I Heart the Music: Your Online Source for Live Music Reviews and Interviews in Toronto!

We here at iheartthemusic like to think that we aren’t bias when it comes to posts. Well we THOUGHT we weren’t bias but that however changed as we realized we have covered Toronto based band Rebel Emergency THREE times already! So what’s one more time, right? Just in time for the holidays Live Nation presents the Rock Your Stocking Christmas Bash featuring Rebel Emergency with special guests Street Pharmacy, Dodger, Walk Off The Earth and Ko Kapches. This festive bash will take place on Wednesday, December 23rd at the Sound Academy. This is an all ages event so be sure to show up early! Tickets are $15 and are available at ticketmaster,  Rotate This and Soundscapes in Toronto.

Check out the facebook event page

Also, check out our chat with the boys from Rebel Emergency here.

Happy holidays and see ya there!!

xo iheartthemusic team

The first ever Peace Dot Love music festival took place during NXNE at the Koolhaus. It was a musical tribute to Dylan Ellis and Oliver Martin who were gunned down in a parked car in June 2008, a horrible crime that has yet to be solved. The fest was put on by 102.1 the Edge, D.O. It! (an organization formed to raise funds for youth violence prevention groups), LOVE and Peacebuilders International in partnership with NXNE (as well as some other sponsors, including iheartthemusic).

It began with DJ duo TMDP. Despite their early start time they had the crowd that was there grooving to their tunes. It wasn’t a large crowd, but that didn’t seem to affect the tunes coming off the turntables as these consummate professionals performed with the same energy as when iheartthemusic witnessed them spin to an at-capacity Circa crew. (If you missed them you can see them at the TIME Festival at Sound Academy on July 25.)

Stereos were met with a plethora of pre-pubescent screams from the throngs of teenyboppers who rushed the stage. Personally I thought it sounded like watered down radio dribble with too much auto-tune. However, I also think the latest album from Black Eyed Peas had too much auto-tune and Stereo’s song “Summer Girl” was number one on iTunes so they mustn’t be doing much wrong (but I’d be hard pressed to pick out what they were doing exceptionally right). In any case, the PG-13 prepubescent portion of the Koolhaus seemed to dig it as they screamed and sang along to every song, including “She Only Likes Me When I’m Drunk” (love the title). Perhaps it’s just a matter of taste… or lack thereof.

Feeling Stereo-ed out, I popped through the rabbit hole into the side room where I discovered a polar bear playing bass, an Elton John-looking lead singer and a percussion apparatus that resembled a mix between Dick Van Dyke’s instrumental outfit in Mary Poppins and a medieval torture contraption. The band sounded like a lot of fun… unfortunately no one was able to tell me who they were (if you’re reading this and you know the answer, let us know).

True to form Down With Webster gave a high-octane performance. This large ensemble band is an amalgamation of high energy electro with large doses of rap and rock. One of the highlights was the when the drummer had a fun video game soundtrack solo (the low light was when one of the silly members threw beer on our photographer, not cool dude!). Even when they experienced some technical difficulties they kept the crowd entertained by busting out a freestyle. And they were entertaining, I even spotted some parents grooving to their tunes.

Simultaneously We Are the Take had a work out on the stage next door. These boys played so hard they were quite literally dripping with sweat. The passion in playing engaged the crowd who seemed fully immersed (or should I say “taken in”) by the band. These guys always put on a good show and are clearly garnering a devout fan following.

Dragonette was nothing less than awesome. iheartthemusic had the pleasure of speaking to the husband and wife team before the show and learned that they were truly there to support the cause, which they spoke very well of [stay tuned for that interview, we talked music, fashion and spilling sauce on sneakers in Japan... apparently a no-no as it takes a while for the smell to go away]. Their performance was dynamic and a highlight for many of the festival goers. One word: awesome!

Closing out the night was USS (Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker). Phew, if you weren’t tired already you would have been by just watching these two guys fly around stage, doing handstands and bouncing with the crowd. Lots of energy and a wonderful way to end a wonderful festival. With so many great performances I look forward to see how they top this next year.

Written by Emer Schlosser

Photography by Carl Heindl

Do they play pool in Heaven?

On Tuesday, July 7^th, 2009, the Toronto alternative music community lost a radio legend.  Martin Streek was probably best known for his hosting and club gigs for 102.1 the Edge where he hosted such shows as The Thursday 30 Countdown, Friday Night Live at Sound Academy, and Sundays at Velvet Underground.  He lived and breathed rock, alternative and punk music, and even appropriated the life story of Joe Strummer (The Clash) as his bio on The Edge website, up until he disappeared from the airways two months ago.  A rock star in his own right, he will truly never be forgotten.

I’d only met him once, probably the same way most people did, one random Sunday night at Velvet.  He was of a smaller stature than his booming radio voice may have lead one to believe.  Casually dressed and unassuming, he flitted between the pool tables (where he would kick serious ass) to chatting with people around the club, fans and barflies alike.  If you didn’t know who he was, he just looked like any other bar patron. That is, until whatever song that was playing started winding down, and he would saunter back over to the DJ booth and pick up the mic.  Then there was no mistaking it.  That distinctive voice – deep and gravely, all charm and sarcasm and distinctively STREEK – would come through the speakers and over the airwaves all across the city.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.  That man had the sexiest voice in radio.

He’ll be missed, not only by his legions of fans from his time at the Edge (before that called the Spirit of Radio, yes, he was there from the beginning two decades ago) but by the Canadian music community at large.  Streek was a staunch supporter of the independent music scene, helping many bands gain airplay during his time. His colleagues and fans alike all say the same thing; Martin Streek was a personality to be reckoned with. His love of music and his passion for radio was unparalleled and inspiring. He charmed everyone he encountered and made friends wherever he went.

Facebook, MySpace and blog tributes from DJs, musicians and fans like me, all are doing their part to honour this man. I can’t pretend that I really knew him, but I’m definitely going to miss him, and that voice.  Let the stories begin…

Check out Alan Cross’s tribute here.

Written mournfully by Nadia Elkharadly

« Older Entries