Canada Post issues Titanic stamps
Canadian Post have unveiled the images that will go on a series of stamps to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. More than 1,500 people died on April 15, 1912, when the enormous Cunard liner sank after colliding with an iceberg off Newfoundland. The event has been immortalized in story,…
Welcome back!
Thank you to the driver #60 in Dartmouth yesterday afternoon! I was coming around the corner and saw you pull up 100 meters away at the stop. I haven’t run that fast OR that far since high school, and you could have easily pulled away. But you didn’t! You got my vacation off to a…
Bridge fare love affair
I’d like to thank the handsome man who helped me out at the Mackay bridge toll last week. After digging through my purse in a panic to replace a quarter that was rejected I stepped out of my car and to my surprise you were out of yours too. You put a quarter in, smiled,…
Scum of the earth
You yelled at one of our 18 year old female employees until she was almost in tears because we were out of stock of the two things you wanted. What kind of asshole does that? When I told you to get the fuck out of our store, you called me every disgusting name in the…
Urban Hillbilly
This is to the racist motherfucker I saw at Africville park the other day. What is your problem? You pull into the parking lot, windows down, blasting this country song in which I hear ‘coontown’ repeated more then a couple times. You think that shit is funny? Some people would have beat you for that…
Let’s help the real addict
To all the people who continue to complain that a smoker blew a tiny cloud of particulate matter in their general direction from 20 paces in the great outdoors: just for a change, could you please mount a campaign targeting the real addict – the government. “We admitted we were powerless over multimillion-dollar revenues, that…
Halifax election not at risk, says city clerk
Last weekend’s NDP leadership vote was the target of a “deliberate large-scale Distributed Denial of Service attack that attempted to deny NDP members access to the online balloting system,” says a press released issued Tuesday by Scytl, the company hired to conduct the e-voting. Scytl is a Barcelona, Spain-headquartered company, and the largest e-voting firm…
Hey farmer farmer
I know you read these and I wanted to tell you I think you’re really rad and I Iove being with you. Life is too short, so thanks for it all. You’re the cutest. —The Arm Wrestling Champion of Spryfield.
Argh
First, why in the hell is everyone so happy that we had summer in March? I can’t wait to see your skin burning off in 30 years. Now, that will make ME laugh! Second, corporations have completely fucked us over. Almost every Canadian company sends work out of our country. Why? Because all they care…
Halifax’s stadium dreams are smashed
On December 7, 2010, Grant MacDonald, addressed the Halifax city council. MacDonald is the director of Major Events & Community Partnerships at Trade Centre Limited, the provincial crown corporation that has expertise in major sporting and concert events, and council had asked MacDonald to research the possibility of the city bidding on the opportunity to…
No future, no past: Love rock and roll in its face
Source This skyline crushes dreams “The road to success is not paved with festival laminates,” writes Fucked Up’s Mike Haliechuk in this week’s issue of The Grid, which I read on the subway in from the airport, before I was inundated with Canadian Music Week (officially known as “Slacker Canadian Music Festival,” but no one…
Cold as a witch’s tit
Weather, seriously, what the hell is this?! Why tease us with 3 glorious days of summer only to punch us in the face with THIS afterwards? You reminded us what we were missing and now this bitter cold hurts even more! I don’t even know where my mittens went. I HAVE COLD HANDS! I feel…
Working on it…
There’s so many gorgeous girls/women in this city, it makes my heart hurt. They all deserve to be loved and treated like queens… But it’s easier said than done. I wasn’t born with a surgeon’s brain… and partying on the weekends, sometimes weeknights, probably doesn’t help. It’s hard enough to get by in this city,…
To a certain cable tv provider
What’s up with taking my channels away and making them digital? I still pay the same price for the same crap and yet I’ve lost maybe 8-10 channels… I called and asked about this and you said that I still gotta pay the same price because it’s part of a bundle… I asked about digital…
New cure for ED
Shut your yap for 30 seconds! Please, and I don’t even care if I am there for the first couple of breaks… I just want to know it’s possible. —Rather Listen to Celine Dion Rap Than Listen to YOUR YAP
Indie Boutik Collective looking for new members
Indie Boutik Collective (1542 Queen Street) is looking for new members. For those who don’t know, the hotspot offers a retail space smack in the middle of fashion-boutique row, just off Spring Garden Road, Atlantic Canada’s busiest shopping street. The labels already part of the collective are Orphanage Clothing, Dakini Silks & Things, Laura Chenoweth…
Norm MacDonald is coming to Halifax!
PEOPLE! Norm MacDonald is coming to town! I am not joking when I say my heart is beating a little faster as I type. The good news via Sonic Concerts: “Best known for his five seasons as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, comedian Norm MacDonald is bringing his stand up show to Atlantic…
To the wonderful couple
Thank you so much for showing my son and myself that there are still wonderful and kind people in this world. It was so nice of you to make a bday card out of your placemat and also place some money in it. It totally made our day and showed us that random acts of…
CMW: Thanks for nothing, airplanes.
