The Toronto political scene has been in the news a lot the last few years as international fans have gotten a taste of mayor Rob Ford and his chemical abuse problems have gone viral (it seems like a jerk move to linger on Ford for too long as he just announced he had cancer so we're gonna try to hold off). Perhaps people in Ontario were less bothered by Ford's shenanigans than we were, as a new event suggests that government in Toronto is, well, screwed up in general: Fucked Up's Damian Abraham will be leading a mayoral debate on September 29.
Hardcore acts are normally our last choice to serve as masters of ceremonies at political events because their politics tend to be very left of the median (and occasionally very far right). Abraham won't get to comment on anything too touchy, such as reproductive rights or drug legalization, as his debate will be strictly based around Toronto arts.
It is however a very real, very legitimate event, featuring mayoral candidates Olivia Chow, Ari Goldkind and John Tory (Ford has been invited to participate and we can only hope). It will take place at the TIFF Bell's Lightbox Cinema One.
We have to admit, we're impressed with how progressively minded the Toronto political planners must be to opt for Abraham when Toronto boasts a number of huge names that could hold down such a gig. Of course Justin Bieber probably hasn't gotten to the age where he cares about politics and Deadmau5 treats everything, including his own genre, as a joke. Drake would've been a good, mainstream candidate but Toronto opted to go indie.
Abraham reports to Stereogum that he's been watching old Ric Flair tapes to prepare for the debate. Man...we gotta find a live stream of this.