Find out what's new and hot with our our bi-weekly local music roundup

CUFF THE DUKE / STAY / JANUARY 9TH
Last night I happened to pass a young man on the sidewalk as we were headed in separate directions. I'm not one to eavesdrop (most people are boring), but I couldn't help but overhear him during the few seconds we crossed paths. He was rather ineloquently pleading with someone, judging by his tone a lover, to spend the night with him. His voice was raised, not in anger but in that certain desperation one gets at 3 a.m. when he realizes that he's left the bar alone and that the only way to keep warm is an old spark.

A humbled person is a binary, either they're to be held in esteem or to act as a punchline. I had to laugh as he rolled off his slurred pleas and broken promises, and, almost immediately, empathy welled up in my heart for the the poor sleepy person on the other end of the phone who had to deal with all this shit. What's interesting is that the same sentiment, more or less, is at play in the new Cuff the Duke single "Stay" except it's enormously well articulated and romantic. So today I pay testament to the power of music. In this first example we hear its powers to take the punchline away for a greater truth.

DRESS REHEARSAL / SOMEWHERE UNDER THE WEATHER / JANUARY 15TH
Dress Rehearsal are originally from St. Mary's. Now, I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I have never actually been to St. Mary's, even though I understand it to be a pillar community in Southwestren Ontario, and if I am anything it's a Southwestren Ontarian. And, you know, I've seen the "St. Mary's this way sign" literally hundreds times turning onto Highway 7 after 26 (coming west from the great town of Tavistock) but alas I always turn at Klomps Nursery!

That is, I have never been to St. Mary's until listening to the Dress Rehearsal album Somewhere Under the Weather which, through the power of music, has transported to me to this quaint but vibrant small town community.

MAD ONES / BURNING WINDOW / JANUARY 29TH
Look, I get a little mad sometimes. Whether it be little things like burning my hands while cooking or banging my head on counter doors, or worse, when people biking on sidewalks have the audacity to tell me, a pedestrian, to move out of their way, etc. etc. But the transformative power of music is able to help me deal with my anger so that I'm able to convert this emotion into empathy, which fuels a desire to change.

So, in a sense, we are all Mad Ones. But in a much more specific sense, the Mad Ones are a local toronto band with a great new EP coming out! Let these brave emotional martyrs be the Mad Ones, and you can simply be a fan. Join them at the Horseshoe on February 1st on their "Furever Tour."

THE MICRONITE FILTERS / CHASING GHOSTS / JANUARY 29TH
Where have all the tough SOBs gone? It's a question I oft ask myself in this ever more timid world. Tough people still exist — certainly ones who could pound me to a pulp and dribble me around like a basketball — but they have funny haircuts and get their muscles from modern gym equipment and various powders. As such, I can't help but feel falsely nostalgic for the days that bruisers roamed the world with potbellies and porkpie hats and chewed on things like matchsticks or blades of grass.

Luckily for me the power of music is able to transport me (emotionally) to this place where old-time tough guys are in a perpetual bar room brawl, smasing bottles over each other's heads, but never kicking one another when they're down. The "Ballad of the Bankers Son" is a beautiful homage to these ways written by the Micronite Filters on their new album Chasing Ghosts. It evokes the grand SOB energy that's so lacking in this world.

THE BICYCLES / APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN STATION / FEBRUARY 4TH
As evidenced this week, "the power of music is a curious thing / It makes one man weep and another man sing / Change a hawk to a little white dove/ More than a feeling that's the power of ... music."

Well Huey, I've got one last piece of news for you. The Power of music is so strong it even has the ability to resurrect. For The Bicycles tomb has been altered, the stone has been moved, and the band has risen! We shall all rejoice in their new album Stop Thinking So Much (out April 2nd) and revel in all their glory. In the meantime take the first single "Appalachian Mountain Station" as a covenant.

LISTEN HERE

MAY THE POWER OF MUSIC COMPEL YOU!

Hi, Eric here. If you are a Toronto musican, band, promoter, fan or some other person I can't think of off the top of my head related to new music in Toronto, please send me your stuff at (ericboshart [at] blogto [dotcom]).

Photo by Jackman Chiu

This Week in Fashion rounds up the week's style news, store openings and closings, pop-up shops, sales and upcoming fashion and design events in Toronto. Find it here every Wednesday morning.

NEWS

Vaughan Mills is taking a cue from Yorkdale Shopping Centre with plans to begin a game-changing 150,000 square foot expansion this spring. The outlet mall will grow to house 50 new retailers including a LegoLand Discovery Centre, an eye-catching entrance, and 450 new parking spaces. Renovations - like an upgraded food court plus new floors and ceilings - will also be made to the existing area, all-in-all costing Vaughan Mills $87 million.

In addition to a future expansion, a second hr2 location (the first being in Montreal) is set to open in place of Vaughan Mills' Holt Renfrew Last Call in April. Also a discount concept store, hr2 will be about 28,000 square feet and made to appeal to Holt Renfrew's younger customers. Last Call will be closing next Saturday (February 2nd) for the transformation.

Though it seems like Sears Canada is seriously dumbing down (especially with Nordstrom coming into the country to take over three locations), they've partnered up with Aldo and Buffalo Jeans to give a much-needed upgrade to their private label brands. Expect the collaboratively designed, revamped, and (hopefully) modernized footwear and clothing collections on the shelves this fall.

EVENTS/PARTIES

Tonight (January 23) at 7 pm, anyone and everyone who's interested in wearable anythings and everythings - including the obviously wearable fashion and textiles, but also the not-so-obviously wearable technology and electronics - is invited to the Toronto Wearables Meetup at OCADU (205 Richmond St, Room 7301). This edition of the monthly lecture series will bring in Jorge Silva and Dr. Keryn Lian - two highly knowledgeable presenters in the technology design field. Don't forget to register beforehand!