Canadian Music Week 2012 (now called Slacker Canadian Music Week, for a reason unknown to me) features a smorgasbord of local Halifax talent. Our hometown gals and guys done us proud, and I intended on bringing you proof of their accomplishments from the front lines. Friday was planned as such: 10:40 a.m. Arrival 12:00 p.m.…
Thanks work, I love it
Thanks a lot, work, for cancelling our benefits. Right in the middle of my expensive dental procedures too. Thank you so, much. I really really love it and am happy to pay probably $2400 dollars out of my own pocket to complete these dental procedures that would have cost me about $800 or so when…
Worth the drive
Though I don’t live in the city, the hour drive is always worth it if it means I get to see you. We’ve only chatted a couple times but the impression you have left on me is deep and I find myself looking forward to the weekends, hoping that I might get to see you.…
Where did you learn to drive?
The next asshole or dumb cunt that don’t stop for people at a crosswalk, turn without signalling, change lanes with out signalling and almost causing an accident or jumps over 3 lanes with out signalling will either (or both) get it back in return and be fucking reported. Then we have the assholes who think…
Party bus
I got on the No. 9 Barrington on Saturday night, right in the middle of a party. The young ladies who were celebrating at the front of the bus had everyone else (especially all the google-eyed guys at the back of the bus) partying right along with them. And the pole dance was hilarious. You…
Build something
Enough with the empty pits in the city, construct something. A fucking nuclear survival facility, a few yurts, anything!!! Make some decisions and we’ll try to carry on. —Hodor
To the brown haired cutie on the 80/81 on Larry Uteck
Yes you, the one who sits across from me on the bus sometimes. You’re super cute. We give each other the ‘eyes’ and quickly look away awkwardly. At least I did. That was cute. Especially at 7 in the morning after a night of hard work. That is why I look so rugged when you…
Lost iPhone
To the owner of the white iPhone I found at the mall on Saturday I just want to say again – even though I had left a note, that I hope you weren’t freaking out too much and that I hope you got your phone back! I know if it were me and my phone…
Online dating
Are there any normal men over age 30 using online dating sites? Scammers aside, the only responses that I’ve gotten have been from men with serious (and I mean serious!) personality and lifestyle flaws. Is it too much to ask for someone who a) has a job, b) has enough education that they can spell…
I love you, north end pool
I love your long lanes, the sparkle of the setting sun on your waves, the cool welcome and warm exit showers. I love the sound of the giggling kids, the random music that blasts from the deck, helpful life guards, the kind smiling faces behind the desk, the flutter boards always available, the noon time…
To all the nice guys
I had just come from the dentist and was walking up the hill by the Metro Centre when I very ungracefully fell and everything in my dentist goodie bag went scattering. A young man came to my aid, helped me up, picked up all of my items and offered to walk me up to the…
Winter parking ban still flawed
It was obvious as of early evening on March 16th that there would be no significant amount (if any amount of snow fall at all) overnight yet the parking ban was in effect. Why would a person even think to check if there is a ban when there is no snow falling in the evening?…
Dieters are so boring!
So I’m happy to celebrate your success in losing 10 pounds – hooray, that’s a great achievement! Now let’s change the subject. No? You want to talk more about how many ‘points’ are in each food you eat, how many calories you burned walking the dog, and the many many off-limits foods that you are…
FILM 5 2012 goes to camera
Four short films are slated for production through the Atlantic Filmmakers Co-op’s FILM 5 training program. The first, Irene, started shooting this past weekend. As usual, the subject matter for the films varies widely. Irene is a drama about a call girl who discovers a lump in her breast. Or rather, it’s her client who…
D&D Boy
I love coming to your house! Even if I make myself feel like a total tool, you pat my head and smile. I wish I could have seen you more often over the bus strike, you brighten up my worse days and weeks. Thanks for making my Saturday’s so much better with nerdy movies and…
Bike lanes bad for business?
So once again local businesses are crying out against installing bike lanes in our city. Agricola business owners are convinced that installing bike lanes will ruin the economic viability of the area. They all say “Bike lanes take up precious parking spots that would-be shoppers need to park and shop.” Nothing could be further from…
Brown paper packages, tied up with string
This bitch is for the curly-haired woman who before getting off my bus on Friday, told me of how her friend had to quit her job because she could not get her children to day care because of the strike, and that all my friendliness does not make it better, and implying that my jovial…
Don’t be a litterbug!
