Note to parents: when you work away from home too much and raise your eight kids on Alice in Wonderland and Ovaltine, you get this: an uncalled for sense of entitlement.
Meet a Comedy Troupe: Live from the CenTre
Live from the CenTre is a different kind of comedy troupe. Comprised of familiar faces from The Second City, this group takes on socially important and relevant issues — like teaching dogs how to read or recommending beets to cure depression — via an improvised web series.
We chatted with cast member Adam Cawley about giving a voice to rocks and clouds, the troupe’s Canadian Comedy Award nomination and what they find fascinating about the Centre for Social Innovation.
What is Live from the CenTre?
The CenTre is a not-for-profit, open concept incubator for small and socially-progressive businesses. And a comedic web series. Our [fictional] host, B. Gordon MacKie, interviews the owners of different businesses located at the CenTre. We create the characters and the interviews are improvised.
How did the concept for the show come about?
Brian [G. Smith] actually has an office at CSI with his company, YouandMedia. One of his projects was creating a real interview show with members of CSI to create awareness about these unique companies. When we saw these videos and the real people involved, we knew the whole building was full of these amazing passionate characters and they needed to be satirized and celebrated.
So obviously Live from the CenTre is a riff on the Centre for Social Innovation. Why pick on those guys?
The people at CSI are the best. They believe so hard in their business and they work very hard. We aren’t making fun of CSI, we’re just taking it one step further. We basically thought, “If this is true, what else might be true?”
What kind of socially-progressive businesses can we find at the CenTre?
Animal Literacy Group: Did you know the level of animal literacy in Canada is zero percent? One hundred percent of animals can’t read. With Scott’s method of intensive one-on-one training, animals will soon be able to take care of themselves. We hope. So far they can’t.
Incubator Project: Are you interested in perceptions and the way things are perceived? How about getting involved in projects and creating good work at various places? We tackle these issues and bring light to all of these topics that need it.
Earth Mouth: An organization that gives voice to the voiceless. Things like trees, rocks and clouds, in the world of social media.
Bag End: A group that wants to put an end to not only plastic bags, but all bags. They are very enthusiastic and excited about the potential of pockets.
What’s a typical day like at the CenTre?
Every day is different. Today we were trying to get our budget settled for our Wednesday salad potluck. One of our newer organizations, Guy Who Brings His Guitar to a Party, an organization that provides guys with guitars to show up at parties and force a sing along, showed up and started playing Tragically Hip. No one asked him to. We didn’t get our budget settled, but we did hear a new version of “The Scientist” by Coldplay.
Why should people tune in?
The characters we’ve created are extremely close to the people we’re satirizing. Knowing that these types of people really exist at this real building creates a different element to this show. It’s also improvised. Everything you’re watching is being created on the spot, which doesn’t happen with any other online series.
What are the future plans for Live from the CenTre? Would you like to see it on network TV eventually, or is a web series the way to go for this kind of material?
We’re finished our first season and have over 100,000 hits. We’re getting ready to re-release this season on The Second City’s new channel for web series, which is premiering very soon. We’re also pitching the show for television and getting ready to film a second season.
How often do new episodes air?
We were releasing episodes once a week and now you can visit the web site and see all 10 episodes.
Congratulations on your Canadian Comedy Award nomination. How did that feel?
It feels great. We’re really proud of the show and we’ve worked very hard to make it different from anything else we’ve seen on other web series. So to get recognized is great.
If you could sum up Live from the CenTre in three words, what would they be?
…Live From The…
The Details
Year established: 2011
Cast members: Rob Baker, Dale Boyer, Adam Cawley and Brian G. Smith. Directed by Chris Earle
Influences: CSI, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY
Catch them at: livefromthecentre.com
Shop till you drop tonight (or till midnight, whichever comes first)
Local fashion magazine Plaid has teamed up with Found Riches, a new shopping app, to present West End Riches, a shopping event taking place tonight that will keep participating west-end boutiques open until midnight, and, of course, offering discounts — so long as you snap and upload a picture of your new purchase.
Found Riches allows customers to snap their favourite in-store items and share them with their social networks instantly. Some of the city’s coolest boutiques (I Miss You Vintage, Fitzroy Boutique, Philistine, Bicyclette and Dalston Grey, to name just a few) are participating in the event and are offering discounts on the items featured by shoppers through the app.
If you’re staying in all day to avoid the heat, this is a perfect nighttime event to get out to and have some fun.
Moses McIntee is out — and pizza is in — at Lucid
Acclaimed mixologist Moses McIntee popped onto the Queen West scene earlier this year as the driving force behind Lucid Cocktail and Kitchen, which billed itself as a prime destination for molecularly-inspired libations. Yet just a few months down the road, we are surprised to learn that a regime change has taken place, with brand new management, a radically pared-down cocktail menu and a new pizza concept. The spot is now named simply Lucid.
