Toronto Live! Club Hub Chronicles

Taking Jazz to the Streets

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:04:04 -0400

Although the 22nd Annual Beaches International Jazz Festival officially kicked off last weekend, the second “Streetfest” weekend is the favourite. Queen St E is shut down to traffic from Woodbine to Beach Avenue, and you’ll find music every step of the way.

Check out the web site and or print-off the full schedule (downloadable PDF).

The East End Rockabilly Riot - July 2010

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:59:05 -0400

Sleepy LaBeef headlined the latest East End Rockabilly Riot evening at Dominion on Queen just shy of his 75th birthday.

According to Wikipedia...
Sleepy LaBeef (born Thomas Paulsley LaBeff, July 20, 1935, Smackover, Arkansas) is an American rockabilly musician.
LaBeef stands 6' 7" tall and was given the nickname "Sleepy" from the appearance of his eyes. Born in Arkansas, he was raised on a melon farm and moved to Houston when he was 18. There, he sang gospel music on local radio and put together a bar band to play venues as well as radio programs such as the Houston Jamboree and Louisiana Hayride.
In the 1950s, as the rockabilly craze heated up, LaBeef began recording singles in the genre; his first, "I'm Through", was issued on Starday Records in 1957. In 1964, he moved to Nashville and moved to a more solidly country style, recording singles for Columbia Records. His first genuine hit was 1968's "Every Day", which peaked at #73 on the U.S. Billboard Country charts.[1] After moving to Plantation Records in 1969, he scored a second hit in 1971 with "Blackland Farmer", which charted at #67.[1] Around this time LaBeef also starred in the horror movie The Exotic Ones. LaBeef transferred to Sun Records in the 1970s and continued releasing albums and touring widely; his popularity flagged in America but rose in Europe.[2] The 1980s saw him sign to Rounder Records, where he released albums into the 1990s.

It was amazing to see this legend playing in our fair city in one of a series of great rockabilly events under the “Rockabilly Riot” umbrella.

Tennessee Voodoo Coupe opened the evening with a great set of rockabilly standards and rockabilly interpretations of some classic rockers originally recorded by the Ramones and Depeche Mode.

BC rockabilly favourite, Ronnie Hayward, was up next... singing his songs while playing the stand-up bass. The “most over-worked drummer in Toronto”, Cleave Anderson, played percussion and the Royal Crowns’ Danny Bartley was on guitar... allowing Ronnie to travel light!

An awesome evening overall for rockabilly fans. Check the Flix page for more clips from all three performers.

Polaris Prize Short-List for 2010

Tue, 6 Jul 2010 18:09:02 -0400

Every year a panel of at least 200 music critics and experts determine the finalists for the coveted Polaris Prize of $20,000.Prize of $20,000.

First, there are the 40 albums that make up the long-list. Then those are whittled down to 10 (the short-list). Those bands will play at the winners gala in September when the winner will be announced.

In the meantime, everyone should be adding these amazing albums to their collection. Find them on iTunes or use our Amazon search box in the right column to order your CDs.

Without further ado, there is the short-list of 10. Click on the band name to go to their MySpace page to listen to a few songs before deciding whether to buy.

THE BESNARD LAKES
The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night
(Montréal, QC)

OWEN PALLET
Heartland
(Toronto, ON)

BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE
Forgiveness Rock Record
(Toronto, ON)

RADIO RADIO
Belmundo Regal
(Grosse Coque, NS, Moncton, NB, Pointe-à-l’église, NS)

CARIBOU
Swim
(Dundas, ON)

THE SADIES
Darker Circles
(Toronto, ON)

KARKWA
Les Chemins De Verre
(Montréal, QC)

SHAD
TSOL
(London, ON)

DAN MANGAN
Nice, Nice, Very Nice
(Vancouver, BC)

TEGAN AND SARA
Sainthood
(Vancouver, BC & Montréal, QC)

SOME SHORT LIST FACTS:RADIO RADIO, IS ACADIAN.

A jury of 198 music journalists, broadcasters and bloggers from across Canada submitted their top five picks for best Canadian album released between June 1, 2009 and May 31, 2010. These picks were narrowed down to a Long List of 40 which was made public June 17, 2010. A Grand Jury of 11 members will be specially selected to convene and determine this year’s winner on location at the Polaris gala.
The gala is Monday, September 20th. It will be exclusively broadcast live to North America on SIRIUS Satellite Radio 86 and to the world on CBC Radio 3. The event will be at at CTV’s Concert Hall studios at Toronto’s Masonic Temple and will feature live performances by this year’s Short List nominees. It will be webcast live on MuchMusic.com and broadcast on MuchMusic, Saturday, Sept. 25th at 9 p.m. and midnight ET.

Pride Toronto 2010... June 25 - July 4

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 21:38:39 -0400

Officially Gay Pride Week in Toronto happens on the same dates as the TD Toronto Jazz Festival (see previous post). You can check out the 70 page 2010 Official Pride Guide online for all the details, but you might also want to find a hard-copy version somewhere. The guide is mostly advertising, so you’ll use up a lot of ink and paper printing it at home.

As in previous years there are many cultural and other events (including two parades), but we’ll just focus on the live music here.

There will be 10+ stages scattered around the downtown core with free live performances (July 2-4), including Queen’s Park, where Cyndi Lauper will headline Saturday, July 3 at 9pm. The stages are mostly outside, so plan ahead if it’s rainy.

A few stages will have shows Friday, July 2... but most of the action (with all stages open) will be on Saturday and Sunday (3rd and 4th).

Assorted pay-per-event shows happen throughout the 10-day extravaganza.

TD Toronto Jazz Festival

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:58:51 -0400

The TD Toronto Jazz Festival gets underway this Friday and continues through Sunday, July 4. If you’re a jazz fan this is the biggest event of its kind for the year.

Over 50 venues are involved... some inside, some outside; some free, some very expensive. In short something for everyone with a passion for jazz.

For a handy printable schedule which lists all shows by venue and dated, along with ticket prices, click here.