Photo of Tony Dekker by Trinh Nguyen This week the Music Gallery, Carl Wilson, and a handful of musicians/composers want you to celebrate concrete. Paying homage to the iconic concrete architecture that sprout in Toronto between 1950 and 1970 (and to Michael McClelland and Graeme Stewart's book Concrete Toronto), such musicians as Tony Dekker (Great Lake Swimmers), Sandro Perri (Polmo Polpo, Glissandro 70, ex-Great Lake Swimmer), and Knurl (noise artist Alan Bloor) will perform......

This week, Musicologist is pleased to share that Wavelength will be hosting a festival celebrating their anniversary. The weekly music series has come a long way since its inception in 1999 and has seen various bookers, venues, and, of course, musicians contribute to the success of the series. Wavelength commits to showcasing great music at an accessible cost (all shows are pay-what-you-can) and most recently, has made a vow to feature diversity in the selected......

Most should be very excited by the wide gamut of shows announced this week; Musicologist is excited, but distracted by the concept of a $30.75 Hedley ticket. But yes, excitement: Rick White and The Luyas (one third Jessie Stein of Miracle Fortress and SS Cardiacs, two thirds Bell Orchestre’s Pietro Amato and Stefan Schneider) play the Music Gallery on February 9. Gogol Bordello returns on March 2, shortly after their over-the-top performance last October. New......

Torontoist is ending the year by naming our Heroes and Villains of 2007––the people, places, and things that we've either fallen head over heels in love with or developed uncontrollable rage towards over the past twelve months. Get your dose, starting Boxing Day and running into the new year, three times a day––sunrise, noon, and sunset. Toronto is a city full of great venues and great people helping to put on great shows. Sure, we're......

Hip-hop blues music maker Buck 65 drops his new album Situation at the end of the month. The release is an ode to 1957, a time period the man born Richard Terfry considers world-changing in terms of pop culture (or, as he says in a video on his website, "the year all hell broke loose") thanks to events like Bettie Page going into self-imposed exile, those iconic plastic pink flamingoes appearing on lawns everywhere, and......

Very early on this year, Torontoist was bold enough to predict that this may be the year of Basia Bulat. Nine months later and we may not have been very far off the mark. Ms. Bulat released her new album Oh, My Darling in Europe this past March, and has recently signed to Hardwood Records to finally (finally!) release her debut album tomorrow here in Canada. In celebration, we're giving away a pair of tickets......

Festival fever is sweeping the city—after all, it’s that time of year. But, perhaps incredibly, there are people for whom Brad Pitt sightings and red carpet galas just aren’t worth the Ben Mulroney-sized hype. What, for example, is the ardent audiophile to do in this landscape of visual media tyranny? Well, the good folks over at the Music Gallery have the answer. Starting tonight, the second-ever X Avant music festival gets underway with a headline......

Summer in Toronto means an abundance of excellent music and food. This Thursday evening, the Music Gallery will satisfy both with a party to celebrate the end of their 2006-7 season. Expect a tasty selection of edibles and listenables: the lineup includes Kanaka with Paradigm Brass Ensemble, Tim Hecker, Katherine Liberovskaya and Phill Niblock with guest Matt Rogalsky, and, of course, the prerequisite burger (vegetarian-friendly options will be available). The party takes place in......

So, although we’ve only just spent a whole post gushing about Sprockets, we can’t really forget about the other excellent stuff that’s going on this week. The Images Film Festival closes this weekend, and we’ve been told Live Images 4: Quasar, tonight at the Music Gallery (197 John) at 9:30 p.m. is the hot ticket, as it features “an army of modified 16mm projectors and a quadraphonic sound system to envelop the audience in a......

Sadly, the days of the nickelodeon movie theatre is long gone. The coming of sound made the in-house orchestra/performer obsolete, taking away the live accompaniment that had been necessary for silent films. Luckily, you can try to recover this part of the nickelodeon experience as Andrew Downing's Melodeon perform an original score to The Shock (1923) at the Music Gallery on March 23rd. As their name implies, Melodeon is led by Andrew Downing, a Juno-Award......

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......

