SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26TH

MUSIC | Delhi 2 Dublin at The Phoenix
Delhi 2 Dublin has been hard at work, on the road, and taking their party across Canada. TO is honoured to have the tour end here - this is D2D's last show of 2011! This band has been tearing it up all over the last few years - they are true road warriors who deserve December off, but will be going out with a real "bhang" tonight. Their sound is a highly danceable mix of Indian vibes, notably bhangra-type rhythms, fused with modern sounds like hip hop and electro treatment, with plenty of fiddle featured to give the Dublin side its due. Grand Analog will open. Should be a good one!
Phoenix Concert Theatre (410 Sherbourne Street) 8PM $15

BOOKS & LIT | Holy Oak Book Club presents Iain Reid
It's the Holy Oak Book Club's 2nd Anniversary, and event number 14! This charming little cafe is the perfect place to hang, and even more perfect for an intimate reading series. Tonight's guest author is Ian Reid, whose fresh new work, "One Bird's Choice" recently won the CBC Bookie Award for Nonfiction. Reid is an author and journalist who has contributed to many notable Canadian publications, and his novel "One Birds Choice" is an autobiography of sorts, detailing his experience moving back home with his parents after graduating from university.
Holy Oak CafĂŠ (1241 Bloor Street West) 7PM

CULTURE | SUBSPACE "FreakShow"
If you couldn't make the trek for Torture Garden Montreal, and have a little bit of Halloween withdrawl despite the fact that it hasn't even been a month, then you might want to check yourself into the Great Hall tonight. Subspace is putting on an evening of alt-culture dubbed "Freakshow" that will feature some acts that have made the Torture Garden scene in the past, and will still deliver some eye-popping moments for all who attend. In particular, the IwasCured Flesh Hook Suspension Stage Show will be front and centre, dangling before your very eyes. Plus you know you can count on DJ Paul Savage and his crew to move deviant bodies. Dress code is the usual "Fetish & Freak", but isn't that how you roll 24/7?
The Great Hall (1087 Queen Street West) 10PM $10

PERFORMANCE | Villains themed burlesque show
There's no denying that villains can be sexy. Being irresistibly drawn to the "bad boy" is a common tendency. Clearly the curators of "The Evil League Of Sexy" agree, and are passionate enough about this very phenomenon to have created tonight's extraordinary event: a burlesque show with a 'villain' theme! Bad guys from comics, film, TV and elsewhere will be featured as an extended cast of burlesque performers do their thing to convert you to the dark side... or scare you straight! There will also be an "Evil Moustache Painting" station in the theatre lobby to celebrate both Movember (donations will be accepted) and this very facial 'trait' common to history's greatest villains.
Toronto Underground Cinema (186 Spadina Ave) 9PM $13

OTHER EVENTS ON OUR SATURDAY RADAR

• Three Fragmented Actions of Silence
• 25th Annual Toronto Blues Society Women's Blues Revue
• Chris McKhool & Friends "Celebrate! Holidays of the Global Village" Fundraising Family Concert

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27TH

BOOKS & LIT | Author Jon Evans & Artists Georde Walker & Jim Westergard
There will be two books featured and discussed at this afternoon's literary event at The Gladstone. Jim Westergard and Jon Evans' "Beasts of New York" features a gripping 'Watership Down-style' tale penned by Jon Evans, centering around New York's urban wildlife. This book's illustrations are wood engravings by Jim Westergard, who has brought this early 1800s technique into modern times. The second book in the spotlight this afternoon is George Walker's "The Book of Hours". This book was on the shortlist for a 2011 ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year award, and deals with the hours before the tragic events of 9/11. This book is a "graphic novel" of sorts, and the images have been created through a woodcut technique, which is similar to that used to produce Westergard's aforementioned wood engravings. This interesting event will feature a discussion on these techniques, plus words about New York, graphic novels, and more. The event will be nicely augmented by both a printmaking demonstration and a slideshow of Westergard and Walker's work.
Gladstone Hotel Ballroom (1214 Queen Street West) 2PM $5 / free with book purchase

MUSIC | Malian ngoni maestro Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba, opener Daniel Nebiat
Tonight, master ngoni player, Bassekou Kouyate will share some music from Mali. The ngoni is an ancient relative of the modern banjo: it is a stringed instrument, similar to a lute in nature, but with a stretched membrane (usually goat skin) which acts as a resonator of sorts. Ngoni Ba is his own group, comprised of four ngonis, all played by family members. Bassekou Kouyate has collabed with many North American musicians and groups, most notably Bela Fleck. Opening act Daniel Nebiat plays the harplike instrument, the krar, an instrument native to both Ethiopia and Eritrea.
The Great Hall (1087 Queen Street West) 9PM $30

MUSIC | Doug Tielli CD Release
Toronto underground music maker, Doug Tielli, releases his latest album, "Swan Sky Sea Squirrel" tonight at the Tranzac. Tielli performs regularly at both the Tranzac, and in a variety of settings and groups at Somewhere There - this city's only venue dedicated to free improvised music. This latest release from Tielli finds him playing all of the instruments himself, from percussion to brass, guitar, vocals, and more. The eleven songs on the album were conceived during an extended stay on one of the Toronto Islands, and one of the project's goals seems to have been to evoke the environment in which the creative process took place. It will be interesting to see how much of a taste of the Toronto Islands we can get in the Tranzac tonight.
The Tranzac (292 Brunswick Avenue) 8PM $8

FUNDRAISER | ACT Charity Event - "The Sex You Want"
No one likes to put "sex" and "charity" in the same sentence - it doesn't do much for anyone's self-confidence, does it? In this case, an exception can be readily made: tonight's fundraising event for ACT (AIDS Committee of Toronto) at the Tattoo Rock Parlour. AIDS is still with us, and this fundraiser will help ACT fill the gap where other agencies may be falling short. Our hostesses Kavita, Zeina and Nakeesa will welcome you to an evening of music and entertainment, with door prizes to boot!
Tattoo Rock Parlour (567 Queen Street West) 7PM

OTHER EVENTS ON OUR SUNDAY RADAR

• TWM: Hank & Lily (first TO show since 09), Alphabot + Good Times Running
• One World, Double Take Panel Discussion: Ancient-Contemporary Convergence

Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events calendar or contact us directly.

For Toronto movie showtimes, view our Movie Listings section.

Photo by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla in the blogTO Flickr pool