Toronto startup lets you preview concerts online

After the death of Stillepost, and more recently Offerings Magazine, Toronto's music community has faced dire straights for diverse live music listings. We do our best, and I'm always one to champion ultra-simple local listing website Just Shows, but what newly re-launched Show Gopher does differently is it allows fans to stream a track by every artist from every show.

The site, led by Mike Walter Rosenthal, Owen Norquay, Devin O'Haire, and Darcy Pease, also allows users to search by venue and time-slot, and includes a listing section for all ages shows. Users can log in via email or Facebook to bookmark gigs. Basically, it's a dream for curious and on-the-go music fans.

Show Gopher has run in since 2012, but officially re-launched its new design and increased functionality today. Rosenthal tells me half their listings come from submissions, and the other half is sought out by the team. "If we find a show and someone else hasn't put it up, we do. The site aggregates a lot of the music, so most of our job is just guesstimating set times as well as possible."

When asked if any other cities have similar listing sites, Rosenthal says he only knows of one in BC - "but it tends to just have music for the odd band here and there." The team have plans to expand the unique concept to Montreal, London ON, Windsor, and Detroit sometime later this year.

Check out Show Gopher's newly reno'd listings at showgopher.com/Toronto, and let us know what hidden gems you find.