Results tagged “greatbloomers”

BENEFIT: Tonight at Rolly's Garage, join the Keep-A-Breast foundation for the Live Love Jamboree, a celebration of music and art to promote positive, creative ways to take action against breast cancer. Along with the door prizes and musical entertainment that will go on all night, five talented artists have created customized casts of female breasts that will be on display. Participating artists include Caitlin Cronenberg (yeah, of those Cronenbergs) and Bedouin Soundclash rocker Jay Malinowski (whose work is pictured above). After tonight's event, each of the "casts" (or "boob statues") will be up for auction online. Rolly's Garage (120 Ossington Avenue), 8 p.m., $15.

A couple of years and handfuls of shows can do wonders for a band with the potential that the Great Bloomers were oozing when Torontoist first saw them fill a sweaty Drake basement more than a year ago. Today, the Great Bloomers release their full-length debut, Speak of Trouble, on MapleMusic. A continuation of the danceable indie roots-rock from their self-titled 2007 EP, Speak of Trouble demonstrates a marked musical maturation and an embracing of eras past, complete with narrative lyrical recollections of youthful hope and exploits and an already-classic sound reminiscent of warm AM radio textures.

Once upon a time, people shopped for music in these things called "record stores." Some of these relics still exist, and although Toronto's motley crew of music retailers is still licking its collective wound after not being deemed good enough to be considered Canada's best—or even one of the top five best!—in CBC's initial Searchlight contest, they're a beloved part of our city's storefront scape.

MUSIC: Grammy Award–winning pop band Maroon 5 is playing tonight. Joining them are pop group The Counting Crows, and some chick named Sara Bareilles who had a song in a Rhapsody commercial. If you go, make sure to encourage all the teenyboppers around you to cheer extra loudly; maybe they'll get invited backstage by Adam Levine! Molson Amphitheatre (909 Lakeshore Boulevard West), 7:30 p.m., $28.50–$126.

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.

Even though the Toronto Indie Pop Festival became the Over The Top Festival a long time ago, Thursday night's show at the Whippersnapper Gallery would have fit in easily with the former name. With three bands on the bill, it was a short blast of sweet songs that got the fest off to a good start.