As is our Thursday tradition, we have dug through the mass of Canadian concert listings to give you Exclaim!'s Can't Miss Concerts, our weekly concert guide for Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Edmonton. Here's what we deem your best concert bets.
Vancouver
Thursday, November 25
CiTR 101.9 FM will be hosting their Fundrive Finale tonight at the Biltmore Cabaret with a '90s throwback night brought to you by ten different bands. Dance down memory lane with the post-punk of Hermetic, rambunctious rock of Thee Manipulators, synth sounds of Fine Mist, electro sensibilities of Babe Rainbow and more.
Hermetic
The Manipulators
Fine Mist
Babe Rainbow
Thee Manipulators
$12 advance/$15 door at the Biltmore Cabaret
Friday, November 26
Some people deal with their mid-life crises by buying a Porsche. Others, like Nick Cave, pick up a guitar and start a lascivious fuzzed-out rock band. Grinderman, Cave's three-year-old side-project, will be playing at the Commodore Ballroom with one of the world's most accomplished theremin players, Armen Ra.
Grinderman
Armen Ra
$30 at the Commodore Ballroom
Saturday, November 27
Los Angeles art punks No Age count Bradford Cox of Deerhunter and Colin Greenwood of Radiohead as fans, and most likely they count you too, seeing as they've garnered a lot of well-deserved attention with their latest album, Everything in Between. Catch them with fellow West coasters Gun Outfit and ShEAring PinX.
No Age
Gun Outfit
ShEAring PinX
$16 at the Rickshaw Theatre
Calgary
Thursday, November 25
Get down and dirty with purveyors of good old-fashioned punk music the Ex-Boyfriends as they celebrate the release of their latest CD, Never Been Happier. They will be sharing the stage at Broken City tonight with Calgary crowd-pleasers the Sharp Ends.
The Ex-Boyfriends
The Sharp Ends
$TBA at Broken City
Friday, November 26
He's dabbled in opera, covered an entire Judy Garland record live and partied with the Bush twins. This year, Canadian music icon Rufus Wainwright has been busy touring his latest studio effort, All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu, which includes a stop in Calgary at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium.
Rufus Wainwright
$29.50 at Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorum
Wednesday, December 1
Did you know that Alexisonfire poached their name from Alexis Fire, the world's only lactating contortionist stripper? You learn something new every day. Take your newfound knowledge to MacEwan Ballroom, where the band will be playing songs from their acclaimed EP, Dog's Blood, as well as older favourites.
Alexisonfire
Norma Jean
La Dispute
$42 at MacEwan Ballroom
Edmonton
Saturday, November 27
Hey, Edmonton! Your poet laureate, Cadence Weapon, is performing at the Edmonton City Centre Parkade, so make sure you take the opportunity to see the hip-hop maven and grandson of Edmonton Eskimo great Rollie Miles take part in the city's Grey Cup Festival.
Cadence Weapon
$59 at Edmonton City Centre Parkade
Monday, November 29
Alexisonfire continue their spectacle of sights and sounds across Canada. Catch them in Edmonton, along with another hardcore band named after a female icon, Norma Jean, and La Dispute.
Alexisonfire
Norma Jean
La Dispute
$43.75 at the Edmonton Event Centre
Wednesday, December 1
GWAR are in the middle of their Bloody Tour of Horror to support their latest album, Bloody Pit of Horror. The band, which don hilariously outlandish costumes, squirt liquid on their audience and are known to periodically perform their encores completely in the nude, are a live act not to be missed. Catch them with fellow racket makers the Casualties, Infernaeon and Mobile Deathcamp.
GWAR
The Casualties
Infernaeon
Mobile Deathcamp
$38.25 at the The Edmonton Event Centre
Toronto
Thursday, November 25
Hey, Toronto, why don't you come out to Sneaky Dee's tonight and celebrate some Manitoban tunes? Imaginary Cities and Royal Canoe will be bringing the pop, the Lytics will be supplying the beats and prairie troubadour Del Barber will be breaking hearts with his acoustic guitar.
Imaginary Cities
Royal Canoe
The Lytics
Del Barber
$TBA at Sneaky Dee's
Friday, November 26
In 1986, the members of Wolf Parade were all pint-sized visitors to Vancouver's Expo 86, although, at the time, they didn't know each other. These days, they are a band whose most recent effort is a critically acclaimed pop album named for the expo where they, in retrospect, could have met. On Friday, they'll bring that record to the Mod Club, with forwarding-thinking Japanese pop rockers Ogre, You Asshole lending opening support.
Wolf Parade
Ogre, You Asshole
$26.50 at the Mod Club
Saturday, November 27
Ozzy Osbourne, the part-man, part-Neanderthal who can apparently count Barbara Bush as a fan (according to Dubya himself at the 2002 White House Correspondence dinner), will be rocking out with Judas Priest frontman Halford at the Air Canada Centre.
Ozzy Osbourne
Halford
$29.50 to $89.50 at Air Canada Centre
Montreal
Thursday, November 25
The British folk singer who gave us the infectious "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" is back with another mix of folk pop melodies on her latest release, Tiger Suit. Catch KT Tunstall and get inspired by Brooklyn folkster Hurricane Bells, who wrote his entire debut album, Tonight Is the Ghost, on his Macbook.
KT Tunstall
Hurricane Bells
$25 at Club Soda
Saturday, November 27
Montreal's No Joy are about to take off. They have been featured by numerous publications, including the New York Times, for their melancholic brand of shoegaze grunge, rocked the festival circuit last year and are about to embark on a tour with Best Coast in early 2011. So catch them while you can, along with fellow fuzz rockers Ducktails, Grimes and Metz.
