el mocambo toronto

Dave Grohl shows off that he voted in shirt from an iconic Toronto venue

The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election has proven to be an absolute nailbiter, with Biden and Trump neck-and-neck in a number of states while votes are still being tabulated.

Our friends south of the border have been taking to social media over the past few days to encourage one another to vote, many sharing photos of their "I voted" stickers to celebrate democracy and (hopefully) future change.

A ton of everyday citizens and celebs have taken part of the movement, as is the case in many elections, but there is one "I voted" photo in particular that has really captured the attention of Canadians for a very unique reason.

Dave Grohl, former drummer of Nirvana and current frontman of the long-running rock group the Foo Fighters, shared a photo of himself sporting his "I voted" sticker this week along with the simple caption #Vote on his band's Twitter account.

But Canucks — particularly those who live in Toronto — are a bit distracted by something else in the photo: Grohl's t-shirt, which appears to be a piece of official merchandise from the El Mocambo, the legendary live music venue at College and Spadina.

Originally opened in 1948, the El Mo's stage has seen some of the biggest musical acts in history during its tenure, from The Ramones to U2 to Joan Jett to The Rolling Stones.

It has often been considered the Canadian counterpart to New York City's venerable CBGB, and for good reason.

Unfortunately, the fate of the 10,000-square-foot club has been a little up in the air in recent years, with ownership changes, dragged out renovations, rumours of permanent closure, missed re-opening dates and more causing residents to hold their collective breath at the prospect of losing the historic spot forever.

But when a shiny new version of its unmistakable palm tree sign was reinstalled above the doors of the 110-year-old building at the end of 2018, Toronto knew for sure that it had its El Mocambo back.

Given that reopening plans have been significantly hampered by the pandemic, the El Mo has been holding virtual events since its $30 million facelift was completed earlier this year, including concert livestreams from the revamped space.

Led by Dragon's Den star and entrepreneur Michael Wekerle, the team is patiently awaiting the opportunity to be able to show off the new mezzanine, retail space, content creation centre, sound technology, and other features that reside in three performance areas monikered the Starlight Room, Under the Neon Palms and the VIP Balcony.

"We are now a broadcast facility with three isolated performance areas, state of the art audio and video equipment and the ability to capture, record and stream high resolution content to a global audience," says El Mo Production Manager and Executive Designer Jamie Howieson told blogTO this summer.

Grohl repping the bar has Canadians feeling understandably proud — and also has them hoping it's a sign that the Foo Fighters may be making an appearance at the El Mo sometime in the near future.

Lead photo by

@foofighters


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