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"Dear Mr. Tippin, I am writing to you in regards to your decision to triple the rent at one of your properties; I am refering to 19 Church Street, which is the music room of C'est What. For the past two decades, this venue has been a community and cultural cornerstone to the larger music community in Toronto. The St. Lawrence neighbourhood's longstanding vitality, appeal, and affordability has depended immensely upon establishments such as nia. I, and many of my constituents, are deeply concerned that we are about to lose it. Your company prides itself on its commitment to preserving architectural heritage, Mr. Tippin; let me express my extreme disappointment that this does not include an interest in preserving our cultural heritage. On behalf of myself and many of my constituents, I strongly urge you to reconsider this decision; this is your opportunity to prove what a great corporate citizen the Tippin Corporation can be. Sincerely," Pam McConnnell Our lease in the music room expires at the end of August. Without an "eleventh hour" deal C'est What will no longer have a music room. Michael Tippin's real estate agent contacted us last week to offer a one year lease extension at double the rent. While we are pleased to see that the rent demands have moderated somewhat, the term offered does not offer any security or opportunity for us to invest in upgrades to the room. Barring further negotiations, the last show at this great little venue will be Saturday August 21. Our thanks go out to the thousands of talented musicians that have graced our Church St. stage over the last dozen years. We will be hosting a celebration of the past, present, and future of the local music scene throughout August. Please stay tuned... You can help us fight to keep our performance space. Please click here. With to opening of our smoking room on June 1 we have ushered in a new era of dente between smokers and non-smokers. Smokers are enjoying the separately ventilated section which includes a pool table, sofas, and both sitting and standing table areas. Non-smokers have the pleasure of a smoke free environment and the benefit fo the renovations we have made to the space. Many customers have returned with their kids (or nieces/nephews), initiating them to the charm of eating Buffalo Burgers while playing chess and other quirky combinations. Apparently not everyone thinks that this is a win-win situation. We had a visit from a "Tobacco Enforcement Officer" from Public Health just after midnight on the morning of June 28. Failing to find anyone smoking where they shouldn't the health official decided to write us a ticket for $255. The offence? The custom fashioned sign on the door of the smoking room reading: "Warning, Smoking Room, 19 years of age or older only" was not the "official" health warning sign issued by Public Health. The irony? We had made a visit to the local health office a couple of days before we opened the room to get the signs and were told that they were out of stock. Sounds like there are some ticket quotas to be made. Thank you all for putting up with a limited menu the last two weeks as we rebuilt our kitchen cooler. We're now back in action. By way of giving thanks for your patience we have an online coupon so that you can treat a friend to a meal. Invisible Inc. | Lenni Jabour | Annelise Noronha | Heather Morgan | Corin Raymond | Special Ed & The Musically Challenged | Alumnae Appearances Those with day jobs may be reluctant to check out a show during the week. Not to fear, here at nia the doors open promptly, shows start within fifteen minutes of their advertised time, and most weekday shows wrap up by midnight. Enjoy! With soothingly peculiar songs like Building An Amplifier it’s hard not to love local rockers Invisible Inc. These lads masterfully blend an eclectic retro meets garage pop aesthetic with precision hooks. Balancing Beatlesque hooks and sugar-sweet melodies, Invisible Inc. write realy good pop tunes. They appear Friday July 16 with The Jimmies and Dan Shuman. Advance tickets are available. “One of the most promising talents in Canada.” - Billboard Advance tickets are available for her next show which is opened by Justin Rutledge on Wednesday July 21. Annelise Noronha takes time out from behind the scenes as a studio engineer (James Brown, Blue Rodeo, Jennifer Lopez) to showcase her own material. Acclaimed for “rocking as hard as the boys...” , this local singer/songwriter is no stranger to embracing decibel strength. Her writing flirts with romantic tragedy, swirling electric guitars, heavy hypnotic bass lines, pulsing beats and “words that provoke tears..." Advance tickets are available for her Friday July 23 show with Jason Gleed and Chris Tait.
Advance tickets are available for her next performance with Greg Hobbs and Justin Rutledge on Wednesday July 28. Corin Raymond may be familiar to you from Toronto's folk/R&B/pop group The Undesirables as they amassed a loyal following before splitting off into solo directions. Raymond fuses old time country with hints of gospel and blues penning hurtin' tunes that remind us that we're human and fallable. Raymond appears with his band The Sundownners on Thursday July 29. Noah Shilkin opens. Advance tickets are available. Special Ed and The Musically Challenged is not for the listening impaired. In fact, if you intend to truly appreciate the originality of this group led by "Special" Ed Roman, prepare yourself for a complete sensory experience. SEMC mixes up one serious musical stew with unrelenting grooves that recall the vibe of Zappa meets Primus, Ed truly believes himself and his band members to be "conduits for some higher gods of funk and groove..." SEMC appears on Friday July 30 with Clan Zu and Greg MacPherson. Advance tickets are available. |
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