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Sting

The Buzz Also Waltzes: Nov. 22-28

Posted by admin in  The Buzz  on  November 22, 2011

PERFORMANCES
Classic Albums Live, The Band: The Last Waltz (Friday): If you haven’t yet had the chance to see a Classic Albums Live show, what a fantastic time to start! Classic Albums Live presents albums, “note-for-note, cut-for-cut” live, each show with a fantastic hand-crafted band for that recording. This Friday brings to Massey Hall an aural re-creation of The Band’s epic concert recording (and film) masterpiece, The Last Waltz, on the evening of the original event’s 35th anniversary.

Justin Rutledge (Friday): We’re delighted that one Justin Rutledge will appear on the Glenn Gould Studio stage this Friday night and you should be too: his latest album, The Early Widows, was produced by Hawksley Workman and one of the tracks was co-written by canonized Can-lit icon Michael Ondaatje. For a complete Justin Rutledge-themed evening, check out CBC Radio 3 to try your hand at Mr. Rutledge’s Pear and Gorgonzola Linguine recipe. Saturday Saints start the night as Special Guests – you can check out their MySpace page here.

Women’s Blues Revue (Saturday): This weekend also brings to Massey Hall the Toronto Blues Society’s 25th annual Women’s Blues Revue. As usual, the performers on the bill are top notch – this year the show features Shakura S’Aida, Suzie Vinnick, Kat Danser, Ada Lee, Emma-Lee, and Treasa Levasseur. The Women’s Blues Revue Band backs the evening and includes, among other talented folk, Brandi Disterheft, who also performs solo at Glenn Gould Studio this February. Can’t wait until Saturday? Watch Ada Lee discuss why she is looking forward to the event, here – and check the live recording from last year’s event over on CBC Concerts on Demand.

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Sting, Joan Baez, Sarah Slean, Noel Gallagher in The Buzz: Nov. 1-7

Posted by Stefania Paterak in  The Buzz  on  November 1, 2011

One of the very cool things about being in the Halls’ Programming Department is a constant immersion in music and this week is definitely no exception: it’s the annual CAPACOA (Canadian Arts Presenting Association) conference and this year, it takes place in Toronto. Later this week, we have the opportunity to see all sorts of good stuff on stage and the reason I am telling you this is because some of these events are open to the public so you too can check out some really special showcases and concerts. This Friday, at the intimate Glenn Gould Studio, you can partake in For a Living Planet – featuring 54.40, Jully Black, and Hawksley Workman with net proceeds from the tickets going to the WWF. On Saturday at Glenn Gould Studio, Jazz Festivals Canada presents curated a showcase called Urban Jazz Landscape, which features three bands from across the country: Kyle Brenders Quartet, Parc X Trio, and Gordon Grdina Trio (and as you well know by now, Jazz performed at Glenn Gould Studio is pretty fantastic). Saturday also brings you the opportunity to check out Sarah Slean in concert over at the Winter Garden Theatre (check out the video embedded above to see Sarah recording her new album Land & Sea with producer, Joel Plaskett).

PERFORMANCES
Sting: Back to Bass (Tonight-Tuesday and Wednesday): Sting hits Massey Hall for two nights in a tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of his solo career. Sting recently played in Washington DC to a fantastic review from the Washington Post so we’re pretty excited to see him here in the t-dot. From the Washington Post: “His voice shows no signs of aging, either. He stretched out the vocal cords whenever he asked his backup quintet to travel back to his vintage Police blotter: “Demolition Man” and “Next to You” were harder, faster and louder than ever. “Every Breath You Take,” a piece of pop brilliance released in 1983, has aged as invisibly as its singer.”

Joan Baez (Wednesday): It is indeed a week of legends at the Halls and Joan Baez is certainly no exception. She toured and performed with Bob Dylan (some say to this day no one could harmonize with him like she could), performed at Dr. Martin Luther King’s March on Washington, and helped establish Amnesty International (to name just a few significant milestones). Her music, beautiful and moving, is just one of the ways she strives to make a difference and we can’t wait to hear her live at Roy Thomson Hall this Wednesday at 9pm.

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City & Colour, Sting, and Waging Heavy Peace
in The Buzz: Sept 27-Oct 3

Posted by Stefania Paterak in  The Buzz  on  September 27, 2011

JUST ANNOUNCED

We’ve just announced that City & Colour will be returning to Massey Hall this winter. By now you know that Dallas Green has officially left Alexisonfire to focus on all things City & Colour so we assume that this can only mean good things for the February 10 Massey Hall show. Tickets for the event go on sale to FriendsFirst members on Thursday and to the general public on Friday. For details on the full tour (as well as on limited edition tour merchandise), check out Exclaim. Above, you can watch a recent video of Dallas Green, of the group, performing an acoustic version of “Fragile Bird” at CFOX in Vancouver.

And great news for Sting fans – we’ve announced a second date of his Back to Bass tour at Massey Hall this November. For a really excellent profile and interview with Sting, check out this article from The Guardian.

PERFORMANCES

Canada’s Walk of Fame Festival (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday): Canada’s Walk of Fame Festival takes Massey Hall by storm this weekend with performances from Burton Cummings, Chantal Kreviazuk (with Symphony Orchestra and special guest Raine Maida), K’naan (with very special guest Bedouin Soundclash), and Comedy Night in Canada featuring Jessica Holmes, Carla Collins, Jon Dore and more. If that’s not enough to get your Canuck groove going, the Festival has a tonne of programming next door to our own Roy Thomson Hall in David Pecault Square including movies and music featuring a set from Lindi Ortega (who opened for Doug Paisley at the Rivoli in June). You can check out the full list of performances and events here. This year the Walk of Fame will welcome inductees Dr. Roberta Bondar, Burton Cummings, Daniel Nestor, Sandra Oh, Russell Peters, and Mordecai Richler.

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Laila Biali on Sting, NYC and Life as a Touring Mother-To-Be

Posted by Soundboard in  The Shows  on  February 22, 2010

Backstage at The Today Show with Jo Lawry and Lisa Fischer, Sting Promo Tour in 2009

Backstage at The Today Show with Jo Lawry, Lisa Fischer and Liali BIali, Sting Promo Tour in 2009

After two years of intermittently touring with New York based artists Paula Cole and Suzanne Vega, I figured an official move to NYC was imminent. In 2008, I was issued a study grant by the Canada Council for the Arts that finally brought me here, leading to what I now like to call my own “Tale of Two Cities” – Toronto and NYC.

After about a year of toughing it out in the Big City, I figured it might be time to resume full-time life and work back in Toronto. Then Sting called. Well, okay, it wasn’t actually Sting who called, it was one of his singers, Lisa Fischer, and later his producer, Robert Sadin. With a day’s notice, I was asked to show up at the famous midtown Clinton Studios, (where Ol’ Blue Eyes (Sinatra) once recorded many moons ago), to audition for a spot on Sting’s next DVD release, “A Winter’s Night: Live from Durham Cathedral.” After a few sessions with various other hopeful crooners, I got the email:

The first line read, “Sting would like to invite you to participate…” I didn’t even finish reading the first line before literally leaping off my stool and dancing around my tiny Brooklyn apartment, screaming with delight and near hysteria. Clichés aside, this was a dream come true.

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