Big show happenin’ at The Smiling Buddha on Saturday Night featuring The Barrel Heads. They’ll be rollin’ in from Montreal…probably in a wagon. They’re a 4 piece garage rock band cut from the same cloth as The Melvins, Tad and I should say Motorhead…they have a song called Motorhead on their "Matilda" EP. "The Ballad of Mosquito Guns" is a bad ass tune that’ll keep your nodding throughout. You may also find yourself chugging beer at an extremely higher rate than usual. Mosquito Mike on vocals can really howl n’ growl while the guitar’s crunch some power chords. This track features a nice breakdown and solo action before firin’ back into the beat. Go see what the Barrel Heads are all about on Saturday at the Smiling Buddha. They’ll be joined by Hormoans, Dirty Safes and Beige. – Kris Gies

Drunk Lips are a dirty rock n roll band from Toronto. They should be categorized as "Drunk Rock". They got perfect party tunes. Crunchy guitars rumblin over beefy bass lines and slammin drums. Oh yeah and there’s hot chicks in the band too. What else are you lookin’ for on a Friday Night. They released an EP last year called "In My Brain". 7 tracks of garage rock madness. Guess what? It’s only 2 bucks on their bandcamp page right now. I feel a bit of a 90’s thang happenin’ deep down inside of Drunk Lips…they could play at Gasworks from Wayne’s World. In reality they play The Silver Dollar Room on Friday! – Kris Gies

This is Bare Claws, sportin a new Chicago Cubs-esque logo. They are a 4 piece rock band from Newmarket. They have one self titled record released so far. Diggin the track "A Beautiful Woman". To be honest it’s kinda weird in a good way. Some cool keyboard action and the vocals I would describe as a mix between the singer from Hot Hot Heat and a regular lazy person. "Contemporary Issues" has cool vibes to it as well. The guitar carries this mellow track that also shows these fellas can drop in some nice harmonies when needed. Heads up for the laser beam. Bare Claws hIT the Tennessee in Toronto on Thursday. Sweater Pants and Big Name Actors are also on the bill. – Kris Gies

Can you think of a better combo than live music and pro wrestling? Me neither. Superkick’d is a Toronto based company that holds monthly events which combine pro wrestling and live music. The atmosphere is electric and the party is wild. This Friday Superkick’d returns to the Great Hall for the "Crank’d Party" featuring swamp rock band Flamingo Bày. They recently released their latest record "Steak n’ Eggs" on tape through Wiener Records which will be for sale along with some brand new t-shirts. There’s no seats on the floor so that means you can get as close to the action as you want. Get drunk, get loud, bang on the ring mat and enjoy the best entertainment in the city. Doors at 7. Kick Off Party with Flamingo Bày at 7:30. 8 o’clock bell time at the Great Hall on Queen West.

Nothin’ better than a band of greasy Canadians…and that’s what Hold’Em is. These guys hail from London, Ontario and just released their new single "Bender". Definitely appropriate track title. Fast and loud is the only way to describe this track. Clearly some Motorhead influences as they wail away through the verse and chorus. A bridge finds its way in there with a much more melodic tone to it and cleaner vocals giving it a nice dynamic. Totally some 90’s vibes in this track too reminding me of a mix between Pantera and the Smalls. Stellar lineup at the Central this Saturday with Hold’Em and Wine Lips opening for Two-Bit. – Kris Gies

Interesting tunes coming from this Toronto group Two-Bit. Experimental jazz hip hop may have an odd ring to it but these fellas have some really cool vibes going. Really nice hip hop beats with tripped out vocal samples mixed in. Their tracks have an atmospheric element to it that could make you lose direction. You might fall asleep listening to them but you’ll have THE most intense dreams. There appears to be a bit of a mystery surrounding this group Two-Bit. One way to figure it all out is by seeing them LIVE at the Central on Saturday. Wine Lips and Hold’Em also set to appear. – Kris Gies

Grab your 80’s time travel machine of choice…a Delorean or Telephone Booth perhaps…Toronto’s artpop trio For Esme go back in time to bring you this brand new music video for their track "Make A Sound". If I didn’t know any better I could have been fooled that it actually was a vintage track and video. New wave drums and synthed out bass lines with more synth and some synth in there too. Plus some beautiful yet lazy vocals as well. The band teamed up with Punctured Design for the video and it was so well done; bringin’ back that late night television nostalgia perfectly. Fool your friends who love throwbacks but claim to hate new stuff. For Esme will be performing at SXSW this year! – Kris Gies

Hey boys n’ girls, the results from our "Best Of 2015" Reader’s Poll are in! Congrats to the winners and thanks to everyone who listened and voted. Here are your Top 5!

