As anyone who lives near Toronto’s Queen West district is fully aware, the 2013 MuchMusic Video Awards just happened over the weekend, dramatically disrupting everyone’s lives for the sake of a giant teenager-baiting street party/live television event.
I’ve been to a number of these over the years in a professional capacity so I wrote about some of the best and worst MMVA performances for Huffington Post Music Canada.
You can read that list, highlighted by Lady Gaga‘s exploding boobies, by going here.
The latest edition of my Polaris People column is online over at the Polaris Music Prize website.
This week Polaris announced the 40 albums that made the 2013 Long List. It’s kinda a big deal, so this week’s Polaris People column was dedicated to reaction to that list.
Today the NXNE music festival properly begins and with it a million bands will descend on Toronto to perform.
I haven’t quite figured out how to fold time and space yet, so there are many conflicts, but here are the Best Bets — including the particularly exciting raunch double-shot of Blowfly and Mickey Avalon — I’m going to try to check out over the next five days.
For the first time in a long time I’ll be relatively untethered, so I’m also willing to deviate from this course if there’s bribery (hint).
Wednesday, June 12
10 p.m. Calexico @ Mod Club
10 p.m. Jane’s Party @ 1093 Queen St. W Unit 2
11 p.m. Devon Sproule + Mike O’Neill @ The Piston
12 a.m. Sunfields @ Monarch Tavern
7 p.m. By Divine Right @ St. James Gazebo
9 p.m. Blinker The Star @ Horseshoe Tavern
9 p.m. Psyche Tongues @ BLK Box
9:10 p.m. The National @ Yonge-Dundas Square
10 p.m. July Talk @ Mod Club
10 p.m. Mike O’Neill @ Great Hall
10 p.m. Shooting Guns @ The Hideout
10 p.m. UN @ Sneaky Dee’s
11 p.m. The Magic @ BLK Box
11 p.m. Red Mass @ Lee’s Palace
12 a.m. The Danks @ The Hideout
12 a.m. Nu Sensae @ The Shop/Parts & Labour
12 a.m. Sloan @ Great Hall
1 a.m. Blowfly @ Horseshoe Tavern
1 a.m. Gold & Youth @ BLK Box
Saturday, June 14
4 p.m. Blinker The Star @ Yonge-Dundas Square
8 p.m. Chains Of Love @ Danforth Music Hall
9 p.m. The Lytics @ Nocture
10 p.m. Antiheroes @ Wrongbar
10 p.m. Catl @ Horseshoe Tavern
11 p.m. White Lung @ Horseshoe Tavern
12 a.m. Tangiers @ The Garrison
1 a.m. Mickey Avalon @ Lee’s Palace
2 a.m. Silvergun & Spleen @ Painted Lady
2 a.m. Monster Voodoo Machine @ Bovine Sex Club
Risky Fuel 