Recording: Dorothea Paas

Artist: Dorothea Paas

Song: Anything Can't Happen

Recorded at Tibet Kitchen's back patio (Music at Tibet Kitchen), August 18, 2019.

Dorothea Paas - Anything Can't Happen

Bringing back a favourite summer excursion after a couple years away, Jonathan Adjemian hosted this lovely afternoon of music, tasty eats and good vibes on the back patio of Parkdale's Tibet Kitchen, still offering the same tangle of backlane wires overhead and the same serene peacefulness away from the hurly-burly of Queen Street. Not even an ungrounded amplifier prone to giving unnerving shocks could derail the afternoon's closing meditations from singer-songwriter Dorothea Paas, playing a solo set focused on newer tunes. Bypassing the troublesome amp and plugging guitar straight into the mixer, its spare dryness did not detract from the depth of the songcraft.

Recording: Karen Ng

Artist: Karen Ng

Song: [solo sax improvisation]

Recorded at Tibet Kitchen's back patio (Music at Tibet Kitchen), August 18, 2019.

Karen Ng - [solo sax improvisation]

Bringing back a favourite summer excursion after a couple years away, Jonathan Adjemian hosted this lovely afternoon of music, tasty eats and good vibes on the back patio of Parkdale's Tibet Kitchen, still offering the same tangle of backlane wires overhead and the same serene peacefulness away from the hurly-burly of Queen Street. There's nothing more valuable to a restaurant than a repeat customer, so it was satisfying to see Karen Ng performing solo in this space once again. (In the journey from then to now, her solo activity has flourished.) Gleaming in the unaccustomed afternoon sun (the saxophone is quite often a nocturnal creature), Ng's brief set moved from spacious whisps humming along with a neighbouring backyard radio to denser sound-squawks.

Recording: Dusty

Artist: Dusty

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at Tibet Kitchen's back patio (Music at Tibet Kitchen), August 18, 2018.

Dusty - unknown

Bringing back a favourite summer excursion after a couple years away, Jonathan Adjemian hosted this lovely afternoon of music, tasty eats and good vibes on the back patio of Parkdale's Tibet Kitchen, still offering the same tangle of backlane wires overhead and the same serene peacefulness away from the hurly-burly of Queen Street. The nigh-ungoogleable Dusty brought a short set of cowboy boots and electronic pop sounds, fitting into the afternoon with some dreamy drift.

^* Does anyone know the title to this one? Please leave a comment!

Recording: Araz Salek

Artist: Araz Salek

Song: [last section]^*

Recorded at Tibet Kitchen's back patio (Music at Tibet Kitchen), August 18, 2018.

Araz Salek - [last section]

Bringing back a favourite summer excursion after a couple years away, Jonathan Adjemian hosted this lovely afternoon of music, tasty eats and good vibes on the back patio of Parkdale's Tibet Kitchen, still offering the same tangle of backlane wires overhead and the same serene peacefulness away from the hurly-burly of Queen Street. Leading things off, tar master Araz Salek closed his eyes and played a selection of melodies in a duet with the cicadas and summer breezes.

^* Does anyone know the title(s) to the song(s) here? Please leave a comment!

Recording: Hoover Party

Artist: Hoover Party

Song: [first section]^*

Recorded at Tibet Kitchen's back patio, July 10, 2016.

Hoover Party - [first section]

A delightful summer tradition, Jonathan Adjemian once again hosted this afternoon of music in the beautiful back patio of Parkdale's Tibet Kitchen. When last-minute scheduling issues meant a replacement act was needed to complete the bill, Adjemian stepped in to close out the afternoon with a short set from his Hoover Party project. More than just the dronescapes he sometimes traffics in, this current work mixed a subtle laptop-based ambiance (with ghostly guitar licks and birdsongs joining the keyboards) with his doo-wop cantor-styled vocals. A moment of calm before the streets outside would fill with horn-honking cars celebrating the conclusion of a football tournament.

^* Does anyone know the title to this one? Please leave a comment!

Recording: Blunt Chunks

Artist: Blunt Chunks

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at Tibet Kitchen's back patio, July 10, 2016.

