In the second half of the 1990s, the iconic purple building on the southeast corner of Queen and Bathurst underwent a transformation from dance club to all-ages live music hub. What now houses a modern furniture and décor store was once home to punk, metal, hip-hop, Darkrave, and a whole bunch of proud music misfits.

By: DENISE BENSON

Club: The Big Bop, 651 Queen W.

Years in operation: 1997 – 2010

History: Often, we must look back in order to move forward. That’s certainly the case with this story. When last we delved into the history of The Big Bop, it was during its period as a dance club owned by the Ballinger brothers.

Interviewees for that story were hazy, at best, about the closing of the Ballinger’s Bop. It was clear that the venue had suffered financial hardships from 1994, when it went into receivership, but concrete details about its eventual end – let alone its evolution as a club space – were scant.

As it turns out, the original Big Bop continued to operate until 1996 under the management of Peter Ballinger.

“Peter was the least seen and the least involved until the Ballingers bought Webster Hall, and the other three brothers – Lonnie, Steve and Doug – were in New York,” recalls Trevor Mais who, as DJ Tex, rocked crowds in the building through three different club incarnations.

Mais was an employee at the original Big Bop from 1989, working as busboy, bar back, lighting tech and, from 1993, DJ. While he also did lights at Go-Go and played at clubs including Boom Boom Room, The Phoenix, Joker, and Beat Junkie as DJ Tex, Mais had especially deep ties to Big Bop. He tells me that the club truly struggled from 1995. Various attempts at revival failed.

In spring of 1996, the building at 651 Queen West opened as Freedom: The Nightclub.

Promotion for the short-lived Freedom nightclub. Image courtesy of Trevor Mais.

“The transition to Freedom was helmed by Jim Tsiliras, who [told me his] father Nick had owned the building since it was the Holiday Tavern, and that the Ballingers leased it from them,“ says Mais, who played rock, retro, R&B and disco on Freedom’s ground floor Wednesdays through Fridays.

“The Big Bop’s main floor [street level] only closed for one week during the transition to Freedom,” he recalls. “I never stopped working; the main floor was always a viable source of income. That’s why they didn’t overhaul it. The second floor, however, got a million dollar overhaul, and was closed for at least six months.”

Mark Micallef, a Toronto club veteran who DJed at venues including The Copa, Klub Max, and original Big Bop, concurs with the timeline and details offered by Mais.

Micallef was a resident DJ on Freedom’s second floor for the club’s first few months, but says that even with “completely new sound and lighting” and a clubbier approach to the music played, the venue “never really took off.”

Micallef moved on to play at Joker, located at 318 Richmond West. Freedom came to a close a short while later.

In 1997, the building was suddenly re-branded as The Big Bop by new owner Dominic Chiaromonte, the man who would come to paint it purple and guide the venue, however inadvertently, in a very different direction.

Previously, Chiaromonte had owned Ukrainian Caravan restaurant, with locations in Etobicoke and Yorkville. He tells me that after a decade of operation, Ukrainian Caravan went under. Next, he had three silent partners (including cousin Dominic Tassielli) who wanted to invest in a nightclub with him.

They looked at a number of downtown locations over the course of almost a year, until the Bop building came up. It was in the hands of banks at that time.

“I knew of the Bop because I used to be a patron, especially on Depression Wednesdays,” says Chiaromonte during a lengthy phone conversation. “The Big Bop was the nightclub for a thousand people in Toronto back in the mid ‘80s to early ‘90s.

“I knew the building, and liked it. We jumped on it. It was easy to jump on because the banks wanted to get rid of it. We worked out a very good price for that time.”

The new Big Bop, with windows, circa 1997. Photo courtesy of Trevor Mais.

“When Dom took over in 1997, the building never closed either, and he switched names right away, without hoopla or fanfare,” recalls Mais.

Without missing a beat, DJ Tex went on to spin classic rock and alternative on the new Big Bop’s main floor.

“In the new Bop era, we moved the DJ booth right to street level, and opened the corner windows so you could look right into the belly of the beast. Some staunch Bop purists didn’t like the change, but change was happening all around – musically, and in terms of owners, staff, times, fads and looks.”

L-to-R: Steff, Karen, Trevor ‘DJ Tex’ Mais, Sherry in the Bop’s main level, 1998. Photo courtesy of Mais.

The conversion: While the capacity of the club – roughly 1,000 people, between all floors – never changed, the Big Bop’s main function sure did. Chiaromonte hadn’t planned a shift from dance club to live music venue, but that’s what happened.

“To tell you the truth, we didn’t know what we were doing,” he admits. “We just wanted to get into the club with the DJs, and at that time that seemed more logical, in terms of the salaries. We realized within months that it wasn’t going to work out. We just couldn’t compete with the big dance clubs at the time, like Joker, Whiskey Saigon and Limelight, where people were flocking. That area had become the core for DJed nightclubs by then. We realized ‘This is why the Big Bop went under.’”

A musician friend, Yurko Mychaluk of Seven Year Itch, suggested that Chiaromonte and partners book bands. Inspired by the support of live music at venues like the Horseshoe, Lee’s Palace and El Mocambo, he agreed.

Mychaluk also suggested Chiaromonte hire talent buyer Yvonne Matsell, who had booked blues acts at Albert’s Hall, been central to the success of outstanding Queen West roots and indie rock venue Ultrasound, and also worked at the Horseshoe.

Though The Big Bop was not known in live music circles at the time, Matsell agreed to check out the spot.

“When I saw the middle room, I felt that the venue had great potential,” she recalls. “I thought that if I could bring my following, the room would be a great space for bands to play.

“The upstairs room was really lovely and I thought it was prime for singer-songwriters. It was very intimate, and the thing that sold me on it was all of the fairy lights in the ceiling. They also had a piano, which wasn’t any good, but lent itself.”

Matsell agreed to book those rooms, which she named Reverb and Holy Joe’s. The venue’s identity as a dance club was put to rest as sound, staging and lights were brought in.

Reverb room by day. Photo courtesy of The Big Bop Facebook page.

As a good-sized room with a large stage and great sightlines, Reverb became a new home for record label showcases, touring acts, and more established Toronto bands. Matsell’s early bookings, which set the tone, included Dave Alvin of the Blasters, Austin’s Alejandro Escovedo, Michael Franti’s Spearhead, and the first Toronto appearance of Third Eye Blind.

“The Rheostatics played a packed gig the night that Princess Diana died [August 31, 1997],” recalls Matsell. “I vividly remember her tragic accident being played out on the bank of TV screens over the Reverb bar, while the Rheostatics played, unaware of what was happening and why the audience had their backs to them.”

Holy Joe’s became known a cozy spot to catch talented singer-songwriters and largely solo artists.

The stairs to Holy Joe’s. Photo courtesy of The Big Bop Facebook page.

“I began residencies up there with people who, at that time were really new to the music scene in Toronto, like Jason Collett, Hawksley Workman, Danny Michel, Emm Gryner, and Amy Millan, before she was in Stars.”

“Yvonne kick-started us, there’s no doubt about it,” credits Chiaromonte. “She was the one who gave us credibility, and basically put us on the map. She knew who to talk to, and all kinds of bands started to come and play.”

Despite her efforts and connections, Matsell was let go after about two years (“They decided that they were paying me too much money, and thought they could do it themselves.”). She immediately went on to book seminal College Street music hub, Ted’s Wrecking Yard.

By this point, the Big Bop featured live music in all three rooms. Chiaromonte had to fill them.

“There was a period of time that I was booking, likely for about six months,” he recalls. “I tried to go the same route as Yvonne, musically, but I couldn’t get the bands that she got, and I couldn’t compete against the Horseshoe because they had all of these loyal bands and agents who didn’t want to play for me. It was very discouraging and really rough, but what came into the picture was a lot of young bands.

“I remember talking to my lawyer and asking ‘What’s the rule for having all-ages events at a nightclub?’ He told me we could do it. He also told me that the chances of getting busted when you do all-ages are a lot greater, but I had no choice. And what I realized was ‘Hey, I could charge rent for all-ages shows.’ Because we wouldn’t make money from alcohol sales, the promoter would have to pay us rent to compensate. For some reason, bang – It boomed! We became known as the all-ages club.”

The transformation was made all the more complete when Chiaromonte hired Noel Peters to book the Bop’s street level space in mid-1999. Peters, who had founded Inertia Entertainment in ‘96, primarily promoted metal and punk shows, featuring both touring and local acts. He gave the ground floor its name.

“As the Reverb had an identity as did Holy Joe’s, my thought was to view the entire complex as ‘The Big Bop’ and give the ground floor its own Identity,” Peters explains. “Metal and punk music can basically be a religious experience so I came up with ‘Kathedral.’”

Reverb, Holy Joe’s and Kathedral would retain their names –and feature wildly varied sounds- for the rest of the Big Bop’s run.

The main entrance. Photo courtesy of The Big Bop Facebook page.

Why it was important:“The Big Bop complex was a classic product of old Queen West culture – free wheeling, open to all, value priced, hard drinking and disdainful of intolerance of any type,” states concert promoter Ewan Exall. “That was reflected in the booking policy, which at some point brought just about anything you could imagine to one of the three stages.”

Exall, who’d grown up downtown and landed his first job next door to the Bop, at army surplus and outdoor store King Sol, was happy to book shows at the corner of Queen and Bathurst. He brought in dozens of touring punk, hardcore, metal and indie bands – initially working as part of Against the Grain Concerts, then on his own – between 1998 and 2010.

“I really loved the Big Bop, and it was a central part of my life for 10 years.”

It was easy to love the Bop building as a music fan. All three rooms were a great fit for their function. Reverb had particularly good sound, a wide layout, and was an ideal showcase space for music of any genre. Holy Joe’s, with its couches, felt like a living room where you might just discover your next favourite artist. Kathedral was dark, gritty and perfectly suited to aggressive rock.

Chiaromonte’s need to fill all three rooms multiple nights weekly resulted in an unrestricted booking policy.

“We opened the Bop to anything and everything. We opened it up to whoever wanted to book it. It didn’t have to be a metal club. It didn’t have to be a punk club. Or a rock club. Whatever came around, that’s what was slated for that day.”

Talent bookers / promoters Andrea Caldwell and Noel Peters at the club in 2002. Photo courtesy of Peters.

It helped that Chiaromonte had some solid in-house bookers who could make sense of it all. Soon after Peters was hired to focus largely on Kathedral, Andrea Caldwell was brought on board to help book Reverb and Holy Joe’s.

Though she didn’t then have much experience, Caldwell was immersed in different music scenes, from acoustic to funk, hip-hop, and indie rock. She had worked at Sneaky Dee’s and Gasworks, organized singer-songwriter nights at The Artful Dodger, and got hired at the Bop after producing a multi-venue benefit series for The Red Door Women’s Shelter.

