Thursday, June 13, 2013 Authentic: Young Rival’s Journey Through Canada – 6:45pm @ Bloor Hot Docs Cinema We don’t often cover films at music festivals, but last year I really enjoyed watching Ages & Stages: The Story of The Meligrove Band. Last Frame Pictures directed and produced that documentary and when I heard they had […]

Thursday, March 21, 2013 Hunger Hush – 7pm @ The Central Getting an early start to the night was Calgary’s Hunger Hush. A younger band comprised of Steve Wirzba (vocals, guitar), Alastair Pollock (keys, trumpet, vocals), Andrew Smale (bass) and Ben Tan (drums), their sweet-sounding indie rock and bubbly pop hooks provided a cheerful dancey […]

Band: Wildlife Album: …On The Heart Written by: Chiara DiAngelo Toronto rockers Wildlife holed themselves up in New York and Connecticut to record their second record …On The Heart. A concept album of sorts, it is self-described as “a love letter and tribute to the heart itself.” The album is introduced with shadowy and echoey […]

When I sat down with Wildlife (4 of the 5 members), they were preparing for a packed show at the Horseshoe Tavern that involved dazzling (and maybe a little blinding) lights, smoke machines and flying sharks. While I had seen Wildlife a handful times already at this point, this was the first time I had […]

Date of show: May 11, 2012 Shot of choice: whiskey Written by: Chiara DiAngelo With a line-up of four testosterone-filled bands, this past Saturday night at the Horseshoe just might go down in history as one of the sweatiest bro-fests this city has experienced. Headliners Wildlife took the stage to eager anticipation from the jammed […]

Saturday, March 24, 2012 The Jefferson – 1:10PM @ El Mocambo Upstairs (Aussie BBQ) Determined to fit The Jefferson into my schedule, I started Saturday bright and early at the El Mocambo for the Aussie BBQ. Kicking the afternoon off, the crowd was a bit lacking at this early hour, but this didn’t prevent them […]

Thursday, March 22, 2012 Reversing Falls – 8:00PM @ Silver Dollar (NeXT & The Untold City) While previously playing along to a drum machine, Reversing Falls recently added a drummer, with Jamie Thompson (formerly of Unicorns/Islands) playing his first show with them on Thursday night. They launched right into the boisterous “This Is Why We […]

S.C.E.N.E. Music Festival takes over downtown St. Catharines for a day every June. On June 28th, we had the privilege of attending and enjoying all the amazing music. It’s quite a spectacle, with music lovers of all ages roaming the streets moving from venue to venue. While there seems to be a specific focus on […]

Date of show: May 26, 2011 Shot of choice: Jager Topanga’s music is full of a boozy energy that makes for a lively, crowd-pleasing set. This local 4-piece is comprised of Stefan Babcock (vocals, guitar), Nestor Chumak (bass, vocals), Steve Sladkowski (guitar, vocals) and Zack Mykula (drums). For the most part, their songs are quick […]

Date of show: April 14, 2011 Unsurprisingly, Young Rival packed The Dakota Tavern – in fact, the venue was at capacity with latecomers being turned away at the door. They haven’t played in Toronto since the fall and the band has just hit the one-year anniversary of their self-titled debut album. Certainly a reason to […]