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10/31/12
For the first time last night, songstress Julie Doiron saw the finished product of her ninth solo album at the record release show of So Many Days. Held at the Mod Club, the album, which officially dropped on Oct. 23, reflects on the past three years of her life on the road, moving between Sackville, Montreal and Toronto. Combined with her mollifying banter and raw attitude, she stripped down to her bones, granting us a cathartic, organic experience.
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10/31/12
If you’re aren’t yet familiar with the comedy of Maria Bamford, you soon will be. The Minnesotan has become one of the most acclaimed and original stand-ups over the last several years (Judd Apatow called her “hysterically funny”) and this week the polite and soft-spoken comedian headlines the Dark Comedy Festival, which launches tonight.
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10/31/12
We know office Halloween potlucks can be awkward, but we hope yours isn’t as lame as this one. Happy Halloween, everyone.
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10/30/12
Ron Hawkins, acclaimed singer-songwriter, founding member of Canadian band Lowest of the Low and all-around iconic rocker kinda guy, is back in the band business with the debut album Rome from The Do Good Assassins.
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10/30/12
Sure, the running of the bulls in downtown Toronto seems like a stupid idea but it does beat the alternative: the running of the bulldozers.
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10/29/12
The Templeton Philharmonic might initially sound like a hoity-toity musical collective, but it's actually a comedic duo composed of Gwynne Phillips and Briana Templeton. The actors-writers have taken their critically acclaimed comedy shows from Montreal to New York to Italy. Now they’ve just been nominated for the Tim Sims Encouragement award, which is tonight. We chatted with the ladies about eating Sarah Silverman's pizza, making The Senior Times and Ron Jeremy.
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10/29/12
We sympathize with our neighbours to the south. We had a run-in with Hurricane Hazel once, and, man, was she ever a piece of work. Godspeed, American friends.
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10/26/12
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a piece lauding Ben Harper’s Massey Hall show as a perfect marriage of performer and venue. Last night’s Smashing Pumpkins show at The Air Canada Centre represented the complete opposite of that. The sight of 6,200 mildly-engaged spectators amidst a wide array of empty seats (the 300 level was completely barren) highlighted a pretty major misstep for the band.
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10/26/12
“Let’s do the time warp again!” Yes, it’s that time of year when people dress up and get funky, and we’re not just talking about Halloween. Bloor Hot Docs Cinema is presenting the cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show this weekend, which will be shown alongside the city’s own shadow cast, for what is sure to be a raunchy, raucous night.
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10/26/12
As Toronto kids are learning to be more polite, we really hope that they remember that giving piggyback rides is the ultimate sign of kindness.
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10/25/12
Let’s face it, everyone knows James Bond. Not only is he the man who’s been saving the world for five decades, but also he’s pretty much the most stylish man in history. Making its North American debut this weekend at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, Designing 007: Fifty Years of Bond Style takes you on a tour of gadgets, gizmos and infamous James Bond style.
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10/25/12
Aussie foursome The Jezabels were in town last night at The Mod Club, and they delivered a theatrical and mesmerizing performance. For those of you that missed it, the band combined their maudlin balladry with their gritty metal-infused rock, making for one powerfully loud gig. Think of it as opera for punks.
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10/25/12
Like Barack Obama said, “Get this done,” NHL players and owners, because we’d really like to see hockey fans smile like this again (especially the George McFly look-alike on the right).
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10/24/12
It started with a beat. Then it was fleshed out with the odd droning of synth machines, violin, piano, steel drums and the trademarked smooth wail of Born Ruffians frontman Luke Lalonde. The result is Rhythymnals, Lalonde’s debut solo album, which brings music back to its elemental roots — and serves as an ode to the appreciation of sound itself. Yes, electro-pop can do that.
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10/24/12
The concept of a “diva” is a multi-layered one. On one hand, a diva stands out for her presence, talent and aura. On the other hand, a diva can also be known for arrogance and self-absorption. There was a diva onstage at the Air Canada Centre on Tuesday night, and she encompassed all the qualities — for better or worse — that the term entails.
