I see with a (minor) sense of shame that I did not get around to filling in this post until the Toronto Jazz Fest was essentially over. There is one day left (today), and I am likely to catch the Bernie Senensky Septet at 6:45 on stage at Hazelton Ave. in Yorkville. I wouldn't say this was a particularly interesting or compelling Jazz Fest, though I caught a couple of acts earlier in the week (Melissa Aldana and Kris Davis). Mostly they are getting fairly big pop or jazz-lite names to appear (Diana Ross and Norah Jones) for the ticketed shows. Chris Potter is showing up at the Rex, though the tickets are far beyond what I am willing to spend ($55 or so) to see anything at the Rex. I'm a little sad I didn't find anything to go to at the Rex during Jazz Fest (I was tempted by Autobahn, but then listened to their music on Youtube and realized I didn't like it after all). But the shows in July look fairly strong and I may make it out a few times, perhaps to see Allison Au and maybe Kirk MacDonald.
I did see the Kindred Spirits Orchestra last night playing Prokofiev's Symphony 2, Hindemith's Symphonic Metamorphosis and a lost Piano Concerto by the Canadian composer André Mathieu. Apparently, the score was recently reconstructed from a performance recorded on some 78s and some stray parts! The last movement was fairly interesting, though it did have about 3 too many false endings. (Maybe it could have been used on the Lord of the Rings soundtrack...) Overall, it was a strong concert. I had decided at the last minute to go, and knew from experience that I could just show up and get a ticket. (I'm still a bit annoyed/chagrined that the orchestra in Hamilton was so shambolic about letting people know if the box office was actually going to be open and missed out on a Prokofiev Violin Concerto that I wanted to see.) On Canada Day, the KSO will be off in Unionville doing some crowd-pleasing marches and bits of film scores. That's a bit far for me to go. There is a chance I will catch them next May in Richmond Hill doing Shostakovich's Symphony 15 and then, almost certainly, a year from now at the Glenn Gould Studio downtown doing Tchaikovsky's Symphony 5.
It doesn't look like there is quite as much music at Nathan Phillips Square this Canada Day (one year I saw Barenaked Ladies there), but there will be some sort of celebration at City Hall. Also, after quite the kerfuffle when the government cancelled the official celebration, the Liberals are having a smaller picnic at Queen's Park on Canada Day. Now lists a bunch of other things to do. Probably the most interesting of the bunch for me is Broken Social Scene at Harbourfront, but I think I will pass, having seen them already as the openers for Arcade Fire.
One interesting experiment that goes through July into early August is Outside the March's The Tape Escape, where groups of 4 or 8 patrons explore the recently-closed Queen Video store. I think it is inspired by escape rooms, but I certainly hope it isn't an actual escape room, since that is not something I want to do. (Also, it has to be wrapped up in an hour one way or another.) Well, I'll find out soon enough, as I am going on July 5. In the fall, Outside the March is putting on Annie Baker's The Flick. I've already seen this (Steppenwolf in Chicago), but the fact that Outside the March puts so much effort into the immersive side of things, and the fact that it is playing right around the corner at Crowsnest has inspired me to go again.
Another exciting development is that the Toronto Fringe decided that, based on the solid sales from last year's Fringe for the site specific shows east of the Don River,* they could set up an actual site at Crowsnest, so there will be a bunch of Fringe shows there this year. Now I have to admit, none of them completely grab me, but I think I'll go to one or two just because it is so close. For me, the best of the bunch seem to be The Huns and In Waking Life. I'm just about to put my Fringe order together, and I think the others I'll check out are an outdoor performance of The Taming of the Shrew, Molly Bloom, The Commandment, Three Men and a Bike, probably Dandelion and perhaps Box. That's a healthy number of shows, but nothing like last year when I ending up going to see 12 or more shows (I've lost count and don't feel like trying to reconstruct last Fringe). I actually have to compress Fringe a bit more than normal, since I have family in town for the second week and will mostly be doing touristy things with them.
I haven't entirely decided, but I may check out the Hamilton Fringe in the later part of July. But having taken a quick look at the schedule and my vacation plans, I probably can't realistically make it out there.
I'm also just exploring the SummerWorks schedule, which covers early August. This incarnation looks extremely political and experimental, with very few works that are traditional plays or even sketch shows. Clearly there is a place for this (and apparently this place is SummerWorks), but this doesn't really interest me at the moment. And that makes me a little sad. My 20 or even 30 year old self would have been all over this, but I am at a point where I just don't really feel that political art makes a difference (other than allowing the creators, and to a lesser extent the audience, to vent). They have a sort of interesting tour/performance piece on a bus, but it is at a time when I can't go, and then there is a staged reading of Nicolas Billon’s Greenland, which I might check out. There is also the 3-hour Antarctica, which seems like a longer version of Greenland, so I have to decide if this really is a good use of my time...
Back to the outdoor theatre theme, Driftwood Theatre is doing their Bard's Bus Tour again and this year they are back in Withrow Park on July 26 and 27. Last year for some reason, they skipped Withrow. They are doing a musical version of A Midsummer's Night's Dream. I think I'll go, even though a year or two back, Shakespeare in the Ruff had a somewhat similar concept.
This year Shakespeare in the Ruff is doing The Winter's Tale (in late August-early September). This is far from my favourite Shakespeare play, though I'll likely go to show my support.
I'll likely skip Shakespeare in High Park again, as I just find the seating excruciating. I definitely have no interest in Measure for Measure. I have perhaps a bit of interest in Much Ado About Nothing, but so much depends on the cast and the direction. (Upon further reflection, I recall that I find the main plot fairly appalling and the antics of Benedick and Beatrice don't really make up for it. I think I'll pass, having seen this twice already over the past 3 years.)
I'm still probably skipping Shaw entirely (Barker's Victory is the only thing that might induce me to go, and this is definitely a feel-bad piece), but I'm now leaning towards Henry VIII at Stratford, though I have to figure out the most reasonable time to go, which may ultimately be in September.**
I think this covers the main events this summer, or at least the ones that have caught my attention. Actually, I have hardly looked into music at all. I was a bit bummed that some groups are touring but skipping Toronto, and in general, I'm not that interested in music festivals. For me, some of the most interesting concerts will be in the fall or winter (Tinariwen at Danforth Music Hall and apparently Laurie Anderson in Jan.). However, there are some free concerts at Yonge-Dundas Square, and I'm fairly likely to try to see Skye Wallace on July 26. So it looks like I'll be fairly busy this summer.
* Not that I really expected it, but a bit of recognition for the trail-blazers of last year (and maybe a bit of a discount on a pass) would have been nice...
** In terms of other out of town activity, the main exhibit at Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal doesn't interest me that much, though the one the following year does. There's a reasonable chance we could even do that over spring break 2020, so that's sort of my tentative plan. I would like to get to Ottawa to check out the Gauguin exhibit which closes Sept. 8. It will be a bit of a challenge to squeeze it in, but I can probably make it.
No comments:
Post a Comment