We're thrilled to present a guest Wavelog post by dear friend of Wavelength, Joe Strutt of the essential Toronto music blog Mechanical Forest Sound. Take it away, Joe....

While planning is underway for the annual ALL CAPS! Island Festival spectacular (Aug. 11 + 12), things are a bit quieter from our friends at Wavelength. (Although, to be sure, I'm hearing good things about the soon-to-be-announced show on July 27.) Just to make sure you're keeping busy in the meantime, I thought I'd offer up some live music suggestions to help keep you busy in the meanwhile. This isn't meant to be a comprehensive list, but it is all stuff that I am willing to vouch for. Where possible, I've posted some links to my past live recordings so you can get a hint of what you might be in for. You can keep up on the aftermath of these shows over at my blog.

1) Head to the Island

Poor Pilgrim Island Show 5
Toronto Island. Sunday, July 5. PWYC.

While you're twitchily anticipating ALL CAPS!, you can take a practice run on the ferry for the return of the Island's "original portable show". Curated by Matt Cully (Bruce Peninsula, Eons) is a DIY peripatetic paradise, with bands playing sets in various beaches and meadows. This is a true gem of a day: grab a map and let it unfold like a musical treasure hunt. This year's lineup includes The Weather Station / Man Made Hill / Absolutely Free / Doug Tielli / Kith and Kin / Fiver / Army Girls.

Festival Action

If you want something at the other end of the spectacle scale, don't forget that the city's biggest festivals include a music component, too.

Toronto Pride is already underway, but it's the closing weekend that gets the most fabulous. There are several stages scattered throughout the festival, and if you want to get your dance on you'll be well served. After checking out Divinesque (Sunday, 2:30 p.m. on the, um, Viagra Village stage, and not to be missed), there's quite a few interesting names throughout the weekend: Rae Spoon (Saturday, 7 p.m., North Stage), Betty Burke's Maggie MacDonald (Saturday, 8 p.m., Paul Kane Parkette), the 88 Days of Fortune showcase (Sunday, 3:40 p.m., Wellesley Stage) and, um, "Corey Hart’s first concert in Canada in over a decade!" (Saturday, 8:30 p.m., Bud Lite Stage) where you can try and be the first person to interrupt his new single by shouting for "Boy in the Box".

Wavelength fans should pay special attention to Sunday's Alterna-Queer stage in Alexandra Park (beside Buddies in Bad Times), which is always features an excellent vibe. Alumni include Diamond Rings and Austra's Katie Stelmanis, and this year's offerings include a 7:30 set from Kids on TV, one of the city's most entertaining live bands.

All this — and a chance to celebrate Canada Day at the Parade!
(And if you dig colourful costumes, parades and dancing, don't forget that Caribana is going down a month later — parade day is August 4 this year)

Afrofest

Woodbine Park, July 7 + 8. Free.

Another one of this city's best summer festivals takes place the following weekend. Moving east from its longstanding space at Queen's Park, Afrofest still promises two days of great grooves in a relaxed atmosphere. Whether you want to get up close and dance or just spread out a blanket and soak in the music, it's a really welcoming space and an excellent chance to explore something different.

The headliners include the reunited African Guitar Summit (Saturday) and Cameroonian makossa legend Sam Fan Thomas (Sunday) — but there's lots of amazing music spread through both days. This is always one of my favourite weekends of the summer.

Harbourfront Centre

The big stage at Harbourfront centre changes its corporate-sponsored name every few years, but it's long been a great summer destination and the source of many great memories. (Seriously: don't get me talking about all the shows I saw there in 2006, or you'll never hear the end of it.) Last year's programming was a little lacklustre, so it was exciting to see some more enticing names on tap for this year's free shows.

First up, and a returnee from that fabulous '06 is The Hidden Cameras, headlining the Canada Day festivities. A bigger stage means more pageantry and more dancing and this should be a big singalong party — and at the end, you'll be able to turn around and watch the fireworks over the lake.


There are themed festivals every weekend at Harbourfront, so dig around and you'll probably find something interesting. Food-lovers will find stuff worth going for for, but music-wise, I'll merely highlight two must-see shows from bands that might not make it back this way any time soon. Friday, July 13 sees a rare visit from Benin's Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou, who have been dispensing serious grooves since the late 60's, while the "Masters of Mali" concert includes a performance by songhaï blues master Sidi Touré.
(and if you want something more sedate down by the waterfront, check out the free series of shows down in the Music Garden — the night of cello music with Rufus Cappadocia (August 23) should be just transcendent.)

Street festivals, etc.

Meanwhile, summer is a time for exploring the city, and every weekend also sees a number of neighbourhood festivals. I always like an opportunity for wandering pedestrians to reclaim the streets, and these are generally give a good excuse to head out to some new neighbourhoods. Most of these feature live music, and it's a good chance to burst out of the bubble and see something completely different — and you never know when you'll randomly discover, say, an awesome prog-violin rock extravaganza.

Not so far off the beaten path, BIG on Bloor will be taking over Bloor Street from Dufferin to Lansdowne on July 21 and 22. They always have a couple stages going, so keep an eye out for their announcements.

Friends of WL

Back inside, some of the city's more reliable music presenters are keeping busy over the summer months. Burn Down the Capital is keeping busy with their regular Feast in the East series (the July 15 edition with Absolutely Free, Zacht Automaat and Tenderness looks amazing) and some other cool shows in cool spaces. And Batuki Music is still running their Africa Up Close series at the NOW Lounge on the first Friday of every month (next up is powerful vocalist Ruth Mathiang on July 6th) plus an upcoming night of music from Madagascar on July 17.

Residencies

July also sees a couple bands taking on weekly residencies. If you like your music abrasive, loud and improvised, Ghostlight's "Door of No Return" is the place to be. Every Wednesday they'll be bring out some amazing guest bands (including Karaoke, HVYWTR, Not The Wind, Not The Flag and Eucalyptus) and big-name guest DJ's. If you want something a little more pop-friendly, Papermaps will be curating Elvis Mondays at The Drake Underground alongside a series of guests.

(And if that doesn't take care of enough days of the week, don't forget that Wavelength's own Doc Pickles will be hosting Crosswires at The Garrison every Sunday night. They're taking Canada Day off, but there's a whole lot going down for the rest of the month.)

Casual drop-in places

And, just like all seasons, if you get just the unquenchable urge to see live music but don't know what do do, there are plenty options for low-key discovery, including the Tranzac (where a look at the calendar suggests there's been an uptick of bookings in the super-intimate Tiki Room, a great spot to discover new music up close — try Thom Gill and friends, Thu, July 5), the Holy Oak Café and improvisers' paradise Somewhere There.

All of that is just scratching the surface, of course. You probably know of a bunch of stuff that you should be telling me about. So let's get out there and see some stuff. With love and trust and shows — we're gonna build something this summer.