DBIA Featured Post: The Spill

If you’re a live music fan in Peterborough, chances are that you know The Spill. For those who have yet to experience perhaps one of the city’s most unique intimate live music atmospheres, there is no better time than the present to take in a show!

Located at 414 George St N and owned by the ever charismatic Dave Tobey, The Spill has been a launching pad for many artists from local to international noise makers of various kinds for 10 years now. The term “noise makers” seems to fit because Dave says they’ve had everything from rock bands and pop acts to 17 piece blues orchestras and poets grace the renowned stage.

Dave says if you can fit your equipment through the doors, then you can put on any kind of show there! In owning The Spill, it is Dave’s desire to be a platform for art and culture to collide. The atmosphere is laid back and features artwork from far and wide, including quite a bit from the local community! With the only real unwritten rule being that you must be there for a good time and not to stir things up, Dave says that anything and everything can happen depending on the night of the week.

With such a wide range of talent able to take the stage almost at will, the experiences its patrons receive rarely duplicates. While being an events venue first, The Spill does offer some great food and beverage options for its customers who pack it on a regular basis. The Spill offers a fully stocked bar, featuring many local beers, homemade sweet tea, and what can be considered the best “dripbrew” coffee in the area.

They also specialize with an epic homemade salsa, hummus and pita which is to die for and incredibly simple but delicious hotpressed sandwiches. Dave and his staff absolutely love the history of Peterborough and the downtown core that they operate within. This can be seen immediately with the old High Tops sign that they proudly display on their wall. The Spill has become more than just a workplace for him, taking on a homey feeling that he is very proud of. His goal is to continue to be a place for anyone from Juno Award Winners to first time performers to be able to use at their will to play their music to the masses.

Over the years, The Spill has taken part in various community causes and is usually the backdrop for benefit shows. Habitat for Humanity has hosted benefit concerts there, and they also recently held a show for StopABully.ca. More recently, it has also been the backdrop for the local Focus Fair which showcases local artists. It can also be considered the unofficial home of the Peterborough Poetry Slam as well.

Dave and his staff invite you to come out for a night and check what many locals already have. It’s an experience you won’t soon forget!

For more on The Spill (414 George St N), go to:

Facebook: The Spill
Twitter: @TheSpillBar
Phone: 705.748.6167

For more on Downtown Peterborough and the Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA), click here.

—By Aaron Elliott

Here's Where Seinfeld And Friends Should Visit While In Town

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, then you know the news: Jerry Seinfeld is in Peterborough performing this Saturday at the Memorial Centre. That is great news for our city in that one of TV's most successful people ever is bringing his comedy tour our way. In honour of Mr. Seinfeld coming to town, we give you a list of places he and his friends should visit!

1. Soupçon (The Soup Nazi). This is an easy one! There is plenty of Soup For You!

2. East City Coffee Shop (pretty much every episode). It might not be on the corner, but this is a great spot to meet up with friends and talk about your day.

3. Showplace (The Friar’s Club) Jerry and his friends can sit on the balcony to watch a magic show and not be afraid to have his Friar’s Club jacket taken again!

4. Roger’s Cove (The Marine Biologist). Kramer can hit a few golf balls into Little Lake without fear of forcing George to become a Marine Biologist again.

5. Peterborough Public Library (The Library). Our librarians are pretty nice with overdue book fees.

6. Jackson’s Park (The Andrea Doria). If Jerry wants to see Elaine get hit in the head by a bird in a park, this is his best bet.

7. Daisy Chinese Restaurant (The Chinese Restaurant). They probably won’t have to wait as long for a seat.

8. Chex Studios (The Shoes). Jerry and George could approach Chex like they did NBC to produce a pilot for a new sitcom.

9. YMCA (The Boyfriend). Just like meeting Keith Hernandez at a Y in New York, Jerry can meet a lot of local athletes training here.

—PTBOCanada's Aaron Elliott

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New Bandwagon With Elliott Brood Filmed At Local Tim Hortons

What's more Canadian than rocking out going through a Tim Hortons drive-thru, eh? Exhibit A: Mark, Casey and Stephen from country-rock band Elliott Brood as they order coffee and drive around Peterborough performing "Rusty Nail" in the latest Bandwagon episode.

[via Bandwagon YouTube channel]

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Jerry Seinfeld Is Coming To Peterborough April 26th!

Peterborough Seinfeld is getting a run for his Newman, as the real Jerry Seinfeld is bringing his Seinfeld Live! tour to the Memorial Centre on April 26th—tickets will be available at the Memorial Centre starting November 29th at 10 am. Seinfeld is one of the most iconic television shows in history and the most successful sitcoms of all time so it should rank right up there with the Elton John concert—the concert Elton played here, not the one he cancelled.

—PTBOCanada's Scott Arnold

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Watch This Peterborough Woman's Reaction When She Won A Car

When Kim O'Brien won a car at 100.5 Kruz-FM's Greatest Office Party event at Trentwinds last night (November 8th), she did this...

