(Scores are here. - M)

Sunday night’s slam was a testament to the strength of the spoken word scene in Toronto. On one of the snowiest nights in Toronto’s history (so the media tell me), the Drake Hotel Underground was packed tight with poetry die-hards…meaning, both the slam poets who were hungry to compete and the audience aching for a good show to keep them distracted from the shoveling they’d be doing in 10 hours.

It was another busy night, which meant another sign-up lottery draw, and the open mic was tight with 6 poets. First round showed off some veteran poise sprinkled with newbie energy, and the crowd was lapping it up. They especially liked Sean Cullen’s 3.0 score to That Brown Bastard. Being a celebrity judge, Cullen wanted to play up TBB’s assholey vibe, and for once in a long time the banter between judge and poet was enjoyably fiery. Doesn’t happen often.

The audience was treated to classic gems like Gypsy Eyes’ who-am-I piece and Kate’s I Have a Camera and then veered to the left with new-to-the-ear poems from Ziy and Ariel. Props to Truth to making the room completely silent, all ears trained to her voice. Nestled comfortably at second last, Idriis took the stage with hip-hop-flavoured gusto, and wowed the judges by scoring the highest in the first round.

And it was Idriis who powered his way to the third and then landed a choice draw at last, so he could blast our soundholes with narrative rhymes about Spider Man and Star Wars. All in one poem, way under 3 minutes. Idriis took home top spot, $75, and a bye to the semi’s. It’s always great to see fresh blood winning love in their first slam in ages…Noticed it’s been happening a lot at TPS.

This review wouldn’t be a complete without a gushing holy-fuck props to Poizunus. The slam’s guest feature was the best non-poetic feature TPS ever invited — Poizunus beatboxed for 20 minutes, and it never sounded redundant. Instead, we heard epic tunes like Billy Jean and Sweet Dreams all beatboxed up; ihis scratching would’ve made Rahzel shit in his Sean John pants. It was mind-blowing, and fans like Brown Bastard were encoring Poiz for at least another 8 pieces.

Big love to all the people who navigated through tricky transportation chaos to bring their energy to the slam. It doesn’t go unappreciated, and at the afterparty we poets couldn’t stop talking about how impressive the turnout was. And sledding. We talked about sledding. And condoms. Long story.

The story slam is on Jan. 12, so interested poets should get their stories out of their bellies and onto some paper. Don’t drink too much egg nog, lovely readers, save some for me. Enjoy your holidays, stay poetic and see ya in 2008.

(Scores are here) - Mike

It was a night of brilliant talent befitting the two-year anniversary of Toronto Poetry Slam. Cervejaria was packed so intensely, the divider doors had to be opened so the other room could be used. Twelve poets in the first round, and I counted half as newbies to the stage. There were the vets, the White Noise Machine, Kate Leadbeater, Truth, Jogi, Ariel, R.D. And there were the rooks, who held their own impressively: Wade, Kate M., Dave P.

Round two kept some of the core events, including White Noise Machine, who deftly made the third round with a performative piece in the first round (Advertising), and a written poem anchoring him to the page in the second. But it was Jogi’s powerful performances that turned him to a highlight of the night. He must’ve been in the zone like never before, because the crowd reacted so feverishly like never before. Congrats to the Jogester for making third round.

Kate L. and Ariel are both masters of zipping from funny to serious within a stanza, and taking us along for rides in their somewhat-fractured lives. Kate displayed some nice range with pieces that spanned from I-love-him to I’ve-grown-up-too-quick. And is it me, or does Ariel have fire in the belly, hungry to make the slam team this year?

The two-year anniversary wouldn’t be complete with a rousing birthday song initiated by R.D. (taking up time in his poem, no less). Also, every good TPS needs an even greater feature, and Vancouver’s The Fugitives didn’t disappoint. They carried us through their debut album’s standout songs, and I don’t think those 160 people in Cervejaria will ever forget the words: “Right now!”

Another special moment of the night was the arrival of the celebrity judge, Raine Maida. Former frontman of Our Lady Peace, supporter of charities like War Child, married to Chantal Kreviatzcouldyouspellituk. Coming straight from the airport, Raine joined the slam by the middle of the first round, and I’ve never seen a dude’s jaw drop so hard while watching the Fugitives. Well, except mine, of course. And Raine was so impressed with the Fugees (and the slam, he admitted), he asked Mark Berube to play accordion at his Mod Club show two nights later. Rest assured, a bunch of us went to the gig, had a rockin time, and met Canada’s most well-known rock n’ roll relationship. Chantal and Raine…who would’ve thought they’d be linked to Toronto Poetry Slam?

Oh, you want to know who won? Oh reader, the points are not the point, the poetry is the point. But you’ve slogged through a long paragraph on Raine Maida, so here’s the payoff: and the winner of the November TPS was…WHITE NOISE MACHINE! Let’s all pat his back and offer encouraging words. And some of you strategists out there are likely thinking the WNM’s win is a good thing for the overall standings. Think about it.