Pop into The Black Box Boutique (106 Yorkville Ave, 2nd floor) tomorrow (January 24) from 6 pm until 9 pm for Emily Woudenberg's Trunk Show. It's your chance to touch and feel the unique handmade accessories she creates with a generous amount of TLC - plus, select merchandise will be marked at up to 50% off, and all attendees will receive a $5 coupon!

The Trinity Bellwoods BIA is turning Dundas Street West (between Bathurst St and Grace St) into a glorious contemporary design experience for the third annual Do Design event; a slew of venues including boutiques, restaurants, and even a hardware store will be home to design installations from January 24 to 27. To see all of the participating venues and exhibitors, visit the Do West website.

Of course, Do Design isn't the only design event happening this week. The mother of them all, The Interior Design Show, starts this Thursday and continues through the weekend. There's also the ever popular Come Up to My Room (same dates as IDS) and Toronto Design Off Site just to name a few.

SAVVY Toronto is hosting A Night of Pomp & Pageantry this Saturday (January 26) at - you guessed it! - Pomp & Pageantry (112 Scollard St). The lavish party will run from 7 pm until midnight, and although tickets are $25, they're offering an open bar all night, makeovers, and hand massages - not to mention a chance to exclusively shop the boutique's latest designer collections!

Photo by Sylwia Bobryk courtesy of Woudenberg

For all of those who have dreamt of a life akin to Walter White, here's your chance to occupy a former drug warehouse. Uh, a Rexall drug warehouse, that is. This two-storey loft includes a patio the size of many new downtown condo units (sadly), and an integrated TV and surround stereo system included with the loft. All for the low, low price of just $845,000. And if that sounds unreasonable based on your current financial status, just remember there that are always alternate means of supplementing your income. Just take it from Walter.

SPECS:

Address: 68 Broadview, Loft 605
Price: $845,000
Size: 1,200 - 1,399 sq ft
Bedrooms: 1 + 1
Bathrooms: 2
Parking Spaces: 1 (Second space for sale, listed separately)
Locker: 1
Monthly Maintenance: $560.32
Taxes: $3,778.00 (2012)
Building Amenities: Roof deck, party room, security

NOTABLE FEATURES:

• Bose surround sound system and TV included
• 21.5 ft ceilings
• Hardwood floors
• Granite countertops
• Stainless steel appliances and sub-zero fridge
• 4-Piece bathroom on main floor
• 3-Piece bathroom on second floor with limestone tiles
• 400-sf ft terrace
• Built-in master closet
• Main floor office area

GOOD FOR:

Catching incredible sunsets (west exposure), keeping guests out of your master ensuite, checking out the traffic on the DVP. Also suitable for very tall people, people with very tall friends, claustrophobics, barbecue-enthusiasts, and nostalgic Rexall employees.

MOVE ON IF:

You like the ability to draw your bedroom curtains without affecting light in the rest of the suite, or you're looking at condos specifically to rid your life of stair-climbing. You believe a home office should have two walls (at the very least), and fear that dreams of falling will become that much more terrifying when waking up in a bed that's seemingly suspended in air.

Additional photos:

If you had the dough, would you buy this condo? Let us know where you stand in the comments below.

If, like me, you've ever wondered whether getting from, say, one end of the Danforth to the other is faster by bike, car or transit, the eternal question may finally have been solved. A Google Maps API featured on Atlantic Cities this morning allows users to chart a route between two destinations and compare the speeds of various modes of transportation. Right now, Google doesn't let you see all three as you go.

I cite the Danforth in particular because it's the road I'm most frequently able to overtake cars on my bike and easily remain ahead. As I'm riding, the subway rumbles by a block north, a hidden competitor in the quest for Broadview Avenue. The fastest vehicle between Woodbine and the Don Valley is, according to the system developed by an American mobility expert, still the car. But it's close.

Driving on a clear road, no red lights, at the posted speed limit takes 7 minutes. The API estimates riding a bike under the same conditions takes 13 minutes. The subway splits the two, taking 10 minutes to make the trip. Still, lights and parking cars included, I'm still willing to bet the bike is a little more competitive.

Let's take the route from the blogTO office to my neighbourhood in the east end as another example. I've wondered for a while now whether (when there's a lower risk of frostbite) if it's quicker to jump on my bike or get on the subway. According to Side-by-Side Router, it's only a minute quicker to use the TTC and walk the remaining distance. I wouldn't lose any time pedaling to Monarch Park via Shuter, River, Dundas, and Jones. With no traffic, taking a car would still get me to my destination fastest.

But what about a route that's well served by transit, bike markings, and, of course, roads? Between Bathurst at Harbord and Yonge at Wellesley there's a decent bike lane (some sharrows) as well as a streetcar and subway connection (via Bathurst and Bloor) so this time the results are much closer. Driving still wins, followed by biking, then public transit.

Now, these results obviously don't account for transit wait times or other unforeseen hinderances like a bad run of lights, but there seems to be a sign here that driving isn't always as fast as it might seem, especially when there are practical alternatives. Do tools like this underscore the need for widespread building of car alternatives? Could dedicated bike lanes and stats like this encourage more riders?

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

Images: "This Bike Is My Car" by cookedphotos/blogTO Flickr pool and Side-by-Side Router/Google

There aren't too many Irish pubs in Toronto that ask you to pay $14 just to walk in the door, but this club like pub at Duncan and Adelaide proves itself to be an exception to the rule. Sporting a sea of plaid, vodka shots and occasional bouts of live music, the spot known by its regulars as Gracie's is definitely not trying to replicate a night out in an authentic pub in Dublin.

Read my review of Grace O'Malley's in the bars section.

Just in case there was any doubt that Bellwoods Brewery is taking the Toronto craft beer scene by storm, yesterday the brewers announced that the space they own next door to their brew pub will now act as a full time retail space.

Starting today, the space at 126 Ossington, which Bellwoods previously used to host occasional pop-up retail sales, will become the permanent home of Bellwoods Bottle Shop. For the first three days, the space will open at 5pm and remain open until 11pm, then, as of Saturday, the space will be open from noon to 11pm six days a week. On Sundays, they'll shut things down at 6pm.

