Welcome to my weekly roundup of inexpensive indie(ish) musical happenings in downtown Toronto, all for $10 or less. If I'm missing something you think I should list, or you have any comments, let me know. I star (*) shows that most interest me. Like this list? Join my Facebook group to get my weekly Toronto indie music listings. Subscribe to my podcast (or download the episodes) here , or through iTunes . The latest ones are here . [...]

Norman Wong Even though he coined it himself, I often wonder if Joel Gibb regrets encouraging the use of "gay church folk music" as a description for the music of The Hidden Cameras . Certainly they got a lot of mileage out of it in the band's earlier days, as it was both attention grabbing and accurate, but now, four albums in, it probably deserves to be retired. It's not that it's no longer descriptive - Gibb is still gay (one assumes), it's still music and it's still built on foundations of folk and church traditions [...]

Think About Life at Arlene's Grocery | "M for Montreal" Showcase at CMJ (10/21/09) Malajube at Arlene's Grocery | "M for Montreal" Showcase at CMJ (10/21/09) Photos : Jon Klemm M for Montreal 2009 Schedule ( Nov 19-21, 2009 ) Beast , Malajube and Think About Life were three of the bands I caught at the M for Montreal [...]

In January , I posted a lot songs by Canadian artists. Because I was struck by the number of great singers and great songs coming from that country. In the months that followed, more and more Canadians (from Quebec mostly, but also from other states) came to my attention. And I loved that. Recently, the new album by veteran Daniel Bélanger was released. A very good cd, my introduction to this artist. My Canadian friend, dj-partner and musical conscience Natasha wrote this guestpost on Bélanger: Born and raised in Montréal, Daniel Bélanger dropped [...]
Montreal's Land Of Talk , on Saddle Creek, is helmed by Broken Social Scene member Elizabeth Powell. The band has a new EP out, Fun and Laughter , which follows last year's Some Are Lakes and 2006's Applause Cheer Boo Hiss EP. The pretty, Beth Orton-meets-Pedron the Lion-meets-Counting Crows (can I say that?) sounds on "It's Okay," which comes from last year's album, are rendered into a spooky expedition of thoughts with this video, directed by WeWereMonkeys , who have also done videos for Malajube and Emma Lee. The video takes on the [...]
words by Bill Pearis , photos by Chris La Putt Parlovr I said it a few time throughout CMJ week this year: Montreal just tries harder. I'm not saying the city's artists make better albums than everyone else, but as far as giving their all on stage, band-for-band, Montreal groups are much more likely to entertain you than one from another city. Maybe that's just the one's they're sending us, but there was plenty [...]
So, I finally got out to see some shows last night, and while I got home way too late, it was a pretty productive evening on the whole. I started out* my CMJ at the M for Montreal showcase at Arlene's Grocery where I took in BEAST, Think About Life, and Malajube. During We Are Wolves set, I snuck over to the Mercury to catch the charming Mumford and Sons. After Malajube went off, I headed over to Cake Shop to catch CMJ buzz band, Surfer Blood and then I capped off the night at Living Room with a couple [...]

The xx @ South Street Seaport in August ( more by Chris La Putt ) tonight in NYC * Bell @ Sycamore * The Antlers @ Sound Fix Records * Arms, Afuche, Graydon @ Fontana's (CMJ) * FIXED w/ Aeroplane @ Santos Party House * The xx, Javelin, Lia Ices @ Mercury Lounge (CMJ) * US Royalty, Middle Distance Runner @ Fontana's (CMJ) [...]
Last night was kind of a bust for me CMJ -wise, (well I didn't go out, so it wasn't like I went out and was disappointed or anything), but tonight should prove to be a different story. It looks I'll be dividing my time between the Mercury Lounge (early/late), Bowery Ballroom , Arlene's Grocery (M for Montreal), and perhaps a late night visit to the Cake Shop ( After the Jump Late Night Party ) or the Bell House . Here are some of my Wednesday night picks: [...]

