the glitz and glamour of a rocktographer

In a couple weeks I'll be visiting Toronto with Aryn. I'm very excited about my trip because other than a brief visit to Vancouver and a weekend trip to Calgary my summer was spent in central Alberta. In some ways I'm glad that I didn't have a real vacation during the summer though. Edmonton is quite pleasant during the summer months and I think that if I had chosen to vacation (can I use that as a verb) I would most likely begin to feel the symptoms of winter cabin fever within the next coming weeks when snow eventually falls (it's snowed in FSJ already so it's not so unlikely that Edmonton will endure similar weather).

I'm in the process of figuring out my itinerary for the trip. Aryn's going to be busy with conference events for the majority of the day, and I'm going to be left to my own devices to explore the city with camera in hand. I last visited Toronto when I was 16 and I was downtown for all of an afternoon. It was a very overwhelming experience and I didn't particularly like it all that much. Mind you I did have a terrible cold (ironic since I had just returned from visiting my relatives in Trinidad) and the day was not a particularly pleasant one. I remember standing on the sidewalk outside of the Hospital for Sick Children and feeling pushed around by all of the pedestrians who were in a mad rush to get somewhere. Now that I'm a seasoned metropolitan traveler (and older and a photographer) I think my experience will be much different. Any former Torontonians who want to give me suggestions of what to see?

So far the only thing I have planned is going to see Beirut at the Danforth Music Hall. I came across Beirut on iTunes yesterday and I spent the entire evening listening to them. On a whim I decided to see if they might be coming to Edmonton and I discovered a Toronto tour date. What luck! My October will be full of rather eclectic and original music... mid way through the month I will also be going to see Final Fantasy. Somehow I've become a music hipster. The number of concerts I've attended is still pretty small though.

These photos are evidence of the somewhat varied performances I've attended since moving to Edmonton. One could say that I somewhat regularly participate in the 'music scene.' I don't have photographical evidence of all the performances though, much to my dismay. I find it a little ridiculous that cameras are seen as such a threat by some venues. I can understand banning the use of flash photography, but sans flash what harm can a camera really bring to a performer? I phoned ahead to the Music Hall in Toronto and I discovered that they don't have a house policy about cameras (yeah!) and with the exception of flash photography and professionals (I think SLRs are a grey area... I think the issue is more about the size of your lens) cameras are permitted. This information excites me... because as much as I enjoy the live performances I also love being able to indulge in a little rocktography.