Michael Jackson’s legacy continues on……

I want to take a moment on dedicating to the late king of pop, Michael Jackson – with a very catchy Pepsi commercial that was aired in the late 1980s.

This particular commercial featured kids on a street dancing in the tune of “Billie Jean”. They continue to do the dance until they stumbled upon the Jackson 5 and then they dance together. By the time I’ve watched that, this was lodged into my head.

As for funeral plans however, plans are being made public. Tickets for Jackson’s funeral were completely sold out (1.6 million tickets were up for grabs in a lottery) and the coverage will be broadcasted all over the world – and maybe on the internet. The funeral will be held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California – the same place that Jackson rehearsed just before his death. Will the highest rate of viewers will beat the late Princess Diana’s funeral coverage on record? We’ll see.

MuchMusic will broadcast the television coverage on Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 at 12:00p.m. (Eastern Time). Time to get those TiVo’s (Personal Video recorders) up to gear!

Anyways, i’m leaving you with the commercial that I had talked about earlier:

Reference:

“Jackson fans selected by lottery Sunday for memorial.” CBC.ca. 5 July 2009. 5 July 2009. <http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2009/07/05/jackson-staples-tickets.html>

Virgin Festival Calgary lineup has been announced, but the Toronto one remains to be seen…

The announcement becomes closer and closer. The Calgary leg for the Virgin Festival has been recently announced. This year, it will be held at Canada Olympic Park on August 8th and 9th, 2009.

Bands that have been announced to perform at the festival are:

• Pearl Jam
• Billy Talent
• Metric
• The Arkells
• Tokyo Police Club
• Shout out out out out
• Thunderheist
• White Lies

More acts will be announced in the coming weeks and tickets will go on sale on Saturday, July 4th, 2009 at 10a.m. (Mountain Time).

A weekend pass will be on sale for only $132.00CDN while the VIP weekend package will set you back $300.00CDN. What? No word on when single-day tickets will be announced? Come on! The fans really need great value on their entertainment instead of suffering. Anyways, the tickets will be sold through Ticketmaster and at selected Future Shop locations in Calgary.

As for the venue change, the festival will take place at Canada Olympic Park, as opposed to Fort Calgary due to some overwhelming neighbourhood complaints in terms of noise for last year’s Virgin Festival down there. Hopefully, if the issue still persists for the residents who live in the vicinity of Canada Olympic Park, they have to study their options for alternative plans.

With the return of the Virgin Festival in Calgary and the Warped Tour in Calgary (despite efforts to save the Race City Speedway have failed), it’s going to be an action packed concert lineup, right until Labour Day!

As for us Ontarians who are waiting to see if the rumours of having the Virgin Festival up in Oro-Medonte (a place between Barrie and Orillia) at Burl’s Creek Park (that same place that Jack Johnson performed there), only time will definitely tell.

Have a happy Canada Day, fellas.

References:

“Pearl Jam, Billy Talent top Calgary Virgin Festival lineup.” Calgary Herald. 30 June 2009. 30 June 2009. <http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainment/Pearl+Billy+Talent+Virgin+Festival+lineup/1747296/story.html>

“Pearl Jam coming for Virgin Fest.” CTV Calgary. 30 June 2009. 30 June 2009. <http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090630/CGY_virgin_fest_090630/20090630/?hub=CalgaryHome>

“Pearl Jam Headline VFest Alberta.” ChartAttack.com. 30 June 2009. 30 June 2009. <http://www.chartattack.com/news/71717/virgin-festival-alberta-lineup-announced>

“Virgin Fest comes back to Calgary.” CTV Calgary. 29 June 2009. 30 June 2009. <http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090629/CGY_virgin_fest_090629/20090629/?hub=CalgaryHome>

Jack FM became KISS 92.5FM – the comeback of this popular radio station

If you people were away from Toronto by the time on June 5th (which I had), you may not notice that 92.5 Jack FM became Kiss 92.5 FM. Jack FM was once billed as a music station that they can “play what they want”. Hits from the 70’s, 80’s and some from the 90’s. In it’s early days, Kiss FM (then known as “CISS FM” hence the crappy rendition of the logo that I made in the collage) used to broadcast all country music. This country legacy would soon followed by a local station in my community called KX96 FM (at 95.9 FM) and “The New Country 95.3″. The 2nd latter used to be a Contemporary Hits Radio station called Energy FM.

