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PERFORMANCE REVIEW
HPX 3: Holy Frig
Halifax loves a good dance party. Last night at the Marquee was a beautiful cross-section of the local music scene, with everyone from headbangers to indie kids to dirty hippies showing up to check out Toronto experirockers Holy Fuck. While downstairs in Hell’...
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HPX 2: Rock Out Or Die
Oh. My. God.
Anyone who needed proof that rock n’ roll is alive and kicking (kicking you hard in the teeth, that is) got it last night at Gus’ Pub, at a show that is unlikely to be topped for the rest of Halifax Pop Explosion 2008.
A line-up including ...
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HPX 1: Heaven and Hell
The fourteenth(ish) annual Halifax Pop Explosion kicked off last night with, if not exactly a bang, a loud thump.
Singer/songwriter/storyteller Josh Ritter took to the stage at the beautiful Saint Matthew’s Church on Barrington, singing songs about love, l...
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Move over Bono: Lenny Kravitz is my new main man of rock
There’s New York City. And then there’s Lenny Kravitz.
Both of these are high-rise, high-wire, high-octane acts that are hard to follow. And I was lucky enough to do both in one weekend!
I’m still out of breath, trying to sort through it all.
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A/V and The Moist Towelettes @ Tribeca
Despite playing a very short set to a small crowd, A/V gave a powerful performance with his drum machine, tambourine and synthesizer. I had a great time dancing to his music and I wish the one-man punk and electro act from Gaspereau Forks, New Brunswick could ...
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Halifax Pop Explosion - Day One
My friend Steph says that to her, Pop Explosion is better than Christmas. I don't know if its necessarily better per say, but it is definitely on par. I don't get the chance to travel to fancy cities to see fancy festivals like NXNE, SXSW, or Pop Montreal - s...
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Pop Montreal (day 3)
I'm sad to say that I got really, really lost.
I meant to make my way to the artists' lounge to do a posting for "day 3" on Saturday, but the map given out by Pop Montreal is a lot like that Krusty Burgers Across America map from the Simpsons, read: really...
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The Tragically Hip: Live at the Metro Centre, 9.13.07
When The Tragically Hip came out for their encore, there was no predicting what they were going to play. That’s what’s great about our journeyman rockers from Kingston, ON, they’ve been so consistent with their radio-ready hits over the years, it’s hard to kno...
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The Police: Live in Toronto
Strolling through the ACC turnstiles with my small band of diehard Police-ophiles, I tried to reconcile 25 years of being a fan of the band with all that has happened since their original dissolution and the recent reformation. Unlike most of their contemporar...
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Jazz Fest Round Up
As the second and last weekend of the 2007 Atlantic Jazz Festival nears, all evidence tends to suggest it has been a serious success. A varied program of international musicians have made for a delightful time to be in Halifax, and of that success, well, even ...
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The White Stripes Conquer Cape Breton
The White Stripes celebrated their 10th anniversary as a band in Glace Bay, Cape Breton. The venue was an old, beautiful soft seat
vaudeville theatre called The Savoy.
The theatre's ornate ceilings are conveniently decorated in a red and white motif. T...
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Jon Ballantyne, Andy Milne: The Interpreters
In rock music they call it "covering", but in jazz, it is a tradition much deeper and more respected. It’s interpreting, whether standards within jazz or looking further out to other forms of music, folk, pop and rock.
Jon Ballantyne and Andy Milne have muc...
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Concert Review: The White Stripes on Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th came on strong, the fog of past days gone, with bright sunlight and a cool breeze.
Halifax was pumpin’, what with the jazz fest, tall ships and the White Stripes. Rumours were flying as to where they might play a secret gig, something they’...
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Review: CBC East Coast Sessions
First off, mighty props must go to Geoff D’Eon, the producer of the CBC East Coast Sessions, a great idea well executed. The show has been shooting for the past week, two or three musicians per evening on a gorgeous CBC TV studio stage, playing and recorded fo...