I spoke to Mike Clark, who, along with Luke Pestl, is one of Bellwoods' founders and co-owners, about how bottle sales will help the already popular brewery grow even more.

"The main thing is that it will allow us to reach many more people. With the exception of the occasional pop up sale, up until now we've only been selling by the glass in our bar and in kegs to 10-15 local establishments. We recently tripled our capacity to keep the retail store open full time, and also to get our existing wholesale customers a regular supply," he says.

"Anyone who's interested in our beer can now come by the brewery and pick up bottles to enjoy at home. Our license gives us the benefit of extended hours over the LCBO and Beer Store, which is great."

Indeed, the fact that Bellwoods will offer the city's beer fans a place to pick up a few beverages up until 11pm is certain to help solidify the growing brewers' popularity downtown--especially given the recent departure of Amsterdam Brewery, the downtown core's only other real later-hours beer store.

The move has been in the works for some time, and the boys at Bellwoods have kept the city's beer fans drooling in recent months as they boasted the addition of equipment to more than triple their capacity, and teased social media followers with photos of their on-going work to get their retail operations up and running. Says Clark, "The retail store (and the new tanks that support it) will also allow us to focus on some of our regular brands. As we ramp up production through February and into March, we'll start featuring a core group of products, alongside the brewpub's more experimental offerings as they become available."

Now that they're ready to open their retail doors, their initial offering will include 650ml bottles and growlers ranging in price from $4.75-$8 ($14 for growlers) and will offer a number of styles including Muggleweisse (a light sour brown ale), Petal Head (a dry hopped saison), and my pick for the best session ale made in Ontario, the so-easy-to-drink, 4.1% ABV Bellwoods Common.

"We'll also be using 750ml bottles for some barrel-aged products and/or bottle conditioned products, and we'll be moving towards a growler fill program, but that won't be up and running until March. Until then people can purchase new growlers or exchange for pre-filled growlers if we have them in stock," Clark says.

But don't expect a lot of bells and whistles at 126 Ossington just yet. "People can expect to feel like they're walking into a functioning part of our production space," says Clark, "because they are. We're not setting up a slick retail space--it's basically a kiosk beside our short-term barrel storage and cellar space. And of course--the eternal caveat--everything is perpetually under construction around here."

Given how far they've come in just one year (already their Witchshark Imperial IPA ranks among the best 25 beers in Canada according to Ratebeer, they've received international shout-outs from the likes of The New York Times, won a gold medal at the Canadian Brewing Awards, and were chosen by acclaimed beer writer Stephen Beaumont as the Ontario Brewery of The Year), there's no doubt that retail beer sales are just one more step in their perpetually improving business. And if the results thus far are any indication, I'm sure Toronto's beer fans can deal with a little construction dust.

For complete details of what's available for sale today and what's happening next at the brewery, check out Bellwoods Brewery's website.

Winter arrived in Toronto officially on December 21st, but while we received a heaping of snow post-Christmas, frigid temperatures are a more recent development. And, as befits our reputation, we as a city love to complain about it all. But, you know what? We also love to snap photos of winter, presumably seeking some sort of comfort in the aesthetic merits of freshly fallen snow. So, in that vein, here's a sample of some of the great shots our Instagram followers have uploaded over the last day or so under the hashtag #winterTO.

Lead photo by elle_spoon.

Photo by nobrainnoplan

Photo by xcannedx

Photo by toutpetite

Photo by misstraceynolan

Photo by SoTeeOh

Photo by maralouise

Photo by anitapita

Photo by seana702.

Photo by amelakh

Photo by blogTO

Photo by SoTeeOh

Photo by c_felts

Photo by umhop

Photo by not2bling

Be sure to follow blogTO on Instagram to keep up with all of our Toronto explorations.

Looking for inspiration, ideas and tips to reinvigorate or re-imagine the design of your living space? The annual Interior Design Show takes place this Saturday and Sunday at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (North Building). Tickets are $19 online and $22 at the door.

Now in its 15th year, the show features 300 exhibitors displaying the newest in innovative Canadian and international products. Feature exhibit will highlight international interior, architecture and industrial design trends - from emerging and established designers, including International Guest of Honour Oki Sato.

Speakers include author, visual artist and designer Douglas Coupland, designer and TV host John Gidding and House & Home publisher Lynda Reeves.

To give you a head start to your design dreaming and planning, I ask five of this year's IDS speakers to share the trends that they think Torontonians should look for in 2013.

UNDERSTATED GLAMOUR

Glamour will take on a more understated look, moving away from showy bling toward design that is individually tailored, says House and Home magazine's Editor-in-Chief, Suzanne Dimma, who will lead a talk with Tommy Smythe on Sunday.

"We still want luxury, but we want it to be quieter and more personal. Home owners are playing designer more than ever, choosing the colours, dimensions and patterns of tiles or area rugs, while furniture is now customizable in countless ways."

BIG BLASTS OF COLOUR AND PATTERN

"A recurring theme in home design, fashion and accessories, we keep seeing brighter colours and mixed ethnic patterns everywhere," says Jill Greaves, who will give a seminar on "How To Get The Most Out of Any Renovation Project" on Saturday.

She advises to be bold. "Expect to see bright colours like last year's tangerine to sunshine yellows and deep emeralds. Deep azure is also making a comeback."

IDS show goers will see many exhibitors embracing colour and pattern in their designs. Kia Canada's exhibit will showcase several cars wrapped in colourful, custom patterns created by Douglas Coupland, Christiane Lemieux, Jürgen Mayer H. and Karim Rashid.

MIXING NOT MATCHING

"I believe that people are getting tired of slick minimal interiors where everything 'matches,'" says Montreal-born and London-based rising star Philippe Malouin, who will speak about his material experimentation on Friday's Trade Day, a day reserved for professional members of the design trade.

