Top 10 Concerts in Toronto June 2016

June 11-12, Bestival featuring The Cure, Tame Impala, Jamie XX, Odesza, Classixx, and more!

The second consecutive weekend featuring a solid festival in Toronto, Bestival’s 2^nd instalment yields a similar line up to 2015’s debut line up on the exact same weekend in June, though with a new venue! Instead of being held on Toronto Island – as was the case last year, Bestival will now take place in lovely Woodbine Park in East Toronto, near the Beaches.

Jamie XX returns to the forefront of the Bestival line up – though this year his debut album In Colour will be more familiar to festivalgoers. The album’s one-year anniversary just passed at the end of May, whereas last year it was a mere one-week infant at this time. I was fortunate to catch Jamie XX open for Caribou in Hamilton last summer at Pier 4 Park, and the outdoor environment was an unexpectedly superb atmosphere for his spacey set – particularly during sundown with a clear, starry sky on the horizon. Normally a DJ set would be considered more ideal to be held in the controlled environment of a darkly lit venue or club, but the summery vibes oozing from Jamie XX’s music beg for the outdoors.

Furthermore, the true headliners of Bestival 2016; veterans The Cure and Aussie rockers Tame Impala are the main draws for the weekend. The Cure’s Disintegration recently turned an astounding 27 years old, which is not only a strong reflection of Robert Smith’s longevity as a songwriter and performer, but also a testament to how before-its-time Disintegration was, particularly with their melodic deployment of synthesizers in opener Plainsong and, my personal favourite, Closedown. Speaking of synthesizers, Tame Impala’s newest album, last years Currents, features Kevin Parker exploring the world of synthesizers significantly more than his band’s prior two albums. Tame Impala’s debut album Innerspeaker put them on the map as a psychedelic rock outfit, particularly featuring expansive songs and Parker’s John Lennon-esque vocal delivery. Their sophomore effort, Lonerism further established them as a legitimate rock act with the ubiquitous lead single ‘Elephant’, and fan favourite ‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’. Currents has even further cemented them as one of the biggest rock bands in the world right now, and witnessing how they re-enact Currents cuts live with the heavy synths, vocal modulations and looping effects would be a sight to behold.

Check out our Bestival 2016 Festival Preview!  (Coming Soon)

Choice Cut: ‘Gosh’ by Jamie XX from his 2015 debut album In Colour

When: Saturday-Sunday, June 11-12, 2016
Where: Woodbine Park (1661 Queen Street E, Toronto, ON)
Buy Tickets: Bestival 

June 14, MSTRKRFT at Horseshoe Tavern

An electro show at the legendary Horseshoe Tavern? Mark this one down as a must-see for Toronto two-piece MSTRKRFT. Jesse Keeler, whom many know from his work with Death From Above 1979, teams up with close friend and Mississauga native Al-P (not to be mistaken with El-P from Run The Jewels) in this duo, who are back on the scene after a long duration where we saw Keeler putting the majority of his focus towards DFA1979. MSTRKRFT has a new album coming out in July, titled OPERATOR, and it will be their first album release since way back in 2009, when they released Fist of God. They’ve already released two fresh singles to build the hype and anticipation for OPERATOR, ‘Little Red Hen’ and ‘Party Line’, and their list of indie music remixes is as vast and expansive as anyone you can name.

Choice Cut: ‘Heartbreaker’ featuring John Legend, from 2009’s Fist of God

When: Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Where: Horseshoe Tavern (370 Queen St W, Toronto, ON)
Buy Tickets: Horseshoe Tavern

June 17, Cold Specks at Lee’s Palace

Cold Specks are one of those bands that I personally hold dear, as they fall under the category of ‘discovered when opening for / touring with another band. March 18, 2013 – the day after St. Patrick’s Day no less, I was an undergraduate at Queen’s University and I bought a ticket to see Stars at the Sydenham Street United Church, a fantastic venue where I was also lucky enough to see Bahamas, Ra Ra Riot and The Weather Station, amongst others. Needless to say, it was quite the hung over day, and if it weren’t for the financial commitment of buying a ticket to this show, I likely would have stayed in bed. I arrived in time for Cold Specks, and Ladan Hussein’s dark soul/gothic sound left a more lasting impression on me than Star’s performance upon the night’s completion. Hussein’s Cold Specks project is signed to Arts and Crafts, and she hails from Etobicoke, Ontario. Her most recent album, 2014’s Neuroplasticity, features vocal contributions from Michael Gira of Swans – a surprising collaboration that makes for as unique of a sound as you would expect.

Choice Cut: ‘Bodies at Bay’ from 2014’s Neuroplasticity

When: Friday, June 17, 2016
Where: Lee’s Palace (529 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON)
Buy Tickets: Ticketfly

June 13-19, NXNE Featuring Father John Misty, Schoolboy Q, Ghostface Killah, Mother Mother, Dan Mangan, The Zolas and more!

