Photo by Stig Nygaard. The Art Bar returns tonight with its annual Audience Appreciation Night with readings by the Art Bards, live music, and free poetry chapbooks for all audience members by the Art Bar Team. Also returning for the new year is This Is Not A Reading Series. For the first event of the year, join Carl Wilson and Mark Kingwell for an on-stage discussion where they will be talking about love and......

Photo by Jeremy Farmer from Flickr. It’s an end of an era as the popular indie night Easy Tiger shuts it down on Friday after a 14 month-run. A hipster haven, Easy Tiger is responsible for introducing hundreds of people to the booze can downstairs of College Street Diner that is Tiger Bar. Midland’s finest, Born Ruffians (pictured), will take the stage and the Easy Tiger DJs will spin the tunes. Expect plenty of......

The Toronto Argonauts can turn this Sunday’s Eastern Final into the perfect kickoff for the upcoming Grey Cup festival. If the Argos beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to reach the championship game, it'll give a huge boost to the week-long party, also known as “Canada’s national drunk.” Brad Watters, general manager of this year's Grey Cup, says that the team winning the 95th Grey Cup at home "would really turn the town on its......

Torontoist is one of fourteen cities in the worldwide Gothamist network. Once a week, the editors of each site—from LAist to Londonist—compile some of their most interesting posts into a brief blurb. It's Elsewhere In The Ist-A-Verse, and it appears, across the network, every Sunday. Austinist attended a town hall meeting about proposed noise ordinances that could undermine the city's future as the Live Music Capital of the World, and lamented the possible loss of......

Lovers of live music are in luck this week—there are a great deal of quality shows in the next seven days. Musicologist's number one choice this week is The Cinematic Orchestra (Sunday at the Phoenix), since we were utterly enchanted by their free outdoor show at Harbourfront earlier this summer. Head over to their MySpace and give the songs a listen. Just try to resist being won over. Another good bet is blues singer/guitarist......

Though the lineup for this year's Virgin Music Festival is, admittedly, pretty awesome, there are still bound to be individuals for whom a full day of live music (and shameless advertising!) is simply not reason enough to make that ferry boat ride out to the Island. That's where Global Inheritance comes in. A registered non-profit organization based in Los Angeles, Global Inheritance is looking for volunteers to participate in a human chess game at......

For those of you whose opinions on street festivals have been soured in recent history by overpriced takeout and corporate advertising, check out this weekend's Pedestrian Sunday (August 19) in Baldwin Village. You can take a self-guided historical walking tour of the village or stick around for the live music playing from noon 'till 10:00 p.m. Photo by photopia.......

"Honest Ed" Mirvish passed away nearly a month ago, but Toronto is still in mourning. On Sunday, August 12, his family will be hosting a celebration of life outside of the Honest Ed's Emporium (581 Bloor Street West) in lieu of Ed's famous annual birthday party—he would have turned 93 on July 25. With live music and entertainment scheduled from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., the city is closing down Bloor Street between Bathurst......

Those Pedestrian Sundays folk are back this weekend (July 15), and this time they're taking over Baldwin Village. Nestled on the edge of Chinatown, the area was once the home of Jewish immigrants, American draft dodgers and a myriad of other international settlers to Toronto. It is now well known for its diverse restaurants—especially to the U of T students who live in inexpensive apartments nearby. Baldwin Street will be shut down from Henry......

Queen West West hosts the Parkdale Arts and Crafts Festival this weekend, July 14 and 15 from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Organized by the Parkdale/Liberty Economic Development Corporation (PLEDC), the festival is intended to "promote and celebrate the diversity of arts and culture in Parkdale." We're mostly going for the beer garden and knitted finger puppets. If toothpick bird feeders and resin jewelry aren't your thing, there is live music going on......

Photo by jonathanhoustonhill. While some of us are lucky enough to celebrate Canada Day from a tent or cottage in Muskoka, many others will be stuck downtown to celebrate the 140th anniversary of Confederation. Torontoist has organized a listing of events and activities to help you decide where and when you'll see live music, eat corn on the cob, and watch fireworks light up the skyline.......

Tonight at 8 p.m., Freedom Clothing Collective, a clothing store specialising in Toronto-designed garments made using sustainable materials, re-opens its door in celebration of Earth Day (which was actually last Sunday...Earth Week?) and shows off its new renovations. The store recently held a competition to redesign its space and was closed for a while to undergo the contest-winning renovations. The space now integrates sustainable and recycled materials not only into its clothing, but into......

Shameless, the Toronto-based publication "for girls who get it," has made a name for itself as an inclusive, progressive alternative to mainstream girls’ publications, where the dominant message is one of surface over depth. Staffed by volunteers, Shameless’ mandate is to give voice to a diverse group otherwise characterized as singularly boy and diet-crazy. This Saturday, Shameless will be launching its latest issue and welcoming a new editorial team with a party friendly to all......

Perhaps you can best describe it as a scavenger hunt with a lot of creative freedom. Within a 24 hour period, amateur and professional photographers alike were given a roll of 35mm film with only 12 frames to capture their interpretations of 12 secret themes for the 4th Toronto Photography Marathon. Having already taken place on February 17, final shots submitted by participants will be displayed at The Gladstone (1214 Queen St. West) for your......

It seems pretty appropriate that we just had Groundhog Day, given that we're feeling a little bit like Bill Murray looking at the concert listings this week. Not only is there very little going on, but most of the bands who are playing seem to be here every week (Apostle of Hustle, The Tragically Hip, Hostage Life, Friendly Rich). Thus, we have nothing left to say about them! So if you've already seen these......

