The Scene, The Coast Halifax

Reefer Madness!

Kate Watson — Sat, 18 May 2013 14:05:00 -0300

In case you don’t know, the original Reefer Madness was a 1936 propaganda film that preached the evils of marijuana. Its melodramatic story of mayhem, murder and madness—all sparked of course by that dreadful hallucinogenic plant from “the garden of Satan”—spawned a musical satire and a tongue-in-cheek 2005 movie version as well as this original adaptation by Keith Morrison of Halifax’s Lions Den Theatre.…

Steve Moore's If These Walls Could Talk

Rachel Bloom — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:48:00 -0300

Steve Moore’s show If These Walls Could Talk is so personal to Moore, the audience doesn’t even need him there to explain his artwork. A series of postcard-sized quick sketches line the wall portraying different faces and bodies, all taken from Moore’s own experiences.…

Close call! Sprinkler system glitch closes down Art Gallery of Nova Scotia

Stephanie Johns — Wed, 08 May 2013 14:06:00 -0300

"No art or people were harmed in the making of this situation," says the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia's marketing and communications representative Donna Wellard, laughing. It's been an understandingly long day for the gallery after last night's announcement that a flaw in the sprinkler system will have the gallery's north building, including the permanent and temporary exhibits, closed for at least a week.…

Scribbler live at The Coast

Heather Rappard — Tue, 07 May 2013 15:29:00 -0300

The ever-prolific Scribbler stopped by, grabbed a coffee and eased us all into a lazy Sunday. Thanks, gang!…

Hilarity in Halifax

Jessica Jay — Tue, 07 May 2013 15:04:00 -0300

Steve Patterson is probably best known for his role as the host of the CBC show The Debaters. Or possibly as Canada’s best male stand-up comedian (as chosen in the Canadian Comedy Awards in 2011).…

Halfway to Hal-Con

Rachel Bloom — Tue, 07 May 2013 14:41:00 -0300

Hal-Con, Halifax’s sci-fi, fantasy and gaming convention, may not be until November (Nov 8-10 see hal-con.com for more info, but it’s not too early to get excited about the impressive line-up for this fall. The announcements have already started streaming in and will have fans of Doctor Who, Star Wars and Star Trek alike pining through the whole summer.…

Video of the day: COUSINS, "WHAT'S YOUR NAME?"

Stephanie Johns — Wed, 01 May 2013 16:26:00 -0300

The video "WHAT'S YOUR NAME?" (from COUSINS' upcoming LP The Halls Of Wickwire) evokes a lot of nostalgia, sweet summertime feelings of goofing off, causing a ruckus and getting a buzz on.…

Got Faith?

Whitney Moran — Wed, 01 May 2013 04:00:00 -0300

“I owe my career to the internet, which is awesome and scary at the same time,” says Faith Erin Hicks, animator extraordinaire (whose serial Superhero Girl you may remember from The Coast’s comics page). But she’s not bragging.…

The Doppler Effect Presents: Heartwood

Kate Watson — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 18:59:00 -0300

Laura Burke is a generous soul. As Heartwood’s playwright and star, she allows the audience a window into her difficult journey through mental illness.…

Halifax Jazz Festival 2013 line-up

Jessica Jay — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:32:00 -0300

Oh yes, it’s back. The Halifax Jazz Festival line-up has been announced for this summer and we can promise you, it’s absolutely incredible.…

NSCAD grads show off. UPDATE: Congrats Torrance Beamish!

Stephanie Johns — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:45:00 -0300

It's that time of year again: piles of free stuff on the sidewalks; premature flip flops; throngs and throngs of newly graduated students flooding stoops and patios everywhere. Among them are this year's NSCAD graduates, who also invite you to take in their year of work at the NSCAD Graduation Exhibition 2013.…

If I Were a Blackbird: The Concert

Kate Watson — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 14:20:00 -0300

Could a play about beloved folklorist Helen Creighton become Nova Scotia’s answer to PEI’s tourist-drawing Anne of Green Gables? That question could be answered in time by playwright/filmmaker Glenn Walton and his new work about Creighton’s life entitled If I Were a Blackbird.…

