If You’ve Ever Been Involved in Toronto Music in Any Way, Read This
Whether the rest of the country wants to acknowledge it or not, Toronto is the centre of the music universe in Canada. Not only is the industry concentrated here but the city is able to support dozens of scenes and new sounds.
But that doesn’t mean that Toronto always gets it right–especially when it comes to the morons that run this city. In fact, there are plenty of situations where things have been not much fun at all.
Alan Jones, writing for Random House Canada, offers this “not-fun” history of Toronto music. It starts with the really stinky issue over banning EDM events at Exhibition Place (city property) and then details some other events that…well, you’ll see.
Ironically, city council’s reason for moving EDM events—back when they were known as “raves”—to Exhibition Place was sparked by the actual ecstasy-related death of a 20-year-old, Allen Ho, in an underground parking garage in 1999. At the time, parents called for a ban on raves, but cooler heads prevailed and the Toronto Public Health Board recommended Exhibition Place as the safest venue for such dance parties.