Thursday night, the much talked/buzzed femme fatal from UK known as Ebony Bones, will be debuting for the first time in North America at The Drake Underground.

With a seven piece band and enough wardrobe to make a short film, expect this concert to be one crazy carnival.

Like many of today's up-and coming acts, Ebony Bones' reputation has been growing from word of mouth. With an explosive stage presence and a sound that lies somewhere in between punk, disco and tribal rhythms, it's no wonder why people find her style so appealing.

Oshawa's crown princes of alt-country Cuff The Duke have been living the high life lately. After releasing Sidelines of the City - their third full-length on Hayden's Hardwood Records last October - they toured venues big and small across North America, as themselves and as Hayden's backing band.

Perhaps their greatest accomplishment was opening for Blue Rodeo at Massey Hall? I was curious about that and about what secret "guests" might be joining them on stage for their two shows at the Horseshoe this weekend.

My very first Call & Response was with lead singer Wayne Petti last June about his debut solo record. So I guess he's the C&R MVP. Congrats Wayne!

Keep reading for the complete interview.

I went to check out Kid Koala and iNSiDEaMiND on Saturday night at The Boiler House, in the Distillery District. I was amazed with how lively and busy it was there at 10pm. The Boiler House (also known as Building 46) is gorgeous inside with its warm red brick walls, and huge timber supports. The room seems cavernous and industrial, but is actually very cozy when it starts to fill with patrons.

The DJ booth was at least ten feet off the ground and set left of the main bar. There were four or five turntables set up for the opening act iNSiDEaMiND. These two Torontonians played a theatrical set, engaging the crowd while showing off their amazing skills.

In this edition of "10 things" we talk with jazz bassist extraordinare Victor Wooten about working with his idols (Stanley Clarke and Marcus Miller), Christmas with The Flecktones and early childhood education:

Friday night's Kate Bush tribute night at Hugh's Room was a treat. Not just for the audience, but the performers as well.

Some of the talented local performers had previously learned Kate Bush songs, being longtime fans of her music. Others admitted to learning the songs expressly for the show and were still putting the finishing touches on the arrangements at intermission in between the two sets. Either way, it made for some fresh and exciting interpretations of this woman's work.

The resulting evening of music was much more diverse and just as enjoyable as the original songs. There were some unusual arrangements, which included DJ Lexifer of Legion of Green Men doing a sampled mishmash (don't call it a mashup), accompanied on stage by a hula hoop dancer.

And the a capella group of seven singing Cloudbusting, as previously mentioned in my review of Retrocity's show last Tuesday, got a tremendous reception at this show as well.

Continue reading for more photos and the full review....

Tuesday night's Retrocity show at the Lula Lounge wowed the sold-out crowd with their vocal gymnastics and stage antics.

Aside from the rad tunes performed totally a capella by seven talented singers, they had "gettin' to know the new dudes" game-show like interludes that introduced the new members of Retrocity to the audience.

They let us know their favourite things from the '80s, from wearing acid wash jeans to collecting scratch 'n sniff stickers to use of the phrase psyche! Trivia questions included multiple choice questions guessing the singer's middle name. The winner received a bag of candy. Truly outrageous!

Dylan Bell mentioned in my interview earlier in the week how Ferris Bueller's Day Off is his favourite movie from the '80s. So I kinda knew it was going to be a dyno show.