Volume 28 Issue 1 | September 20 - November 8, 2022

MAINLY CLUBS
Hugh’s and Poetry
on the Move
COLIN STORY
Of the many experiences that point to our collective hunger for
dependable post-lockdown life, none has hit quite so close
to home for me as seeing post-secondary students get back
to classes. Sure, it still feels like a novelty to watch maskless people
thunking melons in the grocery store, restaurant patrons trying
each other’s drinks, or a trumpet player mercilessly spraying the
floor of a venue with spit-valve effluvia. But – as I experienced on an
unexpectedly brisk morning in early September, walking across the
University of Toronto campus for coffee with a friend – nothing quite
says “we’re back” like overhearing two new roommates arguing about
whether hanging a Quentin Tarantino poster would be “edgy and
transgressive” or “you know, uh, maybe a bit much, like… politically?”
During COVID, we witnessed seismic changes on the club scene:
closures, pivots, renovations, and rebrandings. For some organizations,
the enforced and recurring lockdowns meant the end: time ran
out. For others the lockdowns bought time for necessary rethinking
and new developments.
Hugh’s Room Live is one such development.
The original Hugh’s Room opened in Roncesvalles in 2001, and was
one of Toronto’s premier destinations for folk music, as well as rock,
jazz, world music, and a variety of other genres typical of Toronto’s
club scene – in a comfortable, quiet setting with clear sightlines that
allowed for the kind of engaged listening that performers relish.
After a 19-year run, though, the venue closed in March of 2020, due
to an unsustainably high increase in rent. Then, after a relatively short
hiatus, the Hugh’s Room team undertook two initiatives. The first:
fundraising, planning and developing a new permanent location: the
Broadview Faith Temple, at 296 Broadview Avenue. Originally built in
1894, the Temple was designed by
E.J. Lennox, architect for Toronto’s
Old City Hall and Casa Loma.
Through donations and loans,
Hugh’s Room raised more than $2
million for the purchase. A $2.2
million loan from the city sealed
the deal. If all goes according to
plan, the new east-end iteration of
Hugh’s Room will reopen at some
point in 2024.
In the meantime, Hugh’s Room
Live is operational as a concert
presenter, with shows this fall
mostly taking place at 3030
Dundas West, in the Junction.
A multi-use venue that hosts
musical performances, parties,
weddings and more, 3030 Dundas
is anchored by the restaurant
Young Animal, which is owned
and operated by the chef Adisa
Glasgow. Glasgow – who grew up
in South Oropouche, in Trinidad
– brings the flavours of his childhood
to Toronto, with modern
and personal touches (think
grilled pineapple chow, curry
prawns, and oxtail risotto). The
bar menu reflects the same heritage, with drinks like Island Old
Fashioned, Tamarind Whiskey Sour, and Scarlet Ibis sharing the bill
with a variety of wines and Ontario craft beers.
On Thursday, October 20, Hugh’s Room Live presents Sammy
Jackson at 3030 Dundas. Jackson – who took home a Juno Award
for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year for her 2021 album With You – is a
young Jamaican-Canadian vocalist who is quickly establishing herself
in Toronto and beyond. Joined by pianist Chris Pruden, bassist Mark
Godfrey, guitarist Tom Fleming and drummer Ian Wright, Jackson
sings modern jazz inflected with pop and R&B, mixing her originals
with revamped arrangements of classics such as Every Time We Say
Goodbye and All of You.
Poetry Jazz Café
Another organization on the move is Poetry Jazz Café, formerly in
Kensington Market, and now located at 1078 Queen St. West. The original
Poetry – a long, narrow room, decorated with books, empty bottles of
high-end alcohol, and posters of musicians, both local and internationally
famous – evoked New York in a way that few other Toronto venues do. It
is no surprise, then, that Sean Pascalle, Poetry’s longtime owner/operator,
refers to the new location as Poetry Lower Westside.
I spoke to drummer Eric West, who has taken over programming
duties at the new location. (Some late-September highlights: the
incredible trumpet Kae Murphy, September 24, the group Moonbliss,
September 28, and bassist/sound designer Caleb Klager, September 30.)
West has a long history with Sean Pascalle: “He and I go back about a
decade. I started playing at Poetry while I was doing my undergrad,
working quite a bit as a side person in other people’s bands.” Later,
West put together his own residency, which lasted for years, and his
working relationship with Pascalle grew into a real friendship.
The Kensington location featured a select number of acts playing
regular residencies. For the Queen West location, West wanted to
“branch out and cast a wider net.” Initial feedback from both staff and
clientele started to inform certain decisions regarding weekdays vs.
weekends. “The weekend crowd seems to favour more of an R&B/Soul
style of music, whereas the weekdays lend themselves well to jazz and
experimental music,” West explained, adding that these are divisions
definitely not set in stone. Whatever the genre, West has “no doubt that
if someone walks in on any day of the week, they’re going to witness a
high-quality performance.”
The new space is still undergoing an aesthetic transformation. “Sean
works hard to create an atmosphere
that both highlights the
performers and is attractive to
passers-by, who poke their heads
in and decide to stay for a drink.”
The Kensington location “had
a speakeasy, dive-bar kind of
vibe,” as West put it. The Queen
location distills this spirit in an
upgraded facility with better
amenities, a kitchen, a back
room “for local electronic dance
music artists,and more.”
It’s early days – the new Poetry
is only four months old – but
well worth a visit, both for fans
of the original and first-timers
wanting to show support for live
music as it re-emerges.
Our Mainly Clubs list
of performance venues
follows on page 44.
Young Animal's chef Adisa Glasgow, outside 3030 Dundas West
HECTOR VASQUEZ/BLOGTO
Colin Story is a jazz guitarist,
writer and teacher based in
Toronto. He can be reached
at www.colinstory.com, on
Instagram and on Twitter.
Poetry Lower Westside's Eric West
ERIC WEST
30 | September 20 - November 8, 2022 thewholenote.com