These days I find I cling to moments that make me feel youthful or even ageless. Tonight was one of those nights. Biking around on a hot summer night in Toronto (even though I had my I'm-a-Dad helmet on) was just what I needed. I bolted up to the Tranzac to try and hear David Woodhead's Confabulation with the few minutes I had before my gig. It is a fun band and I know all the guys. Unfortunately I was only able to hear the last 15 seconds of music before their break. After a little chatting with David and Rich Underhill (my hockey pal forever) I made it down to Dundas and Bathurst to play banjo at a poetry reading.

Tonight was part of the week long wake for the Scream in High Park. All three former artistic directors were going to read. I have attened almost every one of these poetry festivals over the last fifteen years or so. You may or may not know that I have also performed and recorded a fair bit with poet Peter Mcphee, the second AD in the history of the festival.

We made a record together called In the Future of Your Dream and I have played on his record and even more recently he wrote the poem Banjo Hockey inside my latest CD, of the same title.

Being in that hot, sweaty, packed bar for a poetry reading brought back memories of days gone by. Everyone is happy and there for the beer and the art. I had a couple pints and chatted with a number of friends from that scene that I am always glad to see. It was great fun playing the banjo with Peter and people seemed to love it which will never cease from making me feel good.

I beat my 12 year old home from the movie he attened with his pal but tonight I felt like I was the young one, out on the town having a good 'ol time.

I think I have cracked the code to exposing my kids to art events. Last night I took my 12 year old son to not one but two art events.

First, we took the streetcar and a bus down to the Distillery where my friend, amazing abstract visual artist David Urban was having an opening at Corkin Gallery
I didn't expect to know as many people as I did at the opening. Dylan was patient and willing to interact with the new adults that I introduced him to. Most of the talk was about music as it seems that all the visual artists I know (trying not to drop names) would rather be playing music. This worked well as they were interested to hear that Dylan plays guitar and has a band.

David's new paintings are an extension of his last show although they seem to have much more texture (pointed out to me by my kid) and less information in each painting. This is only on the surface as he is now using only one or two major shapes. With further viewing I noticed the detail lies more in the background including multiple subtle layers and exposed canvas offering the notion of potential infinity, echoing perhaps the great Jack Bush.

Although I managed to have a quick glass of wine while we checked out each painting we were gone in fifteen minutes as our next event had a start time. We jumped in a cab and made it to Winchester Dance Theatre just in time.

Kathleen Rea is a choreographer that i have met through occasionally playing improvised banjo and fiddle music at her Wednesday contact dance classes at Dovercourt House. (the Dance Jam!) I have followed the blog that her partner has been sharing from the perspective of living with a creative dance artist. The topic of this blog was one I thought quite interesting. Reading this really reminded me that people like Kathleen should be celebrated in our society. She is not only an artist but a presenter. She makes it all happen. Someone that puts on big shows like this; choreographing, promoting, booking halls etc. deserves attention. (hello dance critics?) It was a good piece. The Wild in Us is less than one half hour long and features young dancers (students?).

The piece has a great ensemble feel to it with a few good solo moments too. I liked the modern pop music and the way it was put together. It seemed to be essential to the choreography which is what I want from a choreographer. The themes seem to be co-operation vs conflict and how we get through it to make something beautiful. The lighting and use of floor space was creative including a few opportunities for the expression in the dancers faces to be the focus of the moment.

It seemed that Dylan enjoyed the dance as much as the art opening. We stood outside the theatre for the knitting/dance instillation for a few minutes but I could feel his attention slipping. I too was drawn to the attending this first show because it was short and inexpensive. The dance community went back inside for the second show after the knitting intermission but we got on the streetcar and headed home.

You can attend both these dance shows and the art gallery and spend much more time than we did as they both run until at least Sunday. However, if you take your kids, try the "quick art" experience. I think it works.