1 – Ol’CD: Deadly 4 piece garage band. Throwing in some elements of punk and surf into their rock jams. They fire on all cylinders during their live shows. Awesome pick to win it all this year. Don’t miss them when they come through your town! 2 – The Cardboard Crowns: Originally from Ottawa, the Cardboard Crowns find a way to mix in almost every element of music possible. They’re like all dressed chips. They do folk/alt-rock/punk/ska/etc, etc. Check out their "Global Citizen" album on bandcamp. They’re heading down south later this year so jump on the bandwagon now. 3 – Sedge: Bronze medal going out to Sedge. Cool 90’s vibes from these fellas. Their album "Selective Reasoning" was released in August of last year. I hear some blue album Weezer, Age of Electric and Dandy Warhols influences. 4 – Shallow Waves: Of course a band with waves in the band name would have some surf influences in their tracks. However we’re not talkin Beach Boys stuff…I’m talkin dirty rock n roll that’ll make you dizzy with headbanging. Crunchin guitars, Dee Dee bass rips and "f*ck you" vocals. Lookin’ forward to hearing more from these guys. 5 – Fat As Fuck: Roundin’ out the top 5 is an experimental psychedelic outfit called Fat As Fuck. They might not be for our basic music fan but if you like your tunes a little weird…or a lot weird then go listen to Fat As Fuck. Your ears will get a barrage of noise headin’ straight to the center of your cranium. Sounds like video game music at times. Good to go! Thanks again to everyone involved in the Deli Magazine Reader’s Poll. Giving you all the best Toronto has to offer! -Kris Gies

Suitcase Sam plays real music. Music that is good in any decade. Music that needs no computer. It’s old time country/blues that is very pleasant to listen to. It’s also very encouraging to know that these kind of tunes still get made and played. His band is made up of typical bluegrass instruments like the stand-up bass, fiddle and mandolin, among others. Suitcase Sam along with his band are expecting a full fresh record later this year which will include 10 original tracks. For now you can enjoy 2 EP’s available on his website. Listen to this track "Friday Afternoon" to get a feel as to what he’s all about. You can also watch him perform live on Thursday at the Local Pub on Roncevalles. – Kris Gies

Bond Girls are a grunge rock trio from Toronto. They have a brand new album on the way in April and so far have released one track. "Hurricane Lovers" is a really fitting track name. This track is part hurricane and part loving. The opening riff and drum action whips around like a hurricane only to simmer down for the verse where the backup vocals slide in for some soothing love. It’s always nice to hear tunes that have enough oomph to get your head moving but also has enough melody to keep the girls interested too. Bond Girls are having their single release party this Thursday at Handlebar in Kensington along with Bike Thiefs and Ol’CD. – Kris Gies

The Lad Classic are a solid rock n roll band based right here in Toronto. Their sound brings ya back to the days of the real rockstar. They fit right in with Aerosmith, Kiss or Guns n Roses. In fact I think guitarist Ben Healey could probably teach Slash a few things. He can really shred. Josiah on drums holds a beat down like no other while Paul rips the vocals all the way up to the high notes. They have one EP currently available and all of the tracks were recorded plugged and unplugged. The highlight is definitely "Cadillac Jack" which they made a music video for too. They have a new release on the way in the coming months but you can see them LIVE this Saturday at the Rivoli. – Kris Gies

By definition Yeomans were attendants in a royal household…until now when Yeomas became one of my favorite rock bands in the GTA. They have top notch garage surf vibes. Influenced by The 13th Floor Elevators for sure and as far as more modern bands go I would compare them to the Allah La’s out of California. They have an EP available that was released in 2014. The opening track “Big Bikes” has some beautifully reverbed vocals and excellent surf guitar solos. “Elijah” takes you on a chilled out adventure to a beach….back in the 60‘s. Very nice psycadellia comin from this 3 piece. They even throw an instrumental at you just to make sure you’re awake. Easily one of the best EP’s I’ve heard in a while. It’s worth spending money on. You can choose the price on their bandcamp page. Catch them live on Saturday at Bovine Sex Club with Flamingo Báy and Wine Lips. – Kris Gies