Gracing The Stage

(Ed. Note: I’ve fallen a bit behind on daily posts, due to the prep work for the launch parties. Yesterday’s planned post about the Rhubarb Festival should go up late tonight, and this post is just getting in under the wire. Busy busy busy! – Steve)

Ruby Coast at McMaster University's frosh week, Sept. '08.

Tonight’s a tough call for music. I suppose it depends on whether you’re more into the indie rock or comedy scenes, but either way, you’ll be tapping your toes, if not participating far more vigourously.

At the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern, there’s a triple bill of hot indie bands playing, including Montreal’s current spastic dance rock stars in the making, Winter Gloves; Toronto’s jazz and electro party outfit Everything All the Time; and headliners Ruby Coast. These Aurora and Newmarket kids, barely out of high school, were the first act signed to local star promoter Lauren Schreiber’s Shameless label; and like the rest of the bands on the bill, they play music expressly designed to get you moving.

Ruby Coast – Laugh at Alice

Winter Gloves – Let Me Drive

From the very young and fresh faced, to the decrepit and wrinkled; if you’re looking for a good time, seated, you can rely on The Williamson Playboys. They may rock, but Rufus, at least, isn’t getting out of his chair unassisted.

“the world’s oldest father and son Cajun music duo” will be performing tonight on a double bill with The Human Statues. If you were to ask either act if they were musical comedy, they would deny it categorically; there’s a “novelty” stigma attached to any act saddled with that description. But both the Statues and the Playboys have both musical chops, and impeccable comic timing. The Statues have been compared to Flight of the Conchords, and the Playboys… well, there just isn’t anyone like The Playboys. They’re the original deal, as their live show makes abundantly clear.

The Williamson Playboys promo (A little dated, but then, everything about the Playboys is…)

The Williamson Playboys

Ruby Coast, Winter Gloves, and Everything All the Time play the Horseshoe Tavern Thurs. Feb. 5th, 9:30pm, $5; The Human Statues and The Williamson Playboys play Clinton’s Tavern, same night and time, $10. Oh, the humanity…

Laura Barrett, sensibly dressed for the commute to tonight's Horseshoe gig (though the lady does need some mittens)

Old Man Winter is dumping on Toronto at the moment. For some people, the weather will guarantee they’re staying in and watching  American Idol’s karaoke warblers. If you’ve access to the TTC, though, or live in the downtown core, and actually care to see some true musical talent, there’s a triple bill of great Toronto musical artists at the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern this evening.

First on the bill, and starting at 9pm, is Laura Barrett. Consistently mentioned by Canadian music critics as an emerging and idiosyncratic national treasure, Barrett possesses the rare ability to lull a rock club into revered quiet with her glimmering soprano, and her dazzlingly complex compositions. Accompanied by members of The Bicycles for this show, Barrett will be playing her signature instrument, the “thumb piano”, or kalimba. But she’ll also be breaking out some of the keyboard-composed songs from her full length debut album “Victory Garden” (released by Paper Bag Records last fall) , like the carnival-esque, whirling tune “Chidiya“.

Laura Barrett – Chidiya

This will be Barrett’s last Toronto show in some time, as this weekend, she leaves our warm environs to go somewhere REALLY cold. She’ll be spending a month in the Yukon, at an artist’s residency in Dawson City, working on material for a new album.

(More about songstress Valery Gore, and Toronto’s “Jewish Legend” Josh Reichmann, including a terrific summer tune to blast away the winter blues, after the jump.) Read more…

This week’s update includes three new theatre premieres (“Lady in the Red Dress“, “Ubuntu“, and “Stranger“), A Sketchersons radio taping, a burlesque carnival, Chris Gibb’s “The Power of Ignorance“, and FREE or cheap shows by Oh No Forest Fires, The Schomberg Fair, Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains, and Hooded Fang.

Click the “more” tab to read the full week’s picks for theatre, comedy, film, and music! Read more…

There’s a whole bunch of options to see some fascinating music this evening in Toronto, and two of them are as cheap as you can get.

Timbre Timbre is playing a FREE in-store set at Soundscapes tonight at 7pm. I’m a huge fan of the Soundscapes in-store series; they have a history of inviting some of Toronto’s best indie acts, like Constantines, Gentleman Reg, Broken Social Scene, and many more, to squeeze into the back of the store and play for a crowd of savvy music fans (they’ve also had some terrific out of towners, like Gruff Rys of Super Furry Animals, Iron and Wine, and Of Montreal).

(Above, Andre Ethier playing Soundscapes among the CD stacks. More on tonight’s musical offerings after the break). Read more…