Two years have passed, and I got too many people to thank in this last ‘graph. Instead, let me offer a bearhug-sized thanks to anyone who attended the slam, volunteered at the slam, judged at a slam, wrote about the slam, slammed, or showed love for the slam. Without you, it wouldn’t be what it is.

See ya Dec. 16.

(Scores are here - Mike)

It was a night of beginnings: the first slam of the official Toronto Poetry Slam season; the first time Vancouver spoken word poet Sean McGarragle has featured at TPS; and the first time the slam stage has been graced by so many new poets. In fact, there were practically only two TPS veterans in the first round - Yehuda Fisher and Ziy.

The first round gave us a good chance to see the various flavours of poetry out there: Livingstone Lacroix mixed song with her verse; Macer was dubbed the “Canadian Dr. Suess” by yours truly for bringing an appealing storytelling vibe to his poetry; Yaseemi gave the audience the blunt truths, no sugar coating; and Ziy returned to TPS after a year hiatus to rock our faces off with poems both classic and new.

But the freshest voice on Saturday night was also the highest scoring. Free Will, straight outta Ottawa and on the Capital Sleam 2007, brought the heat with memorized pieces on injustice, social activism and how people view money. Free Will powered into the third round to battle it out with Ziy and Yehuda, and he ended up the winner on Saturday night, earning him a spot in the semi-finals.

Not to be forgotten is Sean McGarragle, who blessed the stage with wonderful slices of his life. I don’t think anyone will forget lines like “Even if her period was gremlins” and “bodyfisting a fairy.” Oh Sean, always giving us such pleasant visuals.

Note that the next slam is coming up sooner than you think, on Nov. 10, and it’s at a different venue: Cervejaria, 842 College. It’s the slam’s two-year anniversary featuring The Fugitives, so get ready for a blow-your-soul-away kinda evening.

A double CD highlighting the best performances from last year’s Canadian Festival of Spoken Word is now available. Check out the forum post for more, including a quick way to help promote it.

Want on the 2008 TPS team? The future comes soon.

It was a night of newbies, veterans and surprise rib-ticklers. As for newbies, several slam competitors were virgins to the Toronto Poetry Slam stage, including Shannon, Emily, Dave and Lady Loxx. They each brought a spicy flavour of performance poetry the audience had never seen before, especially Dave — he performed in German and English! Oh, the foreign appeal of TPS just got stronger.

In the second round, the always entertaining Electric Jon rocked the Drake with R.D. backing him up on vocals, while another veteran, Truth Is, kicked it into high gear with some classic poems of hers. The newbie Lady Loxx (dressed oh so fine in high heels and mini skirt) power-punched our minds with hard-hitting rhymes and potent content, giving her the edge to make it to third round.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. A huge kudos must be lavished on the guest feature, comedian Chris Gibbs. He had everyone laughing heavily at his punchlines on British accents, raising a child, sympathy cards and saving our Winnipeg Jets. I’m sure 3 minutes of his material at a slam would garner him at least a 9.3 from judges.

In the third round, veterans Truth Is and Lara battled it out against Lady Loxx. Both Truth and Lara performed poignant poems of heart-wrenching verse, but it was Lady Loxx who won over the incredibly loose judges (including Knopf Canada publisher Diane Martin). It’s always refreshing to see a newcomer to the slam take home the $75 and the confidence to return for another slam in the future.

The next slam will be on Oct. 27, and I know that’s a long time for many of you, but rest assured the slam scene will be buzzing with activity: From Oct. 10 to 14, the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word descends on Halifax, and many local poets will be competing in this mega-slam: White Noise Machine, Amanda Hiebert, Krystle Mullin, Arianna, Truth Is, Boonaa, Leviathan, Tomy Bewick, Dwayne Morgan, and more. In a week or so, check out www.cfsw.net

There was a different vibe in the air in August than at other slams. It was a mixture of anticipation and excitement, as many of the slammers this month were newbies to the TPS stage. How did the rooks fare? There was Stacey wowing us with both a stunning singing voice and a delightful poem on masturbation; we were treated to some sensual poetry courtesy of Tungi; and Abs rocked the intro from his album, spoken word style, giving us a taste of what this Toronto MC can do on the slam stage.

The judges were tough (but consistent) the whole night, but they were loving the poetry that flowed from Ritallin and Kate. Ritallin endured some bad luck, drawing first in the first round and second in the second round, so he couldn’t strategize too heavily. When it was all said and done, Kate came out on top, as well she should have — her pieces on Mansbridge and a video camera were performed with the plucky energy we’ve expected from this talented poet. Congrats, Kate!

