22 posts tagged “toronto”
Pretty sure I became an honourary lesbian last night.
Yup, I went to see The Gossip’s Toronto gig at the Opera House.
Surrounded by a crowd of music industry types, hawt plaid lesbians you would at first glance think were hawt hipster boys, actual hawt hipster boys and hot girls who could easily swing both ways with overprotective boyfriends who were also there to make sure THAT didn’t happen, I watched every.single.person. swoon in awe when singer Beth Ditto came out, looking like a hot and sassy red-haired Medusa, opening up the show with Dimestore Diamond.
From that moment on, it was near impossible not to be completely captivated with Beth’s larger-than-life stage presence and energy; that pipes on that girl! With a falsetto that could rival that of Mariah’s! and those utterly charming, ridiculously cute dance moves! I swooned along with my 700 other friends, just fascinated. When she wasn’t giving us all a show worth every penny, she was gushing about the city of Toronto, even at one point quipping up and comparing the crowd’s enthusiasm to that of the crowd she was in when Obama won. Hee hee. So cute!
And Tina Turner better watch it, because The Gossip’s cover of What’s Love Got To Do With It, was one of the best covers I have ever heard a band do! And trust, I’ve seen a lot in my time. As if the whole show wasn’t memorable enough, I couldn’t help but fall.in.love when during the band’s performance of Four Letter Word, all you could see was a sea of people mimicking Beth’s dosey doish dance moves exactly in unison. Effin’ adorable! Finishing off the set with Heavy Crosses, The Gossip (with Bruce Paine on guitar and Hannah Billie on durms) knew exactly what the crowd wanted and delivered an encore out of this world with the aforementioned Tina Turner cover.
And before the show was actually, fully and completely over, Beth, a gay rights advocate made a little spiel about reclaiming queer art and lead the crowd in a sing along of Queen’s ‘We Are the Champions’. Again. So cute! Le sigh.
Needless to say, Beth Ditto, has just joined the ranks of Emily Haines and Scarlett Johansson on my totally girl-crushing worthy list.
xo xo
Ang
OMG you guys!
HUGE NEWS! I got the following email the other day:
"AGAINST THE GRAIN and RMS Concerts are starting a new company in
2010 and we want your help with choosing our new business name!
Think MUSIC, art, alternative, indie, new wave, cool but not retro, etc
If your name inspires us or is chosen you will win ONE YEAR OF FREE
CONCERT TICKETS (+ 1) to all ATG, RMS, H-Shoe Tavern, & Lees Palace
shows (non-transferable).
Please send your submissions to shows@atgconcerts.com with "BUSINESS NAME" in the subject line.
Thanks and Good Luck!
http://www.atgconcerts.com
http://www.rootmeansquare.ca "
um..hello, is this not the best contest ever or what?! getting into only the BEST SHOWS EVER in the city for a whole bloody year! My brain has been working overtime, but the only thing I'm coming up with, because I'm totally stuck on relating it back to Against the Grain is Harvest Moon....
bad, right?! Unless, of course, I can somehow become besties with Neil Young, send him on down to the ATG crew...maybe convince him to play a gig or ten at the Shoe, 'inspire' the gang, and ta da!..free shows for me for life!
umm...right. back to the drawing board it is for me, then!
if you think this contest is just as ridiculously amazing as I, then please DON'T send in your ideas. what are the odds of YOU winning?! seriously.
HOWEVER, if you're the most brilliant idea comer-upper ever and hate live music with a passion, please feel free to send in your suggestions to ME. I'll know exactly what to do with them :)
xoxo
Ang
Saturday, September 12, 2009
The Burroughs Building (Queen West and Bathurst)
My apologies for the delay in posting this, but I spent most of yesterday projectile vomiting into my kitchen sink (it’s closer to the couch than my bathroom is, and a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do). So here it goes.
The annual Holt Renfrew party during the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is one of the most anticipated social events of the year. And TBS was, well, there. This year the party moved from the store’s Yonge/Bloor location to a loft at Queen West and Bathurst. After climbing 6 flights of stairs to the party (god bless my flats and my discovery of an elevator later on) I found myself in a superpacked and overheated loft space full of extremely well-dressed and beautiful people, all clamoring around the sexy bartenders pouring specialty grey goose martinis (hereto for known as my downfall).
