The Swell Season Massey Hall in Toronto, Ontario on November 3, 2009 Full Photo Set (7 photos)The creation of The Swell Season can be traced back to John Carney, ex-bassist for The Frames, who asked his long-time friend Glen Hansard (vocals, guitar) to collaborate on the story and music for a film. When the hired lead actor and associated financial support pulled out of the film, Carney conv...
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The Swell Season at Massey Hall, Toronto (Photos and Review)
The Johnstones Can't Be Trusted
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The Johnstones The MOD Club in Toronto, Ontario on October 29, 2009 Full Photo Set (18 photos)It was probably more than two years ago when one of the members from The Johnstones first contacted me about their band. I checked out their MySpace and was interested, but already had something scheduled the night they were playing. I kept them on my radar and would sometimes notice upcoming concer...
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Said The Whale at El Mocambo, Toronto (Photos and Review)
Said The Whale El Mocambo in Toronto, Ontario on October 28, 2009 Full Photo Set (16 photos)Everyone knows that music has the power to change moods, often for the better, and on Wednesday night I got to both observe and experience that effect in response to the show put on by Vancouver-based Said The Whale. Although I'm not sure if all the lyrics have positive slant (I just don't know them a...
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The 2009 CASBY Awards at Koolhaus, Toronto (Photos)
The 2009 CASBY Awards illScarlett, Matthew Good, Mother Mother Jay Malinowski, Arkells, The Stills, Metric Koolhaus in Toronto, Ontario on October 22, 2009 Full Photo Set (24 photos)The CASBY Awards night is one of the big events of the year for the staff of 102.1. As compared to other awards shows I can sometimes be found at, The CASBY Awards is a bigger event, taking place at the Koolhaus ...
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The Temper Trap at Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto (Photos and Review)
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The Temper Trap We Are The Take, Cut Throat Britva Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, Ontario on October 20, 2009 Full Photo Set (29 photos)Recommendations go a long way when they're from someone whose opinion you trust, so when a fellow photographer and music lover recommended that I go see The Temper Trap playing Bookie's Nu Music Nite at the Horseshoe Tavern, I added it into my calendar right t...
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The Ghost Is Dancing at Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto (Photos)
The Ghost Is Dancing Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, Ontario on October 15, 2009 Full Photo Set (9 photos)After the Silversun Pickups show, I made my way up to the Horseshoe Tavern to catch a local indie rock band called The Ghost Is Dancing. The band has been together over 5 years now, and have released two full-length albums, The Darkest Spark (2007) and Battles On (2009). I hadn't heard eith...
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Silversun Pickups and Cage The Elephant at Sound Academy, Toronto (Photos)
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Silversun Pickups Cage The Elephant Sound Academy in Toronto, Ontario on October 15, 2009 Full Photo Set (20 photos)I'm not unique in the sense that it was the song Lazy Eye that drew me toward Silversun Pickups. That song received a load of radio airplay in 2007 and 2008 and it also ended up being featured in both Guitar Hero: World Tour and Rock Band 2, providing even more exposure. But on...
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Down With Webster release Time To Win Vol. 1 at the Phoenix, Toronto (Photos and Review)
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Down With Webster Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto, Ontario on October 8, 2009 Full Photo Set (14 photos)Having recently signed with Universal Motown, Down With Webster didn't waste much time getting a recording completed. The release of Time To Win Vol. 1 marks a pretty big step in for this young hip-hop/rock band from the Beaches area of Toronto, and it also was as good a reason as any t...
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Built To Spill at Lee's Palace, Toronto (Photos and Review)
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Built To Spill Lee's Palace in Toronto, Ontario on October 6, 2009 Full Photo Set (9 photos)Since I was lucky enough to see Built To Spill perform in Toronto back in 2007, their first visit to this city, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect for their recent two night sold-out stint at Lee's Palace: Loud, mind-bending guitar solos, great songs, and extended versions, but performed with ...
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illScarlett Celebrates the Release of 1UP! at The Opera House
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Artist:1UP! illscarlett
illScarlett The Opera House in Toronto, Ontario on September 29, 2009 Full Photo Set (16 photos)The celebrate the release of their sophomore album, 1UP!, illScarlett held CD release party at The Opera House, the very same venue they used to celebrate the release of their debut album, All Day With It. Although it doesn't feel like it to me, the releases were separated by 15 months, and during t...