Kudos to the guest feature, Knock Knock Who’s There Comedy. Scrambling our brains with a quirky and risque multimedia presentation on storytelling, the comedy troupe added a fresh flavour to the slam vibe and gave everyone a good laugh (even if they felt guilty about it).

The summer months are heating up with more poetry, so make sure to hit up Last Call Poets on August 26, Dementia 5 on August 30 and the slam on Sept. 8.

Source: Wordfreak’s flickr set - click for more

Electric. And I’m not talking about Jon. I’m referring to the vibe in the room, to how my skin felt hosting the Toronto Poetry Slam Finals Night in front of 230 people crammed inside Hugh’s Room in west-end Toronto. As expected, the audience was hungry for powerful poetry and the eight finalists didn’t disappoint.

We were treated to off-the-page stand-up poetry from the White Noise Machine; an article stuffed inside a performance piece courtesy of Krystle Mullin; emotional drenchings from our own slice of Hollywood, Amanda Hiebert; well-timed comedic rant-poems a la Arianna; team-piece mastery courtesy of Gypsy Eyes, with some help from Tomy Bewick; one heckuva romantic poem blasted by Valentino Assenza; intense portraits of physicality from Jill Binder; and potent social justice brain-punches thanks to Truth Is.

Between the rounds of talented poetry, Hugh’s Room got its first taste of Shane Koyczan, one of the most prolific spoken word poets in Canada. Even though he featured thrice last week in Toronto, this set was filled with 3/4 new material Torontonians haven’t heard in July, and it was his final cover piece of a Taylor Mali classic that brought the house down.

When the dust settled after the final round, Toronto Poetry Slam had its top four poets and its team going to Halifax for the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word. Note that a scoring/ranking error on Saturday night resulted in me naming Truth as a team member and Amanda Hiebert as the alternate. Upon further review, it’s the reverse, and I apologize for any confusion.

• Arianna
• Krystle Mullin
• White Noise Machine
• Amanda Hiebert
• Truth Is… (alternate)

So now the fundraising efforts begin, and slam fans should look forward to a few months of the Team rockin stages and practising hard for Hali, and likely a slam-off with the Up From The Roots team (January TPS co-champ Boonaa, TPS fixture Tomy Bewick, 2006 TPS member Leviathan, and UFTR founder Dwayne Morgan), Toronto’s other CFSW team. There should be tons of opportunities to catch these all-stars on stages across the city, but if you got a hankering to go the CFSW in Halifax, we’d welcome some hometown support. It’ll be a festival to remember.

Are you excited? I’m excited. Are you? Of course you are. Of course you’re excited - three hours from my writing this, 200 people will be packing Hugh’s Room to hear the 8 top slammers from the season vie for spots on the 2nd Toronto team for the nationals - and, of course, Shane “Maybe My Eye-Melting Poetry Ate Your Baby” Koyczan.

I’m still lobbying officials to have staple guns given exemptions as props. Not sure how that’ll turn out - I think the rep from Riverdale can be bought out, but the rest are tough - but expect lacerations nonetheless, even if only of the metaphorical nature.

Hugh’s Room (Bloor and Dundas)
8pm (come early for a seat)
$10

Believe it.

Wow. That three-letter word sums up the talented wordblasts we all enjoyed at the TPS Semi-Finals at the Cervejaria back room. Twelve poets sweated and emoted through two rounds, giving us enough mental nourishment to last until the finals. Here are some of the highlights, in my humble opinion:

• Krystle getting massive laughs with her “Skip-It” reference. Toys ARE funny.
• Arianna hobbling on stage like the trooper she is and belting out two brand new pieces
• Tomy Bewick floating through the room like a poetic warrior, delivering his poem with the energy we’ve come to love from Bam-Bam.
• Electric Jon’s duet with Spencer, which was awesome and brave, considering he trashed his chances at making the Finals (two point deduction for team pieces). But EJ doesn’t care about competition, which is why we dig him.
• Val rocking the second round with a new poem on self-loathing, complete with lines about Field of Dreams and masturbating to the Aunt Jemima package
• The White Noise Machine giving Advertising a new flavour, as he does every time he performs his now-classic piece
• Jill Binder getting heavy on us one round, and then flipping the script and going funny. Well done.

Not to be missed was R.C. Weslowski’s set after round one. The Vancouver spoken word master didn’t disappoint audiences who were hungry to learn how the night was filled with poetry, thanks to Steve Nash. We also gobbled up his call-and-response pieces, and many of us will forever the risque jokery of his Terry Fox bit. Who knew Toronto audiences could be so sensitive?

When the dust settled, the scores (courtesy of Shram) gave us the top 8 moving on to the Finals. In order from highest to lowest, here are the poets you’ll be hearing on July 21:

So mark your calendar and Facebook your friends — the July 21 Finals are shaping up to be another fun and electric night. And thanks for supporting spoken word in the city.