1. More believable than Duffy and less sketchy than Amy Winehouse,
Suffolk, England’s Alice Russell works the white-soul angle, pairing a
scorching voice with the funky bombast of an impressive backing band.
Her covers (The White Stripes' “Seven Nation Army,” Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy”) add a touch
of kitsch to these serious-as-a-heart-attack grooves. Russell plays Supermarket (268 Augusta) as part of the Toronto Jazz Festival. 9:30pm. $20 from Ticketmaster.
2. There’s nothing more dangerous than smart miscreants. They use their
acumen to stir up shit, which describes Gdansk, Poland’s Behemoth to a
T. Comprised of vocalist/guitarist Adam “Nergal” Darski, bassist Tomasz
“Orion” Wróblewski, guitarist Patryk “Seth” Sztyber and drummer
Zbigniew Robert “Inferno” Prominski, the blackened death-metal outfit
have been offending the masses and questioning authority with their
provocative, anti-deist lyrics (and stunts, like when Darski tore up a
bible onstage) since 1991. The band are currently touring in support of their
ninth studio effort, Evangelion — which features their best songwriting
and possibly most anti-religious statements to date. They play The Opera House (735 Queen E) tonight. $20 from Ticketmaster, Rotate This, The Altered Native, Rock Zone. All ages. 7pm. For more, read Keith Carman's interview with the band.
3. After playing the Kool Haus on every Toronto stop since 1995's Washing Machine, indie-rock icons Sonic Youth have finally been granted a venue upgrade to Massey Hall (178 Victoria) for tonight's stop on the Eternal tour. Perhaps they'll bust out an all-acoustic set of Neil Young covers for the occasion? Um, probably not. $36.50-$48.50 from Ticketmaster. In case you missed it yesterday, check Chandler Levack's interview with guitarist Lee Ranaldo from yesterday.