Toronto Unplugged » toronto-concerts

Clapton Review | Concertaholics

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:08:25 +0000

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

Post from: Toronto Unplugged

MGMT Makes Edge Rotation

Sat, 31 May 2008 15:21:53 +0000

When I’ve been following a band for a while and they finally hit the airwaves on local radio – in this case the Edge – I always hit to emotions: a) I think, ‘nice, now more people will be exposed to this great band’ and b) I get immediately disappointed because I know that the Edge will play the song every hour and I’ll be sick of it in two days or less.

In any case, MGMT’s single Time to Pretend has made it’s way on the Edge. Get ready to fall in love with the song and then get sick of it.

Have a listen to Time to Pretend

The good news…if you like the track, the rest of the album is stellar.

Check out the Artist Profile on MGMT

Image Credit: Newscom

Post from: Toronto Unplugged

Clapton at the Amphitheatre | Cold Night | Send Reviews

Wed, 28 May 2008 02:15:47 +0000

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 the most enduring blues-rock tunes of our time.

Last year the rock n roll hall of famer released a career spanning collection of his greatest hits, Complete Clapton, to coincide with the release of his autobiography simply titled Clapton.

Eric Clapton will play 22 shows after tonight spanning to August 23rd. From Toronto, Ontario to Skanderborg, Denmark Clapton will again prove to hundreds of thousands of fans why he is one of the most revered musicians of our time. If you made it to the show…and stuck it out, please send your reviews to me in the comment field below. I’m interested to hear all of the reasons I am regretting not making it to the show.

Cheers.

Image Credit: Wiki

Post from: Toronto Unplugged

The Kooks Return to Toronto

Sat, 17 May 2008 12:07:59 +0000

Named after the song on David Bowie’s Hunky Dory, the Kooks met while attending Brighton Music College in the mid-2000s. Each shared a liking for the Police, the Strokes, the Everly Brothers, and Funkadelic, and the bandmates began funneling such influences into their own sweet and precocious sound in 2005. The Kooks’ debut full-length, Inside In/Inside Out, arrived in January 2006. The band is reportedly working on new material for a new album and will be ‘testing’ out new material at shows over the course of the summer.

The Kooks will be gracing Toronto with their presence on June 4th at the Kool Haus. Tickets are on sale now.

Classic Kooks track and video below…maybe not ‘classic’ but very, very solid.

Post from: Toronto Unplugged

Go See Tom Fun Orchestra | Ticket Contest

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 04:28:36 +0000

One of the most talked about Canadian bands right now is Nova Scotia’s Tom Fun Orchestra. The 10 piece Soul | Western Swing | Post Punk outfit is touring the globe and giving everyone something to rave about along on the way.

Their recent release You Will Land with a Thud has received rave reviews from music authorities at everywhere. Description? …the sound of exotic birds standing on the sides of forgotten highways, flapping their wings in the winds of speed-induced truckers.

Seeing this band live is an experience – your eyes race the stage to keep up with the action – your ears smile at the wild mix of sounds – and your taste buds crave another beer to bring you up to par with the crowd (and band). It is an experience.

The Tom Fun Orchestra will be playing Lee’s Palace tomorrow night. The band will go on at 10pm.

Tickets for this show are hard to come by, but the band may have some to provide our progressive and faithful audience.

Leave a comment below with your favorite Tom Fun track if you’d like to check out the show and we’ll hook some of you folks up. Include your email address with your comment or follow it up with an email to mlaba@b5media.com. There may also be other Tom Fun prizes to win. This will be an awesome show, don’t miss it.

Image Credit: Company House

Post from: Toronto Unplugged

Countdown to The Verve

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 09:39:17 +0000

The Verve, Rolling Stone no. 784, April 1998

This is merely a friendly reminder…

We are down to less than a month before The Verve play a highly anticipated show at The Ricoh Coliseum on Thursday May 1st. The show has been sold out for a while, but like any gig, there are ways to get tickets. Maybe you went to high school with someone who now works for a major label. Maybe your sister made out with Ashcroft’s brothers newphews neighbor. Or maybe, you’ve got a friend who has tickets but is being dragged to a wedding and can’t go.

Whatever the connection, start putting in the word now.

Post from: Toronto Unplugged

Concert Dates: The Roots in Toronto

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 02:02:08 +0000

There are certain bands that cross multiple genres…they have a universal appeal. I would argue that The Roots are one of these bands. If you’ve never gotten into the Roots, I suggest you give them a true listen. Only then can you appreciate their cross-style influence and vibe.

The Roots will be at the Kool Haus on March 30th. Tickets are available here.

