8 July – Toronto, ON. It’s a perfect summer’s day out in the Junction, one of Toronto’s iconic neighbourhoods. Over here, there’s a secret place that hosts an intimate evening of music. Known as “Rooftop Revue“, the shows take place on this random couple’s rooftop apartment. (There are only about room for about 35 people so getting a ticket may be a little tricky. The answer? Buying them early.) They are sponsored by Collectives Arts Brewery, which tells me this is a very cool place to be.
Chara Kai-Le
Starting at 7:30 Chara Kai-Le was the first of two acts to perform this evening. At the beginning of the show, she let us know she is a woman of the world. Her full name from two different languages means “Joy, Joy.” It sounds like she’s half of the Ren and Stimpy song. (Happy, happy, joy, joy.)
Another reason for her worldliness is she sings pop music. She gets her influences from different parts of the world. She can even sing them in a different language, Very Impressive!
Chara was excited because she knew this was the place to try out new material. She was writing songs up until the night before so she could try them out on this audience.
This is an excellent place to do this. As an audience member, it always gives me a thrill if a song does well; I have the bragging rights to say I heard it first at Rooftop revue.
She even broke out a guitar and played it live for the first time. This is an artist willing to take some chances.
Chara let us know this acoustic Brazilian song she was about to sing, normally is very loud with about 20 drums in the background making a large noise. Now we got to hear the quiet side on guitar.
Personally I really enjoyed her song- “Fool”. It is a song about those people who think they know everything. When you do that, you tend to have lost your curiosity and passion for life. So, hear me when I say, stay curious and open. Your world will be so much more wondrous and you will quietly become your own know it all, without the boasting, like a fool.
If you wanna hear more of her, and see where she’s performing next, check out her Instagram: @charakaile
Daltonists
The Daltonists were a real treat and a rare one. I don’t know how Stephen got these guys to play, but I am really glad he pulled it off.
The first treat was that this trio is in the middle of a Canadian tour. They had just played Drom Taberna the night before and then were going to head all over Ontario and Quebec.
This band came all the way from Poland to make their mark here in Canada. After what I witnessed, I will go and see them again when they decide to return.
There are three and sometime more sounds that I hear when they play live. This is definitely a groove band with a funky bass player. They slide into Improv Jazz quite easily and they have an electronic factor that gives them a slightly cool new age sound.
I love the fact that this band creates in colours. This is how they view their music. They would give us a story and then says they are going to play this one with the colour of California Plum.
I won’t forget their 2nd piece. I forgot the colour, but the sound at one point was that of the dreaded Dentist drill. It was the sound of some kind of awakening against this harsh sound. Who knew that a cavity could send you into a different dimension? It must be the laughing gas that they were using.
Another colour was Okra. This piece was created with South Africa in mind. Once they got into that groove, they created around the colour. I swear I could taste this one. It was like fine dining. The dishes tasted so unique, your pallet walked away very satisfied. I can still taste it.
Follow Daltonists on their Instagram (@daltonists) to peep where their Canadian tour takes them next.
Conclusion
This is why we go out to enjoy our short summers outdoors. Be sure to check out @rooftoprevue on Instagram for information on the next one!
(In fact, if this description of a wonderful summer’s evening didn’t enchant you to at least look up their site for the next set of tickets, please enjoy your free TUBI this season indoors. Oh look, whats that linked below?)
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