Another summer, another NXNE, perhaps the most fun, accessible, and value-driven festival of the summer. I say accessible because it literally takes place all over our great city, all week long, at venues of all different sizes and capacities. I also say value-driven because, from an attendee’s perspective, I can’t think of an event where you can get more bang for your buck than NXNE. Buying a wristband gets you access to any show/venue across the city for the duration of the festival as long as that venue hasn’t already reached capacity before you arrive at the doors (punctuality is key to fully exhaust the maximum value of your wristband). Furthermore, the larger acts play at Yonge Dundas Square… for free! To give you a full grasp of the potential value in this festival, a couple years ago I purchased an early bird pass for $90 and saw Spoon, St. Vincent and Mac DeMarco for free, along with Spiritualized, Tune-Yards and Rhye – all at the beautiful Massey Hall, as well as Speedy Ortiz and Courtney Barnett at other venues of which I can’t recall. The year before I didn’t even buy a ticket, but in one day I caught (for free) The National and Hayden, along with an exclusive screening of The National’s Mistaken For Strangers film at a Bloor Street Cinema.

This year, NXNE is offering a new venue location in the Port Lands during the Saturday and Sunday of the weeklong event, which should give these two days a more legitimate ‘festival’ feel in an outdoorsy, park environment. Headlining at the Port Lands is Father John Misty, a Mighty Records favourite who passed through Toronto as recently as this past April with a stop at Massey Hall! I was lucky enough to grab a ticket to that particular performance, and left the show nothing short of being blown away. Check out our Father John Misty Concert Review at The Orpheum in Vancouver from April. His expansive set featured almost all of his songs from both albums, 2012’s Fear Fun and 2015’s I Love You, Honeybear. Though I didn’t become a fan of Father John until his sophomore album, I most certainly found that the cuts from his first record yielded more of an upbeat sound in the live setting, and his fantastic band certainly contributed on a grander scale on these tracks. Misty’s stage presence is Mick Jagger-esque and over-the-top in the best way, yet it doesn’t sacrifice his actual performance of the songs in any way! He prances from left to right of the stage, interacts with the crowd in between and during songs, and often falls to his knees or back while pirouetting his microphone stand as if it were a tipsy dance partner. Father John Misty’s live performance consists of sheer entertainment and strong musical performance, and it will certainly highlight what should be yet another fantastic week of music at Toronto’s annual NXNE.

Check out our NXNE 2016 Festival Preview!

Choice Cut: ‘Tee Pees 1-12’ by Father John Misty, from 2012’s Fear Fun

When: Monday – Sunday, June 13-19, 2016
Where: Port Lands (The Port Lands, Toronto, ON)
Buy Tickets: NXNE 

June 19, Modern Baseball at Opera House

Pop Punk is not dead! This testament is particularly true in Toronto, where we have home grown bands like Seaway growing incrementally larger to a national audience by the day. Modern Baseball may not be from Toronto – they’re part of the ever-growing Philadelphia music scene (which also notably claims Kurt Vile and The War On Drugs, for example), but one can be quite certain that they have quite the following in our great city, based on the deep-rooted pop punk scene that calls Toronto home. They just released their 3^rd album Holy Ghost in May, and it has since been subject to rave reviews across music blogs that don’t normally cover their genre. The album packs quite the punch for a 27-minute run time, and also features numerous memorable quotes, in particular my personal favourite from album standout ‘Note to Self’’: “All I found were empty cans of cigarette butts lining dirty parking lots in Ottawa.” Pop Punk certainly doesn’t have to be your genre of choice to have a good time at this show. It’s not my go-to listen, but this is definitely one show in June that I am excited for. Their breezy sound makes for a responsive audience in the live environment, perhaps resulting in a mosh pit breezy enough for me to handle.

Choice Cut: ‘Wedding Singer’ from 2016’s Holy Ghost

When: Sunday, June 19, 2016
Where: Opera House (735 Queen St E, Toronto, ON)
Buy Tickets: The Opera House

June 26, Steve Gunn + Promised Land Sound

An old adage in the music industry is that you won’t hit the jackpot with your first musical endeavour, and that you have to build up your name or your ‘brand’ before taking off. Steve Gunn’s rise to the indie music forefronts certainly fits that mould, and so do those who helped him on his journey. Though his discography paints a picture of him regularly releasing albums under his own name and frequently collaborating with other folk/rock/classic dudes since 2007 (including the lovely Hiss Golden Messenger), Gunn’s big break was in 2013 when he toured with Kurt Vile and was a member of Kurt Vile & The Violators in support of Vile’s breakthrough album; the fantastically summery Wakin On A Pretty Daze.

It’s quite ironic that Gunn had Kurt Vile & The Violators as a launching pad for his solo career, because keen indie enthusiasts will remember that Vile was a founding member of The War On Drugs with his good buddy Adam Granduciel, but left the band after their debut album to focus on his solo work. Perhaps Vile saw a bit of himself when he recruited Steve Gunn and provided him with a base to build his brand from; after all, they’re both killer guitarists and frontmen. I’m confident that I don’t need to cite any of Kurt Vile’s work to prove his guitar capabilities (you’ve been living under a rock if you haven’t heard ‘Pretty Pimpin’ on the radio in the last 8 months), but check out Steve Gunn’s most recent album from 2014, Way Out Weather, if you’re a fan of catchy and hooky acoustic and electric guitar riffs. Akin to Vile’s album that he toured with, Way Out Weather has a sunny, summery vibe that would soundtrack a cottage weekend in the best way. The Great Hall is a perfect environment for such a sound.

Choice Cut: ‘Milly’s Garden’ from 2014’s Way Out Weather

When: Saturday, June 26, 2016
Where: The Great Hall (1087, Queen St W, Toronto, ON)
Buy Tickets: The Great Hall