August

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Musical Citizen: September (and beyond) Edition

There's nothing wrong with the "usual" sort of show where you go to one darkened bar or another and see a band or three play. That's the meat and potatoes of rock'n'roll — but sometimes it's good to disrupt the patterns a bit and try something a little different. It sometimes feels a little awkward to go off the beaten path and try something a little out of your comfort zone, but that's really the only way to expand your horizons. But out of all the possibilities in this great big city: what to see? based on what I've been keeping an eye out for, here's a variety of things here that should be suitable for September Gurls and December Boys alike.

I can't promise I'll get this done exactly monthly, but hopefully there will be more of these dispatches to follow.

INTERsection: New Music Marathon and Musicircus in the Marketplace

Saturday, September 1, 2-10pm. Yonge-Dundas Square. Free + all-ages.

Ever since starting off a few years back as the New Music Marathon, this event has brought a day of eclectic + experimental music to the beating heart of the city's commercial strip. Mixing everything from abrasive noise (show up early to check out Roman Pilates!) to the sublime beauty of Canadian composer Ann Southam, the big attraction of the day is the Bang On a Can All-Stars, bona fide rock stars in the New Music scene. Besides their headlining set, they'll be joining the Contact ensemble for a performance of Terry Riley's wonderful minimalist classic "In C".

Pop and rock musicians have long been borrowing from the avant garde, and these days, it doesn't take as long as it took for, say, John Cage or Olivier Messiaen to filter down. Hell, just down the street right now you can hear Steve Kado being inspired by the Riley piece up above.

(For some more info on this event, you can also check out the fuller preview at my blog.)

[Alternate long weekend suggestion: If you want a different vibe, head over to Ward's Island where Bruce Peninsula's Ivy Mairi is hosting the Island Café's Long Weekend Arts Festival, a PWYC, all-ages, family-friendly event running all weekend long, just steps from the Ward's Island ferry dock. I'm a fan of Tich Maredza Band's Zimbabwean roots-groove, playing Friday night. Also on tap: Dale Morningstar and much more on Saturday, and drop in on more Bruce Peninsula members on Sunday with an evening performance from Matt Cully's EONS and a reading by Misha Bower — plus a shadowplay by Merle Harley.]

Ethiopian Day Celebration

Saturday, September 8, 10am to 11pm. Christie Pits Park. Free + all-ages.

The Ethiopian New Year falls in September (welcome to 2005!), and the local community celebrates with a huge party at Christie Pits. There's lots of good food, natch, and music all over the place. Don't expect to just hear Éthiopiques-style classics — there's a lot of contemporary styles here, and pretty much everything is dance-friendly. Head over to the karaoke booth and hear the head-spinning autotuned synth grooves of the latest hits or join the crowd at the big stage for some classic anthems. It's a welcoming atmosphere where you can find families in their Sunday best and teenagers dressed to impress rubbing shoulders with old folks relaxing under the trees. Definitely one of those days where you'll be reminded why it's exciting to live in a city like Toronto.

[Alternate suggestion: If you'd rather party like it's 1999, head across the street to Sky Blue Sky Sandwiches, where the cut, paste + photocopy crew at Static Zine are promising a Big Day of Fun on September 8th. A daytime city-wide scavenger hunt will be followed by a Y2K dance party over at The Magpie.]

Toronto Bicycle Music Festival

September 15, 2012, Coronation Park to Christie Pits. PWYC, all-ages.

Now in its third year, the Bike Music Festival brings pedal-powered fun in a series of venues, working its way north from Coronation Park (across from the CNE gates) and even including a mobile performance from guerrilla MC Garbageface. There's also an impressive musical roster throughout the day, with the anarchic gypsy-punk Lemon Bucket Orchestra and Rae Spoon playing early, and a not-to-be-missed closing one-two punch of Gentleman Reg and Snowblink in Christie Pits. This is a daytime event, so you can come out for some fun before you're forced to choose what you want to see at the Pitter Patter Fest that night. And fear not, it's friendly towards the bikeless as well, with everything close enough to cover on foot.

