A Rainy New Year's Eve in Toronto

This New Years I decided to get out to the clubs and do it on the cheap. No $50 covers for a paper hat and a thimble full of cheap bubbly for me!

And what better place to do it than the Cameron House. $10 cover and my first exposure to house-regular, Kevin Quain & the Mad Bastards. I love the Cameron House. It's like taking a time machine into the 50s. That alone is worth the cover!

It's probably over-simplifying to call the Mad Bastards a Tom Waits clone-band, but that'll give you a sense of how they come across on stage. Great lyrics from Mr. Quain and a tight band behind him, including a couple of horns. And, who doesn't love Tom Waits anyway?

I was really getting into the music and taking a few photos. By photo #3, the sax player stepped off the stage, came over and said that Kevin doesn't like to have his picture taken. That really surprised me; but of course I pocketed my camera, and just enjoyed the music for the rest of the set.

It turned out that the headliner for the evening, Dean's Dragon, didn't show up... apparently delayed at the border by customs. So, by 12:30 the show was over, and I wandered over to talk to Kevin about his photo-phobia.

"It's rude to take photos without someone's permission", he said.

"Well, you're the first performer to say that in the 25 years I've been out at the live music clubs and taking photos", I replied.

I added, "If you don't want people to see you when you perform, you shouldn't be on stage. And, if you do want people to see you, then it's a natural extension for new fans like me to take pictures of bands to share them with friends and relatives... which will lead you to even more fans."

He didn't buy that.

He said, "What if I followed you to your place of work and took pictures of you?"

That was a fair question, I suppose. I said, "I'd be flattered, but I don't know why you would do that, since I'm not a celebrity like you."

His reply... "It's rude." How do you argue with that? I didn't.

I politely excused myself and made my exit.

As I wandered over to the Horseshoe in the pouring rain, I was thinking that I had seen a great local band and wouldn't be put off by Quain's comments. I think more people should see the group. Then, I fiendishly thought that it would be cool if a huge pack of people showed up with a whole bunch of cameras. Can you imagine all those flashes going off from every angle during every song?

No, don't do it. It's my fantasy, and they might kick you out! But if you did, Kevin would be one Mad Bastard!


Stop #2 -- The Horseshoe. It was close to 1am, but I was assured that the (photo-friendly) Sadies still hadn't started their 2nd set. That was great timing! And, the cover had dropped to $10. Bonus!













You really can't lose with The Sadies. They outperformed the last of their shows that I saw, which I think was in September. They have a unique blend of alt-country/surf/psychedelic/garage music that you just can't get enough of. And, to see them for 10 bucks these days is a steal!

I thought that I'd probably be in for a short set given the time of night, but noooooooo.... these lads tirelessly kept on going until after 3am, with assorted guests (including Blue Rodeo's Greg Keeler) coming and going.

This was a fan-friendly concert at its best. I spilled out of my cab and into my apartment at about 4am with a big New Year's grin on my face.