Torontoist » Jay-Z

CBC Music’s First-Ever Festival Will Be a CanCon Love-In

Chris Dart — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:30:30 +0000

The CBCMusic.ca Festival will feature Sloan, Kathleen Edwards, Of Monsters and Men, and roving appearances by Jian Gomeshi and Matt Galloway.

According to CBC’s Chris Boyce, the goal of this weekend’s CBCMusic.ca Festival is twofold. First and foremost, the CBC wants to celebrate Canadian music. Second, it wants to celebrate CBC Music, the broadcaster’s online music service, which launched a little over a year ago.

The Barber of Seville is Not the Sharpest Shave

Carly Maga — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:30:32 +0000

A reworked version of Beaumarchais' play makes for an uneven production, on now at Soulpepper Theatre.

In 1996, Theatre Columbus premiered playwright Michael O’Brien’s “freely adapted” take on the famous Beaumarchais play The Barber of Seville, which was written in 1775. O’Brien’s version mixed in music from the 1816 opera of the same name by Gioachino Rossini, as well as original tunes by composer John Millard. The adaptation also propelled the story forward a couple centuries, with pop culture references galore. With Theatre Columbus co-founder Leah Cherniak at the helm, the musical ended the season with six Dora Award nominations (it won three) and plenty of critical acclaim.

Seventeen years later, Soulpepper Theatre is remounting this zany reimagination of The Barber of Seville, updated once again by O’Brien, Millard, and Cherniak. But, for some reason—the change in decade, or company, or sense of humour—whatever had made the original so magical, has faded, save for a few key performances.

The Rump Shaker: March 27–April 2

Andrew Chin — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 21:00:00 +0000

A historic tour rolls into town this Wednesday, as Jay-Z and Mary J Blige bring their Heart of the City co-venture to the ACC. Since 1996, Jigga has released ten studio albums, two collaborations with R. Kelly, a mash-up album with Linkin Park, and an MTV Unplugged with The Roots. He also managed to squeeze in a three-year retirement, during which he served as Def Jam president. When no major labels would sign him, he gained his indie cred by starting Roc-A-Fella Records. Part owner of the New Jersey Nets, dubbed the CEO of Hip-Hop, dating the hottest chick in the game, and tied with Elvis as the artist with the second most Number One albums in music history, it’s safe to say that Jay-Z is the man. From a critical and commercial perspective, the only other music artist in his league in terms of consistency and impact is Radiohead. He’ll be joined by the Queen of R&B and Hip-Hop, Mary J Blige. In addition to doing solo sets, the two will do a shared set. If it’s half as good as their Unplugged performance, this show will be a classic.
Speaking of The Roots, the Philadelphia band will be playing at the Koolhaus on Sunday. The perennially critically acclaimed group will be releasing their tenth album, Rising Down, in April. Its first single, “Birthday Girl,” features Fall Out Boy singer Patrick Stump on the hook, and is undeniably poppy. Perhaps to downplay any sell-out talk, the group has also released a video for “Get Busy” which is much harder. Regardless of how you feel about the new tracks, The Roots have cemented their reputation as a guaranteed great show.
One of the biggest local successes in recent years has been Crystal Castles. The duo with the eight-bit beats have been called “the most exciting and original band in the world right now.” Their self-titled debut was released a couple of weeks ago. They’ll be headlining Randomland at CiRCA on Friday. Judging from this performance at the Rough Trade store, the show will be ferocious.
Full listings below.

This Week

Thursday, March 27
Tainted Love @ Andy Poolhall with rotating DJs: DJ Ritz, Corey Dawkins, DJ X, and DJ Fase. No cover.
Mr Scruff @ Wrongbar. $15.
Unwind Thursdays @ Jolly! with Paranoid Jack, Alicia Hush, and NuEra. No cover.
Lupe Fiasco @ CiRCA with Matthew Santos. $22.50 adv.
Friday, March 28
Exposed @ Mod Club with MV, Addy, and Nick Forucci.
Randomland @ CiRCA with Crystal Castles, Health and more. $15.
Fascination @ Andy Poolhall with TNA Sound System, and Abacus & Lupo of Hi-life!. $5.
Rehab @ Footwork with Deko-ze, Vinyl Junkies, and Jay Force. $5 with guestlist.
Soho Fridays @ This is London withThe Silver Jews! From Stereogum.
- Be a homestarrunner gamer. Site run from Nova Scotia.
- But wait, if you’re going to be a gamer, at least do it locally. Play BATTLESHIP off a Toronto Beaches website. Other games included.
- This new Wonka movie, unfortunately, is a GIANT Nestle commercial. Oompa, Loompa.
Graphic stolen from here.

He Said, She Said: V-Day Decisions

Colin — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 17:09:13 +0000

When Adrian the Adorable Sports Writer shouts out the words, “I got 99 problems but a bitch ain’t one,” he isn’t only singing along to Jay-Z’s recent hit “99 Problems” but also assessing his own Valentine’s day fortunes. The guy is a lover, not a hater. Similarly, when Paige Six microwaves her underwear before going a formal, she isn’t bemoaning her own romantic luck as much as looking for dry under garments. Like cleanliness, she knows the value of a special V-day dinner far exceeds the general perception of Valentine’s as a ‘Hallmark Holiday.’
As we approach Monday, Torontoist columnists Paige and Age take a look at what is and isn’t good on Valentine’s Day. And, as we find out from the fab columnists, there’s more to V-day than wild sex and body fondue.

