Results tagged “band”

We managed to see Cloverfield a few weeks ago, and with the release of Diary of the Dead (above) this week, we have to say it's rather timely to discuss our opinion of it. As tired as this quote is, there's really no better way to describe Cloverfield than to take from Macbeth's famous soliloquy: "Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

Oh, how this time of the year can be so unexciting. Holidays are done, the New Year has come, and there is not much to look forward to until, well, the new statutory holiday. Until then, Musicologist recommends indulging in the odd show that surfaces from the woodwork and makes trekking through 20-below weather worthwhile. This Friday, for example, is worth that trek: Metal Kites and Great Bloomers are playing the Rivoli for a mere 5 bucks.

Torontoist is ending the year by naming our Heroes and Villains of 2007––the people, places, and things that we've either fallen head over heels in love with or developed uncontrollable rage towards over the past twelve months. Get your dose, starting Boxing Day and running into the new year, three times a day––sunrise, noon, and sunset.

We don’t tend to post too often about video games here at Torontoist, what with basically the entire rest of the internet being devoted to it (well, that and anthropomorphic Star Trek slash fiction), but we do like to make special note when some pleasant news of local interest comes up, such as Toronto as a Half Life mod or the Toronto Indie Game Jam (Which we, er, forgot to mention this year. Our...

There used to be a sign above a video arcade that proclaimed "Yonge Street is Fun Street." Back in the 1960s and 1970s, much of that fun was to be had at the many bars and clubs that lined the street south of Gerrard––Le Coq D'Or, Steele's Tavern, Friar's Tavern, Zanzibar Tavern and so on. Depending on the venue, you could listen to music, dance the night away or catch a striptease. Today's advertiser...

Today’s Reviews:

Our Toronto International Film Festival preview coverage is a little different this year. While last year, our reviews came from our film editor, this year we were lucky enough to have our reviews come from many of our Torontoist writers. Today we have our Gala Presentation and Contemporary World Cinema preview, with reviews of Emotional Arithmetic, Jane Austen Book Club, Sleuth, The Band’s Visit, Breakfast With Scot, The Counterfeiters and Jar City from Christopher Bird, Beth Bohnert, Jonathan Goldsbie, Kevin McBride, Marco Moldes and Johnnie Walker, with Christopher Bird awarding our first 5/5 mark of the festival to The Counterfeiters (pictured above).

Today Masaryk-Cowan Park will host the third annual Parkdale Festival, rain or shine. Set to kick off at 12 p.m., the festival is going to have a smorgasbord of activities.

As mentioned in last week's ad, the Canadian National Exhibition took a break during World War II. Once the war was over, the existing buildings were modernized to prepare for the Ex's return. "From acting as a depot through which passed thousands of young Canadians to the theatres of war," noted a Toronto Telegram editorial, "it now reverts to its role as the window through which the world may glimpse the peacetime strength and wealth of the country in all its amazing variety."

Cat Power hit the stage at the Phoenix last night for her third Toronto show in less than a year. It was Torontoist’s first time seeing her live and after having waited a few years for the privilege, and hearing wonderful things about her shows of late, we were slightly let down.

Now that you're informed about the unhappy and scary state of the earth, it's time to do something about it. The next ArtJam will not only showcase the usual fusion of art and music, but will be a fundraiser for WTF, or the Weather Task Force. Come out to Rancho Relaxo on Friday, June 29 at 8 p.m. and pay $7 cover to help out this environmental alliance—after all, WTF organizes a bunch of those Earth Day events and activities you participate in. Listen to tunes by Teknostep, The Flying Museum Band, Tripped on Water, and Dangerous Brains and check out art by Bradford Wilson, Barrie Biederman, Stephanie Latulippe, and Lex Buchanan in the name of fighting climate change. If you can’t make it tonight, you'll still have many more opportunities to contribute—a portion of proceeds from all future ArtJams will go towards the development of renewable resources.

Beginning Friday and running until July 1st, the TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival is smoothly bringing over 60 swingin' musicians to play in venues all across town in what apparently is Canada's best jazz festival. Take that, Montreal!

After a short hiatus, Live Baby Live is back on its feet (along with it's author) with an abridged version of the listings this week. Hurrah!

Canadian Music Week comes to an end today. To mark that, we bring you a video of our recent interview with local group Your Band Sucks. Doc Pickles and Michelle Breslin discuss their sound, working with David Newfeld, and Wavelength.

Wednesday evening, join This Is Not A Reading Series, musical guests Stella Panacci and The Michael Brennan Band, and Toronto Star books columnist Phil Marchand as they celebrate the launch of Brad Smith’s newest novel, Big Man Coming Down The Road.

You wouldn't expect to hear the words "AC/DC's Back in Black" and "recital" in the same breath, but that's exactly what goes on each month at the Phoenix's Classic Albums Live concerts.

Let's just get this over with right off the bat -- Arcade Fire have announced their Toronto show dates. Hurrah! They'll be at Massey Hall on May 15 & 16, and tickets go on sale on Feb. 23rd. Predicted time to sell out? 1 minute 49 seconds. If you have no luck with those, the next closest location is Montreal on May 12 & 13.

Whoever booked the bands for the Wintercity Festival this year definitely earned their paycheque. Typically these free shows consist of bands that are either Canadian Idol runners-up or musicians you've never heard of. While there are still some bands listed that'll make you say "who??!" there are a number of great acts that will make it worth the trek to Nathan Phillips Square and freeze your ass off for. Just remember to wear your longjohns and toque, and hit up your favourite cafe for an extra large hot chocolate first...oh, and be sure to get there a bit early for a decent view.

If you think the holiday season's message of giving and charity and love is temporary, think again. Local bands have come together to produce the Friends of Bellwoods Compilation, which will raise funds for the Daily Bread Food Bank. Ex-Death From Above 1979's Sebastien Grainger, The Paramedics (starring Bry Webb of the Constantines), Ohbijou and The D'Urbervilles will be playing the CD release party this Friday at Tranzac, where you can also pick up a copy of the CD.

What does the international community say? U.S. President George W. Bush calls the verdict "a milestone in the Iraqi people's effort to replace the rule of a tyrant with the rule of law". The UN and European Union criticize the former Iraqi leader's death sentence. Vatican representative, Cardinal Renato Martino, calls the sentence "eye for an eye vengeance". Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay refused to comment.

You'd have to be a curmudgeon not to like the Bicycles. It's hard to hate a band that opens a show with painted cardboard standups of various band members, sing Archies/Monkees inspired songs about girls from Montreal and visits to Australia, and fill their shows with handclaps, tambourines and harmonies that come straight from a 1970s bubblegum pop record.

. That’s right: nothing at any Indigo, Chapters, Coles, or World’s Biggest Book Store. What’s odder than the fact that a book translated into 20 different languages isn’t readily available at any of the chain's stores within the GTA is that this exactly what happened roughly a year ago when I tried to buy another book that gives an insightful look at another not-discussed-important-issue: And The Band Played On by Randy Shilts. That book provided a thorough history of the AIDS crisis, tracing it as far back as what was believed to be "Patient Zero"; it sold and inspired a movie. But good luck finding a copy at Indigo. Or in Toronto for that matter. My search in 2005 took me as far as Yonge-Eglinton, where I eventually found a copy at the reliable BMV Books.

Sometimes you need to clean yourself up, get serious, and move in with daddy for a few months before you head to Latin America for a new gig. The District bids Jenna Bush adios. D.C.-based television shows have an elderly audience and DCist has some suggestions to fix that. They're also throwing Butterstick the panda bear a birthday bash.