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Over 50 Artists Participate in Busking For Change to Help War Child
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Busking For Change 2009 Sass Jordan, Neverending White Lights, Zack Werner, Magenta Lane, illScarlett, The Johnstones, Arkells Toronto, Ontario on September 29, 2009 Full Photo Set (22 photos)This year was the second annual Busking For Change event organized by War Child, with the first official event happening in October 2008. However, it was back in 2007 that the idea for Busking For Chan...
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Free Music: Three Albums Worth Downloading
There always seems to be some free music available on the intertubes, but this past week has been particularly free. I've received more emails in the last seven days offering free music than in the past three months. Here are three free selections in three different styles that are worth downloading. Enjoy. Hostage Life - Centre of the Universe [Punk Pop] Remember Hostage Life? It's been th...
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Metric, The Weakerthans, and Hey Rosetta! at The Verge Music Awards
Metric, The Weakerthans, Hey Rosetta! The Verge Music Awards The MOD Club in Toronto, Ontario on September 22, 2009 Full Photo Set (22 photos)The Verge Music Awards consists of just two awards, but each is worth $25,000, which means a total of $50,000 gets injected into the Canadian music ecosystem. It's a significant contribution, but the way XM goes about awarding the prizes is the best p...
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We Are The Take, Jets Overhead @ Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto (Photos and Review)
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We Are The Take, Jets Overhead Great Diviners Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, Ontario on September 17, 2009 Full Photo Set (24 photos)I've been running into members of We Are The Take every now and then, like I did back on the Thursday night of NXNE '09. These chance meetings have been small reminders that it has been too long since I've seen them perform, especially given how much I like their...
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Gentlemen Husbands Release Four Song EP For Free Download
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Artist:Gentlemen Husbands
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Track:Plans B&E
The Gentlemen Husbands have recently released a four track EP for free download. They've been described as "the ultimate bearded bar band, but with more energy and teenage angst". I haven't been out to see them perform yet, but their blues-tinged indie rock sounds like it could be a good accompaniment to a Friday night. On first listen, best of the four is Plans B&E.Download the Gentlemen Husb...
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Young Galaxy Celebrate Release of "Invisible Republic" at The Drake Underground, Toronto
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Young Galaxy Treasure Hunt The Drake Underground in Toronto, Ontario on September 10, 2009 Full Photo Set (14 photos)In my Best Of 2007 article, I included Young Galaxy in both my Top 10 Concerts and Top 10 Albums lists. It's now 2½ years since I first encountered the band, and I still listen to their 2007 self-titled album regularly. Although I haven't grown attached to their sophomore alb..
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Still Life Still Celebrate Release of "Girls Come Too" at the Horseshoe Tavern
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Still Life Still The Paint Movement, Dinosaur Bones Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, Ontario on August 28, 2009 Full Photo Set (24 photos)The night before I found myself at V-Fest for the weekend of August 29th-30th, I went out to the Horseshoe Tavern to help Still Life Still celebrate the release of their debug full-length CD Girls Come Too. Opening the night were two bands I've seen and enjoye...
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CONTEST: Jets Overhead Prize Pack
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Due to the recent air shows at the CNE, it wasn't long ago that my Twitter feed was filled with the phrase "jets overhead". Every time I read it, for a moment I thought it was someone talking about the band Jets Overhead. But no. However, if you missed the air show and wish you were able to say "jets overhead" more often, now is your chance.I've got a Jets Overhead prize pack to give away, cons...
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Virgin Festival '09 Ontario - Sunday (Photos and Reviews)
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Virgin Festival '09 - Ontario MuteMath, Cold War Kids, N.E.R.D., Our Lady Peace, Von Bondies, Pet Shop Boys, Plants and Animals, Nine Inch Nails Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto, Ontario on August 30, 2009 Full Photo Set (48 photos)The Sunday of V-Fest Ontario turned out to be a fairly cool day that turned into a cold evening, but you had to know that there was no way the weather was going to ...
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Virgin Festival '09 Ontario - Saturday (Photos and Reviews)
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Virgin Festival '09 - Ontario Grizzly Bear, Sloan, Down With Webster Paolo Nutini, Franz Ferdinand, Iglu & Hartly, Pixies Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto, Ontario on August 29, 2009 Full Photo Set (47 photos)When Virgin Festival first announced it was moving to Orillia, basically requiring an overnight stay in the form of camping, I was disappointed since it was going to be the first year sin...
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