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| Aug 2 featured Classic Rock, Reggae, & Laughs! |
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| Free Parking @ Rock Pile West Nightclub |
Recently, I discovered a new rock and live entertainment venue - well new to me anyway. I'd heard of
The Rock Pile before and knew they had two locations, one in the east end one one
the west end of Toronto. But I hadn't attended a show yet and was now glad I had.
The stage size is nice for bands to start with, and the set-up leads to an intimate setting, but it was more than that, the place reeks of fun from the minute you pull up, with its prison themed paraphernalia keeping you howling all night long. I near buckled over when I saw the wall of shame, but the electric chair coming complete with switch told me this was not only
a rock house, but a fun house too!
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| It's hard to leave this place once you're here! |
I tried my hand at 'selfies' at the mugshot wall with mixed results as myself and members of the band
The Yappers who were to be appearing that night, took turns snapping each others photos. It felt like a
Beatles movie with us laughing like school kids at the C.N.E., and, come to think of it, had a similar feeling to it! It brought a fun, playful spirit out in everyone it seemed and as I later relayed this to band leader / composer
Ray Yap he replied that every show they've done there has been a blast! I don't know about you but to me that makes a diff - great entertainment helps too of course - but in between smiling doesn't hurt!
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| Call me |
The same guy who owned Toronto's infamous
Big Bop, which was located downtown on Toronto's Queen St., also owns the Rock Pile locations and kudos to him for not only keeping two great stages open for performers but for being so theme oriented! I love themes and this place is just great! Barb-wire on the patio!? Ha. Death row..and on. Even as we walked the perimeter on the outside it was detailed. Really cool.
Fun stuff aside, without good live entertainment to round out your night the themes a wasted but not on this night as
The Yappers and guests rocked the place and the house sound man was
spot on. Quiet in his set up and an older guy, he certainly knew his stuff adding some magic to the performers on the night as well. I don't think
The Rock Pile guarantees him every show but it sure helps!
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| Yappers Ray and Stew warm up |
The Yappers et al must have made an impression on the place because they were invited to put together a show featuring not only them and their unique brand of reggae country rock, but also other classic rock and reggae connected acts from their club colleagues, and introducing a new all ages sensation in a show that crossed generations for sure! X, Y AND Z!
Also on the bill
H TO Oh -
Undefeated -
Carl Braund and
The Shallow Seas
I myself,
Tom Pearson, agreed to come add some colour to the show through Emceeing the evening and had promised to keep it clean..er..well...relatively so..Ha!
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| Carl Braund |
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| APPERS - A new online band lol! Use you Y Phone! |
The show started off with Myself going through a bit of a walk down memory lane to warn the kids - we had an all ages band in the house, Undefeated,to stay away from drugs by pointing out that while our parents may have sacrificed through wars, Vietnam, The Beatles and all the good drugs, people in our generation were sacrificing our brain cells! We lived through paraquat for God sakes. Rat poison was used in the making of acid If it wasn't for the sacrifices our generation made for them they wouldn't be apparently curing cancer now..." Ha, Okay I didn't go that far but I did introduce the first act afterward that being
Carl Braund a singer/composer who played mostly original Genesis-like numbers and a couple of covers including a stirring elton johns
My Song rendition, and was a good warm up to an evening of
energy yet to come.
Following
Carl Braund, I had originally scheduled in to announce the next act on the slate
H TO OH, but hadn't been informed they'd arrived so...What else, we had an air guitar contest! Ha. With help from a couple of younger audience members who, as it turned out, had never seen air guitar before, but who gave it their "all" against me! Wow..swear to you know who, I barely got through it..frickin' longer than I'd imagined it..of course who knew the new generation didn't know air guitar and I'd have to carry the entire song almost!? What have we done!!? Ha.
