
[The Grid]

Jingle bells, jingle bells… Toronto smells? Repairs to the Coxwell sanitary trunk sewer is set to be completed by Christmas, almost a year behind schedule.
[National Post]

Stop the gravy train! Ford’s ex-chief of staff is now backing the firefighter’s union and helped create their offensive, NotGravy.com. Irony much?
[Toronto Star]

Theatre Review: The Stratford Festival’s Camelot

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12:17 pm

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When one thinks of the most successful musicals of the 20th century, one thinks of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Frank Loesser and, of course, the inspired Stephen Sondheim. Lerner and Loewe also teamed together for what is arguably the single, perfect musical of the 1900s, now playing to full houses at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, My Fair Lady. (When 60 per cent of its book is taken from Bernard Shaw‘s Pygmalion, what can you expect?)

Camelot, a hit in the 1970s, hardly comes close to L&L’s magnificent masterpiece of over a dozen years before, but then again, the writer of its libretto, Alan Jay Lerner, was working with a massive, four-volume “history” based on the probably-non-existent Arthurian era: T.H. White‘s The Once and Future King. How can one edit down such a huge document into a three-hours-or-less musical? Not easily, as history has shown. When it opened at the then-brand-new O’Keefe Centre, now the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts (clearly, cameras and TVs are bigger nowadays than beer), four decades ago, it ran for over four hours and sent many theatre critics staggering to the exits (after hitting the washroom first, of course).

The Stratford Festival — where Camelot will run until Oct. 30, usually to near sell-out crowds — has done a very professional, well-acted and beautifully-sung production, starring the fine Shakespearean actor Geraint Wyn Davies as the once-and-future king, and a superb singer out of the Canadian west, here for her first season: the blessedly-good singer and actor Kaylee Harwood, who makes an excellent Guinevere.

The Broadway-famous director Gary Griffin, who did such an exquisite job with the glorious Bernstein/Sondheim West Side Story two summers ago, knows how to keep a pretty silly show moving beautifully. Mara Blumenfeld‘s costumes and Debra Hanson‘s handsome set, too, must be applauded.

There are oodles of pleasures in this still-too-long show (close to three hours now), including the profoundly gifted Brent Carver playing the dual roles of Merlin the Magician and Pellinore, the aging knight, for all that they are worth. The lyrics of Lerner are witty and even laugh-out-loud: who can resist, or would want to, such brilliant rhymes?

Camelot has much to praise: in addition to the title song, it has a host of memorable tunes like “C’est Moi!” (Lancelot’s hilariously vain introduction of his too-perfect self), “Before I Gaze at You Again," "I Loved You Once in Silence" and, (Canadian-content here) the song that made super-handsome and very-Canadian Robert Goulet a star around the world: "If Ever I would Leave You." How often does one find oneself humming tunes as they come into a theatre?

It is almost impossible to hold back tears when the adulterous, if possibly virginal, affair between Guinevere and the insufferably vain Lancelot brings war and chaos to this too-perfect society: “A law was made a distant moon ago here: / July and August cannot be too hot. / And there’s a legal limit to the snow here / In Camelot.”(Now there is an idea that would get my vote for Canada every winter; I’ve had it with shlepping down to Florida.)

Not a great show, nor even one to be placed in the top dozen of musicals. But at its best — which happens several times over the evening — it is enjoyable, tuneful, moving. And certainly worthy of the giant thrust stage of the The Stratford Festival.

Camelot, The Stratford Festival, 1-800-567-1600

Allan Gould is Post City Magazines’ theatre critic. He has a Ph.D. in english and theatre from York University and has written over 40 books. His writing has appeared in Toronto Life, Chatelaine, en Route, Canadian Business, Good Times and Financial Post. He is married with two children. Aside from his family, his major passions are theatre and film, because they enrich life with pleasure and meaning.

