Happy New Year
Last night I was encouraged to leave the house. I hadn't really planned to go out. NYE is always a mega let down - a city filled with floundering screeching drunks flailing at cabs and bumping into me. The reason why I succumbed to the 'peer pressure' was that this particular party was way down the street from me. Literally on the other side of the city in an area called "The Beach" so it was just one long straight streetcar ride into a more calm environment with a few people I knew and the potential to meet a few more.
First stop was my friend's house - a place I hadn't seen yet as he just moved in with my other friend! I love when sudden romance occurs between two people whose company you enjoy. The guy is a long time music industry dude -- he was one of the first people I met and worked with up in Toronto. He has been working in A&R since 1975 and covering the walls in their new house were tonnes of pictures of him and various acts he had represented. Pink, Foo Fighters, Justin Timberlake, Grand Master Flash. Amazing black and white shots of his life, his history. One of his most cherished shots was one of him and Andy Warhol. Several walls were covered in Gold records that were presented to him. It was a very impressive history.
We left the house and wandered up about ten blocks to the party at his ex-wife's new place. The place was amazing! Second and third floor of a home with two outside decks! I stayed there until about 12:30 and then wandered back into the downtown to hit up a show at the Horseshoe. Ran into a few folk that I knew there and had a pretty solid time filled with good conversation about fine food and long distance bike riding.
Shortly before 3am I decided to head home. The Horseshoe is also on Queen street - which is the street I lived on - and only about 9 blocks from my loft. Observing the shit show that was going on on the packed stumbling-drunk streets and overcrowded streetcar stop I decided to walk through the fray. I wasn't going to spend on a cab and I wasn't particularly uncomfortable with walking home. It felt like daytime given the hoards hoards of people shuffling past. From the shouty jocks to the screechy too-underdressed-for-even-this-mild weather chicks it was a mess. Tattoo Rock Parlour (a place I occasionally DJ) was still open and there were several cop cars in front of it and on the intersecting street blocking it off. There was no yellow tape so I wandered down a bit just to see more cop cars and some people sitting on a short stone ledge. Quiet. Eh... I lost interest and carried on. Fire trucks and cop cars were non stop screaming down the street. One was parked at Queen and Bathurst and a fireman was holding up the wrist of a slumped over party goer as if testing his pulse while the other one was trying to peer into his fedora covered face.
It was like some twisted mardis gras all the way to my loft.
As they say in some cities "the bridge and tunnel crowd" or "the valley crowd" -- I say the "905s". It seems as if each city has this area of town outside the city limits and on weekends or special occasions these people stream into the downtown core to get their mad party on.
THAT is the main reason that I'd like to move away from a metropolitan area.
It was total amateur night last night.
First stop was my friend's house - a place I hadn't seen yet as he just moved in with my other friend! I love when sudden romance occurs between two people whose company you enjoy. The guy is a long time music industry dude -- he was one of the first people I met and worked with up in Toronto. He has been working in A&R since 1975 and covering the walls in their new house were tonnes of pictures of him and various acts he had represented. Pink, Foo Fighters, Justin Timberlake, Grand Master Flash. Amazing black and white shots of his life, his history. One of his most cherished shots was one of him and Andy Warhol. Several walls were covered in Gold records that were presented to him. It was a very impressive history.
We left the house and wandered up about ten blocks to the party at his ex-wife's new place. The place was amazing! Second and third floor of a home with two outside decks! I stayed there until about 12:30 and then wandered back into the downtown to hit up a show at the Horseshoe. Ran into a few folk that I knew there and had a pretty solid time filled with good conversation about fine food and long distance bike riding.
Shortly before 3am I decided to head home. The Horseshoe is also on Queen street - which is the street I lived on - and only about 9 blocks from my loft. Observing the shit show that was going on on the packed stumbling-drunk streets and overcrowded streetcar stop I decided to walk through the fray. I wasn't going to spend on a cab and I wasn't particularly uncomfortable with walking home. It felt like daytime given the hoards hoards of people shuffling past. From the shouty jocks to the screechy too-underdressed-for-even-this-mild weather chicks it was a mess. Tattoo Rock Parlour (a place I occasionally DJ) was still open and there were several cop cars in front of it and on the intersecting street blocking it off. There was no yellow tape so I wandered down a bit just to see more cop cars and some people sitting on a short stone ledge. Quiet. Eh... I lost interest and carried on. Fire trucks and cop cars were non stop screaming down the street. One was parked at Queen and Bathurst and a fireman was holding up the wrist of a slumped over party goer as if testing his pulse while the other one was trying to peer into his fedora covered face.
It was like some twisted mardis gras all the way to my loft.
As they say in some cities "the bridge and tunnel crowd" or "the valley crowd" -- I say the "905s". It seems as if each city has this area of town outside the city limits and on weekends or special occasions these people stream into the downtown core to get their mad party on.
THAT is the main reason that I'd like to move away from a metropolitan area.
It was total amateur night last night.