[via KRUZ FM]

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PTBOCanada Christmas Party December 5th At ARIA In Downtown Peterborough

We're excited to formally announce the PTBOCanada.com Inaugural Christmas Party! It takes place at ARIA Thursday, December 5th starting at 8 p.m., so mark it on your calendars! This is a community event, and no tickets are required to be admitted—invite your friends, family, colleagues. Peterborough love. Members of Kawartha Food Share will be at the door accepting cash and food donations, as so many are in need in this community. There will be a PMZ red carpet—you're all VIP!—a photobooth (with mistletoes!) and much much much more. Who knows, even Santa may show up! Spread the word!!

If you'd like more deets on the party, or want to be involved in some capacity, email here.

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8 Local People, Animals & Ideas To Dress Up As For Halloween

1. Petes player. This should be easy in our sports mad city! If you don’t own one already, borrow someone’s jersey and throw it over some sweaty old equipment. Skip the skates! That might be awkward. (Alternatively, dress up as a Peterborough Laker!)

2. Porsche and Ferrari, the Peterborough sloths. This is a tandem gig, and will make for a really slow night if you go trick or treating in true character.

3. Mike Judson. Try on one of dad’s big suits to make yourself look taller. Extra points if you add the famous Judson facial hair, and bring a green screen background. Better for taller kids!

4. Bobby Roode. If you have spandex and a wrestling championship belt, then you’ve got yourself a costume. It might be a cold night though! Borrow your mom's bathrobe and be-dazzle it for the full effect.

5. David Koski. Four words. Spanky's co-owner. Zach Galifianakis.

Koski

Koski, er, Zach

6. Lift Lock. If you can pull this one off with functioning hydraulics, you win! But if it malfunctions, it might go viral!

7. Catherine Hanrahan & Pete Dalliday. For Pete, you’ll want some glasses, spiked hair, an “I’d Rather be in Peterborough” tee and a microphone. For Catherine, you have to be shorter! And have bangs!

8. The Douro Elk. A brown shirt, brown pair of pants, and a couple of fallen sticks from your tree makes this a pretty easy and currently trending costume! Extra points if you bring along a couple people dressed as cows.

 —by PTBOCanada's Aaron Elliott

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Here's Steve The Pot Belly Pig Checking Out The Action At Sloth Mania

One of the sidekicks that emerged alongside the star attractions—sloths Porsche and Ferrari—at Saturday's Sloth Mania fundraiser for the Calgary Zoo was a pot belly pig named Steve. Steve was let out of his pen for a while to chill out with visitors. View more pics from the fundraiser here.

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Birthday Tribute To Neil Young At Rock And Roll Underground

Mark this one in your calendars. November 12th. 

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DBIA Featured Post: Shots Lounge

The evolution of Peterborough’s downtown is ever apparent. Some businesses have come and gone, while others have undergone a complete re-branding like Shots Lounge, which was formerly known as Splice.

Opening as Splice in 2006, the lounge was meant to be a semi restaurant-lounge offering a wide array of drinks and dinner options. While the menu was constantly changing to provide its clientele with top quality food, it eventually turned into a full-on nightclub to the delight of its owners.

Eventually however, under the same ownership, Splice was essentially transitioned to the successful ARIA. Later, the idea came to bring back elements of the Splice atmosphere but in a remodelled setting. In March of this year, renovations began at 379 George St N, and since its June opening, Shots Lounge has become a hotspot downtown!

Owned and operated by a group of locals including Lang Freeman, Shawn Stephenson, Andres (Sucho) Salazar and Sammy Shehadeh, Shots Lounge has
brought back a casual nightspot atmosphere that brings with it the same feeling as a pub, but in a different setting. This is what Splice use to have, and with Shots they have been able to recreate the old closeness and community feeling.

The owners like that it has become a spot again where everybody knows your name. Separated into two rooms, Shots is quite a versatile operation. The front room opened in June and is set up as a bar where patrons can order trendy drinks in a cozy lounge setting. The back room, which opened in September, is available for special functions such as birthday parties. Any kind of event is possible in this space and they love working with requests from clients.

Open 7 nights a week from 8 p.m.-on, Shots offers an intimate yet exciting venue with DJs constantly spinning only the best music while offering an absolutely massive drink menu with nightly specials. Their bartenders can create anything you can imagine! The lounge offers a nightly promo between 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. called “5 for 5” where you can order any 5 hand crafted beverages for $5 each.

Partnered with ARIA and Dolce Vita who supplies a full kitchen, Shots has become one of downtown Peterborough’s newest go-to nightlife establishments! They invite you to come down and experience what so many people have been talking about since its June opening. If you’re looking to throw a memorable party of any theme, they’d be happy to help you make it happen in this unique spot.

For more on Shots Lounge (379 George St. N), go to:
Twitter: @shotsonshots
Facebook: Shots Lounge
Phone: 705.749.9315

For more on Downtown Peterborough and the Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA), click here.

—By Aaron Elliott