Toronto Unplugged

In an overall slumping time for record sales, Coldplay has shown that it can still be done – you just need to be a global musical power.
Since this album’s launch it seems to be available for purchase everywhere – at the cash of the pharmacy, grocery store, coffee shop…etc. This is smart, but also a luxury that only the biggest bands have. The marketing costs a fortune but…
This marks the first time since March 2005 that the Billboard 200 was led by a 700,000-plus sum in consecutive weeks. The last occasion happened when 50 Cent’s “The …read more

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Pre-prepped journalism…sometimes will bite you in the ass.  I was pretty pumped for the Peter Hook show, so I decided to throw two posts yesterday on the blog.  I posted them late Monday night to run Tuesday, because I knew I would be away from my computer for most of the day.  i was in the car listening to The Edge when I heard Bookie say, “it’s official, the Peter Hook show has been canceled”
Bollocks.  Sitting in my car…away from a computer…knowing that I couldn’t change the posts.  Ah well.
Bummer about the show.  I know a lot of people that …read more

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A great throw back/nostalgic show this week.  Peter Hook will be playing The Sound Academy on June 27th at 9pm.
Hook was a co-founder of the post-punk band Joy Division along with Bernard Sumner in the mid-1970s. Following the death of lead singer Ian Curtis, the band reformed as New Order, and Hook played bass with them throughout their career until his departure in 2007.
Hook has also recorded an album with Revenge (One True Passion) and two albums with Monaco (Music For Pleasure and Monaco) as bassist, keyboardist and lead vocalist.
There are some bands that simply resonate with a generation and …read more

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World Class Jazz Music is flooding the streets of Toronto
The main stage concert series within the Festival (Toronto Star Stage) at Nathan Phillips Square features top musicians this week including:
June 23rd:  Oliver Jones Trio @ 8PM
June 24th:  James Hunter | Big Bad Voodoo Daddy @ 8PM
June 25th:  Cyrus Chestnut Trio | Blind Boys of Alabama @ 8PM
June 26th:  Salute to Jazz at the Philharmonic w Hargrove, Gambarini, D’Rivera, Malone @ 8PM
June 27th:  John Abercrombie Organ Trio | Mike Stern Trio | John Scofield Trio @ 8PM
June 28th:  Arturo Sandoval | Hilario Duran Trio @ 8PM
June 29th:  Toby Foyeh & …read more

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The Toronto Jazz Festival is in full swing throughout the city.
The renowned jazz event in Toronto and takes place in June and July. Unlike the Toronto Beaches Jazz Festival, most of the events are indoors and located throughout the downtown core. Formerly known as the DuMaurier Jazz Festival until the ban on tobacco advertising by the federal government forced the need for a new sponsor. Today, the festival is now sponsored by TD Canada Trust and has since dropped the word “Downtown” from its title.
For a complete listing of shows and venues – check out the Toronto Jazz …read more

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Said The Whale is as much a product of Vancouver’s tremendous natural beauty as it is of the city’s budding independent music scene. Electronic indie rock that captures the essence of what it means to be young, free and heartbroken.
Rivoli @ 11PM
Run With The Kittens – Ripping some musical styles from the past, some from the future, this foursome is hell bent on showing people a good time with a repertoire ranging from darkly witty Dylan-esque tunes to stompers worthy of Motorhead.
Holy Joe’s @ 11PM
The Two Koreas – Like soggy cigarette butts in melting snow banks, Toronto’s preeminent practitioners of …read more

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I obviously like going to see bands play live.  I feel it is a fair trade for my money.  I’ll gladly shell out dollars to watch a band work.  I often take on to a band and then surf to see when they’ll be playing in Toronto.  More importantly – where they will be playing in Toronto.  My heart sinks a bit when I read the venue being The Kool Haus. I’ve seen some good shows at the Kool Haus and yes, there are worse venues in the city…but not many.  It is in between intimate/small and cavernous/big.  Not a …read more

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Concertaholics posts great concert reviews of shows in and around Toronto.   One recent concert that has been talked about a lot as of late was Eric Clapton at the Amphitheatre.  The recurring comment is, “this guy seems to be getting better and better.”
Clapton is certainly one of the all-time greats on guitar and he showed it off on May 27th in Toronto.  Read the full review and view video footage at Concertaholics.
Image Credit:  Concertaholics

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Matthew Good is used to touring with his acoustic guitar.  It is a little easier on the body…perhaps because it is more about the music and lyrics and less about the ‘rock’.  This tour, to the delight of fans, Good has decided to crack out his electric again, but admits it’s taking a toll on his body.
“I woke up this morning feeling like I’d run a marathon after which I was hit by a bus, dragged four blocks, and then set upon by wolves,” he said on his website, matthewgood.org, the day after the concert.
The band on this tour is …read more

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Eric Clapton is playing at the Molson Amphitheater as I type this. I wish I was there. I would say that I had another engagement, but since I’m at home writing this, I guess I have no excuse. I just came in from outside….it’s a chilly night…not the balmy end of May us Torontonians pray for. 
Rock and Roll has brought Eric Clapton extreme highs and extreme lows – all contributing to the grand journey.    Musically, Clapton is known the world over for his prowess on the electric guitar and has written some of …read more

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