Blunt Chunks - unknown

A delightful summer tradition, Jonathan Adjemian once again hosted this afternoon of music in the beautiful back patio of Parkdale's Tibet Kitchen. Caitlin Woelfle O'Brien was originally planning to showcase more of her abstract/ambient side, but the bright afternoon sun — ancient enemy of electronic musicians playing outdoor sets — made that somewhat difficult to pull off. To absolutely no one's disappointment, she quickly switched over to "song" mode — the lyrical lead-off here of "when I go outside, I want to be in love" felt just right for a hot and sunny summer day.

^* Does anyone know the title to this one? Please leave a comment!

Recording: Karen Ng

Artist: Karen Ng

Song: [excerpt from solo improvisation]

Recorded at Tibet Kitchen's back patio, July 10, 2016.

Karen Ng - [excerpt from solo improvisation]

A delightful summer tradition, Jonathan Adjemian once again hosted this afternoon of music in the beautiful back patio of Parkdale's Tibet Kitchen. Consummate collaborator Karen Ng played a rare solo set, offering musical meditations on being alone versus loneliness and starting off in a rather meditative zone, reminiscent of some Paul Newman's work — as refreshing as the cool breeze making its way over from the lake. She'd also tackle a Steve Lacy piece to close out the set.

Recording: Simone Schmidt

Artist: Simone Schmidt

Song: Worship The Sun (Not The Golden Boy)

Recorded at Tibet Kitchen's back patio, July 10, 2016.

Simone Schmidt - Worship The Sun (Not The Golden Boy)

A delightful summer tradition, Jonathan Adjemian once again hosted this afternoon of music in the beautiful back patio of Parkdale's Tibet Kitchen. Recently returned from a west coast jaunt with The Highest Order, Simone Schmidt lead things off with some of the songs from her forthcoming Fiver album based on case files of inmates in the Rockwood asylum. There's some local flavour in this tale of a member of the notorious Brooks' Bush Gang, who occupied the untamed lands of the Don Valley in the 1850's — the song's cast of characters includes Jane Lewis and James Brown, victim of the last public hanging in Toronto.

Recording: Prince Nifty

Artist: Prince Nifty with Colin Fisher

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Tibet Kitchen (Backyard Afternoon), July 27, 2014.

Prince Nifty with Colin Fisher - [excerpt]

Full review to follow. Although it hadn't been too long since I'd seen Matt Smith performing, this melow afternoon had a pretty different feel than the full-on dance party that time out. In fact, this had three distinct vibes, with Smith starting an ethereal solo piece for voice and laptop before the atmospheric guitar duo with Colin Fisher excerpted here. He finished with an experimental piece, asking many of the day's previous performers (Isla Smith, HVYWTR's Vic Cheong, Heather Segger, Fisher plus host Jonathan Adjemian) to put in earplugs and sing, following his conducting and without reference to the performers around them. A lovely ending to a wonderful day in a pretty amazing spot.

Bonus! Here's a brief video clip of that floating solo vocal piece that opened the set:

Recording: HVYWTR

Artist: HVYWTR

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Tibet Kitchen (Backyard Afternoon), July 27, 2014.

HVYWTR - [excerpt]

Full review to follow. Holding the rain at bay, this was a lovely afternoon in a hidden Parkdale gem, underneath the lovely trees in Tibet Kitchen's backyard patio. The music was mostly in a soothing vein, and HVYWTR brought some suitably mellow vibes. Quite a fabulous day out.

Recording: Hoover Party

Artist: Hoover Party

Song: West Lake Memories^*

Recorded at Tibet Kitchen's back patio (Healing Power Afternoon Show), June 23, 2013.

Hoover Party - West Lake Memories

Full review to follow. Celebrating the summer solstice with a pair of new tape releases, Jonathan Adjemian capped off a most pleasant afternoon of music in the back patio of Parkdale's Tibet Kitchen, returning with some more Liquidity For These Troubled Times. As the music unfolded, I found myself looking upwards to the sky, between the streamers of brightly-coloured prayer ribbons and the shade-giving tree, to see a small puff of a cloud drifting by. This seems topical and relevant to the music at hand.

^* Title awaiting confirmation — this was the last part of an extended medley of music that made up the set.