Choir! Choir! Choir!

Every* Tuesday** night in Toronto at No One Writes To The Colonel, I sing in a choir. Choir! Choir! Choir! to be precise. There are many things that make C!C!C! (led by Daveed Goldman and Nobu Adilman) a special kind of choir, most important is that anyone can join, which qualifies it as a Toronto activity (hence the blog post). If you're interested in joining, the first thing you should do is join the Facebook group, which is where weekly invites are sent out letting members know what songs we'll be singing (our unofficial motto: Listen to the fucking songs!). After that it's as easy as showing up, paying $5 for your lyrics, and singing your heart out.

(*not every week, sometimes various gets in the way, **there is a Wednesday edition at the Monarch Tavern as well)  

This week marks my two-year anniversary as a member of Choir! Choir! Choir! and in honor of the occasion I wanted to put together a list of my favorite C!C!C! moments. Please note, this is a personal list and I am in no way acting as spokesperson for the entire group. Here goes!

MY TOP TEN CHOIR! CHOIR! CHOIR! MOMENTS

10 - Every time C!C!C! makes you feel like you're part of a small community...

We are a large group and many of us live in the same approximate area of downtown Toronto. As a result, I run into a C!C!C! member pretty much every time I leave my apartment. I don't know everyone by name (and vice versa) but there's always a brief moment of recognition, be it a smile, a nod or a wave, that connects you to one another. It's like living in a small town (probably... I have no real life experience to back this up) and it's a really nice feeling.

9 - Our video of 'Last Christmas'...

We record our songs every week and they are usually accompanied by a video. Our video for 'Last Christmas' is the first time one of our videos had legs and was posted by C!C!C! members over and over again because it's such a lovely visual representation of what can happen at choir. You can feel the love in this one. It's also a personal favorite because I think this was the first time that C!C!C! transformed a song I didn't like into one that I love.

8 - Performing on George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight ...

A small group of C!C!C!ers were invited to be a part of GST's Christmas special, which involved performing a few songs and a few bumper spots for the show as well. It's always very cool when a C!C!C! performance can be accessed by your family after the fact. (I didn't wear a santa hat. I'm a lousy sport, what can I say?)



7 - Taking my mum to C!C!C! to sing The Bangles...

When I was growing up my mum was in a chorus and on occasion she would bring me with her and I would sit in the wings and learn the parts and wish I was 30 years older so I could join. When I joined C!C!C! I wanted to share it with her and thought that she would enjoy our Bangles/Cure night so I brought her along. We only sang 'Manic Monday' that one time, and it isn't my favorite C!C!C! recording but knowing that my mum and I are singing on it together makes it a special one for me.

6 - Performing at The ALL CAPS! Island Festival ...

This was an interesting performance because of the journey it involved. We had to water taxi over to the Toronto Islands and trek out to Artscape Gibraltar Point to perform our set. We were supposed to be outdoors but the weather was lousy so we proceeded to perform inside in the hottest room ever. At the time, our rendition of the Yazoo song 'Only You' involved a lone voice singing the final "... only you." and you didn't know who would be it until it happened. Near the end of the song Nobu's eyes locked with mine and I knew what was coming. My first and only C!C!C! tiny solo. I nearly vomited.

5 - Singing 'Across The Universe' for a dear friend...

I would be remiss to write about C!C!C! without mentioning the myriad friendships that have formed as a result of weekly rehearsals. These are quality people and we all have something in common so it's only natural that many of us have become actual real life friend friends. Recently, one of our most beloved long-time members Aurina had to move back home to India (hopefully temporarily) and to help send her off we sang two Beatles songs for her last C!C!C! evening. Much like 'Last Christmas', the amount of love on display in the video for 'Across The Universe' is ridiculous. Doesn't hurt that the song turned out beautifully too.

4 - Performing at the Toronto Botanical Gardens...

This was our longest performance to date. I think we sang a dozen songs? It was a lot. And it was lovely. We were outdoors in a beautiful location (lookit that picture by Joe Fuda... like a freakin' painting!) and we had a large audience that was there to see us specifically. The performance was followed by an audience Q&A and I think it's the first time I heard the unabridged version of how C!C!C! came to be (it's a long story, ask D&N later). 

3 - Performing at Lee's Palace...

This was an earlier gig and it was scantly attended in comparison to our performance at the Botanical Gardens but it was still awesome. We were on stage at Lee's Palace! How cool is that?!? For anyone who grew up seeing countless concerts at Lee's, it was pretty fucking cool. Who knew that rock star fantasies could be fulfilled as a member of a choir?


2 - Performing with PATTI SMITH at the AGO...

Speaking of rock star fantasies... Patti Smith. PATTI SMITH. I can't even. I mean, look at the expression of pure worshipping bliss on my face in that picture! This happened at Patti Smith's First Thursday concert at the AGO and it was largely unplanned. Short version: Patti saw a video of us singing one of her songs earlier that evening and invited us to be her back-up choir during her second performance and it was amazing. Even if I told the long version I couldn't do justice how awesome it was. This is something I will remember for the rest of my life and I have C!C!C! to thank. 

1 - David Bowie night (a.k.a. my first time at C!C!C!)...

It's pretty hard to top singing with Patti Smith but I still maintain that my first night at C!C!C! was my favorite night ever. I first saw C!C!C! by accident as I walked home one night. They were rehearsing for one of their first high profile gigs and I just happened to see them at Bosley Real Estate on Queen. Someone opened the door to leave and I heard just a few seconds of joyous voices singing and thought "oh I gotta get in on this nonsense!" and I sleuthed them out online that night. My first C!C!C! rehearsal was David Bowie night (perfect) and 'Modern Love' was the song we ended the evening with. I remember leaving in a daze and texting my husband that it felt like church (which to me meant a euphoric feeling). I've been hooked ever since.

There are countless honorable mentions... the 159 Manning BBQ, performing at the Bloor Cinema & Roy Thomson Hall (!!!) for TIFF, impromptu performances on the streets of Little Italy, Soupstock and many spontaneous "after choir" sessions when lingering members still want to sing even though mostly everyone else has gone home. It would be difficult to overemphasize the effect C!C!C! has had on my life and the lives of its other members. It really is something special. As a born cynic I hate admitting this but it's true. When you're singing with C!C!C! you feel like you're part of an indescribable magic vibe. It's powerful shit.

You should try singing with us sometime! Maybe it won't affect you in the same way, and that's cool. But be warned: if you suddenly are overcome with the feeling that an itch you didn't know you had is being scratched... you may never want the music to stop!