McIntee’s replacement, new General Manager Derek Grandpre, explains that the decision for the overhaul was based primarily on economics. (And really, with Barchef just across the street, did Queen West really need another spot for $20 cocktails?)
“We thought the neighbhourhood needed more affordable food and drinks,” Grandpre says. “Something a little more casual.”
The new Lucid specializes predominantly in a menu of gourmet thin-crust pizzas and other Italian fare. While cocktails are still an attraction, the drinks menu has shrunk dramatically from the former 70-plus offerings — as well as being significantly less liquid-nitrogen heavy — which Grandpre says leaves more room for Lucid’s team of bartenders to improvise in line with customers’ needs.
“We’re leaving [the drinks] up to our talented bartenders,” he says, “and that way it’s more of a collaboration with the customers.”
And what of noted bar star McIntee, whose project was so eagerly anticipated by Toronto beverage aficionados?
“I don’t think he thought it was the right fit for him and his team,” Grandpre says.
Morning Throwback: is it just us, or were political rallies more interesting back in the day?
We know all about throwing shade at political rallies, but throwing punches? That’s hardcore. And the guy on the receiving end is just so cool about it. He’s all like, “Give it to me.” Somebody probably said, “Dude, no one’s gonna to show up at the rally,” and he said, “Don't worry about it” and then orchestrated the whole thing just to grab some attention. That’s really taking one for the team.
After 51 years, Senior’s Steak House & Restaurant heads into retirement
When it comes to Senior’s Steak House & Restaurant, Mary Marlett tends to get philosophical. “Everything has a life span, and nothing lasts forever,” she says. Marlett is the daughter of Eddie and Cathy Marlett, the long-time owners of the Yonge and St. Clair institution, who recently decided to close down the beloved eatery after more than 50 years in business. Their final day of operation is June 23.
The decision to close was a necessary one on account of the Marletts’ age — Eddie is 86, while Cathy will soon be 70 — but that didn’t make it any easier.
“I was writing up a [farewell announcement] to post on the door,” recalls Mary, “and my dad wanted me to add a line saying ‘we might be back someday’.”
It actually isn’t the first time that the Marletts have tried to part with the restaurant. In the late ’80s they sold Senior’s in order to focus on developing a Richmond Hill dining spot. However, when the new owners hit financial troubles and the restaurant faced an uncertain future, the Marletts came to the rescue.
Eddie isn’t the only one having trouble letting go. On account of its quality, good-value food, friendly service and charming, old-school ambience (Mary estimates the last renovation took place in 1969), Senior’s has attracted a large group of loyal customers who don’t yet seem ready to say goodbye. According to Mary, some have begged her not to let the restaurant close, while others have taken a more direct approach — telling her that her family simply can’t close.
Senior’s, which first opened its doors in 1961, doesn’t have anything special planned for a big send-off. Still, that doesn’t make the loss of a piece of Toronto history any less significant.
Theatre Review: Top Gun! The Musical
“Highway to the Danger Zone” was right. The latest adaptation of Top Gun! The Musical, playing at the Lower Ossington Theatre, spins out of control almost as furiously and tragically as the F-14 jet that crashed in Top Gun the movie, killing Maverick’s lovable partner, Goose.
The premise of Top Gun! The Musical sounds like a big joke: it’s a show within a show about a director that’s trying to bring the popular Tom Cruise action flick to the stage as a mega-musical. Here’s the hook: he doesn’t do it very well. And in a classic case of art imitating life, the same can be said for this former Toronto Fringe Festival hit.
The initial impression of the stage’s set is disappointing. A single chair strapped onto a piece of rolling plywood is the centerpiece. Plastered across the walls are hand-made drawings of the characters. A large folding table is downstage left with a Ziploc bag of Goldfish crackers sitting on top of it. By all accounts, the set looks nothing like a stage but a rehearsal space — and that’s exactly the point.
Top Gun! The Musical tells the story of a stressed out stage director named Billy (played by a very harried Liam Volke) and the zany cast of actors hired to bring the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced blockbuster to the stage. The real life actors play actors who are referred to by their characters’ names only, which is fitting, since their personalities match their iconic alter-egos.
There’s Maverick (Stephen Cullen), who makes the ladies swoon, but is more clueless than cocky; Charlie (Alicia Coelho), the diva, who slept her way to the top, and Iceman (Jay Mitchell), the other diva, who doesn’t hesitate to exaggerate the homoerotic moments between himself and Maverick (including the popular “jaw snapping” scene). There’s also the director’s nerdy assistant Wendy (played by the talented Michelle Jedrzejewski), who has a crush on her oblivious boss, and The General (played by a bawdy Michael Lambert), the producer with sketchy investors who would prefer Goose be called “Duck” instead. And speaking of Goose, he’s now a she (played by the scene-stealing Meghan Barron) in a surprise gender-switch that is never explained.
