Get your freak on
It’s October, a time for harvest.
It’s also a time to get your freak on, literally. The city is rife with walking dead, beasties and things that go bump in the night. So if it’s human flesh you’re craving, when I tell you where to go, go there to sate your cannibalistic needs.
In the meantime, some proprietors from midtown have offered their suggestions for a good night in (without the horror of zombies), and Paint frontman Robb Johannes gives his three picks for local bands to see live.
Who to see
[list][*][url=http://www.therathburns.ca/]The Rathburns[/url]. Probably the best live act I’ve seen. Just dirty rock ’n’ roll at its finest — they pull no punches — and their frontwoman Frances (Rose) is about as engaging as a lead singer comes.[*][url=http://www.thedyingarts.com/]The Dying Arts[/url]. I haven’t heard anyone since Kurt Cobain and Frank Black scream on key the way Mike (Portoghese) does.[*][url=http://www.themanvils.com/]The Manvils[/url]. Vancouver ex-pats like myself, now based in Toronto. I haven’t seen a band wake up an audience at 1 a.m. like Mikey (Manville) and company. Most people have gone home or just don’t care by then. The Manvils prove them all wrong. They’re loud and fierce, but highly accessible.[/list]
[align=right]— Robb Johannes, guitarist-lead singer, [url=http://www.thepaintsite.com/]Paint[/url][/align]
What to read
[list][*]The DC universe’s villains are running amok in [url=http://www.dccomics.com/comics/forever-evil-2013/forever-evil-1]Forever Evil[/url], an eight-issue story arc that features Lex Luthor, Black Adam, Catwoman and Sinestro.[*]Marvel’s [url=http://marvel. com/news/story/20387/welcome_to_marvels_infinity]Infinity[/url] story will take over the comic book shelves as the universe welcomes a new character, Thane, and trembles beneath the wrath of Thanos.[*]Image Comics brings its Western-themed dystopia, [url=http://www.imagecomics.com/comics/ series/east-of-west]East of West[/url], to book shelves.[/list]
[align=right]— Doug Simpson, general manager, [url=http://www.paradise comics.com]Paradise Comics[/url][/align]
What to play
[list][*]Get ready to invade medieval France with tile-based board game [url=http://riograndegames.com/ games.html?id=48]Carcassonne[/url].[*]Re-live the expansion of the railway with Ticket To Ride, published by [url=http://www.daysofwonder.com/ tickettoride/en/]Days of Wonder[/url].[*]Learn how to trade in medieval Europe with [url=http://www. catan.com/]The Settlers of Catan[/url], a board game published by Mayfair Games.[/list]
[align=right]— Leila Kassa, Chess N’ Math instructor [url=http://www.strategygames.ca/]Strategy Games[/url][/align]
Where to go
[list][*]Like long, shambling walks along the streets of Toronto? Like human flesh? Well, midtown, the [url=http://torontozombiewalk.ca/]Toronto Zombie Walk[/url] on Oct. 26 is for you.
[*]If you don’t like watching scary movies alone, The [url=http:// torontoafterdark.com/2013/]Toronto After Dark Festival[/url], the antithesis of the Toronto International Film Festival, is your night out on the town. The fest runs Oct. 17–25 at the Scotiabank Theatre.
[*]The [url=http://theblackmuseum.com/]Black Museum[/url] likes brains. A six-lecture event takes a more cerebral approach to what scares us, and why it scares us. They’re in semester three now, with lectures on the art of the Italian Giallo soundtrack and a social history on the Halloween costume.[/list]