Grey Cup Fun

I went downtown on Sunday afternoon with my buddy Tony to check out the Grey Cup tailgate party and I have to say, it was a lot of fun.
As I was waiting for him I saw a parade in the distance. So of course I went to take a closer look. Sorry for the poor quality of the pictures, I was using my iPhone.

The Grey Cup fan parade down Bay street to Front.

And of course I decided to join in and follow along.
A quick stop along the parade route for a cheque presentation with the CFL Commissioner and CFL legend Doug Flutie.

Walking with the Grey Cup and Doug Flutie and the CFL Commissioner.

Handing off the cup to fans along the route so they can carry it.

The pre-party on Front street.

Line up for the beer tent.

I am not a football fan and we didn't have tickets to the game, but being down there made us wish we had some. Great crowd, great atmosphere. In the end, a warm bar and some cold beers turned out to be the next best thing.

The Who

I went to see The Who the other night at the Air Canada Centre with my buddy Jim, who is the by far the biggest Who fan I know.

If memory serves me correct, this was his 27th time seeing The Who in concert, for me, it was my first.
Jim got to meet Simon Townshend, Pete's little brother and guitar player in the band.

I should of realized that a tour called Quadrophenia would not be a show for person new to the whole Who scene. You see Quadrophenia, The Who`s sixth studio album released in 1973 was a double album and the groups second rock opera. It is a story about a British teenager with schizophrenia growing up in London and Brighton in 1965 and his experiences dealing with it.
I know a lot of The Who's music, but I did not know much from their Quadrophenia album. Not a concert I would recommend for someone new to the band or without at least listening to the album a few times, but I was not surprised to see that the capacity crowd at the ACC knew every song from the album, which the band played from start to finish.

And even I was not disappointed as the band came out for their encore and played six of their more famous hits, which I am happy to say I knew.
Although there was no smashing of guitars on stage, I am happy to say these guys could still rock and I walked out of their fairly satisfied with my first Who experience.

Thinking of You

It was two years ago today that I lost my mom to cancer. I still think about her everyday and I miss her a lot. It has taken me a long time, but now when I think about her, I can finally get past the cancer part and remember all the good things about her.

She was an amazing woman and she was my mom.

I miss her a lot.

Chris Issak At Massey Hall

My wife and I braved Frankenstorm last night to catch Chris Issak at Massey Hall.

 The opening act was Toronto's own Emma Lee.

Normally she has a band to back her up, but last nights set  was just her and her guitar all alone on stage and man could she sing. I was blown away by her talent.

Chris Issak didn't disappoint the packed house of 3000 people either.

Issak and his band put on a great show with songs from his new album, old favorites and tributes to artists from the era of Sun Records, like Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley.

This show was as polished as it comes and that's a tribute to the fact that Issak has toured with the same band for 21 years. You could tell just by the way the band interacted with each other on stage, whether it was the choreographed guitar machine gunning the audience or playfully trying to show each other up on stage, this band knew how to put on a show and have a good time doing it.

And in case you were wondering, Issak still has the ability to make women of all ages swoon at his feet and he proved it numerous times last night, to their absolute delight.

We really enjoyed the show and gave it two thumbs up.

Sam's Birthday Dinner

It was my niece, Samantha's 27th birthday yesterday and to celebrate the occasion, my sister took us out to  internationally renowned chef Susur Lee's restaurant, appropriately called Lee, for dinner.

It was a culinary experience that would best be described as foodies gastric wet dream. The meal, was a selection of appetisers and main dishes selected by the chef, presented and served on small plates which are then shared with everyone at the table. The portions are intentionally small, just enough for you to experience the full flavour of each dish on your palate, but the plates of tasty Asian-French fusion keep coming and by the time dessert finally shows up, there is barely enough room left for it. But just like the rest of the meal, dessert was a dish designed to be shared with the table and it was really good.

Happy birthday Samantha and thanks to my sister for the great dinning experience.

Crazy Sky

Happy Birthday!

Look who is 14 years old today!

Hobbes the wonder dog, putting Eukanuba-super-dogs to shame since 1998.

Happy Place

A Walk Down Memory Lane

I was down in the old neighbourhood earlier this week and drove by this building. If you grew up in Scarborough, you will recognize this building.

And if you went to school in Scarborough in the 80's, this building had even more significance to you. The iconic Scarborough Civic Centre (that would be city hall to all you downtowners), which was on every notebook used by students from grade one to six.

Do you remember it now?

Biking Update

Moon Over Toronto

The moon setting over Toronto a few mornings ago.