Round Room

Round Room is the ninth official studio album by the American rock band Phish, released on December 10, 2002, by Elektra Records. The album was recorded and released in the lead up to Phish's reunion concert on New Year's Eve 2002 at Madison Square Garden, which marked the end of the band's two-and-a-half year break.

As with previous Phish albums, the songs originated in collaborative writing sessions between frontman Trey Anastasio and lyricist Tom Marshall (with two songs contributed by bass guitarist Mike Gordon). Round Room is unique, however, in that the final tracks were taken from the band's unedited rehearsal sessions at The Barn, Anastasio's studio in Vermont. Rolling Stone notes that this approach gives the album a "decidedly live" feeling, and "breathes with an anxious, edge-of-the-seat intensity that's missing from their previous studio efforts." Though largely positive, the review criticizes Anastasio's singing and the "Phishspeak" quality of the lyrics.

Phish appeared on TV twice before their official return to the stage on New Year's Eve 2002. "46 Days" was debuted live on the December 14, 2002, episode of Saturday Night Live, and "All of These Dreams" debuted five days later on the Late Show with David Letterman.

The Carlu

The Carlu is an historic event space in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Known for many years as the "Eaton's Seventh Floor", the Carlu is one of Toronto's best examples of Art Moderne architecture. The venue is owned by restaurant firm Oliver & Bonacini.

History

In 1930, the Eaton's department store chain, at the time Canada's dominant retailer, opened "Eaton's College Street", an imposing Art Deco store at the intersection of Yonge Street and College Street. The matriarch of the Eaton family, Lady Flora McCrea Eaton, was a member of Eaton's Board of Directors, and the Eaton's restaurants were one of her responsibilities. She retained the noted French architect Jacques Carlu to design the seventh floor of the edifice, which was to contain the 1300-seat Eaton Auditorium, the Round Room restaurant, lounges and a private dining room. All of the facilities were to be connected by a long foyer, designed in the style of the ocean liners of the day. Between 1931-1965 the theatre was home to the Eaton Operatic Society.