• yep it's a cat photo again

Hey eager beavers - you can now apply to the 2012 Halifax Pop Explosion. It’s the festival’s 20th anniversary and I imagine it will be rather epic, with rumors of all sorts of reunions and nutty happenings spreading like wildfire. Wildfire!
Submissions are being accepted online at halifaxpopexplosion.com and you should have a high-res photograph, an mp3, a 50-word biography and a stage plot ready to go. No MySpace links, no live Youtube videos — just those four elements and you’re all set. You also have to be available from October 16 — 20, 2012. It will cost you $10 to submit your band before February 3. What a small price to pay to make dreams come true.

• i diggit

Woke up on Saturday morning under a blanket of cat body and felt the week weighing down my bones. I walked through my apartment and it looked like a bomb had gone off. We rapidly fled the house to go to the CKDU brunch at Gus'. The burritos looked delicious but I got waffles, feeling wary about impending farts in small spaces.

The Graboids played and Adrian Bruhm sang the Buzzcocks and took a smoke break.

Then Ghettosocks went on for a solo set, talking about brunch. I felt a weird collapsing sensation and added some whiskey to my coffee in time to catch Cousins for a second time. They played some low-key numbers, including covers of Dolly Parton and Feist. Aaron Mangle's mom was standing next to me and she was adorable.

Then it was time to eat more food. I expected the Herohill/Saved by Vinyl BBQ at the Company House to feature the standard fare of hot dogs and buns and whatnot - instead, we were met with a spread that included chicken meatballs, pulled pork sandwiches, pasta and coleslaw. Total SXSW delicious-styles. I nearly wept.

Then it was time for a nap, except I watched the X-Files instead. There was a little boy with a "bad" side who kept killing nurses and freaking me out. Then it was time for the Pavilion! We grabbed some road pops and arrived for Envision, who were greeted with the usual enthusiasm by the kids. I like Pavilion shows. I did not have anything like a Pavilion growing up. Instead of seeing live music, I drank Mike's Hard Lemonade in the park near my house and then we'd walk around trying to find tennis balls until we felt sick. So I think the Pavilion is pretty great.
Next up - CHIXDIGGIT! After hearing about how great they were at Reflections the previous night, I was pumped. They did not disappoint.
"Let's give it up for Chixdiggit! Let's give it up for Kepi! Let's give it up for you! This next one is a love song!" Clapclapclap.
Lead singer KJ was super charismatic and didn't waste a word, and the whole band was super peppy. I went into the set not knowing many Chixdiggit songs and left with the ability to sing along to at least eight of them. My favorite is "(I Feel Like) (Gerry) Cheevers."

• chixdiggit

What a great bunch of dudes.

Then we made a mistake. We left before Fucked Up because I heard Chad Van Gaalen would be playing a secret show at Tribeca. And well, he did - like, three or four songs. Meanwhile as I waited and fought the urge to drink 80 screwdrivers, I thumbed through Twitter updates that crowed that Damien Abraham was climbing the rafters and high-fiving little kids and throwing out gold doubloons and kissing babies and doing tons of other amazing stuff that we totally missed. While we waited for Chad Van, who took forever getting to the bar and setting up, we also missed Long Weekends and No Joy at the Palace. While it was funny to hear a girl shout "Shave my PUSSY!" as a request (and hear Chad Van actually play it) I really would have rather seen those other bands. Or a full Van Gaalen set. The allure of the secret show is hard to resist, I guess, but next time I'm gonna try not to be such a turd.

Happily, though, we did get to see the sweet boys of ISBN. They are pretty much my new favorite Halifax band now (check out some tunage here). I was also really glad to see Jon McKiel, who pounded out a short set featuring some songs from his new album Tonka Warcloud. So good. So warm and serene, strange and intense. At the end of the night I found myself facedown in the couch, listening to the album, mumbling to myself. Big things await him. I think everyone knows that.

• Jon McKiel

Back to the Palace for PS I Love You. You could really sense the contrast between the HPX crowd and the club crowd tonight. A hockey game was also letting out from the Metro Center, which made the crowd even weirder. As I waited in line to get in, a group of guys, awash in fart smells and beer, accosted the bouncer to try and get in. "Whas going on there? Heavy metal?" one of them asked. Upon learning the ticket price, they disappeared with a hearty chorus of "FUCK THAT!"s.

• PS I Love You

PS I Love You needs to be loud. The last time I saw these guys, it was a teeny tiny bar show. It was good but not breathtaking. A year later, after nearly two months on the road, in a place with a real sound system, the mighty sounds of Paul Saulnier's guitar and his screechy, quavery, Spencer Krug-on-mescaline warble filled my ears and my eye sockets. There was even a residual roaring in my throat and chest. The crowd got larger as the set continued, and I heard someone say "Holy shit!" when Paul pulled out the double neck guitar and wailed for seemingly forever. If God and the world were just, this is what "stadium rock" would actually sound like. Great job boys. Remember me when you're famous and I'm still a piece of shit. (Note: Drummer Ben is also a brilliant graphic designer. I own a few old-school Ben Nelsons. Check his work here.

• ps i love you

We got warmed up for the main event with a bewildering medley of Rammstein songs, and then Fucked Up were on. YES. The mosh pit surged up to greet Damien Abraham, who doffed his shirt and swung his arms like an ape. He roared and grinned, high-fived, pulled amazing faces, and ran up the stairs and all along the upper half of the Palace, posing for photos with security and fans and screaming down at us from the VIP balcony, his arms dangling. And the guitars - they sounded huge. I tried to headbang but I realized I was so tired that all I could do was gape at the stage in amazement. I couldn't believe I was seeing a hardcore show at the Palace, and a hardcore band headlining Pop Explosion.

