Music Review: The Black Keys' ‘No Rain, No Flowers' puts a feel-good spin on a turbulent year
The journey hasn't been easy. Last year, the Grammy-winning duo underwent a fiery, public split with their management after their arena tour was unceremoniously canceled. But on 'No Rain, No Flowers,' guitarist and vocalist Dan Auerbach and drummer Pat Carney put a feel-good spin on their recent career turbulence. The album pulls the raw blues, psychedelia, garage rock and roots music of their 23-year discography into a single package.
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Toronto Star
29 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Teacher fights discrimination against the Roma people, one Elvis song at a time
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Tudor Lakatos is fighting discrimination against the Roma people, one Elvis Presley song at a time. Decked out in a rhinestone shirt and oversized sunglasses, with his black hair slicked back into a 1950s-style quiff, Lakatos swivels his hips and belts out his own idiosyncratic versions of hits like 'Blue Suede Shoes' at venues throughout Romania.
Winnipeg Free Press
29 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Teacher fights discrimination against the Roma people, one Elvis song at a time
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Tudor Lakatos is fighting discrimination against the Roma people, one Elvis Presley song at a time. Decked out in a rhinestone shirt and oversized sunglasses, with his black hair slicked back into a 1950s-style quiff, Lakatos swivels his hips and belts out his own idiosyncratic versions of hits like 'Blue Suede Shoes' at venues throughout Romania. But don't call him an Elvis impersonator. Lakatos prefers to say that he 'channels' the King of rock 'n' roll's global appeal to break down stereotypes about the Roma and provide a positive role model for Roma children. 'I never wanted to get on stage, I didn't think about it,' Lakatos, 58, said after a recent gig at a restaurant in the capital, Bucharest. 'I only wanted one thing — to make friends with Romanians, to stop being called a Gypsy,″ he added, using an often derided term for people belonging to the Roma ethnic group. The Roma, an ethnic group that traces its roots to South Asia, have been persecuted across eastern Europe for centuries and are still associated with high rates of poverty, unemployment and crime. They account for about 7% of the population of Romania, where a fifth say they have faced discrimination in the past year, according to a recent survey by the European Union. Lakatos' quest to change that began in the early 1980s when he was an art student and Romania was ruled by the hard-line communist regime of Nicolae Ceausescu. At a time when anti-Roma discrimination was mainstream, Lakatos found that singing Elvis songs was a way to connect with ethnic Romanian students while rock music was a symbol of rebellion against the oppressive government. Four decades later, he's added a new audience. A school teacher for the past 25 years, Lakatos uses his music to show his students that they can aspire to something more than the dirt roads and horse driven carts of their village in northwestern Romania. 'The adjective Gypsy is used everywhere as a substitute for insult,' Lakatos said. 'We older people have gotten used to it, we can swallow it, we grew up with it. I have said many times, 'Call us what you want, dinosaur and brontosaurus, but at least join hands with us to educate the next generation.'' But Lakatos still crisscrosses the country to perform at venues large and small. On a hot summer evening, that journey took Lakatos to Terasa Florilor in Bucharest, a neighborhood joint whose owner takes pride in offering live music by local artists who perform on a stage made of wooden beams painted in vivid colors. The audience included those who came for the show and others attracted by the sausages, pork roast and Moldavian meatballs on the menu. A few danced and others took selfies as they enjoyed Lakatos' trademark 'Rock 'n' Rom' show, a mix of Elvis songs delivered in the Romani language, Romanian and English. The eclectic mix of languages can sometimes lead to surprises because there isn't always a literal translation for Elvis' 1950s American English. For example, 'Don't step on my blue suede shoes' doesn't make sense to many of the children he teaches because they are so poor, Lakatos said. In his version, the lyric Elvis made famous becomes simply 'don't step on my bare feet.' It's a message that Elvis — born in a two-room house in Tupelo, Mississippi, during the Great Depression — probably would have understood.
Toronto Sun
3 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
'Ketamine Queen' accused of selling Matthew Perry fatal dose gets trial date
Published Aug 05, 2025 • 2 minute read Matthew Perry appears at the GQ Men of the Year Party in West Hollywood, Calif., on Nov. 17, 2022. Photo by Willy Sanjuan / Invision/AP LOS ANGELES (AP) — A woman charged with selling Matthew Perry the dose of ketamine that killed him is headed for a September trial. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Jasveen Sangha's trial — the only one forthcoming in the death of the 'Friends' star after four other defendants reached plea agreements with prosecutors — is now set to begin Sept. 23 after an order Tuesday from a federal judge in Los Angeles. The 42-year-old Sangha, who prosecutors say was known to her customers as 'The Ketamine Queen,' is charged with five counts of ketamine distribution, including one count of distribution resulting in death. She has pleaded not guilty and has been held in federal custody since her arrest last year. Her trial had been scheduled to start Aug. 19, but the judge postponed it for the fourth time since her April 2024 indictment after both sides agreed it should be moved. Sangha's lawyers said they needed the time to go through the huge amount of evidence they have received from the prosecution and to finish their own investigation. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Sangha was one of the two biggest targets in the investigation of Perry's death, along with Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who pleaded guilty to ketamine distribution last month. Perry's personal assistant, his friend and another doctor also entered guilty pleas and are cooperating with prosecutors. All are awaiting sentencing. Perry, who was found dead at age 54 at his home on Oct. 23, 2023, had been getting ketamine from his regular doctor for treatment of depression, an increasingly common off-label use for the surgical anesthetic. But prosecutors say when the doctor wouldn't give Perry as much as he wanted, he illegally sought more from Plasencia, then still more from Sangha, who they say presented herself as 'a celebrity drug dealer with high quality goods.' Perry's assistant and friend said in their plea agreements that they acted as middlemen to buy large amounts of ketamine for Perry from Sangha, including 25 vials for $6,000 in cash a few days before his death. Prosecutors allege that included the doses that killed Perry. Read More Columnists World Canada Toronto & GTA Toronto Maple Leafs