Speaking of Energy FM, it was very popular in Southern, South Central and South Western Ontario (the primary focus was on the 107.9 dial. This dial now belongs to a rock station called “Y108 FM”). Anyways, back to Jack FM now – during it’s first years of operations (it made the switch back in June 2003), it was primary dubbed a DJ-free radio station (and sometimes commercial-free). It wasn’t until in 2006, when Jack FM introduced two DJs for it’s morning show – Ben McVie and Kerry Gray. These two new guys appeared in a controversial commercial in which they hatch out of an egg covered and drenched with a yellow substance – naked! Fortunately, the two were sacked back in August 2007.

As the radio began to struggle with competing radio stations such as 102.1 Edge FM, 99.9 Virgin Radio (then Mix FM), Q107 and many others, Jack’s share began to dwindle. Rogers Media, based on the former listener’s feedback decided to bring back the Kiss 92.5 once and for all after a 6 year exile.  Many vintage Kiss 92.5 listeners were thrilled that their favourite radio station was back, but without Mad Dog and Billie. The two were since at a radio station called “Virgin Radio 99.9″.

Both Mad Dog and Billie were subsequently sent to CHFI FM 98.1 back in June 2003, replacing long-time Bob McGee and Erin Davis. I was shocked that these two were immediately sacked. As for Don Daynard, he was retired back in 2000. Mad Dog and Billie wanted to make CHFI FM a “Kiss FM replacement” station. However, Erin Davis suddenly re-emerged from the “ashes” back in September 2004, when she is at competing radio station “97.3 EZ-Rock” with Mike Cooper. After many years of struggling ratings at CHFI and based on listener feedback, CHFI has given the “pink slips” to Mad Dog and Billie (then known as Jay and Billie) back in June 2005. CHFI then spent the entire summer on reorganizing it’s programming and restructure it’s listener fanbase. In October of that year, Erin Davis finally made a comeback for the very first time. She is then joined by Mike Cooper later on and the listeners including myself welcomed the change.

As for Mad Dog and Billie, they are now on Virgin Radio, where they are happy to be in to this day. As for the former Jack FM listeners, many people are very upset that Jack FM went “off the rails”. I believe that I compare 92.5 Jack FM to a contracted franchise to operate on the British Rail network losing its contract due to poor performance. As the operation was passed on from one company to another, the new company did better performance than the former operator.

Now that Kiss 92.5 FM is finally back on the rails, remember this catchphrase that goes like this: “Kiss 92 plays today’s best hits – NOW GIVE ME MY MONEY!” (or something like that).

As an added bonus, I’ll leave you with the commercial that I’ve been talking about earlier about the two morning hosts of the former Jack FM (Viewer Discretion is Advised):

References:

“Kiss 92.5 All Hits Radio Born From Ashes of Jack FM.” TorontoMike. 5 June 2009. 29 June 2009. <http://www.torontomike.com/2009/06/kiss_925_all_hits_radio_born_f.html>

“Jack gets the KISS-off.” Toronto Star. 9 June 2009. 29 June 2009. <http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/647585>

“Rogers Gives JACK the KISS Off.” Mediacaster Magazine. 8 June 2009. 29 June 2009. <http://www.mediacastermagazine.com/issues/ISArticle.asp?aid=1000329238>

The sudden death of Michael Jackson and his legacy towards the music icon

It all came on a sudden. Michael Jackson, known for his popular hits such as “Billie Jean”, “Thriller” and “Beat it” has finally perished after suffering from Cardiac Arrest. He was 50 years old at the time of his death. He once survived through many legal challenges and all the publicity stunts he had scoured through – he didn’t survive a sudden heart attack.

As for 22 year old myself, Michael Jackson is known for promoting many products – notably Pepsi and L.A. Gear (he has a shoe marketed by that company). MJ has been planning a comeback tour for many years, but with his death – the reunion tour has suddenly gone “off the road” and “end of the line”.  The concert promoter – responsible for organizing his reunion tour now must refund $85 million U.S. to all the ticket purchasers who were planning to go to the reunion tour stops. With that money – it would have been spent towards a BRT project towards Hwy. 2 from Durham to Scarborough (which is expected to cost greater) or improvements towards Durham Region Transit’s transit system – the gas tax money is already been spent towards a incinerator.

Speaking of money, Michael Jackson had accumulated over $500 million U.S. dollars. He tried to auction off the various assets in order to reduce his debts, but with little success.$500 Million U.S.? He spent many things, but he didn’t maintain a good credit rating. If Michael Jackson were to own a corporate company, he would end up like Nortel. That’s why I compare Michael Jackson to Canada’s once largest telecom giant. With that money, it would be spent towards electrification on the GO train network – through overhead wiring or third rail (just like the British Rail network in the U.K.). Or maybe this could be spend on buying new Bombardier ALRT cars for the TTC Scarborough RT line.

