When I left my home in Kensington Market to move to Toronto's East End, just north of the Beaches, I was uncertain of what would become of my social life. I had a couple of friends in the Beaches, but I always found it difficult to make the long trek, over the bridge, and I feared that my downtown gang would find it equally tiresome to travel all that way, just to see little ol' me…

Lucky for me, it seems my friends aren't nearly as lazy as I am because things haven't slowed down a bit for

Photo by Don Tiffany

me in the 2 ½ years since I left my downtown haven. But, I do miss Kensington Market. We were at the hub of it all. We were just a quick stumble from Toronto's hottest live music venues; The Oasis, Grossman's, The El Mocambo, The Horseshoe, The Rivoli, Graffiti's, The Free Times, and The Cameron… How could my new East End home compete?

It was almost a year ago when Shawn asked me if I wanted to check out something called The VOIDSHOW. He had been following their Website at www.voidshow.com and was intrigued.

Hosted by Chris Casserly, The VOIDSHOW was an intimate gathering of local musicians. The atmosphere was cozy, the artists were genuine and Candlelight Opera felt right at home… Unfortunately, the venue where the show was being hosted was celebrating it's final weekend of operation… The VOIDSHOW would have to hit the road.

Casserly named the show after the upstairs holding tank for REPLAYS called The Void Lounge. It must have felt a little like a fledgling leaving the nest, but Casserly would NOT be deterred.

Chris Casserly is a hard guy to hate-not that we tried, but it would have been difficult if we had. Chris has a passion for what he does and he believes adamantly in the power of live music. Chris works hard creating an atmosphere that is both comfortable for the musicians performing and entertaining for the audience watching.

He took the show to Rancho Relaxo (hey, that's my ol' hood) at College and Spadina. To help start the show off right, we invited a few people out, including our good friend Gary Black to see the debut of the show in its new locale. Gary is a seasoned professional when it comes to cabarets and open mics. Mr. Black has hosted some of the finest music and talent showcases in Toronto. It made my heart smile when he told us how impressed he was by The VOIDSHOW. In his words "man, open stages are getting BETTER…"

But, after an AMAZING opening show, Chris decided to take a break from the VOID. We wouldn't hear from Casserly again for about ten months…

Then, one day, there was a message in my inbox entitled "VOIDSHOW IS ALIVE!!!!" Playing out of one of Toronto's best-kept secrets Lisa's Back Door, the show sprang back into action on May 8, 2003.

The resurrection of The VOIDSHOW featured stellar performances by our gracious host Chris Casserly, VOIDSHOW veteran singer/songwriter John Palubski, magic fingers Adlai Waxman, charming Gerry Duligal, mysterious Derek Atherton and (shameless self-promotion) Candlelight Opera.

Another spectacular aspect of The VOIDSHOW is the extensive documentation of the event. www.voidshow.com features streaming videos and digital images captured by artist/photographer Don Tiffany.

The VOIDSHOW is NOT an open mic. It's an alliance of performers who love playing music. It's an opportunity for artists with original material to showcase their talent to an attentive audience. It's a cozy place in the universe for like-minded individuals to share a drink and indulge in creative conversation. It's a reminder of why we make music and an excuse to indulge this desire decadently.

The VOIDSHOW runs every 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month (8 pm start) at its new home Lisa's Back Door, 245 Carlaw Ave. in the Wrigley Building. Be advised that it really IS Lisa's back door. You'll see the pink awnings for this venue from Carlaw, but you have to go through the parking lot to the BACK DOOR entrance. It's well worth the journey. Bring your appetite for great food, drink and especially MUSIC and we'll see you there.

For more information visit www.voidshow.com

You can also check out some of the other spectacular East End venues, including "Hit Me With Music" at The Auld Spot Pub at 347 Danforth Avenue. Your host is Emily Garber. This venue runs every other Monday with the next one happening on June 23, 2003, starting at 9 pm.

Also, be sure to join your host Terence Gowan at Mackie's Taigh Osda Singer Songwriter Night, located at 2112 Danforth Ave. (just east of Woodbine). Show runs every Sunday starting at 9 pm.