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Lee’s Palace on Bloor St. West in Toronto

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Lee’s palace is a fabulous place to see a band. The history of the bands that have played there is long and legendary! It is Toronto’s premier alternative Rock venue.

The first floor is where the bands play and the top floor, called the Dance Cave, is where … well all the dancing goes on!

The list of past performers are a who’s who of international Alternative Rock bands. My favorites that have graced us with their musical presence were Shuffle Demons, Nirvana, Grapes Of Wrath, Tragically Hip, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Pursuit Of Happiness, Forgotten Rebels, Scott Merritt (a good old Brantford boy), The Lemonheads, Crash Vegas, Gaye Bikers on Acid, Goo Goo Dolls, The Tea Party, I Mother Earth, The Headstones (Hugh Dillion), Smashing Pumpkins, Spin Doctors (guitarist is from Toronto), The Rembrandts, Blind Melon, Philosopher Kings, Ed The Sock (he is a real sock!), Collective Soul, Oasis, Big Sugar, Toad The Wet Sprocket, Better Than Ezra, Alanis Morissette, The Presidents of The United States of America, Great Big Sea, even Yoko Ono played there in 1996 (with her and John Lennon’s son Sean in the backup band Ima!). As a side note: the best band that I ever saw there was called Needy Fingers, with world renown bassist Todd Williams! Cerafim, now called Counterpoint, performed there as well! Now that is an impressive line up!

The venue known as Lee’s palace has been open since 1985, It is located at located at 529 Bloor St. W. Toronto in The Annex section of the city. I have been in this place so many times that I can’t remember. Maybe it had something to do with earlier visits to Ye Olde Brunswick House only a hop, skip and a stagger away! Anyways, I just love that place!

The hall itself originally was opened in 1919 under the name of Allen’s Bloor Theatre. Part of the Allen’s theatre company that was started off by it’s owners in Brantford Ontario. Across the street is another great hall called The Bloor. Check out the video if your into local history.

So who else out there had a good time in this Toronto Landmark that they can remember! Go ahead, test out your old grey matter and write back here soon!

Lee’s Palace, Keep on Jammin’




Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2009 Concert

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This years 25th anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concerts was one of those shows that you wish that you had taken in! Both shows this year took place on Oct 29-30 at Madison Square Garden in New York city.

For Thursday’s show, the line up and set list was unreal! On Friday the line up was just as impressive!

There were far too many acts for me to single out which one that really got my attention but the best act that I saw on line was Stevie Wonder and Jeff Beck playing superstition! God those boys still ROCK!

If most of you like myself, who were not one of the many lucky ones in attendance at either show, it will on HBO U.S. in between Nov. 30, 2009 – Jan. 03, 2010 and HBO Canada in between Nov. 9th to Dec. 30th 2009 in HD. I just programed my PVR right now!

So did anyone out there check out either show in New York?

Keep on jammin’

BTO founders being sued

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The driving force behind BTO (Bachman-Turner Overdrive), Randy Bachman and Fred Turner, is now being sued by it’s remaining member’s. The former band mates, Robin Bachman and Blair Thornton, are suing the pair for using their own names.

After the group broke up in 1977, the lawsuit claims Randy Bachman and Turner signed away the rights to the BTO name to their two former bandmates and agreed not to use the Bachman-Turner Overdrive name without the consent of the other parties.

The lawsuit states that Randy Bachman and Turner signed two further deals in 1984 and 2002, saying they wouldn’t use the Bachman-Turner Overdrive name in connection to new recordings and live performances. CTV

The 1970’s Supergroup, made some great music back in the day. Randy and Fred were the brains behind the collection of musicians and I think that they should be able to use the name that they branded. I know the law is against them but when does common sense come into play in something like this? That’s all I have to say.

Here is my Top seven most loved BTO songs!

  1. Lookin’ Out for #1
  2. Not Fragile
  3. Let It Ride
  4. Takin’ Care of Business
  5. You Ain’t Seen nothing Yet
  6. Take it like a man
  7. Gimme Your Money Please

Keep on Jammin’ Randy and Fred!

The singing Cardiologist

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This is video is performed by the best Cardiologist that I’ve ever met! The guy does everything. It’s taken during a Christmas party a few years ago that I not attend. I work with all of these great people that are in the video and yes they are pretty much always that happy!

