As an avid reader of the business pages of the newspaper (because that’s usually where the comics are – you see there is a reason to read newspapers), I noticed the continuing concern about the rising cost of groceries. Recently, as I was turning the pages to get to the comics, I saw an article that said that an answer to this dilemma may be coming courtesy of our overlords at Loblaws Inc. It turns out Loblaws is going to be piloting a new brand of store under the No Name banner.

I need to pause here to note what seems to be obvious – that if you call a store No Name then it isn’t a no name store because it now has a name. Some of you may recall the band America’s first hit in the 1970s was a Neil Young sound alike tune called “Horse With No Name” (and if you haven’t heard it, don’t bother). In the song the singer sings “I went to the desert on a horse with no name” not “I went to the desert on a horse named No Name” because that would be stupid.

Anyway, the premise behind these new grocery stores is that they will offer significantly lower prices. How are they going to accomplish that? It appears that the main part of the strategy is to offer fewer items. While the average grocery store has over 8,000 different items and the average Loblaws No Frills store has 7,000 items, these No Name named stores (or named No Name stores if you prefer) will only have 1,300 items. The message seems pretty clear – choice is expensive.

We here at Gordon’s Acoustic Living Room, the band that I am fiercely proud to be part of, challenge that assumption every time we strap on our instruments and play to our adoring, or at least mildly tolerant, fans. It’s clear that if we were owned by Loblaws we would be a one- or two-person group playing the same 10 or 15 songs over and over again but that’s not how we roll. The Living Room features a plethora of musicians (and by plethora we’re talking between 8 to 10). And this plethora of musicians chooses from literally hundreds of songs when we create the set lists for our shows. I am proud to say that we have never played the same set twice in the 20 years that we have been plying our trade – there is always something new and exciting for the discerning listener, or even the less discerning listener.

And, in addition to all that, the cost of seeing Gordon’s Acoustic Living Room and experiencing our great variety of music has remained the same for 20 years. Yes, despite the ravages of inflation we have kept the cost of seeing the band low – so low in fact that we never charge a cover at all (this does suggest however that we have somehow missed an essential element behind the notion of plying a trade – which is the trade part – we seem to have the ply part down).

So, if you want to see what it’s like to have a cornucopia of choice in music but not break the bank – hell, not even threaten the bank – please come to see us at our next show on Sunday, October 6th, at the venerable Free Times Café, still located on College St. west of Spadina (if you do want to spend some money on food and drink however the staff at the Free Times will be happy to oblige). The show starts at 8 and we hope to see you there.

Jonathan

P.S. I should note we have also featured the bagpipes at our shows for 20 years and that might explain why we are reluctant to charge anyone to see us.