So, the free grey goose martinis were flowing, and the music was pumping care of The Stills followed by uber-cutie Alexa Chung on the DJ stage. What wasn’t pumping, however, was the air conditioning. Total sweat shop, but it did cool down later in the night as people began to trickle out. I enjoyed (several stomach coating, in theory) tasty hors d’oeuvres and even posed for some pics (almost wet myself laughing when the photographer requested that my two photo-mates and I ditch our wine glasses as they looked, quote, "cheap". Or maybe he meant that we looked cheap holding them. That's probably it).
Who was there: Various Degrassi cast members including Miriam McDonald (Emma Nelson), Lauren Collins (Paige Michalchuk), Adam Ruggiero (Marco Del Rossi), and more. CBC super-hottie George Stroumboulopoulos, Canadian supermodel Coco Rocha (stunning and so, so tall in a Greta Constantine that stirred up a little controversy), MTV Aftershow hosts Jessi Cruickshank (WORSHIP HER!) and Dan Levy (who we spotted in what appeared to be a minor lover’s quarrel in the stairwell around 1 a.m.), MuchMusic VJ Sarah Taylor, Canadian Idol/ETalk host Ben Mulroney, was that Kat Dennings of Nick & Norah fame? (who we glimpsed being escorted up to the VIP rooftop), red-headed Canadian stunner Rachelle Lefevre (from Twilight and Twilight: New Moon) the aforementioned Alexa Chung (so teeny tiny and I hear that her boyfriend, Arctic Monkeys singer Alex Turner, was denied access to the VIP section). Also in attendance were a a mix of minor socialites, Queen West hipsters, fashion types (including Greta Konstantine designers Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong and owner of the popular Queen West store 69 vintage - the lovely Kealan Sullivan –who gave me one of those oh-so-Euro two cheek kisses), photojournalists, members of the Weston clan, 30-something men who resembled Gerard Butler, and lots and lots of dyed blonde haute couture ladies.
Who was there but shouldn’t have been: a certain mega-annoying MTV Canada Aftershow ‘friend’ who shares the same name as a certain Ivy League School in the US (and it ain't Harvard or Princeton). How this girl gets invited to ANYTHING is a complete mystery to me. I’m actually surprised she was even able to find the party, since she spends so much time with her head up her own ass. Also, I hear she threw a hissy fit when she was less-than-thrilled with the parting gift she received upon leaving . She even had the nerve to toss the gift box onto the street. Um bitch, check yourself: You should be happy that you were even allowed in the door.
Who wasn’t there: Clive Owen. Turns out, he spent the night at the Grey Goose Soho House party on the unused lower platform of Bay Subway Station. And I hear he was quite fond of the drink. Something we have in common, clearly.
Another quick note on Coco Rocha: she was at the party to promote Vignettes, a series of short films co-starring Rocha and her BFF Behati Prinsloo. It was playing on a loop on two screens set up around the party.
So that’s all for now, lovely and loyal readers. Party on.
XOXO
Blair
or as we like to call it around here, official stalker fest 2009. you best believe the following is a list of celebs my lil' 'researching' talents will be working overtime to 'bump' into (here’s looking at you Brad Pitt/circa 2005/ OneXOne Gala), follow (sorry about that Tove Christensen/circa 2004/Shattered Glass Premiere), become best buds with (oh hi there Lance Bass and Amazing Race Riechen/2006/Sienna Miller TIFF party), all with the tricky issue of getting around the restraining orders and such:
David Duchovny: OMFG. CALIFORNICATION. need I really say more?! need I?! currently signing myself up (and begging and pleading and paying THEM) to become an escort. because you just KNOW he'll be calling in them troops!
Adam Brody: because i feel like we're kindred spirits, intertwined in this whole rachel bilson/hayden christensen fiasco. he dated Rachel. I wanted to date Hayden..but like DESPERATELY, so I feel that legitimizes the whole situation. so really, we both go screwed over by two people that are now engaged. you and me, adam brody. cut.from.the.same.cloth.
Cilian Murphy: um. he used to be a musician. he has an irish accent. he's beautiful. moving on.
Drew Barrymore: cause she's not effing around with Ed Westwick anymore. So I'm back to liking her. AND she's dating Justin Long. Who's best friends with Scott Speedman...who this one time, at a TIFF party, recognized me (hand to god!) from a few days earlier and uttered the following "hey you! is this where the party's at?!" followed by a 100 mega-watt smile and I.wet.myself.
