The Drake is gearing up for an ambitious week of post-holiday, end of year music celebration. They are calling the short run What's in the Box: 5 nights, 5 bands, 5 bucks—a clever ploy to attract the empty-pocketed portion of the city (that's if you go for the music, not the booze). Despite being known for attracting enemies to the neighbourhood in the past (err...every Saturday night), the 5 nights (5 bands, 5 bucks) of......

When deciding who to see at this year's Over The Top Festival, we luckily opted to check out Halifax's Rich Aucoin. Between his musical pedigree (he's the brother of the Hylozoist's Paul Aucoin) and the fact that his EP was synched up to How The Grinch Stole Christmas, we knew he would at least be interesting. His set turned out to be far better than just interesting, so it seemed natural to give his Personal......

Swedish garage rock band Mando Diao seem to be quite fond of making up words. First, their band name came to singer Bjorn Dixgard in a dream, then they named their recent release Ode to Ochrasy, which is a made-up term meaning, well, we're not sure exactly, since we've read so many variations on the story. What's not made up, however, is the fact that the band is in town tomorrow night at The Horseshoe,......

There are quite a few bands in town tomorrow evening and we happen to have tickets to two of the shows, courtesy of Against The Grain. First up is St. Louis, Missouri's Son Volt. Jay Farrar and mates will be at the Mod Club for an early show, in support of their latest release, The Search, along with Jason Isbell, who recently decided to leave Drive-By Truckers. We have two pairs of tickets to throw......

After personally emailing us to confirm that they won't be detained and given a "special Canadian inspection" at the border, San Francisco's Birdmonster are happy to finally be allowed in our fair land, and will be headlining a show at The Horseshoe this Wednesday, March 28, in support of their latest album No Midnight. In an ironic twist, Mason Proper was set to be one of the opening acts, but will no longer be on......

New York's Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips (both formerly of Luna) are hitting the Mod Club on Monday night, in support of their recently released second album, Back Numbers. Word on the street is that not only will they be performing Dean & Britta songs, but Luna and Galaxy 500 songs, as well. Want to hear it all up close and live? Courtesy of Against the Grain, we have two pairs of tickets to......

The Lemonheads stopped by Toronto last week to play an almost capacity crowd at Lee's Palace. While this is the first Lemonheads tour in about 10 years, lead singer Evan Dando was in town at The Horseshoe last February, playing a solo show, which turned out to be a less than stellar set where he walked off because "people were talking in the back." Seriously. It's more likely that he quit due to being......

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. Best bets for this week include Royal Wood tonight at the Cameron House......

Leeds, UK's ¡Forward, Russia! got The Horseshoe jumping on Friday night, with their "post-punk" numbered songs (all of their song titles are numbers), and a lead singer who would not stay still for a single second. Supporting their debut album 'Give Me A Wall', Tom Woodhead (singer) and company brought a bundle of energy to a venue that usually doesn't see much dancing, and kept the momentum going for the entirety of their short......

As the weeks draw closer to the holidays, we're seeing less and less shows listed -- which really sucks, because one can only take so much Christmas music...and we've already heard enough of it to drive us insane. Yeah, yeah, bah humbug. That said, it's quite possible we'll be checking out Twisted Sister's 'A Twisted Christmas' tomorrow. The vision of Dee Snider in full makeup and crazy hair, possibly wearing a Santa suit and......

iAnother! iTicket! iGiveaway! Leeds, UK's iForward, Russia! are at The Horseshoe this Friday evening, along with Snowden, and guess what? We have two pairs of tickets to give away, which will also come with a signed copy of their debut album, Give Me a Wall, courtesy of Filter. If you'd like to go, send an email to carrie [at] torontoist.com and name one of the songs from their Myspace page. This is a quicky......

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),......

Torontoist has a pair of tickets to see Rouen, France's Tahiti 80 (along with Brookville) at The Horseshoe this Saturday night, courtesy of +1. Wanna go? Email carrie [at] torontoist.com and name one song, other than their latest single Big Day, from Tahiti 80's latest album "Fosbury", and you'll be in the running. Contest closes at 12pm tomorrow and the winner will be contacted by email shortly after. Contest closed. Congrats to Heather for winning......

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......

Compared to the past few weeks, this one's a bit quieter in the live music world, but there are still some decent shows to check out. Of note, Beck brings his two turntables and a mic to the Ricoh Coliseum tonight (too bad about the location), you can get Comfortably Numb (in a few ways, we're sure) at the Opera House or check out the moustachiod Killers at the Kool Haus on Friday, and......

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......

The Black Lips and Be Your Own Pet played The Horseshoe last night, and it was one of the most physical and fluid-exchanging shows in quite awhile -- both on and off stage. In no particular order, and without distinguishing which band did what, here are some of the goodies: boy-on-boy action, spitting and swallowing (uh, spit, that is), beer spewing, glass smashing, a certain guitarist jumping into the crowd to make out with......

Due to non-existent internet access over the past few days (thanks, Bell!), there is an abridged version of the music listings this week. However, a big week it is, with V-Fest coming to town. The Flaming Lips! The Raconteurs! Wolfmother afros! And keep your eyes on the sky...you never know, you might see Richard Branson descending to earth perched on a flock of birds or something. As always, if you know of a good......

After 10 years, The Deadly Snakes packed it in on Friday evening at The Horseshoe, for what was touted as their "last show ever" (all lies...the real last show was Saturday night at the Silver Dollar). With a sold out audience, all the tambourines in the city, a few shooters or 30, and many guests taking the stage, Andre Ethier and company treated us to almost three solid hours of rock and debauchery. I'd......

Tsk, tsk. Late two weeks in a row. Someone needs a good spanking. Next week we'll get our act together and put Torontoist before busy schedules and get this puppy out on time. Pinky swear. As always, let us know in the comments section if you're heading to any good shows that we missed. Particularly for this Thursday...we need some hot action that night. Recently Announced Sept. 11 - M Ward @ Mod Club, $16.50......

Torontoist needed a few tries to understand the hoopla surrounding Spank Rock, but we think we finally get it now. The non-stop Spank Rock dance party worked the crowd at The Horseshoe into a veritable frenzy last night, at least by proud Screwface Capital standards. As a haiku, the Spank Rock experience might best be summed up as follows: Dance, dance, dance, dance, danceUhm, ew. What did he just say?Oh well. Dance, Dance, Dance.......

When Rogue Wave's first album Out Of The Shadow came out in 2004, it was nigh impossible to read a review or article that didn't reference SubPop's other acoustic-y 60s-ish folk pop band... you know, the one that will change your life. And they were fair comparisons - the sonic and stylistic similarities were undeniable, though Rogue Wave's record didn't quite possess the quiet confidence that The Shins' output did. It sounded more tenative, unsure......

With their third album, Portland's Decemberists continue on with their singular brand of highly literate, nautically-obsessed hybrid folk-rock. With their highbrow lyrics, unconventional arrangements and Colin Meloy's distinctive nasal vocals, the sound of a Decemberists record is unmistakable, but Picaresque differs from the first two full-lengths in that it carries itself with a greater confidence than its predecessors. This is a record that struts home in costume after drama club, jocks in the hallway be......