MUSIC | Dinosaur Jr. and Besnard Lakes at Lee's
Dinosaur Jr. hits Lee's Palace tonight for the start of a three-night run at this beloved Toronto venue. Formed in the mid '80s, Dinosaur Jr. went on to become one of the bands that influenced the alternative rock movement of the '90s, through their signature aggressive distorted guitar tones contrasted with a strong and sensitive melodic sense. There have been many lineup changes over the years, and for a while, frontman J Mascis was the sole original member of the band, which has been back in action since 2005 after a hiatus of almost ten years that began in 1997. The TO stop on their current tour, in support of the album I Bet On Sky, is a special extended run in a smaller venue, rather than a single night in a theatre. They are supported for these shows by Montreal's psych rock outfit, The Besnard Lakes.
Lee's Palace (529 Bloor Street West) 8PM $40

COMEDY | ALTdot Comedy Lounge
The ALTdot Comedy Lounge presents a stellar lineup tonight for the Just For Laughs Festival, which has been going on since Friday. The ALTdot Comedy Lounge has been a veritable institution in Toronto's entertainment industry for the last decade and a half, encouraging 'alternative' approaches to comedy. Both visiting performers and TO's own breed of standup and sketch comics are featured regularly. Tonight's showcase includes appearances from: Mark Forward (who is hosting), Sean Cullen, Debra DiGiovanni, Dave Merheje, Pete Zedlacher, Ron Sparks, Arthur Simeon, K. Trevor Wilson, Kristeen Von Hagen and surprise guests.
Rivoli (332 Queen Street West) 8:30PM PWYC (limited space - tickets recommended)

CULTURE | The Peep Show! (Polaris Gala Screening Party)
The next best thing to being at the gala for the Polaris Music Prize will be hanging at the Drake Hotel's "Peep Show" event. Every year the Polaris Music Prize champions a number of albums (and ultimately one winner) that their panel of experts deems to be of the highest quality and artistic merit to emerge in Canada in a given year. Tonight's event will screen the Polaris gala and offer guests "comp refreshment tickets," plus admission to the gala afterparty. In addition, there will be raffle prizes, and DJ sets by Graham Walsh during breaks in the gala broadcast. Should be good.
The Drake Hotel (1150 Queen Street West) 7PM $25

FILM | Trans Film Screening Series: "Against A Trans Narrative"
Tonight, The Trans Film Screening Series presents a free screening of Against A Trans Narrative. This hour-long 2008 film, directed by Jules Rosskam, examines the relationship between the "self" and one's community. Different narrative devices are used, such as diaries, audition tapes, spoken word, roundtable discussions, and more, to establish a discussion within various sectors of the alternative lifestyle community about the issue of "self", and the possible range of variation within the "trans experience" from individual to individual. An open discussion will follow the film.
William Doo Auditorium (45 Willcocks Steet) 6PM

OTHER EVENTS ON OUR RADAR

Sun Araw
The Incredible Aging Brain: How it Works & How to Keep it Sharp

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 allanparke in the blogTO Flickr pool