Life after Celine
My favourite reaction to the Celine Dion concert collapse is from Sheila Bryson, a blogger in California, whose post linking to the Perez Hilton piece is called “WHY HALIFAX FUCKING RULES.
Don’t be glib Celine, bring on the Cruises!
From the Hollywood Reporter: Woody Harrelson is starring and Katie Holmes is in talks to join Giovanni Ribisi and Jason Lee in writer-director David Michaels comedic fantasy adventure The Other Side” from Myriad Pictures. The story follows a female grad student who, while spending a summer on remote Destiny Island for her scholarship to study…
Near and Far
I always thought that if Halifax was to make into Perez Hilton, it would be for Tom Selleck punching out a Shoe Shop patron. Or maybe something nice about Ellen Page. Lucky for us, Celine ensured us a spot and a shitload of comments–so far, mostly from Haligonians eager to share their side of the…
Aww shucks!
The restaurant critic for The New York Times came to Halifax recently, but he wasn’t on the hunt for donair, fried pepperoni or other local fare. Frank Bruni was just passing through on his way to get some oysters and mussels in Prince Edward Island. His shellfish story was published yesterday, an entertaining read that…
Celine Di-off
After speaking briefly with an Events Halifax rep, the news is, there isn’t much news – other than the obvious, “Celine ain’t coming anywhere near the Halifax Common anytime soon…” Here’s the rundown: For the time being, even Events Halifax peeps don’t know exactly what made Celine’s peeps change their mind about the venue, which…
Christmas in November
I’m writing this on November 16, a Friday afternoon. On Wednesday night, November 14, I went shopping for groceries at the sprawling and mightily stocked Joseph Howe Atlantic Super Store. Piped in for the gathered consumers, dwarfed by canyons of President’s Choice frozen dinners, McCain Frozen Pizzas and glass jars stuffed with litres of oyster-white…
Taking no chances
We feared something was wrong last week, when Celine Dion’s official website announced that members of the TeamCeline fan club could buy their tickets for the Taking Chances world tour. But before we got the Visa out, we saw the fine print: The ticket sale for the Halifax show, slated for next August, “has been…
Big breaths
“I wasn’t expecting it—it was a fine group of individuals on the short list with me. They’re all really, really good artists and they all make really good work,” says the modest winner of this year’s Nova Scotia Masterworks Award, Glynis Humphrey. Indeed, the artist was in fine company with short-listers Georgette LeBlanc, Lorraine Field,…
Free form
An unrelated panel discussion on “Trust in Freedom of Artistic Expression: Is Art Free?” on Thursday, November 15 at Saint Mary’s University (7:30pm, Scotiabank Theatre, Sobey Building) has become incredibly timely, given the controversy around a piece of art currently on display at that university’s art gallery. “Black Santa Coffee Pot” by acclaimed artist Léopold…
Funked up
Halifax becomes part of the Universal Zulu Nation when Afrika Bambaataa comes to town November 30 at the Marquee. Bambaataa has been fusing the funky and political for 20 years and was recently nominated to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Prediction: The electrofunk pioneer will leave DJs with their jaws…
Rodeo drive
“Halifax faces a rock’n’roll supernova: A neutron bomb of riffolicious fury that will descend on the city like the coming of the rockocalypse. An armada of guitarists and boogie-woogie shock troops bringing you sin and salvation. Everybody gets laid at the White Cowbell Oklahoma show. We don’t understand these powers we have, but they are…
Daily double
The East Coast Music Awards, Festival & Conference have eyed Fredericton up and down and said, “Damn, girl, you look fine.” The ECMAs are slated to throw their big-ass industry high-five there this February 7 to 10. Showcases will be announced as they are finalized, but if you like, you can stuff stockings with tickets…
Win, place and show
Congratulations to the many, many Nova Scotia Music Week winners who showed Liverpool a good time last weekend. Joel Plaskett had to hire a sherpa to take home his varied awards: pop/rock artist/recording of the year; video of the year; group/recording of the year; SOCAN songwriter, album (Ashtray Rock) and entertainer of the year. Other…
Closed Krisp
About a year after it first opened its doors at 5189 Sackville, high-end street wear and customized sneaker boutique (and NSCADU-graduate showcase) Krisp Clothing is closing up shop. “It wasn’t sustainable,” says Michael-Andreas Kuttner, Krisp’s CEO, of the shop. “At some point, you’ve got to just realize that it’s not going to happen.” The shop…
Act naturally
Hoping to harness your inner Aretha? Head to new shop Bradshaw Pure Esthetics, now open for business on the second floor of 1539 Birmingham (in the same building that houses the Love, Me Boutique.) There, they’ll make you feel like a natural (man or) woman. After all, esthetician and shop-owner Diana Bradshaw uses only certified…
Getting a reaction
Meanwhile, up on the second level of the Barrington Place Shops, (in another former home of Mr. Romance), new salon Reaction Hair Studio is ready to make you feel pretty. The salon, which opened two weeks ago, is co-owned by Ray Kerr (husband of Margaret Ann—see above), and hairstylist Debra Hallett. Hallett’s been doing Kerr’s…
Avenue anew
Heads up, fans of the 7th Avenue Boutique. Tomorrow’s the last day you’ll be able to access the shop at its current location (the corner of Granville and Duke). But stay calm: The shop re-opens at an ever-so-convenient new location, amid the Barrington Place Shops, November 20. (The boutique’s new digs, beside Hatley Clothing, used…
Basketball Jones
And finally, as a nod to the long-suffering jocks, who must constantly put up with our arty indie, alt-weekly-y, skinny-jeaned, Chuck Taylored hipster-quirk nonsense: your day has come. Thursday night. The Halifax Rainmen. The Boston Blizzard. The Metro Centre. The American Basketball Association. Sources confirm, it’s about to get all crazy up in hurr. Even…
All roads lead to Tuesday
The Chebucto Road saga comes to head next week, provided council pulls heads out of their collective—hey, hey! Connaught-Quinpool councillor and 2008 mayoral candidate Sheila Fougere presented a 3,000-name petition to council on Tuesday night, on behalf of the Chebucto Neighbourhood Association. The petition asks council to delay the road-widening project by one year while…
Library fees
Good news for book fans: there’s progress on the proposed new central library on the corner of Spring Garden and Queen. Huge international design firm HOK has been awarded a $424,369 tender to research the space and design possibilities to create a new, kick-arse downtown bibliotheque. The city has outlined several library priorities, which HOK…
Campus security
Starting in mid-May, the city cold called and questioned just over 1,200 residents—Have you, or someone you know, been a victim of violent crime? Do you think there is more violence in our community, or is it just a perception? How violent is your neighbourhood, on a scale of one to 10? In August, there…
Claws for pain
To the editor, Re: “Best of Halifax,” November 8: Congratulations to Carnegy Animal Hospital for winning the Best Veterinarian category. I was disappointed, however, to see their hospital manager claim that: 1. “Declawing cats has become much more humane…” 2. Advantages of the laser are “no pain and no bandaging.” Declawing is becoming a more…
A whole lot more rat-a-poo-y?