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Just Friends Revue Review: Live at North Street Church, July 4
This evening was a bit of a surgical strike for your humble scenester, arriving late and leaving early, due to circumstances beyond my control. But what I saw I enjoyed: a large, friendly and social crowd, a DVD trailer, and two relaxed sets from members of th...
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Fall Horsie, Jenn Grant and The Tom Fun Orchestra, Live at The Seahorse, June 22
A fundraiser for a surf school draws an interesting crowd. Especially for One Life, a surf school exclusively for women. I expected more hippie girls, but this gathering was hirsute, punky, a nice gender mix. Strolling into the show at 10:15, I think I just be...
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Random Thoughts While Watching the Much Music Video Awards
Sprawling on my living room couch Sunday night, I had a rough idea what I was in for: an awards show that would make me feel like an alien. A night celebrating music videos on a channel that rarely plays them, with the music video directors rarely appearing to...
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Danny Michel Live at Ginger's June 15
Danny Michel was a little nervous just before his show on Friday night. He had brought his effects pedals from Ontario, but did not have a guitar. It was lost in a boating accident, or so the witty songsmith claimed. Fortunately, at 10:29 pm, a minute before h...
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One Wild Hootenanny Of A Time At The ECMA Awards
For those of you watching CBC or sitting in the Metro Centre stands yesterday evening, you already know the ECMA Awards was a hell of a time.
Ron Hynes rocked the house and In-Flight Safety redeemed themselves in my eyes with a thoroughly entertaining perfo...
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ECMA Beat: The Show
Sporting my fancy blue suede shoes, I strolled into the Metro Centre through the “Artist’s Door,” as slick as can be, reasonably confident that by arriving 45 minutes before showtime I’d be able to ease into a seat in the stands and enjoy the proceedings. Boy,...
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Jenn Grant Gets A New Fan
One of the highlights of EMCA weekend has been the free CBC showcases at the Schooner Room in Casino Nova Scotia. Feeling especially important, I strolled in through the varnished, wood doors of the Schooner Room and walked towards the stage, making sure my la...
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A Warm Start to In The Dead of Winter
Anyone who decided to drop by the Bus Stop theatre last night, whether a music fan or not, would have heard a delightful cross section of the best of the Halifax independent music scene, a group of musicians that pushed the genre boundaries outside folk and si...
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Band With No Name Rocks My Pants Off
It was hard not to feel a chill at the end of their set. Through the course of five or so songs the band that had no name had pulled out just about every instrument in the book. In all I think there was a xylophone, a stand-up bass, two violins, a mutant bass ...
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Show Leaves Me Needing Medical Attention
Gus' Pub continues to startle me with its devoted following of local music scene-sters who continue to pack the place on a regular basis during shows. The reason being, Gus' Pub owner Dimo Georgakakos has made a commitment to bringing in lots of fresh, young t...
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Concert Review: Jan. 26th at the Halifax Pavilion- For Pluto, Gamma Gamma Rays, Great Plains, Ask th
In This style (the quite multi-talented drummer of For Pluto) kicked off this great show with an accoustic set while the room in the small all-ages club began to fill itself up. His voice and guitar complimented themselves quite well, and he was very easy to l...
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The Tall Man has them lined up for Myles
It was an evening of firsts: the first show of the New Year for New Brunswick singer-songwriter David Myles; the first time I’ve ever seen a line-up on Barrington Street in front of the folk and comedy venue
Ginger’s Tavern. Even at shows I'd attended at the ...
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Gloryhound and the Skyhawks pack a punch
I'll give you three reasons why Gloryhound and the Skyhawks should be famous right now, or at least famous all over Canada. One, their songs are ridiculously catchy and well crafted. Two, these guys look like an East Coast rock band should look. They've got th...
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Hupman Brothers Keep It Simple At Stayner's
Stayner's Wharf was once again a-buzz last night. The booths and tables were filled to the brim with people wining and dining and taking in the music. Ah yes, the music. I wasexpecting this to be a light-hearted affair and I wasn't wrong in my assumption.