A Prohibition-era cocktail re-emerges in Toronto

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9:50 am

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The Prohibition, otherwise known as the “Noble Experiment,” may have been one of the most deceptive eras of the past century. Far from noble and anything but dry, Prohibition, as North Americans know it, was a roaring jumble of bootleg booze, bloody black market feuds, speakeasy ragers and sultry, underground jazz.

According to Ted Saucier’s 1951 bar book, Bottoms Up, the cocktail known as The Last Word was born from the cigarette and gun smoke of the Prohibition. Saucier attributes the cocktail’s debut to the historic Detroit Athletic Club, where this tangy, herbaceous classic was sipped until somehow slipping into obscurity for the latter part of the 20th century.

Thanks to an esteemed handful of craft bartenders in Seattle and New York, who plucked the recipe from obscurity and reintroduced it to the thirsty public, The Last Word has undergone a recent renaissance that has fed a quiet but steady tributary amongst cocktail aficionados and professional bartenders.

It’s become one of those classics that serious bartenders pride themselves on being able to mix — literally, the last word in cocktail knowledge and bar prowess — and Toronto’s bar community hasn’t missed the memo.

Equal parts gin, green chartreuse, maraschino liqueur and lime juice, The Last Word marries improbably matched elements into a punchy, seamless sipper. Layers of flavour — botanical and bittersweet, tart and zesty — endow The Last Word with some serious legs. Let’s just say that if the cocktail were a lady, she’d be a Swedish supermodel.

Celebrate your liberated lifestyle with a little Prohibition retrospective and let The Last Word cross your lips. At home: scour the LCBO for bottles of Plymouth gin ($26.95 for 750 mL), green Chartreuse ($30.80 for 375 mL) and Luxardo maraschino ($25.95 for 750 mL); add a squeeze of fresh lime. Around town: head east to Leslieville’s The Comrade, where they’ll fix you up with a classic version of The Last Word ($10). For a lovely twist on the original, sample My Word, a heady blend of chamomile-infused gin, yellow Chartreuse, maraschino and citrus at Boehmer on Ossington ($12).

The Comrade, 758 Queen St. E., 416-778-9449; Boehmer, 93 Ossington Ave., 416-531-3800

Band of the Week: School Damage

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9:10 am

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School Damage walk a well-beaten path in terms of method: light-speed guitar, punishing drums and bouncing bass are the backdrop for snotty lead vocals, angry lyrics and sugary-sweet harmonies. But sometimes there’s no point in trying to expand on something that’s been tried and tested. Guitar, drums, bass, attitude: there’s really not much room for improvement there. Throw in a decent hook and you’ve got the formula for the best songs of the last 70 years or so.

Some people may try and dismiss this music as formulaic or repetitive, but the way this Toronto band manages to breathe new vitality into a genre perfected by bands like the Ramones is an impressive feat. This is music to throw on when you can’t take your job for one more day; when the wait time for customer service is 45 minutes. School Damage craft fun, youthful and exciting songs that will make you want to run harder and drive faster — all with a smile on your face. We caught up with guitarist/vocalist Brad Schmale to talk about pop-punk, Dr. Seuss characters and facial hair.

How did you guys get together?
My friend Hugh Steele told me that an old friend of his, also named Brad, moved to the city from Montreal and really wanted to start drumming for a band while he was down here. I was just recently bandless and really wanted to get back into it. Him and I met up and jammed some Ramones songs for a few hours and hit it off. I’ve known Jon [Cabatan] for years. When Jon got back from a year-long teaching stint in Korea, he started working with me at my desk job. I told him that Brad and I had jammed a week earlier and said we needed a bassist. The next day we all met up and jammed. Jon wasn’t even a bassist. He borrowed someone’s beat up old bass and brought it to rehearsal. We wrote our first song that day. So we pretty much became a band within a week, but since then Brad has left and we’ve recruited Jeff Robertson. Our legacy is pretty boring, really.