Honestly, some of the streets in this city are just atrocious. They are filled with coffee cups, plastic water bottles, pop cans, chip bags, juice boxes, chocolate bar wrappers – enough is enough. How can you people just throw your trash all over the city like it isn’t harmful to the environment or animals or…
Essential service
You were complaining about how down you felt when you got on the bus after the strike was over and people were withdrawn. It may be that your fellow riders were adding up the cost of taxis to and from work, the doctor’s office, the grocery store, the library, etc. You know, what we had…
More Money, More Problems
A big FUCK YOU to the piece of shit who smashed my cousin’s car window and stole his laptop, hockey equipment and mountain bike. You are truly the scum of the earth. I hope karma finds you and leaves you with endless agony, sadness and suffering. Who the hell do you think you are? You…
You scribbled all over my heart
After two and a half years of patience and understanding, you decided to call it a day because you were “confused” and “liked” someone else. Isn’t that just fantastic? Your jealousy, condescending nature and selfishness that you were so good at hiding suddenly reappeared after all the sacrifices I made for you. I wish I…
Like walking in a giant ashtray
I understand that healthcare facilities needed to move smokers out of their buildings and onto the sidewalks, but let’s get real. While smokers may technically be “off hospital property” (and they aren’t even always off the property) the smoke and the cigarette butts are still there. Anyone trying to walk down the sidewalks next to…
Animals among us
There really should be a way for us to identify the animals among us—T-shirts, a scarlet letter, posters, something! I had an urgent need to affix any of those identifiers to a group of adult women walking downtown today who brushed by one of the city’s most polite street vendors and expressed their annoyance with…
Death wishes and dingbats
Okay, people… which one of your inbred parents ever told you that, as a pedestrian, your flaccid little bodies could produce an instant force field the second you step off the sidewalk and in front of an oncoming car? Which one told you that pressing the button on the crosswalk lights activates the deflector shield…
Miss the safe roads
I was really happy to hear that the bus strike had ended and that all of the people that relied on the public transit system could make it to their jobs, classes, etc. It wasn’t until I was driving down Quinpool Rd. last Monday when I realized how much I loved driving in this city…
Take a hint!
You complain that we don’t hang out anymore, but when we do all you do is complain about how horny you are, how much all of your friends suck, and talk about people behind their backs. I am always left wondering what you say about ME to other people if this is what you say…
Little Mysteries celebrates its 17th birthday
Little Mysteries Books (1663 Barrington Street, 423-1313) will be celebrating its 17th birthday on Saturday, March 31 and Sunday, April 1. Everything in the shop will be Draw For Your Discount, or 20 to 50 percent off—depending on your luck—and there will be a draw for a gift basket of treats and treasures, including a…
Coin Coin Design & Co offer penny rings
In 2007, credit union organization the Desjardins Group estimated there are 20 billion Canadian pennies in circulation. That’s approximately $5.88 in pennies for each of us. Renée Gruszecki’s found an inspired way to use a few of that multitude of pennies. Each one of her Coin Coin Designs & Co. rings incorporates a Canadian penny…
Sun?
You make me shine. Thanks for stopping by. See you again in June. —sunworshipper
Beach party 2012
What was with the overzealous people in HRM yesterday? I understand that it was a warm day, but did you have to dress like you were going to a beach party? —No Skin Showing Except on My Arms and Legs
Boy
My my aren’t you just sizzzlingly hot! —Girl
No antacid for me
I tried to buy some antacid this morning at a major supergrocer downtown HRM. I couldn’t. The are locked behind the glass walls that protect the pharmacy counter. When I complained to the clerk, he told me that I would be surprised at what people try to steal. AhwoOO!?!?!? This is a store. I am…
Fountain pop slurpee
Yesterday, with the 28 degree weather, I craved a Pepsi or a Coke Slurpee. I couldn’t find them. Every place was selling no name flavours. I don’t like them. Many of the no name flavours taste like drink crystals instead of pop. Holy crap, HRM! I think you missed a few meetings on Slurpees. —Fuck…
Backing up at a grocery store
Dear darly customer, I understand that you are a pedestrian and you have right of way. When I am backing up, I go extra slow so I won’t hit anyone. If I see you, I will be happy to stop, but is it really necessary to come out of my blind spot and walk behind…
Let me out!
Ok, I was on Lower Water Street at 4:30 pm and I wanted to go to Wolfville to share some textbooks with a fellow student and friend. OMG!!! I hit a traffic jam on Lower Water Steet, then I hit another traffic jam on Barrington near the MacDonald bridge, then I hit another traffic jam…
Windmill Road and Ackerly Road
This intersection is totally fucked up. Have you noticed that the traffic on the magazine is pretty light? That is proof that 2 very congested roads are so poorly managed by HRM that they are unable to feed the highway with enough vehicles. —Daylight is Done, and I Wanna Go Home
Dear bus driver
I realize that we have to yield to buses now but that does not mean the buses don’t have to stop at a stop sign, you douchbag. It’s the law, not a suggestion. I have your bus number and am calling your supervisors. —Learn How to Drive or Get Off the Road
Drivers, a favour?
