A Funkaoshi Production

Emm Gryner and Matt Barber @ Hugh's Room

   30 March 2005, lunch time

In an email entitled Hotness, I sent my friends the following:

Emm Gryner is pure hotness, and apparently she is a good singer to boot. So, does anybody want to go to the following: Emm Gryner (fiercely independent alt-pop songster & former Bowie backup singer) & Matthew Barber (indie rock heartthrob) @ Hugh’s Room

Dave and I had saw Emm Gryner present an award at the Toronto Indie Music awards before the Esthero Concert we went to. Dave was surprised I had no idea who she was. She was quite hot, so I was disappointed I couldn’t place her. Apparently she put out some sort of popular single when we were in high school.

My friend Mezan complains that no one listens when he tries to turn them on to something new and cool—or at the very least, that I don’t. He told me about threadless, metafilter, and countless other things, years before I stumbled on them myself. I feel the same way when it comes to dragging my friends out. I try to get my friends to go to concerts with me, to shows I know they would like. Since they live in Scarborough (miles from downtown) I usually go alone. Well, I suppose it’s a weak analogy, since I’m just being lazy while they have a good reason for staying in. I guess I should have just said: I ended up going out alone to the concert.

When I arrived, Matt Barber had already taken the stage. Matt Barber sings folk music I suppose. I say that, because he was performing alone on stage with a guitar. The set really showed off his voice and his songs. Barber’s set was excellent. He has a great voice. I can’t say I’m a big fan of folk music, that is to say, I don’t go out of my way to listen to it, but I enjoy good music when I hear it.

Gryner took the stage next. Again, she played alone on stage with a guitar, and at times a piano. I enjoyed her set a lot. Like Barber, she has a great voice, and the lyrics to her songs are quite good. And, as I had expected, she was looking hot. A girl in the audience yelled as much out midway through the concert. She smiled, and simply replied to the crowd, “Ladies and Gentlemen, I should warn you that some of this banter has been scripted.” She has a good stage presence, and was a lot of fun to watch.

Hugh’s Room is a great venue for concerts. The layout of the building is just right. There is a raised stage in the back right corner of the building. It’s surrounded by tables and chairs, and those tables and chairs are surrounded by another set of tables and chairs, slightly elevated. From almost any spot in the venue you should have a clear view of the band you have come to see. The sound system was also excellent. Judging by the praise from the singers that night, it may have had as much to do with the sound engineer, Marty, as it did with the speakers and what have you.

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