• Fucked Up

As I sang along to "The Other Shoe" I felt my eyes begin to roll back in my head - it was sooo loud —- so I went outside for a breather. I stood there yakking with some friends about the show and then, well, this happened:

"Son the Father" was my jam for basically a year. Screaming the lyrics in Pink Eyes' face was a major highlight of my life. It was amazing. Then we saw the now-infamous Head-Butting Man getting dragged out by security, and Damien stalked after them. "I'M IN THE FUCKING BAND!" he yelled when a security guard got in his face. Then everyone was yelling, I stared at the dude's rapidly purpling face, and then we ran off.

After a quick clean-up at home, we returned to Gus' Pub for Demon's Claws, a wacky group of Montreal warlocks and poncho wearing older gents playing ramshackle country and garage. They were weird and so good.

• Demon's Claws

People were loaded and dancing and feeling trippy, drinking out of pitchers, dancing with pretty ladies. It was the end of a long week and everyone was letting go with abandon. I was boozily bummed out....until...

• chixdiggit

"LETS HEAR IT FOR THIS PARTY."

Yep, Chixdiggit showed up at a house party at my sister-in-law's house and played a set at 3 in the morning. I lost my mind. Photos and video (by Adrian Bruhm) below.

• eric duncan

That's it folks. Let's hear it for Pop Explosion. This is my last Pop Explosion as a resident of Halifax for awhile, so it's kind of bittersweet, but I had the best time. See you next year.

This blog is coming to you, live n direct, from me lying supine on a futon. What a doozer of a couple of days folks. I'm so happy and tired and hung over and I can't believe it's over already. Lots to cover so let's get to it.

FRIDAY

After a slow-ish start to the day, we rolled down to Tribeca and abandoned the car downtown, where it remained for the next two days, amazingly unmolested and un-ticketed (thanks to the HPX gods). I was pretty excited to start the night with Rattail, a Toronto weird pop threesome that I previously caught during Long Live the Queen at Gus'. I loved their strange energy and Jasmyn Burke's inimitable, beautiful voice. Burke admitted at the beginning of the set that they were coming off a long drive from Toronto and the fatigue seemed to be taking its toll on bassist Tim Fagan, who seemed to be in a heavier trance than usual and kept grabbing the mic to make comments about the Barenaked Ladies' "One Week" ("Ch-ch-chinese chicken!") and other moments of fragmented singing/mumbling. Then they played songs like "In Bloom" and none of that other stuff mattered. At their best, Rattail is soooo pretty and ever so slightly twisted.

• Rattail

Kuato was up next with moody, colourful light filters and lovely instrumental squall. They are tight and extremely focused. I also liked overhearing people trying to pronounce their name all night - "Qweeto? Quatto?"

Then it was SECRET GUEST TIME with much-beloved New Jersey anthem-punkers Titus Andronicus. In hindsight this show feels bittersweet, as guitarist Amy Klein just wrote a beautifully-worded and very classy piece on her Tumblr today about quitting the band. Klein was the best part of the show for me - she spent the entire set jumping, grinning beatifically and swinging her guitar with major swagger - so I'm really happy that I got a chance to see her while I could. The entire band played with enormous heart and ardor and just the right amount of who-gives-a-fuck. They were a joy to watch from beginning to end.

• Titus Andronicus

Next up - the Palace for something completely different: fewer guitars, more dancing. The three siblings in Kidstreet hail from Waterloo, Ontario and play a sweet, sparkly sort of electro. I was most impressed with their flame-haired singer, who had the breathy-sexy sort of voice that lends itself perfectly to this type of music (see Esthero, Lamb's Lou Rhodes, etc.) Meanwhile, the brother that wasn't playing drums was going nuts - jumping all over the stage, wailing on a bass drum, yipping into a microphone. It was way fun but also made me feel slightly old. This would not be the last time that I would feel this way, spoiler alert.

• kidstreet

Twin Shadow came highly recommended to me by a friend whose taste I trust implicitly. "Basically Twin Shadow is the best type of music to have on in the background at a party," he said. The music comes with Pitchfork and Rolling Stone endorsements; the band also toured with Florence and the Machine. Twin Shadow manifests itself in the form of an alarmingly handsome George Lewis Jr, sporting a bowler-type hat, a furred jacket and an intricate-looking chain. He plays guitar and is backed by other similarly attractive and well-dressed people. The music was beautiful - dark wave with an R & B twist. Lewis boasted serious vocal and guitar chops. He's a little like a mellower Prince. After a few songs I felt so chilled out that I thought I was going to fall asleep standing up, and I wanted to see Shotgun Jimmie at the Pigeon Row 5-year birthday show at Gus', so we moved on.

• Twin Shadow

Unsurprisingly, given Shotgun Jimmie and headliner Dog Day's beloved status in Halifax (and the fact it was a Friday I guess) Gus' was JAMMED. Like wall to wall people. I heard there were over 320 people there maybe, with a lineup of about 20 people outdoors. I wriggled in just in time to see Shotgun Jimmie take the stage. He played a similar set to one I saw a few months ago, featuring the back-up duo of Klarka Weinwurm on bass and Jon McKiel on drums. They are a great backing band - super focused and happy to quietly and heavily churn out the set while Jimmie charms the shit out of everyone. (Pigeon Row birthday boy Matt Charlton also sat behind the kit for a song.) The set was heavy on Transistor Sister material and closed off with my favorite song "Swamp Magic." And well, it was magic. Everyone was singing, Jimmie looked thrilled and flabbergasted (this is the biggest non-Sappyfest show I'd ever seen him play, for sure) and it was rowdy and happy and everyone was so adorable, even though the air smelled like old beer and farts. He's just the best. I took a shitty video of the end of "Swamp Magic" - see below. Then I went to bed and snuggled with my cat and watched Buffy and it was also the best.