Pitter Patter Fest 5

September 13-16, various venues + cities. All shows PWYC.

After taking a year off, Keith Hamilton's Pitter Patter Fest returns, sticking to its rigourous DIY roots. All shows are pay-what-you-can, and the festival is designed to give emerging bands a chance to get some exposure in a showcase format. With shows in Barrie, Peterborough, Oshawa and Sarnia, it also gives bands a chance to have a weekend mini-tour. (There are also shows taking place in Moncton and Halifax.)

In Toronto, there are three or four shows each night, enough to give a bit of a festival feel — you could go through the schedule and find some stuff to hop around to, or pick a band you know as your anchor and settle in and discover something new. Lots of bands to check out, including faves like Terror Lake, Persian Rugs, This Mess and Pants & Tie.

The Music Gallery / X Avant

There are lots of valid ways to experience music. Some times you want to dance, some times you just want to hang out. But some times, you really want to listen. The Music Gallery, located in the lovely acoustic space of St. George the Martyr Church, is one of the best small venues in the city for just that. Almost everyone who goes to a rock-type show there (and there's a couple coming up I'm recommending below) remarks on this, but not enough people are taking the next step and investigating the MG's core programming. If you want to challenge yourself with some more experimental, boundary-pushing music in a wide variety of genres, this is the place to be.

This is the first season curated by new Artistic Director David Dacks. He knows more about funk, dub sides and R&B obscurities than you, so don't expect the shows to just be stiff, serious stuff from the "classical" tradition. Amongst the already-announced shows for the new season are the impressive Afro-European Soundscapes and License To Depart, an OCAD showcase with art and music from Alexandra Mackenzie (ex-Romo Roto) as well as a performance from about-to-break next-level loopmastery of Tenderness. On top of that is the annual X Avant festival (October 12 to 21), this year sub-titled "Expanding Circuits", bringing everything from the "lo-fi menace" of Man Made Hill's synth attack to Sandro Perri performing a live surround-sound remix of Contact Contemporary Music's performance of Jordan Noble's Undercurrents.

Nuit Blanche

September 29, sunset to sunrise

The gargantuan all-night "art-thing" of Nuit Blanche is too much to take in. For the past couple years, I've gone against the grain and turned it into an anti-spectacle, finding a smaller number of things and trying to soak them in for a little longer than just a casual late-night stroll by. As usual, there's a number of interesting sound-based pieces that look worth checking out. I'd especially recommend not missing the sound sculpture Forty-Part Motet, a massive, multi-channel recording of Thomas Tallis' Spem in alium. This one affected me in a profound way when I saw it at a previous installation — if you want to hear one thing to re-affirm that music can be beautiful, this is it.

Concert watch

And, as always, there's a bevy of interesting shows coming up — I'll just spotlight a few here.

  • We last saw Cuff The Duke's Wayne Petti at Wavelength back in January, playing with his side-project Thieves. His veteran alt-country main gig will be playing Yonge-Dundas Square on Friday, August 31 at 8 pm. Free.
  • Lisa Bozikovic (heartfelt folk rearranged for synth) and Kite Hill (lush keyboard-and-string-section pop soundscapes) will each be celebrating an album release at The Music Gallery with a show on Friday, September 7.
  • Rock orchestra Flowers Of Hell (who closed out the Loveless tribute night at WL 529 last year) are releasing Odes at The Tranzac on September 21. It's an all-covers affair, but never going the obvious route. Ostrich Tuning, one of the best dronegaze bands around, are opening.
  • Teenanger and Soupcans, preparing to annihilate America with punk rock, play a tour send-off gig at Vietnamese karaoke bar Mây Café on Tuesday, September 25. Thighs open. (No, wait, that doesn't sound like what I meant.)
  • Arachnidiscs, who have been putting out some very interesting stuff lately, celebrate the release of Babel's latest disc as well as a split cassette with music from Aaron Lumley and The Knot. (The latter is an experimental dual cello project of Tilman Lewis and Nick Storring — and sounds like exciting stuff.) This one will be September 26 at Infinite Library, Weird Canada's HQ.
  • Snowblink celebrate their new Inner Classics with a Music Galley show on Thursday, September 27.
  • Local label Paper Bag — the launching point for Broken Social Scene and Stars — celebrates their tenth anniversary with a three-night run of concerts at The Great Hall (September 27-29)with a long list of great local bands, including Elliott Brood, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Austra, Young Galaxy, Slim Twig and Woodhands.

