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Joel Plaskett Emergency
Lee’s Palace (529 Bloor West), tonight (Thursday, November 20)
Former Thrush Hermit thrasher Joel Plaskett wins the hearts of a new generation of Canrock indie kids with tunes from his killer new Truthfully Truthfully disc, and returns for another all-ages gig Saturday afternoon (November 22) at Lee’s. See Celebrity Spins, page 78.
Rancid
Kool Haus (1 Jarvis), Friday (November 21)
Spiky Clash-obsessed punks channel their relationship woes into a kick-ass blitz of the Kool Haus .
Pepe Deluxé
Fez Batik (129 Peter), Friday (November 21)
Genre-busting Finnish fusionists bring the jazzy tango-billy joints of their hot new BEATitude (Emperor Norton) disc to the dance floor.
The Dears
Opera House (735 Queen East), Saturday (November 22)
Montreal’s answer to the Smiths return to unleash their hyper-dramatic art-pop assault on the Opera House.
Big Jack Johnson & the Oilers
Silver Dollar (486 Spadina), Saturday (November 22)
Socially conscious Mississippi blues guitar slasher Big Jack Johnson keeps it real, Clarksdale-style, at the Silver Dollar.
Manitoba
Lee’s Palace (529 Bloor West), Sunday (November 23)
Dundas delinquent Dan “Manitoba” Snaith brings his entrancing electro chicanery to Lee’s Palace with the Russian Futurists.
Primus
Kool Haus (1 Jarvis), Sunday (November 23)
Pretend you’re starring in Primus’s new Animals Should Not Try To Act Like People DVD when bass boss Les Claypool and pals run amok at the Kool Haus.
Swollen Members
Tonic (117 Peter), Tuesday ( November 25)
Popular Vancouver hiphop crew recite the rhymes from their latest blockbuster, Heavy (Battle Axe).
Kathleen Edwards, Matt Mays
Phoenix (410 Sherbourne), Wednesday (November 26)
It should be interesting to see how folk sensation Kathleen Edwards deals with the explosive country-rock onslaught of openers Matt Mays & El Torpedo.
