Sebastian Agnello in conversation mode -Gary 17

\ TO EAST \

I was disappointed this weekend to have not been feeling a little better in order to be able to attend what by all accounts (and the video evidence posted on Facebook) was a marvellous event marking the 50^th anniversary of the “Summer of Love” and the halcyon days of Yorkville that was held at Black Swan Tavern on Saturday night.

One of the video highlights posted on Facebook yesterday by Elke Ramstead was a performance by one of the artists who was very much at the heart of that scene, a then-very-young Sebastian Agnello who has continued, along with a surprisingly large number of the others who were active in music at the time, to perform and both delight and infuriate audiences ever since.

The best part of the clip isn’t actually Seb’s performance of a song he wrote way back then about the local scene and its drug use, “Let’s Go To The Drug Store” and which appears on his debut Head Roach album also released that year (and immediately banned from radio play in prissy Toronto The Good because of its many lyrics about drug use and sex), although his rendition of it is delightful here too.

But what stands out to me in the little vignette captured by Elke on Saturday is Seb’s faithful if apocryphal description of what the scene was like those long five decades ago and how smoothly and effortlessly he’s able to recall and share the feel of those times. It’s worth remembering that it was

Whether or not you’re able to view that little vid, you’ll quite possibly be wanting to hear more of the same and the good news is that you can any Monday evening, when Seb weekly holds court as host of an open mic night in the same room at 154 Danforth Ave. near Broadview.

In between sets by what is almost always a stellar lineup of guest performers doing their thing solo or severally, Seb always performs a tune or two from his own extensive songbook of original protest tunes and Country-Blues story songs along with pithy covers, and there’s always an introduction to the tunes that contains little pearls of insight or recollection or context that will bring back memories if you were there and help you to understand why the 60s were the Best Decade Ever if you weren’t.

It’s worth remembering, after all, that it was 50 years ago this summer (in August) that the band Seb was part of, Lords of London, became the first ever Canadian act to hit Number 1 on the CHUM-AM hit parade, with its instrumental tune “Cornflakes and Ice Cream”. Ask him about that tonight or any Monday and to play some tunes from Head Roach or others from the day and he’ll no doubt oblige.

No cover and it all gets underway at 9:30 and usually goes right up to last call.

-Gary 17, TorontoMoon.ca

SHOW LISTINGS for Monday, June 19, 2021

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ON AIR/ONLINE

*6> “Underplayed and Underpaid” interviews and performances by Guelph area bands on CFRU 93.3 FM broadcast and online

7-8> “Acoustic Workshop” with host Heather Fielding @ CIUT 89.5 FM broadcast and online

416 – TORONTO CENTRAL

6> David Newberry @ Cameron House (front), 408 Queen St. W.

6> Wintergarten Orchestra @ Berkeley Bicycle Club, 504 Jarvis St.

6:30> The Cookers Quintet @ The Rex, 194 Queen St. W. ~Jazz; $

**7-1 (sign-up at 7, show starts 7:30)> open stage with host Linda Saslove @ Free Times Café, 320 College St.

7> Sham 69; Armed and Hammered; Dirty Work; Black Tar @ Velvet Underground, 508 Queen St. W. ~Metal/Grunge/Hard-core; $

*7-10> open stage with Brad Scott @ Lola, 40 Kensington Ave.

7:30> Sean Jones @ Casa Loma, 1 Austin Terrace ~Soul/R&B; $25

8> Sini Ruedal; Laurel Sinden; Brielle Frost; Samantha Chang; Louis Papachristos Summer In The City Flute Festival @ St. Thomas Anglican Church, 383 Huron St. ~Jazz/Classical

8> Ukulele jam @ Tranzac Lounge (Main Hall), 292 Brunswick Ave.

8-12> Ligible Intelligibles host poetry open mic @ May Café, 876 Dundas St. W. ~spoken word; $0

8:30 Tone Music Festival with Grunen; The Cluttertones @ Array Space, 155 Walnut Ave.

8:40> Strange Brew; Matthew Akerman @ Horseshoe Tavern, 370 Queen St. W. ~indie; $0

**9-1:30> jam with featured hosts @ Grossman’s, 379 Spadina Ave.

9> NXNE Launch party with Peaches; hey dw; more @ Phoenix Concert Theatre, 410 Sherbourne St. ~indie; $

*9:30> open mic with host Mark Villamor at Amsterdam Bicycle Club, 54 The Esplanade

9:30> Kris Davis, Tony Malaby & Nick Fraser @ The Rex, 194 Queen St. W. ~Jazz; $

10> Jordan John @ The Orbit Room, 580 College St. ~R&B/Blues; $

**10> open mic (2 songs; sign-up starts 8 p.m.) with host Sarah Greene @ Tranzac Lounge (Southern Cross), 292 Brunswick Ave.

10> Matt Weidinger @ Cameron House (front), 408 Queen St. W.

10-2> B.O.C. @ The Hideout, 423 College St. ~indie; $

416 - TORONTO EAST

7-10> Smokey Folk @ Relish, 2152 Danforth Ave. ~Bluegrass; 0$

7> Alexisonfire @ The Danforth Music Hall, 147 Danforth Ave. ~contemporary original; $

7:30> performers the club doesn’t think worth naming @ The Old Nick, 123 Danforth Ave. ~songwriters; 0$

8:30-10:30> The Bay of Pigs @ Castro’s, 2116 Queen St. E.

