In one of my most interesting jobs – potentially ever – I once used to work on a boat moored in Toronto, moored at Spadina and Queen’s Quay. There used to be tons of idling around, whereby we’d sit upon the deck of the boat, smoke cigarettes, and get drunk – in retrospect, it was actually a pretty decent job. And, during these extended periods of inactivity, my co-workers and I, well, we’d fantasize about exploring the decrepit (and very abandoned) Canada Malting building that heads up this posting.Urban exploration’s something that I’ve always wanted to pursue – I’m not really sure about the anatomy or the going-ons in abandoned buildings; I’d always guessed that abandoned buildings were secret hobo casinos or something – kind of like an upscale version of the now-defunct Tent City. And until I actually get to witness the interior of Canada Malting or Leaside’s defunct Canada Wire graveyard, I’ll assume this to be correct.
But, lo and behold, an intrepid blogger from BlogTO took the time to explore the burnt-out building at Queen and Beverley, the lesser of two Queen West fire sites (the other, of course, being just east of Queen and Bathurst). This site is particularly interesting to me for several reasons, as it’s figuratively in my back yard. Seeing as how I pass this region several times daily during my daily commute, I’d expect that there would be visible reconstruction efforts; sadly, nothing has been visibly changed in months. Anyhow, BlogTO decided to explore the site, and came back with some truly amazing photos:
(All photos taken from BlogTO. Click here to see the rest of the photos and the accompanying posting)
And while it’s completely disappointing that the city has made little efforts to revamp a supposed historic space (I mean, after all, there's an HMV there), I’m personally disappointed in the emotions evoked after seeing the following photos. Perhaps this speaks to how disaffected or insensitive I’ve become, or perhaps this speaks to how much of a music-writer’s mindset I've adopted; but how cool would it be to see a band play there? The interior of the abandoned buildings look exactly as I’d expect a Euro-punk-squatter house to look. That being said, here are the top 5 bands I’d love to see play Queen and Beverley:
5. 
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