Use your signal light! When switching lanes AND when turning… and don’t wait until you’re already stopped in the middle of the road to turn it on. In that case – you deserve a honk and a middle finger. —The Honker
Nurses nurturing nurses
To the nurses at the HI that recently played host to some LPN students – thank you so much! You ladies were fantastic! There are some nurses who don’t remember how intimidating it can be as a student, but you ladies were welcoming, educating and classy. Thank you! —Future LPN
You’ll love More Amore
We don’t get the opportunity to see a lot of musical theatre here in Halifax, and after taking in Wild Abandon’s More Amore — A Cabaret at The Company House last night, I’m beginning to think that’s a real shame. Vocalists Karen Myatt and Stuart Hiseler delivered an outstanding show on the theme of love…
Halifax… potential lost
Dear Halifax/Darmouth/Nova Scotia, As a foreigner who has lived here for around three years without a personal beef with the city/region/or province today, I reach my wits’ end. What the fuck is going on here? You are a beautiful city, with a hub for investment, a gateway airport which airlines avoid (explain to me why…
My bike!
I bought you 18 years ago in high school with money saved working part-time. We’ve been on countless adventures mountain biking around Victoria and Vancouver. I rode you rain or shine year round commuting to university. You’re getting older now; I’ve converted you to a road commuter with skinny tires and paniers but you are…
Waiting for the bus?
If you are standing at a bus stop by yourself and you see a bus attempting to pull over for you, please shake your head for the driver or wave the driver on if it is not the bus you intend to take. Can you imagine how much more efficient transit could be if bus…
It takes guts… and alcohol
To the boy with the liquid courage who called me to say how much you wanted to see me again, I thought that was cute, funny, and it made my night. You could have hung up upon realizing I couldn’t hear my phone for the music, but you left a hilarious message instead. Nobody calls…
Biker love
This is a shout-out to all you (motor) bikers out there that have pulled out your bikes for the sunny season. It is good to see you on the road. I am happy in my little honda civic but I appreciate the way you live life full throttle. You remind us that driving is not…
My Cape Breton Love
You showed me the stillness on the Bras D’or early in the morning. You showed me the strong winds at Meat Cove, shaking our tent as we looked out at the end of the world. You introduced me to the rugged stoicness of those from Judique. You gave me thousands of your beautiful smiles. You…
Dear Mr. Bus Driver
Thank you so much to the absolutely lovely bus driver who noticed me standing apart from the mob jockeying for position to get on the bus on Monday afternoon. That you noticed that I am pregnant and stopped right in front of me, thereby ensuring I got a seat, was much appreciated. —Expectant Mom
My bumble-bee
I may have flown from the hive, but baby I’m coming home. Two wings and a bee sting, bring me to sing, you’re my queen and I’ll remain your king. 200 thousand miles spread apart, you turn fictional love into art, can’t you see, I want you, I need you, my Bumble-Bee. —King Bee
You did it!
To our new favourite real estate agent – thank you!!! You found a buyer for our condo when no one else could, when we least expected it and with the best closing date. Now our little family can move into a house where we belong. You rock! —Three’s No Longer a Crowd
You see these 2012 Atlantic Book Awards nominees, you high five them
The Atlantic Book Awards Society have revealed their picks for the 2012 Atlantic Book Awards. Nominees were announced last night at a fundraising event with 2010 Giller-nominated, 2011 Atlantic Book Award winning author Alexander MacLeod (Light Lifting), fellow 2011 Atlantic Book Award winner, Laura Penny (More Money Than Brains) and three nominees for 2012 awards:…
Laid off CMHWs
Thank you so much for your years of dedication and professional service to the sick kids. You all made more of a difference than they gave you credit for. Your loss will be very painful and cost the most vulnerable people in our society a valuable service and allies when they need it most. It…
Congratulations Halifax
I am so proud of you for being ranked fourth on Canada’s best cities to live in list. You’re beautiful. You make me prouder and prouder each day. Thank you for everything you have done for us. I am confident in the fact that I made the correct decision in moving here. You kicked Toronto’s…
Less vague… maybe
Not sure how terrifying moments in October lead to me dreaming of you most nights… thinking of you most days… maybe it’s the knowing I’ll never have you… or maybe everything about you is as profound as I think it is… I hope one of these leak through to you… I want to say hi…
Sunshiny day
Halifax is so beautiful when the sun comes out! I’ve never seen a happier crowd of people than us Haligonians today. People I’ve never seen before that live on my street were out frolicking in the sun’s presence. I’m glad to know everyone has come out of hibernation. Sometimes I ask myself why I moved…
The war on BBW’s
I use to be quite overweight and it’s been a struggle for me but I lost a lot of weight and it will always be an up hill battle for myself to keep it off. Even though I am not overweight anymore I am pissed off that some of my favorite tv shows lately have…
To the Logi-douche
Your behavior is disgusting. Yes, it is frustrating when a bus driver misses your stop but screaming f-bombs and terms used for those whom perform oral sex is not an appropriate reaction. If you are using language like that, someone better have punched you in the face, or slept with you mother. What was wrong…
Bus driver cry baby
To the bus driver at the Bridge terminal on March 21st: I love how you say you were ripped off from this strike and DID NOT get a fair deal. Cause you lost only 3 weeks pay. How about the people that pay fare to use a service you are whining about. Some even losing…
Journalistic ethics?
