It seems to be the week of Alexisonfire, who are playing just about every venue in the city over the next 7 days, starting on Thursday. We predict a few bruised ribs and black eyes just in time for Christmas...so kids, if you're going to the show(s), be a little gentler to each other knowing that your parents will be pissed if you're posing for the holiday photos with a shiner. This public service......

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),......

Canadian rapper k-os has questionably hinted at a racist agenda at NOW Magazine after receiving a mediocre review. This week, NOW published a review of the new k-os album, "Atlantis: Hymns For Disco." Writer Jason Richards commented that the abundance of mainstream guests- including Sam Roberts and Buck 65 - "will only strengthen [k-os's] detractors' case that he's a crossover pop artist disguised as a true-school b-boy." Even so, Richards gave the album three N's......

Just about one year after the last major Toronto (areaish) concert, Richard Branson announced that the Toronto Islands will host the Virgin Festival over a weekend in early September. This is the first time the Virgin Festival crosses the pond outside the UK. Note that this is the first time that Centre Island will be closed to the public. Just like Live8, this concert is being put on to raise awareness... for "Make Rogers History."......

Thus far, rock photographer Andrew MacNaughtan has had a gorgeous and enviable career in photographing Canada’s hottest musicians. Torontoist is sure you are all familiar with his photographic work as he’s captured the likes of K-OS, The Tragically Hip, Avril Lavigne, Sam Roberts (pictured here) and Chantal Kreviazuk over the years. For his latest show "Art Gives Hope: A Decade of Music Portraits" he’s compiled and donated his favourites of the past ten years and......

So apparently there's some sort of thing going on up in Barrie at (Molson) Park Place this Saturday. A whole bunch of bands, raising awareness, blah blah blah. The bill looks something like this - African Guitar Summit, Barenaked Ladies, Blue Rodeo, Bruce Cockburn, Bryan Adams, The Bachman Cummings Band, Deep Purple, DobaCaracol featuring Kna'an, Gordon Lightfoot, Great Big Sea, Jann Arden, Jet, Les Trois Accords, Motley Crue, Our Lady Peace, Sam Roberts, Simple Plan,......

Somehow, son of greatness Jacob Richler makes even his most potentially amusing columns come down to his boring dislike for the latest resto, or his innate culinary genius. So it was refreshing to see him abandon expository yawns about his latest invention, the duck burger, in favour of some (truly funny) investigative journalism. In today's column he picks up on an unfortunate and unpublicized revamp of the city's park benches. Seems those crafty characters over......

Oh Sam Roberts, how the fratboys love you so. And Torontoist likes you too, though you once looked our friend's girlfriend up and down so many times he thought you might strain something. But that was then, and you were getting photographed at Bright Pearl Restaurant, and they were eating Har Gau, and that's all water under the proverbial bridge. Now you're all grown up and playing pared down accoustic shows, with the likes of......