A 911 tape has been released. It can be listened here. If you are into Michael Jackson, please take the moment to reflect on his accomplishments over his successful years. This trend will continue for some time, at least.

References:

“Jackson’s death is a blow to concert promoter AEG.” Los Angeles Times. 26 June 2009. 26 June 2009. <http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-jackson-aeg26-2009jun26,0,4585265.story>

“Michael Jackson’s London Concert Promoter Must Refund $85 Million.” MTV.com. 26 June 2009. 26 June 2009. <http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1614774/20090626/jackson_michael.jhtml>

“Michael Jackson leaves hefty debts, unrealized comeback.” Calgary Hearld. 26 June 2009. 26 June 2009. <http://www.calgaryherald.com/Entertainment/Michael+Jackson+leaves+hefty+debts+unrealized+comeback/1735723/story.html>

“Michael Jackson dead at 50.” Toronto Star. 25 June 2009. 26 June 2009. <http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/656755>

“Michael Jackson dies at 50.” CBC.ca. 25 June 2009. 26 June 2009. <http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2009/06/25/obit-michael-jackson.html>

“Torontonians remember Michael Jackson’s life, career.” CTV.ca. 26 June 2009. 26 June 2009. <http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090626/jackson_toronto_090626/20090626/?hub=TorontoNewHome>

Torontonians remember Michael Jackson’s life, caree

Your plans for this weekend plus GO Transit launching Niagara Train

Well folks, Summer is finally here and all the kids are finally out from school – enjoying the best summer moments ever! If you live in Toronto, then the strike is currently dragging on last Sunday involving members of CUPE local 79 and 416. During the first few days of the strike, rubbish began piling up along the streets and many people find numerous ways to dump their rubbish – not knowing that they are being issued penalty charge notices (fines) for illegal dumping. How will the province be able to bargain on the strike? We’ll see.

Changing gears, this weekend – GO Transit will be launching a weekend/holiday train service to Niagara Falls (and St. Catharines). This new service will be in “competition” with award winning Justin Lafontaine’s bike train (which VIA operates). However, the new GO Train Niagara service won’t be able to “physically” compete against the bike train, but it will allow bike riders their preferred choice on travelling to and from Niagara Falls.

I’ve just calcuated the fares between GO Transit’s Niagara Train service and the Toronto-Niagara Greenbelt Express:

One-way bike-train adult fare (from Toronto’s Union station): $31CDN

One-way GO Transit ticket (from Toronto’s Union station to Niagara Falls): $15.90CDN

Savings of: $15.10CDN

Return bike-train adult fare (from Toronto’s Union station): $62CDN

Return GO Transit ticket (from Toronto’s Union station to Niagara Falls): $31.80

Savings of: $30.20CDN

For more information on GO Transit’s Niagara train service, click here. For the greenbelt express, click here. Here’s what one blogger states about his reaction about the new GO train service to Niagara Falls and the Bike Train service.

When I calculated the fare to Niagara Falls from Beaverton (although I did it just for fun because I want to), the monthly pass revealed to be $837.00CDN. By the time I calculated it, I literally gagged and laughed. An adult one-way fare – $26.25CDN. Round trip adult: $52.50. I guess this particular price is “burning up”. Fares may vary from area. To calculate your GO fare to Niagara Falls or St. Catharines, click here.

Apart from this new service, this Sunday marks the Gay Pride Parade in Toronto. How will the organizers of Pride Festival deal with the strike? Easy, they decided to bring in the calvary – by hiring a private contractor on cleaning up the mess.

Anyways, have a great weekend and prepare for the stench!

The 15th edition of the Warped Tour kicks off today!

Today marks the big day for the best hardcore concert festival this summer. It’s the 2009 edition of the Vans Warped Tour. Started out by Kevin Lyman (known for organizing the Mayhem festival), the Warped Tour has matured slightly over the years with many new bands added to the list as well as bands that have performed at the tour in the past years. NOFX and Bad Religion are “prime” examples. Although I tend to avoid NOFX’s “practices”, I believe that performing at the Warped Tour strengthens their reputation as a punk rock band.