def. – an oxymoron as old as the printed word. —Glooscap
Bus service
So I drive an SUV. Everywhere! But… my friend takes the bus to work, home, shopping, everywhere. I swore I would never use public transportation. Why? I own a vehicle. Why? I can afford the fuel. Why? My vehicle LOVES eating fossil fuel and belching carcinogens into the atmosphere. So my friend approaches me about…
Best DJ
Gold Winner DJ IV Silver Winner DJ T-Woo Bronze Winner KDZ DJ IV has been out on the road, kicking ass with his buddy, Classified. “We’ve done two cross-Canada tours, the whole summer festival scene and even got to visit Costa Rica in the past year,” says IV. “Halflife Records is steady movin’ on up!”…
Best Music Photographer
Gold Winner Scott Blackburn Silver Winner Chr!s Sm!th Bronze Winner Tiffany Naugler “What an honour!! Wow!!” exclaims Blackburn in an email, upon hearing that readers chose him as the Best Music Photographer this year. Musicians he’s had in his sights recently include The Stanfields, Ian Sherwood, Carmel Mikol, Rain Over St. Ambrose and Andrew Hunter…
Best Songwriter
Gold Winner Joel Plaskett Silver Winner Mike Ryan (The Town Heroes) Bronze Winner Carmen Townsend Ah, Joel. What would we do without you? Once again recognized as Best Songwriter in Halifax, the guy has won a Best of Music award in one category or another—often multiples—since 2002. That’s consistency for you. And the former Thrush…
The Coast picks the movies
Here are our picks for the best movies in cinemas right now. Click on the movie title for the review. The Hunger Games In Darkness Friends with Kids
Best Female Solo Artist
Gold Winner Carmen Townsend Silver Winner Jenn Grant Bronze Winner Jenocide Carmen Townsend plays both acoustic, songwriters’ circle theatre shows and wild rock stages. Her huge voice and charming stage presence easily wins both crowds over. Music is her life and it shows. Last year she released her debut, *Waitin’ and Seein’* and toured across…
Best New Artist / Band
Gold Winner Rain Over St. Ambrose Silver Winner The Space Age Bronze Winner Soho Ghetto Rain Over St. Ambrose is worried about the weather. Curt Le Blanc (guitar) is checking the road conditions on our notoriously fickle east coast before he—along with brother Cory (guitar/vocals), Marc Durkee (bass/vocals), Luke Amirault (drums) and Matt Amirault (keys/vocals)—heads…
Best Producer
Gold Winner Classified Silver Winner Cameron Smith Bronze Winner Charles Austin Our man Classy, currently on the road with your vote for best DJ, DJ IV, and Hedley, is playing to massive crowds right now, as is his custom. But he’s not content just to tour relentlessly with his own music—Classified has his fingers in…
Odds are with The Hunger Games
Gary Ross adapts the first of a trilogy of books by Suzanne Collins, introducing movie audiences to a future world where moneyed elites, having quashed a rebellion by poorer citizens, rub the losers’ noses in it with an annual event that pits the children of the 99 percent against each other in a televised duel…
Best Dressed Artist / Band
Gold Winner Tupper Ware Remix Party Silver Winner Gypsophilia Bronze Winner Something Good Though they relocated to Toronto (hereafter referred to as The Horrible Place That Steals Bands) in November after a banger of a last show—your bronze winner for best show of 2011, incidentally—TWRP are still as beloved as they are odd. Costumes? Oh…
Best Radio Station
Gold Winner CKDU 88.1 FM Silver Winner Live 105 Bronze Winner Q 104 The Gruesomes’ CKDU promo is as iconic as the Casino taxi jingle to many, which is just as it should be. CKDU, gem of the Halifax airwaves, takes the gold in this category again. This winter, you had a chance to skate…
Nick fit
Nick Flanagan is a writer, actor and stand-up comic. A triple threat, you could call him. A renaissance man, a polymath, maybe. Really busy. Trying to make a living as an artist. Any one of those. He explains it thusly: “The whole analogy is Dungeons & Dragons, where you have multi-class characters, only a half-elf…
Free Will Astrology
Happy Birthday! ARIES (March 21-April 19) Not bad for a few weeks’ work, or play or whatever it is you want to call this tormented, inspired outburst. Would it be too forward of me to suggest that you’ve gone a long way toward outgrowing the dark fairy tale that had been haunting your dreams for…
Best Promoter
Gold Winner Sonic Concerts Silver Winner The New Halifax Bronze Winner Troy Arsenault “A lot happened in 2011 and it was a great year for Sonic Concerts,” explains Sonic’s Erin McGuire. “We’re fortunate enough to work with a lot of amazing local talent and continue to expand with more international acts. It’s important to us…
Tiny bubbles
Ask any coffee aficionado and they’ll tell you espresso beats earl grey. Choose cappuccinos over chai. Whether it’s hot or cold, always go for the java. To put it simply, skip the leaves, pick the beans. But even coffee freaks can be swayed to the dark side when tea has pearls. No, not pearls like…