Toronto is one of the most important centres of African music outside of Africa itself, according to cultural heritage organization Music Africa. Besides pointing out that Toronto has more African music on the radio than any other North American city and hosts the largest annual music festival of its kind (Afrofest), the site also has these flattering words to say: Probably the most remarkable development over these last few years is how groups have combined......

For decades, Toronto music fans had access to several great venues where they could go on almost any night to listen to live jazz. The Rex may still be hopping, but the recent closures of Montreal Bistro and Top O’ The Senator left options limited and jazz fans heartbroken. Enter Live At The Courthouse, Toronto’s newest jazz club. Located at 57 Adelaide East in – wait for it – an old courthouse, the club promises......

Sunday. Usually, a quiet, contemplative day in the Blogosphere. But not here in the Ist-a-Verse. Nonono! Just look below and see all of the wild and crazy stuff our staffs are up to. In Austin, bands are beginning to confirm for SXSW and the rumor mill is up and running. Good thing, too, because we all know how much Austinites love live performances. Austin also found itself in the national spotlight, with Longhorn Legend......

For live music junkies, the week between Christmas and New Year's can offer very little in terms of quality shows. The folks at The Drake Hotel are trying to remedy the situation with their What's In The Box? week of shows. Running from the 26th to the 30th, the Drake Underground and Lounge are featuring the best acts from 2006. Each day is five dollars and features five bands, leading to a nice "5 Bands......

Two of our contributors, Shari Kasman and Jenelle Rupchand, are all about arts & crafts this weekend. In this roundup, Shari brings you some of the many weekend fairs going on, while Jenelle's stocking up on some fair trade goods. Baby Liam wants something soft and turquoise, Aunt Priscilla needs a lavender shawl, and Herman the co-worker would love a fashionable paperweight. With crowds galore and awful renditions of the top Xmas hits, the......

Compared to the past few weeks, this one's a bit quieter in the live music world, but there are still some decent shows to check out. Of note, Beck brings his two turntables and a mic to the Ricoh Coliseum tonight (too bad about the location), you can get Comfortably Numb (in a few ways, we're sure) at the Opera House or check out the moustachiod Killers at the Kool Haus on Friday, and......

If you're not completely burnt out from Nuit Blanche, there are plenty of quality shows to check out this week, including Joanna Newsom, Massive Attack, and Myspace darling Lily Allen. Alternatively, you Hip fans can skip out on the live music this week and save up your change for all four (yes, FOUR) of the recently announced shows at the Phoenix a few weeks from now. Can Gord Downie and pals really justify the......

It could be the abundance of shows announced over the past few weeks or possibly the kickoff of the fall concert season in September that's lending to the sparse choice of live music this week, because there are some slim pickins to be had. Unless you love the Marleys, in which case you hit the motherload! If anyone has word on some super secret underground shows happening between now and next Sunday, feel free......

Looking to check out some live music this week? Here's your listing of what's happening around the city between August 7-13. If you know of any good shows this week that we missed below, let us know in the comments. Feel free to also let us know about upcoming shows that would be worth checking out. Recently Announced Aug. 12 – OXFAM Music 4 Change Fundraiser feat. The Diableros, The Coast, These Electric Lives......

Looking to check out some live music this week? Here's your listing of what's happening around the city between July 31 and August 6. In addition, we are now including recently announced shows, so you have no excuse about missing out on ticket opportunities. If you know of any good shows this week that we missed below, let us know in the comments. Feel free to also let us know about upcoming shows that......

There are a number of shows rolling through Toronto this week. If you're jonesing for some live music, here are a few shows that still have tickets available: July 25 Ozzfest (System of a Down, Disturbed, etc.) @ Molson Amphitheatre, $39.50-75.00 - No Ozzy. Wha?! July 26 ** The Futureheads w/ Tapes 'n Tapes @ The Phoenix, $15 Mission of Burma w/ Republic of Safety @ Horseshoe Tavern, $18.50 July 26-30 Beaches Jazz Festival......

Torontoist likes being socially aware and with that, we bring you Inner City Visions. IC Visions is North America's first governmentally funded hip-hop & urban music centre. They have a full in-house studio where they invite young people with an interest in music to come in and record their songs and compositions totally free of charge. As studio equipment and recording times are hard to come by, IC Visions is providing a most fabulous......

When Rogue Wave's first album Out Of The Shadow came out in 2004, it was nigh impossible to read a review or article that didn't reference SubPop's other acoustic-y 60s-ish folk pop band... you know, the one that will change your life. And they were fair comparisons - the sonic and stylistic similarities were undeniable, though Rogue Wave's record didn't quite possess the quiet confidence that The Shins' output did. It sounded more tenative, unsure......

As the temperature makes its inexorable descent downward, Torontonians tend to pair off to keep each other warm all winter. Torontoist only wishes to offer chilly lovebirds all the help we can, so in honour of the pre-winter chill that's been promised us this week, we're Listing our five favourite spots to bring those special someones in out of the cold. First up is the ROM. Austere enough that you'll appear appealingly intellectual, and......

Austin's American Analog Set have been turning out gorgeously hushed and hypnotic drone pop for a decade now, but with their latest album Set Free, they've now got a local connection - it's been released in North America by Toronto's own Arts & Crafts label. AmAnSet found themselves homeless when Tiger Style went out of business following the release of their 2003 album Promise Of Love, but that timing was fortuitous as frontman Andrew Kenny......