With the current economy on a turmoil, it seems that organizers must “squeeze” out of the most of the tour. Canadian acts that are performing the tour include Alexisonfire, Silverstein, Lights and Shad (a rapper). Speaking of Alexisonfire, the guys recently given a “green light” to perform at the Toronto leg of the tour at Arrow Hall (located in the International Centre)  on July 10th, 2009. This marks an end to an “Arbritrary Decision” for the band and to my beliefs – they are from St. Catharines, Ontario. They recently release their new album “Old Crows/Young Cardinals”.

To view the public transit information for the Toronto, click here. Speaking of the Warped Tour, the organizers of the tour have hired a pit reporter by the name of Tiffany Mink (aka @minkus). She will be around each and every tour stop of the tour this summer. My colleague recently interviewed her about her first time going into Canada for the Warped Tour.

With the Warped Tour shifted into the Toronto area in recent years, public transit links have greatly improved thus reducing the overhead on taking the long commute to Barrie at the former Park Place (which has since been demolished). As for Barrie fans – they have to find a way on how to get there – either by car or by public transit.

On average, a Warped Tour concert goer will bring about $150US – more if he/she is taking public transit to and from the Warped Tour venue. A survival guide has been published for first time Warped Tour goers. It can be viewed here.

A video is also been produced too. It can be viewed at the link above. A few tips that I want to give to you folks who are taking public transit to the Warped tour:

• Make sure that you buy a return ticket – whenever and wherever possible and make sure that you keep your ticket or pass in your wallet. You might lose your ticket/pass after you go into the pit.
• Know the last departure times for the train or bus that serves your venue.
• Consult your local transit authority for further questions on how to get to and from the concert venue. They are helpful and will point you to the right direction.

Thank you for paying attention. Enjoy the concert, and welcome aboard.

Wakestock tickets will commence Monday (for Ticketmaster) but pre-sales are taking place now

The first few details in regards to Wakestock in Collingwood have finally released. The following bands will be performing at Wakestock:

• USS
• Stereos
• The Midway State
• Classified
• Rebel Emergency
• Fall and Divide
• Social Distortion
• Closet Monster

These are the bands that are listed so far. As for Closet Monster,  they have recently reformed and they are one of the bands that will be performing at Wakestock. For those of you know where is Wakestock is going to be held this year – it is going to be held in Collingwood. The festival will no longer take place at the Toronto Islands due to some objections to island residents and the difficulty on accessing the site.

A lot of campgrounds and hotels and resorts will be ultra busy making those plans. Blue Mountain – one of the popular ski resorts in cottage country, is going to “reap” in with the rewards as tourism begins to ramp up during the summer season.

Tickets for this year’s Wakestock are taking place now as I speak – but only for the pre-sales. The general Ticketmaster sales will take place on Monday, June 29th, 2009. Tickets can be retrieved here. Tickets range from $44.50CDN to $54.50CDN. These prices are for the 3-day pass.

If you want to go on Friday, the cost will be ranging from $14.50CDN to $19.50CDN

For Saturday, the price is slightly higher – $34.50CDN to $39.50CDN

Sunday’s the cheapest – $19.50CDN to $24.50CDN.

The information could really change at any time without notice, so I highly advised on going to Ticketmaster’s website for further details.

Many Torontonians are very upset that they have to make the long commute to Collingwood. Will this happen to Virgin Festival (altough the details are early at the moment)? It seems that many people are reminiscing the time they went to the Warped Tour up in Barrie at Park Place (formerly known as Molson Park, which is now turning into a shopping centre)……….

Either way, it doesn’t get any better than THIS!

highlights of last night’s 2009 MuchMusic Video Awards….plus the city is on strike

I’ve decided to cover two news stories that causes a “stir” in the city of Toronto. One happened last night and the other – just today. I hope that Ed Drass, Colin Minihan and Andy Grant are paying their sodding, undivided attention.

MuchMusic Video Awards:

Last night was the MuchMusic Video Awards down at MuchMusic HQ down at 299 Queen Street West. There were lots of numerous screaming fans for the festivities – some lined up at approximately 6:00a.m. (UTC-5, Eastern Daylight Time) on Sunday morning. Rehearsals took place on Saturday and some on Sunday, and massive crowds lined up for this big ticket and economy-boosting event. The streets were closed down and much of the TTC routes were diverted.

During the red carpet arrivals, many celebrities began to arrive in style. The first one to arrive in style was Stereos in a pimping red convertible. This particular band were given a record deal after making their grand debut on the TV show “DisBand”. Lights (Valerie Poxleitner) was with a companion that is an astronaut.  I would rather put my “lights” on for her. They are not just for safety anymore!