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10/24/12
Before zom-bees, bees were just bees and they were still super cool.
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10/23/12
We hate to break it to you, but your favourite Toronto haunts are probably haunted — that is, if you believe in ghosts and that type of fourth-dimension stuff. If you do, Halloween is the perfect time to embrace your inner Robert Stack (or Peter Venkman) and investigate spooky things. So here are our top five haunted places in Toronto. Grab your proton pack and trench coat and get going.
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10/23/12
Obama may have evoked the board game Battleship to bash Romney, but there’s nothing like a good ol’ game of cribbage to really make ‘em sweat.
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10/22/12
Diamond Rings wasn’t supposed to get this big, this quickly. John O’Regan was using his new, ultra-glam musical persona as a way to exercise his more theatrical side, while continuing to play in indie rock bands such as The D’Urbervilles. But a funny thing happened on the way to another rock show. Diamond Rings got hot in a hurry.
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10/22/12
Originally hailing from Winnipeg, comedian Ben Beauchemin is quickly making a name for himself in Toronto's stand-up scene, appearing regularly onstage everywhere from Comedy Bar to Rivoli. Having been nominated for this year’s Tim Sims Encouragement Award, it’s hard to believe Beauchemin first took the stage less than two years ago. We chatted with the comic about his first time onstage, canoeing and Troll 2.
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10/22/12
We hate it to break it to these kids, but not only will eating a lot of sugar make you fat, it will make you stupid, too. Worst combo ever.
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10/19/12
If women don’t really get PMS, then how do you explain this woman? Pretty (F**king) Mean Syndrome, that’s how.
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10/18/12
Eating soup… for a cause? That’s the idea behind Soupstock (Oct. 21, Woodbine Park), an event that brings 200 chefs together to prepare their best soup recipes to protest Melancthon’s proposed mega-quarry. The daylong soup-fest features chefs such as Jamie Kennedy and Anthony Walsh offering up their fare ($10 for three servings), with all proceeds going towards building a community to stop the controversial mega-quarry.
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10/18/12
We know what would fix the Pigeon Lady problem: bird houses. Lots of ‘em.
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10/17/12
Fans of Toronto’s Reginald Vermue, a.k.a. Gentleman Reg, will know that the singer-songwriter can be a bit of a tease. So it comes as no surprise that his fifth long-play, Leisure Life, is being released digitally in three parts. One of them dropped this summer, another earlier this fall and the third is coming out in November. We previewed the new album, and the sometimes-alienating and often groovy power-pop god is back, in full form.
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10/17/12
For years, beloved comedian Dana Carvey was one of the most popular actors on Saturday Night Live with such characters as Garth and Church Lady. He stepped away from the limelight to be a part of raising his children, but now he’s back in the game. You can catch him live tonight at the Winter Garden Theatre as part of Humour Me: The CEO/Comedy Classic in support of youth at risk. We caught up with Carvey to find out what we can expect.
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10/17/12
These Toronto women have binder-potential written all over them.
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10/16/12
Moviegoing is about to get a whole lot swankier for those cinephiles who are old enough to attend R-rated movies solo: Cineplex Entertainment has just announced that Canada’s first-ever all-VIP standalone cinema will open at Shops at Don Mills in late 2014. So what does VIP mean exactly? Basically, booze, and no kids. Here’s our pros and cons about the elite movie palace.
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10/16/12
Last week I saw a new Canadian company, Theatre 20, using a Mirvish-owned theatre to present its first-born production, Bloodless. What could be more satisfying and exciting than discovering a promising new musical? The only disappointing thing to report: it closes Oct. 28, so you have only a few weeks to catch it.
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10/16/12
If Toronto strip clubs have their way, hand shakes are about to get a whole lot sexier. (Yes, sexier than these guys).