"When it comes to furniture in an interior, I find it interesting when a person has collected it over the years. Interiors should reflect the personality and experience of its inhabitants rather than looking like a page from a design magazine. Furniture from all eras are interesting. By mixing them, you achieve more balance than by having everything modern and minimal."

BOLDER KITCHEN AND EATING AREAS

The recent explosion of smartly-designed gastropubs in Toronto has exposed adventurous consumers to quirky and layered design approaches, says Mark Challen, VP of House & Home Media, who will interview acclaimed Canadian interior designer Brian Gluckstein on Sunday.

Challen predicts that we will find brave new ways to design kitchens and eating areas. "From the industrial farmhouse look - think chunky butcher block tables with cast iron legs - to the eccentric Bloomsbury dining lounge - sporting well-worn upholstered banquettes, vintage wallpaper and antique mirrors - we'll be warming up our favourite room with lots of personality-driven furniture and art."

COPPER STRIKES BACK

HGTV star Tommy Smythe will be chatting with Dimma at IDS on Sunday. He thinks 2013 will see the return of copper. "Just when we thought brass was back for good, copper has begun to elbow its way into the kitchen and the bath and has taken over the accessories market... We'll see if it knocks brass off its throne," he says, adding, "Oh, and you can forget about chrome. It's so '90s!"

BRIDGING THE INDOOR AND OUTDOOR DIVIDE

IDS show goers can expect to see many design items that highlight natural materials like wood and stone.

Dimma says that Canadians have always had a special relationship with the outdoors - and in 2013, people will bridge the indoor-outdoor divide more than ever.

"We'll be seeing greater demand for accordion-style doors and windows that open fully to the outdoors, creating one big room. Heated stone floors with a flagstone look, typically a preserve of the mudroom or hallway, will be showing up in the living room. Plus, the quality of outdoor furniture is now better than ever, inviting us to linger outside even longer."

The big names on the block are now David's Tea, ACME Burger, Second Cup, and, of course Loblaws. And longtime Church and Wellesley institutions — Reither's Fine Foods and the Barn, to name a couple — have packed up and left, taking a little independent character with them.

And with neighbourhood gift shop Flatiron's set to close its doors in March, it looks like rising rents and encroaching chains might change the Village for good.

According to a feature by Xtra Canada, residents are worried that the recent influx of corporate franchises is having an eroding effect on Village culture. Some have noted the relative disappearance of rainbow flags, while others have gone so far as to say that franchises are "ruining" the community.

Indeed, from a economic consumer perspective, the area is thriving just as much as ever. But does it come at the expense of neighbourhood character? Loblaws, you ho, this is all your fault.

Photo by cookedphotos in the blogTO Flickr pool

Toronto events on January 24, 2013

MUSIC | 2nd Annual Big Smoke Music Festival
January is depressing, but buzz bands and booze under a (heated) big top tent is the best cure. The 2nd Annual Big Smoke Music Festival is an affordable, three-day festival of good hometown tunes. Beginning tonight with performances by Graydon James and the Young Novelists, Kira May, Moon King and DIANA, Amsterdam and Great Lakes Breweries will be peppering the show with hooch. Head over to Bloor and Ossington to watch Tallboys Craft Beer House transform into a mini-music fest this Thirsty Thursday. (And Friday. And Saturday.)
Tallboys Craft Beer House (838 Bloor Street West) 7PM $5

BOOKS & LIT | "Some Great Idea" Book Launch
The Grid's senior editor Edward Keenan follows in the footsteps of editors and broadcasters like Stuart Berman and Jian Ghomeshi with the release of his book "Some Great Idea: Good Neighbourhoods, Crazy Politics, and the Invention of Toronto." Launching at Lee's Palace tonight, Keenan's book about the rise of Toronto to its current status as a global city will be celebrated with performances by secret special guests and music by DJs Track Meet. The party is a free celebration of one of the city's great journalists and Hogtown's ascension to glory. It is your duty as a Torontonian to attend.
Lee's Palace (529 Bloor St. West) 8:30PM Free

ART & DESIGN | Come Up To My Room
40 artists experiment in alternative design inside the rooms of the historic Gladstone Hotel at the tenth Come Up To My Room. The four-day exhibit will see the hotel's interior elements supplemented with art pieces and the outside expanded by CUTMR alumni Rob Southcott, Orest Tataryn, and The Brothers Dressler. Neon signs, crochet blankets, and blow-up vinyl installations will fill the rooms for this event, which will have it's (loud) quiet opening at the hotel tonight. A party and reception will follow on Saturday night with all the artists and curators Christina Zeidler, Pamila Matharu, Noa Bronstein, and David Dick-Agnew present.
The Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen Street West) 6PM $10

ART | Zip The Bright
With the rise in popularity of .gifs on blogs like What Should We Call Me and Hollywood Assistants, it was only a matter of time before someone in Toronto turned it into art. Zip The Bright honours our love of the .gif with animations by four artists, Nicolas Sassoon, Rick Silva, Sara Ludy and curator Lorna Mills. With connections to landscapes, cinema, urban planning and colour theory, the .gif works of these artists will fill Trinity Square Video until the exhibit closes February 16th.
Trinity Square Video (401 Richmond Street West, Suite 376) 6:30PM Free

DESIGN | Do Design 2013
The vibrant Dundas West neighbourhood surrounding Trinity Bellwoods Park launches a streetwide event as part of Toronto Design Offsite Festival. Starting this morning, thirty artists will showcase their contemporary design works in salons, cafes, a lumberyard and boutiques over the course of four days in this free community exhibit. Venue hop around the 'hood and stop in at various opening receptions on Saturday between 3PM and 8PM or go on a guided tour on Sunday at 2PM. The best part about Do Design 2013? Most projects can be viewed from the sidewalk, 24 hours a day.
Dundas West (Bathurst Street to Grace Street) Free

OTHER EVENTS ON OUR RADAR:

• Interior Design Show
• The Wa Magazine: Energy Issue
• Indie Night at Carlton Cinema
• Fortnight Music: Lowlands, The Belleregards and Alanna Gurr

MORE EVENTS THIS WEEK

For more Toronto event suggestions, check out these posts:

• This week in food
• Hot Ticket
• This week in film
• This week in fashion
• This week in theatre
• This week in comedy

Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events calendar or contact us directly.