Rise Against was given a warm welcome to the awards – just like a new metro vehicle off the production line. Natalli Reznik (the girl from “So you can think you can dance Canada”) arrived in great style.

Alexisonfire were nominated for a few MMVAs award. Over the past years they have been nominated for many MMVA awards in the past. Some of them were won. Dallas Green – one of the members of Alexisonfire has his own side project called “City and Colour”. The band will be going to perform at the Warped Tour this summer. They recently given the “Go-Ahead” (Green light) for performing at the Toronto leg of the Warped Tour – that will take place at Arrow Hall (at the International Centre) on July 10th, 2009. This bridges the gap on performing uninterupted Canadian stops of the Warped Tour. They are recently “fresh” from performing at Edgefest on Sunday at Downsview Park.

Brody Jenner – the actor who played in the show “The Hills”  look very formal. This is his 2nd appearance at the MMVAs. For the 2nd time, Perez Hilton dressed up in a “crossover” fashion.

All of a sudden (in an unusual fashion), cheerleading performances lead up a brass ensemble help bring Vancouver Pop-punkers Marianas Trench into the red carpet. This arrival is reminiscent to the “Cross my heart” music video (which it was nominated for 4 straight MMVA awards). Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptoers also arrived at the red carpet. He is an instant celebrity.

Next up came Rachelle Lefevre. She is known for her role in the movie “Twilight”. A series of 5 motorbike riders began to arrive in style, but they are revealed to be Danny Fernandes and his “companion”. Karl Wolf marked his first appearance at the MMVAs. Billy Talent were very busy signing autographs.

Meanwhile, Shiloh began to arrive on a golden vintage VW Beetle. Later on, the Black Eyed Peas arrived with interesting vibe and flair. Many other guest appearances also arrive later in the red carpet arrivals. From Girlicious to Nickelback and Kim Kardashian, the list keeps on and on…

Performance-wise now, the Jonas Brothers start up the awards show with their infectious and catchy song, “Burning Up”. Then it came Alexisonfire with their song “Young Cardinals” (they recently filmed a video along the Maid of the Mist in Niagara Falls). The Black Eyed Peas performing in vibe-ly moves with their song “boom boom pow”. As the evening crawls along performances by Billy Talent, Shiloh, Kelly Clarkson, Rise Against and many other acts that were participating were performing for a great crowd. To close off for the night, Nickelback performed with a hardcore crowd.

As for the awards, there are listed in the following:

MuchVibe Hip Hop Award: Classified – “Anybody listening”

Director of the Year: Marianas Trench – “Cross my heart” (directed by Colin Minihan)

VideoFACT Indie video of the year – The Midway State – “Never Again”

Best Pop video of the year: Danny Fernandes – “Private Dancer”

MuchLoud Rock Video: Nickelback – “Gotta be Somebody”

MuchMusic.com – most watched video: Girlicious – “Like Me”

International Video Artist: Lady Gaga – “Pokerface”

URFave International Video Award: Jonas Brothers “Burning up”

URFave new artist of the year: The Midway State – “Never Again”

URFave video of the year: Simple Plan – “Save You”.

International video of the year by a Canadian: Billy Talent – “Rusted from the rain”

Video of the Year: Nickelback – “Gotta be Somebody”

Favourite International Video by a Group: Black Eyed Peas – “Boom Boom Pow”

I’m quite glad that Marianas Trench finally won one an award. In fact, they have decided to present an award for the “Best Fave new artist”, which The Midway state won. I was expecting that Marianas Trench willing to win two awards or more, but Simple Plan is my best pick.

The best thing that I was able to watch the show on two laptops (a live stream was provided) and one HDTV. Now that’s what I call “Triple Play”.

CUPE workers strike:

From screaming fans (that are recovering from an MMVA hangover) comes screaming workers. If you managed to wake up early this morning today in the City of Toronto, chances are that there is a strike going on by the people representing CUPE local 416 and CUPE local 79. There will be a lot of rubbish piling up along the city streets and many of the services that were offered before the strike will be either – scaled down or stripped temporarily.

To make matters worse and to add “insult” to “injury”, it is the last week of school for the Toronto kids for the summer. The effects will be tremendous. Many people are brainstorming the ideas on what the strike had back in the summer of 2002.

Rubbish is piling up along city streets and many people were given a “penalty charge notice” (or a citation, fine or ticket) for dumping illegally.The city’s two transfer stations were open 24 hours a day – and under “tight” security. As for the other transfer stations in the city – there were open on a “limited basis”.

