Friday-Sunday: Queen West Art Crawl + Parkdale Night Crawl
Queen West Art Crawl opening reception and auction happens Sept. 14 at The Drake Underground, 1150 Queen St. W., #WQW . 6-9 p.m. Free. Art Crawl runs along Queen West (from Bathurst to Roncessvalles), until Sept. 16. Parkdale Night Crawl happens Sept. 15, 7-11 p.m . Headquarters at Gallery 1313, 1313 Queen St. W., #PRK .
This weekend will mark the 10th anniversary of the Queen West Art Crawl, a three-day adventure that spans along the main artery of Toronto’s art scene, from Bathurst to Roncy. This event, geared to every age and every persuasion, will feature a grand outdoor show at Trinity Bellwoods, where you can shop from over 250 jury-selected artists. Aside from the opening-night gala , the most interesting experience you can have as a local or as an art lover is Saturday’s Parkdale Night Crawl , which offers “multiple levels of interaction for artists and patrons during an exciting night of innovative, immersive art exploration.” Events include a makeshift roller disco, a large community endeavour to create the “Parkdale Tattoo,” and readings of fiction created on the spot. Check here for a full list of events, here and then watch the video below.
Friday: S.S. Songs with guest DJ Andy Rourke of The Smiths
Also featuring Dwayne Gretzky, July Talk, Stella Ella Ola. Riverboat Gambler, 261 Queens Quay St. E., #HAR . Board at 9 p.m.; boat leaves at 9:30 p.m. $15 from Rotate This, Soundscapes, or Ticketbreak .
Dearly beloved, we will gather here tomorrow one last time to pay our proper respects to Songs , the Young Lions Music Club ’s benevolent “band-as-DJs” monthly dance jam that ended peacefully last month. It will be reincarnated for one more night—on a boat , mofos. Head to Riverboat Gambler to board S.S. Songs, complete with a sermon from the bishop of a musical religion: Andy Rourke of The Smiths. Uh huh, those Smiths. In partnership with band-booker legend Dan Burke (Silver Dollar Room, hello ), YLMC’s signature night will sail into the sunset in style. Look for other sets by Dwayne Gretzky, July Talk, Stella Ella Ola. Songs: you will live on in our hangovers. Find out more here .
Friday: The Power Plant gallery’s Fall 2012 opening party
DJ Brendan Canning. 231 Queens Quay St. W., #HAR . Doors open at 5 p.m. Free.
Ah, the Power Plant: Home of the annual Power Ball that validates its relevancy for the other 364 days of the year. Or is it the other way around? The Power Plant has always had its strength not just in artists, but also in the art itself—and I’ve always said people don’t seem to see it that way, or at least care to remember. As part of the Power Plant’s ongoing 25th- anniversary celebrations (remember the Ball’s dubious theme, “Quarter-Life Crisis”?), the gallery will debut its fall exhibitions gratis to the public. You’ll see the increible Christian Marclay’s widely praised installation “The Clock ” (“a cinematic timepiece, ” said The New Yorker ) and Berlin-based Omer Fast’s “Continuous Coverage .” At 6:15 p.m., there’s a public tour of the exhibitions with Power Plant director Gaëtane Verna. There’ll be food by JK Frites, Fidel Gastro, and Ezra’s Pound, and a cash bar. Broken Social Scene’s Brendan Canning—who recently spun for Emma Watson at her new flick’s film-fest party—will bring the tunes. And, in what could be the most magical move of all, the Power Plant will remain open for 48 hours straight starting this Friday at 5 p.m. See you at The Clock, say, 4 a.m. Saturday?
VIDEO
Friday: Peaches Does The Drake
Performances by Peaches and friends. The Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen St. W., #WQW . Doors at 9 p.m. $10. Video installation runs until Sept. 16.
It’s Peaches, bitch! As if you need to hear about yet another TIFF thing from meTIFF Future Projections program (a.k.a. taking cinema to the gallery), wonder woman Peaches—Canada’s so-called “favourite gender-bending, electro-punk shit-disturber”—will hit the Drake stage to conclude the three-part celebration of her festival music-performance film, the transsexual rock opera Peaches Does Herself . here .
VIDEO
Saturday : A Club Called Rhonda with special guests Azari & III
Also featuring GODDOLLARS, Wheel Wells. Wrongbar, 1279 Queen St. W., #PRK . Doors at 9 p.m., $10.
She’s baccccck. After a splashy 416 debut at the Drake Hotel during last June’s Pride weekend , Rhonda—and her Club— are back for round two. And they’re bringing some more friends along. If you’re not familiar with Rhonda, she’s a living, breathing, totally ineffable legendary lady. Part discothèque, part performance art, part polysexual playground, Rhonda urges you to go hard or go the fuck home. It’s all very endearing. And erotic. And entertaining. You get the gist. This tour stop has a better chance of getting her over that sophomore slump since she’s not at the Drake Hotel and she won’t have to fight for stage presence alongside hetero-normies (or hetero-snores)—I guarantee no one will look at you and ask, “What the fuck are you wearing?” Even better? She’s got a playdate with her friends Azari & III, and, well, you probably know who they are and how that will end: en vogue. Find out more here .
