A Cool Band To Top Off Winter City

Day nine of the two week long WinterCity Festival sponsored by RBC drew a massive crowd of all ages, all bundled up to celebrate Toronto - ugly weather and all - at Nathan Philips Square.

Saturday, February 7, marked the day acclaimed French-Canadian band The Stills would take the stage. They would be the last band to make an appearance for this year’s WinterCity Festival.

According to the city of Toronto, 2009 marks the 23th birthday of the festival which was originally called North York Winter Carnival. It’s a wonderful celebration of culture, cuisine and crafts which over half a million people attended last year.


The good news to those students strapped for cash, is that the festival is free. Skating, however, will cost a humbling nine dollars for a two hour session. Watch out for the little kids and try not to fall on your butt. Falling in public; it’s so embarrassing, isn’t it? After that, why not grab a cup of hot chocolate for only 2 dollars? Another booth was set up selling cute animal hats and mittens for ten dollars a pop. You got to love a bargain!

Although the weather was at a surprising high of six degrees Celsius, there were six fire pits throughout Nathan Philips Square for those who needed to keep their hands nice and toasty. There was also an indoor warming station located in front of City Hall. Inside, people can meet an Olympic athlete and take a photo holding the Olympic torch. The neat thing about it was the free opportunity to view and download the photo at www.rbccarrythetorchpics.com.

Before the sun went down, Dutch group Close-Act first set called White Wings made quite the impression as they walked and danced all over the Square on stilts. Their wardrobe was just as creative and outlandish as their movement. Picture the Tin Man meets Ziggy Stardust, just nine feet taller and with wings. Two members were banging steel drums as three others charmed the crowd on stilts.

Close-Act’s other set, Pi-Leau, was a more gothic version of Cirque du Soleil. The heavy amount of coloured smoke and lights may have been an eyesore for some, but the enchanted group aimed to please as they sang on spinning domes that were 15 feet tall.

Close-Act may have come from a far away land but they showed their appreciation by thanking Toronto all throughout their set. “It’s great to be here!” they kept shouting in the most delightful accent.

Taking things to a whole new level were Neu Jenurashun. The eight member reggae band definitely turned up the heat with their hot beats and PG gyrations. They had the crowd singing along to their rendition of that classic song For the Love of Money which most refer to it as the theme to The Apprentice.

Without a doubt, the musical group that most youngsters anticipated were The Stills. After finishing a tour with Sam Roberts, the Juno nominated group graced the stage at 8 p.m. and began to belt out their recent hits. They raised their instruments up in the air with pride throughout their hour long set. Like Close-Act, The Still were not shy about praising the city.

“We’re glad to be gathered here on this beautiful night. We have to make this a good one!” said lead singer Tim Fletcher.

Toque covered heads were bobbing to songs like Snow in Californiaand Snake-Charming the Masses which Fletcher said “goes out to Harper’s budget cuts”.

Towards the end of the set, they dedicated their most popular song, Lola Stars and Stripes, to “all the bankers out there...BMO!” Fletcher said, as he pointed to the brightly lit skyscraper right across the stage.

The crowd then continued to swoon until the reverb faded out. A cool night indeed.