Results tagged “masseyhall”

It's hard to deny that Robin Williams can be a funny fellow, and he even earned an Oscar for Good Will Hunting, which, of course, was shot here.

Classical and jazz music are often viewed with suspicion, largely due to the elitism that's associated with their listeners. Lang Lang and Herbie Hancock are perhaps the biggest superstars in these genres, respectively, and reactions to their current tour only reinforce the sense that classical and jazz aficionados can be too uptight for their own good. A quick Google News scan for mentions of the tour, which came to Toronto's Massey Hall Wednesday night, reveals review after review peppered with judgements like "excruciating," "banal," and "nose-dive"—words that inadvertently reveal their authors as holding on for dear life to staid expectations of what the music should sound like.

The Tragically Hip really have nothing left to prove. They've peaked commercially; arguably, they've peaked artistically (it's hard to see Day for Night ever being surpassed). But they're not standing still: their latest album, We Are The Same, is a gem, and they’ve recently embarked on a five-month-long North American trek that's already got fans salivating.

Can Mel really have purchased all six thousand tickets? That's seemingly the only explanation for how the New Zealand folk-rock parody duo Flight of the Conchords can have so quickly sold out both of their upcoming Toronto concerts, despite the handicap of only having one fan. A large number of the tickets for the April 21 and 22 shows, both at Massey Hall, were snatched up through an online pre-sale to members of the band's web-based fan club at the beginning of this month, and the remainder were snatched up within hours of when they went on sale publicly last Friday. All in all, it's getting harder and harder to refer to band members Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement as "cult favourites."

FILM: Give yourself something more exciting to contribute in the Starbucks lineup tomorrow than your ruminations on the latest episode of Gossip Girl, and check out Trouble the Water at the opening of the 2008-2009 Doc Soup season. Chronicling the story of a black couple (and yes, we did need to mention their race) finding themselves in the middle of the chaos that is post-Katrina New Orleans, the film is being hailed as one of the most important documentaries to have come out of America in a long, long time. Bloor Cinema (506 Bloor Street West), 6:30 p.m., 9:15 p.m., $12.

ART: In anticipation of Thursday’s launch party for his new book, 2nd: The Face of Defeat, photographer Sandy Nicholson will be showing photos for the next four days at the Gladstone Hotel. The book, a series of shots taken of second-place finishers immediately after losing a competition, is for those who are sick of coming in second place, and also for those who take pleasure in seeing the facial expressions of miserable bodybuilders. Until Thursday. The Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen Street West), 12–5 p.m., FREE.

Controversy magnet Kathy Griffin will be in town for her sold-out show at Massey Hall this Friday. Griffin is touring to support her new comedy album, For Your Consideration—which she is desperate to score a Grammy nod for—and the fourth season of her Emmy award-winning television show My Life On The D-List, now playing Friday nights on the Comedy Network.

MUSIC: British remix artist and musician Joseph Mount plays the Social with his band, Metronomy. They are joined by Toronto electro trio Modele. Treat yourself to a few $2 drinks before 11 p.m., and stay for the show. The Social (1100 Queen Street West), 10 p.m., $5 before 11 p.m., $10 after.

If Reba McEntire and Tony Bennett come to Toronto to play, why shouldn't tourists follow suit?

On the opening track of Pink Martini's latest album, lead singer China Forbes croons, "Everywhere I go, I see a world designed for you and me"—and every time you spin the record, you hear songs from all over the world. This Saturday, one lone performance at Massey Hall will echo in a mass of different languages, sung in a million more exquisite styles.

This Wednesday is the official launch of Canadian Music Week 2008, and as you read this more bands are flooding into Toronto than you can shake a drumstick at.

It used to be that as sure as you could count on awkward conversations at the office Christmas party and a stocking full of clementines on Christmas morning, you could count on being able to turn your TV to channel 11 on Christmas Eve to see a certain Bing Crosby vehicle featuring the best-selling single of all time: White Christmas. While channel 11 (it's certainly not CHCH anymore...what is it?) has given up its...