George Clooney: cause he's the fug girls' intern. duh!
Jay Baruchel: not gonna lie. have had a crush on him since Popular Mechanics for Kids.
Rob Lowe: um hello, dreamboat! who hasn't at one point in their life quivered over this guy? tell me who?!
Natalie Portman: if life was fair, she'd be my best friend forever and ever and ever. and it would have solved sooo many issues with this whole Hayden Christensen fiasco, cause rachel bilson wouldn't be engaged to him. it'd be me. and I would have been hanging out on that set of Star Wars all the time. legally. and that whole awkward restraining order thing...well, it just wouldn't have been an issue..
Dominic Cooper: god, if only to talk some sense into him; he should be so lucky to date Amanda Seyfried... and to stop it with this hooking up with that whorey-looking chick from the play he's currently acting in, whose name i'm too lazy to look up. Then again, he did, according to wiki, 'break-up' with his girlfriend of 13 years to date Amanda. Gawd. what a man-slut.
Tilda Swinton: again, if life was actually fair, she'd be my kooky aunt cause she's AWESOME. and we'd swap clothes and such and talk about Leonardo DiCaprio.
Tom Ford: Can I please just work for this dude? PLEASE?!
Snoop Dogg: I just feel like we'd be super awesome party pals, you know? Like all about the Cristal and them bitches and hos.
Oprah Winfrey: OMFG?! THE MIGHT OPES?! ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME?! OPRAH WINFREY COMING TO TIFF?! This better not be a typo and if she's effin' filming her show here, if I don't get in, I will MURDER. :) for further reading on my I NEED this, please read here, here and here.
...so um..yeah, that's it. a lil' excited..no biggie, ya'll...
Oprah, call me!
xo xo Angela
Time-wise i mean.... but i didn't realize how far ahead till this past Monday. Apparently monday here is toronto's Thursday for the university crowd.
I'm presently staying in a house that has four girls who pay rent, the guy who doesn't pay rent but does household chores and fixes stuff and stays AT the week-ends (pronounced week-end, two seperate words), my boyfriend and i, another couple (also homeless and unemployed like us), a big dog, and tiny little cat who reminds me of my soda... so that's 9 people and 2 animals, one shower and one toilet - in different rooms.
on monday night there was double that in the house and no toilet roll (british for toilet paper). what was the occasion you ask? nothing, it was just a monday night. everyone got dolled up and pre-drank till about 10:30 when we stumbled to the local for a drink - because you have to be in the bar by 11 PM!! so we had one in there and then stumbled into town to a place called Bacchus. First off, i was put off by the big bouncers, then, THEN i got ID'd - drinking age is 18 here!!! c'mon folks, do i look that young??? before you get to the door it reaks of public washroom stank, and at the bottom of the rickety stairs there's a girl charging cover!! on a monday night??? dude. the cover was only 3 pounds which is close to $6 CDN. Good thing the music was good and i had enough cheap booze to drink earlier! There was dancing and spilled beer galore! Lots of creepy boys hitting on anything with boobs, you know a thursday on King St.
The boy and i had the good sense to leave early - around 1 AM. the others... didn't have that good sense and didn't manage to get to bed till after 6 am!!
the next morning was quite amusing.... the employed girl in the house was already 2 hours late for work... and couldn't even climb the stairs to brush her teeth.
so if this sounds like your thursday night.... in the UK that's monday!
happy drinking y'all.
M
Hmmm…where do I even begin?...
Perhaps at the very beginning?...
It was a cooooold and snowy January 31st, 2004 to be precise (hello, the night of Justin Timberlake’s birthday..how could I ever forget that?!) and it had totally seemed like a purse emporium of musical caliber had just exploded onto Queen Street.
Danny Michel was just coming off his 4th sold out night at the Rivoli, and since Kelly and I couldn’t get tickets, we decided to check out a little known band open up for The Trews at the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern. After being completely blown away by the head-banded lead singer, that night had sealed the deal; Bedouin Soundclash had just made our list of band we’d always love.
