Liar. Crack-smoker. Conspirator. Seat-stealer?
Of all the accusations flung at our besmirched mayor, sitting in the wrong spot is perhaps the least serious, but he’s been called on it nonetheless. Perhaps if it were just any ol’ seat Rob Ford nabbed in the VIP section at the Buffalo Bills game on Sunday, December 1, at the Rogers Centre, not much would have been made of it.
But it wasn’t. At the beginning of the game, Canadian rocker Matt Mays tweeted that the mayor had stolen his seat, then further tweeted his inner struggle: whether and how he would oust him.
Ultimately, Mays decided not to cause a stir, settling into an empty chair a few rows back. An hour or so later, when Ford left at half-time – apparently taken to a corporate box because it was less disruptive to the game – the conflict was over. Mays tweeted that he’d recaptured his rightful place.
In an interview with Indie88 the following day, the singer said:
“It was quite the interesting day. I asked the guy, like, the usher dude, like, ‘Where’s my seat?’ He was a little apprehensive, like, ‘Rob Ford’s in your seat, bro.’ I waited it out. I wasn’t mad at all – I just thought it was really funny. I threw down a couple tweets and it just went absolutely bonkers.”
If only getting Ford out of office were that easy.
Steven Page vs. Skeletonwitch
We shouldn’t have been surprised.
When NOW published a negative but kind review of Art Of Time Ensemble With Steven Page’s album back in 2010, the former Barenaked Ladies frontman had an army of Page devotees come to his rescue in the form of a slew of retrospectively hilarious comments.
American thrash metal outfit Skeletonwitch are the latest victims of Page’s Army. When bassist Evan Linger chose 1998’s One Week as his most hated song for the A.V. Club’s recurring HateSong feature, the online comments betrayed a similar ferocious fidelity to what super-fans casually refer to as BNL.
For example:
“BNL has two Canadian Grammys to your none.”
Granted, there were just as many Skeletonwitch defenders:
“I also like how he calls BNL an insult to Canada. As a Canadian I’ve always felt that way, too.”
Ouch.
Arts on the back burner
Looks like the party at City Hall back in January celebrating new funding for the arts was premature.
At the time, council agreed that proceeds from a new billboard tax would go to culture. The goal was a $25 per capita increase in overall arts funding by 2016.
Unfortunately, budget documents revealed last week indicate that staff have proposed pushing the increase back another two years, to 2018. If that proposal goes through, it will be the third time in a decade the city has failed to meet this particular objective.
The 2014 budget will be finalized in January 2014.
Rock ‘n’ Horse
Running out of places to wear your finest belt buckle? There’s a new saloon out west. Well, 250 Adelaide West.
Located on the third floor (above Adelaide Hall), the Rock ‘N’ Horse saloon is both a country/rock bar and a live venue on Thursday nights. The space opens to the public on Friday (December 6), and the inaugural performer is TBA.
Yeehaw!
‘Tis the season
The holidays are upon us, and a number of holiday-related charities are ramping up.
Mississauga punk-rockers Billy Talent are teaming up with Bluenotes to raise money for Kids Help Phone. (Over the past 16 years, the retailer has raised a total of $1.6 million for the non-profit.)
The sale of each $10 collaboratively designed limited-edition T-shirt goes toward the retailer’s goal of raising $40,000 for the Canadian youth charity. A gift that gives back, available at 120-plus Bluenotes locations (blnts.com).
Another great way to make merry? JAZZ.FM91 and Long & McQuade are partnering for the Holiday Heroes Instrument Drive, donating gently used music-makers to Parkdale schools in need of jamming essentials.
Last year the radio station gathered more than 75 instruments for the Regent Park School of Music.
Brass, guitars, woodwind, strings, percussion and electric keys can be dropped off until December 20 at Long & McQuade’s Bloor location (925 Bloor West) or at JAZZ.FM91 (4 Pardee).
