Hot Summer Guide: Concerts and music festivals

Paul McCartney

July 11

A Beatle is coming to Halifax. Some come down on the man for his
stand against the seal hunt—though it sounds like these days most
blame the militancy on his ex-wife, Heather Mills—or some say that
his wanting to change the order of the songwriting credits on
“Yesterday” from Lennon/McCartney to Paul McCartney and John Lennon
awhile back was at best silly, and at worst, egoistic. And still some
will never forgive him for “Mull of Kintyre.” But, seriously, a Beatle
is coming to Halifax, and it isn’t Ringo. This doesn’t happen every
day, and you can bet that when Macca sings the lyrics “Jojo was a man
who thought he was a loner, but he knew it wouldn’t last,” the voices
of 60,000 men, women and children from Atlantic Canada will rise in
unison to sing along. And that, my friends, is a pretty cool thing.
(CK)

Sarah Slean

June 27, 28

You’ll note in the Festivals and Events section that Toronto-based
singer Sarah Slean is one of the acts in the Multicultural Festival
Supershow line-up on June 26 at Alderney Landing, along with Paula
Cole, Divine Brown and MIR. As much as we’re sure that will be a fun
old time, Slean is a performer who on her lonesome regularly fills the
Rebecca Cohn with fans beguiled by her seductive coo, and is simply
stunning in a more intimate space, as she proved over two nights with a
battered upright piano in December 2005 at the late, lamented Ginger’s.
For those who’ve never seen a show in the wood-lined attic that is
Sonic Temple, you’re in for a treat. Still touring on her best record,
The Baroness from last year, and its EP follow-up, The
Baroness Redecorates, there is no better time to see Slean. Not
that there’s ever a bad time, really. (CK)

Halifax Public Gardens Sunday Concert Series

Sundays, June 21-September 13

Ouch: General admission passes to see McCartney on the Common are
going for $136. (Paul, we love you, but there’s a global recession
happening. Can’t we just bring you some lentil burgers from The Wooden
Monkey and call it even?) Tickets to see KISS later in July aren’t much
cheaper: general admission for that show costs $99. What’s a currently
impoverished outdoor-concert-lover to do? Friend, the HRM’s Civic
Events planners have just the concert series for you: the Free Halifax
Public Gardens Sunday Concert Series. Really, the name tells you pretty
much everything you need to know—except what time to show up at the
band shell (2-4pm), and who’ll be playing (a variety of local jazz,
blues and big band ensembles, including the John Alphonse Band, the
Port City Concert Band, the Eileen Joyce Band and the Mike Cowie Band).
Hey, you can’t beat the price—and maybe, if you ask nicely, one of
the variety of musical ensembles will play “Hey Jude” for you. (LM)

José González

June 25

Almost a year to the day since the Swedish-born singer-songwriter
last played in town, González returns to start a cross-Canada
tour. According to the New Music Express, González will
be joined on this jaunt by percussionist Andres Renterria and vocalist
Joel Thibodeau of Brooklyn-based Sub Pop act Death Vessel.
González has a hypnotic way around a tune, thanks to his
classical guitar chops and his soft, keening voice. He’s become well
known for his covers, including his take on “Heartbeats” by The Knife,
an interpretation that is probably as well known in North America as
the original version. He also spins Massive Attack’s “Teardrop“
out of its doom-laden electronica and into a lovely folk framework, and
recently did Nick Drake’s “Cello Song” with The Books for the moody
compilation Dark Was The Night. With any luck we’ll hear all
these tunes on Thursday night. (CK)

Rupaul

June 20

Selected highlights from the superstar’s biography on rupaul.com: “I
was born November 17th, 7:58pm at Mercy Hospital in San Diego,
California. When asked what she named her baby boy, my Mother replied,
‘His name is RuPaul Andre Charles and he’s gonna be a star!'” 1964: “I
saw The Supremes on the Ed Sullivan TV show. I fell in love with them,
particularly, the skinny one in the middle.” 1975: “Ninth grade I won
Best Afro and Best Dancer at Gompers Jr. High School. In September, I
enrolled at Patrick Henry High School. By December I was kicked out of
that school for ‘never once attending a class.'” 1992: “On my birthday
in 1992 the single ‘Supermodel’ was released.” And now, in 2009,
RuPaul’s Drag Race hits TV, the worlds most famous drag queen
releases a new record, Champion, and plays Reflections. (CK)

Virgin Festival

With The Tragically Hip, The Offspring, Dinosaur Jr., Metric,
Handsome Furs, Plants & Animals, Arkells, In-Flight Safety and hey
rosetta!, July 4