No Joy
Ducktails
Grimes
Metz
$8 advance, $10 door at Casa del Popolo
Vancouver
Thursday, November 25
CiTR 101.9 FM will be hosting their Fundrive Finale tonight at the Biltmore Cabaret with a '90s throwback night brought to you by ten different bands. Dance down memory lane with the post-punk of Hermetic, rambunctious rock of Thee Manipulators, synth sounds of Fine Mist, electro sensibilities of Babe Rainbow and more.
Hermetic
The Manipulators
Fine Mist
Babe Rainbow
Thee Manipulators
$12 advance/$15 door at the Biltmore Cabaret
Friday, November 26
Some people deal with their mid-life crises by buying a Porsche. Others, like Nick Cave, pick up a guitar and start a lascivious fuzzed-out rock band. Grinderman, Cave's three-year-old side-project, will be playing at the Commodore Ballroom with one of the world's most accomplished theremin players, Armen Ra.
Grinderman
Armen Ra
$30 at the Commodore Ballroom
Saturday, November 27
Los Angeles art punks No Age count Bradford Cox of Deerhunter and Colin Greenwood of Radiohead as fans, and most likely they count you too, seeing as they've garnered a lot of well-deserved attention with their latest album, Everything in Between. Catch them with fellow West coasters Gun Outfit and ShEAring PinX.
No Age
Gun Outfit
ShEAring PinX
$16 at the Rickshaw Theatre
Calgary
Thursday, November 25
Get down and dirty with purveyors of good old-fashioned punk music the Ex-Boyfriends as they celebrate the release of their latest CD, Never Been Happier. They will be sharing the stage at Broken City tonight with Calgary crowd-pleasers the Sharp Ends.
The Ex-Boyfriends
The Sharp Ends
$TBA at Broken City
Friday, November 26
He's dabbled in opera, covered an entire Judy Garland record live and partied with the Bush twins. This year, Canadian music icon Rufus Wainwright has been busy touring his latest studio effort, All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu, which includes a stop in Calgary at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium.
Rufus Wainwright
$29.50 at Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorum
Wednesday, December 1
Did you know that Alexisonfire poached their name from Alexis Fire, the world's only lactating contortionist stripper? You learn something new every day. Take your newfound knowledge to MacEwan Ballroom, where the band will be playing songs from their acclaimed EP, Dog's Blood, as well as older favourites.
Alexisonfire
Norma Jean
La Dispute
$42 at MacEwan Ballroom
Edmonton
Saturday, November 27
Hey, Edmonton! Your poet laureate, Cadence Weapon, is performing at the Edmonton City Centre Parkade, so make sure you take the opportunity to see the hip-hop maven and grandson of Edmonton Eskimo great Rollie Miles take part in the city's Grey Cup Festival.
Cadence Weapon
$59 at Edmonton City Centre Parkade
Monday, November 29
Alexisonfire continue their spectacle of sights and sounds across Canada. Catch them in Edmonton, along with another hardcore band named after a female icon, Norma Jean, and La Dispute.
Alexisonfire
Norma Jean
La Dispute
$43.75 at the Edmonton Event Centre
Wednesday, December 1
GWAR are in the middle of their Bloody Tour of Horror to support their latest album, Bloody Pit of Horror. The band, which don hilariously outlandish costumes, squirt liquid on their audience and are known to periodically perform their encores completely in the nude, are a live act not to be missed. Catch them with fellow racket makers the Casualties, Infernaeon and Mobile Deathcamp.
GWAR
The Casualties
Infernaeon
Mobile Deathcamp
$38.25 at the The Edmonton Event Centre
Toronto
Thursday, November 25
Hey, Toronto, why don't you come out to Sneaky Dee's tonight and celebrate some Manitoban tunes? Imaginary Cities and Royal Canoe will be bringing the pop, the Lytics will be supplying the beats and prairie troubadour Del Barber will be breaking hearts with his acoustic guitar.
Imaginary Cities
Royal Canoe
The Lytics
Del Barber
$TBA at Sneaky Dee's
Friday, November 26
In 1986, the members of Wolf Parade were all pint-sized visitors to Vancouver's Expo 86, although, at the time, they didn't know each other. These days, they are a band whose most recent effort is a critically acclaimed pop album named for the expo where they, in retrospect, could have met. On Friday, they'll bring that record to the Mod Club, with forwarding-thinking Japanese pop rockers Ogre, You Asshole lending opening support.
Wolf Parade
Ogre, You Asshole
$26.50 at the Mod Club
Saturday, November 27
Ozzy Osbourne, the part-man, part-Neanderthal who can apparently count Barbara Bush as a fan (according to Dubya himself at the 2002 White House Correspondence dinner), will be rocking out with Judas Priest frontman Halford at the Air Canada Centre.
Ozzy Osbourne
Halford
$29.50 to $89.50 at Air Canada Centre
Montreal
Thursday, November 25
The British folk singer who gave us the infectious "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" is back with another mix of folk pop melodies on her latest release, Tiger Suit. Catch KT Tunstall and get inspired by Brooklyn folkster Hurricane Bells, who wrote his entire debut album, Tonight Is the Ghost, on his Macbook.
KT Tunstall
Hurricane Bells
$25 at Club Soda
Saturday, November 27
Montreal's No Joy are about to take off. They have been featured by numerous publications, including the New York Times, for their melancholic brand of shoegaze grunge, rocked the festival circuit last year and are about to embark on a tour with Best Coast in early 2011. So catch them while you can, along with fellow fuzz rockers Ducktails, Grimes and Metz.
No Joy
Ducktails
Grimes
Metz
$8 advance, $10 door at Casa del Popolo