The strike could wreak havoc with the upcoming tourism generating events that are slated to take place this summer. The gay pride festivities are taking place next weekend, but private operators have been brought in to “clean up the mess”. Don’t forget about the Jazz Festival, the upcoming Honda Indy Toronto, Caribana and to a somewhat of a lesser extent – the Canadian National Exhibition.

It’s only a matter time if the union members reach a new agreement that is negotiated during the strike. There’s nothing for members representing Local 79 – this is due to a media blackout. As for Local 416, they have voted in favour for it.

So as the MMVAs died down for another year and the CUPE strike is going in motion, you better buckle up, folks. This is going to be a bumpy ride.

The city of Toronto is prepared for anything….

“the City of Toronto believes that a strike is “unnecessary”. That’s what Kevin Sack, the director for strategic communications said in regards to the negotiations involving the city and the workers representing CUPE locals 416 and 79. The negotiations are continuing at the time of this blog posting. A fair and reasonable negotiation is on the line that is fair to the people of Torontonians, be reasonable and most of all…changes can be made to keep in line with Toronto’s diverse communities.

Right now negotiations are ongoing between the city and its union members. We simply don’t want a repeat on what had happened back in 2002, when mounds of rubbish were piling up all over Toronto. As the temperature began to increase – so does the effects of the stinking rubbish. The city has also prepared a contingency plan. It can be viewed here.

With many big ticket events taking place this weekend such as the MuchMusic Video Awards down at MuchMusic HQ and the New Kids on the Block concert down at the Molson Amphitheatre, it’s high noon for the city. If the strike were to continue, then it could spell “disaster” for many big events such as the Gay pride festivities, the Jazz Festival, the Caribana celebrations, you name it.

As for Dalton McGuinty who wanted to think about this massive strike – we’ll see. Enjoy your rest of the weekend.

References:

“City will negotiate past deadline in hopes to avoid garbage strike.” CP24.com. 20 June 2009. 20 June 2009. <http://www.cp24.com/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090620/090620_strike_talks/20090620/?hub=CP24Home>

“Strike brinksmanship looms.” Toronto Star. 20 June 2009. 20 June 2009. <http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/654024>

“Sunday midnight deadline firm, union warns city.” Toronto Star. 20 June 2009. 20 June 2009. <http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/654183>

“Strike deadline looms for Toronto city workers.” CTV.ca. 20 June 2009. 20 June 2009. <http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090620/to_talks_090620/20090620/?hub=TorontoNewHome>

Your plans for this weekend…

Well guys, here’s what happening  for this weekend in the great big city of Toronto (I hope Sir Trevor Boris is listening):

This weekend marks the return of Edgefest at Downsview Park. Many bands such as Cancer Bats, Alexisonfire and Billy Talent will be performing for a massive crowd. The weather calls for rain tomorrow (Saturday), questioning me how will fans deal with the rainy weather? Will this case happen for the Warped tour (on July 10th,2009)? We’ll see.

Sunday is the MuchMusic Video Awards. This year’s awards is geared to be massive. Jonas Brothers will be performing with the fans screaming and cheering for them. Billy Talent getting on par with their hit single “Rusted in the rain”. Shiloh (in my opinion) is Fefe Dobson 2.0. There is “nothing to lose” in terms of this year’s performance. Last year’s performance resulted in a deluge (flood) – meaning it rained constantly. This year will be geared to be better – and the weather will be nicer too! The temperature calls for a high of 27 degrees celcius (of around 97 degress farenheit).

Recently, more acts have been added. Girlicious and Drake were added to the “bill”.

Performing at the same night is New Kids’ on the Block’s performance down at the Molson Amphitheatre. Guests in that concert include JabbaWockeez and Jesse McCartney.

Concerts have got to be the biggest economy generator for the city. With the current economy today, things are getting slowly but surely improving.

After these concerts have been subsided, things could go for the worse. Toronto’s inside/outside workers are going to strike by midnight on Monday, June 22nd, 2009. This could literally translate on no cleaning up after the big festivities. What about next weekend’s pride parade? What kind of effect will it generate? Luckily, the organizers managed to “bring in the calvary” – on hiring private contractors. Certain services will be operated during the strike (such as Police, Fire, Long-term care). EMS will continue to operate too – but there are no guarantees.

Many people will recall the massive strike back in 2002, when the city is literally piled with rubbish. The forecast next week call for temperatures reaching a humidex of 36 degrees celcius. Watch your back, folks. This is going to be a “bumpy” ride.