Queen West : Artery to my soul

I think it was the 80's but who knows..it may have been the 90's. So much is a blur. My first acid trips, my basement apartment at Portland and Adelaide. Memories of the 24 hour Future Bakery where one of the staff would always greet me warmly. I wondered if he sometimes worried about me being out alone at 2:00 a.m. - buying rye bread. He always charged me half price. There was a comfort in knowing that the bakery was humming all night and someone there who knew my name.

Sometimes, some of us would go to an all night booze can on Queen when it first was cool to be going west of Bathurst. There was no sign on the door, but I remember Terry Wilkins used to jam there along with other hipsters who arrived after Grossman's closed and played till dawn. Well it seemed like dawn anyhow. I've asked others about that venue from the 80's and no one can remember exactly where it was. Nostalgia can be dubious.

I went through my brief artsy phase (didn't everyone?) and set my wares up to sell outside the Bamboo Club and waited to see how long it would take to be asked to move along. Crudely done tie dye clothes and lucite plastic earrings...ah those large, ugly earrings of the 80's. Likely all landfill now. I recall the Satellites and Parachute Club playing at the Bamboo and the bartender there who had eyes that were like blue glass. He was a fixture for sure. Recently I was in a small country town east of Toronto having dinner at a local restaurant and there he was, running the place. He laughed when I nostalgically mentioned Queen West and he said: THAT was a long time ago.

There was hairdresser Clara, a queen of Queen West - with her inside information about bars and bands and her advice about love and style. You had to know where to find her whenever she moved locations. Scoring an appointment for a haircut with her was like winning a lottery.

The Poetry Sweatshop at the Rivoli. The room was always packed and the hosting twins were kings. There my girfriend ran into an old high school classmate and now they have been married forever, with kids ready for university and a family life filled with tranquility.

All roads lead me back to Queen West. In recent years I worked at the ultimate corner: Queen and Bathurst, running programs for the homeless and disenfranchised, drug users and ravers. Each year I rent out the Gladstone to bring talented artisans to a space that I honour as part of my past, vicarious appreciation for their youth and their talent.

Queen West is a moving sidewalk recounting adventure at each corner. For some it is a destination. In my heart it will always be an era.

gg