Chickenburger to open soon
It’s been in the wind for awhile that a new location of The Chickenburger was gonna happen downtown. Looks like that day is almost here, as the recognizable signs are all up at 1466 Queen Street, just beside American Apparel. Owner Colin MacDonald says doors will open in the next few weeks. “We’re hoping for…
Best Record Label
Gold Winner Diminished Fifth Silver Winner Acadian Embassy Bronze Winner Sonic Recods Any record label that goes to the trouble to publish its code of ethics on its website is OK with us, and clearly with Coast readers, who have voted Josh Hogan’s D5R to the top of its list once again in its sixth…
Best Male Solo Artist
Gold Winner Rich Aucoin Silver Winner Joel Plaskett Bronze Winner Ben Caplan Merely listing the amount of categories that Rich Aucoin totally dominated in this year’s poll could be a column in itself. He is nothing if not a hard worker, and it’s paid off not only in in this survey, but his career. It’s…
Best All-ages Venue
Gold Winner The Pavillion Silver Winner CD Heaven Bronze Winner 1313 Hollis What’s up with the kids? That’s easy, it’s The Pavilion all the way. The hard-working staff make this venue so special, and that’s valued by its patrons. Venue director Chris Smith says, on behalf of the board of directors and volunteers, they “recognize…
Best Artist / Band Most Likely To Make It Big
Gold Winner Rich Aucoin Silver Winner The Town Heroes Bronze Winner Three Sheet Merely listing the amount of categories that Rich Aucoin totally dominated in this year’s poll could be a column in itself. He is nothing if not a hard worker, and it’s paid off not only in in this survey, but his career.…
Best Gig Poster Artist
Gold Winner Yorodeo Silver Winner Adrian Bruhm Bronze Winner Nick Brunt “Dude, this drawing is actually insane. I can’t decide if it’s too much or not,” says Yorodeo artist Paul Hammond, about his early sketches for a new poster. Rare words for Hammond, who along with Seth Smith, makes up the poster-producing pair known for…
Roaming on-set report
A couple dozen crew and cast members are nestled into a tiny apartment in Halifax’s north end. Chairs, couches and a computer desk occupy the main area and paintings decorate the walls, with cameras and lights accounting for the rest of the space. Writer-director Michael Ray Fox sits on a chair, prompting the actors with their…
Best Artist / Band To Turn Up Loud
Gold Winner We’re Doomed Silver Winner The Stanfields Bronze Winner Three Sheet We’re Doomed are a pop-influenced progressive rock band, a group of young guys who swear by the tightly knit all-ages scene. “We play a lot of different shows,” says guitarist Nick Jones. “We always get lumped in with a lot of heavy bands,…
Best Artist / Band Hijinks
Gold Winner Tupper Ware Remix Party Silver Winner The Graboids Bronze Winner Rich Aucoin Though they relocated to Toronto (hereafter referred to as The Horrible Place That Steals Bands) in November after a banger of a last show—your bronze winner for best show of 2011, incidentally—TWRP are still as beloved as they are odd. Costumes?…
Lorax Consumption
I don’t remember reading The Lorax when I was a kid. I read it to my kid now. But I’m not a Lorax purist. So, on a Friday afternoon I hit the Empire and paid my $13, got my 3D glasses in cellophane wrapper and prepared for a sermon. There’s no church of environmentalism, so…
Chat room
[Listen here to a podcast of the conversation] Halifax has a strange musical map. A small-town feel, but enough varied genres that make for a rich scene. But because of the size, there are occasions that a crossover show will bring different groups of fans together, cautiously eyeing each other from across the bar—where did…
Best Tour You Wish Came To Halifax
Gold Winner U2 Silver Winner Foo Fighters Bronze Winner Red Hot Chili Peppers Nope, U2 did not make it here on their mega 360 tour—they even had a chance to reconsider their egregious scheduling error when they postponed the 2010 North American leg of the tour after Bono underwent emergency back surgery. But they did…
Coming out kinky
Q I was recently advised to begin reading your column by my therapist. I am a 21-year-old male and a senior at an Ivy League school. Despite my academic success, I’ve battled a lot of stuff in the past few years: anxiety, depression, substance abuse and porn addiction. It’s quite a load of shit to…
Best Live Music Venue
Gold Winner Seahorse Tavern Silver Winner Gus’ Pub Bronze Winner The Carleton As the number of live music venues in half seems to shrink, so to does the legend of the Seahorse Tavern grow. In the past year the basement bar has seen great shows by Sheepdogs, Dog Day, Hind Legs, Plants and Animals, Carmen…
Best Online Presence
Gold Winner Jay Mayne Silver Winner Three Sheet Bronze Winner Rich Aucoin Jay Mayne’s videos are produced at such an alarming rate, we believe there’s some kind of magic involved. Turns out, we are mistaken. “I’m very lucky to have a video team that fuckin’ rules,” he says. “My main video guy is Tyler Ross,…