“The show at Reverb went really well, and Dom needed a booking agent,” Caldwell recalls. “By the end of the night, he offered me a job. I woke up the next morning and started calling all the musicians I knew.

“Dominic’s main concern as a club owner was to book events that would bring crowds into the venue; he didn’t favour any particular scene or make his choices based on musical opinions,” adds Caldwell. “That gave us the freedom to take chances, and support several different music scenes at the same time. As well, it was the only club around that supported the all-ages scene, which attracted many talented kids who just needed a chance to get up on a stage and work things out.”

While not all shows held at the Bop were all-ages, most were. Noel Peters agrees that this was both rare and much needed.

“The Bop was really the only small all-ages-friendly venue in the city, and for live music, it was great to have the opportunity for a younger generation to come and see their favourite bands or to discover upcoming ones. Within a year or so, demand was high for the space, and we had the Bop running as an almost seven-days-a-week operation.”

This gave rise to a new generation of musicians – and promoters – who were able to develop within the purple and black walls.

Jake Disman, sound tech, in Kathedral. Photo courtesy of Scoot DeVille.

“I think the Bop was most important for being the place that gave almost every band a chance to play their first gig ever,” says Jake Disman, an audio technician who had previously done sound at the Cabana Room, and started at the Bop in 1998 as a fill-in for house tech Aaron Michielsen.

“Bands that had no background, and no real fan base, who could never have gotten a chance to play the Horseshoe, played the Bop,” Disman adds. “Kids grew up [seeing bands] there, and when they started their own bands, that’s where they aspired to play.”

Bands like Alexisonfire, Down With Webster and Billy Talent, while still known as Pezz, played some of their earliest shows on Big Bop stages.

“Down With Webster’s Tyler Armes and his friend were on the streetcar one day and they had heard that the Big Bop did all-ages,” recalls Chiaromonte, “They were young and couldn’t book themselves any place so they came to talk to me. I set them up with a gig, and over the course of 10 years, they did between 10 to 20 shows at Big Bop. Now they’re huge.

“Same thing with Alexisonfire; they played our club quite a bit, and then when they got big, they did a special show at the Bop, which was very cool of them.”

Down With Webster, in fact, recorded live sets at Reverb to compile a six-track debut EP titled The Reverb Session July ’03. They sold this CDR at gigs.

“There were a lot of firsts for artists and promoters in that club,” says Caldwell; “First live show, first weekend gig, first time playing a new song live, and so on. The Big Bop gave you space to try out ideas.

“Also, the great thing about having three floors is that we could accommodate musicians and bands at all different stages of their development. I was given the opportunity to book residencies and on-going showcases with artists such as Down With Webster, Cleavage, Pilate, Lindy Ortega, Justin Nozuka, Wave, Graph Nobel, Samba Squad, Die Mannequin, and many more. It was always wonderful when the crowds grew from 10 people to hundreds.”

The development of bands on Bop stages contributed, in turn, to the growth of this city’s live music scene. More bands, more fans, more people out supporting live music would be the simple equation. There was also no shortage of music industry people who spent a great deal of time in that building, scouting and showcasing talent.

“We saw up-and-coming bands perfect their sets and grow their careers right before our eyes,” describes sound tech Lucy Van Nie, who launched his audio career at Holy Joe’s in 2000.

Audio tech Lucy Van Nie at work. Photo courtesy of him.

“I remember mixing Tegan and Sara there to a crowd of about 65 in the early 2000s,” says Van Nie, later the house tech of Reverb. “I remember mixing Hedley for a label showcase a few months before they blew up and took over pop rock in Canada. Bands like My Darkest Days, Alexisonfire, Die Mannequin, and Canadian rockabilly royalty The Creepshow used the Reverb as a home base to try out material and tighten up stage shows before first big singles and national tours.”

And then there were the outsiders. The Big Bop – Kathedral in particular – was known as the place to catch punk, metal and hardcore bands, both touring and local.

“Kathedral was a dive to say the least, so that’s where almost all of the punk and metal shows were,” describes longtime Bop staffer Scoot DeVille. “You can’t really destroy a place that’s already been destroyed. There were so many holes in the walls.”

Hundreds of local punk acts played the various Bop stages over the years, many of them booked by John Tard of The 3tards.

“John brought in just a staggering amount of punk bands, mostly Canadian,” credits Jake Disman. “He was a very big part of the all-ages successes that we had.”

Exall also recalls that “Over the nine or so years I did shows there, a who’s who of indie, punk, emo, metal, and hardcore touring acts came through the door.”

His top memories include performances by Cro-Mags as well as fellow American punks AFI (“Those shows were always total mayhem, kids swinging from the pipes, the whole bit.”) as well as a certain dubstep star in the making.

“An incredibly young Sonny Moore – 15, I think – fronted his screamo metal band From First to Last at the Kathedral in 2004. They were second out of three bands on some touring package. I always knew that kid would be a star. We at Embrace still work with him as Skrillex, which is one of the things I am proudest of in this stage of my career.

“But the consensus seems to be that the best show I ever did there was At the Drive-In opening for Get Up Kids,” Exall adds. “No one really knew who ATDI were at that point; the Vaya 10-inch had just been released. All standard rock superlatives apply to their performance that night.”

Exall also speaks of booking local punk band No Warning multiple times, including on bills with King Size Braces (“Those nights were electric! It was just kids having fun, all stage dives, high fives, and the excitement of hanging out on the block outside.”), and happily recounts the tale of catching a classic Canadian punk pairing.

“One of the times BFGs opened for Dayglo Abortions sticks out. Kids went crazy for the Goofs in a way that I hadn’t seen since the ‘80s. I realized that the entire building was full of people participating in a street culture that we all helped create. That was a pretty awesome moment.”

Damian Abraham of award-winning hardcore band Fucked Up also speaks fondly of the punk culture that found a home in the Bop’s rooms. He started going to shows there in the late ‘90s, and thinks of the Bop as “a seminal space.”

“I got to see some amazing shows in the building, like The Swarm’s last show; tonnes of amazing No Warning gigs; the last Our War show, and various incarnations of the Cro-Mags,” Abraham enthuses. “When I was able to finally start playing there, it felt as if Fucked Up had crossed some threshold of legitimacy that my previous bands hadn’t. Also, it is the venue where I saw my future wife Lauren for the first time. ”

Fucked Up played Kathedral and Reverb close to 10 times during the 2000s, including two of their annual Halloween shows, but Abraham’s recollections tend to feature other bands.

“When No Warning opened for Hatebreed there, a bunch of friends they had met on tour from Boston drove up. Up until this point in Toronto, people had been moshing, for the most part, in a very MTV ‘push mosh’ kind of way. When these people from Boston hit the floor and started throwing fists and skanking and getting super low, the Toronto kids took note. From that point on, hard style mashing hit Toronto. [Producer/manager] Greig Nori and Deryck Whibley from Sum 41 were also there, checking out No Warning as a potential new band to manage. They signed them that night I believe.”

Thrash metal band Nevermore performs at Kathedral in 2000. Photo courtesy of Noel Peters.

There was a heavy crossover of punks and metalheads at the venue.

“My favourite moments at the Bop as a patron were all of Noel’s metal shows,” raves Exall. “Half the time I had no idea who was playing – ‘Some new band from Norway’ – so my housemates and I would end up accidentally seeing Emperor or something.”

Peters did indeed bring in “Norwegian black metal kings Emperor, heading the Kings Of Terror tour.”

It’s one of the shows Peters cites as a highlight in the Bop building. There were many others.

Stormtroopers Of Death at Kathedral in November 1999. Photo courtesy of Noel Peters.

“Bringing Stormtroopers of Death in; they never toured, but did once for Bigger Than The Devil. The bar was almost drunk dry that night,” says the promoter. “Cradle Of Filth made their first-ever Canadian appearance, back when they were still dark and controversial.

“Longstanding relationships I have with some bands were born in the Bop building; Opeth sold out two shows in one month, playing Kathedral first, and then Reverb 21 days later. Last month, they sold out Kool Haus, presented by me. Mastodon played to maybe 20 people their first time through Toronto; Mercyful Fate came through, and then King Diamond the following year. Having Mayhem successfully enter Canada in 2001 for their first-ever Canadian appearance was memorable, as was booking [country act] Corb Lund and the Hurtin’ Albertans only to have maybe 20 people show up. This is only the tip of the iceberg.”

Opeth at Kathedral in 2001. Photo courtesy of Noel Peters.

Peters left the Bop behind in March 2003, citing dissatisfaction with in-house sound, Chiaromonte’s raising of rental rates, and having to put out fires (literally).

“It was fun, and it was good to have a home base for four years, but eventually the business of Inertia outgrew what the Big Bop had to offer in terms of quality, capacity and a professional working environment.” (Inertia marks 20 years of presenting aggressive music in Toronto this year.)

The Bop’s multiple rooms featured far more than rock. The building also became an unlikely home to raves and electronic music. Goodfellaz and Nocturnal Commissions threw a pile of parties there while Shakti Collective presented a number of blacklight trance events. DJs such as Dragnfly, Lady Bass and Unabomber a.k.a. Christian Poulsen (Hugs Not Drugs) were frequently found on flyers listing 651 Queen West as the address. There were the Ipanema raves on long weekends and, of course, there was Darkrave.

Lloyd Warren a.k.a. DJ Lazarus is the driving force behind Darkrave. DJing in Toronto’s alternative clubs since the early ‘90s, Warren began to play at the Bop in 1998, when he moved his popular monthly Fetish Masquerade events over from Club Shanghai (the Subspace fetish parties later took root at the venue too.)

Flyer for the first Darkrave event courtesy of Lloyd ‘DJ Lazarus’ Warren.

Lazarus launched Darkrave in 1999.

“I wanted to create a rave environment, but with darker edged music,” Warren explains. “Darkrave evolved from featuring mostly industrial to incorporating more psytrance, hardcore/gabber, and dark techno.”

At its height, the monthly party took over the entire Bop complex as it attracted crowds upwards of eight hundred “Goths, ravers, clubbers, normals, and people who just found themselves there.

“The Big Bop was huge and cavernous. It was grungy, a bit run down, and a glorious party space,” Warren describes. “There was always a room or corner to be explored. Multiple staircases led to different rooms, meaning it was easy to get lost. It was dark – eternally night. You never knew what time it was because there were no uncovered windows to let the sunrise in.”