"Just take those old records off the shelf, I'll sit and listen to 'em by myself, today's music ain't got..." Oh. Ahem...sorry, just reliving the old days of Fisher-Price rollerskating around the house to Bob Seger (and Joan Jett, if anyone's counting). Did you know that good ol' Bob is in town this week at the ACC? Did anyone know he was still alive and kicking? There are still tickets available for Tuesday, so......

Sheila Heti (pictured here hiding behind this chair) is one of the many artists invited by the Music Gallery for its fundraiser "Compose Yourself." Heti, along with filmmaker Atom Egoyan, philosopher Mark Kingwell, minor media mogul Moses Znaimer, and haircut facilitator Darren O'Donnell will come with compositions or ideas for compositions that will be played by an improvisational supergroup. The concert starts at 8pm and is $25.......

It's that time of the year--benefit concert season. There are a number of them coming up in the next few weeks, including The Holiday Jam (Sick Kids), Jason Collett & The Constantines (CARE Canada), and Bedouin Soundclash (Doctors Without Borders/War Child), so if you're in a giving mood, this may be a good way to do it while also catching some great music. Best bets for this week include Tenacious D tonight (love/hate...always entertaining),......

There seems to be something for everyone this week, but let's just call it the 'week of The Hip' and be done with it, since they've taken up residence at The Phoenix for four sold out shows. We're curious to know if anyone actually paid $60 + TM charges per ticket to attend all of them? 'Fess up! If that's not your thing, you can always get spewed on by Gwar tonight at the......

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......

Photo of the Hidden Cameras' frontman, Joel Gibb, from The Music Gallery, April 2, 2006. The new Hidden Cameras album, Awoo, has leaked, well before its August 18th release date. There are two reasons that you, the average Torontoist reader, should care about Awoo and the Hidden Cameras: the album is really good [refer below to point #1] and Mississauga kindof sucks [refer below to point #2].......

It's a well known joke among indie rock fans that there are tons and tons of "wolf" bands. Everyone from Wolf Parade to Aids Wolf to Guitar Wolf. There's something about the lupine animal that just attracts musicians trying to come up with a band name. With the success of wolf bands the backlash is going to be inevitable. Which makes Torontoist wonder which animal will be de rigeur for struggling indie musicians everywhere. We......

The keen-eyed music lover has probably seen Nicholas Kennedy's work around town. Kennedy and Trip Print Press does posters for Toronto music fixtures like Wavelength and the Music Gallery. But his posters are very different, closer to 1930s De Stijl style art prints than the average thing you see on cafe walls and lampposts. After visiting Trip Print press we understand why. Kennedy uses old school letterpresses to print up his posters, typesetting them by......

The temperature hasn't crept above freezing outside but that doesn't mean that you should stay in. There are a few crazy good shows in town tonight, and it's only Tuesday! UK buzz band of the moment The Arctic Monkeys ($18.50) end their two night stand at the Phoenix. Across town Scandinavian popster Annie ($17.50) will try to exorcize all those demons of bad Scandinavian groups past. If neither of these appeal there's Deep Dark United......

Torontoist wants to make sure we don't forget to send e-cards and presents to the lovely folks at Wavelength. The weekly indie music showcase is turning six and doing its best to top last year's excellent birthday festivities. Concerts start tommorow night with an ear blistering lineup at the Speakeasy (120 Church St.) that includes Anagram and Republic of Safety. But before all that rockin' out you can pick the brains of indie scenesters/stalwarts like......

Maybe he is, maybe he is. Not this Saturday. The indie-hunk/Swedish underground singing sensation comes to the Music Gallery this weekend, returning to Toronto after a triumphant/storied gig at Wavelength earlier this year. The hook here is that a certain website is starting to look favourably on Mr Lekman and his forthcoming compilation of his many EP's and singles, Oh You're So Silent, Jens. This could lead to the phenomenon known as Pitchfork Effect which......

The Tall Poppy Interview - Matthew Nish-Lapidus, Musician...

The Tall Poppy Interview - Jonathan Bunce, Wavelength Founder...

If Devendra Banhart spent as much time touring as he did growing his beard, maybe we would all get to see him tonight at the Music Gallery. Alas, he doesn't. The show is sold out, and now certain Torontoist writers must stay home on Friday night, listening to his Rejoicing in the Hands album over and over. Well, for your information Mr Banhart, I once had a beard too. Look for Rejoicing in the Hands......