Dave left early Sunday morning to celebrate his first Father’s Day with his family, so I was left to my own devices for the entire day. There wasn’t a lot by way of concerts at various venues; the main action was at the free outdoor stage at Young/Dundas Square, which I heard referred to as “Toronto’s Times Square” – both times disparagingly, and both times by people who were from Toronto.
The early afternoon shows didn’t hold much interest for me, so I kicked around the mall for a little bit, went to Urban Outfitters, and saw Justin Bieber in the flesh. He was at one of those kiosks in the center of the mall, and a crowd of various people had just started to form around him. His bodyguard said to the gathering masses: “Can we back up? This is my money here.” That seemed like an incredibly stupid thing to say, but when you work for Justin Bieber, maybe that comes with the territory. And, Bieber is a tiny one. I’d say he isn’t much more than 5’2″ and 120 pounds. This is really neither here nor there. Just an oddity of the trip.
I made my way down to the free stage around 7PM to catch The Phenomenal Handclap Band, who I had been told was good, but I was misinformed. They kind of reminded me of a jam band, but since they incorporate more electro-based elements into their music, maybe people think they’re better. I didn’t particularly care for them. Their bassist looked a lot like Jerry Garcia from where I stood, with a large beard, disheveled hair and a tie-dyed shirt. This didn’t help their standing with me.
After The Phenomenal Handclap Band, Kid Sister came on. I hadn’t listened to any Kid Sister prior to this show, and I have to say that I was impressed. All elements of the performance were stellar – from her backing DJ to her ability to rap to her singing voice. Everything was excellent, and I got my right hand hi along with the music. If you go to concerts with me, you know that it takes a lot for me to do that – as in good music or alcohol. Kid Sister was great.
By the time De La Soul took to the stage, the Square was packed to the gills. It didn’t help my cause that people seemed to see me as the person to get around in order to access wherever they were headed, and I grew tired quickly of being brushed aside, or being stepped on. I stayed for about 6 of De La’s songs, and called it a weekend. But, De La Soul is great to see live. They have the showmanship part of their work down; they appeal to the crowd, and aren’t overcome by the extraneous parts of hip-hop that are often at the forefront of more contemporary rap artists. They are good at what they do, if it weren’t obvious from their longevity in an often fickle musical landscape. It was a cool way to end the weekend – seeing that amount of people out for the show. People next to me were getting high, the crowd was loud and responsive, and the event organizers should be very proud of what they accomplished – and seeing it culminate in that way.
The Phenomenal Handclap Band – Baby (mp3) from The Phenomenal Handclap Band
Kid Sister – Right Hand Hi (mp3) from Ultraviolet
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