I know that pop punk was a big influence on you guys, but would you consider yourselves a pop-punk band?
I’d say that the style we play is pop punk, but due to my lack of harmony and vocal abilities, we’re not as polished-sounding as most pop-punk bands. I’d say we’re “pop-punk inspired.” If we could sound more like The Barracudas, then that would be rad. But we don’t.

There does seem to be a bit of a resurgence of pop-punk, or at least it’s influence seems to be more pervasive. Why do you think that is? Or did it ever really go away?
I think it didn’t really go anywhere. It just kind of got drowned out by that tsunami of crap that was coming out in the early 2000s with all those Warped Tour bands, who were also getting labeled as “pop-punk” but were nowhere near as good as the bands that came out of the early ‘90s. You know, mall punk type stuff. Luckily there are some really good bands out now that tour a lot and put out some really good records. It’s like a bunch of bands heard what was coming out and said “Screw this. Let’s show the kids how it’s really done,” and just wrote some really catchy but driving songs. Pretty much just getting back to the basics and blowing people away with this really fun and brainless music. That’s why the Ramones will always be one of the best bands of all time. They just did things as simple as possible and it couldn’t have sounded better.

Do you think getting a new drummer has changed your sound at all?
Yeah, for sure. He’s a better musician than Jon and me so we have to up our game. He’s also really fast so we get tired a lot easier these days since we don’t really take breaks in between songs.

Has Jon’s moustache affected his playing at all?
I honestly think so. He messes up a lot more now than he did before he had that thing on his face. He looks like he should be selling someone a used car with that push broom. Or an Asian version of The Lorax.

Your lyrics have got a lot of piss and vinegar to them. Tell me Brad, are you really that angry?
Nope. I’m actually a pretty positive person. If I grab a pen to write, it’s usually about something that’s affecting me. I’m not good at just coming up with stuff or writing about fictional things. In the past year I’ve gone through some life changes so that gives me some material to write about. I get a lot of material from the city and how people treat each other. A city filled with phonies, leeches and suck-ups can be draining but it also makes for some good content.

When are you guys going to put out a proper record?
We began writing for a new record, but then Brad left and we had to start from scratch when teaching Jeff the songs. I really hope to be in the studio this fall for either another E.P. or a 7-inch. I don’t think we are ready for a full length just yet. Nor is the world.

Any plans to tour?
We want to do a bunch of out of town gigs through out the rest of the year so we can get the name out there. Then we’ll put together a lengthy tour and hopefully take another band with us so they can drive while we have dance parties in the back of the van.

What’s coming up for the band in the near future? Any big shows?
I’m excited that we’ll be opening for The Spits on Sept. 23. I literally own a giant chunk of their discography catalogue, so finally seeing them live, and playing with them, is going to be pretty fun. We’re playing with By Divine Right too in October, which is really, really weird.

School Damage are:
Brad Schmale – vocals/guitar
Jon Cabatan – bass/vocals
Jeff Robertson – drums

Connecting celebrities with charities at TIFF

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1:30 pm

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We’ve always found the concept of the celebrity gifting suite inherently unfair — after all, these well paid (some might argue overpaid) individuals are the ones who can actually afford to buy up heaps of swag without a second thought, right?

But NKPR, the public relations company at the helm of all things TIFF, is bringing some balance to its VIP lounge by turning it into an opportunity to raise awareness and funds for two charities: Artists for Peace and Justice (APJ) and Camp Oochigeas.

Set up in the NKPR headquarters on Adelaide Street West, the IT Lounge invites guests to ‘get to know’ a range of global and local brands, such as RW & Co., Stila Cosmetics, Coccinelle, Fila, Kobo, et plus. In exchange for celebrity interest in their products, companies offer ways for guests to help raise funds for those in need. Goody, the go-to brand for bobby pins and brushes, for example, is donating $20 to Camp Oochigeas for every person who has a picture taken in its photo booth at the Lounge. Natasha Koifman, president and founder of NKPR, is donating $2 to APJ and Camp Ooch for every new Twitter follower she gains up until September 14 (@natashankpr).

