Dup & Dav Underpass

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Bach, Sarabande

After scouring the city for a good spot to hold another impromtu full moon concert last night proved fruitless, I took a minutes to play under this fantastic bridge near Dup and Dav.

Streets in Toronto get all sorts of cute abbreviations, a common one being Av & Dav, which is short for Avenue Road and Davenport Road. So, by extension, I feel it only fair to call Dupont Street and Davenport Road (now there’s a mouthful) Dup and Dav, don’t you think?

Arterial nomenclature aside, I have often wondered what the acoustics might be like under this iconic bridge, but usually have been in too much of a hurry or navigating the insane intersection at the bottom of Russell Hill Road to take the time. I believe at one point this was actually a level crossing for the railway that passes overhead. It is likely that some sage city council members from a bygone era successfully lobbied to dig a modernistic underpass here to facilitate transit about the city, all in the name of progress – sometimes I wish there were more of these around town, considering the gridlock! When it comes to getting around TO, I feel I’m master of the backstreets so a little traffic snarl usually doesn’t phase me, but still, traffic is a joke at times!

A violinist friend of mine, Max, and I had set our sights on the Laird warehouses up in the east end of town for an impromptu, after-hours concert – you know, to read some Bach duos by flashlight, whatever – but were stymied when we discovered both warehouses up in Leaside are now securely boarded up : (   After trekking in the dark across muddy tracts of overgrown industrial landfill in the rain, this sign kinda sealed the deal:

Not so sure about the grammar here, but the bit about the dog cinched it for us. And to think I used to roam about and play freely around here!? So we headed for a beer – what else to do – to talk about upcoming gigs, go over ideas about the nature of music, as well as to figure out an order for the program for our upcoming St. Anne’s concert!

Returning home, streets largely deserted, and in need of a hot bath, the bridge beckoned…