Thank You!

Thank you everyone so much for coming out and making this such an amazing ALL CAPS! Island Festival weekend. Despite some wind and rain and last minute rejigging, the outcome was more than we could have expected. There was a freaking double rainbow! There are so many people that pulled together to make this weekend something really special, through a lot of hard work and patience, and I just can't not try to thank them all.

Thank you so much to all the musicians, Triple Gangers, Esther Grey, Wet Hair, Tyvek, Choir! Choir! Choir!, Maylee Todd, YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN, Ivy Mairi, Young Mother, Canadian Winter, Absolutely Free, OG Melody, Lioness, and A Place To Bury Strangers.

Thank you to contributing AGP residents Aimee Dawn Robinson, Cadine Navarro, Johnny Nawracaj, Stacey Croucher & Paul Molerio, Pat Jeffries, Melissa Fisher, Dana Jo Cooley, Alistair Dickinson and Sara A. Tremblay for all they work they put into such amazing performances and works, and to all the residents of Artscape Gibraltar Point and the whole wide Toronto Island for letting us into their neighbourhood and their home and trusting us to respect them and it.

Thank you to our artistic curator Jessica Vallentin and the artists she presented, Vanessa Rieger, Cameron Lee, Lisa Neighbour, Heather Nicol, Jessie Currell & Courtney Park, Adriana Disman, Mary Porter, and Terrearea (Olia Mischenko/Janis Demkiw/Emily Hogg). And thank to to Wavelength's curated artists, VSVSVS for creating the most ambitious stage covering and all the amazing set decorations, the always amazing Felix Kalmensen, and Wavelengthers General Chaos and Adam Bradley.

Thank you to all our food vendors, Katie Mathieu, SkyBlueSky Sandwiches, and the Island Cafe.

Also: we have the best volunteers. They were the grease that made it all run so smoothly. Please volunteer again!

A giant bear hug thanks to Lisa Cristinzo at Artscape Gibraltar Point who is always amazing and an absolute pleasure to work with, and without whom this festival couldn't happen. In kind, abig thanks our festival co-presenter Artscape and the rest of the Artscape staff.

Thank you to everyone SO MUCH for donating to our IndieGoGo campaign to help us pull this thing off, Kelly Bergeron, Barbara A. Bunce, Rachel Butler, Ian Danzig & Atsuko Kobasigawa, Aaron Dawson, Dustin Freeman, Niall Fynes, Adam Gareau, Adam Glover, Elisabeth Kohn, Steph Malek, Claire Nolan, Rachel Nolan, Julie Penner, Michael Rancyr, Peter Sherratt, Evan Sue-Ping, and Lisa Tran!

And to our sponsors: Scion SessionsAutoShareSteam WhistleBullfrogblogTOExclaimShowGopher, Open Roof FestivalImages Festival, and our funders Ontario Arts Council and SOCAN Foundation. (Special props to Mike from ShowGopher for stepping up to help make sandwiches when SkyBlueSky's hired help fell through at the last minute.)

Thank you to Rebecca Webster and Kat Stewart of Webster Media Consulting for getting the word out, Derek Ma for his amazing poster/diorama, button, t-shirt, and festival guide designs, Adam Bradley for the frisbees, our intrepid emcee Doc Pickles, and our brilliant sound tech Dwayne Slack.

