Photo: "Light at the End of the Tunnel" by anotherfaceinthecrowd, member of the blogTO Flickr Pool.

Events on Toronto's Radar for WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 2, 2009... lovingly handpicked from blogTO's events calendar.

MUSIC | Friendly Fires and The xx DJ Sets at Wrong Bar
The xx - the latest buzz band from across the pond - are a quartet of London teenagers who make pop music inspired equally by the R&B of Rihanna and Missy Elliot and the Britpop of the Cure. The band opens for Friendly Fires tonight at the Pheonix as part of a whirlwind tour after having their single "Crystalised" featured as a single of the week on iTunes this summer, then hits up Wrong Bar to spin dj sets at the official afterparty. Friendly Fires are no slouches either, having recently signed with influential British label XL and toured with Interpol.
Phoenix Concert Theatre, 410 Sherbourne St., $16.50, 8 pm

THEATRE | A Very Lupe Christmas
Her name is Guadalupe Maria Milagrosa Josefina Paz Dominquez, but you can call her Lupe. She first burst onto the Toronto theatre scene with an acclaimed show at the 2008 Fringe Festival, and tonight the hilarious and adorable Latina is back with a new Christmas-themed show full of her favourite things: men, Margaritas, and Gloria Estefan. Not bad for a gal who recently fled revolucion in her native land. There are rumours that Lupe is actually just a character created by Melissa D'Agostino, but when falling in love with Lupe is this much fun who'd want to believe the truth. Runs til Sunday.
Bread and Circus, 299 Augusta Ave., $17, $15 with donation to the Food Bank, 8 pm

FORUM | The Toronto Alliance of Art Critics presents: Bring It
Everybody hates a critic. That's why these six writers are very brave in daring Toronto's art community to show up tonight and turn the judgmental guns of fury on them for a change. Eye Weekly contributor David Balzer and the National Post's Leah Sandals will be joined by four of their colleagues to give a detailed account of everything wrong with the art being created in this city and how you can get your own, doubtlessly superior, work reviewed.
Double Double Land, 209 Augusta Ave., PWYC, 8 pm

MUSIC | Swollen Members at Lee's Palace
Canadian West Coast crew Swollen Members have been in the rap game for over a decade now. It's been a long time since "Mad Child" and "Prevail" captured the Best Rap Recording Juno in 2001, and since then they've had to endure issues with drug addiction, the collapse of their record label, and some ensuing legal battles. They're back with their first studio album in three years, and Armed to the Teeth features some well-known guests including Talib Kweli and Everlast.
Lee's Palace, 529 Bloor St. W., $20, 9 pm

THEATRE | To Be Straight With You
This show is based on hundreds of interviews collected from individuals who feel marginalized by society's racism, homophobia, and intolerance. Exploring issues of religion, sexuality and human rights, the DV8 Physical Theatre production incorporates text, video, dance and animation to portray the lives of those directly affected by intolerance in the daring style that the company has become known for. Runs til Friday.
Fleck Dance Theatre, 207 Queen's Quay W., $40, 8 pm, 2pm matinee on Saturday

MUSIC | Evening Hymns at Soundscapes
Out of This Spark, the record label that brought the world Timber Timbre, has also stoking the fires beneath another singer-songwriter with a non-sequitur nom du plume. Evening Hymns is Jonas Bonetta, a rural Ontario native whose new record Spirit Guides takes you out into the fields and deep into the woods. Bonetta is joined on the album by a stellar supporting cast including members of Ohbijou and the Wooden Sky, and a few of those guests might make an appearance at Evening Hymn's in-store today.
Soundscapes, 572 College St., Free, 7 pm

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