Deep Dish Toronto

Fit

Sat, Jan 18 @ The Beaver

Two burly men in WWF wrestling trunks guard the doors of The Beaver. One hails from frigid Toronto; the other is an expat from sunny Australia. Wrestling is universal. The need to grab another man, throw him to the ground and score is primal and, it seems, eternal. Cavemen did it, and at this very moment scientists are not only trying to get robots to learn to walk on their own, but to put each other in headlocks. Perhaps, in time, they will evolve, terminator-style, but instead of wanting to destroy mankind and take over our world, they will simply want to wrestle us. Sexy-style. If they do, they will become great fans of Fit, the monthly Queen West party that encourages guys to come dressed in their favourite sports gear. Though they can, like drunken partier Wade, decide after a few drinks to shed their clothes in the washroom to reveal a singlet and surprise everyone, including DJ Kris Steeves, with some Hulk Hogan poses. Perhaps Wade’s just following instructions, as DJ Phil V slips on a remix of “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” by the late, great Michael Jackson. “It’s one of the good remixes,” Phil says quickly. (Just in case Xtra readers are taken aback by his choices.) I say you can never go wrong with MJ . . . except, of course, if he ever wanted to wrestle you after making you drink a lot of Jesus juice. If that were the case, I’d send in a robot.

Byzantium

Sat, Jan 18 @ Byzantium

Two beefy men in tight, fitted dress shirts hover around the doors of Byzantium. One is new to this resto/bar/lounge/dance spot; the other is more than happy to show him around. Years before Byzantium was Byz, the spot to be spotted at on a Saturday, it was a casual diner more popular for grilled sandwiches at lunch than it was for hot guys at night. Perhaps in the future the two will morph together. Though DJ Cajjmere Wray is celebrating his mysterious birthday tonight, with the aid of performances by Devine Darlin, Heaven Lee Hytes and Vitality Black, maybe in a few years Byz will be filled with hot guys bumping on top of a dancefloor made of George Foreman Grills. Every two songs, tons of paninis would be grilled to perfection to feed the hungry, hungry homos above. But until that happens, I chat with designer and TV personality Glenn Dixon about our eternal singleness, our fantastic wardrobes and the man behind the decks himself. Cajjmere, who began his career around the time I began frequenting clubs, is one of the few DJs out there who still keeps creating thoughtful remixes, building interesting song sets, and keeping a generally positive attitude. No easy feat in our ever-shrinking gay club scene. Unless your easy feet are dancing on top of George Foreman Grills. Is that a panini in your pocket or are you just hungry to dance with me?

Deep Dish appears every week on Daily Xtra and every second week in the pages of Xtra.