Thank you to Joe Strutt at Mechanical Forest Sound for creating the best catalogue of contemporary live music in Toronto at Mechanical Forest Sound, and for recording many of the performances this weekend.

And we sincerely send a shout out to such a friendly, outgoing, respectful and fun audience. This festival is nothing without you, and you were all awesome. I hope you enjoyed this weekend as much as we did.

Coming to ALL CAPS! this weekend? Here's everything you need to know.

Thanks for coming to the ALL CAPS! Island Festival this weekend. Non-Campers, here's a list of important information.

TICKETS AT THE GATES: Single day and festival passes are available at the door. Single day tickets are $20 and two-day festival passes are $35. Kids under 12 are $10 and kids 2 and under are free! Gates open at 3pm each day. Ticket prices do not include ferry fare.

RAIN OR SHINE: The festival stage is outdoors but covered by a canopy and the show will still go on if it happens to rain.

LOCATION: The venue is Artscape Gibraltar Point, located on the main island roadway, halfway in between Hanlan’s Point and Centre Island. You can find a map here: http://bit.ly/pE2r61. When you get to the island, there are maps that show the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse (the one on our poster); the AGP is directly across the roadway. The walk is about 15-20 minutes.

CASH MONEY: This is very important: there is only one cash machine on the island, located a 15-20 minute walk away at Centreville, and it doesn’t always work. Bring as much cash as you’ll think you’ll need, or more (for food, drinks, band merch) with you when you come to the island. There is also a cash machine inside the Toronto Ferry Terminal.

ENTRANCE: There is a camping entrance and a main entrance. The main entrance – for ticketholders, will call, walk-up purchase and guest list is on the east side of the centre. There will be signs.

INDIEGOGO CONTRIBUTORS: If you contributed to our IndieGoGo campaign, THANK YOU SO MUCH! Your name will be on a list at the gate if you received a camping or festival pass, and your perks will be available at our merch booth.

GALLERYAC: If you purchased a ticket through GalleryAC.com, your name will be on the will call list at the main entrance. You will just need to show your ID to the door managers.

FOOD: Food will be available for purchase. We’re hosting a different food vendor each day. On Saturday, caterer/urban agriculturalist extraordinaire Katie Mathieu will be selling a curated menu of tacos and special surprises. On Sunday, SkyBlueSky Sandwiches are selling their hallmark grilled sandwiches for both brunch and dinner. Both of our vendors are providing vegetarian options. Prices range from $8-$10.

ALCOHOL: There will be alcohol available for purchase: Steam Whistle beer as well as wine and sangria for $5. You must have ID, and please don’t bring in any outside booze. Security will be checking bags.

INFO BOOTH: Not sure what’s happening or where? See an installation and want to know more about it or the artist? Stop by the info booth (conveniently also the merch booth), and get all the details.

BUG SPRAY: The island is notorious for two nuisances: mosquitoes and European red ants, also known as fire ants. Bug repellent is an effective deterrent, and we recommend keeping yourself well covered. Keep the opening to your tent closed as much as possible. Our volunteers will be able to direct you to first aid should you need it.

CAMPING: Camping is available only if you’ve purchased a camping pass. If anyone tries to camp overnight without a camping pass, we will have to call security. Those people will be put on a water taxi back to the mainland at their own expense.

SHUTTLE: We do not have a passenger shuttle this year. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

FERRY: You can find a list of ferry times listed here: http://www.toronto.ca/parks/island/ferry-schedule.htm. (Remember to check the Summer Schedule.) We recommend either the Hanlan’s Point or Centre Island ferry, as they’re an equal distance from the venue.

