On occasion, Daniel Johnston has shed his cult status and entered the public spotlight: it happened when Kurt Cobain promoted him and again with the release of The Devil and Daniel Johnston. And as a recent compilation confirmed, his influence can be felt throughout modern music, including Tom Waits, Beck, and The Flaming Lips. So it was a surreal experience to see Johnston close the Over The Top Festival this past Sunday. On one......

On any given weekday, around 5 p.m., you can expect to find a bit of a mob gathered around the corner of Queen and John. That’s when MuchMusic's Much on Demand airs live and excitable teens like to gather to catch a glimpse of a celebrity—any celebrity. And since it's March Break this week, you can expect double the crowds as guests like Christian rock band Relient K and High School Musical's Jordan Pruitt drop......

Concert announcements are coming fast and furious, now that everyone's back to their regularly scheduled programming. A number of festival dates are set all the way into September already, including the return of V-Fest to Olympic Island on Sept. 8-9. The festival is expanding out west this year, with Vancouver getting it's innaugural V-Fest -- although judging by the current lineup so far (headliners only), they're catering to a much younger crowd than Toronto......

V-Fest has come and gone, and although it definitely had some issues, it was a great experience overall. The Flaming Lips clearly stole the show, even though they were forced to shut everything down after four songs on Day One, due to an 11pm curfew. Their show is like going to Disney Land, but for adults. Multiplied by 10. It warmed the cochels of my heart. Other notable performances included The Raconteurs, Wolfmother, Phoenix......

The big story today is the three dead found on 1he 19th floor of the Delta Chelsea. Police were called in around 4:30 am and discovered the bodies of two men and a woman, all had stab wounds. The floor has been sealed off but the hotel remains open. A shooting of a Scarborough teenager on Friday has led police to lay more than 100 charges on a dozen people in the surrounding area. The......

Canadian films don't make money. It's almost a certainty in the Canadian film industry but once in a while a film comes along that gives us hope. This year Fido, just might be that film. Our glowing review is here and other bloggers agree that the zombie comedy (zombedy?) about a '50s community where zombies are pets was the right choice to open the Canada First series. Popped Culture's Jeremy Barker gives thumbs up to......

Due to non-existent internet access over the past few days (thanks, Bell!), there is an abridged version of the music listings this week. However, a big week it is, with V-Fest coming to town. The Flaming Lips! The Raconteurs! Wolfmother afros! And keep your eyes on the sky...you never know, you might see Richard Branson descending to earth perched on a flock of birds or something. As always, if you know of a good......

Just about one year after the last major Toronto (areaish) concert, Richard Branson announced that the Toronto Islands will host the Virgin Festival over a weekend in early September. This is the first time the Virgin Festival crosses the pond outside the UK. Note that this is the first time that Centre Island will be closed to the public. Just like Live8, this concert is being put on to raise awareness... for "Make Rogers History."......

The Flaming Lips, an institution since appearing playing at the Peach Pit in hit television series Beverly Hills: 90210, have been in music for over 20 years. That career - including their connection with Luke Perry and Tori Spelling - will be on the big screen tonight at the Drake Hotel, with the airing of the Lips doc, The Fearless Freaks. The DVD, which has been heralded as a must-see for any BH 90210 fans,......

After the live music orgy that was NxNE last weekend, the upcoming week shows a considerably lighter concert calendar. The can't-miss show of the next seven days is Sleater-Kinney at the Phoenix on Saturday, promoting their new speaker-destroying rock opus The Woods. After producing two relatively pop and accessible albums with All Hands On The Bad One and One Beat, they opted for some sonic reinvention at the hands of uber-producer Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips,......

Why is it that best of lists are reserved solely for the end of the year? There is obviously a demand for them - the lists keep coming for a few months after the end of the year lists come out. And how accurate can an end-of-the-whatever list even be? (Trick question: the Torontoist end-of-the-year lists were dead-on.) So, to avoid the caged-in feelings of compiling one all-encompassing list every December, Torontoist presents THE -IST......