Warning, I hope that you have a strong stomach for this one.

Keep on Jammin’ (or should I say beating?)

Winterfolk 2010

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Winterfolk is a blues/folk festival that is held in Toronto’s east end that runs from February 12 -15, 2010. It is held in The Danforth Ave area in a couple of locations. It will be held at five or more clubs at the corner of Danforth and Broadview in Toronto, all within close walking distance of the subway.

What is Winterfolk? Well check out the link and view the video below for more details!

Last year’s festival was a big hit in the neighbourhood.

The bands were fabulous and the venues owners were quite happy with the turnout. The price for admission is very realistic for the amount of entertainment value that you will get in return. Besides, what else are you going to do in the dead of winter anyway?

If your an band looking to maybe partake in this annual Festival, there will be a few audition locations around southern Ontario in which to try out. for more info check out this link!

Keep on Jammin’

Portishead are back in the studio

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Portishead is one of those bands that just floored me when I heard them for the first time. This is one of the many bands that my wife and I, happy 20 years together baby and many more to come, love to listen to together.

Some people love it, some people are ok with it and others say “what are you high”? Some refer to their style as Trip Hop and that one sounds good enough for me! Others tag this genre as electronic, electro, acid jazz, ambient, hypnotic or chillout.

They’ve said that the name of their style, that the media critics have pigeon toed them into, is something that they find odd to say the least. They really don’t see themselves as that kind of band. They say much of their inspiration for their slightly other worldly sounding style comes from the very boring and commonplace everyday irritations that they’ve experienced in life.

The bands catalyst that nudges them into their own unique style of music starts off by the band being pissed off or grumpy at whatever is happening to them at that point in time. This is what really steers them into their musical direction.

The band’s sound is haunting, to say the least. I find my consciously drifting off when Protishead’s music comes floating out of my home stereo speakers. Their music puts you into some sort of trance that leaves you powerless to resist the new age musical orientation. It’s hard to argue that they in fact created their own distinct musical genre.

They are one of a few bands that forces me to be cognizant of their lyrical input, even though I not a great lover/follower of words (I know it shows in my lack of writing skills, I sure ain’t no literary Laureate!). My regular readers will realize this, my lack writing abilities, as a reoccurring theme that is constantly splashed all over this blog! Portishead is just a great band to listen to in my eyes! Ah the sounds of the 90’s!

The two CD’s we have in our collection are Dummy (1995) won them the Mercury Prize and their 1997 self titled album Portishead that went directly to the top 10 in Britain. Then after that … nothing. This silence has lasted up until now!

Portishead has just released a new album titled Third. Not much is known about it now but if it is anything like some of the bands earlier collaborations then we’re all in for a treat! I hope to find out later a little bit more about this album and expose you all to the bands magical spell that it holds over me!

The band consists of Beth Gibbons, Adrian Utley, Geoff Barrow and the odd time they throw in Dave McDonald into the mix, he’s a producer and engineer on their albums.

So has anyone else out there heard of these guys?

Keep on Jammin’ Portishead

Here are some interesting links to check out that is related to this post!

Morrissey’s health scare onstage

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Steven Patrick Morrissey, the 50 year old ex-lead singer from the Smiths, was rushed to a British hospital around 9pm last night in the middle of performing a show at the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon.

The 1000 audience members were taking in the Smith’s 1983 classic tune This Charming Man when his medical episode took place. He reportedly fell onto the stage, unconscious and was gingerly carried off by the stage crew.

Some at the show said he was looking strained and wincing while performing. Morrissey, who just happens to be doing a world tour, has already canceled a number of events this year due to an “unspecified illness”.

He was taken off to the nearby Great Western Hospital and there is still no word yet on his condition.

God speed in his recovery.

Keep on Jammin’


Hugh Dillon the musician

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As someone who loves the show Flashpoint and even Durham County, to a lesser degree, my favorite character in both is Hugh Dillon. He has that raw feel that he brings to us every episode which makes you want more. He is also one of those types of guys that we all knew of when we were in high school. Most critics feel that his musical past has help him develop into the actor that he is today.