That night after the show, as we walked out of the Shoe - onto what I can only imagine New Orleans looks like during Mardi Gras… except with layers upon layers of clothing and without the beads - while waiting to hail one seemingly imaginary cab, we stumbled upon a bunch of charming boys waiting to do the exact same.
After some quick introductions and some hilarious chit-chats, one of the dudes informed us he was in a band, proceeded to the NOW magazine box, turned to insert page number here and showed us an article with the following photo:
We promised to check out an upcoming show, which happened to be the start of their El Mocambo residency and from the first show on, we were completely hooked! The Parkas kicked bum! And each and every time they’d do a Toronto show, we’d always try to go out and support.
Which is why their final performance this past weekend, almost five and a half years after we first saw them perform, was a totally nostalgic walk down memory lane.
The boys (consisting of Mike Brown on vocals and guitar, Greg Rhyno on drums, Mark Rhyno on bass and keyboards and Paul Thompson on guitar) ripped through a pure awesome set that lasted two hours and made you wishing it would just keep going on!
And that’s not to see they were flawless; from a broken guitar string to some PA issues, it just kept the show real, yo, and gave way for Mark Rhyno (funniest person in the history of life) to come up with some freakin’ hilarious banter!
Some highlights (other then the whole freakin’ show) included the boys’ performance of “Don’t Say No”, featured on their upcoming album You Should Have Killed Us When You Had the Chance,“ Put Your Head In The Lion's Mouth "Margaret Atwood” (even though the author freaks the heck out of me and anybody ever notice the temperatures drop to below zero when you’re in the room with her?...just me?) “Darling the WOOOOOOOOLVES” off of the Scars to Prove It EP and of course, of course, since I saved the best for last, the last two performances of two of the most awesome songs ever written (like seriously, seriously!) off of one of my favourite records ever: Now This is Fighting; “Every Light Is Red” and the song that I hope the Parkas reunite for and sing to me when I’m convicted of some crime, like stealing gummy bears or something, “My Life of Crime”.
Side note to one Young Paul Thompson; I know, I know… you weren’t around for the recording of Now This is Fighting, but the way you play those songs, especially My Life of Crime...rocking the sh*t out of it, up there..on the bar… over top…of people… ON…people…holy eff, there are no words to describe the charm and pure magic!
To end the set with those two songs was just such pure amazingness, that I’ll even forgive the non-performance of Wildlife Reservations ;) They captivated the whole audience and totally brought back some awesome memories, and all in the same breath, this reflection of sorts that if there’s bands like Nickelback making millions, how the eff are the Parkas not making bazillions?!
But I digress.
My hats off to you the Parkas; if you’re only half as good as at your day jobs (and I know that you are) as you are performers…
Until the next reunion show…don’t make me hit up a gummy bear store!
For more information on The Parkas, check out: www.theparkas.com
Hi Kittens,
the Dead Weather , Jack White's latest supergroup featuring his fine self on drums, The Kills' Alison Mosshart (holy girl crush!), Dean Fertita of Queens of the Stone Age and The Raconteurs' Jack Lawrence JUST announced (like an hour ago) a last-minute show at Toronto's horseshoe tavern TOMORROW June 13th.
Wristband policy is in effect, so check out Against The Grain's site for more info:
xo xo
Here we go again... by the time NEXT weekend is over, I'm pretty sure I'll have not one but TWO restraining orders to add to my beautiful framed collection of those lovely pieces of paper. I mean...what?!
but holy effer, folks! CHUCK BASS ANDDDDD ALEXANDER OVECHKIN will be in town presenting at this year's MMVAs.
seriously, kittens; this is too much hotness for me to handle! I've already reported about Ovechkin sorta kinda looking like the boy of my life here; though the original look AND act alike is in fact THE Chuckster. *swooooooon!* le siiiiiiigh! * omfgwhatdoesonewearwhenstalkingthelovesofherlife?!*
A full report of my 'running into them' to come in the next few weeks. And don't worry, I WILL be running into them; i already have half the city on alert to inform me of their whereabouts.Because trust, it will be entertaining.
Although for the sake of the Pittsburgh Penguins winning tonight, I already promised to stop lusting after Ovechkin's bones, so I promise you, Dear Pittsburgh Penguins, I won't go near that hotness if you win it for me tonight.
