Music
Toronto's Music Scene Shifts West as the Garrison Opens at Ossington and Dundas
When the Garrison opened its doors last weekend, it gave Dundas West one more reason to glow with the rosy glow of "it" neighbourhood vitality. While the intersection of Ossington and Dundas already boasts a music venue, the arrival of the new club brings the indie sound and sensibility to an area so far musically defined by the country twang of the Dakota.
Whatever the Garrison comes to mean for music in Toronto - with less than a week in operation, it's probably unfair to call it anything yet - it definitely signals a long overdue shift west of the city's musical heartland. It was way back at the turn of the '90s, after all, when Queen West gave way to College Street, and for much of that time one grungy little bar, Sneaky Dee's at Bathurst, has been the default epicenter.
Shaun Bowring, the booker abruptly dismissed from Sneaky Dee's last February, is a partner at the Garrison, and acknowledges that the club's location is more a matter of following, not leading, a trend. "It's nice to be in a neighborhood where people live," he says." I think Ossington or Dufferin are more 'central' in that regard. Cities are always pushing outward from the core."
Wavelength, the music series co-founded by Duncan MacDonell, has lived most of its life at Sneaky Dee's, but it's moved its residency westward to Sunday nights at the Garrison. (The name, by the way, comes from the long-buried creek that flows beneath the area, not some military facility.) It's been ten years since the series started at the short-lived Ted's Wrecking Yard, and began showcasing hard-to-classify local acts, some of whom - Broken Social Scene, The Constantines, The Hidden Cameras - went on to bigger things and sometimes, like BSS, returned to Wavelength to repay the favour.
"Even at Sneaky Dee's my point of time was that we were just biding our time between venues, and we happened to stay in our tent city for seven years instead of just one or two," MacDonell tells me.
"We had a lot of fun at Sneaky Dee's, not because the building was neat, but because we trusted Shaun because he never stole money from us, which is pretty rare in rock and roll. And we knew the security guys and the sound tech and I would always have an uncomfortable banter fight back and forth when I was talking onstage, and it was a lot of fun. And bit by bit those people left, and it just seems like a miracle that the Garrison has the same door staff, the same bar back, the same sound tech - pretty much anyone who got fired or suspended at Sneaky Dee's is at the Garrison now."
"It's nice to have a safe place, though, and that's what we hope to see at the Garrison," MacDonell says, quickly adding that, "I don't want to build expectations too high for that place, or it'll be no fun to attend it."
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On their website, it lists "Special Surprize" for tomorrow night. Anyone have any ideas who could be playing tomorrow? Them Crooked Vultures? Yanni?
I went last weekend for the first Wavelength. The place looks nice inside but is lacking anything that gives it real character...there is almost nothing on any of the walls. A good sized stage and venue area with a separate bar upfront. Not the most inviting looking from the outside though, especially with the bouncers guarding the door. Although they gave no trouble and opened the door for me every time I went in or out, they look damn mean (probably good for the club in the long run). A sign would help give it some character.
I find it laughable that one venue opens up a little west and suddenly "Toronto's Music Scene Shifts West". A little overstated yes?
Nice article but the headline "Toronto's Music Scene Shifts West" is inaccurate. Since Hughs Room, Lula Lounge and The Gladstone have all been in the west end for years perhaps you should rephrase into something like "BlogTO Approved Toronto Music Scene Shifts West"
The headline is just a headline. I don't think anyone is arguing that this is the start of the shift. In fact, in the post itself there is this line "the club's location is more a matter of following, not leading, a trend. "
Not even a Street View link? What is this, 2006?
http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=43.649367,-79.430466&spn=0,359.94524&t=h&z=15&layer=c&cbll=43.649365,-79.422383&panoid=0qn20wMxfYyRxDVzkVBlKA&cbp=12,162.82,,0,5.47
Call me crazy, but I don't know any other way to interpret, "it definitely signals a long overdue shift west of the city's musical heartland."
More like, "What is this? October 5th 2009?"
Yeah, I'm lookin' forward to going to Wavelength there. Was always fun at Sneak's.
you guys are so annoying. Why do some people always have to try to find something to pick on, its an opinion first of all- so if he wanted to say that it moved east west north or south, it doesn't matter.
it's just a waste of a comment.
dropped in last week - really great-sized venue for the area...great stage positioning and really friendly service...and good to see Vincent on the door!
Could stay longer than about a minute...the sound was ear-piercing...not sure if the tech lost his "ear" (he seemed to be doing something on the board...) but both my girlfriend and I had to leave with our fingers shoved into our ear-holes....the high-end was deadly.
Mixed out properly...and maybe with some acoustic absorption...this venue could be killer!!
Best of luck - I'm sure I'll be back to check on improvements.