Photo from Come Up To My Room 2011

The countdown begins. Rob Ford will learn his fate Friday morning at 10:30 when a panel of Superior Court judges release their appeal ruling. If the judges decide to uphold a December ruling by Justice Charles Hackland, Rob Ford will be forced to immediately vacate the office of mayor pending a by-election or appointment from within council. Any predictions?

Also in mayors, official city communications will no longer carry a decidedly Ford Nation boilerplate paragraph. A complaint by councillor Josh Matlow in November prompted the city's communications department to re-think the text that refers to "delivering customer service excellence, creating a transparent and accountable government, reducing the size and cost of government and building a transportation city."

Take that, Montreal. Toronto is the second most walkable city in the country, according to WalkScore, a site that calculates how pedestrian-friendly cities are based on the availability of things like cafes and libraries. Toronto, the company says, was prevented from unseating Vancouver at the top by sprawling parts of Scarborough and Etobicoke but boosted by 'hoods like Church-Wellesley Village and Kensington Market.

Matt Elliott over at Metro has an interesting insight into Rob Ford's favourite budget graph that shows Toronto's gross operating budget flatlining through his three years at the helm of city council. Problem is, the gross operating budget figure isn't really the best way of measuring government spending since it doesn't include absolutely everything. Well worth a read.

The city will look into installing new traffic signals where the Kay Gardner Beltline Park intersects with several streets thanks to a request by councillor Josh Matlow. At present, where there are no bridges, the sinuous park dumps walkers mid-block with no easy way to cross.

Oh, and yeah, it's still cold out there.

A record funded entirely by donated Canadian Tire money by a Toronto musician has finally been released. Corin Raymond and the Sundowners recorded a live, two-disc album called Paper Nickels at the Annex's Tranzac Club this time last year and the group plan to pay the studio bill with the retailer's colourful currency. The band is still $1,100 from its $7,333.75 target.

Finally, Wayne Gretzky says he's not planning to become the next president of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Using a weird double-negative, The Great One told the CBC there is "100% no truth" to the rumor he will take the job recently vacated by Brian Burke. The former Edmonton Oiler has stayed clear of hockey since a stint coaching the Phoenix Coyotes.

QUICK LINKS:

• Brampton boy, 9, dies from injuries after shooting [Metro]
• Woman hit by TTC bus, suffers life-threatening injuries [CBC]
• Falling glass at the Shangri-La closes Adelaide St. [The Star]
• Driver ejected, breaks bones as car plunges into ravine during police stop attempt [The Star]

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

Photo: "For All Seasons" by Loco_Ono/blogTO Flickr pool.

Last year when I spoke to Toronto by way of Berlin metal-gaze duo Nadja, they divulged some strange plans, yet guitarist Aidan Baker kept quiet about his solo projects. This spring Baker will release his next solo work, Already Drowning, and its contents are surprising: seven compositions inspired by various myths and folktales about female water spirits, with vocal interpretations by eight female vocalists from Canada, the U.S, Germany, and Switzerland.

I say surprising because Nadja create bassy ambient drone that draws from bleak metal sounds, and Baker is an accomplished solo guitarist. On Already Drowning, Baker pushes his talents toward Warren Defever territory, writing all lyrics and compositions aside from vocal melodies, and playing guitars, bass, flute, drums, trombone, and piano--plus contributing field recordings. "30 Days / 30 Nights" vocalist, Ohio's Jessica Bailiff, has contributed to Defever's His Name is Alive in the past as a guitarist, so perhaps it's a fitting comparison.

The name dropping never ends (and it never should)--Already Drowning also features additional instrumentation from Laura C. Bates, Carl Pace (of Beta Cloud), Laura Rodie, Nadja's Leah Buckareff, and cello by Toronto's Nick Storring (of Picastro),

Other vocalists include American songstress Carla Bozulich (Evangelista), Valérie Niederoest & Maude Oswald of The Toboggan, German Joanna Kupnicka, Quebec's Geneviève Castrée, and two Toronto artists--Liz Hysen of Picastro, and Clara Engel, whose powerful voice on the album's title track describes a scene straight from a Guy Maddin movie.

Each vocalist brings a different spirit, bound by Baker's writing and atmosphere. The gentlest track is "Mein Zwilling, Mein Verlorener," which loosely translates to "My twin, My Lost." In this lovely psych folk piece, Kupnicka sings and speaks softly in German: a slow current leading the listener far from shore (while the lyrics are Baker's, some artists chose to translate them).

Valérie Niederoest and Maude Oswald's duet "Mélusine" shivers between jazz percussion, guitar loops, and drones. A Melusine is the most famous of water spirits--what we would recognize as a siren, or mermaid. The two voices, Ariel's mysterious deep-sea cousins, waver and chant. Yet Already Drowning isn't all soft water sounds: in one of the albums' greatest moments the tempest of doom that swirls through Nadja emerges on "Tout Juste Sous La Surface, Je Guette". I'm also glad to admit that while I wasn't crazy about Bozulich's work on Xiu Xiu's Always last year, her restrained efforts on "Lorelei / Common Tongue" are gorgeous and sinister. The album is a work of beauty, and I'll be listening to it a lot.

Already Drowning will be out April 15th 2013 on limited edition LP and CD, as well via download, from Gizeh Records. Aidan Baker will play April 7th at June Records in Toronto.

For the moment, enjoy the sounds of Baker's fall 2012 release, Origins and Evolutions, where Baker gathered over a dozen guitarists from around the world, creating four ambient drone tracks suited to a frozen winter.

This Week in Film rounds up noteworthy new releases in theatres, rep cinema and avant-garde screenings, festivals, and other special cinema-related events happening in Toronto.

