morning in toronto... Feb 25 2013
Thursday, March 21, 2013 at 12:47AM i had visited Canada a couple times when I was a kid, but visiting Toronto (the last T is silent, in case you didn’t know) a couple weeks ago for the 25th Annual Folk Alliance International Conference was an amazing experience. For one thing, I got to take the subway about 8 times, and every time was as if I had stepped onto a veritable Noah’s Ark of cultures and ethnicities. I later found out that Toronto is the 3rd most diverse city in the WORLD, right behind London and New York City, no kidding! It was mind blowing. I had Jim James’ new solo album playing into my earbuds during the transit times, which provided an excellent soundtrack to the busy people entering and leaving the train at each subway stop.
The hotel was called the Delta Chelsea, and it felt like it was THE fancy hotel in that city, maybe 30 years ago…. but it had a two story water slide that was totally legit. They had life guards and the intitial drop made you yelp the first time, and the final twists rolled you around to the point where you thought you might just lose it. It was super fun, I wish I had time to do it more than the 3 times on the final day I was there.
The number of musicians and artists performing over the weekend was astounding. Over 1000 all over the hotel, 24 hours a day, playing in ballrooms, hotel rooms, and my favorite place, the stairwells. The stairs were where friends new and old could go and share their quieter (or louder) songs without the confines of a room or an audience. By Friday and Saturday nights, I was so lucky to be in the right stairwell to catch some of Canada and America’s finest swapping their best sing-alongs, with everyone beating on the walls and doors to add to the beautiful noise. It was very inspiring.
I stayed up all night Friday night playing until 7:30am, and then sat on the 21st floor of the hotel in the elevator hallway, looking out the gigantic window at downtown at dawn, with dark white skies and sitting on the radiator, and wrote this little song, called Morning in Toronto…
Morning in Toronto
Singing on the stairs
Mostly songs I don’t know
Never heard them anywhere
Gonna go soul searching
Gonna take my time
Cause I gotta big decision
On my mind
I’m here for the weekend
Went down the water slide
Up all night again
Nowhere to sleep or hide
Gonna go soul searching
Gonna take my time
Cause I gotta big decision
On my mind
