I heard on the radio yesterday the Brunswick House, a landmark Toronto tavern in the Annex area, has been in the news. They want to expand and there is some opposition in the community. I only note this here because the Brunswick House is a place I haven’t thought about in many years, but one which I once visited semi-regularly. Back in my university days, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, the tavern operated an upstairs room called Albert’s Hall, which featured some of the best blues music anywhere.

My friends and I would go for dinner, often at one of the old Hungarian places on Bloor St. where a student could get a heaping helping of meat and potatoes for a modest amount of money, then head over to Albert’s Hall for a dose of the blues. We saw performances by musicians such as Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, M.T. Murphy, Koko Taylor, Mighty Joe Young, Eddie Clearwater, Sunnyland Slim, and perhaps best of all, the Son Seal Blues Band. The best blues acts anywhere were coming up to Toronto regularly back in the early 80s, and many times they landed at Albert’s Hall.

I don’t think I’ve been in the Brunswick House since they closed that fantastic upstairs space, and these days I spend little time in the Annex, so I know nothing of the current situation. I only hope the business and the community work it out to everyone’s satisfaction. We had some mighty good times there back in the day, that’s for sure.

A couple years later, I sought my entertainment down on Queens St. instead. Zydeco bands were coming to the city and I heard musicians playing this incredible music on button accordions. At the same time, I started to notice a number of local musicians. The late Handsome Ned was playing, often at the Cameron House…and Joanne Mackell could be heard regularly at the old Pine Tree Tavern, often playing with Shelley Coopersmith on fiddle.  Wasn’t that a time?