Barenaked Ladies' singer Steven Page will perform fresh, new arrangements of songs by an eclectic mix of artists, including Leonard Cohen and Radiohead in Toronto for two nights only.

So if you missed the Leonard Cohen shows a couple of weeks ago at The Sony Centre and you didn't act fast enough to scoop up Radiohead tickets for their August 15 Molson Amphitheatre show, you can still hear a familiar tune tonight and tomorrow night.

Take a date to an unusual show for a change. You may be surprised how many tunes you'd recognize in Steven Page's repertoire.

You will hear selections of songs originally done by Elvis Costello, Jacques Brel, Paul Simon, The Magnetic Fields, The Mountain Goats, Jane Siberry, The Weakerthans, The Divine Comedy and Rufus Wainright.

Each song will be accompanied by the Art of Time Ensemble, comprised of some of Canada's finest musicians, including Phil Dwyer (sax), Rob Piltch (guitar), Igor Gefter (cello), Joe Phillips (bass), Steven Sitarski (violin) and Andrew Burashko (piano).

The program will also include Prokofiev's Sonata No. 1 in F- for Violin and Piano.

Tickets are $36 ($25 for seniors or students). Performances are at 8 p.m. at Harbourfront Centre's Enwave Theatre (231 Queens Quay West, 416-973-4000).

Photo courtesy Steven Page.

Toronto's very own R&B sensation Ivana Santilli will be making a special Jazz Festival performance at Revival on Friday night, and 3 lucky blogTO readers will be scoring a pair of tickets to the show AND a copy of her new CD.

Santilli's newest album Tony represents her recent playful explorations in bassy, throwback-laden R&B/80's pop fusion. She's got funk, she's got soul, and she most certainly has a creative streak that continues to impress.

Continue reading for event and contest entry details...

The NXNE music festival wrapped up last Sunday, and I'm still trying to recuperate from the intense three days I spent jumping from venue to venue, taking in an eclectic mix of shows.

Overall my experience this year at NXNE was memorable. From Monotonix (who gave the craziest in-store performance at Sonic Boom) to Ricca Razor Sharp (who rapped his funny lyrics, full of energy, to a handful of people at The Boat like they were hundreds), NXNE seems to get better every year.

Take a closer look at my experience through my photos after the break.

Yes, this is the right picture. These guys are young. Four of five members in the Aurora-based indie band Ruby Coast are recent high school graduates, and the fifth member is currently writing OAC Grade 12 exams!

Not even two years into existence and Ruby Coast have already started to build a buzz thanks to their enthusiastic live shows and their self-titled EP. Rumour has it there NXNE showcase was impressive and their set at this Sunday's edition of Wavelength promises to be the same. I spoke with Justice (guitar, vocals) about shotguns, huge fireworks, and Young Jeezy.

Keep reading for the complete interview.

Rob Dickinson, former singer of Catherine Wheel, is happy to be back in Toronto for a show tonight with a full band at The Mod Club.

Catherine Wheel was a band from England that had a bunch of hit songs in the '90s which included Black Metallic, Crank, I Want To Touch You and The Nude. Some of these songs have been rerecorded as acoustic versions that are now available as a bonus CD along with his most recent Fresh Wine for the Horses album, which had trouble getting out of the starting gates.

We met this afternoon to talk about going solo and his impressions of Toronto. His speaking voice was much lower than I thought it would be, considering his upper vocal range. "Hopefully it'll be high and girl-like tonight," he joked.

He attributed this to singing almost nonstop since getting into Toronto on Friday to rehearse with a new rhythm section that his friend Darrin Pfeiffer of Goldfinger helped him find. Rounding out the band is Michael Isenstein (formerly of Letters To Cleo) on guitar and Jason Sniderman (from Blue Peter; also son of Sam Sniderman of Sam the Record Man) on keyboards.

Q&A with Dickinson on Toronto audiences, taxi drivers and baristas after the jump....

Winnipeg's Grand Analog aren't your typical hip hop outfit; mixing beatboxes and turntables with live musicians and incorporating elements from funk, reggae and rock with true sincerity, they've earned the distinction of being one of the few decidedly non-jazz acts to be invited to play the Toronto Jazz Festival.

"In this day and age, we're comfortably an eclectic mix," says front man Odario Williams from his new home in Toronto. "If you think about hip hop today, hip hop in 2008, in general, that definitely doesn't fit in a jazz festival; it should be in a club somewhere... but I think we're an exception to the rule. We're very much into musicianship and melody and I think that's what resonated with the jazz fest staff. Can't speak for them, but that's my assumption anyway."

Toronto-based electronic artist/DJ/producer extraordinaire Bryce Kushnier (aka vitaminsforyou) has already had a busy year. His three-piece band (which includes Madrid bassist Duncan Christie and Junior Boys drummer David Foster) has already opened for French electro princess Yelle, retro pioneers Blue Peter and ghetto-house fav's Thunderheist.

Swervedriver fans packed into a sweaty Lee's Palace Friday night for their NXNE performance while thunderstorms raged outside.

It's just after midnight and I'm in the safe haven of Lee's as Montreal's The Besnard Lakes hit the stage. I can feel the sweat dripping down the back of my legs even though I'm just standing still, trying to take in the band. The place is that packed.

In the heat and the stench of beer-drenched, sweaty fans I get a whiff of something worse and look behind me. Some douchebag has lit up a cigarette.

I had a lot of fun at NXNE this year. I started my Thursday night at the Horseshoe and caught an early set by The Coast. I hadn't seen them live since they released their debut full length Expatriate in April. I liked the new songs live but a few sound issues affected the overall impact of their set. Not the band's fault and unfortunately a very common issue at festivals like NXNE. Most people in the crowd (especially those up front) didn't seem to mind though and the 'Shoe was mostly full for their strong set closer "The Lines Are Cut".

My show picks this year were mostly based on excellent recommendations from Pete Nema and Indie Music Filter, and of course a lot of myspace song sampling. Due to long lines and some torrential rain I was only able to check out 3 bands, but each of them was more impressive than the last.

Show impressions, and links to larger photos after the jump.