A recap of the epic 18-hour Saturday coming at you soon. I need a nap.

I'm exhausted today and will try to keep it short.

Went to a new Russian place for breakfast and someone from my party ordered borscht for breakfast, and I found this totally disgusting.

And oh hey look, it's Quaker Parents and Bloodhouse at the Coast HPX party. If you missed this, you missed free beers and good jams. Bloodhouse played "Digital Village" and it ruled.

• Quaker Parents

• Bloodhouse

X-Files break! Meanwhile my houseguest made supper. What a nice guest.

• Oh really? An invisible tiger?

• Mulder makes all the ladies sneeze

Time to go to Reflections for Hand Cream/Bugs in the Dark/Cold Wraps/Jeff the Brotherhood. We power-walked downtown only to learn that Hand Cream weren't going on because someone in the band either didn't have two pieces of valid ID, as per Reflections' strict-as-hell policy, or because they brought a fake out-of-province ID and well, yeah. I heard a few different things, so I don't really know. Shitty deal for all involved - or WAS IT? (see below.) I felt a bit bad for the bouncer/security people outside, though - they were nice and seemed stressed out and apologetic about the situation.

Bugs in the Dark went on. They're from Brooklyn. They were sexy but reminded me of what the Kills would sound like if they were boring.

• bugs in the dark

We bounced over to Tribeca to catch the tail end of Wildlife's set. They are a super high-energy indie pop group from Toronto, and some of their songs have a dancey Bruce Springsteen vibe. Or maybe dancey Constantines. Anyway, lead singer Dean Povinsky is a very charismatic young man, and the entire band was pretty hilarious and good humored. A good time!

• eric duncan
• wildlife

Then we went to the Seahorse to catch the first bit of Jenocide's set featuring DJ James Reid. They played "Beachball" and people flooded the dance floor because of course. The Seahorse was looking pretty full in general, which made me hesitant about the ability to catch Bonjay later. Back to Reflections!

• jen and james

Lots of people showed up at Reflections for Jeff the Brotherhood but HPX staffers had managed to squeeze in Hand Cream for a short, gritty and fun set before the Nashville brothers took the stage. I think it's amazing that they managed to play their set in front of a packed room despite the ID woes, and I think the Pop Explosion is the only festival where people would actually work to ensure this. Pretty special and nice.

Then Jeff the Brotherhood went on. They are a two piece from Nashville and yep they're brothers, and no neither of them are named Jeff. Watch this video - it will tell you what you need to know:

Wooo, wooo wooo.

I decided to commit myself to being an old person in a mosh pit. I am happy with this choice. I dare you to put on the album "We Are the Champions" and not sing along with the songs, even a little. 75% of the lyrics consist of "Woooo." The riffs are majorly heavy and the songs are super tuneful. They're like Weezer if Weezer was in the 70s and had long Fubar hair and a funny mustache. Oh, and a see-through guitar, and a tendency to crowd-surf. They were pretty loaded - the drummers' eyes were rolling back in his head in a hilarious way - and their set was maybe 15 minutes longer than it needed to be, but they were having fun and so was the crowd. I had a blast.

• eric duncan

TONIGHT: It's a SECRET (aka i don't know.) Hopefully Tongan Death Grip and Chixdiggit. Probably Dog Day.

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• Stephanie Johns
• Cold Warps feelin' fine

Then I ate dinner. I had a cocktail at the Carleton, but not one of the fun ones named after old Halifax bands. I had the one with espresso in it because it was going to be that kind of night.

I walked home, realized I had locked myself out, ran to get my spare key, ran home, had a handful of painkillers and then took off for Reflections. I was so stoked for the whole bill, Sheer Agony, Bloodhouse, Cousins and Thee Oh Sees. Dream bill. Bucket list bill.

click to enlarge

• Mark Black
• Sheer Agony relax

If you missed Sheer Agony, I feel bad for you. Here they are watching the hockey game.

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• Mark Black
• Bloodhouse goofin'

Bloodhouse gave a lot of percents. Alex wears his guitar up high, but not as high as John Dwyer.

click to enlarge

• Mark Black
• Bloodhouse on stage

I have no pictures of Cousins or Thee Oh Sees due to battery power and its limitations. But I can assure you they were both as amazing as you figured. I was in music nerd heaven. Singing along and watching John Dwyer and Brigid Dawson made my whole year. Thank you, Pop Explosion. It was a magic time in Steph's world.

After watching what is singlehandedly the most disgusting Kenny vs. Spenny episode of all time, we took off, still gagging, to CKDU for the first free lobby show of the year featuring the Weekend Dads and Cold Warps. The bands calmed my nausea and provided a welcome kick in the face. Cold Warps tried a few new tunes and navigated the bumps with many funnies. Can't wait to see them at Reflections tonight. You can hear their new demos here.

• weekend dads

• cold warps

We went back home and I pounded a giant Red Bull (after taking two caffeine pills an hour earlier - don't do drugs) because I'm a stupid idiot. We went to St. Matt's for Rich Aucoin's album release extravaganza and I proceeded to sit through some very good but very quiet solo acts literally quaking from the amount of stimulants running through my bloodstream.

