Canada

Chilly Gonzales deserves a warm reception at Toronto show

He’s better known as a collaborator with Feist, Drake, Peaches and Tiga, but Chilly Gonzales is an accomplished performer in his own right. Chilly Gonzales’s background is classical but he considers himself pop. “I want to be a man of my time,” he says. By: Nick Krewen Special to the Star, Published on Wed Nov 07 2012 Chilly Gonzales is so prolific, it’s a surprise he’s not more of a…


Metric at ACC: concert review

Metric was so concerned with the business of execution that for a while they ignored one of the key aspects of showmanship: acknowledging the crowd. By: Nick Krewen Special To The Star, Published on Sun Nov 25 2012 Metric forgot hometown factor — briefly — while playing ACC   There is little doubt that Emily Haines is a star. All she had to do, within moments of taking the Air…


Toronto’s Lindi Ortega a rising alt-country star in Nashville

Lindi Ortega brings her blues-infused songs opening for Social Distortion at Toronto’s Sound Academy. “I like evolving and learning and exploring what I’m interested in, and I wanted to show that musically,” says Lindi Ortega of her new disc, Cigarettes & Truckstops.   By: Nick Krewen Published on Wed Oct 17 2012 If Lindi Ortega’s star is rising so rapidly, then why is she singing the blues? The answer can…


Geddy Lee on the sustained Rush

Fabled Toronto rock trio, doing two dates Oct. 14 and Oct. 16 at the ACC, still learning things on new album. By: Nick Krewen Special to the Star, Published on Wed Oct 10 2012   Twenty albums and nearly 40 years in, Toronto hometown heroes Rush are continuing to defy the odds. Despite creating a musical niche that courts intellectualism, prides itself in technical proficiency and continues to influence the…


Jason Collett reckons times are tough

How do you write songs that have political overtones without being perceived as political? . Veteran Toronto rock musician and Broken Social Scene member Jason Collett. By: Nick Krewen Special to the Star, Published on Fri Sep 28 2012 How do you write songs that have political overtones without being perceived as political? It’s a dilemma local hometown songwriter Jason Collett finds himself in with Reckon, his fifth and latest…