*8:45-12> Riverboat Mondays acoustic open stage jam with Julian Taylor & Tyler Ellis @ Dora Keogh, 141 Danforth Ave.

*9-12> The Out of Towners @ Sauce on Danforth, 1376 Danforth Ave.

*9:30-2> Sebastian Agnello & friends @ Black Swan Tavern, 154 Danforth Ave.; 0$

416 – TORONTO ETOBICOKE

*8-12> Al Reilly’s Catalyst also featuring Rick Anderson host Rock jam @ Rockpile, 5555 Dundas St. W.

8> Sil Simone Band @ Timothy’s Pub, 344 Brown’s Line ~~Rock/Top 40 covers

416 – TORONTO SCARBOROUGH

*8-11> open stage with Dan Walek @ McGradie’s, 2167 Victoria Park Ave.

*9-1> open jam with The Repairmen @ Newfoundlander Tavern, 472 Danforth

416 – TORONTO WEST

5-8> Ed Kopec solo @ Gate 403, 403 Roncesvalles Ave. ~Jazz

5:30> Martha Wainwright with Bernice @ Burdock, 1184 Bloor St. W. ~original Rock/Pop; $

7> Zach Smith Quintet @ The Emmet Ray, 924 College St. ~Jazz; pwyc

7:30> Leather Jacuzzi; Tough Age; WLMRT @ Faith/Void, 894 College St. ~contemporary original; $

*8> open jam with The Pumpkinheadz @ The Wicket Pub, 1671 Bloor St. W.

8> Charlotte Cornfield; Blue Sky Minders; Kira May; Adrian Underhill @ The Baby G, 1608 Dundas St. W. ~indie; $

8-11> Vissia; Jordan Norman; Wisdom Teeth; The North Coast; Altameda @ Dakota Tavern, 249 Ossington Ave. ~indie; $

8:30> Erich Mrak; Austin Strange; Ian Sabourin; Joël @ Smiling Buddha Stage 1, 961 College St. ~indie; $

9> Pat Robitaille @ Reposado, 136 Ossington Ave. ~songwriter; 0$

*9-1> Hamstrung Stringband @ The Local, 396 Roncesvalles Ave. ~Bluegrass

*9-1> eclectic open stage/jam with host Nelson Sobral & feature by Voltzwagon @ The Painted Lady, 218 Ossington Ave.

9-1> Tim Hamel Trio & guest @ Gate 403, 403 Roncesvalles Ave. ~Jazz

9> Luke Vajsar @ Orchard Bar, 1174 Bloor St. W. ~loop-style bass grooves Funk

9:30> Trevor Falls Collective @ The Emmet Ray, 924 College St. ~Jazz; pwyc

10> Good Enough Live Karaoke Band @ Drake Hotel Lounge, 1150 Queen St. W.

*10> open mic with host Liam Kearney @ The Hole In The Wall, 2867 Dundas St. W.

519

*5> open mic with Dennis Napper @ Rhapsody Barrel Bar, 179 King St. W., Kitchener

*8-12> open stage @ The Boathouse, 97 Jubilee Drive, Kitchener

9:30> Turk and the Hobbits @ Duke of Wellington, 33 Erb St. W., Waterloo

*10-2> Matt Weidinger @ Jimmy Jazz, 52 Macdonell St., Guelph ~acoustic originals & covers

705

*7> Rick & Gailie @ Black Horse Pub, 452 George St. N., Peterborough

9?> jam night with Rob Drake @ Sticky Fingers Dunlop, 199 Essa Rd.

9:30> G3NERiC; CK Flach; Janetville Du @ The Garnet, 231 Hunter St. W., Peterborough

905 EAST

*8-11> open stage @ Simcoe Blues & Jazz, 926 Simcoe St. N., Oshawa

905 NORTH

9:25-1:05> jam/open stage with backline @ Sneakers Uptown, 18025 Yonge St., Newmarket

905 SOUTH

6:30> Sophia Perlman with Choir Nation @ The Pearl Company, 16 Steven St., Hamilton ~Jazz; $5

*8> The New Rebel Westerners @ Cat ‘n’ Fiddle, 174 John St. S., Hamilton ~Country

8> Got Talent Challenge with various acts grand finale night with host Steve Ruddick @ Pub Fiction, 1242 Garner Rd. W., Ancaster

905 WEST

*7-10> open mic with Chris Partland @ The Purple Heather, 3600 Dundas St. W., Burlington

**8-12> BBQ & jam night with Port Credit Review Band @ Moonshine Café, 137 Kerr St., Oakville; ($8.95 with BBQ dinner special starts at 6)

9> Chelsea Crites @ Roc’n Doc’s, 105 Lakeshore Rd. E., Port Credit ~Country Rock

*9:30-1> jam with Tom Barlow @ Shore Grill, 71 Lakeshore Rd. E., Port Credit

LISTINGS KEY

Listings are organized by area in which the shows occur and within each area field shows are listed chronologically.

Listings preceded by an asterisk (*) are repeating weekly events. (Double asterisk indicates repeating event with different hosts/guest/etc.). Events preceded by question mark (?) usually take place but have not been confirmed. Admission prices followed by a slash and minus (/-) after the amount indicates door charge with availability of cheaper rates for some purchases. /+ indicates stated price is minimum.