Joel Plaskett Emergency playing the Hamilton International Airport Main Stage in the heart of downtown during Super Crawl 2013.
Super Crawl
Hamilton, Toronto's badass little brother, is known for many things: steel mills, Tiger-Cats, Teenage Head and thwarted NHL dreamsincluded. What's lesser known about Hammer Town is its thriving arts scene. This weekend, the sixth annual Super Crawl walks the walk with events of art, dance, theatre and music, with appearances by bigtimers Spoon and the soul-shouter Charles Bradley included on a schedule with hot hometowners Jessy Lanza, the Arkells and, yes, Teenage Head. To Sept. 14. Free. James Street North, Hamilton, supercrawl.ca.
Ubu Mayor
Mayor Rob Ford's health crisis has led him to withdraw from the race, but this week sees the arrival of two theatrical productions inspired by the city's elected leader. Rob Ford: The Musical (Sept. 15 to 28, Factory Theatre) is billed as an "unabashed, take-no-prisoners comedy," while Ubu Mayor, from the talented One Little Goat company combines the radical spirit of a bizarre 19th-century French comedy with the shenanigans of the Ford brothers. Sept. 12 to 21. $20 to $25. Wychwood Theatre, 76 Wychwood Ave., 416-915-0201 or OneLittleGoat.org.
Our Country's Good
This award-winning historical drama is a play within a play, involving a rag-tag cast of British convicts in an 18th-century Australian penal colony who mount a production of George Farquhar's The Recruiting Officer. The country was hard, the captors and captives reach a level of understanding and the convicts are changed by their experience of art. This is theatre that advertises for theatre – no crime in that. Sept. 13 to Oct. 26. $25 to $99. Royal Alexandra Theatre, 260 King St. W., 416 872-1212 or mirvish.com.
Toronto Urban Film Festival
Any candidates for mayor who campaign for more subways are inadvertently hitting the hustings in support of the expansion of the Toronto Urban Film Festival. This annual happening is literally an underground hit, what with its showing of one-minute silent films on the screens located in subway stations across the city. We've heard that some of the flicks are so good that people are being mesmerized and actually forgetting to mind the gap. So, TIFF, schmiff – it is TUFF that has our vote. To Sept. 15. torontourbanfilmfestival.com.
Toronto Beer Week
All due respect to Hank Williams and There's a Tear in My Beer, but there was no reason for that cowboy to be crying. He had a beer right in front of him, so how bad could it have been for him? That kind of thinking would appeal to the hop-heads who will be in full flight for nine days. Highlights this weekend include a craft beer fest on Saturday at C'est What (5 p.m. to midnight, 67 Front St. E) and a patio cask celebration on Sunday at the Ceili Cottage (11 a.m. to 10 p.m., 1301 Queen St. E). Sept 12 to 20. Various venues. torontobeerweek.com.
Brad Wheeler