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The Holiday Buzz: Dec. 21-Jan. 10

Posted by Stefania Paterak in  The Buzz  on  December 21, 2010

The Buzz is taking a wee holiday break next week but will be back on January 10. This week we’ve included our New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day festivities and made provisions for your stocking up on festive cheer in music form. And if we may suggest an idea for those of you still on the hunt for the perfect gift – consider the gift of live music. By sharing or providing an experience to enjoy live music, you’re creating long-lasting memories. From all of us at Soundboard, Happy Holidays!

PERFORMANCES

Bravissimo! (December 31 at Roy Thomson Hall): Enjoy Opera’s Greatest Hits this New Year’s Eve at Roy Thomson Hall with an international cast of brilliantly talented performers including Canada’s own Isabel Bayrakdarian and Richard Margison.

New Year’s Eve Comedy Extravaganza (December 31 at Massey Hall): Last week, we let you know the full line-up for this hilarious night of comedy and it’s a gathering of great comedic minds. Hosted by Geri Hall and starring Jon Dore, the night begins at 7:30pm which means that you can laugh yourself silly and still make it to your venue of choice to ring in the New Year at midnight.

Salute to Vienna (January 1 at Roy Thomson Hall): Now in its 16th year, the annual Salute to Vienna concert is a North American tradition inspired by the annual concert celebration on New Year’s Day in Vienna. Read all about the history of the tradition here and the performers here (including Orchestra, soloists, and dancers from the Ballet St. Polten).

WEB WATCH

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The “Go Crazy on You” Version of
the Buzz: Nov 2-8

Posted by Stefania Paterak in  The Buzz  on  November 2, 2010

JUST ANNOUNCED

For some, it was a scary Halloween weekend indeed – there was snow here in the t-dot, so much so that it took the twitterverse by storm (pun entirely intended, I couldn’t help myself) if only for a few moments. But winter is not so bad – here are two great examples of what to look forward to in the coming (cold) months.

“Comedy’s Lovable Queen of Mean,” Lisa Lampanelli will be taking the Massey Hall stage in January. Just last month, comic Lampanelli wed Jimmy Cannizzaro at the Friars Club – The New York Times had exclusive rights to the wedding story which you can read about here.

February brings with it an appearance at Massey Hall from Heart. The unfaltering sister-duo of Ann and Nancy Wilson have been performing as Heart, with great success, since the 1970s. They’ve recently released Red Velvet Car which shot to #10 on the Billboard Album Charts the week it was released and has received critical acclaim from Rolling Stone Magazine and the Los Angeles Times. With 22 top 40 hits and over 30 million albums sold since 1976’s Dreamboat Annie – this will be a concert not to be missed.

Tickets for both shows go on sale for FriendsFirst members tomorrow, Wednesday, November 3, and for the general public this Friday, November 5.

PERFORMANCES

Measha Brueggergosman (Wednesday): First thing’s first – hear what Roy Thomson Hall means to Measha Brueggergosman right from the source in this video log posted on Soundboard last week. Brueggergosman performs the songs from her Night and Dreams recording, live in recital alongside accompanist Justus Zeyen.

Conversations with Penn & Teller (Wednesday): This event promises to be pretty special – after all, it’s got “conversations” right in the title and Teller is usually a little on the quiet side (as in, he very rarely speaks in performance). Check out this Toronto Star article to learn about Penn’s “most-hated tricks of all time” and then for your Teller fix, read this Vanity Fair piece written by Teller himself about the importance of Houdini, “the Great Self-Liberator.”

Billy Connolly (Thursday, Friday, & Saturday): Billy Connolly triumphantly returns to Massey Hall for a trio of performances this week. Check out the CONTINUE READING >

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The Buzz: Sept. 28-Oct. 4

Posted by Stefania Paterak in  The Buzz  on  September 28, 2010

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pib8eYDSFEI

PERFORMANCES

The xx (Wednesday): This one is a hot ticket, friends. In fact, at the top of the month, The xx were honoured with the prestigious Barclaycard Mercury Prize. Now The xx are touring their debut album, for which they won the prize, across North America and it sounds like it will be their last tour for quite some time. Tickets to Wednesday’s show just not enough to satiate your need for all things xx-related? CultureMob recently wrote about the group and their auctioning off of their signature X lightboxes for charity. You can check it out for yourself on eBay.

