Thursday Night Lights

Photo of GUH by Shaun Axani.

The Gladstone Hotel launched a new weekly music series last night (meaning Peter Styles can only hijack your karaoke harmonies on Fridays and Saturdays now), and while throwing another night of bands and beer into the city's already saturated mix might seem exhausting before you even get to it, the price (always free!) and promised performers for Thursday Night Confidential are, in the very best meaning of the words, a 100% safe bet.

Gladstone music programmer Chip Yarwood has teamed up with promotional partners including the all-Canadian web station Indie Love Radio and the artist-owned production/distribution co-op Blocks Recording Club (plus, of course, beverage sponsors) to select the music, but also to foster an ongoing community collaboration. "In our initial meetings with the partners, it was great to see almost instant cross-pollination and support. Working here, it has become very apparent to me that the community is at the heart of all Gladstone endeavours, and this is another example [of that]."

The series got off to a probably pretty indicative start—a laid-back, grown-up atmosphere that included sit-down food and drink and an infectious reception for the night's highlight, the CD-release celebration by the ever-elusive GUH. The mish-mash of local scene vets does to jazz what Ashley MacIssac did to Celtic, channelling a skill for the traditional into a big, weird wash of modern structure, and their hold over the room dismissed the risk of any house-band overtone in the non-traditional performance space of the Gladstone's Melody Bar.

Thursday Night Confidential and its big street-level window stage might never catch on with the flat-brims or the plaids (especially when the sun is still shining bright for most of the opening set), but with other already confirmed guests such as Final Fantasy and Great Lake Swimmers, plus the "whole slew of Canadian music icons" that Bob Wiseman will supposedly bring with him next week, it's sure to attract some curious drop-ins and ongoing interest. Yarwood heavily hints, "This could spark the idea of perhaps a music festival of Parkdale's own featuring many of these wonderful artists and organizations...stay tuned." Check the Gladstone website for weekly schedules and times. The power of Pallett compels you.