Next up was
Undefeated who are an amazing group of young talent with alternating lead singers and instrumentalists, and drumming that would make Ed Sullivan roll over in his grave. Like the Osmonds, only they play too. And maybe not the dancing.Lol. I look forward to trying to have them looked at by the new ( re - release) show
Tiny Talent Time! Anyone remember that show as a kid? If you do don't admit it! Lol.
After that It was
The Yappers who have come a long way since I first heard them a few years back now. I told
Ray Yap after the show how far they've come, and that I could really feel it from them - which is important. Anyone can play, but there has to be fun and feel, or it's not rock n roll..or reggae..or country...
The Yappers' hard work is paying off - now into the semi-finals
of a North America wide talent search for a concert in China - with
winners performing for 800,000,000 people! Holy Chow!
Before announcing
The Shallow Seas, mistakenly as the last band, a member of the Ska-ish band asked if I could announce them as
THE Shallow Seas, not Shallow Seas, and I took note, literally, on my hand by writing it. Ha. I didn't trust myself and thought better safe than sorry but never did need it. Ha. Their first song seemed a little tentative but their mini throng of followers told me there might be something more to them and I wasn't wrong! These guys could rock! The lead singer after getting into a groove was showing the mic a bit of love whilst the others and lead guitar especially also got their energy levels whipped into a frenzy at times.
The Beatles cover was o.k. but doing
The Guess Who was absolute killer, while the original material was outstanding. Not sure how the
Fox fits the theme, but the guys say someone brought
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| H TO OH |
along to a gig one day and it just stuck. I told the crowd afterward I'd been worried with all the hip hop loving new generation avbout the future of rock but with bands like these guys coming down the pipes - and all the bands to that point - I could rest easy. Great job lads!
Quickly after they were done I made sure to let the crowd no that
H TO OH was still to come, and, as the last band it is always tough, so as some bands were unloading and some followers streaming outside to chat and smoke, I felt for that final band. But hey, I was almost spent! Lol.
Still in I went determined to rock on, which I did, and they did, all classic rock, playing the whole gamut and good old Canadian stuff too with everything from Bryan Adams, to
Neil Young with a memorable performance with the vocalist / Drummer and his son accompanying them. The good ol boys showed em all they could still rock and made for a classic ( rock) ending!
House Sound man Jake was again phenomenal, even playing along with my air guitar game without complaint. Lol....and somehow I avoided being thrown in the hole or face the firing squad!
Great venue, great (place to do) time! TP OUT!
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| Laney V and Stew set up for a Yappers gig |
Get Electrified @ The Rock Pile West - 5555 Dundas St West, Etobicoke, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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| Ray Yap gets into it |
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| sound check! |
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| Band-mate rivalry begins |
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| Helix!? |
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| Yes Bob Marley is there too... |
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| home sweet home! |
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| Busted! |
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| Ah, guys...jokes over let me out now....guys?! Guuuuuyyyyyssssss! |
When I was a 'kid" rock and roll bars were the norm. If we weren't always mesmerized by the next big acts coming to Toronto we were entrenched in the bar band scene, each having favorites.
Recently, an old haunt from the heyday, the Silver Dollar, was designated an historical building. Wow, they must feel this is a breed becoming extinct. The SD featuring top acts on the scene at one time along with the never a cover Gasworks, upstart Rock & Roll Heaven, the Rivoli, Diamond Club, Big Bop etc and what became The Guvernment, which just closed last week and had once housed bigger acts - all gone now. Ditto the El Mocambo where recently I saw one of the final shows there featuring The Yappers.. The bars that do house live acts still, often prefer cover tunes, eliminating an entire element to the scene, including stunting the artistry of live performers. 
The evening will open with house music followed by TPE intros and fun stuff before the phenomenal Brits and American blues inspired Sean Abbott Band, playing a mix of originals and covers in the rock and blues genres, take the stage. Sean, who has played with greats including guys who played with Clapton is expected to electrify the room, along with his band-mates, making for an unbelievable live experience!
Hip Hop 'till you drop! Stoked!
