Bad Angel Bar

Has anyone heard of the Bad Angel Bar? I haven’t, until about a week ago. This is a bar at the corner of Dundas St and Brock St. 1615 Dundas Street West.

This bar starting inviting musicians to play in its intimate space for about 6 months now. The good news for this neighbourhood is that there is not a lot of competition. Just down the street is Lula Lounge and they focus on Latin music. Bad Angel has a cozy space for acoustic acts for singer songwriters and other small acts.

The bar can thank Ori Dagan for showing up and noticing the potential of this cool location. He is the guy who will be booking in future artists to play here. And Ori knows a lot of people.

When I walked into this bar I was greeted by the owners who are open and friendly and excited for this new chapter in their lives.

The place holds about 25 people with some up close to the stage and if you want to relax just to hear the music, the entrance is the place you want to be.

What I love about this spot, is that the stage may be  small but has these cool spotlights that backlight the artist and one small light in the corner to add that spotlight on their face. As a photographer, I like the look of my photos because of this.

The open white bricks add that old school industrial feel to the room and the clocks on the wall will keep you confused. Each clock has a different time. Is this a subliminal way of keeping the patrons here longer. If it is, this is a stroke of genius.

If you are a curious music type and love to explore new clubs, here is a list of when they have live music.

Sunday- This is the day they have afternoon jazz from 4-7pm. Still early enough to go home and relax for Monday.

Tuesday- You can hear the sounds of Ruby Ray and Jared Higgins. This is the resident duo that will play every Tuesday night starting at 9pm.

Wednesday- This is the open mic at the Angel. If you love to jam and sing, come on down and create your musical community here. I understand they take on a very creative approach during these sessions.

Thursday- This is the Singer/Songwriters night.  You can see a different artist go up and play some amazing tunes. I was here for Sandra Bouza and you will read about it in the next segment.

The Next Segment- Sandra Bouza

Of all the great singers in Toronto today, Sandra Bouza would be considered high in that ranking. She has been singing for a number of years with 2 full albums and 2 EP’s to her name.

She sold out the Redwood Theatre when she debuted her album-“A Sound in the Dark”. She headlines shows around Ontario. Here she is with an acoustic guitar and just her songs. This is a night that will be filled with some tasty treats.

She started the evening with a few covers that were meaningful to her. She started with the Eagles, Peaceful easy feeling and then moved onto Steven Stills.  A little deeper into her set she told us a story of her cutting off a big chunk of her hair to donate to charity. Sandra proceeded to sing the classic hippie song- Almost cut my hair. Well she did and it was for a good cause.

She did a few songs from her two full albums. For Sandra fans, those songs were- “Wrong Songs”, “Break on through” and “Burn so Bright”. She even did one from her very first EP that she recorded back when she was in British Columbia. It is great to see an artist grow through the material that they are producing. She is only getting better with each new recording.

Speaking of recordings, Sandra let us in on a couple of new songs that will be on her up and coming album. I don’t think she has a working title yet. When she is done and has another record release party, Blast Toronto will be there.

Just halfway through her two set, Ori Dagan showed up to see how things were going. Well, we just had to have him up do a duet with Sandra. As they were preparing what song to sing, I heard Sandra yell out “Heather”! The next thing I know is they brought in long time friend Heather Luckhart, who just so happened to be walking her precious dog Daisy. The two of them walked in to take a seat and enjoy the show.

Well, if you know musicians, they have a hard time saying no to performing. When Sandra asked Heather to do a song with her, she jumped up and I became a dog sitter.

Once that was done it was decided to bring in Ori and do a trio. That is when the magic of the evening happened. I went to see one performer, and I got three improving their way through a couple of songs. This is what could happen in this new musical and magical location.

Sandra Bouza Live-

You can view my video of the three of them playing together here-  https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbvSJH5hA-N/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

As a side note, Bad Angel bar will be part of our directory. If you want to know who is playing there in the future just find them there and go out and have your own magical evening. If you are a musician that would like to play there, just contact them at music@badangelbar.com

If you found this article useful, Blast Toronto always appreciates any donation to keep us going. Just look for out Buy us a Coffee button at the bottom of our page and make a donation there.

We are organizing our website so you can find your music. Let’s all have a BLAST!