Geneva Centre for Autism, Toronto, ON

November 11, 2004

On November 11^th, 2004, The Matt Savage Trio performed a gig at the grand Royal York Hotel in their Imperial Room.  The concert was for a fundraiser for The Geneva Centre for Autism.

We drove to Toronto with the whole family, as the best way to drive to Toronto is right past Niagara Falls.  We weren’t about to miss the opportunity to visit the falls!!!

We left on Sunday November 7^th and spent the night in Buffalo.  Then, on the 8^th, we ventured to the falls.  Now, as many of you know, the amount of water going over the falls is controlled by hydroelectric dams.  By the end of October, some of the water is diverted into making electricity and none of the “tourist” adventures, like the boats or the walkways down to the base of the falls are open.  The boats can’t run because of the lowered water level, and the walkways become slippery and dangerous because of the cold air.  We knew this before we headed for the falls, but weren’t deterred.

We started at the American side of the falls and walked all around to get as many views as possible.  It was SO beautiful.  We walked across a pier that juts partway across the chasm and took photos, but it was SO breezy and cold (and starting to drizzle) that our cameras kept getting wet and our photo batteries froze.  We hopped in to the car and headed for the Canadian side of the falls, knowing there was more to see there and more attractions open throughout the winter.  We videotaped and walked along the falls, photographing the Horseshoe Falls and Bridal Veil and the American Falls from Canada starting from right next to the falls and working our way to the outlook that juts out a bit so you can look back and see the Horseshoe Falls in full view.  Despite the grey sky, it was SO beautiful.  The falls are a remarkable geological feat of nature.  We, of course, used the falls as an educational experience for the children, researching the geologic history of the falls and talking about the falls’ future.  But, the truth was, we were all just stunned by the power and beauty of the falls.  Here are some photos we took from both the American and Canadian sides of the falls:

We really wanted to see the falls from the best vantage point, so we went up the Skylon Tower.  First we went to the revolving restaurant for a late lunch, as we were starving.  It was a GREAT choice, as the temperature was dropping rapidly.  We could see snow headed our way.  From the restaurant, we were able to eat in warmth and still enjoy the views of the falls and surrounding area as the restaurant revolved.

At the end of lunch, we did a short walk around the outside observation tower (to take more photos), and then made a beeline for the car.  We could see the flurries starting and we had a hike to get back to the car.  The last 5 minutes of our walk to the car were in full-fledged snow, and as we drove past the falls to start our drive to Toronto, we couldn’t even see the falls anymore.  Boy, were we fortunate the weather held out long enough for us to be able to enjoy our afternoon!!!

We made it to Toronto, and started the NEXT phase of our trip.

On Tuesday, we had a leisurely day, so we just explored the hotel and the surrounding area.  Matt had two interviews that afternoon.  The first was with the Globe and Mail newspaper, one of the largest newspapers in Canada.  He really hit it off with the music critic who interviewed him.  They sat on the floor and just lounged around talking, with Matt periodically running to the piano to play for a bit.  Later that day, he had an interview with The Toronto Star, one of the largest local Toronto newspapers.  That interview also went well.  But the interview needed to end early.  We all joined the folks from The Geneva Centre for Autism for dinner at Benihana’s, a cool Japanese Steakhouse in the hotel.  I don’t think Matt and Rebecca stopped laughing all night.  And they completely adopted a woman who works at the Centre who is from South Africa and speaks Zulu.  The children learned their names in Zulu and learned some basic expressions.  Zulu is a totally cool language, if you have never before heard it spoken.  It uses clicks as letters, so it just sounds cool.

Wednesday was more of a “tourist day” for us, but still there was a lot of media.  Normally, we don’t do a lot of appearances when doing gigs in various locations, but given that Matt’s Thursday gig was his PREMIER in Canada and given that it was a huge fundraising event at one of the most historic and majestic landmarks in Toronto, we were besieged by paparazzi.  A hotel security employee told me they had received 75 requests from media personnel (both television and print) to interview Matt.  Fortunately for us, the hotel acted as our buffer.  As it was, Matt and I had an early start in the morning, so he could appear on CTV’s “Canada AM”.  CTV is Canada’s top national network.  “Canada AM” is the equivalent in Canada of “The Today Show” here in the US…the top national morning Show, with a beautiful and personable hostess and a funny weatherman.  It’s uncanny the similarities!  Normally, the show is live; however, the producers wanted to air the segment the following week (on Nov 15^th), so they taped Matt’s appearance. 