He grew up in Kingston Ontario and had a classmate named Gord Downie from the band Tragically Hip. At the age of 17 they both had been bitten by the rock and roll bug. I recall in some article somewhere that he talked about a night when he and Gord were at this local Kingston watering hole called the Prince George. In the men’s bathroom they came across this 70 something blues musician smoking pot from a weird corn cob pipe. This made him think about his musical future.

Later on he was the lead singer in the popular band called The Headstones which started in 1987. It was definitely not one of those wedding type of bands. They were loud, obnoxious and were not that accommodating to their fellow members in the industry that they loved.

They first started playing at a place called Blue Moon Saloon on Bloor St. West in Toronto. What a great place to see a band. My buddies the Big Kahuna had their first start there! Then The Headstones got their big break at Sneaky Dee’s right down the street at it’s original location. Over it lifespan the band enjoyed nationwide radio-play and had a Juno Award nomination. They finally broke up in 2003.

The most popular commercial song they covered was called Tweeter and the Monkey Man(1993), from The Traveling Wilburys (1988).

Later on in his life he would be battling a part of the music world’s dark under belly. The one that no one whats to be exposed to … heavy drug use! His addiction to cocaine, followed by heroin, introduced him to the rough and tough side of life. Fortunately for him he found the right path and came back to us in one piece! He says it took him running up against that stone wall and back again that led him and the character that he portrays on TV, with the essence of actor that he came to be.

Hugh Dillon’s newest band is called The Hugh Dillon Redemption Choir. It seems a lot tamer then his earlier ventures with his old bandmates but you can notice him maturing as a singer. I really like their tune called The Gods have spoken His new sound, dare I say, sounds safer? It’s amazing how things can become quite tame when a cop walks into the room!

Keep on Jammin’

Warming up for the Next Who Tour

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Roger Daltrey is starting to limber up his stage persona and vocal act for the up coming Who Tour. The warm up gig for Roger, it is called the Use It or Lose It tour, started off in Vancouver at the Commodore on Sunday Oct. 11th, 2009. The 1920s Art Deco building is where a lot of British band like to play because of it’s look and the vibe that the venue has.

He was playing with his American band which includes his longtime collaborator Simon Townshend. Yes his brother is none other then Pete! They played 17 tunes and then performed 2 more for an encore. The show lasted around 1 hour and 40 minutes in length.

I’ve read that a couple of patrons were not all that impressed with the quality of the music but come on, it’s just a warm up! An interesting side note from some people at the show said that he has some reservations about the sound calling it weird and having a echo worst then a stadium. Hum, you’d think that he would be use to that stadium sound after all those years playing gigs in those places.

During the show he pulled something that I do when I’m playing for friends … he forgot the words to a song, Days of Light, stopped the band and then started back up again! See Sue, Roger Daltrey does that too when he plays!

Keep on Jammin’ (and try not to forget the words 1/2 way through a song and then start over again!)

Montreal’s Peace Love and Bongo Festival

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The name of this popular local tourist festival is known as Tam Tams. This event, that is held in Montreal’s Mont Royal Park, is a Sunday afternoon tradition that originated way back in the late 70’s or early 80’s, no one is quite sure.

It is a gathering of people who just want to hang out and have a good time playing music on hand held drums (Tam tam’s or Bongo’s).

My cousin’s husband just came back from Montreal this past weekend and told me of this great event that he just witnessed. To be honest with you, it sounds like freakin’ blast!

Imagine people hanging out playing music with that communal living feel to the gathering. Very young, old and anything in between sharing a peaceful afternoon or should I say vibe.

Tam Tams Montreal: A Mont Royal Tradition
Urban lore has it Montreal’s Tam Tams, named after the French word for hand drums like the bongo or djembe, started in the 80s, maybe late 70s, it depends on the source. According to writer Susan Krashinsky, it began with an African drumming workshop. For a change of pace, students convened in Jeanne-Mance Park on Mont Royal, beside the angel statue. Eventually, non-drummers joined in, dancing along with the ever changing beats until it became Tam Tams, Montreal’s Sunday tradition in the park. By 1994, the city of Montreal took charge of maintenance, security and marketplace permits.

Has anyone out there been to this gathering of the minds?

Keep on Jammin’ (or in this case Tam, Taming!)

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