For the second year running we get a diverse summer rock festival
taking place right downtown. Summersonic in July 2008 was quite the
hit, with bands like Stars and Black Keys bringing the rock despite the
rain, so this should go over just as well. Canadian rock icons (yes, we
can call them that—it’s been 22 years since “Highway Girl”) The
Tragically Hip headline, supporting their lovely summer-at-the-lake
sounding record We Are The Same. Expect Southern California punk
band The Offspring to play a number of their wildly successful hit
singles. Has anyone been able to forget the devious earworms “Come Out
and Play,” “Self-Esteem,” “Original Prankster,” “The Kids Aren’t
Alright,” “Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)” or the most fiendish, “Why
Don’t You Get A Job?” That would be plenty of music for your dollars,
but the bill is stuffed with plenty more, including the
too-hot-to-touch Montreal duo Handsome Furs, the
forever-cool-in-The-Coast-offices Dinosaur Jr. and
forever-cool-everywhere Metric. (CK)

Bon Jovi

June 27

You have to give the band credit for longevity. Did anyone predict
that the poodle-haired ’80s rockers with a touch of the epic in songs
like “Living on a Prayer” or “You Give Love a Bad Name” would still be
filling the big spaces in 2009? Why were they more likely to succeed on
that scale than Skid Row, Poison or Whitesnake? Bon Jovi always
understood its appeal, and managed to continually appear on the charts
with hit songs through the years. Even when the music went out of
style, they managed to grow their fanbase—their most recent hit
record has more of a new-country sound. On June 27 in Moncton you’ll be
sure to see a whole new group of fans who wouldn’t be caught dead with
Slippery When Wet in their collection, but definitely have their
wheels on that Lost Highway. Also on the bill are
Bachman-Cummings, State of Shock, Mobile and Alfa Rococo. (CK)

Evolve

July 17-19

Music evolution is constant and the Evolve Festival keeps up with
this change. Thousands of campers settle in for the weekend to hear a
plethora of musical performances. This year’s line-up includes: Xavier
Rudd, Shout Out Out Out Out, Jon Lajoie, A/V, The Sleepless Nights,
Caledonia, Rich Aucoin, The Ukeladies, Share, Ghost Bees and Cool Dad.
But it’s Toronto’s own Valery Gore, looking forward to the isolation,
outdoors and camping, who promises to inspire dancing and howling at
the moon. “Indoors, the music feels contained and the crowd is
sheltered by walls and ceilings,” says Gore. “I think the crowd feels
more freedom with the open sky above them.” It may be her first time in
Antigonish, but a good friend has given her the heads up on the
highland heart of Nova Scotia. “She has already told me about the
beautiful beaches and how her grandpa and I will get along.” (SWC)

Stan Rogers Folk Festival

July 3-5

Celebrate 13 years of folk music and the legend of Stan Rogers at
one of Nova Scotia’s finest summer festivals. The weekend-long event
features everything from gospel to jazz, rag, bluegrass, folk, country
and swing. This year’s lineup includes Juno award-winning songstress
Sarah Harmer, Mr. American Pie himself, Don McLean, Bruce Guthro, Jimmy
Rankin, Thom Swift, Amelia Curran, Christina Martin, Lynn Miles, Tom
Fun Orchestra, bluegrass quartet Blue Horizon, Steven Bowers, The
Divorcees, Po’ Girl, Kim Dunn and more. Artistic director Troy
Greencorn is thrilled for this year’s StanFest. “When we started the
festival I always dreamed that someday we would be able to present the
songwriting legends of our generation. It’s really come true,” he says.
With on-site camping and nearby green space, thousands of people soak
in the sounds of six daytime stages and one evening stage that operates
late into the night. (SWC)

Summer Rush

July 25 with Akon, Girlicious, Basshunter, Robin S, September, DJ No Luv,
Supercrew, Karl Wolf

It’s hard to deny the massive event that is the arrival of
Chrystina, Nichole, Natalie and Tiffanie on the Dartmouth Waterfront.
It’s a reality show and it’s a girl group—it’s Girlicious, and it’s
what we’ve been waiting for all our lives. We’ll be jumpin’ like a
Cadillac, yeah. Next to them, Akon, well, we know he wants to get with
us, and we’re so damn beautiful, but he’s gonna have to work hard to
make us forget all that Girlicious lovin’. Then there’s Basshunter,
bringing his Swedish beats to the table, and we can see how those
partying on the Saturday night of Pride in Halifax might take the ferry
over to Alderney and let Basshunter make ’em feel like they’re down in
Ibiza. (CK)