Unbound‘s public reading
The book is alive and well and the folks from Dalhousie’s art gallery want to make sure you know it. The gallery’s latest exhibit shows that not everyone is ready to turn the page on books as we know them, commenting on the hardships of commercial publishing and the rise of the printed matter culture…
Alana Yorke carries “The Weight”
Alana Yorke’s haunting song “The Weight” started with a melody; the words came later. It wasn’t until she sang the bridge that she realized what story she was telling. The singer-songwriter’s lyrics were recounting a scuba diving accident she’d experienced years earlier, at the end of a long day of research she ran out of…
Best Live Show In The Past Year
Gold Winner Rich Aucoin, Halifax Pop Explosion, St. Matthew’s Church Silver Winner Prince, Metro Centre Bronze Winner Tupper Ware Remix Party’s final Halifax show, The Seahorse Merely listing the amount of categories that Rich Aucoin totally dominated in this year’s poll could be a column in itself. He is nothing if not a hard worker,…
Best Artist / Band To Be Blown Away By
Gold Winner Three Sheet Silver Winner The Town Heroes Bronze Winner Kuato This category is indicative of the killer live show a band puts on, and our 2011 Best of Music cover stars Three Sheet are pumped to hear they’ve been recognized. The band is about to blow away people on the other side of…
Mad about Mad Men
It’s been a very long 17 months since Mad Men graced our living rooms with all its vintage goodness. In that time the hype’s had time to dissipate a little, but for true diehards, Don Draper and this questionable cronies were never too far from our minds. Now, as the hiatus nears its end and…
Best Video
Gold Winner “It,” Rich Aucoin, directed by Noah Pink Silver Winner “The Workhorse Walks Alone,” Orchid’s Curse, directed by Aaron Elliott Bronze Winner “Ship to Shore,” The Stanfields, directed by Aram Kouyoumdjian Merely listing the amount of categories that Rich Aucoin totally dominated in this year’s poll could be a column in itself. He is…
Plaskett’s Happiness
To say Joel Plaskett is a prolific songwriter would be a gross understatement. In 2008, Plaskett went into the studio and geared up to release the follow up to 2007’s critically acclaimed Ashtray Rock. The result was Three, a sprawling triple-disc solo-album so ambitious he didn’t think his label, Maple Music, would even press it.…
Best Artist / Band To Dance To
Gold Winner Rich Aucoin Silver Winner Tupper Ware Remix Party Bronze Winner Three Sheet Merely listing the amount of categories that Rich Aucoin totally dominated in this year’s poll could be a column in itself. He is nothing if not a hard worker, and it’s paid off not only in in this survey, but his…
Epic Epworth
Jon Epworth has been holding his powerful departure FAILURE EPICS captive for nearly three years. It was finished, but it wasn’t ready. The timing needed to be right before the six-track, prog-rock influenced record that Epworth composed and recorded almost entirely on his own (with the help of a couple of friends) was ready for…
Best Vinyl
Gold Winner Dog Day, Deformer Silver Winner Ben Caplan, In The Time of the Great Remembering Bronze Winner Cold Warps, Endless Bummer Deformer, more than any other vinyl release this year, was the one that you rotated into oblivion. Can’t say we blame you—the dreamy tracks with relentless beats fill the room with psychy pop…
Best Artist / Band To Get Trashed To
Gold Winner The Stanfields Silver Winner Black Moor Bronze Winner The Graboids When we reach Jon Landry (guitar, vocals), it’s over a crackling cell, with oxygen mask announcements being made in the background. His flight is taxiing out to the runway at Pearson in Toronto. The band is headed to Texas, yeah Texas, where they’ll…
The Stones shine in Slowly I Turn
The smell of baking bread greets the audience as they enter the eclectically cluttered living room that serves as a stage for Zuppa’s latest envelope-pushing production. The show that unfolds there is part exploration of memory, part celebration of life, laughs and family and part thought-provoking meditation on aging and dying. The piece stars Ben…
Best MC
Gold Winner Ghettosocks Silver Winner Quake Bronze Winner Classified Ghettosocks is a self-made man with a lot of friends. The Juno-nominated, ECMA-winning rapper/producer/DJ co-owns his own label Droppin’ Science and is half of Teenburger and Twin Peaks. You’d think he’s still hearing the locomotion from last December’s month-long VIA Rail-sponsored Train of Thought tour, because…
Best Artist / Band To Enjoy Quietly
Gold Winner Quiet Parade Silver Winner David Myles Bronze Winner Ria Mae Fittingly, Trevor Murphy, the creative force behind Quiet Parade, has to step outside of the hushed halls of a library before we talk. His goal for the band this year is clear: more collaboration. “I was always wary of falling into the trap…