NEW RELEASES

Krivina (The Royal)

Last week, anticipating the release of Igor Drljaca's debut film Krivina (which had its world premiere at TIFF last September), The Royal put together a programme of five of his award-winning shorts. Hopefully some of you went out and saw them; even if you didn't, though, this will be worth your time. A born Sarajevan, Drljaca moved to Canada in 1993 because of the war. In the most obvious sense, then, Krivina - a fictional narrative about a Bosnian immigrant named Miro (Goran Slavkovic) who returns home after hearing that an old friend has been accused of war crimes - would appear to be largely autobiographical. Minimal and compact, Krivina is a creeping and haunting film.

Tatsumi (TIFF Bell Lightbox)

Quite the departure for Eric Khoo (no masochistic sword tricks in this one!), to the point where it seemed irrelevant to even mention him until I learned that he has roots as a comic artist. Based on the manga memoir A Drifting Life, and five earlier short stories by the Japanese manga artist Yoshihiro Tatsumi (a huge inspiration for Khoo's creative urges), Tatsumi is a biopic about the eponymous gekiga pioneer. The 'bio' part often takes a backseat, though, overshadowed by the more interesting recreations of some of Tatsumi's most iconic stories. "Recreations" is the correct word, too, since, Tatsumi bizarrely wasn't involved in the animation at all. With that fact in mind, it's hard to not feel it'd be more worthwhile to just read the memoir and original comics instead.

Also opening in theatres this week:

• Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (Carlton; Rainbow Market Sq; Cineplex Yonge & Dundas)
• A Haunted House (Cineplex Yonge & Dundas)
• Italy: Love It or Leave It (Bloor Hot Docs Cinema)
• Knife Fight (Cineplex Yonge & Dundas)
• Movie 43 (Carlton; Rainbow Market Sq; Scotiabank)
• Parker (Scotiabank)
• Race 2 (Cineplex Yonge & Dundas)
• Stag (Cineplex Yonge & Dundas)

REP CINEMA

Japanese Divas: The Great Actresses of Japanese Cinema's Golden Age (January 24 - March 31; TIFF Bell Lightbox)

As we mentioned last week in our post about TIFF's mega Japanese Winter Extravaganza, 'Japanese Divas' is "an incredible 30-film series that pays tribute to the leading ladies of Japanese cinema, including Setsuko Hara, Kinuyo Tanaka, Machiko Kyo, Isuzu Yamada and Hideko Takamine." While the key inspiration was the iconic actresses themselves, the series might as well have been called 'Pretty Much the Thirty Best Japanese Films Period,' given how so many of Ozu's, Naruse's, Teshigahara's, and Mizoguchi's masterpieces of all masterpieces are being shown. I'd try to tell you what's most essential here, but my selection process would probably have to resort to pulling titles out of a hat. Any night you have free in which one of these films is playing should be free no longer.

This week's Japanese Divas screenings:

• Ugetsu (Thursday, January 24 at 6:15PM)
• Rashomon (Saturday, January 26 at 5PM)
• The Life of Oharu (Sunday, January 27 at 1PM)
• The Makioka Sisters (Sunday, January 27 at 7:30PM)

CINSSU Free Friday Films: Taste of Cherry (Friday, January 25 at 7PM; Innis Town Hall)

If you've only ever seen this Kiarostami masterpiece (and really, aren't they all?) on DVD, you haven't actually seen it. The influential film critic Adrian Martin makes the case: "...There is a monumentality, not just a minimalism, to his work. It is for the same reason that we must always see the films of Tsai Ming-liang (as Jonathan Rosenbaum has pointed out) and Hou Hsiao-hsien on a big screen. The earth just does not 'exist' in Kiarostami, it trembles. It is that vibration...married to the stillness of the shot or the steady, gliding car movements, to the duration of the images and their rhythm, to the unstable exchanges between inward feeling and outward pose in his actors, which creates the monumental effect of cinema in Kiarostami." Also, one of the most transcendent movie endings ever. Also, it's free and on 35mm.

Silent Sundays: The Gold Rush [1925] (Sunday, January 27 at 4:25PM; Revue Cinema)

If you've ever had to suffer (relatively speaking) through the 1942 sound version of this classic, right all the wrongs you inflicted on yourself then by seeing the silent version; the way it was created to be seen, on a beautiful, rustic 16mm film print. And don't let the Comedy genre tag fool you: sandwiched in cinematic history between two other brooding gold rush masterpieces (Erich von Stroheim's Greed and Lev Kuleshov's By the Law), this has all of Chaplin's hallmark poetry, pathos, and tenderness, foreshadowing his heartbreaker City Lights, not to mention his downright dark late period.

More rep cinema this week:

• Khrustalyov, My Car! (Friday, January 25 at 6:30PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)
• River's Edge (Friday, January 25 at 9:45PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)
• The Fall of Otrar (Saturday, January 26 at 1PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)
• ...And God Created Woman (Saturday, January 26 at 7:30PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)
• Intimidation (Saturday, January 26 at 10PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)
• Bus 174 (Sunday, January 27 at 12PM; Bloor Hot Docs Cinema)
• A Clockwork Orange (Sunday, January 27 at 3:30PM and Monday, January 28 at 9PM; Bloor Hot Docs Cinema)
• Léon Morin, Priest (Sunday, January 27 at 4:30PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)
• Citizen Kane (Tuesday, January 29 at 6:15PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)
• The Seventh Companion (Tuesday, January 29 at 9PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)

SPECIAL SCREENINGS

Cinematic Visions from Winnipeg, Manitoba (Thursday, January 24 at 7PM and 9PM; Videofag)

A two-part celebration of our favourite Winnipegger filmmakers, this screening consists of first a shorts programme curated by Clint Enns & Leslie Supnet (which includes some of their own work as well as a film by Guy Maddin), and then a screening of Greg Hanec's 1985 feature Downtime ("An offbeat portrait of two young adults, a janitor, and a cashier at a small store struggling to communicate"). Despite Hanec having made Downtime without having seen Jim Jarmusch's first two features, Permanent Vacation and Stranger Than Paradise, these have still become default points of comparison. At least he's in good company.