Now in its sixth year, the IT Lounge has helped raised more than $200,000 for various charities in conjunction with NKPR’s other fundraising initiatives. Previous guests of the swish spot include Catherine Deneuve, Ryan Gosling, Ricky Jervais and Jennifer Garner. Off to a star-studded start, this year’s lounge has so far been graced by funny man Russell Peters, songstress Keisha Chante, actress Erin Karpluk and filmmaker Paul Haggis.

Predicting the unpredictable: our bets for this year’s Polaris Music Prize

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11:57 am

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The Polaris Music Prize is awarded to the best Canadian album of the year independent of record sales, genre or popularity. In recent years it’s become one of the premier incentives for, and promotions of, Canadian music. On Sept. 19 the winner will be named, and this year’s may be a surprise for being, well, a little unsurprising. Here are the shortlist nominees, along with a selected track from their albums, plus, a highly unscientific estimate as to their chances of winning.

Colin Stetson, New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges

A touring member of Arcade Fire, Stetson’s second solo album is an alternative jazz mix of ambient lyrics and a variety of instruments. The saxophonist’s album is probably too obscure to win in this field, but the nomination draws attention to an incredibly unique sound.
Prediction: 30 per cent

Destroyer, Kaputt

Vancouver’s Daniel Bejar formed the indie rock/pop group Destroyer in the ‘90s. The name contrasts with the breezy, dream-pop, David Bowie-style that you’ll see on Kaputt. We’re not expecting to see Bejar on any podiums, even if Kaputt is this genre at its finest.
Prediction: 30 per cent

Austra, Feel it Break

Austra follows Destroyer with a similar sort of 80s pop reinvented, but their vocals distinguish their sound completely. The shortlist is great exposure for the group, but we’re not putting money on them to win.
Prediction: 30 per cent

Braids, Native Speaker

Braids have a slow, melodic sound that gives you an idea of the scope of Polaris’ selection process. The powerful, echoed vocals and unique instrumental complement each other to form an organic composition. Braids are great at what they do, but what they likely won’t do is win at Polaris.
Predition: 40 per cent

Hey Rosetta!, Seeds

Hey Rosetta!’s use of string instruments add a unique sound to their indie garage rock, while also revealing their east coast roots. The St.John’s band likely won’t win for this album because they do what Arcade Fire does, sort of, but not quite as well (still a compliment). This is their second crack at the Polaris after 2008’s Into Your Lungs.
Prediction: 65 per cent

Galaxie, Tigre et diesel

Galaxie is a French-Canadian White Stripes with better percussion and richer production. Tigre et Diesel is full of energetic guitar riffs, potent drumbeats and psychedelic synthesizers. This album has an actual chance of winning, but it likely won’t happen.
Prediction: 70 per cent

Ron Sexsmith, Long Player Late Bloomer

Long Player Late Bloomer doesn’t stray far from Ron Sexmith’s distinctive style, but the production’s been streamlined for the mainstream. Sexmith is easily one of the top lyricists and songwriters on this list, and probably deserves the award, but we’re betting this won’t be his year.
Prediction: 75 per cent

Timber Timbre, Creep on Creepin’ on

Over the past few years, Timber Timbre’s eerie guitar strums and echoing vocals have become distinctly popular in intimate Toronto venues. If they didn’t win for their self-titled album (Timber Timbre, 2009), Creep on Creepin’ on probably won’t make the cut either. A solid dark horse, though.
Prediction: 75 per cent

The Weeknd, House of Balloons

This guy blew up faster than any artist in Canadian music history (balloon is an appropriate word association). The 21-year-old deserves all the credit because he made it happen on the back of his booming R&B vocals. If he wins, he’ll set a precedent for age. And he just might do it.
Prediction: 80 per cent

