Wild Bill Ketelhut provides the "blog" to this anti-blog
Wild At Heart
This week I am going to start in with my Toronto trip which has been put on hold just trying to get organized. I will have my Royal Ontario Museum interview this week about the wonderful dinosaur exhibit later this week so look out for it. In the meantime, here is just a short look at why Toronto is my favorite big city (Detroit is second).
Of course, the main thing about Toronto is that everything comes through this city from Museum exhibits (like the Dinosaurs at the Royal Ontario Museum), bands (I saw Dead Can dance during my last trip and I’m going back at the end of this month to see New Order) and theatre. The town has great reasonable public transportation between the subways and trolleys and they have a new bike rental program. For 5 bucks you can get a bike and ride all over Toronto and leave it in another location. This is something unique though some colleges are trying it. It is pretty big scale though I am not sure how it works in the winter but for those nice summer days you can get a lot of mileage out of them.
The summer does have a lot going on. When I was up in Toronto last month, besides the Toronto Fan Fest, their was also the Toronto Expo (think State Fair), BuskerFest (celebrates street performers of all types like the living statue below) and and Harbourfront they had the Taiwanese Festival with food, wares and entertainment (like the O-Kai Singers and Dance Works shown below). I have been up there for all types of events and if you can find a nice place to park, you can spread out through the city no problem. I usually stay outside near the airport which gives me an easy drive in (and save about $30-$120 a night for hotels) and I found a nice parking garage near the Harbourfront which has about $10-$15 parking for the day so I can easily walk or get to public transportation to get anywhere I want. Looking forward to the upcoming Ripley’s Aquarium that is going to be between the Blue Jays Stadium and the CNN Tower.
And then there is the good food. I do miss places like the Organ Grinder (which had an organist complete with instruments around the walls that would accompany him and some vintage video game) to Lord Stanley’s Feast (love a place where you can eat with your fingers and it is encouraged). However, there is always new places of all varieties opening up. At the harbourfront, I ate at Spash by the water so I could see the singers on stage and had some Fish N Chips.
There is a new restaurant by the water called Bar Milano which specializes in Italian food and I had a nice pizza with all these different fancy sausage meats and as you can see it had a nice view of the water. Also, there are a number of museum including an photo exhibit along the waterfront.
When I hit up the Royal Ontarion Museum, I took in the Museum Tavern across the street (no relation). The museum had a dinosaur themed menu at the ROM but I wanted to eat some place new. So I walked up the stairs and had a delicious Elk slider with a mojito. I have had a few good Elk dinners in Toronto which is something you don’t seem to find in the states.
Sure the food is expensive by for some reason, I do not mind spending the money when up north. The Dinosaur exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum was breathtaking so look for my interview and review this week. I just got my photos downloaded from the exhibit and my notes together. Here is a preview to keep you going. Outside they have giant dinosaur footprints showing you the way to the door (in English and French).
And here is an illustration by Julius Csotonyi of a dinosaur they have on display at the ROM. Music lovers will note that the dinosaur Masiakasaurus knopfleri was named after the lead singer of the Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler, by a hip Paleontologist whose crew was big fans of the artist and whose music inspired the crew. I know I am jealous and wouldn’t mind having a dinosaur named after me. Anyway, stay tuned shortly for this.
In the meantime, go out and enjoy some great music, esp Peter Gabriel who is one of the best live artists I have ever seen.
Wednesday (9/26) – Peter Gabriel @ Palace Of Auburn Hills, Ben Harper @ Michigan Theatre
Thursday (9/27) – Dinosaur Jr @ St Andrews Hall, Joe Jackson @ Michigan Theatre, Thee Oh Sees & Timmy’s Orgasm @ PJ’s Lager House
Friday (9/28) – Detroit Cobras & Tyvek @ PJ’s Lager House, Expendables @ St Andrews Hall
Saturday (9/29) – Ruiners open for Inside Out @ Small’s, Frustrations @ PJ’s Lager House, Pop Evil @ Machine Shop (Flint)
Sunday (9/30) – Raveonettes @ Magic Stick, Ingrid Michaelson @ Power Center (Ann Arbor)
Monday (10/01) – Jessica Hernandez & the Delta open for the Growlers @ Magic Stick Lounge