CURFEW: The last band each night will finish at 10:30pm. At this time, security will usher you towards the exit. The last Hanlan’s Ferry is at 11:15pm and the last Ward’s and Centre Island Ferry is 11:45pm.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO BRING: Rain gear, insect repellent, water, bathing suit, towel, cash money. There will be sunscreen available from our sponsor Show Gopher, and there will be earplugs available for purchase. 

A FINAL WORD: We do our best with this festival to create an atmosphere of respect, inclusiveness, and friendliness. Our venue, Artscape Gibraltar Point, is the residence of more than 28 people, and Toronto Island the home of more than 600. It is also home to a number of rare and indigenous flora and fauna. Our ability to host this festival hinges on how we treat the residents of the island, the residents of the AGP, the environment and the other attendees of this festival. We ask for your help in making ALL CAPS! an experience that’s positive and respectful for all those involved so that we can continue presenting it well into the future.

If you’re interested, here’s a bit more information about Toronto Island:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Island.

Thank you! We'll see you this weekend!

Camp in Dufferin Grove for a good cause

I hope you're all looking forward to the ALL CAPS! Island Festival next weekend as much as we are. We're excited to be the first and only camping music festival in Toronto. But Dufferin Grove Park has some camping news of their own.

For the second year in a row Dufferin Grove is hosting a "sleep-in" on Friday, August 17th to Saturday, August 18th to show support for the park's programming and protest cuts to funding. Last year they hosted a film screening, a bonfire, and a breakfast. They haven't listed any programming yet, but at the very least you get to camp overnight in Dufferin Grove while showing your support for a city treasure. This is win-win!

I don't know if you knew this, but while the ALL CAPS! Island Festival is celebrating it's fourth year at Artscape Gibraltar Point, the festival has evolved over seven full years. In 2006, we hosted the first ALL CAPS! Outdoor Show in Dufferin Grove Park, an amazing space in this city that deserves credit and thanks for hosting us for three years above and beyond the work they do every day to make Dufferin Grove such an amazing space and an amazing community in this city. This festival was able to sustain and grow because of the work of the staff at Dufferin Grove Park, they supported us from the very beginning and as the organizer, I can't tell you how much that support meant to the long-term operation of ALL CAPS! as a concert series.

The sleep-in starts at 6pm on August 17th and ends at 11am on August 18th. Check out the event listing here on Facebook, where you can get details and updates. I will be there, and I hope you will be too.

Everything you need to know about camping at ALL CAPS!

We’re very proud to once again offer over camping at the ALL CAPS! Island Festival! This marks the only chance the public has to camp on Toronto Island. If you’re one of the lucky people who purchased a camping pass, we have some points of interest to prepare you for your night on the island after the jump!

GEAR SHUTTLE: We will not have a passenger shuttle this year, but we will have a gear shuttle. On Saturday, we will have a van available for the 2:30pm and 3:00pm Hanlan’s ferry to take your gear from the dock to the festival venue. Take the Hanlan’s ferry at either of those times, and when you get to the island a volunteer will direct you to the Gear Shuttle. This will work like a coat check – a tent check, if you will. Give them your gear, and you will get a ticket. You’ll have a walk to the venue, about a 15-minute walk, and your gear will be waiting when you get there. Sign in, show your ticket, get your gear, and a volunteer will show you where to set up. Although feel free to carry your own gear! And be advised, these will be the only two ferries where we can provide a Gear Shuttle.

ARRIVAL: Arrival time for camping is 3pm on Saturday, August 11th. You’ll need to check in at the camping entrance located on the north side of the centre. There are two entrances, one for campers and one for non-campers. (We’ll have signs, don’t worry.)

SIGNING IN: Once you arrive at the centre you will have to sign in. Here you will have to sign a waiver saying you won’t do anything foolish like get yourself killed or light the island on fire, you will get a wristband to designate that you’re a camper and you’ll be directed by a volunteer where to set up your tent.

