You Didn't Get the Message Because We Didn't Have $150,000

Posted by Ryan C
Filed in City
September 18, 2007
YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!
Facebook is sorta awesome. It's a great place to connect with people and for blogTO it's been a good platform for not only keeping in touch with our readers, but also for our readers to easily get in touch with us in a public manner; even if we don't cover an event you guys inform us of, our group members still get the option of checking out the details on their own if you posted it on the wall or in a thread.

Facebook has recently changed the rules for groups, though. As a result we haven't been able to send our awesome readership messages about events, contests and promotions happening on blogTO through the increasingly popular platform. If we wanted to send you guys messages about such happenings, it would cost us a minimum of $150,000. We didn't win the lottery last week, so that ain't gonna happen.

More details as well as how this has affected us as well as the Toronto After Dark Film Festival are after the jump.

Virgin Forgoes the Cherry and gets its Pumpkin Smashed Instead

Posted by Ryan C
Filed in Music
September 10, 2007
Copyright 2007, Ryan Couldrey
Why hang out with some chick named Tiff when you can romp around with 30,000+ virgins? I just don't understand some people...

The second day of the Virgin Music Festival saw Toronto get visited by big shots The Killers and Smashing Pumpkins, while also getting some love from local favs Metric. With a large crowd showing up even earlier than the Saturday show, expectations were riding high. For the most part, the bands at the main stage delivered.

The real fun suckers were the thousands of people packed in tight at the main stage. I never thought I'd hear myself say this after moving to Toronto two years ago; I really, really missed being in Montreal because of you people.

De-Virginized by Bjork and M.I.A.

Posted by Ryan C
Filed in Music
September 9, 2007
Copyright 2007, Ryan Couldrey
For the most part, Dick Branson knows how to throw a damn party.

Step 1: Invite 40,000 of your closest friends
Step 2: Bring booze
Step 3: Schedule every big name you can find for your main stage, even if it feels like jamming a square box into a triangular hole.

Hard to go wrong, really, but a few things just didn't seem right at the main stage over the course of Saturday's Virgin Festival. Recap, shots, and my personal recommendations for tomorrow's sets (because my word is the gospel) after the jump.

The Toronto Star doesn't like it when Young People are Fucking

Posted by Ryan C
Filed in Film
September 5, 2007
so that's how he gets his teeth all white and shiny
Journalistic integrity be damned, if an artist titles their work with a word that is deemed by society to be a curse word it shouldn't be a vocational faux-pas to refer to the work in question by its actual title. The Editor in Chief of the Toronto Star, Fred Kuntz, is telling his team to refer to the movie Young People Fucking as Young People F------ for any and all coverage of this year's TIFF.

For the record, a man with the last name Kuntz is demanding his team adhere to this rule. That is 5 kinds of awesome wrapped up in a sushi-like roll. Hit the jump for further thoughts as well as a reader poll on the fucking matter.

Contest: Win Tickets and Back Stage Access to the Virgin Music Festival

Posted by Ryan C
Filed in Music
August 28, 2007
They're tryin to make me go to rehab I said "where do I sign"
We're all about virgins here on blogTO. And the total number has risen to 60!

Acts. 60 acts, that is, will be descending upon Toronto over September 8 and 9. And with the 47 acts suffocating the three stages that were already in place, a fourth stage has been added to the mix to force NXNE-like decisions to your day. New faces include Dragonette, k-os, The Postage Stamps, Liam and Me and The Most Serene Republic.

Don't have a ticket yet? Don't worry. We have two sets of two-day double passes to give away courtesy of Virgin Mobile. And one winner will also get two passes to hang out with the Tokyo Police Club. For a chance to win, join our Facebook Group because we'll be messaging all members next Tuesday with details how to win.

Ok. Now about the line-up. Decisions will need to be made; do you hit one of the mains to catch a sure-fire great show from Emily "I Wear a Fucking Skirt" Haines' Metric, or do you take a chance and check out the 10-20 singers of Bang Camaro cramming the stage? You won't have to worry about Amy Winehouse, as she's cancelled all her shows in September.

The updated Virgin Music Festival lineup lies, waiting for you, naked, rose petals scattered around and with strawberries and whip cream in tow after the jump.

Toronto Buskerfest Brings the Knives and Flames within Inches of Your Eyebrows

Posted by Ryan C
Filed in City
August 25, 2007
Copyright 2007, Roger Cullman
So today didn't exactly start off pretty enough to entice you to head to Front and Church, but the weather's starting to brighten up and Sunday is primed to be a pleasant 17-25 degrees. Perfect weather to check out some trampoline acrobatics and maybe a flame tossing trio of barbarian women.

Be sure to bring some cash, though. The vast majority of the performers and vendors are showcasing what they do for a living, not what they're doing as a simple side project to pass the time. Some highlights, tips on how to fully enjoy it, and other deets about the 2007 Toronto Buskerfest happening on Front Street await you after the jump.