“The Bop was a magical complex,” agrees Greg Gallant who, as DJ Phink, played alongside Lazarus at the Bop for both Darkrave and Fetish Masquerade. “It was multi levels of bouncing, fun times. I remember we got UV reactive bubbles a few times for Darkrave. It was fun watching people catch the bubbles with their faces, and then learn that their face also glowed under black light.”

Bouncing good times at Darkrave. Photos courtesy of Lloyd ‘DJ Lazarus’ Warren.

Darkrave events tended to feature playful props, like UV lighting, cotton candy machines, and bouncy castles. Some parties really stood out.

“The Darkrave with VNV Nation in 2000 was crazy,” says Warren. “I have never seen so many people in the Reverb before. Patrons were literally standing on the wall rails because the floor was so packed. The energy was electrifying.

“One night, an electrical fire started on a hydro pole just outside the Bop. It caused a full blackout inside while hundreds of people were dancing. Instead of everyone leaving, we lit candles and some patrons went on to the stage and started drumming on improvised objects. The dancefloor resumed, and there was a real sense of community.”

Gallant, who had played earlier as Phink at venues including Sanctuary Vampire Sex Bar and Area 51, was also an anchor of the alt-rave community that gravitated to the Bop, as well as to Funhaus, the club Warren operated across the street from 2003 to 2008 (Chiaromontewas a partner). Phink started the Eloko psy-trance series at Funhaus, having already turned heads with parties held at the Bop.

“The first real party I put on at The Big Bop was with my partners in the Deep Sea Fish psytrance collective,” says Gallant. “We brought Infected Mushroom for the B.P. Empire tour, their first time in Toronto. It was a great, sold out event, and they kept the floor bouncing right ‘til 5am.” (A partial list of raves held at the Bop, with flyers, can be found here.)

DJ Lazarus (left) and DJ Phink playing different rooms at a Darkrave. Photo courtesy of Lloyd Warren.

Fact was, you never knew what you’d find in the building from night to night.

“We were mostly known for rock, punk, and metal, but it was common to have metal on one floor, a hip-hop show upstairs, and a singer-songwriter showcase in Joe’s,” reminds core staffer Scoot DeVille. “We were the only venue in the city where you could walk into a punk show on the ground floor, say ‘This band sucks,’ go upstairs and see a touring metal band, again say ‘This band sucks,’ and then go up to the third floor to see Esthero having band practice.

“It was actually really fucked up, but it worked. We had everyone from 14-year-old girls dancing in their bras at a rave at 4:30am, to their moms coming to see the throwback hair metal bands they grew up with.”

Scoot DeVille (centre) with then-Mayor David Miller, and Reverb bartender Helena. Photo courtesy of DeVille.

The club’s lack of curation may have been borne out of necessity, but in the end, it defined The Big Bop.

“Other clubs in the city at the time, and I mean this respectfully, were too well curated to let our type of music or any really outside music happen there,” says Damian Abraham; “But the Bop didn’t give a fuck, and booked in Darkrave, black metal, hip-hop, hardcore, screamo – all the stuff that wasn’t cool enough at the time for some of the other venues in town.

“It was like CBGBs in that way; [CBGBs’ owner] Hilly gets credit for having this amazing ear, but his genius was having an open door booking policy. Television and Ramones were able to play CBGBs when they couldn’t find other places in New York to play. That is the Bop’s gift to Toronto: it wasn’t too caught up in any one thing to prevent the next thing from developing.”

Fucked Up perform “Crusades” at Reverb, 2009. Video posted by PunksAndRockers.com

Who else played there: Many who went to Reverb during its early years, myself included, will associate that room with some incredible hip-hop, funk, and soul events. We have promoters Carlos Mondesir of Hot Stepper Productions and Jonathan Ramos of R.E.M.G. to thank for many of them.

Mondesir presented Ninja Tune artists like Amon Tobin, DJ Food, and DJ Vadim, as well as the likes of DJ Cam, Nightmares on Wax, and a very special touring group of turntablists in 1997.

Deep Concentration DJs (L-to-R): Kid-Koala, Jazzbo, Peanut Butter Wolf, Cut Chemist, A-Trak, and Grouch in behind. Photo courtesy of Carlos Mondesir.

“Deep Concentration was a tour for an album by that name featuring Kid Koala, Peanut Butter Wolf, Cut Chemist, A-Trak, and I added Grouch to rep Toronto,” Mondesir describes. “It was probably the best turntablist gig this city has ever seen. A-Trak was added to the bill at the urging of Kid Koala’s manager. We had to make special arrangements with his family for him to come and play. Needless to say, it was nuts.”

A young DJ A-Trak at Reverb, 1997. Photo courtesy of Carlos Mondesir.

Also in ’97, and against many odds, Hot Stepper presented Japanese artists United Future Organization for a sold-out show.

“I did that gig against the advice of my DJs,” recalls Mondesir; “I’d say it confirmed the viability of nu jazz in this city for many. Marilyn Manson also attended, which was really odd.”

On the live soul, jazz and funk tip, Hot Stepper’s signature Bump N’ Hustle series found its footing at Reverb.

“We’ve been doing Bump N’ Hustle so long that many people don’t know that for the first six years or so, it was a full live showcase of emerging soul music artists. Vocalists like Divine Brown, Glenn Lewis and tonnes of others rose through our gigs. Bump N’ Hustle was a massive source of pride in local music ability and community.”

Bump N’ Hustle band, featuring the late David ‘Soulfingaz’ Williams. Photo courtesy of Carlos Mondesir.

Surprisingly, Hot Stepper even did some Garage 416 house events at Reverb, including the presentations of Steve “Silk” Hurley, Joe Claussell, and Pevin Everett with his live band, Seance Divine.

“The Reverb sound was great,” explains Mondesir of presenting Garage 416 events outside of its main home of the time, Roxy Blu.“ Reverb wasn’t aesthetically nice, but turn the lights down, light some candles, roll some cool AV and it’s all good. I used great local AV guys regularly, Projektor and then Mix Motion. That compensated a lot.” (Hot Stepper turns 20 this year, with other mainstay events including Break for Love and their Sunday afternoon summer series at Cube.)

Dancefloor action at Bump N’ Hustle inside Reverb. Photo courtesy of Carlos Mondesir.

As for Jonathan Ramos, his R.E.M.G. logo was featured on a lot of flyers promoting shows at Reverb.

“Jonathan was instrumental in building a quality hip-hop scene at the Bop,” credits Caldwell. “He opened a lot of doors for Canadian hip-hop artists. [Through his shows] I was fortunate to work with artists such as The Rascalz, Ivana Santilli, k-os, Choclair, Michie Mee, and Classified, plus Jurassic 5, Ursula Rucker, and so many more.”

Ramos, who formed R.E.M.G. in 1993, booked Reverb regularly from 1998 on.

“Their booking policy made it accessible to acts, promoters and genres that didn’t always ‘fit’ at other venues,” writes Ramos.

“At that time, hip-hop wasn’t the omnipresent genre it is today and wasn’t ‘welcome’ in most venues. There was a misconception that these shows came with low bar sales and attracted violence, and as such most venues either didn’t allow the shows or levied prohibitive rental fees.”

REMG flyer for Raekwon at Reverb, 2000. Courtesy of Jonathan Ramos.

Some of the other acts Ramos booked in at the Bop include Dilated Peoples, The Hieroglyphics, The Coup, Spearhead, and The Beat Junkies. There’s one show that still stands out to him.

“Talib Kweli, September 2006. Kweli was at the top of his game, had one of his biggest hits, and was one of the first to put on a young Chicago producer named Kanye West. The energy in the room was palpable. Both Kweli and the fans had an amazing time.” (Ramos remains active as a concert promoter and is now the Director of Live Music for INK Entertainment.)

Talib Kweli live at Reverb in 2006. Video posted by mymanhenri.

Lots of other promoters, performers and DJs took note of the above events and brought in their own. DJs Kola, Serious and Fase produced parties. The Salads hosted their ‘Salad Gold’ series; Shaun Boothe presented The BarberShop Show; and James Bryan performed with loads of different projects, including The Philosopher Kings and Sunshine State. African percussionist Vinx hosted jam sessions that brought out some of this city’s best players and vocalists while local artists Blaxam, Jacksoul, The Pocket Dwellers and Fefe Dobson, among many others, brought the funk and soul.

Flyers courtesy of Andrea Caldwell.

From Maestro Fresh Wes to Metric or the Misfits, early Death From Above 1979 appearances, and even a Megadeath acoustic show, the possibilities were endless.

“The variety of events that we could be facing from week to week was unbelievable,” summarizes soundman Disman.

“One of the best shows that I remember was Asian Dub Foundation in Reverb, which was packed beyond belief. I was trying to do sound for a show in the Kathedral, with maybe 25 people in attendance, but when the audience upstairs started jumping up and down in time, the ceiling of Kathedral was flexing so much that the bands refused to get on stage. We cancelled the show downstairs, and I went up to join the party.“

Poster wall of memories. Photo by Lucy Van Nie.

Who else worked there: “Soundmen Jake Disman, Aaron Michielsen, ‘Lucy’ David Van Nie, Hiroto Tabata and Brendan Bane were the guys who I depended on the most to ensure the musicians were happy,” credits Caldwell. “They were true professionals who didn’t allow their own personal tastes to dictate their ability to do a great job for artists. Those guys always went above and beyond to make sure the whole night ran smoothly.”

Sound tech Brendan Bane. Photo by Lucy Van Nie.

Interviewees repeatedly mention the Bop’s many fine sound techs, with others including the Kathedral’s Mike Unger, and Greg Below, who worked both Kathedral and Reverb before co-founding Distort Entertainment and managing bands including Alexisonfire.

Following Peters and Caldwell as in-house bookers were Rosina Tassone and then Cindy Parreira, who has posted more than 100 live clips from shows at the Bop to her YouTube channel. (Caldwell, who left the Bop in the mid 2000s, went on to work with James Bryan at his UMI Entertainment and continued to book shows. She left Toronto three years ago, returning to Sault Ste. Marie where she now works in animal rescue.)

Bartender Alex. Photo by Lucy Van Nie.

Tina and Chris, November 2007. Photo by Lucy Van Nie.

Clubs of the Bop’s size also rely on a solid bar and security staff, with some of the core members mentioned including Sandy Bergin, Jamie Iker, Karen Neko, Pinky Love, Nina Tereschenko, Andrew Ryan Fox, Sylvana Ched, Steve McLeod, Peter ‘Slim’ Betley, Hubert Wysokinski and Marco Di.

Ken Stone was also a central figure in the Big Bop family.

