334 Queen St. W. 416-977-5082 [see on map] Official site

THE RIVOLI is an intimate supper-club style venue that helped define the sound and style of Queen Street West.

Often just called "the back room," it's located behind a popular restaurant and bar - the revenues from which help subsidize the music club's open-minded booking policy.

Since opening in 1982 (in a building formerly used for a 1920s burlesque theatre and a Communist community centre), the Rivoli has been a hub for the city's thriving independent live music scene. Blue Rodeo played their first gig at the Riv on February 12, 1985. In the 1990s, it became home to regular singer-songwriter nights, such as "Radio Mondays", hosted by Jason Collett and Broken Social Scene, or "Hardwood Wednesdays", hosted by Hayden.

More reasons to love the Riv? Lesie Feist once worked at the bar; Mike Myers' Saturday Night Live character Dieter may have been inspired by a Rivoli waiter, and singer Mary Margaret O'Hara designed the venue's logo.