Peter Montreuil – Makin’ the Rounds, Checkin’ Out the Sounds

I had decided to go and see “Jim Dan Dee” , who were playing last Saturday night at the Phoenix as part of the “Generation Next” concert series sponsored by radio station 94.9. To my delight, I found that “Crown Lands” would also be on the bill. ( Jim from “Jim Dan Dee” put me on the guest list and Kevin from “Crown Lands” offered to do so as well.) Now, “Return For Refund” would be playing at the Horseshoe, and Drew, ( their front man), invited me to be on that guest list as well. I declined the offer at first, as I was going to the Phoenix. Meanwhile, I learned that “Fat Mob” would be playing at Cherry Cola’s. Hmm, I thought, “Even I can’t be in three places at once!” However, when I found out that “Return For Refund” was playing at 8:30 P.M.,”Jim Dan Dee” would be hitting the stage at 11:00 P.M. and “Fat Mob” would be on at 1:00 A.M., it now looked possible to see all 3 shows. (As an aside, I was not the only person to do that Saturday night.) Shades of George Thorogood’s “50 states in 50 days” tour 😉!

After receiving my rather panicky message, Drew graciously put me on the guest list, (thanks again, pal!) I got to the Horseshoe and ran into (interalia) Jim and Jessica and Dylan. RFR has a new CD out and most of their set consisted of music from it. I look forward to getting this CD, but unfortunately had no time to hang around to pick one up. The band’s chemistry is obvious and they made the room jump.  They finished on time, and out the door I went.  (Anyone see what I did there?) Unfortunately I had to miss Iduna, The Tired Flames, Brother Levon and Bamboo.

Return for Refund – The Fields 

I had to ride the streetcar from Queen and Spadina to Carlton and Sherbourne. It took  longer than I had hoped, partly because the driver on the Carlton car sat through a green light talking to a passenger about the big fight, but I did finally get there! I was quite pleased to be able to catch part of the set by “The Commoners”, another of the very good bands in the GreaterToronto Area. Again, lots of familiar faces in the crowd, such as the other Dylan (thanks for the beer, btw), Dell, and Jay (thanks for your kindness, too), as well as Doug Elliott from 94.9 FM.  It’s always great running into friends at these shows. “Crown Lands” played their usual brisk and energetic set. They too have new music coming out, with a CD release party September 8th, further information available on their page. “Jim Dan Dee” started on time, ensuring that I would get to Cherry Cola’s in time. Jim himself is fresh off a solo tour, and the band simply rocked! They also have new merchandise available, including a bourbon flask, bourbon not included sadly. Unfortunately I missed The Road Heavy and Kid Lickies. One amusing side note; the men’s washroom is located beside one of the venue’s exits. I was standing by the men’s washroom entrance and wound up redirecting some confused looking women, as the women’s room is not very clearly marked.  One woman walked up and I gallantly pointed in the direction of the women’s room. She said “Excuse me, but I’m trying to leave!” Her companion narrowed his eyes and glared at me, so it is entirely possible that my helpful gesture was misconstrued. (Oops!)

Crown Lands – Mantra

Jim Dan Dee – The Silence

Thankfully, it was soon time to catch the streetcar to make my way to Cherry Cola’s. When I came through the door, King Beez were playing, part of an amazing lineup which also included “Los Senores”, “TVDE” and “Bitter North”. “Fat Mob” came on at 2:00 A.M. Once again, nice to see Cherish and Arjun (thank you for the beer, a pleasure to reciprocate) and some of the guys from groups which had played previous shows that evening also showed up to support their friends. The spirit of community among these bands is truly refreshing.

Fat Mob – Coral

The real adventure came when it was time to go home. I went out to Bathurst St to catch the night bus. I waited at an intermediate stop and saw a bus coming in the middle lane. It moved into the curb lane, but went right past me. I had to walk all the way to Dundas before I finally caught a bus. When I did get to Bathurst and Bloor, I texted the Toronto Transit Commission bus arrival line at 3:40 A.M.. Our bus; as there were a number of people waiting, was expected to arrive in 5 minutes. 4 minutes later, a westbound bus came by with an “out of service” destination board. I texted the bus arrival line at 3:44 A.M., only to find that the NEXT bus was not arriving for 33 minutes! Thinking there might have been an error, I retexted at 3:47 A.M. and learned that the wait was 31 minutes . Frustrated, at 3:48 A.M. I texted this message “You folks are terrible. You will hear from me.” I got this response almost immediately “ERROR: Syntax is incorrect. Send HELP to 898882 for assistance. Std rates apply.” At 3:51 A.M., I split a cab with a guy who was going to Jane Street. I got almost home, started to walk, but wound up finishing the trip in a cab. I got home at about 5:00 A.M., and collapsed on my bed triumphantly. I had done it!

See you next Thursday.

A note about last week’s column. All photos courtesy of Pat Blythe, The Picture Taker except the James Blonde polaroid which was provided by the band, and the kitty video, which the editor located on line. The “Peter’s 60th Birthday” poster is an early edition, created by the impressively talented J.C. Sandoval.

This week’s heading picture courtesy of Pat Blythe, The Picture Taker,  Caricature of the author by Peter Mossman

=PJM=

A confirmed cat person,  Peter dabbled with being a water boy , a paper boy and an altar boy before finally settling for a career with the Canadian government. Once, in his youth, he ate a dutch oven full of mashed potatoes to win a 5 cent bet with his sister Mary’s boyfriend. (Of course, he was much younger and a nickel went a lot farther.) He has retired to palatial “Chez Montreuil”, sharing it with his diabetic cat Reg. He’s very happy to have his dear Lois in his life.  Military aviation and live music are  among other interests of his, and he tries to get out to as many shows as he can. He will be here every Thursday for your enlightenment.