The openers included Jenn Grant and Dan Ledwell, doing a terrific and very Tori Amos-y version of "Eye of the Tiger", Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt's Neil Fridd, who did a sweet, Okkervil River-ish version of one of his songs on piano, and It Kills/I See Rowboats alum Will Robinson, who reminded us that his voice is still lovely. A Jenn Grant video is posted below. Many thanks to whoever took this - please identify yourself so I can credit you!

Once Rich came onstage to take the audience through a very endearing run-through of the singalong parts of "Push," "We're All Dying to Live," and his other hits, a little thrill ran through my row: this is actually happening! Once the musicians came onstage it was all over. I don't even know where to start. The whole night was basically like a Halifax musician version of that Muppet family Christmas special where all your favorite characters got together in the farmhouse to hang out and do what they do best. Rich's show had the same effect that this program had on my six-year-old self: I was elated.

Every aspect of the show was so well-executed that I don't even know which part was my favorite - Halifax's best singers lining up in front of the mic to do individual harmonies; the likes of Adrian Bruhm, Sean MacGillivray, Dave Ewenson, Myles Deck and Stephanie Clattenberg taking turns beating the shit out of three separate drumkits and laughing; the dancing horn section; the spooky choir lining the walls behind the pulpit; Rich jumping in the crowd onto the pews, imploring us to sing and sing and sing; the crowd of people flooding the aisles to dance; the face-splitting smiles of everyone around me. I know it sounds gushy, but it really was great. The only person who could ever pull something like this off is Rich Aucoin, a musician whose enthusiasm for his work is matched only by his generosity of spirit. And he nailed it.

We raced from the church for Hind Legs' set, opening for Wildlife at the Seahorse. The crowd was sparse at first but filled up the dance floor by the end. I love local HPX sets when you can see the band has won a pile of new fans. At the end of the set, frontwoman Hally Jones was surrounded by admirers. Adorable.

Then it was off to Reflections for Bloodhouse/Cousins/Thee Oh Sees. The Bloodhouse crowd felt like Toronto - people were kinda just standing there. Raw deal. They did a good job anyway. Brendan Neima's hulking Yokozuna basslines really rattle through a room.

• more crappy photos

MEANWHILE:
My traveling companion Eric Duncan was posted up at Windom Earle's show at Gus' Pub. He later joined us at Reflections and said that it was the best Windom Earle set he had ever seen, featuring some great new songs, a pantless Nathan Pilon, a delighted crowd and a singalong of "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" replete with lighters. I am really really bummed that I missed it, but at least there's evidence in photos and video.

Edit: Wait, no video, my computer is broken. Maybe later!

• sexamaphone

Cousins were up nexy at Reflections, lean and mean after their recent tour. Oh they were so great. I love the combination of Leah Dotey and Aaron Mangle together - they remind me of excited little kids, joyfully reveling in the racket and the mess and having so much fun. Such killers. Fantastic. No shitty camera photos for this, unfortunately, as my phone went dead.

Then Thee Oh Sees came on. And it was so crazy. And I thought I knew what to expect, and I really had no idea. I was yanked into the righthand corner of the stage behind a speaker and then the room exploded. Bodies launched themselves into the air, microphones swayed and the crowd surged, there was blood everywhere, girls moshed and exposed their panties, everyone was screaming, and John Dwyer and co. plowed through their rousing, rollicking, weirdo songs, barely stopping to breathe and totally unshakeable. Words again fail. It was wild.

• eric duncan

So that's how Wednesday ended - in a splash of blood and sweat, everyone smiling and shaking their heads. It's Day Three now. It's only Thursday, everyone. Where the fuck do we go from here?

OVERHEAD:

+ Via text: "Just got here and I think Nathan is naked. Oh wait, no, he's almost naked."

+ "I was having a pee and this guy rolled up behind me and asked me for yayo."

+ "This Chinese guy is getting arrested outside! Right now!"

+ "I dunno, I just came here with my friends, they're a bunch of art fags."

+ "I'm gonna fucking launch off this block here."

+ "No you're not."

TONIGHT: Getting daytime drunk with the Coast gang to Quaker Parents and Bloodhouse at the Company House, 6pm; Cold Warps and the mighty Jeff the Brotherhood at Reflections; Bonjay, the Seahorse and sex magic.

• yeah

The desire for familiarity and comfort can sometimes derail the most ambitious of plans. That's more or less what happened last night at the Seahorse. After the Deadly Hearts wrapped up their set with the usual dry aplomb, there was a unanimous consensus of "fuck it, let's go to Gus'." Sometimes you just wanna go to the same place you always go where you can yell and fall down and there is loudness everywhere. Also, it enables one to go home for a five minute power nap between bands. Not that I did that. Also I wasn't in the mood for quietly and attentively listening to pretty music like Braids, although Twitter tells me they were pretty good.

The show was a tribute to former HPX volunteer and devoted Halifax scene kid Alex Fountain. I didn't know Alex at all, but based on all that I've heard about him, this is the type of show he would have loved. Many of his friends were out and gave 'er well. The atmosphere was friendly and nostalgic and celebratory and pretty much perfect.

We got there in time for the venerable VKNGS, and big ups to KLC for reminding us that you should wear earplugs when you go to see VKNGS. Good God they are loud. You have probably seen them before if you've been in Halifax for awhile - they make heavy intense math rock that rumbles in your guts and is generally all-consuming. Bassist Jim rested his forehead on the microphone in a way that I thought was funny, but it was probably supposed to be serious DON'T GET MAD.

