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blogTO's Hot Picks for CMW 2008


Well, it's that time of year again: CMW, or as it is officially known this year, Rogers MusicStore Canadian Music Week, is kicking off on Wednesday with a big industry hobnob at the Royal York presented by CBC Radio 2 (oh, if only it had been Radio 3).

This year's line-up looks bigger and better than ever (of course), with 445 bands playing in 44 venues over the course of four long nights. You can bet the blogTO music staff will be running around like mad trying to take it all in. We recently put together a list of our top picks, just in case you were having a little trouble trying to figure it all out. We've put together a fabulous list for you to choose from, complete with direct links to their music so you can judge for yourself if you want to be a part of it (Caveat: you will need a time machine to take in everything on this list). So, without further ado, here's your official list of CMW hot tickets ...

Wednesday

10:00 PM - Torontonians Sebastien Grainger et les Montagnes at the Phoenix Concert Theatre (410 Sherbourne) - Gary

12:00 AM - NYC's Dub Trio at the El Mocambo - 1st Floor (464 Spadina Ave) - Steve

Thursday

9:00 PM - Hometown favourites Young Flux at the Drake Underground (1150 Queen St. W.) - Carlos

10:00 PM - Halifax's Rich Aucoin at Cameron House (408 Queen St. W.) - Carlos

10:00 PM - Local BritPop enthusiasts the 6ixty8ights at Lee's Palace (529 Bloor St. W.) - Steve

11:00 PM - Broken Social Scene's Jason Collett at Lee's Palace (529 Bloor St. W.) - Mike

12:00 AM - TO synth-pop combo Small Sins at the Drake Underground (1150 Queen St. W.) - Gary

12:00 AM - Montreal's The Besnard Lakes at the El Mocambo - 1st Floor (464 Spadina Ave) - Mike

12:20 AM - Sloan at the Supermarket (268 Augusta Ave.) - Mike

1:00 AM - Montreal's Les Breastfeeders at the El Mocambo - 1st Floor (464 Spadina Ave) - Carlos

1:10 AM - Local trio Sunparlour Players at The Horseshoe (370 Queen St. W.) - Gary

2:30 AM - Toronto rockers Oh No Forest Fires at The Horseshoe (370 Queen St. W.) - Gary

Friday

10:30 PM - Laura Barrett at the Drake Underground (1150 Queen St. W.) - Mike

11:15 PM - Toronto's own Slim Twig at the Drake Underground (1150 Queen St. W.) - Carlos

12:00 AM - Pride of Saskatoon Volcanoless in Canada at Cameron House (408 Queen St. W.) - Steve

12:45 AM - Local electronic combo Woodhands - The Drake Underground (1150 Queen St. W.) - Gary & Mike

Saturday

7:30 PM - After a six-year hiatus the Breeders will be featuring tunes from their new album Mountain Battles at the Phoenix Concert Theatre (410 Sherbourne) - Steve

9:30 PM - Lowest of the Low perform at the Indies as they're inducted into the Indie Hall of Fame at the Canadian Room inside the Royal York Hotel (100 Front St. W.). LOTL singer/guitarist Ron Hawkins has confirmed that contrary to his previous statements this really is the last chance ever, ever to hear them live, and they're only doing two songs (as yet undisclosed) so don't be tardy. - Steve

11:00 PM - Waterloo's Bocce at the Drake Underground (1150 Queen St. W.) - Carlos

12:10 AM - The official cowboys from Hell White Cowbell Oklahoma at the Horseshoe Tavern (370 Queen St. W.) - Mike

Check back Thursday through Sunday for our aftershow posts, and feel free to use the comments area below to let us know who you're going to see.


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