When thrashy experimental punks Quebexico called it a day earlier this year, angry, drunken, often-bearded fans across the country had a good reason to get more angry, more drunk, and grow larger beards. Thankfully, the band's offspring is hitting the same musical highs in the same aggressively DIY manner. TEENANGER, comprised of the 3/4ths of Quebexico that lived in Toronto (Ottawa-based guitarist Davey now plays in the also-awesome Million Dollar Marxists), is a little...

When New York punks Leftover Crack were denied entry into the country last week (something to do with criminal records), East Vancouver's The Rebel Spell opted not to give up and salvaged the tour, making their way across this fine land in true DIY punk fashion. This weekend finds the band in Toronto, trading a show at all ages mega-complex The Reverb for the way punker Siesta Neveaux. Located at 15 Lower Sherbourne, there...

When you think of literacy, chances are the first name that comes to mind isn't Slash. But the notoriously bad-assed guitarist from rock legends Guns n' Roses has recently come out with an autobiography detailing his many, many encounters with sex, drugs, and rock n' roll. He was born in England but moved to LA in the early seventies, where he was surrounded by musical icons such as Joni Mitchell and David Geffen, and even...

Martin Knelman, writing in the Star, once apologized for the lacklustre exterior of the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts by describing it as a building that "has to be experienced from the inside out rather than the other way around." What better way to reinforce the impression that the performances showcased inside are principally targeted at an elite class than by plopping down a building that offers little to those standing on......

This Friday's Steam Whistle Unsigned is already the fourth in a series of independent music showcases at the Roundhouse, but it's the first we're really excited about. Really excited. Check out this lineup: The Carps are the best thing to come out of Scarborough since... er... hmm. Right. Anyway, the punk-soul duo recently opened for MIA at the Kool Haus, and if they're good enough for Maya, they're good enough for you. Opopo sound like......

Following the release this year of Neil Young's 1971 Massey Hall concert and a third tribute album comes Chrome Dreams II. Featuring ten new songs and covering a range of musical styles, there is something for all of his fans on this recording. "Where Living With War and Everybody’s Rockin' were albums focused on one subject or style, Chrome Dreams II is more like After The Goldrush or Freedom, with different types of songs......

In celebration of Attack in Black’s upcoming show at the Horseshoe this Friday, November 16, Torontoist is pleased to offer you a video about Canadian geography, starring the band (along with Moneen, Matt Good, Raine Maida and more!), shot at the CASBYs a few weeks ago. Yes, 102.1 The Edge is playing them to death. But that doesn’t change the fact that Attack in Black are a pretty fantastic band, and that Marriage, their full-length......

Last Wednesday, legendary Canadian music retailer Pindoff Record Sales sold off their 72-store Music World chain. Two days later, the new owners filed for bankruptcy protection and and will likely lay off 648 employees by the end of January. And so it goes. According to court documents, Music World plans an "orderly wind down," including closing stores and liquidating inventory. The retailer has been in dire straits for years, propped up by the Toronto-based......

Photo of Wintersleep by Emerging Design & Photography. Musicologist is a tad behind this week, so it's too late to list tonight's shows. Luckily, there's not much of anything happening music-wise tonight, except for Stevie Wonder at the ACC, and we suspect that if you didn't have tickets before today, you'd be out of luck. This week, our picks are Wintersleep at the Mod Club on Friday and the Horseshoe's awesome lineup of ladies...

These days, everyone and their grandmother has a celebrity gossip blog. Perez Hilton became a millionaire by outing Lance Bass and defacing paparazzi photos, while TMZ.com (named for the Thirty Mile Zone surrounding Hollywood) came out of nowhere in 2005 and almost instantaneously became the top site to see celebrities behaving badly. Sassafraz may be the closest we have to The Ivy, yet it's not stocked with a phalanx of paps, and celebrities can usually...

Rheostatic Dave Bidini read his new book Around the World in 57 1/2 Gigs (see Torontoist's review) in the window of Pages Books yesterday. Over the course of five hours Bidini read the entire book—except, teasingly, for the last few lines—and played songs to shifting crowds gathered on the sidewalk. More photos after the jump.......

Things you may not know about Raine Maida: his mom was Conrad Black's long-time executive assistant. He's written and produced songs for Kelly Clarkson. He went to U of T for Criminology. He's about to help rebuild a school in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He is also launching his first solo album on November 13—a disc that comes wrought with anger and dejection, but also an earnest solemnity. More than a year......

They’ve got Hank’s seal of approval, so you know they’re at least half-way decent. Since receiving some "big-ups" on Henry Rollins’ show on L.A.’s Indie 103.1, The Harold Wartooth’s grunge-y star has been rising, with support coming in from the likes of CBC’s seminal Definitely Not the Opera and UK-based Catacomb Records. With a solitary self-titled EP under their belts, the band have demonstrated a propensity for writing Fun House-era Stooges-style riffs and burying them...

Photo by Pete Nema from the Torontoist Flickr Pool. It's hard to believe it's already been over six months since the Rheostatics played their final show at Massey Hall. You may be wondering what each of the members have been doing since, and in Dave Bidini's case the answer is easy: he has already found the time to travel the world, write about his journeys, and get his book published by McClelland & Stewart.......

Photo of Ani DiFranco by Maria Bree. This week, our must-see show is Ani DiFranco at Music Hall Theatre. Having seen her in concert multiple times, Musicologist can vouch for the fact that the Righteous Babe is an amazing live musician. There seems to be some stigma about liking Ani, but don't fall victim to that or you'll be missing out. If you're looking for something free, Ottawa's Melissa Laveaux plays Hart House's Arbor......

Some musicians are professional wallowers. Others are professional romantics. And still others are professional fun-havers. Both Toronto's Spiral Beach and Brighton's The Go! Team fall into that last category—performers who embrace the sheer joy of performing. But more than that, they are young, talented, and famous, they know they are young, talented, and famous, and they're grateful for being young, talented and famous. Although Beach's Maddy Wilde and the Team's Ninja may strike diva......

Reel Toronto is a look at Toronto's illustrious film history, during which our fair city has represented just about everywhere on earth. Yes, we're proud of our chameleonic ability to look like anywhere from New York City to Moscow––heck, Toronto even plays itself, every now and then. Even the legendary Elwood Blues cannot distract from the glaring sight of CBC Headquarters. There are a zillion reasons why Blues Brothers 2000 is not as good a......

Recalling an exciting time in Canadian indie rock when bands sounded less like accordion-totting balladeers and more like Dischord Records discography-totting caustic rockers, Republic of Safety are easily one of the most exciting bands currently making music in this city. Fronted by the charismatic (and Torontoist interviewed!) Maggie MacDonald, the band boasts the creative, angular guitar work of scene veteran Jonny Dovercourt, along with bassist Marlena Kaesler, saxophonist Martin Eckart, and former Quebexico drummer Steve...

An excuse to post Feist's "1234"? Yes, please. In October, i (heart) music asked 30 music bloggers across the country––Torontoist included––to rank the 10 hottest Canadian bands in 2007. What defined "hottest" was up to each panelist to decide; we figured it meant "rank good bands by their popularity," and voted accordingly. One month later, with 150 bands receiving nominations, i (heart) music announced the top 33, with Feist edging out the Arcade Fire...