Scene: bar/pub/club/festival; location: Toronto and/or greater TO region: The conversation starts like this;
“Hey Man! You say I should go to shows, support local talent, support local bars & clubs, there are shows every night of the week, you say! Well I don’t see any ad’s, I don’t hear any spots on my radio station! Actually, …..to be honest, I do hear some spots and see some ad’s but most are for huge shows and festivals in the summer?!? What gives man?”
“Well!” I say, “I see listings for bands playing every night of the week , all kinds of music! Jazz, Rock, Rap, Folk, Metal, Blues, you name it! Clubs and bars all over the Toronto region! From Mississauga to Milton, Oshawa to Saint Catherines, and all points therein”.
“Really!?!, can you tell me were to get this info?” he asks.
“Why certainly! It’s not a secret or anything.”
So, on that note, here is a listing of some of the lists! A list of Lists! Newsletters that I subscribe to and listing pages I check out to see what’s playing in the pub down the road, the joint across the street, what’s up in Port Credit (ie: everything) and elsewhere.
This is far from complete. Some clubs I go directly to their site or Facebook page to get up to date info like set times.
Toronto Blues Society : a great source of info on the Blues scene in Ontario. I subscribed to their newsletter and they send weekly listings and hi-lights. http://torontobluessociety.com/live-blues/
Justshows.ca has listings for major markets in Canada. Nova Scotia, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver. I signed up to receive a weekly email. http://justshows.com/toronto/
Gary 17 has his Toronto Moon Daily Magazine. He lists a lot of shows you aren’t going to see anywhere else. Excellent for the local bars and pubs in your ‘hood. http://www.torontomoon.ca/
The record and ticket store ‘Rotate This’ on Queen West has an incredible selection of vinyl to brose thru, plus they sell tickets to shows for much less then ticketgouger. They list all the shows they have tickets for on their site, which also makes a good list. www.rotate.com/content/tickets/
I also use NOW Magazine and EXCLAIM! too. So that’s my list, what about you? Any suggestions or comments? Now here is a picture for you all, one of the most famous and best sounding concert venues in the city.
