Photo of Matt of Epigram by Richelle Forsey Beneath a pile of attractive shows in the city this week (Brooklyn’s Au Revoir Simone at Lee’s Palace on January 16, not one but two Elliot Brood shows at the Dakota Tavern on January 18 and 19), there lies a very distinctive show Musicologist whole-heartedly recommends. On Thursday, January 17, Windsor’s What Seas What Shores, Toronto’s Epigram, and Tunturia will be playing at The Boat for......

It's election day today! So go vote. If you don't vote, nobody will ever truly love you and you will die alone and unmourned. This is a statistical fact. In further Ontario election news, the party leaders all make their final claims as to why you should vote for their party here, and none of them make the argument that they deserve your vote for being the whitest guy in Ontario, because all of them......

This Thursday marks the premiere of Toronto's Hip-Hop Karaoke night. Brought to you by Never Forgive Action and Earwaks, and hosted by local rapper More or Les (who was interviewed by Torontoist last spring) and local DJs Dalia, Numeric and Ted Dancin', this party promises to be more than your basic karaoke night. First of all, it's hip-hop, so you may want to practice ahead of time or do the track you've known since you......

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),......

Who Is DJ Cyber-Rap? Depending what circles you run with, this question may have been nagging you for quite some time. If you’re a member of Stillepost, the message board that plays hosts to almost all of Toronto’s scenesters, you’ve known about DJ Cyber-Rap since 2005. That’s when the 59 year-old widower (born Robert “Ronald” Marie MacDougall) first started posting in the Toronto forum of Stillepost from internet cafes, using painfully effortful internet jargon in......

There's gonna be a couple of skid bag DJ's named Paul Devro and m!g!h! spinning chunky southern Parisian Iraqi pop gangsta music at Drug Money's party at The Boat this evening. If you're one of the lucky few, you might even get a spliff of sensei for showing up. Hopefully you're confused.......

The worst thing about having a pass for NXNE is using it. I got my perspective of the festival working the door at The Boat for the Maple Music showcase. The job was to bow for the “delegates” or “pass-holes” as they walked passed a growing line of wristband holders, or “audience.” It’s crystal clear to me that NXNE is set up by the industry, for the industry; audience and musicians are afterthoughts. On......

For those interested in 'it'-specific events, this Tall Poppy is for you. The Boat, the venerable 'It' club in Kensington Market, is the site of an increasingly popular monthly dance party called Zoi Zoi, the venerable 'It' DJ night in Toronto. If that wasn't enough 'It's, resident DJ Mimi plays what has become the 'It' music of the day - French language pop. We're using the 'It' phrase so much because we've never actually been......

Last night, Indiepolitik held their second 'Just' night overall, and their first this year. These 'Just' nights consist of just one song on repeat for the entire night. The first, a Just "Ace of Spades" night was covered extensively over at Zoilus. Last night was Just "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen, and spontaneous head-banging did occur. TOist missed the first three hours but figured it was pretty much the same as the hour we spent at......

When Final Fantasy's Owen Pallett, a.k.a. violinist for every cool band in the country, finally made his way onto The Boat's tiny stage during his video launch party last night, he noted ruefully that a long line-up is usually the sign of a bad concert. It certainly was a bad concert for the hundredish folks who stamped their feet to keep warm out in the cold on Augusta for over an hour and did not......

This weekend was brought to you by Kensington and the number 5. Okay, we made up the bit about the number 5, but Kensington was the august August weekend theme. From a long and endearing piece about Kensington kids in the Sunday Star to Pedestrian Sundays to Saturday Night in the market, Kensington was the word. So let's proceed with a short wrap up of the newly crazy Saturday Night scene. We began the......

The Goin' Steady party, which debuted last month to widespread glee, takes over The Boat again this Saturday. TOIst loves a good do-wop party, and this one gets bonus points for attendees that actually dress for the dance. See you there.......