Toronto Unplugged

The Beaches International Jazz Festival wraps up tonight. One of Toronto’s most popular festivals, the Jazz Fest offers variety and diversity of music within (and outside) the realm of jazz.
StreetFest is a Beaches International Jazz Festival original event showcasing the finest in Big Band, Swing, Dixieland, Smooth, Post-Bop, Afro-Cuban, Fusion, Funk, R&B and Soul sounds that Canada has to offer. Upwards of 50 bands entertain you along a closed 2 km stretch of Queen Street East! It’s an annual 3-afternoon into evening pilgrimage for close to a million folks who come out to groove to the music and soak …read more

Comments Off

Episode 64 of the CBC R3-30 podcast was the Survival Guide to the NHL Playoffs, featuring Dave Hodge, a very special surprise guest and 10 songs from the top 30. Toronto’s The Coast cracked the R3-30 with their track No Secret Why.
The Coast released their much-anticipated debut full-length, Expatriate, on Aporia this April at the Horseshoe Tavern. The place was packed with anticipating fans and the band rewarded the crowd with a rockin set introducing the new tracks and leading frenzi’s on the familiar ones. It was a ‘good to be back’ set and offered a look …read more

Comments Off

Here is a great Toronto Rock and Roll band….
The Salingers are four friends who share an ideal, a romantic notion of sorts: That rock music can make the small and mundane feel epic and vital, and provide a hopeful soundtrack to the inevitable negativity that surrounds. Or perhaps most importantly, that it can make you walk a little differently – with a little more purpose, with a greater sense of self.
The Sound…part throw back to the late 80’s/early 90’s UK rock scene, part Strokes influence with catchy quick hooks, and some Sloan influence (but way, way cooler).
Standout Track:  2025
The Salingers …read more

Comments Off

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 …read more

1 Comment

Toronto’s Sunparlour Players are playing a big show at the Horseshoe tavern on Thursday night. Whistles, organs, clarinets, Canadian folk rock n roll and spring in th air…this will be a great show. That is a prediction I am ready to stand by.
The band has won over fans all across the Country and quickly became a favorite of CBC Radio 3, while creeping up the R3 30. From CBC Radio 3,
Sunparlour Players..No question…a MUST SEE! These guys are so intense while playing kick drums, dobros, banjos, etc. And they sell preserves …read more

Comments Off

After a short hiatus, The Assistants are back performing live again with new drummer Evan Bender. The band has a show booked for Friday April 18th @ Rancho Relaxo. The show comes by way of the ongoing ‘Two way monologues’ music series.
The show starts at 9pm and the cost at the door is $7
The lineup is as follows…
Opopo (Toronto)
Les Handclaps (Montreal)
The Primordials (Toronto)
The Assistants (Toronto)
Give us your thoughts on the lineup.

Comments Off

Adding to the already explosive Montreal indie scene, We Are Wolves have taken attacked Canada, the States, Europe and all music media along the way.
The band has been featured in Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and Spin. They have played SXSW, Virgin Fest and they also performed live on the first episode of CBC’s live concert series CBC Radio 3 Sessions. Their second album Total Magique was released September 4th 2007, with a new label Dare To Care records.
From the band…
A gang of three, four including rock. We Are Wolves imposes a music that’s both free and honest, like the celestial …read more

Comments Off

Keep working away this week, because there is a great lineup of some very cool gigs this weekend.  Here are our picks.
Let’s start with Thursday…
The Pitter Patter Music Festival returns for the second year.  In Toronto, the festival touches some unique venues (The Montreal House, The Boat, Teranga)
(Pitter Patter) Drop $5 at The Boat to catch – Foxfire Forest, Fire Hydrant, Bass Lions, Reuben O’Dell Barkow
On to Friday…
Go for the music and stay for the food at Sneaky Dee’s – Shit la Merde feat We Are Wolves The cost: $7
(Pitter Patter) A great $5 spend at Teranga – Bocce, Beth …read more

Comments Off

Somewhat local musician Caribou is getting ready to kick off a two night stint at Lee’s Palace. From Dundas Ontario (and also the title track from Caribou’s album) Dan Snaith leads psychedelic, indie electronic, dream pop, math rock jams.
Snaith, who previously went by the show name Manitoba, had to change his name due to a lawsuit brought upon by American Richard ‘Handsome Dick’ Manitoba.
So why Caribou? Snaith says he picked the name while on LSD with some friends in the Canadian wilderness.
Caribou gigs are bright, visually pleasing and funky. What better way to spend Easter weekend …read more

Comments Off

The Coast is quickly becoming one of Toronto’s most talked about Indie sensations. This track The Lines Are Cut lets you in on the buzz.

The Salingers are another Toronto band getting some pre-hype. The band is working hard to get a sharp new release out. If their Myspace tracks are any indication, this band will be big. Standout track: 2025
Swedish rockers The Hives recently challenged the Swedish players of the Vancouver Canucks to a game of hockey at General Motors Place. Word is that the band didn’t have a goalie, so they used build …read more

4 Comments