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10/15/12
It would only be too easy for Rush to rest on their laurels. With more than 40 years worth of music to fall back on, the hometown prog-rock trio of frontman Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart could spend three hours cranking out old reliable hits in their sleep. But as Sunday night’s sold-out ACC performance proved, the newly-minted Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees are far from being a nostalgia act.
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10/15/12
After almost a decade, the Historica-Dominion Institute is bringing back the Heritage Minutes, beginning tonight at 6 p.m. First introduced in 1991, the one-minute short films were the ultimate Coles Notes of Canadian history, highlighting iconic Canuck milestones — from the naming of Canada to the 1972 Summit Series — and holding a special place in Canadians’ hearts (mostly because of all the bragging rights). Below, our five favourite minutes from the past.
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10/15/12
The folks in the Canadian Comedy Award-winning Slap Happy don’t perform together much anymore, which is a shame because when they do, things can get, well, a little slap happy during their long-form improv sets. Luckily for us, they’ll be performing tonight as part of the Big City Improv Festival launch tonight. We chatted with member Dave Pearce about open-mouthed kissing, Xenu and getting stranded in Belgium.
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10/15/12
Before Fearless Felix broke the sound barrier with his space jump, Torontonians thought the long jump was the hardest thing ever.
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10/12/12
We were pretty disappointed when we weren’t able to snag a ticket to Argo when it screened here at TIFF last month. Based on real events, the dramatic thriller chronicles the life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans behind the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis. The film got rave reviews (unfortunately Ben Affleck’s shaggy ‘do did not).
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10/12/12
We wish we could pull a Marty McFly and bring this idea of “rush hour” back to the future. For now, we’ll just laugh about it (and quietly curse our grandparents — they don’t know how good they had it).
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10/11/12
Drown your taste buds in some chocolate this weekend (and through Nov. 4), as the Toronto Chocolate Festival takes the city by storm in what we like to consider adult Halloween (minus the dressing-up and adding gourmet chocolates). Events include Chocolate High Tea at the King Edward Hotel, where tea is paired with chocolate and pastries.
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10/11/12
Folk music has made a glorious comeback — and Toronto is blazing the trail. With bands such as Great Lake Swimmers and Cuff the Duke getting mainstream air time, local indie groups have to work overtime to give us something refreshingly unrivaled, and at the same time, something wonted. Which is exactly what Graydon James and The Young Novelists gave us last night — and will continue to do every Wednesday night this month.
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10/11/12
So nine bachelorettes down, sixteen to go in the second episode of The Bachelor Canada. And just like its American counterpart, this installment involved globe-trotting dates that teetered between the ridiculous and the romantic. Oh, and we now know Bachelor Brad Smith’s favourite word is “cute.”
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10/11/12
How would we spend an extra 32 minutes a day? Easy. We’d do a lot more puppet making.
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10/10/12
If Fleet Foxes and MGMT got together and had a love child, one that was subsequently sent to a commune in a forest and raised by gypsies, it might sound something like the The Wilderness of Manitoba. We got our first listen of the Toronto-based hippie-folk-revival quintet’s latest album, Island of Echoes, ahead of its official release party, slated for Oct. 26. The verdict? Pure magic.
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10/10/12
Keanu Reeves recently produced a documentary featuring a bunch of well-known directors arguing the merits of traditional filmmaking versus the modern, digitized way. Some of these filmmakers get pretty emotional when they concede that their art form is changing into something bigger, and possibly, better. Tear the Curtain!, a play about the war between film and theatre in the ’30s, proves that concern over film’s place in our culture is nothing new.
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10/10/12
Okay, you guys look awesome in that car, we’ll concede that. But seriously, your headlight is out. You could get a fine.
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10/09/12
There’s a lot to be said about a comedy troupe that would name itself after a line uttered by wrestler-turned-actor-turned-politician Jesse Ventura, especially one that conjures a rather intimate image involving one of the most dangerous creatures to walk this Earth. But, that’s Sex T-Rex for you: spinning improv on its head with its ambitious and physical — and of course, funny — prowess.