“Ken was barback in his ‘50s,” shares DeVille. “Sadly, he passed away from lung cancer in 2005. We had a wake for him – Dom actually paid for his cremation – at the Bop. We all went up on the roof, very drunk, and Dom gave us all a handful of Ken’s ashes. We each went to our own little spot on the roof, cried, said a few words, and scattered his ashes. We were truly family; we went through births, deaths, divorces, breakups, addictions, recoveries, everything together.”

Audio engineer Van Nie, who says he mixed 35 to 50 bands a week at the Bop, agrees.

“The Reverb was my second living room; I often spent more time there than at home, as did most of the Bop staff. It was our refuge, our creative outlet. Through the rough times and the happy times, we were one dysfunctional family, raising a new generation of audio engineers, promoters, musicians and bartenders.”

“I used to call the Bop ‘The purple people eater’ because once you came there, you never left,” cracks DeVille, who worked as a busser, occasional bartender, and bouncer.

“If you could work at the Bop, you could handle anything. From drunk minors throwing up on me to holding down a naked man high on PCP screaming about how he was the messiah, I’ve seen it all. Twice. And I wouldn’t change a second of it. That 10 years was the best period of my life, and I miss it every day.” (DeVille now works security at both Sneaky Dee’s and Hard Luck Bar.)

Jane and Scooter. Photo by Lucy Van Nie.

Security staff member Peter ‘Slim’ Betley. Photo by Lucy Van Nie.

What happened to it: Chiaromonte co- owned the building until 2007, when it was sold to Toronto developer Daniel Rumack.

“I was ready to pack it in,” he admits. “I’d put in so many years, I was drained. During the first years, I even lived at the Bop. I really threw myself into it because I had to.

“By 2007, all of us partners got together and said ‘If somebody comes up with this figure, we’ll sell.’ Somebody did. We had an agreement with him that we would stay on, and if he found someone else, he would give us four months or if I wanted out, I could get out of the lease by giving four months.”

That time came near the end of 2009, when Rumack announced he had a new tenant. This too was timely.

“The last few years were not very well attended, and the building was starting to fall apart,” describes Disman.

The Big Bop went out with a bang on January 30^th, 2010. Kathedral featured 20 bands over 12 hours while Nocturnal Commissions and Embedded presented the ‘Good to the Last Bop’ rave on the other floors.

Poster by Field Trip Designs, www.JayTripper.com. Courtesy of Jay Tripper.

“The last song ever played at the Reverb was by me at the rave,” says Warren a.k.a. DJ Lazarus. “I played VNV Nation’s ‘Perpetual.’ A fitting song for the end of an era.” (Warren currently DJs at Nocturne and Velvet Underground while his roving Darkrave turns 15 this year.)

After the Bop’s close, the southeast corner of Queen and Bathurst underwent a significant transformation. Underneath all that grit and purple paint, 651 Queen West was a beautiful brick heritage building. Following extensive renovations, it opened as CB2’s first Canadian location in January 2012.

Chiaromonte has not yet been inside.

“No, but I’ve heard that you walk in, and see the Big Bop sign,” he comments. “It definitely looks like they did a nice restoration job. And you can’t stop big business.”

Early in the building’s restoration process. Photo by Ira S. Cohen.

Close to completion. Photo by Ira S. Cohen.

Apparently you can’t stop Chiaromonte either. Though he’d planned to retire after selling the Queen West building (“We made good money.”), Chiaromonte opened a new club almost immediately after closing.

“I realized my plans of retirement were bullshit,” he laughs. “Within 24 hours, I found the venue out in the west end that would become Rockpile, and we signed the lease. We grabbed all of the stuff from the Big Bop, brought it to the new location in January of 2010, and opened a couple months later.”

Final last call for the Bop. Photo by Lucy Van Nie.

Many familiar faces went with him. Lucy Van Nie coordinated the move, and did the audio and lighting design and install (he went on to work for Guerrilla Remote, and is now works for Westbury and is house tech at The Piston). Jake Disman is house tech of Rockpile West (the short-lived Rockpile East closed in December), and also works as a touring front-of-house tech.

Located at 5555A Dundas West in Etobicoke, Rockpile features tribute bands, indie bands, and even hip-hop shows (Talib Kweli performs there on February 20), with punk and metal at the core. Only this time, all-ages really means all ages.

“You know what’s so cool? Seeing all these old rockers come in with their kids,” says Chiaromonte. “We had the Misfits play both Rockpiles, and it was amazing to see how many of the old punks brought their kids. We were sold out for both shows. And the Misfits loved it.”

Dominic Chiaromonte watches the Misfits load in at Reverb. Photo by Lucy Van Nie.

Thank you to participants Andrea Caldwell, Carlos Mondesir, Damian Abraham, Dominic Chiaromonte, Ewan Exall, Greg Gallant, Jake Disman, Jonathan Ramos, Lloyd Warren, Lucy Van Nie, Mark Micallef, Noel Peters, Scoot DeVille, Trevor ‘DJ Tex’ Mais and Yvonne Matsell.

The post Then & Now: The Big Bop, part 2 appeared first on Then and Now: Toronto Nightlife History.

Article originally published February 11, 2014 by The Grid online (thegridto.com).

In the face of King West’s rampant condo-ization and nightclub-ificaiton, this beloved, recently shuttered basement venue held it down for underground sounds—and continues to do so at a newly opened space in the Annex.

BY: DENISE BENSON

Club: Footwork, 425 Adelaide W.

Years in operation: 2005-2013

History: The story of one of this city’s most beloved, internationally recognized house and techno clubs begins with the unlikely pairing of two men raised on rock.

Hamilton native Joel Smye was a long-haired fan of bands like Pearl Jam and Rage Against the Machine until his parents sent him to Switzerland to complete high school. While there, he also got an education in rave. By 1997, he hit up massive Toronto parties each weekend, and taught himself to DJ. As Baby Joel, he would become known for his love of funky Chicago house.

Originally from Ottawa, Stephan Philion moved to Toronto 11 years ago, already experienced in the hospitality industry, and in throwing house parties, which were largely a means to accumulate sound and lighting gear. He had a lean toward Britpop and grunge until party promoter and friend Gairy Brown took Philion to Fly Nightclub, where he fell for dance music.

Smye and Philion met in the early 2000s, while waiters at Brassai. The two talked music. Philion got to hear Smye DJ, loved his take on house, and invited the DJ to check a club sound system that was just gathering dust at the time.

“I expected a couple of JBLs beside a TV or something like that,” admits Smye. “But, basically, the bass bins that would later be in Footwork were laid out flat across Steph’s bedroom floor. He had to crawl over them to get to his bed.

“We decided we should do something with them, so talked about doing a one-off at 99 Sudbury.”

Joel Syme (left) and Stephan Philion. Photo by John Mitchell (http://derinkuyu.ca/).

At the time, 99 was still operating as a film studio, with occasional late-night parties. Philion and Smye had success with theirs, and came to manage the studio’s bar on weekends from 2003 to 2005.

Smye DJed a lot, and the pair booked in underground house and techno DJs and promoters like Mike Gleeson, Mat Lunnen, Lee Osborne, and Fukhouse. They lost the space when 99 Sudbury landed a year-long film contract.

As luck would have it, two regulars at Brassai frequently asked the duo about their parties.

“I think it was the same week that we were out of 99 that they said, ‘You know, we have this space that’s right around the corner. We just changed the locks, everything is up to code, and the liquor permit is in place—you’d just have to come and make it your own,’” recalls Smye.

Previously, the basement at Adelaide and Brant had housed piano bar Cry Baby, and dance club The Matrix before that. Initially, it didn’t feel like the right space for Smye and Philion, especially with its many windows that looked onto Adelaide.

“Then we came up with the idea of flipping it around, and having the entrance be from the alley, while boarding up the windows to make that half the dancefloor area,” Smye recounts.

After a month-and-a-half and “a curbed rent so we could have the opportunity to start out as cheaply as possible,” the two opened Footwork Dancebar in May of 2005.

They launched in a rapidly changing area. Soulful-underground-house club Roxy Blu, located across the street on Brant, would close that July, replaced by an upscale restaurant. Trendy spots like Brant House and Century Room were new to the neighbourhood.

Footwork was different. Not only was it located in a nondescript office building, the entrance was down an unmarked alley on its south side. Equally disorienting on first visit was the short maze of a hallway you stepped into. Often jammed with people both entering the club and exiting to smoke, the hallway was soundproofed and painted black. Senses kicked into overdrive upon entering the pulsing main space. There was a lounge area and some seating, but Footwork was about two main things: music and dancing.

Photo courtesy of Jonathan Rosa.

Why it was important: “We were pretty green at the time, and didn’t really know what we were getting into,” Smye confesses. “Our initial concept wasn’t really to be a full-on nightclub; we had some club nights that we wanted to do, but our goal was modeled on something a little more like Element—a dance bar.”

Still, they worked to bring warehouse sounds and DJs to a licensed club, with mixed results.

“We had a bit of cockiness to us, I think, when we opened because we had done 99 Sudbury for a couple of years, and it was successful,” says Smye. “When we were there, it was really easy to get people to come out, for obvious reasons.

“We thought that would translate easily to a bar and club. What we found was that our crowd came at two in the morning, looking for something to drink. We had to explain that it was a legit operation. People were a bit confused for a while.”

Though the Activate crew had some success promoting Wednesdays, and occasional Thursdays were busy, Footwork soon opened on weekends only. While legal capacity was only 255 people, they rarely reached that.

“The first year was rocky,” shares Smye. “It was off-and-on, which left us scratching our heads a little.

“We really got our stride going when DJ Addy brought us a Friday weekly a bit before the start of year two. Addy brought with him a crowd, a sound and a group of DJs who we hadn’t really worked with before.”

Addy at Footwork. Photo by John Mitchell (http://derinkuyu.ca/).

DJing professionally since the late ’90s, Addy Ranh had held residencies at clubs including The Guvernment, System Soundbar, Film Lounge, Turbo, Tonic, and Mad Bar. He knew Joel from Hamilton clubs, and fell for Footwork on first visit.

“I loved its high ceiling, alleyway entrance, and great owners who truly understand the culture,” says Ranh, who’d proposed Domestic Fridays, with a focus on local talent.

Main residents included Addy, Deko-ze, Carlo Lio, The Junkies (then called Vinyl Junkies), Sydney Blu, Nathan Barato, and Joee Cons. Domestic was busy from the start.

“The launch was slammed, with 400 people inside, and 300 trying to get in,” says Ranh. “Traffic backed up on Brant Street. Security was overwhelmed. Chuck Liddell was there.”

Perhaps the former UFC champ was lured by Domestic’s tough sound.

“Fridays’ sound was clubbier,” Smye says. “Its DJs played at places like The Guvernment and Comfort Zone, and had more of that pumping, hard-house vibe, which is also kind of a Toronto sound.