Last night was all about New Zealand, and they showed me a few things. One, they know how to drink Vodka better than most, and 2 that they have a great selection of up and coming acts (pictures to come later). Tonight is all about Canada, our neighbors to the North. Unlike New Zealand, Canada already has a hell of a "indie" music reputation with Broken Social Scene, Arcade Fire (Yes I know one of them is from Texas) and Feist hailing from there. Here are a few of the bands I checked out that I am excited to see [...]
Recommended Show(s): WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2009 TERRORBIRD DAY PARTY & KANINE RECORDS SHOWCASE @ CAKE SHOP 152 Ludlow Street Manhattan, NY 10002 Free/$8, Noon/7PM For tomorrow's CMJ lineup, just plant yourself down at the Cake Shop. Why bother to leave? The day show is put on by Terrorbird and features performances from The Black Hollies, Darlings, ZAZA, and more. Kanine Records takes over the space at night and brings Surfer Blood, Drink Up Buttercup, Dinowalrus, and more! The Terrobird party is free, but the Kanine Records show will set you back $8 unless you have a [...]

Best Unofficial Day Show : Hype Machine & Babelgum Where : Santo's Party House When : 3pm - 6pm Cost : FREE (w/ RSVP ) Lineup : 3:15pm - Sleigh Bells , 3:50pm - Vega , 4:30pm - Theophilus London , 5:10pm - Midnight Juggernauts Why This Show [...]

Well look at that, It's already that time of year again: C - M - J ! Version 2009 to be precise. And you know the last thing we want is to send you off into the trenches unprepared and indecisive, which is why we're back again with yet another comprehensive plan of action/preview/treasure trove of MP3s to help nudge you through the week ahead. Just as with prior CMJ and SXSW previews, we listed only one show for each recommended band. Most of the bands listed here are playing several – if [...]

Check out this list of all 41 Canadian artists at CMJ this year: Download the "2009 CMJ Canadian Artist Sampler" over here . Here's who I'd put on my must see list: Beast - According to Bill, these Montrealers. I like what I've heard on record. Black Diamond Bay - I've been a long time fan of BDB's self titled debute and Patrick Krief always brings his best "O" face to the stage. Elliot Brood [...]
by Bill Pearis Duchess Says We already mentioned that Montreal's Think About Life will be in town this week playing Tuesday night's BrooklynVegan showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg and the M for Montreal night at Arlene's Grocery on Wednesday (10/21). Also playing the M4M show are electro-punks Duchess Says , whose only other show this week will be the BrooklynVegan day party on [...]
photos by Ryan Muir DOWNLOAD: Think About Life - Johanna (MP3) DOWNLOAD: Think About Life - Havin My Baby (MP3) Some things' strengths rest in the laurels of relative secrecy, allowing them to develop without the burden of public scrutiny or following. The opposite of the former statement applies to Think About Life , who Saturday night - or should I say, Sunday morning [at Pop Montreal ] - proved yet [...]

ALICE PHIEU www.alicephieu.com
The Silly Kissers Thinking Of You The Silly Kissers Easy Fantasy The thing about the first-wave of American cutesy indie-pop, the twee-types hosting sock-hops for credit at Evergreen College and singing about cats is that it wasn't any good. Oh, Lord, it was terrible, actually. Those bands are gone, as Belle & Sebastien and Camera Obscura sucked all the helium out of that balloon, and now the musicians [...]

Shaa'ir + Func , menwhopause (pictured) and Motherjane will represent India on a new compilation called PEACE that features artists from over 50 countries. The compilation will be released digitally in January 2010 with a pay-what-you-want system (minimum two Euros), and all the proceeds will go to Amnesty International's humanitarian aid projects in areas of conflict. Over 100 artists are participating in this effort from regions as diverse as Palestine, Algeria, Burundi and Iceland. What's cool about this compilation is that it's not one of those no-cred comps that features absolutely unknowns. [...]
CMJ released the band schedule for its 2009 Music Marathon & Film Festival yesterday, which is about as good a sign of fall hitting New York as the return of apple cider at Greenmarket. The festival runs from Oct. 20 - Oct. 24 and includes various venues throughout the city, and the list of featured artists would probably take all four days to read through. But skimming the selection reveals a fairly equal distribution of well-known acts like Atlas Sound and Deer Tick , anonymous locals (including krautrock-y Jeff Buckley-channelers Pocketknife), twenty-two bands who [...]