• eric duncan
• vkngs

After a quick set changover, during which time I absolutely did not go home and take a nap, Die Brücke went up and jammed out a thrashy set that felt entirely too short. Members of the band shared quick little stories and words about Alex in between their songs. Mark Black spoke about Alex's love of dancing, and his words spawned one of the funniest mosh pits I've seen in a long time. My favorite part was early on in this process, watching people on the fringes, who were in turn watching people throw themselves around in the pit, trying to channel and restrain the desire to join in all at the same time, and eventually giving up. By the band's fourth or fifth song, a cluster of people were singing and fist-pumping and falling and getting up and falling down again. It was so great. I'm tired and not explaining this well. My companion took some photos on his phone so here they are.

At this point I was so tired and absolutely not drunk enough to persevere, so I eschewed DD/MM/YYYY for my bed. Sorry guys. I slept a lot though, so tomorrow's report will surely be more comprehensive. Regardless I thought this was actually a great way to start HPX - it was warm and caring, funny and good, and revealed the closeness of this community and the devotion of Alex's friends. The night belonged to them, and they did well with it. It made me really happy.

OVERHEARD;

- 'THE GIRL IS HOT,' yelled one attendee during Die Brücke. I am pretty sure she was talking about Steph Johns, unless it was a sick diss directed towards one of the Die Brücke males, in which case lol.

- An old man walked by Gus' while we were outside and actually openly leered at a group of girls beside us. Like, he licked his lips and everything. I know, I should be innoculated against this shit by now, living in the North End, but Jesus Christ.

- 'Give me back my glasses, please. I'm blind as shit.'

- 'Molson products taste like baby's poopwater.'

TONIGHT - Bloodhouse for the first time in like a year, Cold Warps in da lobby, secret guest at the Carleton, Rich Aucoin album release with giant band, and, of course, THEE FUCKING OH SEES. See you around.

Oh my God, everyone. Halifax Pop Explosion starts tomorrow. Batten down the hatches, friends and enemies. I'll post a "survival guide" tomorrow so you can see how one asshole recovers from a week of loud music and self-abuse.

In the meantime, I thought I'd post some personal daily highlights and see how far off the mark I get due to hunger/tiredness/booze. We'll be blogging from here on the regular, so you can hear all my blatherings and silly nonsense. Let's begin.

6pm - Citadel Hotel - DJ James Reid

Let's start this thing off right at the Citadel club with some fancy drinks and our favorite DJ spinning hip-pop hits. Pretend to be fancy. I might wear tights.

7pm - PIZZA BREAK!

• AHHHHHH! I NEED THIS

9:30pm - Deadly Hearts - Seahorse

I like these guys. They have a great classic burnished rockabilly type of sound and probably won't be playing much now that Myles Deck drums for the Motorleague.

Midnight - Die Brücke - Gus' Pub

The Tuesday conflicts begin with Die Brücke who are ripping good, play pretty much never and feature our own Steph Johns and Mark Black. They play as part of a tribute night to former HPX volunteer Alex Fountain at Gus. If you want a harder start to the week, this is where you should be.

12:30pm, One Hundred Dollars, Seahorse

I am painfully torn between the beautiful thoughtful country of One Hundred Dollars and Braids, a band deemed almost universally unmissable (playing at midnight at Reflections.) I wish there was two of me. I will try to attend both.

HOMEWHISKEYBED!

Stay tuned to this space for some kinda blog tomorrow night.

• animal dance! animal dance!

Bad news: This past week, the Elephant and Castle closed, meaning that the restaurant’s basement bar - home to Three Sheet’s Thursday hip-hop parties, along with many other shows — is now gone. Crud! More bad news: the Halifax Pop Explosion had a bunch of shows booked there, including Les Breastfeeders and Gloryhound. Nards! Good news: The shows have all moved to the North Street Church, which actually works way better for my schedule. Bonanza!

"It's been a challenging year with a number of venue closures throughout our planning," says HPX Executive Director Jonny Stevens. "We have had to rent out halls and build our own venues to make sure the show will go on. We have a great mix of year round venues and alternative space which should make it more interesting for the fans and bands."

The shows are 19+. They are:

Friday October 21

The North Street Church
(19+)
$10 Door

Amanita Bloom (9pm)
Les Jupes (10pm)
Gloryhound (11pm)
The Darcys (midnight)

Saturday October 22

The North Street Church
(19+) $10 Door

Audrey and the Agents (9pm)
No Flyers Please (10pm)
Rome Romeo (11pm)
Les Breastfeeders (midnight)

• thee oh sees

The entire Halifax Pop Explosion lineup has been announced as of this morning. Major additions include Stars, Thee Oh Sees (ohmygodfuckyes) DD/MM/YYYY and The Meligrove Band. Also, Jennifer Castle, who happens to possess the most ethereal voice I have ever heard. Amazing!

The list of local and national showcasing acts has also been released. Among these I'm super-chuffed to see The Weather Station perform songs from her stunning new album All Of It Was Mine, the painfully sexy Rattail and Montreal punkers Hand Cream, who are also sexy. Also, the local lineup is badass, and features several bands that I always wish I saw more of. Cold Warps? Bloodhouse? VKNGS?

What can I say? I have a girl boner now. Bo-yoy-yoiiing.

• OOOOH!

Edit: I was so excited I forgot to post where you can buy tickets and wristbands. WHATTA DOOSH!

