Toronto was intent on providing us with a multitude of weathers yesterday. It was blue skies when I hopped off the bus. Crisp and refreshing and carrying a brisk wind that chilled to the bone. We were parked outside the theatre on Danforth Street and to the west a great cluster of skyscrapers were huddled around Toronto’s downtown. I was hungry and cold and decided to break my fast with a visit to the local ramen joint, a spot that called itself Ryus Noodle Bar. The phonetic that this restaurant name suggested was misleading as most of the dishes contained wheat noodles, but that didn’t put me off for a second. I ordered a vegetable shoyu ramen – carrot, napa cabbage, bean sprouts, sesame seeds, deep fried tofu, arugala, and white fungus with thin egg noodles. The broth was a clear,…
Toronto was intent on providing us with a multitude of weathers yesterday. It was blue skies when I hopped off the bus. Crisp and refreshing and carrying a brisk wind that chilled to the bone. We were parked outside the theatre on Danforth Street and to the west a great cluster of skyscrapers were huddled around Toronto’s downtown. I was hungry and cold and decided to break my fast with a visit to the local ramen joint, a spot that called itself Ryus Noodle Bar. The phonetic that this restaurant name suggested was misleading as most of the dishes contained wheat noodles, but that didn’t put me off for a second. I ordered a vegetable shoyu ramen – carrot, napa cabbage, bean sprouts, sesame seeds, deep fried tofu, arugala, and white fungus with thin egg noodles. The broth was a clear, lightly kelp and shitake mushroom liquid combined with original shoyu sauce.
When I left the noodle house it was snowing. It was only a light snowfall, but the wind was picking up the flakes and whipping them along Danforth street with a fury. Everyone on the bus was very excited for the first snowfall of the tour. The skies were grey and for the moment the skyscrapers of downtown were obscured in the haze.
Tristan and I treated ourselves to a run in the Don Valley. There is a green space which runs through the centre of the city and some great trails can be found and run upon, if that is your chosen method of propulsion. The weather was varied across the eighty minutes of our journey. There was snow, there was sleet, and there was some light rain. It was great to get out among the trees and the mud and see one of the great urban recreation areas on the north American touring circuit.
The Danforth Music Hall turned out to be a very fine room for music making. The building dated back to 1919 and served most of its life as a movie theatre, and the sloping cinema floor remains. Between the seated balcony and the standing room downstairs there is space for around 1400 patrons, which seems to be an ideal size for a music show. The backstage was a bit of a warren with a couple of dressing rooms that very quickly became crowded, but this is often the case with old theatres, and you just remind yourself how charming it is and enjoy the closeness with your comrades. There was a window that let in a small amount of natural light, and this was better than most venues manage.
Where the Danforth excelled was the stage sound. The clarity was exceptional, and I could hear the playing and singing of my bandmates with a level of detail I seldom get to experience. The Toronto crowd seemed to love being in this venue as well and we felt lucky to share this room with them for the evening.