Month: March 2013

Venue: Squirrel Tooth Alice’s, Guelph ON

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Alice's“Alice’s Aspiring Artists” is a Thursday night open mic in the south end of Guelph. It is a larger pub where musicians play to a background of TVs showing sports events (thankfully with the sound off).

The format is pretty informal. Host,Trevor Nemett invites any interested musicians to come up to the mic, on their own or with back-up from the band. This can lead to some fun spontaneous collaborations. If there aren’t a lot of names on the list then Trevor & friends can easily fill the gap. It’s a late event – starts at 10 pm – and attracts a younger (university age) crowd.

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I’m interested to see what happens if I am  “Returning Alice’s Artist” – apparently some prizes in the offing.  Oh and don’t let the sign out front fool you – the beer is cold and the snacks are yummy.

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[Squirrel Tooth Alice’s, 649 Scottsdale Drive, Guelph; Thursday 10 pm til close, no cover; find them on FB]

Venue: Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin, Florida

IMG_5938Take a stroll around Dunedin, Florida and you would assume the town is mostly made up of baseball fans and retired folks. Visit the Dunedin Brewery (just a block off the Pinellas Trail) on a Wednesday night and you’ll come away with a very different impression. Billed as “Florida’s oldest microbrewery”, the Dunedin Brewery has live music Tuesday through Saturday. Wednesday night is the open mic, hosted by Ben, and is a showcase for all kinds of talent. IMG_5941

I visited during March break, accompanied by fellow adventurer Molly Malone (yes, that’s her real name!). The place was full and bustling and the beer was delicious (I had the Biere de Café and Molly had the Peach Apricot Ale). The talent was varied (solo singer-songwriter to bluegrass ensemble to prog rock covers) and exceptional – I didn’t catch all the names but the Galbraith Trio (siblings Ashley, Taylor & Josh) was particularly memorable with their tight instrumental renditions of Beatles and Rush.

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What a great way to spend my last night in Florida! Thanks to Ben and the friendly folks we met.

 [Dunedin Brewery, 937 Douglas Avenue, Dunedin, Florida; Wednesday 8 pm til closing, no cover; find them on FB]