Lord Baden-Powell was such a badass that, back in 1955, he was forever immortalized in butter (well, until it turned rancid). Once, he had a grizzly bear carpet in his bedroom. The bear wasn’t dead, it was just afraid to move. He also counted to infinity — twice. And once, Lord Baden-Powell swam through land. Yes, Lord Baden-Powell was equally as awesome as Chuck Norris.
Fans of electronic music, this one’s for you. Some of the world’s biggest DJs will be heading to Toronto for a huge music fest in Downsview Park this summer. Headlined by Toronto’s Deadmau5 and Swedish DJ Avicii (of “Seek Bromance” fame) the Veld Music Fest will take over the massive park on Aug. 4 and 5.
Hot Docs, North America’s biggest documentary festival, is now in its 19th year and it kicks off on Thursday, bringing films from all corners of the globe to Toronto. With 189 films covering everything from Bob Marley to female wrestling, anyone who is interested in anything will find a flick they don’t want to miss. To help you choose, we’ve picked a dozen you might want to line up for.
We know it took the help of Vanilla Ice to figure out the secret of the ooze in the early ‘90s, but we’re pretty sure that Splinter and the gang first originated here, back in 1912. Yes, just through that pipe spouting filthy sludge is where an enlightened rat became master to four human-sized turtles with a penchant for pizza and the Italian renaissance. (And Al Gore had you fooled that pollution was a 21st century issue — we’ve been screwed for a while now).
If you like your improv mixed with musical theatre — along with a splash of movie trivia — then you’ll dig the sweet sounds of Special Features, the Toronto comedy troupe that specializes in musical improv. We chatted with member Richard Comeau about singing the sequel to Star Trek, kissing on stage and the surprise factor of musical improv.
Surround yourself with good people and things have a tendency to go your way. In the case of singer Melanie Fiona, working with Kanye West, Cee Lo Green and Alicia Keys seems to have done the trick — to the tune of two Grammy Awards and a future without limits. The Toronto-born R & B … Continued
The first example of flash mobbing was this: The Hooded Jedi. Large groups of people (a.k.a. nerds) would conglomerate at public places dressed in hoods, preaching the word of Jedi-ism, accompanied by a local band (who just needed the cash). They have since disappeared from the public, but these are the same people who helped create our current Comic-Cons, so obviously the force is still with them.
The music world lost one of the greats on Thursday with the passing of Levon Helm at the age of 71. The Turkey Scratch, Arkansas native was the drummer for the revered Canadian musical group The Band and provided vocals on some of their most famous and enduring songs, including “The Weight” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.”
Canadian bluesman Colin James is playing Massey Hall this evening. We caught up with veteran musician, who has played for the Queen and opened for The Rolling Stones, to talk about his new album, the thrill of Massey Hall and why the Horseshoe Tavern will always have a place in his heart.
Torontonians may carry their iPods anywhere and everywhere, but the most tactile experience we have with music is at record stores. When flipping through stacks of vinyl, music becomes what we’re doing (instead of what we’re listening to while doing something else). Just in time for International Record Store Day (April 21), we’re sharing our favourite spots for scoring vinyl in the city.
Let’s face it, life was sweet when you could legitimately spend your Saturdays watching cartoons. Which is why we’re more excited than we probably should be about a bunch of short animated flicks for kids screening this weekend at TIFF Bell Lightbox.
1st rule: You do not talk about Pillow Fight Club.
2nd rule: You DO NOT talk about Pillow Fight Club. 3rd rule: if someone says “stop” or starts choking on a feather, the fight is over.