Bonjay, Braids, Bruce Peninsula, Chixdiggit, Jennifer Castle, Amelia Curran (w/ Symphony NS), DD/MM/YYYY, Demon’s Claws, Dog Day, Fucked Up, JEFF the Brotherhood, The Juan Maclean, Dan Mangan, The Meligrove Band, Miracle Fortress, Murder By Death, Ohbijou, One Hundred Dollars, PS I Love You, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Plants and Animals, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Scratch Bastid (headlining the Red Bull Thre3style 2011), Shotgun Jimmie, Stars, Suuns, Thee Oh Sees, The Thermals, Timber Timbre, Titus Andronicus, Trouble Andrew, Twin Shadow, and Chad VanGaalen.

Acres Of Lions, Adam and the Amethysts, Ambition, Amanita Bloom, Animal Faces, Rich Aucoin & Friends, Audrey and the Agents, The Balconies, Banded Stilts, The Black Shades, the Blackrats, The Beat Poets, The Belle Comedians, Bend The River, Bike Rodeo, Bloodhouse, Megan Bonnell, Born Gold (formerly Gobble Gobble), Les Breastfeeders, Bugs in the Dark, Kim Churchill, Cold Warps, Charlotte Cornfield, COUSINS, Dance Movie, The Darcys, Piper Davis, Deadhorse, The Deadly Hearts, Death Valley Driver, Dezza, Dream Friends, DUZHEKNEW, English Words, Envision, Find The Others, FREEDOM OR DEATH, Giant Hand, Gigas, The Graboids, Greys, Hand Cream, Hind Legs, Hip Club Groove, Honheehonhee, Isak, Jeremy Glenn, Glory Glory, Gloryhound, Jenocide, Skip Jensen, Jesuslesfilles, Les Jupes, Mo Kenney, Kidstreet, Kou Chou Ching, Kuato, Lake Names, The Last Felony, Gianna Lauren, Daniel Ledwell, Cailean Lewis, Library Voices, Long Weekends, Ivy Mairi, Jon Mckiel, The Motorleague, More Or Les, No Flyers Please, The Nuclear, Obsydian, Old And Weird, Olenka and the Autumn Lovers, Olympic Symphonium, Orchid’s Curse, OUTTACONTROLLER, The Paint Movement, Paper Beat Scissors, PAPERMAPS, Gabrielle Papillon, pepper rabbit, The Provincial Archive, Punk Rock Karaoke, Quaker Parents, Quivers, RatTail, Repartee, Reversing Falls, Ria Mae, Rituals, JF Robitaille, Rome Romeo, Sandman Viper Command, Sex With Strangers, The Shakedown Combo, Sheer Agony, The Skeletones Four, Snailhouse, Something Good, Southern Shores, SPOOKEY RUBEN, The Spring Standards, The Standstills, Carleton Stone, Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt!, These Electric Lives, Molly Thomason, Tiny Danza, Tongan Death Grip, Carmen Townsend, The Trouble Shooters, UNEXPECT, VKNGS, We Were Lovers, The Weather Station, The Weekend Dads, We’re Doomed, The Wheat Pool, Whiskey Bent and Hellbound, Wildlife, and Graham Wright & the Good Times Band.

• JEFF the brotherhood

For those of you who missed the promo video at M Fest, here's the initial list of artists lined up for this year's event. Pretty sexy. Stoked for Fucked Up, The Rural Alberta Advantage and JEFF the Brotherhood!! And Braids! And Bonjay! Lots to be excited by. Check the full list below.

Halifax Pop Explosion runs from October 18 - 22, 2011. You can currently buy discounted wristbands and passes here for punishingly cheap.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, The Thermals, Fucked Up, Chad VanGaalen, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Titus Andronicus, JEFF the Brotherhood, Plants and Animals, Braids, Dan Mangan, Twin Shadow, PS I Love You, Timber Timbre, Ohbijou, Chixdiggit, Amelia Curran w/ Symphony Nova Scotia, Rich Aucoin & Friends, Demon’s Claws, Hip Club Groove, Miracle Fortress, Bonjay, Trouble Andrew, The Juan Maclean, Suuns, Library Voices, Dog Day, Gobble Gobble, Kidstreet, Les Breastfeeders, Snailhouse, Graham Wright & the Good Times Band, Wildlife, Bruce Peninsula, Doug Paisley, The Olympic Symphonium, Unexpect, Southern Shores, The Spring Standards, Olenka and the Autumn Lovers, Murder By Death

Apply here!
Fest runs from October 18-22 this year.

In a completely unrelated note, my friend Michel was all like "I'm going to listen to DBC, they're coming to Gus', you would be an idiot not to go" and I was like "What's that?" because I don't know anything. And then, suddenly, the doors of 80's Montreal thrash metal opened to me of their own volition:

Things get real around 1:07. They play Gus' as part of Hell Freezes Over on Saturday night. I think it's $10.

Saturday morning, I figured I was pretty much a goner. Still in last night's clothes, my eyes were crusted with shame and indifference. A pair of hands pulled me out of bed and we staggered to the Just Friends Brunch to find out ALL THE FOOD WAS GONE. At 11am. Great news for the brunch turnout, bad news for this hungover mope! We ended up at Coastal where I managed to choke down half of this delicious thing. To own this bagel would be a lox-ury.

• quite a lox-ury indeed

Then there were more staggers about the neighborhood and we went and saw Cuff the Duke at a secret show at the Seahorse. Their show was nice and mellow but the darkness of the bar, residual beer smell and my apparent newly-developed inner ear disorder that made walking go sideways wasn't going too well, so we went to the zine fair.

