The New 3030

3030 Dundas St west is now Rosario’s. The good news is Toronto did not lose a music club; it just changed directions a little bit. When 3030 closed, the music scene was saddened by its loss.  Rosario’s came in and decided to reopen as a new musical club. The place focuses on more Latin style music but is still open for emerging bands to play. Blast Toronto just added them to our directory and finally came to see one of the non-Latin nights with two jam bands.

Fat Cats

When I arrived, Fat Cats were just getting on stage, and within the first few notes I was surrounded by warm and laid-back sounds. Did I just enter the Grateful Dead zone? Well, they were smooth, and their sounds help me float around the room. They even pulled out some great Psyche Country sounds that seem to slip and slide its way into a form of joy. This evening was becoming very apparent because of all the tie-dye T-shirts being worn by older men reliving the days of headphones and mushroom pizzas.

What made this night both special and meaningful was that this band was celebrating 33 years in the business of tripping us out. They went even further, because all of their friends are at an age where they all have a mortgage and children. So, how do you get your buddies out for a good time? Well, Fat Cats created an all ages shows, so families could come out and experience live music together. I did see plenty of kids in the room. 

Toronto, clubs, if you are reading this, having all ages shows means that you can now bring in those 30-50 years old who no longer go out. Just invite them and their families out with reasonable ticket prices and you can sell this to 3 or more people instead of just one.  So that is my idea to all you clubs who want to bring in more patrons to your establishments- ALL AGES SHOWS!

Back to Fat Cats. When they came back for a second set, they came swooping in like a large condor gliding around the room. Their flight continued as their contrails filled your mind with escapism. Their jams got longer and more vivid. The crowd really approved when they pulled out the Beatles song- She came in through the bathroom window.  By the time they were coming in for a landing, the Fat Cats went all the way back to the first song they ever did together. It had a great rockabilly opening and slid into a country twang episode that included a snippet of Steely Dan’s- Reeling in the Years.

These are some Fat Cats:

Zuffalo

In my opinion Zuffalo is a band you need to watch out for and of course go see, if you love long jamming journeys into a metaphysical void.

They walked on stage and completely underplayed the opening song. This is a smart move, because this method is used when the band wants to dig a slow and deep experience with their audience and Zuffalo is a band that does this so well.

They finally hit a nice high-octane country YEAH HA mode that slipped in some renaissance moments. What a strange but poignant piece to run through. This is a band that is still searching for the lost chord. That would be the holy grail of live music. It does happen now and again. It is fun to watch a band stretch as far as they go to discover something new.

They laid out a new song called – Beautiful Jane, and it had a wonderful Paul McCartney and Wings vibe to it.

I would like to think one of the highlights of the evening was when Butter finally made her entrance and sat on the edge of the stage to enjoy the show. Who knew that this band happened to be a little obsessed with chickens? Butter sat there trying her hardest to lay a golden egg for the band.

While I was stuck inside their sound, I made up my own little description of music; I am now calling “Catch and Release”. It is where you can feel the buildup of sound and when it reaches it dramatic climax, the band switches direction and sound and creates brand new shapes and sounds that spin off into a new world with pinpoint precision. Zuffalo is a band that does this extremely well.

I loved the moment where they had that big Santana sound but threw in some sexy Motown moment that mixed with a Marvin Gaye sound.  That Black magic woman just got a whole lot sexier.

Zuffalo finished the evening with just an incredible full out jam session that felt like half an hour long. They left us spiritually satisfied and exhausted.

Get Buffaloed by Zuffalo:

If you would like to see who is playing at Rosario’s in the future, you can now find them in our directory at www.blasttoronto.co/directory

If you would like to learn more about Fat cats, you can click here- www.instagram.com/fatcats.band/

If you would like to see where Zuffalo will be next click here- www.instagram.com/zuffaloband/

If you were there, please leave a comment about your experience this night.

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