JUST ANNOUNCED
We’re super excited to let you know that Patrick Watson will play Massey Hall this December, hot on the heels of the release of their album Adventures In Your Own Backyard. Now Magazine calls the record a “sneaky surprise” and gives it 4 Ns, and Consequence of Sound remarks that the whole album has a “beautiful richness.” You can check out some of the new material for yourself by enjoying the utterly charming video for “Into Giants” available on the band’s website adventuresinyourownbackyard.com. Tickets for this concert are available to FriendsFirst members on Thursday and to the general public on Friday.
We’re also thrilled to advise you that Jesse Cook will be returning to Massey Hall this November. Can’t wait until then? Lucky for you, the good folks over at CBC Music captured some video from Mr. Cook’s home studio where he showcases a few songs for your viewing and listening pleasure. Tickets for this one are available to FriendsFirst members on Wednesday and to the general public on Friday.
PERFORMANCES
Sophie Milman (Friday): Sophie Milman returns to Massey Hall in what promises to be a triumphant performance after releasing of her latest album, In the Moonlight. Ms. Milman’s performance will be preceded by a set from the Robi Botos Trio which also promises greatness. Need proof? Check out this stellar review of their debut recording from Exclaim! (Kerry Doole calls the album “superb” and comments, “Botos has been termed the heir apparent to Oscar Peterson, and the combination of technical skill and soulful passion in his playing gives credibility to that claim.”)
Whoopi Goldberg (Friday): Whoopi Goldberg pays a visit to Roy Thomson Hall in a special engagement from Unique Lives & Experiences. I’m sure we don’t have to tell you that this star has a seriously accomplished CV including some shiny hardware: she’s won an Oscar, a Tony, an Emmy, a Grammy, and the Mark Twain Award for humour. You can catch her on The View, of course, and just this month she made a recurring guest appearance on Glee.
George Thorogood and The Destroyers (Saturday): The man and his band behind hits “Who Do You Love” and “Bad to the Bone” (check out the embedded video above) make their way back to Massey Hall for a show that should tear down the house this Saturday evening. Gordie Johnson hits the stage first with his new project “Sit Down, Servant!!”. For a description of the project, check out the bio here.
WEB WATCH
As you may be aware, the ScotiaBank Contact Photography Festival is currently taking place throughout the city of Toronto and we’re delighted to let you know about two exhibits in particular, both from photographer Peter MacCallum. Massey Hall / Guitar Stories opens this Thursday, May 31 at the Diaz Gallery and Yonge Street / Rue Du Faubourg Saint Denis is currently open at The Eric Arthur Gallery. From the Diaz Gallery’s site:
“MacCallum’s documentation of Massey Hall was part of a larger project in which he photographed the commercial architecture along Yonge Street. He was motivated by a desire to capture Massey Hall’s unique mixture of architectural styles, as well as the special intimacy that can be created there between performer and audience.”
MISSING LINKS
From the department of delightfully weird, Exclaim! is reporting on a new type of spider discovered and promptly named after none other than Lou Reed. A spider that one can only assume walks on the wild side (sorry – couldn’t resist), is apparently named after the music legend because critter is “a type of velvet spider that lives underground.”
And we’ve mentioned All Songs Considered’s intern-written column “You’ve Never Heard…” before but I simply must draw your attention to their latest listen (which is most definitely in the running for my fave album of all time): Simon and Garfunkel’s Bookends.
Stefania Paterak is Programming Associate at Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall
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