It's Never Been Like That... By: Amanda Burcul

Saturday night's Phoenix concert at the Sound Academy ranked #2 on my list of best concerts ever attended. Believe me, that's saying something. Between the lights, the staging, the showmanship and the energy shown by all band members, Phoenix put on a phenomenal show that all music lovers could appreciate.


Hailing from Paris, France, the band consists of four guys: Thomas Mars, Christian Mazzalai, Laurent 'Branco' Brancowitz and Deck D'Arcy. With their first album 'United' being release in 2000, the band has since evolved with a new sound - shown in their last two albums - that has earned them greater fame and popularity. Their recent release 'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix' has even produced several songs that have been used for commercial purposes and has earned the band a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album.

All of this change and excitement reverberated through their show last night as they took the stage to a packed house and screaming crowd. Leading their set with the second single off their latest album, they jumped into 'Lisztomania' with all the enthusiasm of an indie Toronto band opening their first show at the Big Bop. Crowd favourties such as 'Consolation Prize', 'Napoleon Says' and 'Fences' followed.

Always a favourite, I made sure to take ample video of 'Rally': http://bit.ly/6eNR5p

The entire show was like a reunion, with everyone singing along, people bonding like they'd known each other for years and many dancing in the very small amount of space they had. This all culminated with one of the most inclusive and exciting endings to a concert I had ever seen. When the band returned for their encore, they didn't wrap it up with a quick song, instead choosing to perform three songs and an interlide. They then broke up their last song of the night - the radio friendly '1901' - with a surprise body surfing expedition by singer Thomas Mars and a crowd dance party on the stage. It was an experience. I managed to get a portion on video. But I had to put down my camera for the rest - I was too busy dancing up a storm... http://bit.ly/8JCZMr

Go green with your hair, just not the colour

I grew my hair out for over a year. In an attempt to bring it back to life (figure of speech, as hair is dead), I decided it needed a serious trim. Without a regular salon in Toronto, I visited my old friend Laura who is a Sr. stylist at LOKI in Yorkville.

While waiting for my appointment to begin, the receptionist pleasantly informed me that LOKI supports a “green pathway for change.”

Thanks to an organization called Green Circle Salons, hair salons in Toronto and around the world are going green. Guess what they are recycling? It’s hair of course!

Who knew that human hair makes the filter screens to clean oil spills. Someone in England even made a chair out of human hair resin. I know, legitimately creepy, but intriguing.

Hair is a sustainable resource. Some hope that in the future it will replace fiberglass and other materials to make things such as mascara, boat parts, shoes, clothing and structural beams. Shockingly, hair chair designer Ronald Thompson estimates that “a strand of hair can support 8,750 times its own weight, and that a head of hair can support 13 tons and that hair can double its own length before breaking.”

Keeping hair and colour tubes out of landfills supports Green Circle Salons’ bottom line of maintaining environmental integrity in salons. A directory found on their website lists the salons in the Greater Toronto Area participating in the green pathway initiatives.

So if environmental sustainability is on your mind, along with a hurting head of hair, make sure you choose a salon that is aligned with Green Circle Salons, or go see Laura at LOKI.

By Emily