By Amy Sanderson
It was slightly coolish in Toronto for an April 21st evening. Okay, who am I kidding? When is Mother Nature going to get the memo! This spring has been lacklustre to say the least. We were invited to wait in the heated vestibule before gaining admittance to the Harry Rosen party featuring the Walkervilles until exactly 6:15 p.m., which got pretty cozy, but gave everyone an opportunity to pre-schmooze. The coat check and ticket scan went smoothly when we were admitted. I had not been to the newly renovated Harry Rosen store located at 82 Bloor Street West, so I was impressed with the lower and upper floor additions. Luckily once we were in, it was toasty warm. We were ushered down the elevator to the event gathering on the lower level.
Red and white wine was offered on one side of the stage, as well as crisp Italian Peroni beer, which was the sponsor for this event. On the other side was a mix of kettle chips, popcorn, delicious crackers with a creamy dill and salmon topping, and these little cartons of healthy veggies with a savoury tapenade to dip on the bottom. I partook of all the snacks except the popcorn. The salmon crackers were delicious!
A buzz of energy filled the room with all the well-dressed Harry clientele milling about, like me, peripherally checking out the spring collections in each of the sections. The new John Varvatos collection is a sophisticated, yet slightly edgy rock and roll spectacle, a theme which permeated through the lower level, punctuated by terrific photos of rock stars interspersed with the clothes.
The Walkervilles began to play at around 8 p.m. to much fanfare. The Windsor band’s sound is a mixture of Motown and Toronto bar rock. Everyone in the room seemed to enjoy the music. We met a couple from Windsor who are friends with the band; the gentleman sported a hipster beard and black rimmed glasses, and his wife wore a pretty dress. They said the Walkervilles are a big hit in their town and like to come to support them.
Check out my video of The Walkervilles performing at Harry’s Underground Lounge:
An enjoyable evening with a throng of interesting people turned this into a fun event.
Thank you, Harry Rosen, for the classy venue and thank you, Walkervilles, for great entertainment and a chic cool evening.
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