YOU SHOULD KNOW

If you’ve been following us on Twitter (@soundboardTO), you may have seen the recent tweet about the time change for the Mayoral Arts Debate coming up tomorrow (Wednesday, September 29 – new schedule: Doors open at 5:00 pm and debate itself is from 6:00 to 7:30 pm). All of the leading mayoral candidates will be there and the event is moderated by John Tory. This municipal election is an important one and if you’re an artist, an arts worker, an arts supporter, or a fan of the arts in the T-dot – you’ll want to be well-advised of the candidates’ platform on arts in this city in advance of election day on October 25. Also worth checking out: ArtsVote has a great Councillor Report Card.

ACCOLADES

Just last Monday, the fifth annual Polaris Music Prize Gala took place in Toronto featuring performances by each of the ten shortlisted bands, of course, culminating in a grand jury emerging to crown Karkwa the winners of the 2010 award. You can watch the awards show over on Much Music.

Meanwhile, you may recall us having mentioned here on the Buzz NxEW’s 2nd annual Shadow Polaris Prize – a concurrent awarding process to the Polaris Prize (as the name would indicate) with the winner determined this time by reader vote (but once again decided solely on artistic merit and not on album sales). Congratulations go out to The Wooden Sky for taking home the virtual hardware on this one! The Wooden Sky is currently touring across Canada with Yukon Blonde and performs in Toronto on November 6 at Lee’s Palace.

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The Buzz: July 20-26

Posted by Stefania Paterak in  The Buzz  on  July 20, 2010

PERFORMANCES

Peter Frampton (Thursday): Frampton’s career properly took off in 1976 with his epic album Frampton Comes Alive! which features the songs we now know, love, and call classic – “Show Me the Way,” “Baby, I Love Your Way,” and “Do You Feel Like We Do” – and was the best selling album of all time (to that point). True Story: Peter Frampton began his musical journey with a Banjolele – a “banjo-shaped ukulele.” I wish I could say I made up this word but it’s totally legit – it’s pretty much the best word mash-up since liger. Also very cool: you can make your very own banjolele. While I would be surprised if Frampton cracks out ye olde banjolele on Thursday, I am certain that he will bring the awesome sounds that have made him the legend he is (legendary enough, in fact, to have appeared on both The Simpsons and Family Guy).

WEB WATCH

While it may seem like early days yet for the flurry of TIFF-related blog posts here on Soundboard, the delightful tidbits have started to drop from the TIFF office including this one: Score: A Hockey Musical will be the Opening Night Gala here at Roy Thomson Hall on September 9. You may recall us mentioning the film back in February when it was still in production. Cameos from musical artists include Hawksley Workman, John McDermott, and Nelly Furtado.

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The Buzz: April 13 – 19

Posted by Stefania Paterak in  The Buzz  on  April 13, 2010

Emilie-Claire Barlow

Emilie-Claire Barlow

PERFORMANCES

Emilie-Claire Barlow (Thursday and Friday): The charming and talented Emilie-Claire Barlow returns to Glenn Gould Studio for two nights of delightful jazz vocals. To get to know Emilie-Claire a little bit better, check out her website and blog (and be sure to let her know if you know where to buy quince this time of year or are in the market for a grand piano.)

Classic Albums Live Performs Pink Floyd: The Wall (Saturday): The name says it all: these folks are brilliant at performing uncannily realistic recreations of albums (classic ones), live. Last fall, Classic Albums Live brought us Abbey Road on its 40th birthday and now you have a chance to hear Pink Floyd, “Note for note. Cut for Cut. Brick by brick.” Whether you need one or not, prepare yourself for An Education

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Free Brooklyn Rider Download & Upcoming Toronto Show Details

Posted by Stephen McGrath in  The Shows  on  February 27, 2010

We are thrilled to pass along this free download (just right-click on this link and save) of  2nd Bounce  from Brooklyn Rider’s latest album, Dominant Curve.  The acclaimed Brooklyn-based string quartet perform live at Toronto’s Glenn Gould Studio this coming Tuesday, March 2 at 8 PM. Tickets are available at Roy Thomson Hall box office, online or at Glenn Gould Studio on March 2.

True boundary pushers, the members (also members of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble), perform a mix of classical, contemporary and original works that are at times aggressive, experimental and inspired. In addition to their collaborations with Yo-Yo Ma, they have worked with Philip Glass, Dimitry Yanov-Yanovsky among numerous others. True boundary pushers, they are quickly engaging a young (indie) audience to the classical genre. Here is how Jack Rabid from The Big Takeover recently described their music – “It’s grabbing, cunningly confrontational chamber music like a horror movie tragedy score. Its tones evoke danger, pity, fear, and empathy, the violins, viola, and cello sharp as knives twisting and slithering like snakes, or plucking furtively like burglars sneaking past a sleeping dog.”

They also performed a Tiny Desk Concert at NPR, check it out here to get a glimpse into what their live performance is like.

Tell us what you think!

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