Damned if you lose, though...
xo xo
Ang
So I decided to check out Battala Rock Stars, a battle of the bands type competition, the other day. Must admit, was a bit hesitant at first for a few reasons…a. the reverb is a venue I try to avoid at all costs. it can get ridiculously hot in there, it’s aesthetics are a bit slit-you-wrist depressing and it usually smells like cat pee… and b. the last time I went to a battala rockstars showcase…the previous year…there was a band so atrocious that when they went on that muchmusic tv show disband, they were practically laughed off the stage for being so ridiculously bad…like BAD. list worst band ever. ever!
But alas… I was convinced to come give it another try and things had already started off promising when the first thing I heard upon getting to the venue was Vampire Weekend… Vampire Weekend? This was definitely not your cat-pee-smelling Reverb!
So after the pure bliss that is any Vampire Weekend song, Purr went on to rock the heck out of the venue! Loud electronica type music with a light show that could potentially cause seizures.
The group started off their first performance with an instrumental number donning a pair of white masks..very cool! They’re definitely a talented bunch and the girl drummer kicks some serious ass! Definitely worth checking out live; pretty freaking solid. When it came down to the judgement of the panel; Karen Bliss, Darrin Pfeiferr and Edwin, they all pretty much agreed with my thoughts.
Karen Bliss thought it was ‘amazing’
Edwin called the group ‘prodigy on acid’ and thought it was a great piece of work
Darrin Pfeiffer was ‘effin’ blown away’ and thought it was ‘really, really cool’
Kudos to Purr!
Next up was Bella Clava, but before I go on to talk about them, let’s talk about the host for a lil’ bit, shall we?The chickie was a bit dry and didn’t really bring anything to the table… Also, totally know this ain’t a fashion show..it’s a rock show for eff sakes!...but since *I* made an effort to look cute to even just come to the show, you better believe I’d look my darn cutest if I were hosting it…which is why I’m not so sure that wearing a pair of black modrobe looking pants, an I heart boys lots t-shirt and some black and white striped shirt underneath that makes you look like Wednesday Adams is the best hosting outfit…
I mean come on, we’ve all made bad fashion mistakes and heck, I even had a ‘I’m with the band’ t-shirt..but that was in 2002!
Moving on from the clothes, you would think hosting duties would involve introducing the next band, engaging the audience and some cute banter with the judges. There was none of that. In fact, up until the very last song…I had no idea who the next band was…just that it had a chickie vocalist playing the keyboards, dude in a cowboy hat and … a blowup doll?!
Yup.A blowup doll wearing a ski mask.
The band was also pretty good, completely different genre than Purr andt very reminiscent of Modernboys Moderngirls.They definitely needed a stylist, though. The girl vocalist and dude in cowboy hat looked great in their country chic outfits but the drummer and bassist looked a bit off…like the one half was totally appropriately dressed for their genre while the other half looked like they just stepped off a fubu ad. In fact, best dressed award goes to the blowup doll outfitted in a red mini dress. But nothing a pair of fitted jeans and t-shirts won’t fix.
I momentarily tuned out when I noticed the tv and the hotness that was cadence weapon on etalk..cadence weapon on e-talk! Note to self: check that sh*t out.
Tuned back just in time to hear the band introduce themselves and play their last song.
And this is where it kind of got icky for me…the judgment time.. because hello, if you’re going to sign up for a competition where a panel of judges..um..JUDGES you, don’t be all pissy and with attitude and talking back when the judges are actually being super complimentary but with some suggestions on how to improve.Seriously chickie, lose the ‘tude!
I wont bother writing about the judges’ suggestion because if the band doesn’t care on how to improve than why should we..but I will say that they were pretty solid and could be fantastic with the recommendations.
As the timing neared midnight and in fear of going all cindrella..or the fact that I was just really, really tired..i had to miss the last remaining band, surefire machine.
Really wish I had stayed around because the competition was quite solid and the bands I did see really brought it! Though with the judges doing an awesome job at critiquing, I’m sure I’ll see the band that deserved to go on the most in the Battala Rockstars finale August 22.
If youd like more info on Battala Rockstars, check out their myspace:
The entire band was seen grabbing a bazzilion drinks and a half at local watering hole Sweaty Bettys right after their Phoenix Concert Hall show in Toronto last night. Super fun boys; were totally into the mo-town tunes, singing and dancing along. Catch them next in Toronto during NXNE!
