Toronto - first week in April - anything shakin'?

OldePhart

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Looks like I will probably be in Toronto on business the first week in April. Not sure yet for how many days I'll be there, how much, if any, free time I'll have, or whether I'll get a rental car (the latter depends on how many days and possibly on whether there is something ukulele related I can't pass up).

So...Torontoans (or is it Torontoites?)...is there anything ukulele related that I shouldn't miss?

John
 
One of the best musical instrument stores in the world, The 12th Fret on Danforth. Don't miss it.
 
You do not have to rent a car most things are decently accessible by subway, and parking dt is annoying. i second the 12th fret to visit (prob our best store to go for music in toronto)
 
Subway sounds great...I despise driving in strange cities anyway...but I'll have to find out if the subway comes anywhere near the motel I'll be staying in - I think it's on the north side of town, out a ways. I was at the same site for a couple of days once before back in about 2006 or 2007 but I never saw anything but the motel, our business unit, and the inside of a cab to and from the airport. LOL

Thanks y'all. Any really good mid-week music venues?

John
 
Hey John,

If you are there on Wednesday evening, the Corktown Ukulele Jam is the place to be.

http://www.torontoukes.com/

It is at the Dominion Tavern on Queen Street East. Look at the web site for details as to times etc.

They also have a Monday evening jam at their North location.

Regards,
Bill
 
Hey John,

If you are there on Wednesday evening, the Corktown Ukulele Jam is the place to be.

http://www.torontoukes.com/

It is at the Dominion Tavern on Queen Street East. Look at the web site for details as to times etc.

They also have a Monday evening jam at their North location.

Regards,
Bill

Schweeet! Not sure what my schedule is going to look like yet but I am going to cram a uke into my bag. If I'm able I'll be there!

John
 
I'm in Toronto and can give you a few tips.

First...Toronto is a very large and spread out metropolitan area of 4 million+ people that extends from Hamilton in the West to Oshawa in the east. Basically, a whole bunch of towns expanded until they became combined into what Torontonians call the Greater Toronto Area or GTA. If you are staying in downtown core of Toronto, you can get around without a car by utilizing public transit (buses, subway, streetcar). If you are staying outside of the core (i.e. you mentioned you will be in the north end of the city), you will need a car. When people say north end in Toronto they usually mean above Steeles Avenue which can be Brampton, Woodbridge, Richmond Hill, Markham, etc. If you let me know approximately where you are staying, I can give you more specific advice about what is nearby and how to best get around.

Check www.toronto.com for restaurants, what's on this week, entertainment, the music scene, etc. As others have said, The 12th Fret is a really nice guitar shop with a very good selection of higher end instruments. Uke shopping in Toronto is a bit of a wasteland. Lots of low end products from China with no stores selling anything close to a K-brand, etc. The 12th Fret may have some higher end uke's. Haven't been there is a while but they did a good job on my guitars a couple of years back.

Jordan
 
If you want to see what else is going on in the city, pick up a free copy of NOW magazine. It has all the music/cultural listings. It's been a while since I lived there, but there was almost always something good going on just about every night.
 
I'm in Toronto and can give you a few tips.

First...Toronto is a very large and spread out metropolitan area of 4 million+ people that extends from Hamilton in the West to Oshawa in the east. Basically, a whole bunch of towns expanded until they became combined into what Torontonians call the Greater Toronto Area or GTA. If you are staying in downtown core of Toronto, you can get around without a car by utilizing public transit (buses, subway, streetcar). If you are staying outside of the core (i.e. you mentioned you will be in the north end of the city), you will need a car.

I agree, but i dont think oshawa counts as Toronto :p. If you arent accessible by ttc you arent toronto and therefore GTA :p. I agree with not really a great ukulele place. cameron house has some decent gigs if your close to downtown on queen street
 
The 12th Fret may have some higher end uke's. Haven't been there is a while but they did a good job on my guitars a couple of years back.

I was at the 12th Fret about a month ago, and the selection was pretty good for a shop that doesn't specialize in ukes. Several KoAlohas, several new Martins and I think one vintage, the full Eastman range, a strong sampling of the Kala range, and a number of random vintage ukes and banjo ukes. If you play more than uke, the guitar, bass, and banjo selection is excellent; the mandolin selection when I was there was a little meager, but nice instruments for what they had.
 
Thanks @JordanK - I've just spent a bit of time at google maps and such familiarizing myself with the area and the public transit system. Looks pretty good...much better than what we have here in the DFW area, for sure.

I'll be working at the small airport/Bombardier facility and probably staying in the Holiday Inn (Yorkdale) just south of there and across from the mall. That's where I stayed last time anyway. Last time I was there I was tied up all three evenings but if I'd known there was a subway station on the other side of the mall I might have gone downtown for dinner at least one evening.

Looks like if I am there Wednesday evening I should be able to take the train to the Queen street station and then a trolley from there down Queen street right to the location of the Toronto Ukes jam. Nice and convenient...just the way I like it. :)

John
 
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Hi John,

I'm Canadian, and I don't live in "TO" (Toronto), but the subway (the rocket) is safe and great to use. The Corktown jam is an intense event. They do this funny trick during the break. They ask the people to mingle and talk to the people beside them. When the host comes back on the stage, he suddenly says, "OK, let the cat out of the bag... who is NEW IN TOWN!!!"

No joke, they caught me off guard on that and they put me on the spot since I had been blabbering to my table mates while sipping on some nice wine! hehe

All in good fun. Never been caught off guard like that before.

Have fun in TO.

Petey

PS: I bought a uke at the 12 Fret on the Danforth. Cool place.
 
Thanks Petey! I think I'm going to avoid the stores (probably won't be able to get off while they're open anyway). Having just purchased an Oscar Schmidt 5-string tenor and with a Boat Paddle 5-string tenor custom in the works I think that it would be really smart to avoid that sort of temptation. LOL

John
 
Corktown Ukulele Jam on a Wednesday night is a good choice. They have loaner ukes, if you don't want to bring a uke with you. The North Jam is in Richmond Hill north of Toronto, perhaps a little out of the way. If you are in town on a Monday night, there is also the Scarborough Uke Jam (http://www.scarboroughukes.com). Want a home-cooked meal? Come to my place ; ) I could pick you up and drive you to the Jam session.
 
One of the best musical instrument stores in the world, The 12th Fret on Danforth. Don't miss it.

Second that. Danforth a short few stores east of Woodbine.

And the Corktown ukulele jam every Wednesday night... Dominion Pub on Queen St East.
 
Corktown Ukulele Jam on a Wednesday night is a good choice. They have loaner ukes, if you don't want to bring a uke with you. The North Jam is in Richmond Hill north of Toronto, perhaps a little out of the way. If you are in town on a Monday night, there is also the Scarborough Uke Jam (http://www.scarboroughukes.com). Want a home-cooked meal? Come to my place ; ) I could pick you up and drive you to the Jam session.

Don't go temptin' me now...you don't know how much I can eat! ;) I probably won't be in town until late Monday night but the itinerary isn't firmed up yet. Hopefully I'll know more by COB Tomorrow.

John
 
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