Brand new Nocturne

Megan Rudson — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:41:00 -0300

With a theme like space and time, there is no doubt Nocturne 2013 is going to be out of this world. Curator Eleanor King chose the theme in hopes of creating a cohesive flow for the nighttime festival.…

Battle royale: Animals in the Nova Scotian art scene

Stephanie Johns — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:26:00 -0300

Wildlife rules this week in local art news. But just like in the wild, it's a dog eat dog world—a brutal struggle of survival of the fittest when it comes to the art world.…

Listen: Cam Smith's "Nonsense"

Stephanie Johns — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:10:00 -0300

Listen now or save this one for Friday night, Cam Smith's newest single, "Nonsense" will most certainly get your cubicle sufficiently turnt and have you throwing a tantrum from now until Cannon will be released in its entirety this summer. Booyaka

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Congrats to Sobey Art Award longlisters

Stephanie Johns — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:59:00 -0300

These lovely longlisters luxuriate with laurels when the 2013 Sobey Art Award—the pre-eminent award for contemporary Canadian art—announced the 25 artists on their long list.

Each year the Sobey Art Award is awarded to an artist age 40 and under, chosen by a curatorial panel, who has exhibited in a public or commercial art gallery within 18 months of being nominated.…

Poetry for April and everyday

Shannon Webb-Campbell — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:50:00 -0300

Since the League of Canadian Poets established National Poetry Month in 1999, April is officially the busiest month for poets. The union of schools, booksellers, literary organizations, publishers, libraries and poets now come together annually to celebrate poetry’s crucial role in Canada’s culture.…

Gianna Lauren's "Ghosts" live at The Coast

Heather Rappard — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:52:00 -0300

The ethereal voice of Gianna Lauren filled our lucky little office during the most elaborate lobby performance yet. Have a listen to "Ghosts" off Lauren's latest album On Personhood.…

Ballet Jörgen's Swan Lake

Kate Watson — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 16:12:00 -0300

There are so many breathtaking moments in Ballet Jörgen’s gorgeous production of Swan Lake that it’s hard to pick a favourite. For sheer beauty, I‘d have to choose the first time the swans are seen en masse (en flock?)…

Get your Greek on

Kate Watson — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 10:57:00 -0300

There’s something about the Marquee Ballroom that echoes with debauchery past, an air that makes it the perfect setting for The God That Comes, 2b Theatre’s electric, wine-soaked cabaret/rock-and-roll show.

The show is steeped in the wine, song and sex of Greek mythology, with singer/songwriter Hawksley Workman transforming himself into Pentheus, the uptight, sexually-repressed ruler, Agave his dissolute mother and Bacchus, the amoral, pleasure-strewing god.…

Pigeon Gallery flies away

Kaitie Unwin — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 04:00:00 -0300

It’s going to be a sad day at the Bus Stop Theatre (2203 Gottingen Street), come April 20 when Halifax artists and art enthusiasts must bid their beloved Pigeon Gallery adieu (Saturday, April 20, 6-11pm, $5).

Since October 2012 The Pigeon Galley has been bringing together members of the Halifax arts community through entertaining evenings featuring unique art displays, bands from all genres of music and a little comedy thrown in there too.…

Video of the day: Nicole Ariana feat. XXX CLVR, "Everytime"

Stephanie Johns — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 04:00:00 -0300

Nicole Ariana gives a few lessons on how to be cool in her new video for "Everytime", featuring Weirdo Click's XXX CLVR. Tyler Ross from Our Dynasty Our Destiny, videographer to the stars.…

The Disappeared comes home

Jessica Jay — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 16:20:00 -0300

Lost at sea. Everyone in Nova Scotia knows exactly what those words mean.…

Norma McKnight: Two people at once

Chelsea Gutzman — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 15:01:00 -0300

“I started ventriloquism when I was 11,” says Norma McKnight. “I was in the hospital and my mom bought me a dummy out of the Sears catalogue.” Soon, the other kids in the ward started gathering around her bed, and a ventriloquist was born.

“It wasn't something I aspired to be; you'd have to be a little weird,” says McKnight, laughing.…

Goodbye Rita MacNeil

Stephanie Johns — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 12:14:00 -0300

Working men and women everywhere, dig out your wide-brimmed hats and throw on Born A Woman in memory of Rita MacNeil, who passed away April 16 from complications after surgery. You'll be missed.…