I normally would have posted this on Thursday, the day after the actual event, but Wednesday night had so much cookin’ with the sculpture exhibit and all, that I wanted to do both events justice and post separate blogs.

Singer/songwriter Ellie Anderson (http://www.ellieandersonmusic.com/) organized Get Your Groove On – and had her organizer chops really put to the test when she discovered the original venue, Jang Bang Bar, was in the dark and had to quickly relocate the event. And relocate it she did: to the upstairs front room at The Central.

Just like Wonder Women IV featured four hot women, you could just as well say Get Your Groove On featured three hot women and three hot guys. Anderson and the three guys did round robin acoustic sets – showcasing an amazing variety of sounds, all with distinctive voices. As I write this post, I’m feeling inspired…

Another great week is ahead of us, as the weather (finally?) turns spring-like for good, and the poetry heats up as well. This is the time of year when slam teams are chosen, festivals start to take place and hungry poets share their words both inside and outside. It’s an exciting time. So let’s see what’s up in the world of spoken word and poetry slam in the Greater Toronto Area for the next seven days:

Monday

The Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts continues this week with Work in Progress – a free forum “that critically engages the intersections between collaborative artistic practices, class, and working conditions for community engaged artists.” Local spoken word artists Mahlikah Awe:ri (Red Slam Collective) and Greg Frankson (Cytopoetics) will sit on the panel. It takes place at The 519 Church Street Community Centre from 7-9pm.

Tuesday

The weekly edition of the

40 Things I’ve Learned, in no particular order but the one they came to me in, by Kat Leonard:

1.  You won’t end up with the friends you started with.

2.  Keep friends in whose company you like yourself.

3.  I’m lucky.   Part of being lucky is realizing that you are.

4.  Love feels even better going out than coming in.

5.  My gut serves me best but my mind provides a worthy and engaging opponent.

6.  Self-Doubt will keep you humble if it doesn’t paralyze you.

7.  You can’t blame someone for not reacting the way you would.

8.  No one can make you feel any particular way without your permission.

9.  Maintain high hopes and low expectations.  Also, early is on time and on time is late!

10.  If you know enough to say sorry while you’re doing it, DON’T DO IT!  Duh!

11.  All that glitters can be worn…

Such a good time at Last Temptation Acoustic Wednesday last night, a new-ish open mic event in Kensington Market, hosted by singer/songwriter Jessica Speziale – with last night’s feature performer Kat Leonard (who performed on the eve of her birthday!) – and hanging out with my pal Lizzie Violet.

Jessica kicked off the evening with “Brace Yourself,” the first track off her CD Dear Reverie. I’d only ever heard her with her band, but there was nothing lost on this acoustic set of original tunes. This lady is a sultry bluesy powerhouse – and she can belt it! A bit later, she performed “Don’t Look Down,” my favourite ballad from the CD.

Next up were some open mic folks, starting with Toronto actor/musician Stephen MacDonald, a tall, slender young man in black with a smooth, soothing voice. Stephen performed a set of original tunes on a well-loved brunette guitar…

Here are just a couple of things coming up this week:

Wednesday, May 2: Kat Leonard is the featured performer at Last Temptation Acoustic Wednesdays (12 Kensington Ave., Toronto) – show starts at 9 p.m. For the scoop on Kat, visit her site: http://www.katleonard.com/home.cfm

Also on Wednesday, May 2: Alumnae Theatre Company’s New Play Development (NPD) group opens Big Ideas, their annual spring readings of new plays/plays in development, up in the studio space. Big Ideas has expanded this year to run over the course of several days (May 2-6).  Here’s a quick rundown of the program – and admission is free!

It’s true, isn’t it?

This past week we held Wonder Women IV and there was so much love and spirit pinging off the walls of The Central Bar & Grill I felt bombarded by joy!

Wonder Women is a series of live events started by the uber-talented and ever-generous Wonder Woman Arlene Paculan.  She created it to help promote local talent and also raise awareness and funds for local charities.  For WWIV we joined with Red Door Family Shelter and Beverly Webb from Red Door attended the event to share the love and spread the word.

A highlight for me was when the beautiful Arlene Paculan covered my greatest hit Jockstrap and made it sweetly and sinfully soulful.
Here’s a link to the video: Arlene does Jockstrap!

Blurbs and pictures from WWIV can be found in the blogs of the following Wonder Women:

“Four, hot talented women join forces…