Following the release this year of Neil Young's 1971 Massey Hall concert and a third tribute album comes Chrome Dreams II. Featuring ten new songs and covering a range of musical styles, there is something for all of his fans on this recording. "Where Living With War and Everybody’s Rockin' were albums focused on one subject or style, Chrome Dreams II is more like After The Goldrush or Freedom, with different types of songs...

Photo of Wintersleep by Emerging Design & Photography.

Photo by Pete Nema from the Torontoist Flickr Pool. It's hard to believe it's already been over six months since the Rheostatics played their final show at Massey Hall. You may be wondering what each of the members have been doing since, and in Dave Bidini's case the answer is easy: he has already found the time to travel the world, write about his journeys, and get his book published by McClelland & Stewart....

I don't know, I only came close. I can at least tell you that practice has nothing to do with it. I'd practiced my speech a lot.

The Ontario Coalition For Social Justice and Make Poverty History believe there need not always be dissonance when electioneering and rock n' roll meet. This Monday's Vote Out Poverty gala at Massey Hall promises to be a "coming together of people from all walks of life and political allegiances gathering for an evening of entertainment united by a desire to reduce poverty in Ontario, Canada and the world," and will feature a multi-partisan mashup of songsters and speakers. Mary Walsh is hosting, Stephen Lewis is keynoting, George Stromboloupoulos is Stromboloupoulizing, and Susan Aglukark, The Nylons, The Hidden Cameras, and Blackie And The Rodeo Kings are folking and/or rocking.

A lot happens in and around Toronto, but we can only write about so much in a week. Here's the best of the rest, in a new weekly feature we're calling Superfluist. Superfluist will appear every Friday night.

Photo of Montreal's Just For Laughs festival by CG Photos from Flickr.

The headline doesn't lie, folks. The self-professed "angriest man in America" and The Daily Show regular Lewis Black will be wagging his infamous finger in Toronto as a part of the first annual Just For Laughs Toronto Festival.

Photo by Chromewaves (Frank Yang) in the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

If you were one of the many Arcade Fire fans not lucky enough to grab tickets to one of the band's Massey Hall shows on May 15 and 16, we can but offer two paltry consolation prizes.

Lots going on around town over the next little while. One of the city's biggest music festivals, NXNE, held their press conference this week announcing the 2007 lineup (warning, the list is tough to read), hosted by Dave Foley. Many show dates and venues were announced, including the addition of the Dinosaur Jr., Voxtrot and The National shows as officially being part of the festival. Limited wristbands will be accepted at each show, so if you really want to go, you're better off buying tickets.

Most people are probably jealous of Feist. As a globe-trotting artist she's had the chance to play shows around the world, both as a solo-artist and with Broken Social Scene, not to mention the time she has spent living and recording in France. But as her third album highlights, now out on Arts & Crafts, all of this travel has come at a high price. The Reminder shows the lonely life of the internationally popular musician who tries, unsuccessfully, to juggle their love life and career.

One of the greatest collaborations in Canadian musical history is coming to an end tomorrow night at Massey Hall. The Rheostatics are bidding farewell to bassist Tim Vesely, who is leaving the band to spend more time with his young family and dedicate more energy to his side project, The Violet Archers. The break-up is amicable. Well, as amicable as these things can be. Custody of the Tarleks has yet to be determined.

After rumours and speculation, Arcade Fire recently announced that they would perform at Massey Hall on May 15 & 16. Both shows sold-out in less than a minute.

It just never ends. Never. Ends. The stream of tour announcements is still going strong, and we're now at the point where there are 3-4 shows to choose from on some dates -- our calendar is starting to look as busy as a CEO's! As suspected last week, The Police added a second Toronto date to their tour schedule, on July 23 (tickets on sale now)...good thing Sting practices tantric sex so he'll have enough stamina for all of these dates. Sorry, bad visual...shake it off. We're looking forward to the ever adorable Lily Allen, who will be back in town April 5, and is hopefully bringing a bigger setlist with her this time; Feist will be gracing us with her presence at Massey Hall on May 26, in support of her new album The Reminder; and Muse is apparently opening for My Chemical Romance on May 11, but since it's not confirmed, we won't get too excited yet (about Muse, not MCR).

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.