The show hostess, Beverly Thomson, interviewed Matt for a few minutes, and then Matt played a great solo rendition of “Seven Up”.  After Matt’s segment we prepared to leave, but managed to see some filming of (and joke around with) the weatherman, Jeff Hutcheson.  Matt got a few more hugs from Beverly, one of the nicest ladies you would care to meet, and then we returned to the hotel for lunch.  Matt had a brief second meeting with the Toronto Star folks so they could photograph him for their newspaper article.  Matt played a few tunes on the hotel lobby piano so the reporter could get people’s reactions to his playing.  It was kind of cool.  People stopped what they were doing and crowded around and listened and applauded.  We received a few business cards, and as we were leaving, a local jazz musician who was in the lobby introduced himself and said of Matt, “He’s Got Chops”.  Let me tell you, folks, this statement is the ultimate compliment in jazz.  One of the greatest forms of recognition in the music world is gaining the respect of the greats who precede you.

Anyway, after that, we were off to the CN tower for the rest of the day and into the night.  We went to the Skypod, which is really cool.  You are SO, SO high up.  It is the world’s highest observation deck at 1465 feet in the air.  Then we went to the glass floor and observation deck.  If you thought I said glass floor, you were correct.  There is a section of the tower that has a floor made of glass.  You can stand or even jump on this floor, but directly below you (approximately 1122 feet below you) is the pavement.  You look down below your feet, and it is STRAIGHT down!  If you can conquer your fear of heights, this makes for come cool photo ops.  Here are a few of ours.  (Don’t worry.  The literature about the glass floor says it can hold 14 hippos.  I just hoped we weren’t the 15^th)!

Then we went out to the open-air observation deck.  This has a grate kind of enclosure to keep you from falling off the tower, but is open air.  The wind whistles around the tower so fast that it is like being out in a hurricane.  Because it was cold, we had on our jackets.  When I opened up my jacket and spread it out like wings, I couldn’t walk forward.  The wind even pushed me back.  My husband videotaped us laughing and struggling forward against the winds and almost flying.  Then we went around the back side of the tower.  Here, the winds PUSH you.  So suddenly we were forced into running just to keep our balance.  It was a REAL experience.  We went around 3 times, trying out new and sillier ways to “fly” each time, each time caught on videotape for blackmail purposes.

We were all sore and tired from our “wind treadmill”, so it was time for dinner at the 360 Restaurant in the tower.  This is a revolving restaurant located 1150 feet in the air.  It is fine dining, and the view is breathtaking.  It was wonderful way to end our day, watching the city lights glimmer below.

Thursday was performance day.  We pretty much did nothing all day, but DID do a last-minute interview with Citytv, one of Toronto’s television stations for their 6 PM news.  In the afternoon, Matt and I wandered in and out of the performance room and he tested the piano and did a sound check.  A Toronto Show called, “Body and Health” filmed him while he was doing sound check so they could include him in a local show they were doing about children with autism.  He answered a few brief questions, but then it was time to get ready for the performance.

November 11^th is Veterans Day here in the US.  In Canada, it is also the day they honor and memorialize the people who have fought for their country.  It is called Remembrance Day in Canada, and it is much more of a truly respectful tribute to veterans.  The people of Canada remember and revere their veterans by wearing poppies on their lapels.

Matt wore one, and opened his evening with a statement about it’s being Remembrance Day and how special it was to perform on that day.  The band played two sets, with a short 15-minute intermission.  Most of the tunes played were Matt Savage originals, but there were a few standards in there as well.  The crowd was unbelievably effusive in its applause and praise.  At the end of the concert, there was a drawing for a raffle being held by the Geneva Centre for Autism.  Matt asked if he could draw the tickets for the two winning Grand Prize winners.  He drew the Grand Prize, and nobody in the room responded that they had the ticket.  So he said, “if you are reading your ticket backwards, the winning number is…”, which brought a roar of laughter from the audience.  Then he said, “if you are reading it upside down, it is…”  (All of the numbers were eights, sixes, and nines, so someone COULD have been reading the ticket upside down).   Finally, someone realized they had the number and came forward.  At the same time, Rebecca was drawing the other 14 winners of the smaller prizes, so after the two top winners were determined, the Centre announced the other winners of the other prizes.  After all of the laughter and cheering, the hostess for the evening asked the crowd if they might like to hear an encore from the band.  Everyone stood and yelled “YES!” and clapped and cheered, so the band played one last tune.  The show was taped by Citytv, so there was a brief news report about the concert on their 11 PM news, which was fun to watch.

It was a magical evening, a wonderful visit, and the beginning of our love affair with Canada.  The people there were so caring and giving and supportive and just plain old nice.  We look forward to our return.  Matt hopes to perform all over Canada eventually.

Friday, we drove home.