I wanted to like this play. Being a huge fan of ‘80s flicks, shows-within-shows and Tom Cruise’s smile, I wanted this production to be equally as awesome as the movie. It had promise. The opening number, with Goose pushing Maverick around in that aforementioned rolling chair apparatus (which is supposed to be a cockpit, apparently) singing “We’ve Got a Plane to Catch” is, well, catchy. But soon after, the show quickly takes a nosedive. The actors just continue to act out scenes from the movie and perform random musical numbers, which would be all right if the majority of the actors could carry a tune.
Although the film Top Gun still holds a special place within my cinephiliac heart, I’ve definitely lost that loving feeling for Top Gun! The Musical.
Top Gun! The Musical, The Lower Ossington Theatre, 100A Ossington Ave., 416-915-6747. To June 29.
New TIFF film series pays homage to the good old days: when beefcakes ruled the screens
Starting today, TIFF Bell Lightbox is screening a new series starring two of Hollywood’s buffest behemoths: Arnold “I’ll be back” Schwarzenegger and Sylvester “I’m your worst nightmare” Stallone. From Conan the Barbarian to Cliffhanger, Schwarzenegger/Stallone: The Rise of Beefcake Cinema follows the trajectory of the post-Steve McQueen, pre-CGI superhuman action hero.
Below, our favourite moments from the non-franchise movies featured in the exhibition (because, really, how many times must we be subjected to Sly’s seriously wrecked face?) Now if we could just understand a word they were saying…
Conan the Barbarian
Conan gives the greatest answer to the greatest question in existence: “What is best in life?” (And for those who have trouble understanding him, he answers: “To crush your enemies, see them driven before you and to hear the lamentation their women.”) There’s no doubt about it: The Way of the Barbarian is for the straight-up hardcore bunch.
Demolition Man
What was supposed to be just a throwaway jab turned out to be (almost) prophetic when futuristic cop Sandra Bullock tells her partner, Stallone, that she recently checked some research materials out of the Schwarzenegger Presidential Library. Hey, if it weren’t for the Austrian thing, it could totally be true.
The Running Man
We’ll forgo one single clip in favour of showing the full-out trailer that proves that all of the best ideas from The Hunger Games were actually stolen from this movie, based on a Stephen King short story.
Cliffhanger
This action flick was entertaining as far as B-movies go, and it also had beautiful Colorado scenery and Stallone’s taut bod to boot, but by far the best scene of the movie was its heart-stopping opening.
Daylight
Before Stallone’s character comes in and saves the day (no pun intended), all eyes were on Viggo Mortensen’s character. Even before Viggo’s star-making turn in The Lord of the Rings, it was pretty clear then that he was a scene-stealer.
And just in case you were wondering what happened to these aging beefcakes, well, it looks like shoulder surgery is the new shape-shifting T-1000.
Schwarzenegger/Stallone: The Rise of Beefcake Cinema, TIFF Bell Lightbox, June 16 – Sept. 1
Crazy and quirky fashion at Power Ball 2012
Drawing some 1,700 guests out to the waterfront, the Power Ball is Hogtown’s big-ticket fête of the summer. Held at The Power Plant, this year’s fundraiser served to blow out the candles on the gallery’s 25th birthday cake, with a Quarter-Life Crisis theme inspiring attendees to don either their finest frippery or the wildest getup they could muster up. We checked out the scene, finding plenty of feathers, sequins and, well, orange (apparently Pantone’s colour of the year memo worked rather well).
The mixed crowd saw everyone from uptown socialites to downtown fashion types, with artists aplenty peppering the scene. Spread out over a series of rooms, guests were able to boogie in spaces outfitted with artwork by Jesse Harris, Jesi the Elder and, our favourite, Philippe Blanchard, whose sculptural pieces made dancers feel as though they were caught in a giant GIF.
Elsewhere, Sarah Febbraro interacted with guests directly through her live talk show, while Marisa Hoicka was holed up in a room of her own, obeying the directions of viewers at, literally, the flip of a switch. With options including Ceiling, TV and Beer, the artist was seen guzzling plenty of brews, much to the delight of onlookers.
Thanks to Marc Thuet, revelers noshed on corn on the cob, fancified poutine, and gussied-up mac ‘n’ cheese, with bison working its way into just about everything (there was one roasting on a spit, after all). As the night wore on, the scene got livelier, and folks danced their way into the wee hours.
