Arts and culture news from Toronto and around the world
CMW hits Toronto
Nearly every venue in the city is gearing up for Canadian Music Week, the annual Cancon blitz that goes down March 11-15. With 500 bands performing over five nights, the festival is a must for music lovers, who will pray for good weather and ploughed streets as they take in sets from high-profile imports like Bloc Party and The Ting Tings. For the more casual listener, CMW is a weekend-long crash course in the Toronto music scene, offering a chance to get acquainted with the most exciting local musicians, many of whom are poised to break out. The festival’s full lineup is available at cmw.net. Wristbands are $50 and provide the holder full access to shows at all 50 venues. Be sure to check out our CMW preview in the March 12 issue of The Varsity.
—ROB DUFFY
Stephen Colbert vs. Carl Wilson
Toronto rock critic Carl Wilson, of Zoilus.com and The Globe and Mail, got some love from actor James Franco on the Oscars red carpet. In conversation with MTV News, Franco recommended the local writer’s 33 1/3 dissection of Celine Dion’s Let’s Talk About Love, deeming it “a real investigation into what constitutes taste and why we like some things over others.” Curious and curiouser, Wilson will appear on The Colbert Report this Wednesday, March 4th to discuss his newfound pop cult status and defense of the Quebeçois icon. Wanna get in on the action? Celebrate with your fellow Torontopians at the official Wilson watch party, Wednesday, March 4th, at The Pilot (22 Cumberland Street), with performances by Laura Barrett, Sean Dixon, a.a. Rawlings, and DJ Brian Joseph Davis, starting 9 p.m. Let’s talk about Carl!
—CHANDLER LEVACK