Lead still from Tatsumi

This is one fish market where you can sample the fish for lunch before buying fillets for dinner. The daily hot menu here includes fish and chips, red snapper tacos, fried smelts, and more, all of which is made using fish plucked right from the market counter. And with everything from house-smoked salmon, to live lobsters, to Italian cuttlefish and PEI oysters, your options here are pretty much only confined by land.

Read my review of Fish Street Market and Open Kitchen in the grocery stores section.

Ten York Condos says that you will surely be 'SmitTEN' with its design. And I say you're probably shaking your head in disappointment. Anyway, this is condo that got its neighbours all up in arms (that sure narrows it down...) due to very real concerns about added area density. Rising 735 feet and bringing thousands of new residents to York and Harbour, Ten York will certainly make a statement on Toronto's skyline and, more than likely, on your downtown rush hour commute. Here is a closer look at Ten York Condos.

SPECS

Address:10 York Street

Floors: 65

Elevators: 7

Total number of units: 690 (approx)

Types of units: One bedroom, one-plus-den, two-bedroom, three-bedroom

Unit sizes (in square feet): 565- 1305 (Plus signature selection suites)

Ceiling heights: 8'6" - 10'

Prices from: Low $400,000's

Parking: $55,000 (For two bedroom or larger)

Locker: $4,500

Parking maintenance: $36

Locker maintenance: $16

Maintenance fees: $0.45/s.f. +ultilities

Developer:Tridel

Architect: Wallman Architects

Interior Design:II by IV Design

Amenities: Party room, games room, fitness centre, billiards room, yoga studio, concierge, theatre room, guest suites, juice bar, sauna, pool, outdoor terrace

Expected occupancy: Summer 2017

THE GOOD

Um, score one for unobstructed views? That is, if you snag a unit above, say, the 35th or 40th floor (which will come at a premium, of course). Yes, living in one of the tallest buildings in the area will surely provide a picturesque view — but only until the next developer comes along with a sketch for 75 storeys or more. But in the meantime, and just as long as you're not afraid of heights, you'll be treated to a living postcard each time you look beyond your living room furniture. Is it a view worth half a million dollars? To some people, probably.

And speaking of wealth, Ten York residents are looking at paying a small fortune for a tiny little rectangle in Ten York's underground garage. The good news is, they really don't have to. The building will pretty much be within walking distance to everything, including GO trains, Union Station, the ACC, two supermarkets, and plenty of bars and restaurants. For someone who lives and breathes downtown, Ten York has itself a great location.

The suites themselves are pretty basic before upgrades, but it is refreshing to see some sensibility in design. Units start at a healthy (though by no means generous) 565 square feet and are arranged such that most bedrooms have windows (which, yes, is often overlooked in new condo designs).

THE BAD

I've never quite understood the appeal of having the Gardiner as your neighbour. Humming mufflers as your lullaby? And speaking of neighbours, this area better brace for a cool couple thousand extra moving in when Ten York welcomes its residents. The added density will just mean more congestion, traffic, and noise outside, and considerable wear over time on Ten York's common building elements. Granted, I suspect many of the buyers will be investors and not occupants, but $730 per square foot seems like an awfully high price to pay for a unit beside the Expressway.

As mentioned earlier, many of the suites in Ten York will boast spectacular views, but very few of them will actually come equipped with private balcony spaces. The ones that do will have something between a Juliet and an actual functional balcony. In other words — room for one of those Canadian Tire fold out camping chairs, or maybe two. I suppose I can understand the practical hiccups of inviting residents to sprawl out on their balconies at 700 feet up in the air, but most people like a little private outdoor time. Especially when the only other option is a deck shared by the thousands of other residents in the building.

And again, separate parking and locker maintenance fees? $16 per month for someone to sweep out the locker cages? $36 to, uh, clear leaves out of the parking garage? (Wait, this is downtown — there are no leaves). I can see why it makes sense to exempt those without parking spaces and lockers from having to pay for upkeep, but what about those who don't use the pool, or the fitness centre, or the juice bar? They still have to pay general maintenance fees, after all. These auxiliary costs just seem like an added cash grab, to me.

THE VERDICT

Maybe the NIMBYers were onto something...

What do you think? Would you live here? Add your comments to the thread below.

Read other posts in this series via our Toronto Condos and Lofts Pinterest board

Opening up in the former home of Double Deuce Saloon near Queen and Beaconsfield, this new snack bar has kept some of the same decor touches, but shortened the list of draught beers, added some classic cocktails, and a short, ever-changing menu of elevated snack food dishes, all priced at $10.

Read my review of Happy Child in the restaurants section.

The best AYCE (all you can eat) sushi restaurants in Toronto are all about walking that fine line between quantity and quality. Let's be honest: nobody goes to AYCE sushi places to slowly savour the delicate balance of flavours that the sushi chef carefully prepares. Rather, it's really more about stuffing our collective gullets with as much California Rolls as is legally (and physically) possible.

While this has led many AYCE sushi restaurants to offer food that is relatively mediocre in quality (or worse), the places listed below generally stand head and shoulders above many of their counterparts by also providing items of good quality and taste.

Here is the list of the best all you can eat sushi restaurants in Toronto.

See also:

The best cheap sushi in Toronto
The best splurge sushi in Toronto
The best sushi takeout in Toronto
The best Japanese restaurants in Toronto
10 great Toronto sushi restaurants north of the 401

Posted by Darren "DKLo" Susilo. He hangs out on the twitter and his own mansion.

Ron MacLean is best known as the yin to Don Cherry's yang, the rails beneath the inter-city express of hockey's loudest and most out-spoken character. As a high-level referee, MacLean is a natural mediator and his thoughtful and poetic additions to the CBC's flagship hockey broadcast provide a welcome break from the game's uglier moments.