Paige
Generally, most people would consider assigning a single girl with
piece about the ins and outs of celebrating Valentine’s Day a huge
Don’t. But by pairing her up with an Adorable Sports Writer,
Torontoist’s matchmaking skills turn the assignment into an automatic
Do. After all, while other writers are left to blog this holiday
alone, he said/she said becomes the blogging equivalent of having a
fabulous date for February 14th.
The biggest Don’t of Valentine’s Day is over-complicating the holiday: Do not give elaborate presents. Spending stupid amounts of money is not romantic, just a desperate way to impress a girl. Do offer up personalized or self-made gifts: your girlfriend will know you took the time to figure out what would really make her smile.
Having Valentines ready to give out to your friends is an automatic Do
for the holiday. Remember how punching out pre-made Shoppers Drug-Mart
Valentine cards in elementary school was the only thing that February
14th used to mean to you? Bring back this playfulness and spend $2 on
some boxed-Valentines: the cheesy, ages-3-and-up kind printed with cartoons and silly messages offer a reminder of how the holiday should
be celebrated. But avoid turning the delivery of your Valentines into
a Don’t: make sure you keep the gushy messages and questioning of “what are your plaaaannns?” to a minimum. Valentines must be delivered with the appropriate level of light-hearted jadedness.
Don’t give carnations. Carnations are the pennies of flowers: no one uses them anymore and if you saw one lying around, it wouldn’t be worth it to stop and pick it up. Do be creative and unique with your flower selection. If you are going to give roses, learn that the different colours have different significance (yellow is friendship, for instance, while a thornless rose means ‘love at first sight’.)
Don’t be the creepy guy who offers self-serving advice to single girls as Valentine’s Day approaches. We see through your disguise, creepy friend, with ever sly questioning you make of a single girl’s plans. Telling us “you deserve to let a guy pamper you for the day!” is just as obnoxious as it is insulting to our chosen single status. Do, however, be the holiday hero of your group of single girlfriends by delivering a tiny V-day treat for each one. While a girl would feel uncomfortable if she was the only one shown your affection, giving flowers to many girls will cause them all to instantly compete with each other to show you just how much they appreciate the thought.
And Don’t let this be another Valentine’s Day where you pussy-out on
telling someone you like them. As cliché as secret admirers can seem,
the mystery and romance of having a Valentine’s crush is alluring to
any girl, regardless of her opinion on the holiday itself.
Adrian
With my newfound obsession for CSI reruns, I have recently spent more time watching Spike TV then I would prefer. For those who don’t know, Spike TV is the “First Official Network for Men,” with shows such as ‘WWE Raw,’ ‘Horsepower TV’, ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ and ‘Trucks!’ commanding a large proportion of broadcast time.
Although generally quick to the remote during commercial breaks, there have been instances where I’ve zoned out and subjected myself to the “First Official Commercials for Men.” With Valentine’s Day falling this upcoming Monday, the recent advertisements have been exceptionally nauseating. I feel that Hulk Hogan must be the marketing director on some of these ads, leaving my intelligence continuously offended at how my demographic is treated. My personal favorite was for mail-order lingerie. Now I know this doesn’t seem too abnormal. Lingerie is a great gift to make her feel sexy, and that’s what Valentine’s is about. However it was the packaging of the advertisement that particularly sickened me. There were testimonials from both men and women alike, guaranteeing the endless rewards that will be bestowed on the man who takes advantage of this offer. It was almost saying that if your wife doesn’t put out, here’s your solution. Also, something just isn’t right about a man ordering lingerie while sitting in front of the TV, watching syndicated Star Trek in his underwear.
Then I realize these ads aren’t geared towards me. This Monday is an opportunity for long married couples, passed the fun years, to add some cheesy romance back to their marriage, and pretend if for just one day a year, that they are still hot for each other.
For those of us not living in a cave, we already know how we’re supposed to treat a woman. I’m not throwing down Valentine’s Day as a waste. No, definitely not. Every woman desires to feel special no matter what her age, or place in life. V-Day is the perfect opportunity to satisfy that desire. The problem however, is how we neglect the attention for the rest of the year, constantly putting rock-climbing or snowmobiling ahead of spending time with our girl. Valentine’s is a year-long commitment, so let’s treat it that way. This Monday, plan something out of love – not just to get laid. Then work at keeping it up until next February. Every day is the 14th.

Theatre Tuesday: Cell Hell… and Fringe Party

J. Kelly — Tue, 08 Feb 2005 15:25:22 +0000

When a cell phone goes off in the middle of a play, the logical person to hiss at is the miscreant who forgot to turn off his or her phone, of course. At the same time, however, we must recognize that to err is human. Even Torontoist has had something of ours beep at an inappropriate time once or twice. (It was a funeral. Yeeks.)
Less understandable are theatre companies that still do not have announcements at the beginning of shows reminding audience members to please turn of their cell phones and unwrap their candies. That’s just asking for it.
Last Friday’s opening night performance of Poochwater, Mike McPhaden’s resilient little comedy about a quirky war vet who forgets who he is, was interrupted by cell phone ringing not once, but twice. And the (well-reviewed!) show is barely over an hour.
The bulk of the blame here should go to Theatre Passe Muraille and rental company The Poochwater Collective for not
having a recorded announcement or a brief message delivered by one of the ushers before the show, especially considering that one of the strengths of Poochwater is that it attracts a lot of non-traditional theatregoers who may not be fully aware of theatre etiquette. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of Jay-Z ringtones, yo.
———-
Tonight is the 2005 Toronto Fringe lottery party, the event where the plays that will be appear in the theatre festival next summer are selected at random. Torontoist will be at the Tranzac club at 7 p.m. crossing her fingers that her one-woman show – Adventures of a Blog Girl in Search of God – gets picked and wishes best of luck to all local theatricals in the draw.