I bought a lot of things I can't really afford but love, like my friend's Atlantic Comics compilation (they used to be "Valuable Comics" in Regina. You can see their Facebook group here) and a fantastic t-shirt with a yeti on it. I tried to talk to some people and sentences weren't really coming out, just sloppy halves of words, so my friend was very nice and let me sleep under his table for a bit. Then I went and heard some readings from the Invisible Publishing/Yo Rodeo book Rememberer. It was in the Sunday school classroom at Saint David's and we all sat on small chairs. I perched on a red rocking horse. For a person who went Springsteen-wild-and-dangerous on Friday night, Gordon reads beautifully:

All the readings were great and the book really is gorgeous. If you didn't grab one at the fair you can buy one here.

Then it was time to go home again. I bathed for the first time in a couple of days, my brother drank three cartons of chocolate milk and everyone else started shooting Gibson's. We were ready for the Company House.

• it kills

It was nice to sit and listen to It Kills as a quiet opening to the evening. Live, the music is not as propulsive or art-poppy as this group's previous band, I See Rowboats, but the songs are still haunting and faintly intense. Lisa Lipton sat at the piano bathed in blue light in a fuzzy hat and handed out headbands made of woven yarn. I find her voice pretty amazing. It's choirgirl pure and seems like it has never been worn by the dirty shitty smoky rigors of life. Totally untouched.

I darted over to see Cursed Arrows at the Seahorse. At the beginning there were some issues. I had a hard time hearing the vocals, there was a lot of the necessary opening-band pausing and adjusting, and I could hear people were nattering at the bar. I never really know what to do in those situations. I really wanted to tell the sound guy but I didn't want to be one of those dicks. So at the end of their set I weakly yelled "VOCALSSsss!" but by then things were all right. When they hit their their stride everyone started paying attention and by the last chord I could tell that the room had warmed significantly. I heard a few people say it was one of their favorite sets of the fest.

• cursed arrows

We bounced (or, more truthfully, I trudged) towards Tribeca to catch Random Recipe. Terrible name, great band. The group in question consists two high-energy Francophone girls, one doing raps and beatboxing and the other playing ukelele and singing in a cascading sassy soulful voice that reminded me of Esthero before she started to suck, as well as a beatmaker and a drummer. The two girls (their names are Fab and Franny, which is delightful of its own accord) exuded a powerful exuberance and soon I found myself nodding my head and feeling like a real person instead of a festering trash hag. Thanks, women.

• fab from random recipe

Then Three Sheet's EMC joined them onstage for a bit:

• EMC

Back to the Seahorse. Somehow we got in even though it was packed. Cousins sounded fucking huge and awesome. Aaron Mangle is that nice type of person who onstage seems perfectly assured and also perfectly unassuming. Another shit photo is below. I recall being outside with Ashley LeBlanc talking about how we think Cousins will "break" soon. You will notice I'm writing a lot about what other people are saying. My brain was (is) too cracked for insight.

• cousins

I had pretty much had it with crushing crowds (and we had seen North of America the day before, remember?) so we headed back to the Company House which was the best decision anyone has ever made in their entire life. All I wanted to do was get buzzy, not fight through crowds, relax and dance to Ghettosocks, Jorun and Timbuktu. All my expectations were met in ideal measure. My brother was really excited to see the bespectacled one perform and he ate it up. It was a feel-good no-hassle set and it was exactly what I needed.

• Ghettosocks and Jorun

Went home and the girls from Random Recipe came over to my neighbours house. Drank whiskey, listened to Biz Markie, listened to Shoop (which led to a roomful of girls yelling, as that song invariably does) drank more whiskey, yelled, smoked 200 cigarettes, the girls from Random Recipe performed two songs on my other neighbour's ukelele - these were recorded, I will try and upload them later - and we rolled down to the Khyber to see the end of the Khyber afterparty. The Khyber has posted a video of Long Long Long doing R. Kelly's "Ignition" which was playing EXACTLY when we walked in. I love how the incongruity between the lighting (it looks like an Andy Warhol film) and the song that is being covered.

Then Play Guitar came on to play a bunch of songs from Marquee Moon and I danced until my brain felt like soup and my eyelids twitched. I remember being dragged out at some point. I remember seeing my bed again. "Oh hello bed," I muttered and kissed my own pillow as someone else kissed my face and put sheets over me.

• Play Guitar

So that was it, Pop Explosion. This was my favorite night of the whole festival and guess what, it was pretty much ALL LOCAL. I think a lot of people feel the same way about this festival. The reason it was so good was because it reminded us that we're lucky for our surroundings, and other sentimental junk. Anyway, Halifax has good bands. I'm so pleased that this is where I live.
Thanks for taking care of me even though I didn't really take care of you. Thanks for working so hard to ensure I could get buzzed and listen to the best bands from here and afar. Thanks for cutting through all the industry bullshit and reminding us why we bought wristbands/write blogs/take photos/do art/make music/dance like dumbos. Thanks very much for being magic.

Friday featured my good friend Sleep. My cat concurred (and conquered):

• so groggy....

Then it was time for some P-I-Z-Z-A:

• my brother stepped out of '94 with PIZZA!

And some Cold Warps, who were perfect. Paul Hammond was all like "Whatever", they played some Ramones and there was lots of "ooohs" inserted craftily in the right places. Those songs lodge in your brain like weevils. I don't even think that makes any sense, but it sounds right. Especially "Who Cares, I Guess"—-CONSISTENT FAVORITE. But anyway..