S...
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'Mellotones' Give Me Warm 'Memories'
Wet t-shirt contest. Three magical words that roll right off your tongue. Sure, I was excited to see the Mellotones but my first wet t-shirt contest at the Palace is a monumental event in itself. Not only are they hilariously skanky but they also bring out the...
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Speedy Recovery is tight, fast and ... almost there
Speedy Recovery are much like the hundred or so other bands in Halifax in that they're all striving to somehow break through the masses and into the consciousness of people beyond the local scenesters.
Thursday night at the Attic the band's music was tight,...
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Axl N' Company Ignite the Metro Centre
Once 11:50 pm rolled around, I'm sure many of us were convinced he wouldn't show. We've all the heard the horror stories. Even recently, it was reported Guns N' Roses cancelled their show in Portland Maine because they weren't allowed to drink alcohol onstage....
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Already Aloft
It was at a kitchen party, that very Maritime event, that Ardyth Robinson and Jennifer Wyatt met. Wyatt was in university at Mount Allison and Robinson was visiting, and though they bonded over a shared love of music, their paths went in different directions, ...
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Music Fit For A King
Your neighborhood wildlife correspondent has officially returned to the streets. Yes, I was on the prowl once again, back in my element and ready for anything. The tale you're about to read is not for the faint of heart, but rather a smoldering hot account of ...
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A Joyous Noise at Stage Nine
A startlingly mild Remembrance Day evening had the punters out in full force, though the loyal legions of Toronto’s The Hidden Cameras fans would have probably trudged out to the venue over Pizza Corner in a hailstorm.
A sign proclaimed the gig as s...
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The good, the bad and the fuggly
The Bicycles played an enjoyable and poppy show – not too heavy yet not to fluffy.
Their set constituted the musical highpoint of the evening.
Personable enough, the band warranted the enthusiasm the crowd gave them.
Later, after a particu...
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Made in Heaven: Plaskett and the Symphony
Marriages between wildly different people are often more successful than those between people with similar taste and values.
Complementary qualities do win out, somehow. Or it can just be awkward and stilted from the get-go.
It’s the same with rock mus...
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Up in The Marquee and down in Hell
A marathon night ahead, I swore I’d try and see as many bands as I could both up in The Marquee and down in Hell.
I started in the depths, before the first pizza was even out of the on-site oven, and caught Haligonians calling themsleves Be Bad. I t...
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Live at the Seahorse, Friday, October 6
It was one of those occasions where a band having reached that point in their careers where they've graduated to larger venues, returns to town for a rare bar gig and wows everyone present.
“It was supposed to be a night off,” says Haydain Neale, lead sin...
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Spinning in the mud of the Stones concert
As the mud on the North Common slowly dries under the warm fall sun, you can hear the whirling sound of government, industry and media spinning rapidly and heartily. They spin to ensure that the only message heard after the Rolling Stones concert is overwhelm...
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A Bigger, Better Bang for Halifax
Getting in the lineup at 12:30 pm, I knew even before it started that the Rolling Stones concert would be a lifetime experience. It was the biggest show that was ever going to happen in Halifax.
Soon after the gates opened, everyone headed out to the multip...
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Synthesized never felt so good
Metric, September 16, 2006 at the Halifax Forum.
The band Metric transformed the Halifax Forum Friday night with their synthesized sounds and crazy hippie-like energy. Halifax scene kids were all there to enjoy the show.
The show had an amazing opening f...
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Evening At Speakeasy
The Speakeasy is hidden from the rest of the Halifax bar scene. It's tucked away on the ninth floor of a parking lot in an unassuming looking building on Dresden Row. The door to the bar says as much, a simple blue door with the word “Speakeasy” scrawled in fa...
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Signal Hill is as good as advertised
We arrived at the Lower Deck at right around 11 o' clock in the evening.
The floor was filled with men and women, young and old. Clapping along as Signal Hill rumbled through the opening chords of "Barrett's Privateers."
The audience was right there wit...
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