To the editor, Wow, I’m going to sound like a conservative redneck, but I cannot wait until April 1, when war is declared on cats. Not that I am going to be out hunting them but rather, that I can finally do something about the two little feline fuckers that seem to have started the…
Lots more rat-a-poo-y?
To the editor, Re: “Claw enforcement” by Lezlie Lowe, November 1. In everything I have heard and read about cat concerns, I have yet to see any reference to the fact that our furry feline friends provide a valuable service. Just last week I watched a neighbour’s cat walking in front of our house on…
New track city
While you read, have a listen to our Keep your eyes and your ears on these 16 local bands and musicians. Some are new on the scene, others are veterans tackling new projects. They may already have a recording or a CD in the works, but all are poised to be the next big thing.…
CD reviews
Shotgun Jimmie, Iron and Wine, Puddle of Mudd, Musem Pieces, Buck 65, plus over a thousand to browse.
Blood work
“People make a lot of parallels between the stories of privatizing of public resources, downsizing of government services and off-loading of responsibilities to community…we’re all in that boat. This is the same agenda that’s hitting health care, education. People, even if they’re not fishing, they see the themes resonating in their own lives.” That’s Martha…
On patrol
Huge pile of dirt on the Common, near the skatepark!
DVD reviews
This week’s review, Flight of the Conchords: The Complete First Season and searchable archives.
Live music photo
This week’s photo, In-Flight Safety and searchable archives.
Savage Love
Q:You neglect generic guy/girl/girl threesomes. My friends talk about these threesomes all the time, ’cause they’re the “Holy Grail” of sex for us straight guys. Here are some of our questions: 1. What is up with threesomes? 2. How do I arrange a threesome? 3. How do I get my girl to agree to a…
Book reviews
This week’s review, Glass Voices and searchable archives.
No Country for Old Men
If you’ve seen Lions for Lambs or Fred Claus, you may wonder when it became acceptable for movies to lack visual conception. Blame it on cheaper viewing habits: Neither film would lose much downloaded to your cell phone. This doesn’t ensure a place for the Coen Brothers, but No Country For Old Men continues their…
Fred Claus
Give Fred Claus this much credit: It doesn’t completely equate Christmas spirit with one’s light displays. That puts it above Deck the Halls, The Grinch and Christmas With the Kranks. But it doesn’t attain the uplift it aspires to, either, and hasn’t the sincerity to admit that it’s a wounded film rather than a happy…
This week’s horoscopes
You need a little craziness, Libra, says Rob Brezsny.
In Rod we ecoTrust
You could almost hear the wheels turning when Stephen Harper announced the Canada ecoTrust fund earlier this year. “I don’t want to deal with global fucking warming,” would be the prime minister’s thinking. “Let’s punt it to the provinces. They’ll grovel for a few crumbs and I’ve got someone to blame when the world doesn’t…
Divas on ice
You’ve heard of the million-dollar question. How about a $150,000 coincidence? I found one last week when the temperature dipped, I dug my skates out for their first-of-the-winter sharpening and put in a call in to Paul MacKinnon, executive director of the Downtown Halifax Business Commission and long-suffering Barrington Street booster. My question, in a…
A history of violence
These stories represent a small sample of the submissions we received via email, messageboards and thecoast.ca. Some have been edited for publication. The Coast will submit these stories as part of the mayor’s roundtable on violence, now underway. My 24-year-old nephew was confronted by a group of youths on the Common in September, going home…
New waves
While you read, have a listen to our Nine months ago, i see rowboats held an emergency meeting. They had recently played their first show and were still without a name. Their second show was coming up and they didn’t want to be listed as “and TBA” again. The band hunkered down in fiddler Luke…
Band in real life
While you read, have a listen to our “You should print the phrase “big, big titties’ in there.” Mike Bartlett says this between mouthfuls of muffin, intending it to be his parting words. Bartlett and his bandmate Brent Geikie are sitting in Second Cup on Spring Garden Road for an interview to hype the group’s…
Tongue Thaied
Liz Feltham steps into the delightful downtown dining room of Cha Baa Thai
Metal detector
Metal lives, right here and right around the world. The music in all its forms, including death metal, spans the globe and links people through a powerful sense of community, a worldview and way of life. Toronto artist David Poolman understands this well. “I came to underground metal through the hardcore scene in the mid-’80s,”…