Weekend Warrior: five must-see shows taking place this NXNE weekend
Flaming Lips
Probably equally as weird as they are awesome, The Flaming Lips are playing at Yonge-Dundas Square this Saturday and will surely prove to be the highlight of this year’s NXNE festival. In the past, their psychedelic, far-out sets have included spaceships, puppets, loads of confetti and, of course, Wayne Coyne’s “Zorb.” Fingers crossed that some of their collaborative partners such as Bon Iver, Yoko Ono, Nick Cave or Ke$ha make an appearance (but those pink robots — not so much).
Eight and a Half
Behold the holy triumvirate of rock gods: former Broken Social Scene drummer Justin Peroff has teamed up with former The Stills members Liam O’Neil and Dave Hamelin to form Eight and a Half. Though they’ve taken on more of a lo-fi, electro, melancholy vibe, their self-titled album on the Arts & Crafts label has been getting serious nods. Get into the gritty synth mood for Yonge-Dundas Square tonight by streaming their entire album.
Dan Mangan
Okay, we had to sneak in one Luminato show (we’ll make the exception for Dan Mangan). Saturday afternoon, the Vancouver folk singer-songwriter will be at Pecault Square. He’s received Juno nominations for his past albums, and his latest, Oh Fortune, was just long-listed for the Polaris Music Prize. And if his video for “Robots” isn’t the most adorable thing ever, you have a heart of stone. Since the show is at 2 p.m., you’ll have plenty of time to catch The Flaming Lips, too.
Oberhofer
Despite being only 21-years-old, Brad Oberhofer — along with his band, Oberhofer — plays amped-up jagged pop music that will have Lee’s Palace grooving on the dance floor tonight and again at Yonge-Dundas Square tomorrow. The Brooklyn-based band plays unconventional instruments such as the glockenspiel, strings and piano — which will make for one eclectic, crowd-pleasing show. Besides, any group that lists Bon Jovi as their muse is okay by us.
Raekwon and Ghostface Killah
Legendary Wu-Tang Clan pioneers Raekwon and Ghostface Killah will be closing the NXNE fest on Sunday. They’re pretty much the godfathers of modern hip-hop music, so expect it to be a massive show. They’ve just celebrated the Clan’s 20th anniversary and are rumoured to be starring in an Ol’ Dirty Bastard biopic, so we’re hoping for some old school jams. While some of their lyrics may not exactly be kid-friendly, you could always bring home a toy.
Jinks Art Factory opens in Parkdale, offering lattes, tattoos, art and apparel
Twin sisters Jen and Sarah Wetmore have banded together to open up a curiosity-filled treasure chest of sorts. Jinks Art Factory, located on Parkdale’s westernmost strip, is a little bit of everything. Up front, it’s a café complete with a vintage arcade game and seats overlooking Queen Street.
A retail space makes up the shop’s torso, with goods running the gamut from organic clothing to, well, organic lip balm. The walls serve as an art gallery, with Jen’s abstract paintings joined by work from other local artists. Tucked away in the back is a tattoo parlour where customers can get custom ink done ($80 an hour) while their companion browses. Prior to opening the shop, Jen ran a private tattoo studio out of her home for almost three years (she most enjoys working in black and shades of grey).
If shoppers aren’t quite ready to get an image of a sassy lady emblazoned on their bicep, there are plenty of non-permanent options to quench the shopping thirst. Illustrated cards from Creepy Christine possess a Tim Burton-esque attitude, and are a fun way to deliver atypical greetings to a friend ($5.00). We liked a graveyard version with little ghosts streaming skywards under a full moon. Other artsy finds include photographic prints from Shawn Hogan ($19.95).
Clothing picks include tees from the Quebecois line Tresnormale, which feature various silhouettes of the Toronto skyline ($26). Meanwhile, B.C. line Salts makes cozy organic sweatshirts with almond-shaped pocket details to keep you looking stylish. We liked the soft grey-green version ($88).
Two-finger rings from All Deck’d Out are crafted from bruised and battered skateboards ($28.80). We also love the bangles that come in both circles and squares ($26). Finally, keeping in line with their organic concept, the sisters pour lattes using Etobicoke’s Birds and Beans ($3.15 and up).
Jinks Art Factory, 1664 Queen St. W., 647-347-7779
Tony Aspler’s Weekly Wine Pick: Batasiolo Moscato d’Asti Dla Rei 2011
The perfect summer sipper. Pale straw with an evident fizz; floral, orange and honey nose; off-dry, light on the palate, semi-sweet. Chill lightly. It’s like biting into a freshly picked Muscat grape, and it’s low in alcohol at 5.5 per cent.
Food match: fresh berries
$14.95. LCBO #277194
Tony Aspler is Post City’s wine columnist. He has written 14 books on wine and food and also created the Ontario Wine Awards. He can be heard on 680News.