The Roots are getting ready for a new release entitled Rising Down. The album is scheduled to be available at the end of April.

Bio…

The Roots, a.k.a. The Legendary Roots Crew, are an influential, Grammy Award-winning American band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, famed for a heavily jazzy sound and live instrumentation. They made their debut in 1993 and have gone on to collaborate with artists from a range of genres, such as Roy Ayers and Cody Chesnutt. Inspired by Stetsasonic, The Roots themselves have garnered critical acclaim and influenced later beat and R&B acts.

Post from: Toronto Unplugged

Canadian Music Week Preview | Hello Operator

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 04:29:45 +0000

Hello Operator has emerged as a band ready to break out in a big way. At the front end of a North American tour, the band will be playing the Opera House on March 6th as part of Canadian Music Week before heading out for the rest of the tour.

Hello Operator were called a “newsmaker” in Macleans magazine, and listed as “one of 12 bands to watch out for” by Canoe.ca Their video for Chasing Satellites has been in regular rotation on Much Music and Much Loud since November 2007.

Influenced by the likes of the Cars, Costello and 80’s New Wave the band is an energetic blast of Indie rock-pop.

Their second EP, titled “The Breaks”, was released November 20th online, and February 5th in stores across North America.

Canadian Music Week

Opera House March 6 @ 8:40pm

Listen to Hello Operator and check out the rest of their tour dates.

Standout tracks: 55 Regrets and Chasing Satellites

Post from: Toronto Unplugged

Run With The Kittens | Random Gigs

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 19:19:16 +0000

Interested in seeing Run With The Kittens at some random gigs outside of the GTA?

I just got this email from the band…gotta love their emails. Enjoy.

(from Kittens) We have some out of town gigs in the next couple weeks:

1. Papa’s Billiards Sat March 1 – Peterborough

This is a smaller venue so we plan on getting really wasted. There will be a really high chance of experiencing regrettable behavior and possibly nudity.

2. Jimmy Jazz Fri March 7 – Guelph

If you haven’t been to one of our legendary monthly Guelph gigs, come check it out. It’s a free show and somebody always gets beat up.

3. Huether Hotel Sat March 8 – Waterloo

This gig is going to be especially emotional. Everyone in the band has a lot of really messed up emotional problems and every March 8th we let it all out in a musical display of inner instability. There will be lots of crying and after everybody gets a real bad drunken case of the ‘i love you man’s’

To listen to some Kittens, check them out here.

Post from: Toronto Unplugged

The Tom Fun Orchestra | Debut Album “You Will Land With A Thud”

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:01:25 +0000

One of the most anticipated albums of the year – CBC Radio 3

Company House Records and EMI Music Canada are excited to announce the release of the heavily-anticipated debut album “You Will Land With A Thud” from Cape Breton Island’s high-voltage folk-rock n’ rollers The Tom Fun Orchestra.

“You Will Land With A Thud” was produced by the platinum-selling team of Violent Femmes’ vocalist/guitarist Gordon Gano and Warren Bruleigh (the Violent Femmes, Louise Attaque). Encapsulating the explosive energy of Tom Fun’s live show into 12 tracks of Vaudevillian cluster rock, “You Will Land..” features gems like “Watchmaker” (the first single), “Throw Me To The Rats” and the punk-tinged “Heart Attack In An Old Motel”.

With a sound that has elicited references ranging from The Clash, Tom Waits and The Pogues to The Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene, the album warranted the attention of the top people in the business, Mixing Engineer Phil Palazzola (The New Pornographers) and Mastering Engineer Howie Weinberg (Nirvana, White Stripes).

The buzz around The Tom Fun Orchestra’s live show alone has catapulted the band into the ranks as one of the top breakout bands to emerge from the hot-bed of East Coast music, alongside fellow East Coast indie-rockers Slowcoaster and Wintersleep.

THE TOM FUN ORCHESTRA – UPCOMING SHOWS:

MARCH 6 – Zaphod Beeblebrox (Ottawa, ON ) 8 pm
MARCH 7 – The Dakota Tavern (Toronto, ON – Canadian Music Week) 12am
MARCH 8 – The Horseshoe (Toronto , ON-Canadian Music Week) 3am
MARCH 22 – The Capri Club (Sydney, NS) 11pm
APRIL 5 – The Marquee (Halifax, NS) 11pm
APRIL 11 – George’s Roadhouse (Sackville, NB) 11pm
APRIL 12 – Hunter’s Ale House (Charlottetown, PEI) 11pm
APRIL 13 – Elwood’s (Saint John, NB) 11pm

To listen to The Tom Fun Orchestra, have a listen here or pick up their album which is now in stores.

Post from: Toronto Unplugged