So I’ve been talking about Run With the Kittens since I saw them by accident six months ago at the Cameron House. I just did a gig myself at The Horseshoe and my dick was swinging, breaking car windows on Queen St. I went into the Cameron for more dick swinging juice and there they were crammed on the tiny stage area of the Cameron’s front house. I was there with Carl Hamfelt and my lady, Lesley. After a few minutes I said to my friend Carl “They’re way better than us” and he replied “Stop, they are not.” A few more minutes went by and he said to me “Okay, they’re better than you.”
RWTK are a tight, telepathic multi-genre loving posse of four ugly clown boys that turn lead into gold, and then gold into milkshake. They do jazz, rock, disco, and meringue all in one song and make it look easy. They can tell a joke just with instruments. I’ve always admired musicians that can do that. Zappa’s stuff does that. You can just be sitting there listening to some horns, guitar, and drums and you’ll suddenly laugh like at the punchline… Well, I do.
Anyways, we played with them at the Starlight in Kitchener, Ontario. That’s an awesome place. Picture The Horseshoe on Queen but with really nice sofas, expensive lighting, same hi-fi sound and less urine smell. Also, a lovely newly finished huge dance floor with no less than 6 professional disco balls. The place seats about 100 comfortably, really comfortably. They mostly do DJ dance nights but will do bands once in a while that are touring nationally (which reminds me, I must ask my publicist how she landed that gig).
The next time me and my baby have nothing to do and no kids and a hundred bucks, we’re going there. And you should, too. It’s worth the 100 km drive.
Oh yeah, and the staff are nice and friendly. I nearly shit my pants when the bartender said “what can I get ya?” and smiled SINCERELY. Also chatted with door guy, manager, sound guy. No discernable attitude or ego. No need to wipe my face after. Going to Kitchener is great because you’re reminded how our cool metropolitan international city of Toronto sucks. The nickname ‘T-dot’ sucks, too.
And the final thing that makes Toronto suck more than Kitchener: nobody knew RWTK or Dirty Penny in Kitchener. We are complete unknowns. FIFTY COMPLETE STRANGERS CAME OUT TO SEE THE SHOW. I was beginning to think people didn’t like music anymore until I went to Kitchener.
Anyways, Dirty Penny and RWTK rocked the place. We gave a really good show. You could see it in everybody’s faces and when they came and talked to us after. This is no surprise since both bands were feeling awesome by the time we went on. The venue actually made us chips and dip AND gave us four beer tickets each.
Thank you, Kitchener. Thank you, Starlight. Thank you, Bernard the manager and staff.
By the way, we are playing with RWTK again at the Horseshoe on Dec 13th. That’s a saturday night.car