Toronto concerts worth knowing about in April, 2013.
Happy Easter Monday! I spent my weekend in Bruce County cross-country skiing, happy to return to a snow-less city. There's lot of shows this month, as bands are fully out of hibernation now. 1970s "power band" Yes (according to my mom) is playing April 11th at Massey Hall, freaking Fleetwood Mac is in town, something called "Pagan Fest IV" in on tap and Alicia Keys too — so sumthin fer errrrybody. As always, feel free to share concerts not included on our list in the comments. But do play nice, please.
HOT TICKETS
ALICIA KEYS / APRIL 2 / 7PM / AIR CANADA CENTRE / $40.50-126
Keys is touring on the back of her 5th studio album Girl on Fire and first release with RCA records.
RITUALS / APRIL 3 / 8PM / THE DRAKE HOTEL / $TBA
Joined by ODONIS ODONIS and Elsa, this is their EP release show. Hazy, fuzzy, rock music.
DUCKTAILS / APRIL 3 / 8:30PM / THE GARRISON / $12.50
Cute name. Also hazy, fuzzy with some dreamy in there too. Thanks to the involvement of Matt Mondanile of Real Estate, you'll probably like Ducktails if you like them — but probably not as much because, well, it's Real Estate.
WAVVES / APRIL 5 / 9PM / THE HORSESHOE / $18
Nathan Williams is already on his 4th full-length, Afraid of Heights, and it seems like just yesterday he was releasing good stuff like Wavves and Wavvves. His sound is much poppier now, and I guess since themes like surfing and the beach can only be stretched so far we're left with material like "I wanna meet Dave Grohl". Blech.
K-OS / APRIL 5 / 8PM / DANFORTH MUSIC HALL / $25 W/RICH AUCOIN
Rich Aucoin recently won the inaugural Prism Prize for his video "Brian Wilson is A.L.I.V.E" — check it out below! His live show is also award-worthy. Get there in time to catch his opening time slot!
MOON KING / APRIL 10 / 8PM / THE DRAKE HOTEL / $TBA W/ARMY GIRLS AND ABSOLUTELY FREE
Stacked bill, you guys! Moon King are pretty buzzy, Army Girls features DIANA's Carmen Elle and Absolutely Free are a weirder but somehow cooler Menomena. Worth checking out each act.
THE BLACK ANGELS / APRIL 13 / 7PM / THE DANFORTH MUSIC HALL / 7PM
On the card with Allah-Las and Elephant Stone, The Black Angels took their name from a Velvet Underground song. Their psychedelic droney rock is pretty badass.
FLEETWOOD MAC / APRIL 16 / 7PM / AIR CANADA CENTRE / $49.50-149.50
The Mac! Do I really need to write anything?
MANITOBA / APRIL 19 / 8PM / THE HORSESHOE / $15
Is Caribou Manitoba again? Is this The Wilderness of Manitoba? Please provide the answer in the comments.
HOW TO DESTROY ANGELS / APRIL 25 / 8PM / THE SOUND ACADEMY / $37.50-55 W/ DIIV
Openers DIIV are the ones to catch. The project of Zachary Cole Smith, guitarist from Beach Fossils, the sound transports you to a beach in the 80s as seen and heard through an Ativan haze. Fact.