“I give Addy a lot of credit for helping us to get cooking, and to find a good balance because Domestic Fridays allowed us to focus energy on developing our Saturday sound.”

“Footwork came around at the right time—when [so many] clubs were switching to mainstream hip-hop and Top 40,” credits Ranh, in turn. “We went from having seven house clubs to literally two, Guvernment and Footwork. Footwork kept the torch alive, and fed the culture.”

Carlo Lio (left) and Nathan Barato a.k.a. The Roaches at Footwork. Photo by John Mitchell.

To do so, Smye and Philion worked with a variety of promoters on Saturday nights. Each brought their own sonic specialty, like Fukhouse for techno, Vunk for progressive house, and Nine for funky Chicago house. After Nine folded, its main resident DJ Mike Gleeson launched Bounce with Justin Riva.

“The Bounce crew became, and still are, our go-to guys for Chicago house, and related stuff,” Smye says. “When Fukhouse disbanded, Platform took over that techno role.”

“Footwork really was one of the only places you could reliably go to hear great underground music, especially in its earlier days,” confirms Gleeson, who’d DJed in Hamilton before going on to do Hustlin’ parties with Mat Lunnen at venues including Boa Redux and 99 Sudbury. “That made Footwork a hub for underground electronic music, and also provided a much-needed base from which the scene could survive and grow. The musical diversity attracted all kinds of different people; you can’t have a strong scene without it.”

Like Gleeson, Michael Babb a.k.a. DJ/producer Deko-ze was one of the earliest DJs to play at Footwork, and was impressed.

“Excuse my crassness, but I got an erection when I first saw the DJ booth,” says the notoriously forthright Babb, a veteran of the country’s top clubs and raves.

“You could immediately tell it was a DJ, Joel, who had overseen its design. So many club owners don’t realize that us DJs can perform at our best when the booth is put together properly. It’s also refreshing and rare to find owners who want to promote good quality music rather than solely make money.”

As a result, the skilled and energetic Deko-ze would go on to spin his chunky sounds at Footwork throughout the club’s history, even hosting annual birthday and Christmas specials.

Stephan Philion. Photo by Sasha Niveole from Purple Tree Photography.

Philion and Smye, in fact, got a whole lot of things right at Footwork, including sound and lights. Lighting was simple, but effective while sound was rich and full. The system always sounded tuned.

“It was pretty much always the same system in there,” says Smye. “We added a couple of pieces over the years, but I think it was just that we had the right pieces and the right amount for the room. It was never about overkill; it was about having sound that was appropriate.”

The club’s size and floor plan also worked to its advantage on many fronts.

“Footwork had a strange layout, but a very positive and contagious floor energy,” describes Gleeson. “It was small enough to be intimate and, as a DJ, make a direct connection with the dancers, yet big enough to host amazing artists and events.”

Jonathan Rosa. Photo by John Mitchell (http://derinkuyu.ca/).

“From a DJ’s perspective, something about that hourglass shape made it easier to connect with and control the crowd’s energy and vibe,” agrees Jonathan Rosa a.k.a. Jon Jon, a resident at Footwork since 2007 who’s also been involved in the club’s marketing and promotions since 2009. “Even the international touring DJs, like Guy Gerber and Marco Carola, emphasized this.”

Footwork also gained a reputation for its audience.

“Footwork crowds knew their music,” explains Philion. “More than once, big DJs would tell us that they were nervous to play. A lot of that had to do with the proximity of the people, but also the feel in the room, the vibe, and the knowledge of their fans.”

Put simply, it felt good to be in a room where you could trust that most people there also wanted to get lost in the music.

Footwork crowd early in the club’s history. Photo courtesy of Jonathan Rosa.

Photo courtesy of Jonathan Rosa.

“Footwork was a music-focussed venue, from the programming to the people who came there to dance,” says Smye. “This created a vibe that was different from a lot of other clubs.

“The magic of dance music, I’ve always felt, is that point in the night where there’s all sorts of people mixed into the room and, ultimately, they all really click together. Given the size of Footwork, that seemed to happen pretty regularly.”

“It’s no secret that we have had a long list of great nightclubs here in Toronto, and I’ve pretty much been to and worked at them all at one point or another,” offers in-demand DJ/producer Carlo Lio. “But Footwork was all about the music from day one, and I feel people really noticed this. It was a place where everything just felt right, and that is never easy to find. Footwork really became a home for all of us, whether you were a partygoer, DJ or promoter.”

Footwork’s Domestic weekly was the globetrotting house and tech talent’s “first real residency in the city.” Even as his popularity soared, Lio continued to guest at the re-branded Fridays (Rehab and then Luv This City), open on some Saturdays, and produced parties including UNION, a hugely popular collaborative gig also featuring Footwork favourites Nathan Barato and The Junkies.

Union flyer courtesy of Jonathan Rosa.

“Footwork played a key role in my career,” Lio emphasizes. “It has moulded me to become the artist I am today. It’s given me the chance to play with some of the biggest DJs on the planet, and has taught me tonnes about the industry as a whole. The Footwork crowd itself was like a drug; playing for the right people who love the music just as much as you do is indescribable. It can never get old!”

Footwork’s commitment to Toronto electronic music talent has been key to the careers of many who now tour the world.

In addition to Lio, Barato, The Junkies, and Sydney Blu, people like Jamie Kidd, James Teej, My Favorite Robot, and Art Department come to mind.

“It was more by circumstance than design, but Footwork did become a breeding ground for a lot of talents who have seen success around the world,” allows Smye. “Take the No.19 crew, Nitin and Jonny White [also half of Art Department]. We kind of grew up together. They brought in DJs and would also be on the bill, but had a tough time doing events at times because that sound they were into wasn’t really taking off. They were friends, and we wanted to do more with them, but from a club perspective, we didn’t always find that their parties made the room happen. I give them credit; they could have easily had more nights with us if they’d sometimes picked up the pace a little, but they stuck with their sound, and obviously have done well with it.”

Nitin now tours regularly, and is at work on his debut album. Addy is also known as a producer, having released music on labels including Toolroom, Hot Fingers, and Younan Music. Rosa and fellow Footwork resident DJ Jeff Button are among the many other Footwork-affiliated names that have begun to rise.

“The Footwork guys have gone out of their way to champion some of Toronto’s strong local talent,” confirms Babb a.k.a. Deko-ze. “They’ve been teaching the new generation that there doesn’t need to be an international DJ to bring credibility to a night.”

With its small size, and dedicated following, Footwork was also well-positioned to present emergent sounds and artists. Saturdays, in particular, reflected shifts in underground house and tech. An example is following the No.19 lead to slowed beats, as Footwork did when they teamed up with Jazz Spinder to present the Modern Love Affair series.

“There was this new sound coming up – deeper, with a slower tempo—and a lot of the artists weren’t yet well known or well-received in Toronto, even though it was getting really big elsewhere in the world,” says Smye.

“We created a brand so that the parties would be more about that brand, and people would just trust us that the DJs would be quality. Toronto has a knack for getting stuck on the same old stuff sometimes, so we wanted to give ourselves some freedom to bring in new acts, and take some chances.”

Modern Love Affair flyer courtesy of Jonathan Rosa.

“Clubs these days get stuck with sounds or DJs, or only book what’s hot and drop what’s not,” adds Lio. “Footwork was the opposite; they evolved. Their ear was always to the ground; they moulded with the new underground music, supported rising talents, and were willing to give it all a shot. You can’t beat a mentality like that. This is one of those special clubs that DJs will take less of a fee to play at. It was, and is, an internationally renowned club.”

The club did gain a surprisingly large international rep given its relatively small size. Footwork even clocked in at number 36 in last year’s Top 100 Clubs list compiled by DJ Mag.

“That caught us off-guard, to be honest,” allows Smye. “I think what got a good buzz going around the world were the DJs coming in, and having such a great time playing there. If you ever stood in the Footwork DJ booth when the night was going off, it really was the best seat in the house. You had a great view, you were close to the crowd—it just had such an intimate feel, and a lot of the DJs we booked played at mega-clubs so they’d come to Footwork and it would bring them back, probably, to the feelings they had when the first got into playing.”

A packed Footwork crowd. Photo by John Mitchell (http://derinkuyu.ca/).

Who else played/worked there: Several hundred local and international DJs graced Footwork’s booth during the club’s eight-year-run. Everyone I speak with has favourite memories.

“Two standout DJs who played with us a lot in the early years, and have become good friends, are Lee Burridge and Green Velvet,” offers Smye. “We still work with both of them a lot.”

“Lee Burridge, hands down, every time,” agrees longtime clubber and head Footwork bartender Kellie Nelles. “He’s a killer DJ, an amazing spirit, and just fun all around. I won’t forget the time Lee DJed from the dancefloor.

“Also, Richie Hawtin on a Thursday—how much better could it get than hearing him at an intimate venue like Footwork? Of course, Green Velvet: I remember the night he played nearby, but came in to Footwork and sang happy birthday to himself.”

While Nelles also makes mention of Dubfire, Steve Bug, Jamie Jones, Derrick Carter, Lee Foss, and Stephan Bodzin, many people highlight Danny Howell’s Footwork debut.

“Danny was booked to play open till close, so from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.,” Smye says. “We came up with the concept of doing a cocktail hour from 9-10 p.m., with no music on whatsoever. But Danny’s records got lost at the airport, and I was there trying to get him.

“By 10 o’clock, Footwork was at capacity. The anticipation had really built, the room was already getting sweaty, and the DJ hadn’t shown up yet. At about 10:20, the door opened, there was Danny, and the whole crowd started to chant his name. Danny is kind of a shy character, and was pretty overwhelmed by what he walked into—a room with no music, and getting to put his first record on for a packed club.”

Deadmau5 made his Toronto debut at Footwork in 2007, and returned as a surprise guest during Sydney Blu’s birthday years later. (Click through the photo gallery at the top of this article for scenes from these and other fondly remembered parties at Footwork.)

“Harry Romero was one of my favourite DJs to come through,” enthuses Deko-ze. “My spot was in the middle of the dancefloor for his entire set. When DJ Dan was in, it was always a zoo! I love seeing a crowd raging with crazy energy!”

“On big nights, the energy levels could get pretty crazy,” concurs Rosa. “I remember being in the backroom one night, and hearing the crowd go off; they sounded just like people going up and down on a roller coaster.”

That could have been in February 2007, on the night that AD/D presented Britain’s Switch, a.k.a. Solid Groove.

“Switch was a big one for me,” says an excited Philion. “That was a totally different type of music as well—it was fresh and new. I so remember that night; it was just relentless, track after track. The walls were throbbing. Every surface that people could stand on, they did.”

