Results tagged “leonardcohen”

Gas prices in Toronto are at $1.09 or more a litre today, reflecting all-time record oil prices of over US$108 per barrel. For all our driving readers, it might cheer you up to consider that it's still cheaper to fill up your car with gas than say, orange juice or Diet Pepsi. By the way, if you do decide to go with orange juice, remember that the pulp-free kind is less likely to gum up your engine.

Sarah Lazarovic—curator of the garage-based Montrose Portrait Gallery of Canada—is painting a portrait of a Torontonian every day. Each Monday, we'll feature one of those portraits here.

Toronto has been called a city of neighbourhoods: The Beach, Yorkville, Chinatown, Little Italy, Greektown, The Annex; all have their defining characteristics that make them appealing to locals as well as visitors. And when it comes down to it, most of these areas are well-defined by the intersection of two major streets.

Photos by mishkaoutofcontrol from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

Running from June 1–10, Luminato takes over our fair city, with over 100 events spanning just about everything arts-and-culture-related. As they boast on their website, "Luminato was created to bring Toronto's best to the world, and the world's best to Toronto." A noble goal, and one they seem to have accomplished: Leonard Cohen! Philip Glass! Uh...Stephen King! Dancers! Artists! An Art Boat! Many things!

Welcome to Torontoist's new weekly Lit. Listings of all things bookish, wordy, and between the covers. We want to highlight the "lit" in Toronto's literary scene: as you, dear reader, may have noticed, a lot of writing about writing is dull, and could be improved with a bit of light.

The Art of Time Ensemble played their final shows of the 2006/2007 season this past Thursday and Friday at the Harbourfront Centre. The group's aim is to bring chamber music to new ears by blending it with other genres and new ideas, while retaining its elegance and intelligence. Andrew Burashko created The Art of Time as a way to "test my assumption that we could present chamber music in an accessible way." Judging by the crowd they drew for Thursday's Toronto Songbook show with Sarah Slean, they've succeeded, with audience members last week ranging from tweens to seniors.

Sarah Slean is one of Toronto’s most enchanting musicians, winning over audiences with her whimsical songs and charismatic shows—to see her play live is to almost assuredly fall in love with her. This week at the Harbourfront Centre’s Enwave Theatre, Slean will put aside her own lovely songs to tackle some covers, at which she’s equally adept (this Torontoist once witnessed her cast a spell over a cozy audience with her moving version of "Edelweiss," complete with faux weeping).

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The street was closed yesterday on Bay, just south of Bloor, to let the thousands of Leonard Cohen fans enjoy the outdoor performance at Indigo Books. And what a treat! Leonard was supposed to only introduce his partner, Anjani, who released a CD of music written by Cohen, and possibly sing a song or two, but the crowd got about 4 songs in total, including an unplanned jam session with Ron Sexsmith and the Barenaked Ladies.

Only someone of Leonard Cohen's stature could stop traffic on Bay St. It also helps when you're one of Canada's most esteemed poets and just released a book after 22 years. The "silent one" (apparently that's his Zen name) will be at the Bay and Bloor Indigo tomorrow at 4:00pm. They're closing Bay St. from Bloor to Charles to accommodate the mad throngs of Cohen devotees that'll show up.

Irving Layton, one of Canada's greatest poets, and mentor to the likes of Leonard Cohen and Al Purdy, passed away yesterday at the age of 93.

It's rare that we anticipate an issue of Maclean's with baited breath. Heck, it's rare that we anticipate an issue of Maclean's at all. But the magazine will offer up a nutty examination of the impending bankruptcy of dear Leonard Cohen, and TOist is all at once baffled and dismayed. From the release:

Continue reading "Dear Heather, I'm Broke"

Talk about sevotion! The man formerly known as (smog), now known as Smog, has quite a group of devotees. Though his two-part set at last night’s Lee’s Palace triumph was largely filled with dongs from his new album, A River Ain’t Too Much To Love, there were few complaints rendered from the adoring masses. Mr Smog proved not only that a river ain’t too much, but interest in the Drag City hero’s new album ain’t too little. Most of his first guitar-only set was the first half of the new album, and without drums. Along to absolutely mesmerizing guitar lines from his plaid-shirt wearing guitarist, Smog performed some quick spurts of a Howdy Doody dance and very little talking. (By the end of the concert he did make one remark, citing the quality of his vocals on this occasion.) Part two of the set brought on some quote-unquote hits, like Dongs of Sevotion’s "Dress Sexy at My Funeral" and the Nick Hornby favorite "Cold Blooded Old Times" off of Knock Knock.

Toronto writer Sheila Heti waxes romantic about The Arcade Fire in the new issue of Walrus magazine. Her contribution to the summer "Love Letters" feature is addressed to Régine and makes reference to digging tunnels, naming babies and other activities held sacred by Montreal’s finest. The note, affectionately signed ‘W’, could or could not be inspired by the Fire’s spring show at the Danforth Music Hall. The magazine is on newsstands now and also features love notes from the likes of Douglas Coupland, Margaret Atwood and Leonard Cohen.

. Good point, Jack, if a little late.

K.D. says: "I started to realize that [caring about image]was disposable and fraudulent . . . it's dealing with the hair, the makeup, the high heels. It removes you from the essence of who you are and what you have to offer." We say: rock on.

? No.

The press is all ovah Leonard and his new cd, new decade, new shades. The Scotsman has a review here. Washington Post has a review and a pic of Cohen looking like a Kabbalistic Hemigway here, and the Guardian has both a review, and an L. Cohen quiz. It all makes us want to go rent Ladies and Gentlemen Mr. Leonard Cohen, the terrific 1965 doc about young Lenny in Montreal, and crawl back into bed with a cup of coffee. Forever.