Arcade Fire, The Suburbs

This is the easily the best album of the nominees, and really, one of the best in Canadian history. In The Suburbs, and in previous albums, Arcade Fire packs so much music into an unbelievably intimate sound. But it would go against the Polaris trend to nominate someone so popular, and it’s for this reason alone that the win isn’t guaranteed.
Prediction: 90 per cent

Trending in Theatre: MacHomer, People4Change, The Tale of a Town, The Underpants, The Vagina Monologues

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8:42 am

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MacHomer

“Is this a donut which I see before me? D’oh!” Blending William Shakespeare’s text while impersonating no less than 50 of Springfield’s infamous residents, Rick Miller presents a unique theatrical experience for those who prefer Bart over the Bard.
Factory Theatre, 125 Bathurst Street, 416-504-9971. Sept. 13-25

People4Change

New York City’s popular transit slogan, “If you see something, say something,” best sums up this original play that follows three Gen Y-ers who join forces to make a difference after witnessing a sudden death on the subway tracks.
Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson Avenue, 416-504-7529. Sept. 13-24

The Tale of a Town

This live-action art project combines live and recorded music, interview sound bites and video footage as it breaks down the fourth wall and takes the audience on a journey of Queen Street West’s fascinating 30-year history.
Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson Avenue, 416-504-7529. Sept. 14 – Oct. 9

The Underpants

When a woman’s underpants “mysteriously” fall down at the King’s parade, she immediately becomes a source of lustful interest from the local townsmen — surprise, surprise. This Molière-esque comedy is translated by comedian Steve Martin, so it’s bound to be a witty romp.
Red Sandcastle Theatre, 922 Queen Street East, 416-845-9411. Sept. 16-24

The Vagina Monologues

If you’ve never seen Eve Ensler’s groundbreaking play about women talking about, well, their vaginas, then this one-night performance benefitting the Women’s Support Network of York Region is your chance to finally get your estrogen on.
Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts, 10268 Yonge Street, 905-787-8811. Sept. 16

Five reasons to head to The Bay to get Tommy Hilfiger's autograph tomorrow

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2:09 pm

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Tommy Hilfiger will be in town tomorrow to promote his eponymous brand, which recently opened 66 shops-within-shops inside various The Bay stores. No, this isn’t 1995; Hilfiger is still cool, apparently. So cool, in fact, that he’ll be doling out his John Hancock to fans from 6-8 p.m. at The Bay on Queen Street tomorrow. Not impressed? Here are five reasons why you want Hilfiger’s totally awesome autograph.

1. He’s actually not racist. Remember that rumour from the ‘90s about how Hilfiger was on the Oprah show and made a really racist comment? Well, guess what? Not true, apparently. Even though some still may reference the old email forward that ignited the nasty rumour, Hilfiger and Oprah set the record straight on her show back in 2007.

2. He beat up Axl Rose. Not many people would take on a hardcore rocker like Axl Rose (“Get in the Ring,” anyone?), but Hilfiger did just that when Rose allegedly moved the drink of Hilfiger’s girlfriend at Rosario Dawson’s birthday party in 2006. Apparently, Hilfiger was relentless with his “November Pain” — “He just kept smacking me,” Rose said — and bodyguards had to break the two up.

3. He’s had the same haircut for 20 years. You’ve got to give some serious props to a middle-aged man if he’s still rocking the same floppy-prepster ‘do from 20 years ago.

4. His son is a rap star (sort of). Nepotism aside, we’re sure Hilfiger’s son, Rich Hil, with his mega tats, bling and recent arrest for drug possession, has got some mad hip hop skillz. He just signed a record deal, so he must. Hil even has an “I love you, Dad” tattoo on his neck. Aww.

5. He’s got an infallible moral compass. Hilfiger passed on some words of wisdom to the UK’s Daily Mail back in 2010, including one that we can all learn from: don’t be evil. We’re pretty sure that means don’t be Skeletor-evil, because it seems like slapping Axl Rose over and over again is okay.

