Results tagged “operahouse”

One of the biggest complaints that Toronto hip hop artists have is that they are ignored by local media, and, for the most part, they're right. Drop the Needle hopes to help remedy this by checking in with some of the city's finest artists each month to see what's up.

It's Canadian Music Week and that means there's an unusually large number of hip hop shows going on. KRS-One will be teachin' at The Opera House on Saturday as he continues his Stop the Violence movement. RZA dons his Bobby Digital mask on Sunday at the Phoenix. There's also grimy New York hip-hop (M.O.P. on Friday), French rap (DJ Orgasmic and Cuizinier on Thursday), and a strong showcase of local talent (Friday's Exclaim! event).

Rabbit in the Moon, the legendary Los Angeles-based funky techno crew best known for their insane, pyrotechnic, costumed stage performances and dark, live beats, is headlining the last ever all-ages party at The Sound Academy, a.k.a. The Docks, this Saturday at Destiny's Together As One. This will be the first time Rabbit in the Moon has performed within city limits since 1999, which should prove to be a frenetic, immersive performance with wearable lasers, futuristic weapons that shoot geysers made of sparks, and plenty of weird surprises from the guy dancing on stage.

Photo by Media Eater.

Andrew Bird landed at the Opera House last night, touring in support of his critically acclaimed, brand new full-length, Armchair Apocrypha. Clad in denim and rainbow socks, Bird was the consummate showman as songs and stage banter all melted into one under multi-coloured lights. The crowd was treated to a farm animal Speak’n’Say demonstration, followed by stories of Andrew’s breakfast, and an introduction to his newfound sock monkey puppet friend, whose shoes had to be sown on "so they wouldn’t fall off."

Once a year Toronto the Good becomes Toronto the very naughty.

Beginning Friday and running until July 1st, the TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival is smoothly bringing over 60 swingin' musicians to play in venues all across town in what apparently is Canada's best jazz festival. Take that, Montreal!

One of the things that makes The National's music so brilliant—and what might make the band's latest album, Boxer, the best release of 2007—is its ambiguity.

Two super-fast ticket giveaways for you today...get 'em while they're hot.

Now that CMW is out of the way, it's time to move onto other pressing music matters -- such as, why the hell are all these really great bands coming to town and playing the Kool Haus?! Can we not get a better venue than that? We just spent three of the last seven days at that venue and had to stand near the soundboard just to get even remotely clear audio of the shows. The acoustics there are almost always terrible...but then again, it is pretty much a giant tin box. /rant

It's finally here - the week of festival hell insanity. Got your wristbands and earplugs ready? Canadian Music Week kicks off on Wednesday with the Indie Awards at The Docks, and Thursday to Saturday will have you running around town trying to catch as many acts as possible. Wristbands are $35, or you can purchase (limited) tickets at the door to most shows. Not your thing this year? There's also the Pitter Patter Festival running from Wednesday to Sunday. It features fewer acts than CMW but depending on your preference, it might give you more bang for your buck. Keep an eye on Torontoist for previews of both festivals in the coming days.

At the end of the second verse of one of Bright Eyes' new songs, "Reinvent The Wheel"—a eulogy for a dead musical idol, possibly Elliott Smith—lead singer Conor Oberst laments to his fallen hero that "you never understood what we loved you for." Coming as the line does in the song, with guitar chords and drums emphatically struck together to highlight Oberst's voice and the backing vocals, the moment is both uplifting and tragic, a beautiful example of the ambivalence and catharsis that runs through much of Bright Eyes' work. But standing in the Opera House at the band's concert last night, surrounded by an ocean of half-drunk couples with side-bangs awkwardly making out, half-pretty under-aged girls wondering when the slow sad songs were going to start, and most of the rest of us just wondering when it was going to get good, it was hard not to feel that Oberst's lyrics lamenting the misunderstanding of a crowd's love might very well apply to him.

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 shows, it is advised that you take this time to rest up because the end of February and month of March are going to be insane for loads of high quality live music.

Part Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys, part Animal Collective, part something else completely, Grizzly Bear have a unique sound that's tricky to categorize. This is not music you will necessarily dance to, but you will be moved. The Brooklyn-based band hits Toronto on Tuesday at Lee's Palace with Dirty Projectors to promote their newest (and critically acclaimed) record Yellow House.

Last night at the Opera House, local concert goers met their match. Toronto audiences are (in)famous for their subdued responses at live shows, which is usually expressed through a steady nodding of the head. Scottish indie group Camera Obscura provided an equally stoic performance, with singer Tracyanne Campbell delivering each song note-perfect yet devoid of any physical expression beyond the strumming of her guitar. Even the infectious single "Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken" managed to spur some borderline dancing within the crowd, but the band remained workman-like in their performance. However, if you’re one of the people who argue that concerts are ultimately about music, regardless of whatever's happening on stage, then you might not have been disappointed. The band’s sampling of their recent LP Let’s Get Out Of This Country and its predecessor Underachievers Please Try Harder were at least faithful to the recordings. But in that regard, seeing Campbell throw a few lines from Paul Simon’s "You Can Call Me Al" onto the end of one song -- ostensibly to create a rare moment of spontaneity -- while still not breaking from her deer-in-headlights gaze over the audience made listening to their records seem like the better way to experience the band.

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 did last year. Here's hoping that we get a slightly more mature and diverse bill, which will likely be announced in the coming few months. Here's also hoping that none of the bands get the shaft due to schedule issues (hello, Flaming Lips!).

, seemed to be getting attention in Toronto too, including a large display at Sonic Boom. But Jim Noir himself was not so lucky crossing the ocean. When Sean Lennon took the stage at the Opera House last week, he welcomed Noir and his band, saying he was glad they could finally join them - apparently trouble at the border had forced them to cancel their appearance at some shows. Fortunately for us, Noir was able to not only take the stage, but speak with Torontoist for a moment as well.

The year is winding down and so is the music, which is kind of nice, actually, because there seem to be a lot of tours already gearing up for 2007. Hopefully Alexisonfire isn't one of them...we have no idea how they can manage to go onstage and scream for 7 solid days (they have a few more shows this week). Insanity.

Eleanor Friedberger, one half of the sibling duo that forms The Fiery Furnaces, is setting up the merch stand at the Opera House. The indie rock band from New York are just wrapping up soundcheck for their show Monday night, in support of their latest album Bitter Tea. While her brother Matt stays on stage testing out a keyboard, Eleanor comes over to introduce herself, before setting about the t-shirt display.

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 $60 admission fee these days? Could they ever? On a similar note, Guns N' Roses are coming to the ACC in November -- should they be asking fans to shell out up to $85 to see a bloated Axl Rose trying to slither around the stage, caterwauling 'Sweet Child O' Mine'? Wouldn't that just be painful to watch? Are we asking too many questions? Okay, we'll stop.