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Weekend Planner: March 20–21, 2010
Urban Planner is Torontoist’s guide to what’s on in Toronto, published every weekday morning, and in a weekend edition Friday afternoons. If you have an event you’d like considered, email all of its details—as well as images, if you’ve got any—to [email protected].
That 1 Guy plays the Rivoli Saturday night.
MUSIC: Not since the washboard and spoon castanets have homemade items made such beautiful music. California musician That 1 Guy (real name Mike Silverman) has taken the improvised instrument to a new level with his one-man band, specializing in a mix of funk, jazz, and experimental sound. That 1 Guy’s marvels include the Magic Boot, a souped-up cowboy boot connected to audio lines that is played by tapping the sole, and the Magic Saw, a singing saw played with a violin bow. The pièce de résistance, however, is Silverman’s Magic Pipe, a seven-foot-tall contraption described on his website as a “collection of swiveling pipes, metal gears, bass strings and electronic buttons [that] forms the shape of a harp, but is played like a futuristic gutbucket.” Tonight, That 1 Guy plays at the Rivoli to promote his latest album, PACKS A WALLOP, and will perform some magic tricks to accompany his magic instruments. The Rivoli (332 Queen Street West); Saturday 9 p.m.; $15/advance, $20/door.
CURIOSITIES: In a world where everyone just wishes they were normal, it’s refreshing to see an event that honours the bizarre. Obscura Day is an international celebration of the world’s oddities, curiosities, and weird wonders, with events taking place everywhere from Iceland to Japan to…right here! Toronto’s very own Obscura Day exhibit will feature the glorious curio collection of Mysterion, the city’s most renowned mentalist. Mysterion’s haul of esoteric circus goodies include pickled punks (fetuses preserved in formaldehyde), albino squirrels, two-headed baby chicks, and more of nature’s miracles. As a bonus, Mysterion himself will be present throughout the day to perform some of his eerie mentalist readings. Sunnyside Tattoo and Sideshow Parlour (1658 Queen Street West), Saturday 1–6 p.m., FREE.
ART: In 1997, artist Chrysanne Stathacos was commissioned to create The Wish Machine, a vending machine wrapped in the image of an Indian wishing tree that dispenses ‘wishes’ to the public. The wishes are expressed through photocollages depicting various plants that represent such desires as money, communication, lust, and peace, and each wish comes with a vial of the essential oil for the corresponding plant. This weekend, Stathacos launches her new book, The Wish Machine Travels, consisting of sixty-nine colour plates documenting both her travels around the world with The Wish Machine and some of her other public installations. Stathacos, who will be present at the launch, previously published 1000+ Wishes, a book of collected wishes from anonymous oral and written contributors, in 1999. Art Metropole (788 King Street West, 2nd floor), Saturday 1–3 p.m., FREE.
BURLESQUE: Despite its contemporary associations with retro sexiness, burlesque‘s origins actually lie in humour—the word’s etymology comes from the French for “derisive imitation” or “grotesque parody.” Toronto burlesque troupe the Harlettes embrace this original incarnation of the form, adding a healthy dose of kitsch, exaggeration, and levity to their stripteases. This weekend, the Harlettes perform Love In, a sixties-themed show featuring psychedelic performances, flower children, and go-go boots. In addition to the Harlettes themselves, the show will feature a special guest in the form of Puppetry of the Penis comedian Shelley Marshall. Revival (783 College Street), Sunday 8 p.m., $15 ($10 with groovy threads).
GARAGE SALE: The weather has been lovely this week, and although spring is now upon us, it might be a bit too early to strap on your Birkenstocks and slather on the sunscreen. There is, however, one warm-weather tradition that you can indulge in this weekend, albeit indoors. Swansea Town Hall will be hosting their annual indoor garage sale this Sunday, where visitors will have the chance to scour the hall for vintage treasures. The show will also include crafts for sale, promising lots of opportunities for shoppers to pretty up their home. If your bargaining tactics have gotten rusty this winter, this might be the perfect place to hone your skills. Swansea Town Hall (95 Lavinia Avenue), Sunday 10 a.m.–3 p.m., FREE.