“Switch’s laptop kept shutting off in the middle of a track, and every time it stopped, that just made people go even crazier,” adds Gleeson. “I’ve never seen people dancing on the bar, and those narrow, six-inch-wide drink ledges before. Between that, and the slow torrent of condensation raining down from the ceiling because of the heat, I can’t recall a more intense night!

“And the second time we brought Sonny Fodera was also incredible. It was so packed so early, and so high in positive energy, with smiles all around.”

While other promoters, including HouseAddict, Boogie Inc., I/O Productions, Box of Kittens, and Embrace all presented multiple shows at Footwork, one promo crew especially stands out on the Saturday-night front.

Platform, a partnership of longtime promoter Alex Mastro and DJ/producer Jeremy Kesten, a.k.a. Jeremy K, presented more than a hundred techno and tech-house events at Footwork, beginning in 2007. Like the Footwork founders, Mastro and Kesten have ears tuned for high-quality sounds rising from the electronic-music underground.

“We did events more frequently, and gained some real momentum with Footwork, in the final few years,” says Mastro. “We created a strong bond with the owners, the patrons, and especially the DJs. When artists tell their agent, ‘This is the club I want to play because I know it will be an amazing show,’ it helps to secure better bookings.

“There were many memorable nights, and some that got totally crazy. Marco Carola played a year ago, the night after he played the Hurricane Sandy relief charity in New York put on by Leonardo Di Caprio. Footwork was at capacity by 9:15 p.m., before we normally even open.

“Also, there was the Guy Gerber show where someone pulled the fire alarm. Guy refused to stop playing. He played to an empty club for 20 minutes as the fire department sorted things out. Guy would not leave the decks, and the people didn’t leave outside the venue. When they were let back let in, the dancefloor went crazy.”

More recent Platform presentations included Mano Le Tough, Dixon, and Hot Since 82.

“Many times, you left Footwork feeling you had learned something about music, from one of the top acts on the planet,” says Kesten. “This is the magic of a venue like Footwork: It’s the experience that this music was made for.”

Parallel to this ran Footwork’s frequently mentioned community mindset.

“Footwork’s greatest aspect was its family-oriented environment,” asserts Lio. “We all know this is a cutthroat industry, and people will step on each other to get ahead. But it wasn’t like that with this crew. We all wanted to grow together, and wanted to see everyone do well. It was inspiring, to say the least.

“Our crowd was also very protective of the club,” says Philion. “If there was something not right happening, it would go down the chain, and the problem would be solved, whatever that was. We really wanted Footwork to be a respectful place—no bullshit, no hierarchy.”

Bartenders Veronika Sparkles and Dave Collier. Photo by John Mitchell.

“Our staff was key in that as well,” Smye acknowledges. “We had a pretty consistent crew; a lot of our core people were there for years.”

Nelles, who first worked at 99 Sudbury, bartended throughout Footwork’s history. She was joined early on by Jamie Miller and Erin Allaby.

“Erin was key,” says Smye. “Steph and I weren’t so organized in our early years, and she really took control of things.”

“Jon Rosa is our right-hand man,” adds Philion. “And he can throw a party single-handedly.”

Rosa himself points to Nelles, and Carl Barnes, Footwork’s head of security: “Both are super popular with our patrons; they go above and beyond in the kindness and customer service department.”

“Special mention to Carl for being nicest head bouncer ever,” Platform’s Mastro concurs. “Also, ’JQ,’ the soundtech, is the most wacky-yet-genius tech we have ever worked with. I would compare him to MacGyver. If something was broke, he could fix it with some glue from a Zig-Zag rolling paper, some electrical tape, and wood. He would build things in the blink of and eye, and we had no idea how this was even possible. He saved many situations.”

Carl Barnes (left) and Rafwat Shauki. Photo by Marko Kovacevic, courtesy of Jonathan Rosa.

What happened to it: In a twist that speaks both to Footwork’s success, and the health of Toronto’s electronic-music underground, the club closed last year largely because it got too busy. A new home became necessary.

“It outgrew its capacity,” says Gleeson. “With double or triple the number of people wanting to get in as were allowed, it was time.”

The King West crowd had found Footwork, as did new generations of clubbers. Many went to the club for the first time when it held afterparties related to the Digital Dreams and VELD Festivals.

“There was definitely an influx of new kids who were introduced to the music through [the mainstream success of] EDM, and found their way to us,” says Smye.

On a related note, Footwork partnered last summer with Platform and Embrace to produce the Electric Island picnic and concert series on Centre Island. (It returns this year.)

“Electric Island also helped Footwork,” says Philion. “When you get 5,000 people per event for four events, there will be some new energy as a result. We had a lot of new faces for the last four months. We gave about a month’s notice that we were closing, and heard a lot of ‘What? I’ve only being going here for two weeks!’”

The last year at Footwork was its busiest to date, so it did come as a shock when the closure was announced last September.

Smye, however, says he and Philion knew they wanted to start anew as far back as three years ago.

“We wanted to grow. We’d built ourselves up to a point, and there were other artists we wanted to bring in, but just couldn’t have at Footwork. Also, the neighbourhood had been changing around us. It was one thing after another. Just before we closed, another condo went up right beside us. You’d walk up the alley, and people’s bedrooms and balconies were right there. We were already actively looking, but that factored into it. Mostly, Steph and I were itching to do something new.”

Footwork closed with an incredible two months of programming, with guests including Lee Burridge, Chus+Ceballos, Marcel Dettman, Miss Honey Dijon, Benoit & Sergio, and Hot Since 82.

“Hot Since 82 played a killer, killer set on the second-to-last weekend,” says Nelles. “The vibe was off the hook; we really saw young and old come together during some of our final days. It truly makes me teary-eyed thinking of that night.”

The line-ups outside of Footwork during its final night. Photos by John Mitchell (http://derinkuyu.ca/).

The final weekend of Oct. 18-19 was fully devoted to local talent. Deko-ze played as part of the Last Dance, and greeted Footwork’s closure with a mix of sadness and optimism.

“To me, there are certain clubs that the underground scene will always reminisce about in reverential tones: Industry, Boa, System Soundbar, Turbo, and now Footwork,” says Babb. “I’m reminded of their integral influence whenever I travel; people always mention these clubs when talking about Toronto.” (Deko-ze travels regularly, releases on labels including Jungle Funk, which he co-owns with Jerome Robins, and is a resident at Fly, Guvernment, Comfort Zone, and now CODA.)

Also in October, it was announced that Footwork had purchased the club space at 794 Bathurst, formerly Annex Wreckroom. Their first party was Oct. 26.

“When we found the space, we pretty much had our calendar booked at Footwork, but had a buyer for that club lined up so it all came together,” explains Smye. “We decided that, rather than close down and do parties elsewhere, we would do them in the new space while we renovated during the week. It was a very interesting, gruelling few months of trying to renovate, and get the word out, while also trying not to say too much about what we’d be doing until it was the right time.”

“The last month at Footwork was especially epic,” adds Rosa, who, along with core staff like bartender Nelles and security head Barnes, moved to the new event space, now known to the world as CODA.

“It definitely felt like we left at our peak, but that’s the energy we want to channel straight into CODA. It’s definitely indicative of a scene not only maturing, but also flexin’.”

Joel (left) and Steph, then of Footwork and now of CODA. Photo by John Mitchell (http://derinkuyu.ca/).

CODA opened Jan. 18 with Art Department, and has featured impressive bookings each following week. Attendance has been high, and the reception positive.

With a capacity double that of Footwork, a stage that allows for live shows, and a new floor that adds some bounce for dancing bodies, CODA has the bases covered. Smye tells me they plan to program a variety of sounds, with live shows during the week and electronic music on weekends. Former Wreckroom head honcho Mark Atkinson was also hired as CODA’s General Manager.

Upcoming CODA events include Sydney Blu this Friday (Feb. 14), Yes Yes Y’all’s fifth anniversary (Feb. 21), Soul Clap (Feb. 22), beatboxer Beardyman (Feb. 27), and a Stones Throw special featuring Peanut Butter Wolf and JRocc (March 6).

No matter the music, it will be heard through a high-calibre soundsystems built and installed by PK Sound. Owner Paul Magnuson counts himself as a fan of Footwork.

“If you were to compare the two clubs, the major difference [in sound] would be power,” says Magnuson. “You’ll feel the system like never before, adding to the already intense experience Footwork provided. I really couldn’t compare this system to any other in North America; it’s very unique, even for us. The use of our large format line, and the placement of strategic delays, allows for a concert-like experience in a small room. Anyone attending events at CODA can expect to hear the music as it was intended by the composer or producer, with the all the power, depth, and clarity offered by modern acoustic technology. We’ve been really excited to unleash this system in Toronto, especially at CODA. Steph and Joel are incredibly passionate guys, and care about the people, the music, and the community. They’ve created something truly special.”

Adds Gleeson, “CODA is much bigger, and it might be difficult to retain that same intimate feel that Footwork had, but considering the structural changes they’ve made inside, I think it will be a big improvement.” (Gleeson continues on as a resident there, and recently released Your Love, a collaborative EP recorded with local funky-house duo Speedboats & Big Explosions.)

“It’s always sad to see a place this close to your heart close its doors, but everything does come to an end,” reasons Lio, who soon has releases coming out on Carl Cox’s Intec and Loco Dice’s Desolat in addition to remixing Audion for Spectral Sound.

“I am super happy for Steph and Joel, and the success of Footwork,” Lio adds. “They left on a high note, and I’m happy they didn’t skip a beat because we all know they have so much more to contribute to the Toronto underground. They are vital to this scene.”

The former Footwork space at 425 Adelaide St. W. will soon reopen as The Ace Lounge. Owner Jack (no last name provided) did not care to confirm any further details.

Addendum: inspired by this Then & Now story of Footwork, Toronto DJ Jeff Button and his DigDeep project compiled all of the live sets recorded at the club that they could find on Soundcloud. Enjoy many hours of listening below.

Thank you to participants Addy Ranh, Alex Mastro, Carlo Lio, Joel Smye, Jonathan Rosa, Kellie Nelles, Michael ‘Deko-ze’ Babb, Mike Gleeson, Paul Magnuson, Stephan Philion, and to John Mitchell, Sasha Niveole and Jeff Button.

The post Then & Now: Footwork appeared first on Then and Now: Toronto Nightlife History.

Article originally published November 16, 2012 by The Grid online (thegridto.com).

As the Mod Club Theatre turns 10, Then & Now explores the story of how a ‘60s-retro dance night came to spawn a world-class concert and DJ venue, transforming College Street in the process.