Speaking ahead of last weekend's Hockey Night in Canada launch, MacLean took time to indulge in some hand-wringing over the Toronto Maple Leafs' prospects (natch) and toss around some ideas for the ideal Toronto day out. He might live in Oakville, but MacLean is well-informed when it comes to Toronto's culture and its municipal politics.

I guess the first thing I should ask about is the Leafs - there's a new GM and it's a shortened season, do you think could that work in the team's favour?

Well, it's obviously impossible to know. One thing you could maybe point to is a year ago 48 games into the season they were home and cool and looked like they were going to make the Stanley Cup play-offs and then they fell off the cliff.

I think they can make it. They're in a very tough conference, the teams in the east are formidable, and it's by no means a cakewalk. Ottawa has a couple of injuries that may affect their team and they may have a regression after a great surprise year, as sometimes happens, but they could be the team the Leafs could displace. It won't be easy for them.

Do you think the Leafs are the type of team to hit the ground running? It's always difficult when there's a change at the top.

If Joffrey Lupul is healthy, and he appears to be [uh-oh], that line is impressive. I'm a big Tyler Bozak fan - I know one of the knocks on the Leafs has been their inability to attract a number one centre...but I do like that line of Bozak, Kessel, and Joffrey Lupul. Any team that has a bit of chemistry will have an advantage.

When we've had short seasons in the past there were no 3-point games. The NHL's so tight, there's so much parity. I really believe the only thing that will settle it is injuries this year. Teams that can stay injury free, that will be the ticket ... Vancouver is already starting to crumble, and you worry about the Canucks...

Speaking of the Canucks, Luongo is a big name being tossed around for the Leafs. Do you think a trade could happen?

I wouldn't do it to get rid of Bozak and Jake Gardiner. The rumour was Tyler Bozak and Jake Gardiner for Luongo. I would be leery of that trade. I would put my confidence in Scrivens and Reimer; it's never good to have two young goalies but Scrivens is 26 and Reimer is 24. I think they can handle it. I would go for them over Luongo, but that's just me ... I think he's a great goalie but I'd be surprised if he'd want to come to Toronto.

You're local, you live in Oakville, so I'm going to ask you about some of your favourite places in the city. Where do you like to go after the night's done?

I love Ossington, I'm a big fan of Baldwin Street - those are if I get a chance to go for dinner. I have tons of restaurants I could name but I just enjoy the city for the restaurant scene. We tend to go to Earls, it's just down the street [from the CBC] and that's one of our hangouts after the game...it's easy for a beer. Beerbistro, we do Irish Embassy, P.J. O'Brien, those are the sort of spots that we go.

From a cultural point of view, I love music so the Horseshoe is number one. Lee's Palace, later to the Dakota. I love the Dakota on Ossington, that's a real favourite of mine.

If you could plan an ideal night out, you're off work, how would you do it?

That's a good idea. I would say an ideal evening would be maybe to stroll around Yorkville, just do a little bit of shopping because there's more unique places there, then I would head for a nice dinner because I'm going to go the Dakota or the Horseshoe, it would be either one depending on who's playing.

If I'm going to the Dakota for drinks I would eat at on King Street. If I'm going to the Horseshoe, I might go to eat somewhere on Ossington. You can't go wrong.

Do you have a favourite neighbourhood?

I like Queen Street ... the city offers so much. The Annex is great ... when we did Battle of the Blades over at Pinewood studios the east end was nice.

Have you been following what's happening with City Hall and Rob Ford?

I know Grapes is a huge supporter, obviously, he did the investiture for Rob Ford ... what I think is interesting about the Rob Ford administration, and I don't know if it's social media that's made it this way, is ... transparency. You hear that all the time, "transparency," and I think this [administration] has been forced into a healthy light.

We obviously have the mayors of Montreal and Laval stepping down in a corruption scandal. We have Idle No More, the whole divide with the Assembly of First Nations trying to sort out who should be the one saying what, and rather than anyone shutting anybody down there has been transparency foist on us, and I think that's healthy.

Rob Ford, if he had to do it again, has clearly said he would handle things differently. I think what we're gleaning out of the new world order, as I said, maybe it's social media that's driven it, but there finally is some transparency. I have always lived in my world as an enemy of secret sources. I don't hold up Woodward and Bernstein as my idols for Mark Felt at the FBI and taking down a president. I want to know who the source is.

And for Del Grande, who sounds like a noble guy, to be upset that they would question him just doesn't ring quite right to me. I have pride too, I get my knickers in a knot about a lot of things, but any time you're hauled on the carpet and asked to explain yourself, and any time you're looked on by the Twitterverse, that's good.

We're going to find out soon if Rob Ford stays or goes, do you have a preference?

It seems to me he came in a time of fiscal responsibility. Clearly his leanings don't appear to be left-wing social programs - his leanings are right-wing, and budgetary, and financial, but you need both. We have to swing both ways.

I'm thinking Kathleen Wynne, I'd like to see her take the nomination for Ontario, so I'd like to see that healthy voice from both sides, which is key to the Coach's Corner.

So health is the way forward, health and transparency for the city and hockey maybe as well?

Whether it's Margaret Atwood, there'll always be someone to be the bee in Rob Ford's bonnet ... and I like it.

I've always felt politics is a noble profession, there isn't one that's in it that wouldn't point out it's a dirty game, but in all the issues we're examining, whether it's Jodie Foster at the Golden Globes, or whether it's Newtown, Barack Obama, and the NRA, there a lot of good examples of what Obama called "teachable moments."

I always hoped that for our world - obviously the First Nations one is such a part of our history - it's just really exciting to see us forced to think about these things and decide our priorities.

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

After establishing itself in Montreal as a destination on the lower Main, Buonanotte has found its way to Toronto. Located in the old Ame (and before that, Rain) space on Mercer Street near Blue Jays Way, the week old restaurant served up cocktails and selections from its menu to a ravenuous and curious assortment of party goers this past Tuesday night.

Check out all the photos in our Style section.