\ TO WEST \ Musicians and their fans in the Junction area are calling on people to boycott performing at or patronizing longtime live music venue Axis Gallery & Grill after a band’s show was cancelled with no compensation upon their arrival at the bar last Saturday night. It’s the latest in a series of…
\ TO WEST \ It’s been a bumpy road over the past year for the weekly Wednesday Hump Night Blues show hosted by Dave McManus and George Baumann.and their Hump Night Blues Krewe combo. It was a year ago this month, after all, that the room where the pair had originally started it in 2015…
\ TO WEST \ With the dust barely settled from yet another stellar Dave McManus birthday show Saturday night, the godfather of Junction-area live music is seemingly trying to top himself tonight with a very special guest for his weekly “Hump Night Blues” series in the neighbourhood. Saturday saw acclaimed veteran Hamilton songwriter Paul Langille…
\ TO WEST \ The weekly Wednesday Hump Night Blues shows put on by Dave McManus, George Baumann & Cleave Anderson are back in action tonight after an hiatus of several months following the closure of On Cue Billiards in May. The event featuring the three veteran players (McManus on bass, Baumann on sax and…
\ TO CENTRAL \ Not everyone gets excited at the prospect of dressing up in costume and being in a room full of strangers in disguise, nor celebrating faux gore and chills. If you’re one of those who won’t be attending one of the plethora of Hallowe’en parties happening tonight but are still looking for…
\ TO CENTRAL \ As we told you a few weeks ago, the former owner of Upstairs @ Aquila, Jose Corniellis, is back in robust good health and has opened a new restaurant, Basso Pizzeria, downtown at 320 Queen St. East near Parliament that features superb live Blues acts every Friday night. Long-time readers will…
With not much fanfare but presumably high hopes, two new rooms enter the live music fray tonight, one in downtown TO and the other in Thornhill. The most exciting of the two is the downtown room, Basso Blues Room, located at 320 Queen St. E. a bit west of Parliament Street. The former owner of…
\ TO WEST \ Like many talented musicians we’ve written about in the past 25 years, Pop-Rock songwriter Alex Radeff has struggled over the years to keep his artistic drive alive while rumbling through low-paying day employment and dealing with a variety of life issues such as ill family members. But survive he has done…
\ TO WEST \ Tonight, sad to say, is the third-last installment of the popular weekly “Hump Night Blues” shows happening Wednesdays at a west TO billiard hall/music venue, as the property has been sold and the new owners want a clean slate to start their occupancy on June 1 we’re told. It’s been a…
\ TO WEST \ As is not in any way unusual for a Saturday, this afternoon and this evening in the Junction area and Roncesvalles strip adjoining it, once again a remarkably appealing menu of musical talents of diverse genres is on offer. Shows this afternoon include a hot young Roots-Rockabilly songwriter, Lucas Stagg, and…
For some reason Wednesdays have recently seen some new Blues events happening in TO’s central and west areas, and they’re featuring some major talents. For the past two years, of course, Wednesday evenings at Gate 403 on Roncesvalles Ave. have belonged to Juno-winning songwriter Julian Fauth since his return to action following a medical sabbatical…
\ TO WEST \ A rollicking annual winter social highlight of the musical community based in the Junction area of west Toronto, tonight’s “It’s All About Dave…Another Trip Around the Sun” birthday bash and pre-Mardi Gras party at The Cat on Dundas St. West features a pretty impressive lineup of talents. Put on each year…
\ TO WEST \ A regular weekly show that seems to have settled into a groove on the western edge of the Junction area of west TO, Hump Night Blues is a residency featuring veteran multi-genre talents Dave McManus and Cleave Anderson (bass and drums respectively) with a weekly guest. Taking place 8-10:30 at On…
SHOW LISTINGS for Wednesday, October 14, 2021 Listings are organized by area in which the shows occur and within each area field shows are listed chronologically. Listings preceded by an asterisk (*) are repeating weekly events. (Double asterisk indicates repeating event with different hosts/guest/etc.) Admission prices followed by a slash and minus (/-) after the…
\ TO WEST \ I was very glad that I was able to get out to West TO bar The Cat this past January to take in a stellar night of entertainment put together by Junction-area musical godfather Dave McManus. To celebrate his latest birthday the versatile veteran bass player, who’s been putting on live…
\ TORONTO WEST \ West-TO songwriter and uber-versatile multi-instrumentalist Michael Keith is no stranger to west-end lounge On Cue Billiards. Every Sunday in the months of March and April he was appearing as a feature act at the club. While that series seems to have run its course, at least for now, Keith, equally…
Special guests really are at three shows tonight \ OSHAWA / TO WEST / TO DOWNTOWN \ Keeping regular weekly shows fresh can be a challenge, but many jam and open stage hosts —and increasingly many artists who obtain residency gigs at clubs— are doing just that by utilizing the “special guest” gimmick, with varied…
\ TORONTO WEST \ Although he hasn’t indicated exactly when it’s going to happen, it appears that veteran Junction-area Rock-Blues bassist Dave McManus will be moving to New Orleans in the near future. So his annual “It’s All About Dave!” birthday bash tonight may well double as send-off event for some attendees. Dave announced on…
Michael Keith adds another star to Junction’s “house” band \TORONTO WEST\ For the past several years now veteran bass player Dave McManus has anchored The Junction City All-Stars band that has hosted jams and done showcase nights in a variety of venues in the funky little part of the city centred around Keele and Dundas…
Just call it “Julian Fauth Day” in TO’s Junction area /TORONTO WEST/ I told you last month about the travails that Juno-winning Blues songwriter and piano player Julian Fauth has been through over the past couple of years. He lost seven months of work after breaking a hand before leaving for a major tour in…