SIGNING OUT: We recommend tearing down your site on Sunday before the bands start at 4:20pm. That way all your gear is taken care of and you can enjoy every minute of the music. We will have two tent checks set up, one for those hauling their own gear, and one for the Gear Shuttle. At 10:00pm the shuttle will take the gear to Hanlan’s so you can catch the last ferry to the mainland, at 11:15pm. You’ll get a ticket when you check your tent, and you’ll show that ticket to a volunteer at the Hanlan’s ferry dock to get your gear. Last call to get your tent checked for the Gear Shuttle is 9:30pm.

FERRY SCHEDULE: The ferry schedule can be found here (make sure you click the summer schedule): http://www.toronto.ca/parks/island/ferry-schedule.htm. Please note that a camping pass does not include ferry fare.

LOCATION: Artscape Gibraltar Point on Toronto Island, located here: http://bit.ly/pE2r61. It's right across the roadway from the Gibraltar Point lighthouse.

MAP: When you get to the centre, you will be given a festival program guide including a map of relevant points of interest, like where to find the beach and the washrooms.

WASHROOMS: Washrooms are available in the Centre. Women’s washrooms are located on the west side near the camping entrance, and the men’s room is through the south entrance off the picnic area.

SECURITY: There will be security on hand at all times to provide any necessary assistance. If you leave the grounds, you will have to show your camping pass to re-enter.

FIRST AID: There will be first aid professionals available at all times.

COOKING: Cooking is not allowed, but thankfully there's some awesome food available for purchase, and snacks are okay.

FOOD: Food will be available for purchase. We’re hosting a different food vendor each day. On Saturday, caterer/urban agriculturalist extraordinaire Katie Mathieu will be selling a curated menu of tacos and special surprises. On Sunday, SkyBlueSky Sandwiches are selling their hallmark grilled sandwiches for both brunch and dinner. Both of our vendors are providing vegetarian options.

CASH MONEY: This is very important: there is only one cash machine on the island, located a 20 minute walk away at Centreville, and it doesn’t always work. Bring as much cash as you’ll think you’ll need, or more (for food, drinks, band merch) with you when you come to the island. And while we will have security monitoring the camping site at all times, we recommend you keep valuables on you.

BUG SPRAY: The island is notorious for two nuisances: mosquitoes and European red ants, also known as fire ants. Bug repellent is an effective deterrent, and we recommend keeping yourself well covered. Keep the opening to your tent closed as much as possible. Our volunteers will be able to direct you to first aid should you need it.

CAMPING PASSES: Camping is available only if you’ve purchased a camping pass. Camping passes are per person, so whether you each have your own tent or you all pile into one, you will each need a pass. If anyone tries to camp overnight without a camping pass, we will have to call security. Those people will be put on a water taxi back to the mainland at their own expense.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO BRING: Flashlight, tent, sleeping bag, rain gear, insect repellent, snacks, bathing suit, towel, cash money. There will be sunscreen available from our sponsor Show Gopher, and there will be earplugs available for purchase.

A FINAL WORD: We do our best with this festival to create an atmosphere of respect, inclusiveness, and friendliness. Our venue, Artscape Gibraltar Point, is the residence of more than 28 people, and Toronto Island the home of more than 600. It is also home to a number of rare and indigenous flora and fauna. Our ability to host a festival with camping hinges on how we treat the residents of the island, the residents of the AGP, the environment and the other attendees of this festival. We ask for your help in making ALL CAPS! an experience that’s positive and respectful for all those involved so that we can continue presenting it well into the future.

If you’re interested, here’s a bit more information about Toronto Island: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Island.

See you on August 11th!

ALL CAPS! Diorama! Poster!

Diorama? Diorama. Diorama?? DIORAMA. Diorama???? DIORAMA!!!!!!!!!

That's right. Diorama. Just take a look at this INSANELY AWESOME poster for ALL CAPS! 2012 by the one and only Derek Ma.

Proof that the only art form that matters is: Diorama.

* Posters will be for sale at the festival, and the DIORAMA itself will be on display!

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