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10/09/12
So, how was your Thanksgiving?
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10/05/12
We consider ourselves lucky whenever we catch a flick of Alfred Hitchcock’s on TV — in measly 2D — so we were pretty excited to hear that his 1954 classic, Dial M for Murder, is screening tonight at the TIFF Bell Lightbox as originally intended: in 3D.
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10/05/12
In our dreams, these guys had a band and it was called Sugar Daddys. They were so raw that all they needed was a single piano and plenty of testosterone to make the ladies swoon and to keep the hits coming.
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10/04/12
Fans of The Bachelor can be rest assured that the Canuck edition lives up to its American predecessor. With a bevy of fake breasts, cat fights, weird chicks and heartbreaks galore, the Canadians brought their A game (as well as a pair of hiking boots, a motorcycle and pom-poms) to The Bachelor Canada, which launched last night.
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10/04/12
Torontonian-turned-East-Coaster Old Man Luedecke officially released his latest record, Tender is the Night, on Tuesday night at The Dakota Tavern, and after we got our first listen, it’s clear the banjo-pluckin’, foot-stompin’, wayfaring troubadour has grown up and nestled in his country-tinged, bubbly and soul-soothing niche.
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10/04/12
Two Door Cinema Club will rock out this Friday at Sound Academy, bringing their catchy tunes to Toronto. The world-famous indie band from Northern Ireland, with their energetic beats and electronic influences, will jam the night away after doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are still available online.
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10/03/12
Arnold Schwarzenegger is pushing his new, aptly-titled memoir, Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story, in a PR blitz of damage control following his infidelity ordeal, and he’ll be in Toronto on Thursday for a book signing. Sure, his cheating scandal was super embarrassing, but that’s not the only cringe-worthy moment Ah-nold’s experienced over the years. Below, five totally awkward moments from the athletic Austrian.
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10/03/12
Whatever your feelings are about the Jarvis Street bike lanes controversy, we think both sides can agree that — lanes or no lanes — biking sucked way more in the 1900s.
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10/02/12
New York has the Naked Cowboy, but we’ve got Zanta. The infamous Toronto weirdo and scantily-clad street performer, who has a penchant for getting banned from places, is known for bobbing around the city doing pushups in a Santa hat. And now he’s once again getting some recognition in the form of a graphic novel.
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10/02/12
Pomme is french for apple. It’s also the name of a comedy sketch group created by Liza Paul and Bahia Weston. “Pomme” is also a homonym for “pum,” which refers to a lady’s lady parts in West Indian Culture. This is key information when attending a pomme is french for apple show. We chatted with Liza and Bahia about performing in last week’s JFL 42, their inspiration and, well, pum.
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10/02/12
These guys would have definitely been the in the running for Big Brother Canada because they’re obviously super fascinating and not at all stuffy. (Plus, we’re pretty sure at least one of them knows how to juggle.)
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10/01/12
David Mirvish has announced that the Princess of Wales Theatre will be torn down to make way for some fancy Frank Gehry-designed project that will include a new campus for the OCAD University, a new public art gallery called the Mirvish Collection and, yes, condos. So is this good news for Toronto or is the loss of the Princess of Wales a tragedy worthy of Shakespeare?
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10/01/12
Rare is the concert that offers the perfect marriage of venue and performer, but Saturday night’s Ben Harper show at Massey Hall came close. The 118-year-old “Old Lady of Shuter Street,” which Harper referred to at one point during his two-hour-plus set as “one of the most beautiful music halls anywhere in the world,” provided the ideal atmosphere for the eclectic musician’s spontaneity and crowd interaction.
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10/01/12
Before Nuit Blanche, there was this. And only this.
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09/26/12
Alan Thicke is showing us his smile again with his new starring role as Jack Bailey in Queen for a Day: the Musical, which opens tonight at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts. The new musical is based on the first reality radio and TV show of the same name. We chatted with the Canadian-born actor about hosting duties, his musical prowess and getting sweaty and hot.
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