Brady & Basset a formidable and thoroughly entertaining duo \TORONTO NORTH\ When Shawn Brady comes to work, he comes to play! He’s not one of those clock-watching prima donnas who does his 45-minute set and then chows down on wings for a half an hour before deigning to pick up the guitar again. In fact,…
You can check out Lola jam any Wed. you like, but can you ever leave? \KENSINGTON MARKET\ It’s been a few years since I’ve indulged in the pleasure of hanging out on the patio at tiny Lola Pub in Kensington Market for a few hours while the artistic and often quirky gang who…
Kyp Harness brings trenchant Folk to The Local tonight, Dora Friday \TO WEST/TO EAST\ As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been a fan of TO edgy-Folk songwriter Kyp Harness for about 20 years now, since first hearing him in the early 90s at the kickoff press conference for the very first North By Northeast Festival. (Too…
BBQ night with Shawn Brush is worth a road trip to Oakville \OAKVILLE\ Every Monday out in the sedate suburban wilds of the main drag of Oakville Ontario, local music fans with an appetite for both fine tunes and good grub eagerly anticipate going to Moonshine Café, located at 137 Kerr Street a couple of…
Did someone forget to tell me there’s a Roots festival on? \TORONTO\ Is there a Roots festival going on in TO today? Because as I peruse the listings for various TO clubs the lineup sure reads like one! And some performers have two shows in different venues, adding to the sense that there is a…
Fathead proclaims it’s ‘Fatter Than Ever’ with new album \TORONTO WEST\ After 22 years together and, with tonight’s official release of their latest disc, nine albums in their discography —two of which have won Juno awards as Blues Album Of The Year— you might think people may start to take TO Blues icons Fathead for…
With fellow ace talents on board, Cos could rule Monarchs tonight \TORONTO DOWNTOWN\ Like his bandmates —superstar guitarist with Blues/Tex-Rock icons MOXY Earl Johnson, and quirky but dominant Rock drummer paradigm Frank Russell— Blues songwriter, guitar teacher and achingly potent six-string electric Blus performer Frank Cosentino isn’t easy to write about in a few sentences.…
J.F. Findlay emerging from hibernation to do live recording \TORONTO EAST\ I last heard hugely talented and versatile John Fraser Findlay perform (or “J.F. Findlay” as I suggested he call himself —in part to avert a common confusion between this Juno-nominated multi-genre guitarist and singer John Finley of John & Lee & The Checkmates and…
JT holds official launch of ‘Tech Noir’ album at Horseshoe tonight \TORONTO DOWNTOWN\ I’ve already written about the newest recorded product released by eclectic and unpredictable songwriter Julian Taylor: his Dance/Funk/R&B album with his eponymous Julian Taylor Band. But while JT (as friends and fans fondly refer to the effervescent, charming and self-effacing mega-talent in…
A couple of good reasons to check out Two-Four Tuesdays \TORONTO WEST\ As I’ve mentioned many times before, I’m not a big fan of events being scheduled to run on alternate weeks or a couple of times a month, mostly because it’s so darn hard to keep track of when they actually happen. I have…
Monday is fun-day in Port Credit with two jams on short strip \PORT CREDIT\ With not one but two Monday jams happening within a couple hundred metres of one another, music lovers in Port Credit should be happy people indeed. While the more acoustically oriented open stage with Tom Barlow recently shifted location slightly…
No itch for change after 7 years of Rebecca’s jam at Southside \ETOBICOKE SOUTH\ It’s hard for me to believe that it’s been seven years since Southside Johnny’s owner John Theodore and I were discussing what to do about the Sunday night jam in the club at 3653 Lakeshore Blvd. West a bit east of…
With a large or small combo, James Clark Institute will spice up Relish \TORONTO EAST\ I had the delightful pleasure of catching the full 5-piece version of the band known as The James Clark Institute last week at cozy Dora Keogh on Danforth Ave. and while I’m not sure whether that full ensemble will be…
140718Fr Scarborough pizza joint lets Ratz run free –and nobody minds! \SCARBOROUGH\ Everyone who’s been there knows that Centro Pizza, at 3406 Kingston Rd. a little west of its junction with Eglinton Ave. in the Guildwood Park area of Scarborough, isn’t what you’d call a fancy restaurant. But do they realize the place, which serves…
Shoppers can now chill out to spicy Country-Pop of Kirsten Jones \TORONTO DOWNTOWN\ Many people, particularly working musicians, have noted that bars have become a very problematic staging ground for live music in recent years. Pay scales have plummeted while other factors (lack of proper stage set-ups, audiences hypnotized by goliath tvs showing sports, little…
140716We Dave Grunsky shows veteran savvy as host of new Wed. jam \TORONTO EAST\ A longtime veteran Rock-Blues guitar player who “hung up his strings” for many years until recently, Dave Grunsky is back in action and raring to play with a wide variety of fellow artists. Although he’s been a supporter of this publication…
Clela Errington will honestly delight you tonight at Relish \TORONTO EAST\ With a sweet, warm voice and disposition and a playful glint in her eye and lyrics, yet substance in her soul, Clela Errington is in many ways the very epitome of what we’ve come to think of as a 60’s Folk singer. Not that…
Signe Miranda gears up for western Canada book and music tour \TORONTO DOWNTOWN\ It wasn’t enough for spunky Pop songwriter Signe Miranda to have recorded a couple of albums of catchy original tunes with her Signe Miranda’s Veranda, to have founded both the Music City North promotions company (which she’s since left) and her extant…
Man of many hats MacArthur on stage at Whitby Ribfest \WHITBY\ A modern-day Renaissance man, Durham region songwriter, Country performer, karaoke host, bands promoter and booker, tournament-level 8-ball player, radio personality, would-be politician –and pet detective!— Rob MacArthur wears many hats. But this afternoon the former owner of the Puck ‘n’ Beaver club in Ajax,…
Michael Keith adds another star to Junction’s “house” band \TORONTO WEST\ For the past several years now veteran bass player Dave McManus has anchored The Junction City All-Stars band that has hosted jams and done showcase nights in a variety of venues in the funky little part of the city centred around Keele and Dundas…
A different kind of Murphy’s Law in effect at Southside Johnny’s tonight \ETOBICOKE\ Most people are familiar with the axiom known as “Murphy’s Law”, which states: “If something can go wrong it will go wrong.” Regulars at Southside Johnny’s may think they’re already familiar with that catechism after seeing the operating style of a…
New-fashioned variety show at Velvet Underground tonight \TORONTO DOWNTOWN\ His rhymes are inventive, his vision’s attentive; to respect BVD you got lots of incentive. But just in case you’re not already a fan of Soul Rapper Bryan Van Dusen and his pithy, catchy and often brilliant improvised rhymes, he’ll have plenty of musical company to…