Best Album
Gold Winner Rich Aucoin, We’re All Dying to Live Silver Winner Dog Day, Deformer Bronze Winner Bad Vibrations, Black Train Merely listing the amount of categories that Rich Aucoin totally dominated in this year’s poll could be a column in itself. He is nothing if not a hard worker, and it’s paid off not only…
Best Music Festival
Gold Winner Halifax Pop Explosion Silver Winner Evolve Bronze Winner In The Dead of Winter HPX 2011 rocked as hard as any fest in living memory. The perennial Best Music Fest winner rarely disappoints, but with the inclusion of Fucked Up, Chad VanGaalen, Outtacontroller and Rural Alberta Advantage, the October event was particularly stellar. And despite…
Best Rehearsal Space
Gold Winner Rockopolis Silver Winner Canvasland Bronze Winner The Church of Destruction After Rock Garden passed the rehearsal space torch to Rockopolis last year, a collective sigh of relief was heaved from the music community that the beloved spot wouldn’t close. Adorned with a new coat of paint, the Hunter Street practice space thankfully remains…
Best Artist / Band
Gold Winner The Town Heroes Silver Winner Gloryhound Bronze Winner Three Sheet Chatting over lunchtime plates of mac and cheese (real, not the fake stuff), The Town Heroes, Mike Ryan and Bruce Gillis, seem like possibly the most unassuming, self-deprecating band in existence. For the past two years, The Cape Breton duo has transcended its…
Working class Heroes
Chatting over lunchtime plates of mac and cheese (real, not the fake stuff), The Town Heroes seem like possibly the most unassuming, self-deprecating band in existence. For the past two years, the Cape Breton duo of Mike Ryan (guitar, vocals) and Bruce Gillis (drums, backing vocals) have transcended their cover band roots by crafting hooky,…
Best New Music Trend
Gold Winner Dubstep Dubstep Like last year, dubstep picked up this category and ran away with it, half its hair flipping in the wind, before tripping and and falling into a black hole of bass and difficult-to-render *Draw Something* categories. Is this still a new music trend? You seem to think so. Readers also appreciated…
Don’t try Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Director Lasse Hallström’s Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is a collage of a movie, devoid of real characters and crippled by awkward dialogue. Maybe it worked in its book incarnation, but in less than two hours on screen it makes no sense that a scientific fisheries researcher, Dr. Jones (Ewan McGregor), would have a spiritual…
Best Song
Gold Winner “It,” Rich Aucoin Silver Winner “English Class,” The Town Heroes Bronze Winner “Electric Dusk,” Gloryhound Merely listing the amount of categories that Rich Aucoin totally dominated in this year’s poll could be a column in itself. He is nothing if not a hard worker, and it’s paid off not only in in this…
JL
I love you. —SR
Commons tennis courts
HI just want to voice my frustration over the fact that there are no tennis nets up yet at the Halifax Commons or any other city location other than at Dal. It is annoying for the weather to be so nice, and not be able to play at all. I am aware that the city…
My ferry Princess
It’s great to hear your sexy voice on the radio again Ferry Princess! Welcome back. —Silly Sailor
Hello! Thank you!
A huge sigh of relief and the buses are back. But, there’s something new going on, and I hope it stays. Bus drivers are cheerful, passengers are grateful. I hope this stays. I believe bus drivers should be welcoming when passengers board, and passengers should be thankful when they leave. It’s common courtesy and it…
Television or chat-advertisement-ision?
Fuck me, even the NHL broadcast is completely gobbled up by ads. Seriously, it’s bad enough that that dildo-head Pierre MacGuire (and all the copies that are cropping up on other networks) gives us his scintillating analysis about how a guy shot a puck over the glass, instead of letting the announcer call the play,…
City Hall update
The YMCA/CBC project notwithstanding, Halifax council is now in a bit of a holding pattern before the annual budget debates begin in April. There are, however a few issues slowly making their way through the process, as follows: Stadium Council was originally scheduled to review stadium options this Tuesday (March 20), but nothing was presented…
BLITZKREIG
To the guy who walked with me down Windsor from a Young St bar on Saturday night, thank you! I was so drunk and it was nice that you caught up to me to walk with me. I don’t remember who you are, but I remember talking about the Ramones. Thanks for the walk. —BOP
Focus on this
This middle finger goes out to the mother of 3 poorly behaved children in the waiting room of a local clinic. It’s a doctor’s office you idiot. Do you think maybe there are people there who aren’t in the best of spirits? Your kids were loud, laying on the floor, and pissing people off. I…