OTHER NOTEWORTHY CONCERTS
- MODESTEP / APRIL 3 / 10PM / WRONGBAR / $21
- THE BICYCLES / APRIL 4 / 8:30PM / LULA LOUNGE / $10
- W/HOODED FANG AND THE MAGIC
- BILLY TALENT / APRIL 5 / 6PM / AIR CANADA CENTRE / $38.50-49.50
- MIKA / APRIL 5 / 8PM / THE OPERA HOUSE / $35
- JESSE WARE / APRIL 6 / 8PM / THE OPERA HOUSE / $20
- AIDEN BAKER / APRIL 7 / 8PM / JUNE RECORDS / $6
- JAMIE LIDELL / APRIL 8 / 8PM / LEE'S PALACE / $15
- C2C / APRIL 8 / 7:30PM / THE MOD CLUB / $25
- MUSE / APRIL 9 / 6PM / AIR CANADA CENTRE / $39.50-69
- LYDIA / APRIL 9 / 6:30PM / SNEAKY DEE'S / $15.50
- BOBBY LONG / APRIL 9 / 7PM / THE DRAKE HOTEL / $13.50
- THE FLATLANDERS / APRIL 9 / 8:30PM / THE HORSESHOE / $29.50
- KEYSHIA COLE / APRIL 9 / 7PM / THE DANFORTH MUSIC HALL / $29.50-75
- TRIBUTE TO STOMPIN' TOM / APRIL 10 / 8:30PM / THE HORSESHOE / $5
- REDD KROSS / APRIL 11 / 8PM / THE HORSESHOE / $15
- MATT KOSTA / APRIL 11 / 7PM / THE MOD CLUB / $21
- SERENA RYDER / APRIL 11 / 7PM / THE DANFORTH MUSIC HALL / $32.50
- YES / APRIL 11 / 6PM / MASSEY HALL / $49.50-89.50
- THE JOY FORMIDABLE / APRIL 12 / 7PM / THE PHOENIX / $18.50
- ON AN ON / APRIL 12 / 7PM / THE DRAKE HOTEL / $14
- WALK OFF THE EARTH / APRIL 12 / 7PM / THE DANFORTH MUSIC HALL / $25
- COAL CHAMBER / APRIL 13 / 7PM / SOUND ACADEMY / $27.50-37.50
- RHYE / APRIL 13 / 8PM / THE GREAT HALL / $15
- NADJA / APRIL 13 / 9PM / POLYHAUS / $7
- LIVING COLOR / APRIL 13 / 8PM / THE OPERA HOUSE / $28.75
- RYAN BEATTY / APRIL 13 / 6PM / THE MOD CLUB / $21.50-50
- TIMEFLIES / APRIL 13 / 7PM / THE PHOENIX / $25
- SHUGGIE OTIS / APRIL 14 / 8PM / THE PHOENIX / $39.50
- FU MANCHU / APRIL 15 / 8PM / LEE'S PALACE / $18.50
- MARNIE STERN / APRIL 16 / 8PM / PARTS & LABOUR / $12
- PAGANFEST IV / APRIL 17 / 6PM / THE OPERA HOUSE / $27
- CLUTCH / APRIL 18 / 6:30PM / SOUND ACADEMY / $23.50-33.50
- BONOBO / APRIL 18 / 8PM / DANFORTH MUSIC HALL / $20
- A-TRAK / APRIL 18 / 10PM / THE HOXTON / $20
- ANBERLIN / APRIL 18 / 7PM / THE OPERA HOUSE / $23.50
- AKRON/FAMILY / APRIL 19 / 9PM / LEE'S PALACE / $15
- THE DEVIL MAKES THREE / APRIL 20 / 8PM / THE OPERA HOUSE / $20
- WHITE LUNG / APRIL 22 / 8PM / HARD LUCK / $10
- SHABAZZ PALACES / APRIL 23 / 8PM / LEE'S PALACE / $20
- KILLING JOKE / APRIL 24 / 8PM / LEE'S PALACE / $29.50
- FEAR FACTORY / APRIL 24 / 7PM / THE OPERA HOUSE / $24.50
- BLEACHED / APRIL 25 / 8:30PM / THE SILVER DOLLAR / $11
- CLASSIFIED / APRIL 26 & 27 / 8PM / THE OPERA HOUSE / $25
- JOHNNY MARR & THE HEALERS / APRIL 27 / 8PM / THE PHOENIX / $25
- MILK CARTON KIDS / APRIL 27 / 8PM / THE DRAKE HOTEL / $17.50
- LENKA LICHTENBERG / APRIL 28 / 8PM / GLENN GOULD STUDIO / $15-25
- SARA BAREILLES / APRIL 29 / 7PM / THE PHOENIX / $35
- TRIXIE WHITLEY / APRIL 30 / 8:30PM / THE DRAKE HOTEL / $15.50
Photo by Roger Cullman