Last Day of the Fringe

On a more positive note, I've been off seeing quite a few Fringe shows.  I even went to a children's show (Madame Winifred's Circus of Wonders).  I had thought it would be aimed at a slightly older crowd, but it was squarely aimed at children under 10, and wasn't quite as interesting or charming for the adults in the crowd.  I would highly recommend it for children, however.  It actually is coming back with an extra show on Sunday at 3 pm as a Patron's Pick.

I really enjoy the sketch show You Lost Me at Alumnae.  I saw this on Friday.  It looks like they have a few tickets left for Sunday at 5 pm.  It's a young cast with lots of energy doing different sketches, including a Zoom office call that turns into a rave, and listening to classic rock on the radio where every artist is singing about having a 13 year old girlfriend.  (The 70s really were a different time...)  

I also enjoyed the two improv shows I managed to see -- All Our Parents are Immigrants (and indeed I think this is basically the same show I saw in Aki Studio a few years back) and Before We Go, which is about what happens on the last night of the world.  I managed to get in to see both of them another time, which is often worth doing as improv is always so different between shows!  Immigrants runs tomorrow at noon (a few tickets left) and Before We Go at 1:45, so I will have to rush between the venues on my bike, but it should be doable.  It does look like the last show of Before We Go is sold out.  (Great for them, but not for you...)

I had debated going to see Gringas, but kind of hesitated, and then the reviews came in really strong.  However, the best day for me to see it was Wed. at 7, and it was sold out.  If the Sat. show had been a bit later, I could have seen it right after Madame Winifred, but I just needed a bit more time between sets.  At any rate, I looked first thing this morning, and Gringas had one more show added as Patron's Pick at 7:45 on Sunday, so I scooped up a ticket.  Score!  (My lucky 13th show of this year's Fringe!)  It appears there are still a few available.  So that will be a good way to round out the Fringe, even though tomorrow is quite busy!  I'm also going to squeeze in Bus Stop, a murder mystery set at a Toronto bus stop, and Death of a Starman, which is about an astrologer on the run from the mob.  I haven't really heard much about either of them, though, given that the reviewers are thin on the ground these days, that is kind of to be expected though certainly unfortunate...

I did hear positive things about Monks but just couldn't find a way to see that.  I hadn't really wanted to see 86 Me, which is about the Toronto restaurant business, as I got a bit triggered by the raccoon.  It did get quite good reviews, however. Maybe if either of them transfer somewhere else (like Crow's Theatre), I might try to check them out.  On the whole it was a pretty good Fringe, which is great.  I've more or less given up on SummerWorks, as they barely have any traditional plays at all any more.

The rest of Sat. was pretty full.  I ran right over to BMV and managed to sell off a few more CDs and DVDs.  I'm slowly making a dent in the stacks of random things in the back office.  Oddly enough, they wouldn't take Rushdie's Victory City, which is his very latest novel (well, not counting Knife).  Maybe they got a bunch of them remaindered or something.  All I know is when I was looking to pick up a copy, nobody had them in stock, so I had to order a copy, and now it isn't worth anything.  Fudge.

I put in about an hour of work at Robarts, then ran down to The Rex to see the Chris Hunt Tentet.  It was sort of absurd seeing them all crowded together on the bandstand.  

Generally they were a bit too loud for my taste.  I only got about half a page of my planning saga written, whereas last Thurs (when I saw Neil Swainson with Dick Oatts), I managed 10 pages!  I also dropped off a copy of a Woody Shaw CD to Neil, since he had never seen or heard of this release, so that made it especially worth going out.  

Today, I left after the first set, and then ran over to the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair (which runs Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm).  I saw a few pieces I liked quite a bit.

This artist, Ximena Montecino, is heavily influenced by Alice in Wonderland.

This artist had a whole series of paintings and etchings of a fairly creepy merry-go-round.

Oleg Lipchenko, Carosello Divina - Carousel V

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This artist, Zia Syed, made three dimensional friezes of architectural elements of imagined cities (not entirely dissimilar to Calvino).  I'm very tempted by the piece on the left, but I am trying to hold off on buying any more art for the time being.  Maybe I'll sleep on it and see how I feel in the morning.

If I had a bit more time, I probably would have dropped in on the TMU Image Centre. I probably have seen their current exhibits but am not 100% sure. Next weekend, I am hoping to get back to The Power Plant and the AGO to show my son the modernism exhibit they are running, esp. the Rothko (back on view for the first time in ages!). If there is time, maybe we can swing by 401 Richmond as well.

Mark Rothko, No. 1, White and Red, 1962

So in the end, it was a pretty busy day, and tomorrow is even more jam packed.  I probably ought to get some rest, so I am not dragging all day...