Live music picks for WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 16 through TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 22, 2009

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 16 / A HAWK AND A HACKSAW / DRAKE HOTEL UNDERGROUND / 1150 QUEEN ST W / $12.50 / 19+
New Mexico's A HAWK AND A HACKSAW combine contemporary indie-folk with traditional eastern european music, and have found a devoted following with fans of similarly-minded artists such as THE DIRTY PROJECTORS and former tourmates BEIRUT. The combination of Balkan melodies with string-laden arrangements makes for a spine-tingling, enthralling live show.
www.myspace.com/ahawkandahacksaw

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 18 / NO SHAME 100 with GREEN GO, RUBY COAST, PICK A PIPER and SKELETONES FOUR / HORSEHOE TAVERN / 370 QUEEN ST W / $10 / 19+
Lauren Schreiber's No Shame concerts are incredible opportunities for new bands to branch out into Toronto's music community, with a fun, open-minded aesthetic that embraces all the various styles and sounds the city has to offer. Now celebrating its 100th show, No Shame brings together indie favourites GREEN GO and Aurora, ON's RUBY COAST with with newcomers such as psych-rockers PICK A PIPER and SKELETONES FOUR.
www.myspace.com/greengomusic
www.myspace.com/rubycoast
www.myspace.com/pickapiper
www.myspace.com/theskeletonesfour

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 18 / BENGA / MOD CLUB THEATRE / 722 COLLEGE ST / $15 / 19+
The dubstep movement is quickly becoming one of the defining new genres of electronic music for this decade, combining spacey dub reggae rhythms with stark electrobeats and wobbly bass, slowly evolving out of the UK grime and garage music scenes over the past eight years. The sound is already spreading to Toronto with local artists such as BOMBAMAN, so take the opportunity to catch one of the originators of the sound as London, England's BENGA takes the stage.
www.myspace.com/bengabeats

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 18 / K'NAAN / PHOENIX / 410 SHERBOURNE ST / $25.50 / ALL AGES
Born in Somalia, K'NAAN grew up amidst the chaos and destruction of the Civil War, with his family finally boarding the last commercial flight out of the country and moving to Toronto in 1991. Now an accomplished rapper, poet and musician, K'naan has spent most of his adult life raising awareness about the situation in his home country, with his latest album "Troubadour" a groundbreaking success across North America.
www.myspace.com/knaanmusic

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 18 / STEAMWHISTLE UNSIGNED #11 with MACHETES, FOXFIRE, LITTLE FOOT LONG FOOT AND DJ'S THE RURAL ALBERTA ADVANTAGE / STEAMWHISTLE BREWERY / 225 BREMNER BLVD / $5 / 19+
The Steamwhistle Unsigned concert series continues to spotlight local talent with this concert featuring all-girl retro-punk phenomes MACHETES, along with the equally sleazy but far more danceable disco ensemble FOXFIRE, garage-rockers LITTLE FOOT LONG FOOT, and in an interesting change of dynamics, a DJ set from indie-folk band THE RURAL ALBERTA ADVANTAGE. 100% of the cover charge is donated to the Artists Health Centre.
www.myspace.com/machetesband
www.myspace.com/foxfireforest
www.myspace.com/littlefootlongfootband
www.myspace.com/theraa

SATUDAY SEPTEMBER 19 / BORN RUFFIANS / OPERA HOUSE / 735 QUEEN ST E / $15 / ALL AGES
Midland, ON-born indie-pop group BORN RUFFIANS have been one of Toronto's biggest successes of the last few years, and along with fellow small-town transplants TOKYO POLICE CLUB they have brought their light-hearted, unpretentious sound to the world with international tours and key advertising placements. They'll aim to top last November's performance at the Opera House with a second show there this week.
www.myspace.com/bornruffians

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 19 / CHAD VANGAALEN / CHURCH OF THE REDEEMER / 162 BLOOR ST W / $20 / ALL AGES
CHAD VANGAALEN is quickly making a name for Calgary's indie scene; his own albums "Skelliconnection" and "Soft Airplane" have been nominated for the prestigious Polaris Music Prize, and he has also produced the debut album for fellow Calgarians WOMEN and designed the album art for several other artists including Edmonton's SHOUT OUT OUT OUT OUT.
www.myspace.com/chadvangaalen

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 19 / HEALTH / WRONGBAR / 1279 QUEEN ST W / $12 / 19+
As alumni of the now-legendary LA art space / concert venue The Smell (the band also recorded their debut album there), HEALTH have built a reputation for punishingly loud and abrasive live sets, even opening for NINE INCH NAILS on their 2008 tour. Their music is a mishmash of odd time signatures and asymmetrical song structures, featuring distorted synths and vague lyrics.
www.myspace.com/healthmusic

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 19 / JAPANDROIDS / HORSESHOE TAVERN / 370 QUEEN ST W / $10 / 19+
JAPANDROIDS' detractors can easily make the claim that the band's feature as "best new music" on Pitchfork in early 2008 has been the primary reason for their success over the past year, but nobody can deny that the band's raucous, lo-fi garage rock has hit a chord with music listeners across North America. They've been on the road since early July, a tour that won't see them home until the end of October.
www.myspace.com/japandroids

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 19 / HOODED FANG AND THE MILES / DRAKE HOTEL UNDERGROUND / 1150 QUEEN ST W / $5-$10 / 19+
POP Montreal presents a preview of this year's festival in collaboration with TIFF this week, showcasing some of Toronto's best new artists including frenzied dance-punkers THE MILES and indie-pop posse HOODED FANG, along with electro-pop group SILLY KISSERS and Vancouver's MAKEOUT VIDEOTAPE.
www.myspace.com/themilesthemiles
www.myspace.com/hoodedfang
www.myspace.com/sillykissersmusic
www.myspace.com/makeoutvideotape

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 22 / WAVVES AND GANGLIANS / EL MOCAMBO / 464 SPADINA AVE / $13.50 / 19+
Another band struggling to overcome the hype that Pitchfork has bestowed upon them, San Diego's WAVVES' reverb-and-distortation-laden sound began as the bedroom project of singer/core member Nathan Williams, but began touring internationally as their self-titled debut album began to draw draw attention. Openers GANGLIANS have a dreamier, 60's-influenced sound that brings to mind the perfect afternoon in the California sun.
www.myspace.com/wavves
www.myspace.com/ganglian

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Photo by Ryan Muir.