BY: DENISE BENSON

Club: Mod Club Theatre, 722 College

Years in operation: 2002-present

History: To share the history of how The Mod Club Theatre came to be, one must first trace College Street’s evolution as a nightlife destination. The stretch of College running west of Bathurst to Dovercourt has, of course, long been a hub for Italian, Portuguese and Latino communities. Restaurants and cafés have dotted the strip for decades—with Café Diplomatico at College and Clinton serving as a landmark spot for over 40 years—but it wasn’t until the 1990s that people began to open a broader array of venues that would entertain into the wee hours.

El Convento Rico—originally a haven for Latin gays, lesbians and transgendered people—opened in 1992, bringing dancing and drag shows to College and Crawford. The early-to-mid ’90s also saw the opening of spots including Souz Dal, College Street Bar, Ted’s Collision, and Alex Lifeson’s live music venue The Orbit Room. Intimate café 52 Inc. fed, entertained and politicized on the other side of Bathurst from 1995-2000, while Bar Italia opened on College in 1996 and Ted Footman launched Ted’s Wrecking Yard and Barcode—two floors of live music in one building—in 1997.

Musician Dan Kurtz—formerly of The New Deal and currently of Dragonette—knows the area well.

“When I moved to Canada as a little kid, I lived at College and Bathurst, and spent most of my childhood in the neighborhood,” he says. “As an adult, I bought a house on Beatrice and renovated it, just a year or two before things really began to heat up on the strip. I did that a couple more times with houses in the neighborhood before I moved out and, during that time, College Street became the hottest place to hang out. It was a great mix of a really authentic, old-school and virtually unchanged Italian and Portuguese neighbourhood by day, and an increasingly broad mix of great and cheesy bars and restaurants at night.

“My friends, my band, and most of my family lived in the neighborhood at that time, and it was probably one of the best times of my life,” he adds. In the late ’90s, Kurtz performed at venues like Ted’s, Bar Italia, and Orbit Room while a member of bands including Que Vida.

“At the time, almost every show I played was memorable, since my bands were just coming up,” says Kurtz. “Getting a good gig on College was some measure of legitimacy.”

Lava Lounge, at 507 College just west of Palmerston, added much to the strip. Opened in September 1997 by former Rivoli staffers Greg Bottrell and Rob Eklove (with support from The Rivoli and Queen Mother Café owners Andre Rosenbaum and David Stearn), Lava Lounge was located in the former home of Portuguese family restaurant Cheers. Bottrell and crew transformed it into a resto-lounge, club, and patio licensed for 270 people, making Lava one of the largest spots on College at that time.

“College seemed like a cool up-and-coming area,” recalls Bottrell. “But when we first opened, there was not that much happening on the street. It hadn’t blossomed yet.”

Their timing was good, as the area soon exploded. Hip new spots dotted the landscape, with venues ranging from the super cool (Ciao Edie) to student-centric (Midtown) to pool halls (Clear Spot, later Andy Poolhall), all featuring DJs.

“The late 1990s to 2005 was College Street’s heyday,” says Bottrell, who also opened Asian fusion restaurant Tempo at College and Clinton in 2000. “It was the hip and happening restaurant, patio, and bar area in those years—along with a few clubs, Lava Lounge being one of them.”

Lava featured both live music and DJs from its start. Resident DJs included the likes of Fish Fry, Mike Tull and Tony Lanz, Shawn MacDonald, and John Kong, while Tuesdays were known for the live soul-jazz of Thomas Reynolds and Shugga, often accompanied by vocalist Divine Earth Essence (now Divine Brown).

Bobbi Guy (left) and Mark Holmes, circa 1999. Photo by Edward Pond.

In October of 1999, a new Wednesday weekly dubbed Mod Club launched at Lava Lounge. Helmed by friends and British expats Mark Holmes (also known as the vocalist in Platinum Blonde) and Bobbi Guy, the Mod Club nights were inspired by shared obsessions and, partly, the success of Davy Love’s Blow Up Saturdays, then held at The El Mocambo.

“I went to the U.K. with my friend Bobbi in 1999 and, on our way back to Toronto, we hatched this plan for something totally different than Blow Up,” says Holmes, at the beginning of a lengthy phone interview.

“So many bands, like Blur and Oasis, were talking about the influence of all these ’60s bands, and I thought that if people were interested in those bands, they might be interested in where the music came from. I was an absolute 1960s fanatic; I had VHS tapes of The Prisoner, The Avengers, The Saint, and I was crazy about the music, the clothing, everything. I just wished so heavily that I could transport myself back into that time.”

They did the next best thing. Guy designed the Mod Club logo, the pair promoted around town, and soon they were projecting 1960s British imagery while spinning deep collections of Motown, soul, R&B and mod bands in the similarly styled Lava Lounge.

The original Mod Club sign, outside Lava Lounge. Photo courtesy of Mark Holmes.

“Basically, you were in a time capsule the moment you walked in,” says Holmes. “I loved every last magical minute of it.

“Everybody came out dressed like the ’60s; all the guys had suits, all the girls had Vidal Sassoon haircuts. And then it just exploded. After a few Wednesdays, the lineup was down the street. I got my wish: every Wednesday, I got to go back into the ’60s.”

“That night was just a great scene,” agrees Bottrell. “People looked the part. They had scooters, Fred Perry, Ben Sherman. It was a good-looking, young, and—because it was mid-week—downtown crowd. The music with Mark and Bobbi was wicked. People danced their asses off.”

The scene inside Mod Club Wednesdays at Lava Lounge. Photo courtesy of Mark Holmes.

Mod Club packed Lava every Wednesday until the club was forced to close in spring of 2004. The building it was in would be torn down to make way for the huge  href=”http://condos.ca/condominiums/toronto-the-europa-308-palmerston-ave” target=”_blank”>Europa condo building of today.

“We’d signed a regular corporation lease, which had a ‘demolition clause’ in it,” Bottrell explains. “Back then, no one would have predicted that such a condo boom was on the horizon. Also, no one would have guessed that people would demolish a more than one-hundred-year-old building that took up most of a city block to build a bigger and brand new condo.”

By fall of 2004, Bottrell opened Supermarket in Kensington Market. Guy and Holmes continued there for many months of soul-soaked Mod Club Wednesdays.

“I remember one night at Supermarket, Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams were in and requested some slow music,” begins Guy. “We obliged, and the whole bar looked on as they re-enacted The Notebook on the dancefloor. We played about six slow songs while they just made out, without a care in the world. Another night there, a guy came into the booth with a weird accent and complimented me on my Hammond groove set, then looked through my CDs. I gave him some tickets to go get us drinks, and watched as he lined up for 10 minutes at the bar. He returned, and then introduced himself as Tiesto. Nice bloke.”

The first Mod Club go-go dancers at Revival. Photo by Trevor Roberts.

But the Mod Club story also takes us back to College Street, and mirrors its growth. In November 2001, while still holding down Wednesdays at Lava, Guy and Holmes also launched a Saturday Mod Club weekly at newly opened Revival Bar.

Opened by Domenic Tedesco and chef-turned-restaurateur Joe Saturnino, Revival is housed in a beautiful building at the corner of College and Shaw that was once a Baptist church, and later a Polish legion hall. Having been a partner in Italian fine-dining restaurant Veni, Vidi, Vici, which also attracted a later night crowd, Saturnino saw the writing on the wall.

“College Street had always been vibrant,” he says. “But Revival opened at a time when a new adult crowd was taking over. It was a young professional crowd looking for new places to go to.”

Revival gave that crowd food, DJs, and live music. Mod Club Saturdays attracted thousands to College Street and packed Revival for three years.

DJs DaSilva and Benny K. Photo by Trevor Roberts.

Guy and Holmes spent Saturday afternoons putting up banners, sorting décor, and tweaking sound in anticipation of their capacity crowds. There were mod go-go dancers, confetti cannons, big lighting effects, and live acts that included both locals and touring artists like The Dandy Warhols, who performed an acoustic set.

“My main focus was to discover new music and also go around finding bands to play on our Saturday nights in front of a full house,” describes Guy. “That gave me the most pleasure, giving young bands an opportunity to play on such a stage.”

“We made it into a massive rock show,” says Holmes, who DJed alongside Guy and a cast of characters including Boozecan Bob, Taylor & Gedge, Benny K, DJ Da Silva, and Jesse F. Keeler.

“Upstairs on Saturdays, there was a more modern sound comprised of Britpop, and the newly emerging electro sounds coming out of the U.K.,” recalls Guy. “For the diehards, there was ’60s soul and Hammond groove in the basement.”

Guy and Holmes at Revival. Photo by Trevor Roberts.

“I think in Mark and Bobbi’s minds, the basement was going to be the part that was more like the Wednesdays, and I know I certainly broke that rule, but within context,” chuckles Jesse F. Keeler during a phone chat. “I’d start playing ska, dub, and old reggae in the last hour.

“People wanted to be challenged,” adds Keeler, who’d also been a regular attendee at the Mod Club Wednesdays. “I had a lot of people come up and say, ‘I had no idea that that rap song was a sample until you played that song.’ It was a fun sample school to run for people.”

Keeler was a resident until the band he was most heavily involved in at the time—Death From Above 1979—began to tour regularly and he missed a month of Saturdays. “I walked in one night, ready to go, and there were new guys I’d never seen before in the basement.”

By this time, the Mod Club weeklies were a phenomenon that would soon spawn a now internationally recognized club and concert venue.

Guy and Holmes DJ the opening night of the Mod Club Theatre, November 2002. Photo by Trevor Roberts.

The birth of the Mod Club Theatre: In early 2002, Revival was closed for two weeks because of a liquor-licence infraction.

“We took our scheduled shows across the street, to Corner Pocket,” says Revival’s Saturnino of the pool hall that operated out of 722 College at the time. “Dom and I showed Bruno Sinopoli how to transform his place into a club.”

“It had been a club, and before that it had been some kind of theatre, with the stage and everything,” says Holmes of the space. “I walked around upstairs and thought it was amazing, like in that scene from Quadrophenia when the guy jumped off the balcony into the crowd. It was a beautiful place, but just so gross inside at the time.”

The Mod Club nights would go on to pack both venues on Saturdays for years, with DJs and dancers darting back-and-forth across the street from Corner Pocket to Revival.

Early into their run at both venues, Holmes was inspired.

“I got to thinking that the reason people were going to Lava on Wednesdays and Saturdays at Revival was for Mod Club so I said, ‘What would it be like if I had a place that is The Mod Club? What would it take?’

“A little while later, I made a deal with [Corner Pocket owner] Bruno, put all my money in, and designed the whole place on my laptop. I gave that to the builders, and we built The Mod Club Theatre. People were worried that it would be such a gamble, but I felt I had to keep moving forward.”