This Week in Sound: Wilco, The Olivia Tremor Control, Nick Lowe, Toro Y Moi

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1:12 pm

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Wilco (September 16-17 @ Massey Hall) will love you (wait for the chorus). The indie/alt-country godfathers will greet you with open sonic arms and no trace of bitterness, even though they haven’t quite managed to release an album of the seminal Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’s extraordinary caliber. That album was so good that some reviewers and fans lapsed into weird, mystical conjecture about singer Jeff Tweedy’s precognitive capabilities, mostly because the album’s lyrics (written months before the attack on the Twin Towers) seemed to predict the tragedies of 9/11 and offer comfort to its victims. Although subsequent releases haven’t matched — or, seemingly, even tried to match — the astonishing arrangements and cautious experimentalism of Yankee, it’s still physically impossible for Jeff Tweedy to write a bad song; Wilco will always know how to give you a musical hug.

This summer saw the first string of Jeff Mangum solo gigs since Neutral Milk Hotel went Bobby Fischer, and appropriately enough, this week will see the return of reunited pop-experimentalists The Olivia Tremor Control (September 16 @ Lee’s Palace), one of Mangum’s old bands and a member of his The Elephant 6 Recording Company collective. Those familiar with Neutral Milk will recognize certain familiar stylistic elements — fuzzy distortion, horn sections — but OTC trades Mangum’s dirge-y bombast for shiny pop melodies and unexpected structural twists. They are also, apparently, working on a new album, over a decade after the release of their last. Who knows whether they’ll play any new material on Friday; who knows if there actually is any new material, or if it’ll ever see the light of day; who knows anything about what the Elephant Six guys are going to do?

Though he’s perhaps best known as that old guy who penned "Cruel to be Kind" and Elvis Costello’s hit "What’s So Funny ‘bout Peace, Love and Understanding?" back in the ’70s, Nick Lowe (September 16 @ Massey Hall, opening for Wilco) continues to be a capable and cunning songwriter well into his sexagenarian years. He’s also retained the barbed-yet-charming wit that those familiar with his catalogue know him for. And, unlike certain other legacy songwriters — we’re looking at you here, Dylan and Cohen — he can still sing.

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Does Chinatown’s newest all-day dim sum joint stack up against Rol San?

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I’ve spent a good portion of my life in Chinatown, waiting for a seat at Rol San. That’s because I’m obsessed with dim sum. It’s a family thing. Somehow, none of the employees there know me on a first name basis yet, but that’s fine. I don’t go to Rol San to make friends. I go there for dim sum. At Rol San, I’m a behemoth, like a blue whale that needs to consume countless tiny sea creatures to sustain itself.

I’m aware that there are other dim sum joints in the area, but none of them quite cut it. I always go back to Rol San. The reliability is the best in Chinatown. Still, lineups can snake out the door on weekends, and the waiting can get tedious. I often yearn for another option that can hold its own, so when a new all-day dim sum place opened up nearby, at 416 Spadina, I was intrigued. The newcomer is literally called Number Two Restaurant. Pride, it would seem, is not one of its downfalls.

It took a lot of will power to forgo Rol San and give Number Two a shot. An abundance of will power. I’ve simply been disappointed too many times. But last week, I took the plunge. My initial impression of the place was both heartening and disheartening: Number Two was completely empty inside. No waiting, but wasn’t anyone else curious? Apparently, there are others with a too-strong attachment to Rol San.

Once inside, I order a few dim sum classics. Here’s how it all stacked up.

