Noteable rich guy Michael Wekerle has purchased the bar and plans to re-open the space soon, maintaining its mandate as a live music venue. It has also hosted noteworthy indie bands over the years including Sunset Rubdown and bigger indie acts like The White Stripes. The legend of the ‘El Mo’ is a large one with some of the biggest bands especially the 1977 surprise show by The Rolling Stones. From 1986 to the early 90s, the venue was known for legendary DJ sets from Chris Sheppard and was the place to be to get dancing on a Friday or Saturday night in Toronto. On Queen’s Quay east of Bay, before there was The Guvernment, The Warehouse, and The Koolhaus - there was RPM.
The Brant Street club was a destination spot where everyone was there for a good time, and great music.
It holds a special place in history of indie shows in Toronto.Ī legendary Toronto night club that had some of the purest vibes and best dance parties in the city during the late 90s. The College West second floor spot was home to an enormous amount up-and-coming bands for close to 20 years.
The former host to seminal Toronto indie music series Wavelength, Ted’s is the place where many great indie bands got their start including The Constantines (pictured below), Feist, and Broken Social Scene. Now a Shoppers Drug Mart, the second storey concert venue on Queen West hosted many all-ages shows for indie kids back in the day including indie hip-hop legend Aesop Rock. The Parkdale spot was the go-to spot for the hard partying / hard-dancing music lovers at that time. In the mid/late 2000s when indie met dance in the form of DJ groups like Justice and MSTRKRFT, Wrongbar was the place to go for this music. Kids would climb up the steep stairs to the second floor venue, where it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary to see straight edge kids climbing the walls during frenzied guitar driven sets. The Church Street location was the home to many hardcore, punk, and emo acts of the late 90s and early 00s including Billy Talent, Dillenger Escape Plan, and US midwestern emo/post-rockers The Appleseed Cast. The bar closed in 2007 after just over a decade of operation. One of the first night spots on Queen West that attracted crowds away from the club district, The Gypsy Co-Op was the antithesis to club culture and offered a more laid back vibe for crowds more into the alternative scene. How can you go wrong with a spot that was a bar, restaurant, lounge, and candy shop? You can’t. The bar has a fantastic back patio and several levels and rooms that made a night at ‘the Boo’ usually unforgettable. With a tropical vibe and music that celebrated Caribbean culture, the Bamboo was an oasis in Toronto that served as the go-to party spot for years. Probably the centre piece of Queen West night life in the 80s and 90s.