So Slow Recovery

While I am pleased to hear that Ontario is moving closer to Stage 3 (and may in fact open a few days early), that won't make much of a difference in terms of the things I am really hoping to do and see.  It's not like it won't make any difference.  I'll be able to get to the AGO soon.  And I am almost certainly going to try to get to Hamilton (now that the Hamilton express bus has been restored) and also to Ottawa in August to see the Rembrandt exhibit.  Interestingly, there is a small sale on the catalogue while the museum is closed, which basically works out to free shipping, so you have about a week to jump on that.

I was somewhat surprised that the art exhibits in Chicago aren't very interesting at all to me this year (as I have little interest in the Obama portraits simply because I find conventional portrait paintings to be quite boring).  The Warhol and Picasso exhibits at the AGO and the Rembrandts in Ottawa are a much better bet.  

But theatre is still in a very weird limbo with unclear rules about outdoor performances and no useful guidance on indoor theatre or concerts (combined with fact this looks to be an extremely wet July).  Even the big mainstage festivals have cancelled for one more summer in Toronto at least, whereas life is starting to look more like normal in the States.  Whether they regret this opening up and pretending coronavirus is gone in the States and even moreso in the UK is a huge question.  This nonchalance is certainly one factor in Canada dragging its feet and not coming up with new rules on reopening the border, which is starting to be a huge issue for ordinary Canadians. 

The Hall & Oates/Squeeze tour was finally cancelled completely with no indication of whether it will be rebooked, though probably not.  Barenaked Ladies and Toad the Wet Sprocket are currently expecting to be coming through in the summer of 2022, which is quite a delay.

Erasure is playing at Meridian Hall in Jan. 2022.

Cowboy Junkies will be at Massey Hall in April 2022.

Pet Shop Boys and New Order plan on playing Toronto in Sept. 2022.

And that's pretty much it in terms of groups I want to see.  Now I do see that Skye Wallace is the opening act for the Julian Taylor Band, and they are going to attempt to have some in person attendees at their July 24 gig at the Horseshoe Tavern, though most people will be streaming from home.  I guess that is sort of tempting, but the pressure of needing to book 2 or 4 tickets at a time is off-putting for me, so I doubt I would try to go in person.  Perhaps more things will open up this fall, but realistically I'm not likely to see anything live until 2022, which is a drag.