This article was originally published on beingtheremag.com, an independent music and film magazine that ran from 2004 to 2007. It is presented here as part of the Being There Magazine archive.
By Adam Anklewicz | Being There Magazine, November 2004
Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, Ron Sexsmith, Blue Rodeo and many more have called Canada’s largest city home. Toronto is located on the northern shore of Lake Ontario and was originally populated by the Seneca and Mississauga First Nations peoples. It became a point of European settlement, starting with the French setting up a fort in the early seventeenth century. By the late eighteenth century, the British had colonized and named the land Upper Canada.
In 1834, Toronto officially became a city with William Lyon Mackenzie serving as Toronto’s first mayor. Just over 30 years later, Sir John A. MacDonald would unite Upper and Lower Canada (now known as Quebec) along with the British Atlantic settlements, founding the Dominion of Canada. Upper Canada became the province of Ontario and Toronto was made its capital. Now Toronto has a larger population than most of Canada’s provinces and territories.
In the 1960s a musical boom occurred in Canada. People like Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot moved to Toronto to make a career for themselves in music. Neil Young moved back to Toronto from Winnipeg after his band the Squires broke up and started playing in Yorkville, an area that was once known as a musical launching point for Canadian talent with its many folk and rock bars, and is today known as the hub of the Toronto International Film Festival. It only lasted a short while, however, and Canadian talent from Toronto was quickly exported to the United States.
Toronto is currently a thriving community with many local bands who have had international success. Blue Rodeo and The Barenaked Ladies are two such examples. Helping them to thrive are the bars and clubs throughout the city that frequently play host to local talent.
Queen Street is located at the bottom of the city running east and west. Along the street are some of the best musical venues in the city. The Rivoli is a restaurant/bar located near Toronto’s Chinatown. Their lounge easily fills up when local bands take the stage (see side bar).
A few doors down is a larger bar called The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern. The Horseshoe has played host to many famous bands local and from abroad. The Tragically Hip, Great Big Sea, Wilco, Cornershop and many others have graced their stage. While holding Toronto rehearsals for their tours, the Rolling Stones have been known to drop in for a surprise show or two. On Mondays and Tuesdays, the Horseshoe holds free concerts featuring emerging talent. The Horseshoe is one of my favourite bar venues in Toronto, frequently booking the best of the best. Even when the venue fills to capacity you can often make your way to a good vantage point to enjoy the show.
The Horseshoe is located at Queen and Spadina, but if you take the streetcar north on Spadina for a few blocks, at College Street you will find The El Mocambo. Known to many outside of Toronto as the venue where Elvis Costello and the Rolling Stones recorded live albums, the El Mocambo has changed ownership many times over the past few decades and now with only half the space is a launching point for many unsigned artists in Toronto.
For the film buff, Toronto hosts one of the world’s largest film festivals annually and plays host to film shoots of many big-budget American movies. Since first run movie tickets cost nearly $15 CDN these days, Toronto’s second run cinemas are the place to be. With a cost of only $4 to $8, there’s the opportunity to see classic films on a large screen. Double bills seem to be a theme with these small cinemas, allowing visitors to see two Hitchcock or Kubrick films in one night.
Toronto is a multicultural haven. There are pockets of the world’s cultures located in every corner of the city. With a quick walk you can go from the Jamaican community for roti to Toronto’s Jewish areas for falafel. The original British settlers would probably hate to see the imperial influence wearing thin in this new Toronto. However, the people claim their multicultural atmosphere as one of their greatest assets.
How to Be There in Toronto
What to Listen to:
· Neil Young – After The Gold Rush (1970)
· Gordon Lightfoot – Old Dan’s Records (1972)
· Blue Rodeo – Casino (1991)
· The Barenaked Ladies – Gordon (1992)
· Ron Sexsmith – Blue Boy (2001)
· k-os – Joyful Rebellion (2004)
· The Sadies – Favourite Colours (2004)
What to Read:
· Marshall McLuhan – The Medium Is The Message (1967)
· Margaret Atwood – The Handmaid’s Tale (1986)
· Michael Ondaatje – The English Patient (1992)
· Anne Michaels – Fugitive Pieces (1996)
What to Watch:
· Goin’ Down The Road (1970)
· SCTV (1976-1981)
· Kids In The Hall (1989-1994)
· Double Happiness (1994)
· Canadian Bacon (1995)
· Last Night (1998)
· Twitch City (1998)
What to Do:
· Kensington Market
· Royal Ontario Museum
· Ontario Science Centre
· Toronto International Film Festival
· Taste Of The Danforth
· Maple Lounge (no cover upstairs at The Rivoli)
· Shoeless Monday & Nu Music Nite (Tuesdays), no cover at The Horseshoe Tavern