Bobbi Guy, boxer Lennox Lewis, and Mark Holmes on opening night. Photo by Trevor Roberts.

The Mod Club Theatre officially opened doors in November 2002. Bobbi Guy recalls a fave moment from the first night.

“[British-Canadian world heavyweight boxing champion] Lennox Lewis had been invited, and came with his entourage of large humans. I knew he was a West Ham United fan so we started talking about some old faces we both knew back in London. We ended up singing West Ham songs arm in arm, much to the bemusement of his troops.”

Why it’s important: “I think, mainly, we gave club-goers a different option from what was happening elsewhere in the city,” says Guy, a main Saturday resident DJ until early 2010. “People were weary of going to the club district for a good night out. We were in a lot safer area, but were just as deadly on the dancefloor. College Street was a quiet place till we showed up; now look at it.

As for the venue itself, Mod Club Theatre brought a professional 700-capacity club and concert space to College Street.

“It raised the bar for sound and lighting,” states Holmes. “I wanted a place where you could see bands in a beautiful surrounding, with fantastic lights and sound, and where you could sit down without getting chewing gum stuck to the seat of your trousers.”

Early on, films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey screened, but Mod Club Saturdays remained the main draw. Fridays were initially launched as glam night Velvet Goldmine, with Joan Jett flown in to guest DJ at the opening. Crystal Castles’ Ethan Kath was a Friday resident DJ, back in the days when he still answered to “Claudio.”

Holmes also worked to establish Mod Club Theatre as a concert spot, reaching out to event producers including Against The Grain (now Collective Concerts). After Muse performed at the club on a Saturday in April 2004, concert bookings poured in. Area restaurants, like neighbours Il Gatto Nero, benefited from the business.

Muse’s Matt Bellamy gets acquainted with the Mod Club’s bar. Photo by Trevor Roberts

Above all, Mod Club Theatre is highly versatile as a venue.

“Mod Club is fantastic from a technical perspective, with amazing sound, production, and sight lines,” says Adam Gill, founder of event production company Embrace. “It’s an amazing live/concert room, but also works great for DJ/electronic-type events.”

“The first time I went to Mod Club Theatre was on a Saturday,” recalls DJ/producer and A.D/D Events co-founder Mario Jukica. “Mark really blew me away with the level of production he was doing, creating an exciting atmosphere that relied heavily on the use of video technology and pyrotechnics.

“I was impressed as it felt a bit like a concert. The tech team, led by Mark Prinsloo, had the ability to set the stage for a live band and tear down within minutes, then set up a DJ platform centre stage. This gave me a lot of ideas, and made me really want to work with them.”

It’s this very versatility—and group of people—that made Mod Club Theatre one of the global hubs for the merger of rock and electro.

From 2003 to 2007, Holmes a.k.a. DJ MRK, programmed and played the highly rated Mod Club radio show, broadcast live on 102.1 The Edge, Thursdays from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. Guy also introduced three new tracks each week.

“That’s when the music scene really changed,” says Holmes; “It’s when the whole indie band mixed with electronic music idea moved forward. Necessity is the mother of invention. We were – Bobbi especially – very much in contact with a lot of British DJs who would send him stuff. I had an idea to bring the indie crowd and the dance crowd in to the same place, and I worked on that with quite a few people. That’s how the radio show got started. Then A.D/D came in after that and started solidifying that whole vibe. Then the whole scene exploded.

“Obviously that happened all over the world, but when I think back to the radio shows, we had to make our own music. We bootlegged indie tracks and mixed them with electronic music. It was great because people at The Edge started getting requests for songs they’d never heard of and never playlisted. I had control of the music for the live-to-air because I was the DJ. It was like witnessing the birth of a new scene.”

Toronto’s Crystal Castles and MSTRKRFT both formed during this time period, and both played the live-to-air with Holmes.

MSTRKRFT backstage at the Mod Club Theatre. Photo by Trevor Roberts.

“That’s how I reconnected with Mark,” says Keeler, the Mod Club-at-Revival resident DJ who’d become half of MSTRKRFT. “I found out he was playing and championing music from both MSTRKRFT and Death From Above. At one point, he asked if I wanted to DJ the live-to-air. I pulled no punches that night. It was MSTRKRFT, and we played the same way we would have in England or anywhere else in the world at the time.”

“Mark took a lot of chances with the music he played through such a commercial medium as 102.1,” confirms Jukica. “Hearing artists like LCD Soundsystem and Mylo on the radio was refreshing. It definitely helped expose the music we were championing at our parties.”

By late 2004, Jukica and Eve Fiorillo were producing parties under the banner of A.D/D at Mod Club Theatre. They booked local DJs including Barbi and Rory Them Finest, and presented themed events like Return To New York, with Arthur Baker, and I Love Neon, with guests including Tiga. A.D/D also had tight ties with influential French electronic label Ed Banger, presenting many of their artists, including at the infamous Daft Punk afterparty of August 2007.

“That was, for sure, our highlight at that venue,” says Jukica, who also DJs as Milano. “Seeing them at the party unmasked until the bitter end, when the club was empty, was special. All the Ed Banger related events had an incredible energy level.”

A.D/D would later take their bookings and colourful, post-raver crowd to CiRCA for their Randomland Fridays, but when that concluded in summer 2009, Adam Gill and Embrace stepped in to fill the void by presenting the musically related Arcade Fridays at Mod Club Theatre.

Arcade Fridays crowd. Photo by James Drobik.

Over Arcade’s two-plus-years, Embrace highlighted locals like Milano, Meech, Poupon, Gingy and Bordello, Andy Ares, St. Mandrew, DJ Medley and Auto Erotique while also presenting weekly international guests. That impressive roster of names includes Simian Mobile Disco, Claude Von Stroke, Zedd, Laidback Luke, Rusko, Toddla T, and Trentemoller, who presented a most incredible live band show in April 2011.

“Arcade had a great run, and there were so many good nights, but Benga was a special one,” recalls Gill. “It was when dubstep was still a very new and fresh sound, and was a very cool night of music. Wolfgang Gartner was insane; the place went absolutely nuts for him. Fake Blood on our one-year anniversary might have been the best night there though. People went crazy.”

Keeler—who has DJed Mod Club multiple times as part of MSTRKRFT—has another favourite from the venue’s Friday night history.

“I really liked when Vitalic played there live—both times, but the first one was really special. The crowd was really receptive for someone like Vitalic, who doesn’t fit in a box real easy. He’s not a pop guy by any means, but it was just rammed. For a while, Fridays had such a dedicated crowd that seemed to really enjoy a big spectrum. The first time I saw Torro Torro play was there, and I was super impressed.”

Amy Winehouse (centre) with husband Blake Fielder-Civil and Mark Holmes, backstage in 2007. Photo by Trevor Roberts.

Who else has played/worked there: “Mod Club Theatre was the Cadillac of gigs on the College strip, and it was the best-sounding room to play, too—in no small part due to Mark Prinsloo and his good ears,” says Dan Kurtz. “The first New Deal and Dragonette shows there felt like big deals.”

The New Deal, in fact, staged their high profile 2009 CD release show at the club, and Dragonette has chosen to perform there multiple times.

“I feel that with Dragonette in particular, we kind of became legit at our shows at the Mod Club Theatre, at least as performers. We liked how we sounded, and how our shows looked. It felt, I suppose, big.

“It was also the first place I ever DJed at, which was terrifying, but we [Kurtz and Dragonette drummer Joel Stouffer] drank our entire rider before we started, so we felt pretty awesome about 15 seconds into it. I also saw a Feist show there that I just loved. It was a perfect venue for her intimate style of performance.”

The list of artists who’ve performed at Mod Club Theatre is both impressive and enormous. For electronic music fans, live shows by both Booka Shade and Modeselektor are highly memorable. Amy Winehouse performed two heartrending sold-out shows in May of 2007. K’naan launched his Troubadour CD there in 2009, while The Weeknd made its live debut on the same stage in 2011. And, of course, dozens of British acts of all musical stripes—from Paul Weller to Kaiser Chiefs to Mike Skinner—have headlined.

Embrace, Collective Concerts, Live Nation, and other concert promoters continue to book in shows, making Mod Club’s listings ones to watch.

And when it comes to staff, longtime manager Jorge Dias is another frequently credited principal player; he, Prinsloo, and Bruno Sinopoli were also the key figures behind the transformation of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

“The Mod Club staff is amazing,” Jukica summarizes. “They buzzed really hard on the nights of our shows, and were a major reason for the electric vibe in the room.”

Mark Holmes with Mike Skinner a.k.a. The Streets. Photo by Trevor Roberts.

The here & now: The venue now technically known as Virgin Mobile Mod Club, thanks to a 2011 sponsorship deal, celebrates a decade in business this weekend. Many credit the club’s success largely to Holmes.

“Mark has vision, and he succeeds at doing things right,” says Bottrell, who continues to happily operate Supermarket. “He has an artist’s eye for detail, and he sure is bang-on with wanting the best in lighting, sound, and visuals.”

“There’s not a lot of spaces that are made that intelligently, or places where people care that much about sound—despite what they might tell you,” agrees Keeler, who spoke while on a break from working on a new Death From Above 1979 album that’s nearing completion. “Everything I’ve ever seen at Mod Club has sounded great. I’m always impressed by that.”

Saturday night at The Mod Club Theatre. Photo Trevor Roberts.

As for Saturnino, he appreciates the ties between his venue and Mod Club.

“Both places have different identities,” he says, pointing to Revival’s blend of burlesque, bands, and soul and house-heavy sounds.

“Having another [sizable] club has given people more choices, and helped make our entire area better for business.”

“That such a residential neighbourhood, with small neighbourhood shops, could also have such a first-class venue, with world-class artists playing there on a weekly basis, makes that part of Toronto truly fantastic,” concurs Kurtz.

Mod Club’s 10th anniversary party this Saturday (Nov. 17) features guests including Dr. Draw and DJ Jelo, alongside current U.K. Underground Saturday residents MRK and Tigerblood. The Saturday sounds may have changed over the years, but the song remains the same.

“The Mod Club means ‘modernist’ and to be a modernist, one must embrace the future, embrace technology, and search for and present the new all the time,” says Holmes, now also busy with the recently reformed Platinum Blonde.

“The times change, and the scenes change. We still spin some Britpop tracks and the crowd loves them, but it’s 10 years later, and it’s different music. Now it’s other kids’ time to make their history, their time capsule.”

Thank you to Adam Gill, Bobbi Guy, Dan Kurtz, Greg Bottrell, Jesse Keeler, Joe Saturnino, Mario Jukica and Mark Holmes.

The post Then & Now: Mod Club appeared first on Then and Now: Toronto Nightlife History.