Anatomy of a Concert Series

A look back at every IMOO venue, sorted by number of performances hosted. Some of them are even still in business!

Umi Café (102 Shows) – This defunct coffee shop in Chinatown was our regular home for our first four years (2010-2014) and hosted the most IMOO shows by a wide margin.

House of Common / General Assembly / Cinqhole (53 Shows) – IMOO needed a new regular home after Raw Sugar Café closed its doors in December 2015 and Sothea Kham and Bruno Souliere came through for us in a big way, opening up their space in Hintonburg for 50 shows in a little over three years (April 2016 through May 2019). Under new management in autumn 2019, the re-branded Cinqhole continued hosting shows until the venue became a victim of COVID.

Raw Sugar Café (21 Shows) – When Umi closed for renovations in summer 2014 we moved a few blocks west to Raw Sugar, located directly under the Chinatown gate. Raw Sugar also hosted some quite significant non-IMOO shows over the years, including the likes of Peter Evans and Mary Halvorson.

Black Squirrel Books (14 Shows) – Ottawa’s finest used book store was also a frequent host to live music pre-COVID, including 14 IMOO shows between 2014 and 2019.

Spark Beer (13 Shows) – Our post-COVID regular home, Spark has hosted us 13 times since July 2022.

Club SAW (13 Shows) – SAW hosted IMOO Fest in 2012, 2014, and 2022 along with a handful of other shows.

Gigspace (11 Shows) – Gigspace hosted IMOO Fest in 2013, 2018, 2019, and 2022, along with our 2022 “Spring Fling” celebrating our post-COVID return to live music.

The Record Centre (5 Shows) – John Thompson has presented more than 250 in-store performances in his Hintonburg record store, including a smattering of IMOO performances.

Glebe-St. James United Church (4 Shows) – GSJ hosted IMOO Fest 2018 and 2023 and the recent Hübsch / Martel / Zoubek performance in November 2023.

Des Plages (3 Shows) – Simone and Dana hosted some of the final IMOO shows at their “secret” Hull location throughout 2023.

Pressed Café (2 Shows) – This defunct Gladstone venue presented hundred of concerts including IMOO shows in 2013 and 2015.

DAIMON (2 Shows) – This Hull arts centre hosted IMOO shows in January 2015 – a live recording session for Linsey’s “Manifesto” solo album – and again in January 2016 for the album release show.

Flapjack’s (2 Shows) – The Preston Street diner hosted IMOO shows in February and April 2016 before we found House of Common as our new permanent venue.

Bar Robo (1 Show) – The former Raw Sugar Café hosted one further IMOO concert after its radical renovation and re-branding. Their original Chinatown location is long gone, but Robo continues to present live music at their current Queen Street Fare location.

House of Targ (1 Show) – Hosted an electronic music night co-presented by IMOO and Switch On Synths in March 2023.

LIVE! On Elgin (1 Show) – Hosted the Maria Moles + Instant Places show in October 2023.

La Fonderie (1 Show) – This athletic center in Hull presented “Endless Landscape” a large art installation in summer 2017. For one night during the exhibition, IMOO regulars Linsey, Rory, Ian, and Laura gave roaming performances throughout the installations.

Korean Palace VIP Karaoke Bar (1 Show) – The Umi Café accidentally double-booked their space in July 2012, so for one night only IMOO was moved upstairs to the karaoke lounge.

Brad’s Basement (1 Show) – The audience barely out-numbered the musicians (6 to 4) in this 2017 house concert, held during the brief transition from House of Common to General Assembly.