• like blah blah blah

Sank two beers and returned for North of America. I actually don't think I've ever seen NOA live before (my companion insists that we did, at the Khyber, a long time ago) and I enjoyed their set immensely. It might have been the beer (in fact, I'm sure it WAS the beer) but to me they seemed like knights, resplendent, playing these huge, noble songs while people sat on the floor or stood on the side screaming along reverently. I wish I grew up with this music instead of what I did grow up with (Korn) but you can't re-write the past.

God, where did we go afterwards? I think we saw The White Wires at Tribeca. They are from Ottawa and were also cute as hell, doing that sweet summer punk thing. The lead singer was a tall, rangy chap with a great voice. I could have listened to a lot more of them. In fact my one complaint this year is that I ran around way too much trying to catch so and so there and stupid face here. By the end I really relished standing still and listening to bands play entire sets. It felt like such a treat. Some year I suppose I'll figure it out.

We hit Coconut Grove for Tupperware Remix Party next. The last time I saw these guys was at a house party over a year and a half ago and since then their costumes and sound have only gotten more elaborate. The crowd was really really into them and as the bar began to surge and expand at the seams we escaped over to the Seahorse next door, which was also nearing capacity.

It was Jagermeister rock night. These are among my favorite nights every year - I really love them - and this year was no exception. The bar was nearly at capacity when we arrived, although the crowd had made a healthy space for the total fracas that was Burning Love. Holy God.

Now, imagine that band you just heard covering Nick Cave and the Bad Seed's Jack the Ripper. Oh GOD. This was beyond weak in the knees or blinded by awe—-the experience made me feel sated and gutted all at the same time. This is how you should feel when you hear noisy music. Reminds me of seeing Trigger Effect two years ago. Piercing, gnarly, ugly as sin. ROCK SWOON. Needless to say, t-shirts were bought.

The Pack AD were up next. Lead singer/ ripping good guitarist Becky Black seems to inspire the carnal attentions of men and women in equal measure. Her new haircut is rather fetching, not that you can tell from this photo, but you should take my word for it:

Aesthetics aside, I've bitched before that I find the drumming/guitars a little off in this band - drummer Maya is really fun to watch, high energy and seems like someone you would actually want to be friends with in real life, but at the beginning of the set I found things plodded a bit. Once they launched into "Blackout" from 2008's Funeral Mixtape, though, shit got real. Very heartening to see a packed Seahorse for these two. Please get famous now, okay?

The photo above is what happens when you shove your shitty cameraphone into Jason Vautour's face while the crowd in front of Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees turns into a giant mosh pit. He looks delighted and quite baffled. Overall the night at Coconut Grove - and particularly the latter bit with Tupperware, Windom Earle and Ruby Jean - was insanely high-energy, with a young dynamic crowd up for dancing and pushing me into the mirror-wall as I elbowed this other guy in the face. Good for the bands; annoying for slightly tipsy and ill-advisedly aggressive Coast writers, perhaps.

We took our drunkergy to an after-party kindly provided by the Coast's favorite host and I fuzzily remember someone playing in the living room while I advised two college girls to stay in school forever "because reality bites." That's real talk right there. You're welcome, girls.

I am still reeling from the last three days while simultaneously coming off of a bit of depression. A red shiny wristband is lying on the floor, there are gross earplugs everywhere, my house is messy and smells like Yoohoo and beer and my cat is suffering a mighty comedown after three days of being neglected and people stomping around her face. I'm still too tired to process, so instead I'll just spew about my favorites (and least favorites) over the internet.

Thursday

I received these at work just before closing time. Very kind of my work.

Our first stop on Thursday night was Tribeca, where we saw Ten Kens, who hail from Toronto. I really don't know what to make of these guys. There was a weird sound pad on the floor that also seemed to be connected to a lighting rig. The pad added weird effects to the singer's voice and controlledl the intense blue and red lights that flooded the stage. There was also a lot of intense worm-like dancing from the lead singer. The music reminded me of Dungen if it was filtered through a Sonic Youth/Thom Yorke lens. I'm not entirely sure if the entire affair worked for me. They make good music videos though.

Then it was time for homegirl Tara Thorne's band Dance Movie. It was Coast-reunion-ville, which filled me with immense joys. It was also a pretty loud set, which also filled me with the joys. This is mad-conflict-of-interest alert-y but I am continually floored by women who exhibit more and more confidence with every performance and T-Thorne exemplifies that. We are all very proud.

Then it was time for The Darcys, who are also from Toronto. You know a band is pretty when three different men around you comment on it. "Look at their beards!" said my brother. The music was also pretty, if not particularly memorable.

Another (newly-minted) Torontonian Rebekah Higgs came on next looking quite nice in black and red lipstick and earrings that dangled. She's backed pretty much by her Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees band. She sang a song about her nephew and other light, airy songs that gave me bubbly feelings. The "bleeps and bloops" of her earlier stuff are still there, but mixed in a nice, complimentary way. Overall the music reminded me of a souffle. Sweet, light as air.

I was feeling really haggard by this point and was almost considering skipping The Golden Dogs and going home. Then the band exploded onstage and socked me in the face with pop. The entire room erupted and people started dancing and yelling everywhere. You always remember the first time you saw the Golden Dogs, and all around me I could see people's faces split in smiles as they witnessed these extremely cute, high-energy people sharing their perfectly raucous music for the first time.

Then it was time to go home, but not before we ran into this guy:

After I took the photo, I asked him if he was dressed that way for a Pop Explosion show. "I don't know what that is," he replied.