Torontoist » Live

Third Floor, First Rate

If you’ve ever pulled an all-nighter to finish an assignment, you can stop patting yourself on the back, slacker, because a group of fourth-year Ryerson students put all your cut-and-paste efforts to shame with the final project in their Radio and Television Arts degree. Third Floor Sessions is a series of ambitious music and multimedia [...]

Musicologist: May 19-25

Photo of Tony Dekker by Trinh Nguyen This week the Music Gallery, Carl Wilson, and a handful of musicians/composers want you to celebrate concrete. Paying homage to the iconic concrete architecture that sprout in Toronto between 1950 and 1970 (and to Michael McClelland and Graeme Stewart’s book Concrete Toronto), such musicians as Tony Dekker (Great [...]

Musicologist: May 12-18

Photo of Tyr Jami and Todd MacDonald of The Winks by Jasa Baka Vancouver-born, Montreal-settled The Winks will be passing through Toronto this Sunday, May 18 (with Vancouver’s Secret Mommy Quintet) at Sneaky Dee’s. The cello- and mandolin-fused band welcomed 2008 with the end of a “63 shows in 71 days” tour of North America [...]

Musicologist: May 5–11

It’s been a while since the Okay Player collective have celebrated a release for anyone other than The Roots (yes, they just released their 10th full-length Rising Down last week, yes that is worthy of celebration). But this year, the collective is also celebrating Erykah Badu. After a 5 year hiatus following the release of [...]

Musicologist: April 28–May 4

On a dim fall evening last September, Neil Haverty (guitarist/vocalist of local alt-gospel collective Bruce Peninsula) peered thankfully ahead at the Tranzac’s seated crowd. With utter honesty he acknowledged how honoured he felt to be opening that evening for headliner Mike Feuerstack of Snailhouse, as he recalled an important time in his life when he [...]

Musicologist: April 21–27

Summer’s concert season is well on its way, folks! This week a handful of exciting dates were announced, including Montreal’s orchestral pop collective Islands, who play on May 29 at the Phoenix, Retribution Gospel Choir (side project for Alan Sparhawk of Low), who will be at the Rivoli on June 21, and West Coast experimental [...]

Musicologist: April 14–20

Truckloads of hype have preceded the arrival of Philadelphia’s Man Man at Lee’s Palace this evening. With heavy comparisons to the spirit of Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa, and a show repertoire that includes opening for Modest Mouse and Arcade Fire, the six-man (man) band have inevitably entered the zone of high expectation. The Toronto [...]

Lovers In A Dangerous Time

Let’s just get this out of the way right off the bat—Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin are a very very very good band. When we wrote about them last February on the heels of a way-too-short performance at Sneaky Dee’s, we ran through the band’s history with drummer Philip Dickey, and gushed that they [...]

Musicologist: April 7–13

This week’s listings offer quite the myriad of options for all you concert-goers, from Nada Surf at the Opera House this evening to the Music Gallery‘s fundraiser with Swedish sweetheart Jens Lekman, Final Fantasy, and Katie Stelmanis tomorrow at the Great Hall. Wednesday, April 9 offers both The Dodos at El Mocambo and a sold-out [...]

Musicologist: March 31–April 6

Photo of David Longstreth of Dirty Projectors by David Topping. Perhaps it’s old news that Brooklyn’s Dirty Projectors are playing Toronto again. The band was attached to Grizzly Bear’s leg like a dryer sheet for a few years, opening most of their Toronto gigs, and they recently played Sneaky Dee’s last August to precede the [...]

Musicologist: March 24–30

This week’s listings are definitely some of the most exciting in months! Obvious recommendations include Why? who play at the Silver Dollar on March 27; Basia Bulat, who plays Lee’s Palace on March 29; Owen, who plays El Mocambo on March 27; and The Roots, who play the Kool Haus on March 30. But those [...]

Over The Top, Around The Side, And Back Again

Eric Warner has done it again! The man behind such endearing stories of booking concerts while still under-age, running an incredible independent label that just won’t stop, and being a soldier through those good ol’ days of Viking Club and Dollarama has just announced an ambitious lineup for this year’s Over The Top Festival. Equal [...]