Pan fried short ribs, $2.68

This is one of my favourite dishes at Rol San. The short ribs there ($4.28) are peppery, garlicky and delightfully chewy. They’re delicious, even if they’re too fatty and gristly. Number Two’s ribs are much skimpier than Rol San’s, but they’re almost half the price, so I can’t complain. The taste is another story. They’re distinctly sour; the beef is dry and it tastes old. My hopes for the place drop to about nil, and the dish goes unfinished. Thankfully, other dishes pull through.
Winner: Rol San

Har gow, $2.28

Following the short ribs, I’m expecting the worst. Things start looking up, though, when the shrimp dumpling — an obligatory dim sum order — actually holds together under chopstick pressure. Things start looking better when the dumpling doesn’t give my mouth first-degree burns. Yes, it must be said, sometimes Rol San’s dumplings are just too steaming hot. Number Two’s har gow is solid. The shrimp is juicy and the texture of the dumpling wrap is pleasantly firm. It’s at least as good as Rol San’s ($4.28), but way cheaper.
Winner: Number Two

Seafood dumpling, $3.28

The seafood dumpling at Rol San ($4.28) has always been kind of like my XM Radio service: not that good, but not bad enough to cancel the subscription. I almost always order this dish, and Number Two’s seafood dumpling looks promising. Rol San’s is fashioned into a kind of unwieldy crescent shape, while Number Two’s is shaped more like the har gow. It’s more compact and manageable, but it’s marred by a strange and pervasive marshy taste. My instincts want to say it’s the over-steamed green vegetable inside (some kind of broccoli? Nobody at the restaurant can confirm it) and not the shrimp or the scallop. It doesn’t really matter, though: my seafood dumpling subscription at Number Two is officially cancelled.
Winner: Rol San

Deep fried shrimp with chives cake, $3.28

This dish is dim sum gold. If you haven’t tried it yet, go now. The crispy deep-fried exterior gives it the lowbrow appeal of potato chips; combine that with the universal appeal of shrimp. Plus, chives are the bomb. Rol San’s cake ($4.28) is a tough contender, but I’m going to go ahead and say that Number Two’s is better. It’s almost the same, but the exterior is more golden-brown, and it’s crispier. Not everyone will dig that, but I did. It’s less greasy here, too, though the mayo that comes with it is a bit too sour and isn’t as good as Rol San’s.
Winner: Number Two

Shiu mai, $3.28

Personally, I’m not a huge fan of shiu mai. It seems to always come out looking like a hopelessly over-steamed mess, with the texture of a soggy meatball. Doesn’t taste terrible, though. I order it here because it’s a dim sum staple, and I’m curious. It ends up looking pretty much exactly like Rol San’s ($3.98), and tastes pretty much exactly the same, too. Once again, it’s cheaper, which gives Number Two the cake.
Winner: Number Two

Steamed B.B.Q pork buns, $2.28

Despite having been a dim sum fan for years, it took me forever to give this dish a try. Mostly, I thought it looked boring. Under normal circumstances, I won’t order this for myself, but if a companion orders one, I’ll probably ask for a bite. Annoying, I know. These ones taste almost identical to Rol San’s ($2.68), but Rol San’s buns are a bit stickier, which is good, and they hold together better. That’s a big factor, because these things can turn into a bit of a mess. But is it worth the extra 40 cents? Tough call.
Winner: draw

Consensus: Ron San

Out of the admittedly meager selection I tasted at Number Two, I still haven’t been swayed out of my love for Rol San, though Number Two puts up a valiant effort. It’s significantly cheaper than Rol San, and some of the dishes are better. But huge misses, like the short ribs and the seafood dumpling, make Number Two a bit too much of a Russian roulette game.

It’s also got some “new restaurant” issues to deal with. The tea has to be asked for. So does soy sauce and hot sauce, and when they come, there’s not nearly enough. These kinks can be easily ironed out, but Number Two really needs to get some curried cuttlefish (probably my favourite dish at Rol San) on the menu, or at least some non-fried squid options.

I’ll give Number Two this, though: if the lineup at Rol San is out the door, and I’m feeling a little bit antsy, or, if I’ve been chilling out at Acadia, my new neighbour, too much, and need to ease up on the spending, I’m going back to my new number two dim sum restaurant, Number Two. I have a feeling that will be sooner rather than later.

Rol San, 323 Spadina Ave., 416-977-1128; Number Two Restaurant, 416 Spadina Ave., 416-593-4788