This Week in Toronto (Oct 2 - 8)

Hey folks, what's the good word? Well, for me, it's "Skiffle". Cause, I've been listening to a lot of it recently, mostly because I picked up a record by Lonnie Donegan, a man who's name I'd heard before, but had never had the pleasure of hearing his music. This is Lonnie Donegan. Why am I diggin' on Lonnie? I don't know... maybe because it's perfect music to discover on a record player. His voice is great. I don't know. I do know this, there are some good events going on this week. Click on the links and/or leave comments.

THURS OCT 2

The Player playing at Revue Cinema 7pm

Robert Altman's brilliant satire about Hollywood plays at the Revue! I love this film. The cast is fantastic, and the people in the film are so much like entertainment types I've met, it's scary. A must see. If you haven't watched it before, now is the time.

FRI OCT 3

Ryan Driver Quartet at Tranzac 10pm

Ryan is part of great scene building up around the Tranzac. Other members of the scene include Barzin, Eric Cheneaux, Sandro Peri, Christine Bougie and Nick Zubeck.... You can usually expect a good show at the Tranzac, and you can definitely expect a good show on Friday. Ryan is a really talented singer, guitarist, keyboardist, etc....

SAT OCT 4

Nuit Blanche all over Toronto 6:52pm until sunset

This is such a great art event, and it's one of the things that gives Toronto a good name. Despite what Stephen Harper thinks, all of Toronto (and surrounding area) comes out and spends the night checking out some great art installations. There are three zones: zone A is north of Queen between Spadina and Jarvis, as far north as Dupont. Zone B is south of Queen between Spadina and the DVP. and Zone C is south of Dundas between Spadina and Lansdowne. It's almost impossible to see everything, so head over to the Website and plot out your night.

SUN OCT 5

Caitlin Smith's Tiny Alligator Big Band at Trane Studio 8pm

Not only does she get the prize for best band name (Tiny Alligator, god, that sounds adorable) but Caitlin is a killer composer and saxophone player. Her band is outfitted with some of Toronto's best young jazz musicians, including BtTtF regular Alexis Marsh.

MON OCT 6

Crimes and Misdemeanors playing at Revue Cinema 7pm

Two of my favorite directors at the Revue cinema in one week! Nice! After Altman's great The Player on Thursday, we have Woody Allen's classic Crimes and Misdemeanors on Monday. This is one of Allen's most depressing films, but it packs a philosophical punch, and still manages to have some very funny moments. If you liked Match Point you'll love Crimes and Misdemeanors. Also, it was number 6 in my top 100 films of the last 25 years (The Player was there too).

TUES OCT 7

George Grossman Trio at the Rex Hotel 6:30

Every year in my home town of Orillia, the have a blues fest and a Jazz fest. Now, you can't really tell one from the other, I used to say that the Jazz fest was just the blues fest with more horns. Anyways, one year, at one of the fest, I saw a guitarist named George Grossman, and I really enjoyed his performance. That was about 8 years ago, and I hadn't heard anything about him since. Until now. George plays some great old school jazz guitar, and is really a treat.

WED OCT 8 What are you doing?
There are some ok shows going on, but nothing standing out, so you tell me, what's something I should check out today?

I don't know this guy, but I'm sure he's looking for something to do on Wednesday