Recent reviews and more.

Hello! Remember me? I've been blogging away over at Narratives, posting my weekly show listings, podcasts, and occasional other fancy things. I have some recent reviews to share with you: of The Junction's new album (and ticket/CD giveaway), the Jon-Rae Fletcher show at Sneaky Dee's at the end of July, and the RAA's CD release show.

Pick of the Week #29: The Parkas - You Should've Killed Us When You Had the Chance

Most of the picks of the week that are made on this here blog are because I really, really, like the albums; many of them are from bands that I feel are under appreciated, and, occasionally, its because I have some type of personal connection (real or imagined) with the band... this time its all of the above!

... read the rest of the story plus mp3s here...

The Parkas Final Show/CD Release. The Silver Dollar. July 25. 2009.

... yes, I have been gone for a while, thanks for noticing...

Today is the official beginning of Parkas week at the Burgeoning Metropolis...

Next Saturday is going to be like a funeral... of a new mother. The Parkas, who are awesome and I've have said so on a number of occasions, are packing it in as a band (they're dying). And, even though they're dying (figuratively) they're releasing a new album, You Should've Killed Us When You Had The Chance (the baby), which is pretty exciting, because we're going to have a way to remember the band.

So, the way I see things going on Saturday is more of a 'celebration of life (and their new bastard child)' rather than the show being a somber, sad affair (feel free to wear bright colours!); as well as, part OISE re-union (I hope). And, who knows, maybe playing their last show is exactly what the band needs to get their record on MTV and start making bazillions of dollars to quit being teachers and doctors and stuff...

*Although (History) Jen has pointed out that Amy Milan and Gentleman Reg are playing down for free down at the harbour front, Mike Brown (Parkas lead singer) points out that: 1/they'll be finished; 2/ they'll be playing again; and I'll point out that, 3/ the Parkas will be WAY more fun than either of them...

Who: The Parkas (duh!) w/ Tacoma Hellfarm Tragedy & Whitebelt Octopus
What: Rock and/or Roll
When: 10:30 pm
Where: The Silver Dollar (College & Spadina)
Why: ... why not?
How (much): $6

Win tix to see the Tom Fun Orchestra at The Horseshoe along with a copy of their CD!!

We're partway through this 2009 concert going year, and for now, the Tom Fun Orchestra show that I saw back in January is sitting comfortably in my top 3 shows of the year. This band is one of the mostest funnest bands around and thankfully, they're coming back to Toronto again on Thursday August 6th at The Horseshoe Tavern. Opening for them will be a solo set by current Tom Funner Carmen Townsend, as well as local rock band The Coast.

I've got two tickets to giveaway to the show, along with a copy of their outstanding CD entitled You Will Land With a Thud.

All of the contest rules, along with mp3's and stuff, are posted here.

And while I've got your attention, here's some other stuff I've been up to:

I saw Sonic Youth at Massey Hall and talked about it here.
I attended a Bluegrass Festival in the town of Tottenham and talked about it here.
I saw Ohbijou perform an in-store at Soundscapes and talked about it here.

And I had a rather subdued involvement in this year's NXNE, but still managed to catch a little something everyday.

Day 1 is here featuring Spiral Beach, Amos the Transparent, The Love Machine, The Balconies, Pirate Love and Natalie Portman's Shaved Head.
Day 2 is here featuring Coeur de Pirate, One Hundred Dollars and The Deep Dark Woods.
And day 3 is here featuring The Sonics, The Zoobombs and The Dudes.

I survived NxNE... and here's what's happening the first few days of July.

Hello TMBC readers! Long time, no contact. My bad. Been busy with stuff (still am), but here's this week's listings and podcast. If you aren't paying attention to these, you really should! (Say I.) For my NxNE adventures, go here. Happy show-going/music listening, and happy Canada Day!

"Gravity Has Lost Its Charm"

Hey all! Bobby B, here. You may remember me from such blogs as It's Not The Band I Hate, It's Their Fans and Toronto Music Blog Collective. It just occurred to me that I haven't posted here for about a month or so. It's that dang life of mine getting in the way again. It'll do that sometimes.

In case you're interested, here's some of the music related things that I've been up to:

I saw The National at Kool Haus and reviewed it here.
I saw Lovely Killbots, Whale Tooth, Make Your Exit and Amos The Transparent at The Horseshoe and reviewed it here.
I saw Dog Day at Soundscapes and reviewed it here.
I saw The Fishwives, Hut and Pick A Piper at Rancho Relaxo and reviewed it here.
I saw Slakah The Beatchild at Revival and reviewed it here.
I saw Passion Pit at Lee's Palace but I haven't reviewed it yet because I just got home from the show two seconds ago. But I will probably review it here.

Also I found out about an obscure little local music festival called NXNE that is taking place starting tomorrow. If you're looking for some recommendations or you wanna know what I'm doing at NXNE, then you can read about it here.

Have a good night and I'll blog to ya soon.

The lyric "gravity has lost its charm" is from the song Doom by Hut. Amazing song!

Pick of the Week #23 - Still Life Still

This week's pick = Still Life Still... "not just a Broken Social Scene knock off!"

See the full post at the BM.