With a heavy heart I type this edition of my Q&A series. This is the first one where I'm speaking to a band who are about to play their last shows. Foreign territory for me, as I tend to focus on "up- and-comers" who I encourage our beloved readers to check out.

A Northern Chorus is an ambient rock band that every fan of moody, atmospheric, heart-felt music would like. But sadly, after eight years and four full-length records (released by Sonic Unyon Records), they are packing it in before graduating past their "up-and-comer" status.

A Northern Chorus play their final Toronto show tonight at the Horseshoe. Singer/guitarist Pete Hall shared some memories with me about how the band started, the difficult road they travelled and why there is still lots to look forward to.

Keep reading for the complete interview.

North America has really embraced the new electro house movement with open arms, and it boasts a lot of popular DJs and producers in the scene. While European countries like Italy might still prefer the more traditional club sounds, Italian duo Crookers are representing their homeland in a very big way these days with rap-inspired electro house sets and killer remixes for big names like Kid Cudi, Armand Van Helden and Chromeo.

I was on a mission to see just how un-jazz I could make my jazz festival experience this year, so I hauled ass to The Mod Club (722 College) on Wednesday night to see turntablist extraordinaire RJD2 (aka Philadelphia's Ramble John "RJ" Krohn).

Sadly, when I got there, the gentleman checking names at the door informed me that there were to be absolutely no photos of RJ himself. In order to get my camera in, I had to swear on a stack of vintage funk and R&B vinyl (and all else that is sacred) that I'd comply. Not wanting to violate any personal beliefs about soul theft, I contented myself with digging the tunes and shooting the openers.

TO's DJ T-Lo kicked it off with a 2-table set mixing up a lot of deeply funky hip hop records (lots of Tribe in the mix). Cool grooves, very laid back.

As part of the TD Jazz Festival this week, Montreal chanteuse Amanda Mabro will performing at the Supermarket tonight. Amanda's old school belt-out jazz has a sense of theatrical throwback as she mixes in French and German cabaret influences - think Ella Fitzgerald meets Marlena Dietrich more than Jane Monheit. Having just released her Red Rows EP which CBC Radio 1 calls "groundbreaking", Amanda is busy with the jazz festival season with another concert at the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal next week. She also produces WAWA (WeAre WomenArtists) which recently wrapped its fourth annual show back in her hometown.

In this new column, we talk to musicians, sometimes about the music they make, sometimes about whatever tangent they happen to go off on. And once in a while we may talk to non-musicians as well, just to keep you on your toes.

We're going to kick the whole thing off this week with ten things you ought to know about one of the busiest musicians in town, guitarist Reg Schwager.

Toronto queer indie darlings, Dance Yourself To Death, are becoming one hot ticket these days, and thanks to hat-trick style gig booking this Pride Week, they're also making it pretty much impossible for you to miss a performance.

What do you do after you've made a million dollars, toured extensively playing to sellout crowds in large venues? If you're Steven Page of Barenaked Ladies, you perform about a dozen songs of your favourite artists accompanied by a chamber music ensemble.

Friday night's Songbook 2 program with the Art of Time Ensemble (AoTE) at Harbourfront's Enwave Theatre had a little something for everyone. Page's songbook included tunes he said he wanted to sing ever since hearing them for the first time on Brave New Waves.

Songs like Elvis Costello's I Want You, an emotional song that I've seen performed by Fiona Apple live. But this stark arrangement with the AoTE by Robert Carli had particular impact. Other selections included interpretations of songs by The Mountain Goats, The Magnetic Fields, The Divine Comedy and The Weakerthans.

Read on for more review of Friday's show and a peek into next year's Songbook....

G Unit and 50 Cent arrived in Toronto on Sunday night for a special, intimate performance at CiRCA. I arrived just after 11 to find them already on stage. The ground floor was packed, the second floor busy and the third roped off for a few dozen media and VIPs.

Dr. John and The Wild Magnolias bring N'awlins to T.O.

Last night at Nathan Phillips Square, the 22nd annual Toronto Jazz Festival officially kicked off with a wild night of music and dance from New Orleans.

For me, June has been a month of opening bands that are hard to follow, but I think The Wild Magnolias might be one of the biggest spectacles I have ever seen. When you get three guys across the front of the stage dressed up in full Mardi Gras Indian costumes, it would still be a great show if the band didn't even play a note.

This New Orleans combo is wickedly talented, though, and they burned down a funky bunch of N'awlins standards like "Iko Iko" and "Big Chief" that had the arguably older, more reserved Toronto crowd on their feet and dancing in the aisles for most of the set.

The Bad Plus rocked out the Glenn Gould Studio last Friday night, while the rest of Toronto's concert-going crowd were at clubs and bars taking in NXNEshows.

Three standing ovations followed a tight set that featured original works by this progressive jazz trio (piano, bass, percussion) as well as an assortment of reworked cover tunes by Blondie and Queen as well as classics by Canadian icons Neil Young and Rush.

They draw from diverse and unlikely sources, creating massively deconstructed arrangements all their own. The deadpan introductions by pianist Ethan Iverson elicited giggles in the audience. Things like "This next piece is about Joe Morello, the 1980 World Ski-jumping Champion, not the guy with the same name who is in The Dave Brubeck Trio.

"The guy danced every morning outside his house for a year after winning," he continued. After hearing their composition, I too felt like getting up and doing a jig. But the rather staid, soft-seat venue didn't quite allow for this.

Keep reading for drummer comparisons to Animal and The Cadbury's ape....