Over the Top Festival preview!

The Over the Top Festival is happening this weekend in Toronto! Music and film and theatre. It's nuts, and all organized by one guy (Eric Warner, with help from his friends). Music is what most interests me, so here's what you need to know to make the best of your Thursday through Saturday. There are advance tickets for many of the shows, available at Rotate This and Soundscapes. You can also purchase a festival pass, which gets you into all the music, films, and plays (but not "The Book of Judith"). Tickets for most shows will also be available at the door, though many of them will likely sell out. All music events are all ages.

There are a few shows that I don't have opinions about because I don't know the bands playing and haven't had time to check out their music yet. From what I do know, though, this festival is super stacked and musically varied. There are some really top-notch bands and bills being presented, and the shows are definitely worth the cost of admission. If I can make it out, I'll be at the Clues show Thursday night---the other two shows are stellar, too; hard decision. On Friday, I can't not go to the Think About Life record release show with the brilliant Tune-Yards. But I will most certainly be made to regret not being at the Music Gallery or WhipperSnapper that night, and I've got friends playing at the 6 Nassau event. AH! Saturday . . . uh, oh dear. If I've got the energy---and the cash---the Five Blank Pages finale followed by what's happening at Sneaky Dee's. You can catch both without missing much because of the timing. Or else start at WhipperSnapper.

All the details, links to the bands and Facebook events, and lots of free music below. If you click on the "play" icon on the bottom left of this window, you can listen to all the music instead of downloading each individual track:

THURSDAY (21 may)

Clues w/ The Ghost Is Dancing and The Darcys @ Sneaky Dee's, Thursday, 21 May, 9pm, $11. (Clues includes members of The Unicorns and Arcade Fire.) Facebook event.

Download: Clues, "Remember Severed Head" (Clues, 2009).
Download: The Ghost Is Dancing, "Rogues & Heroes" (Battles On, 2009).
Download: The Darcys, "I'm A Ship" (Endless Water, 2007).

Baby Dee w/ Timber Timbre and Ghost Bees @ 6 Nassau, Thursday, 21 May, 8pm, $11. Facebook event.

Video: Baby Dee, "Safe Inside the Day" (live performance)
Download: Timber Timbre, "Demon Host" (Timber Timbre, 2008).
Download: Ghost Bees, "Vampires of the West Coast" (Tasseomancy, 2008).

Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains w/ Dinosaur Bones, Friendly Foes, and Bayonets @ WhipperSnapper Gallery, 8pm, $10. Facebook event.

Download: Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains, "By Cover Of Night (Fire Fight)" (Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains, 2008).
Download: Dinosaur Bones, "N.Y.E." (Dinosaur Bones, 2008).

FRIDAY (22 may)

Think About Life (CD release) w/ Tune-Yards and Bayonets @ Polish Combatants Hall, Friday, 22 May, 8:30pm, $10. Facebook event.

Download: Think About Life, "Set You On Fire" (Family, 2009).
Download: Tune-Yards, "Fiya" (Bird-Brains, 2008).

The Wooden Sky w/ Evening Hymns and The Silver Line @ The Music Gallery, Friday, 22 May, 8pm, $10. Facebook event.

Download: The Wooden Sky, "North Dakota" (When Lost At Sea, 2006).
Download: Evening Hymns, "Sentimental Reasons" (live in studio, 2007).

MV+EE w/ Woods and $100 (duet) @ WhipperSnapper Gallery, Friday, 22 May, 8pm, $10. Facebook event.

Download: Woods, "Rain On" (Songs of Shame, 2009).
Download: One Hundred Dollars, "No Great Leap" (Forest of Tears, 2008).

Mecca Normal w/ Dave Borins and The Wilderness of Manitoba @ 6 Nassau Street, Friday, 22 May, 8pm, $11. Facebook event.

Download: The Wilderness of Manitoba, "The Great Hall" (live recording).

Hunter w/ Ulysses & The Siren, The Narrative, and Cool Dad @ Sneaky Dee's, Friday, 22 May, 9pm, $10. Facebook event.

Download: Cool Dad, "Lookin' For A House" (Delaware, 2009).

SATURDAY (23 may)

The Budos Band w/ wordPEOPLE, and DJ John Kong @ Polish Combatants Hall, Saturday, 23 May, 8:30pm, $15. Facebook event.

Tiny Masters of Today w/ Windom Earle, The Superstitions, and The Paint Movement @ WhipperSnapper Gallery, Saturday, 23 May, 7pm, $12. Facebook event.

Download: Tiny Masters of Today, "La-La Land" (La-La Land, 2008).
Download: The Superstitions, "Boy In Black" (The Beginning Sounds In the End, 2007)
Download: The Paint Movement, "Faults" (Our Eurythmy, 2009).

Green Go w/ Shellshag, Fiasco, The Guest Bedroom, and Bayonets @ Sneaky Dee's, Saturday, 23 May, 9pm, $10. Facebook event.

Download: Green Go, "Fool Me Once" (Borders, 2009).
Download: The Guest Bedroom, "Stranglehold" (Treading Water/Blowing Smoke, 2008).

Five Blank Pages (final show / EP release) w/ Oh No Forest Fires and Boys Who Say No @ Mod Club, 6:30pm, $10. Win tickets to this show here. Facebook event.

Download: Five Blank Pages, "Stem, Skin & Pit" (Young Glow, 2009).
Download: Oh No Forest Fires, "You Know What That Is... Trouble" (The War On Geometry, 2008).