KISS

July 18

It’s hard these days to separate theatrical rock act KISS from the
reality show antics of guitarist/singer Gene Simmons and his OTT
entrepreneurial spirit, hawking the KISS brand everywhere he goes and
marketing Canadian music with Belinda Stronach. Given all that vulgar
showbiz, it’s might be hard to remember a time when KISS were
dangerous, when folks wondered if the band’s name was an acronym for
“Knights In Satan’s Service” and albums called Love Gun and
Lick it Up highlighted their knack for single entendres. What
has never been in any dispute are the spectacular live shows—captured
on eight enormous, hard rockin’ live albums—with the pyro, the
spitting blood and the toothy boots, sustained over the years and
changing line-ups. At the time of this writing, Peter Criss and Ace
Frehley aren’t in the band—though never say never with KISS. Expect
Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer, joining original members Paul Stanley and
Gene Simmons, to rock and roll all night, and party…well, you know.
Also on the bill are Thornley, The Trews, Econoline Crush and The
Novaks. (CK)

HRM Free Summer Concert Series

Thursdays and Saturdays, July 4-September 5

If you’re digging the idea of free summer concerts, but live far
from the Public Gardens and can’t make it to the Sunday shows there (or
if you have other Sunday obligations, like working or buying socks),
don’t fret: check out the HRM Free Summer Concert Series instead. And
hey: that “HRM” in the event’s title isn’t just there to look pretty.
There are eight concerts in the series, and they’re all taking place
far from the Halifax downtown core—at the Bicentennial Theatre in
Middle Musquodoboit (Joe Murphy & The Water Street Blues Band, July
4; The Bill Stevenson Band, August 22), the Black Cultural Centre in
Dartmouth (Urban Showcase on July 11; Hot Gospel Concert on August 20),
the Band Shell in the Sackville Heritage Park (Andrew Gillis & The
Jump Blues All-Stars, July 16), the Sullivan’s Pond Band Shell in
Dartmouth (Mike Cowie’s 010, July 9; Joe Murphy on August 13), and at
the Musquodoboit Harbour Train Station (Gordon Tucker Band, September
5). Don’t forget to wear those socks you spent Sunday
buying—they’re getting blown off. (LM)

Acoustic Maritime Music Festival

July 17-19

Outdoor music festivals remind songstress Coco Love Alcorn of her
pre-teen summer camp days (circa Grade 8), but with better food and
less social awkwardness. “I love how every festival is completely
unique and full of surprises,” she says.

“Everyone comes because the love music and people. And since there
is an abundance of both, I almost always get a contact high from the
electric buzz of positive vibes.” As for 2009’s edition of the
Acoustic Maritime Music Festival line-up, campers can experience Ron
Hynes, Valdy, Charlie A’Court, Ian Sherwood, Norma MacDonald, Christina
Martin, The Hupman Brothers, Gary Cook and more. “I’m looking forward
to collaborating with many music friends, old and new,” says Love
Alcorn. “I’ll have my trumpet and Ian Sherwood will have his sax, so
we’ll be totally ready to throw down an impromptu horn section…if the
other acts are brave enough to let us.” (SWC)

Atlantic Jazz Festival

July 10-18

Bell Orchestre rings into Halifax with their latest album, As
Seen Through Windows, for their first local show July 16.
“Physically speaking, the title came from spending time in Banff,
Alberta,” says Richard Reed Parry, double bassist and producer. “In my
mind it refers to a bunch of things. Watching, interior versus exterior
experiences, perception and listening, the visual connection that can
sometimes come into play in music with words, the process of recording
itself and how it changes once its recorded. It’s sorta conceptual but
in a pretty open way.” Bell Orchestre might be new to the city, but
Parry’s other project, Arcade Fire, blew minds years ago at the Halifax
Pop Explosion. Other cats at this year’s Jazz festival include: Kenny
Garrett, Joe Louis Walker, Garrett Mason, John Abercrombie Quartet,
Oliver Jones, Carlos Del Junco, Sisters Euclid, The Bad Plus, Hot Toddy
Trio, Jayme Stone and saxophonist Joel Miller. (SWC)

OK.Quoi?!/SappyFest

July 27 – August 2

Don’t be sad if you missed last year’s SappyFest/OK.Quoi?!. This
summer’s lineup includes: Julie Doiron, Eric’s Trip, Shotgun Jimmie,
Chad Van Gaalen, Destroyer, Ladyhawk, Shapes and Sizes, Rock Plaza
Central and Halifax’s finest: Dog Day, Old Man Luedecke, Windom Earle
and Bloodsport. What more could one ask for than over 60 bands and a
zine/record/small press/craft fair? Ok.Quoi?! caps things off with an
outdoor screening curated by Elisabeth Belliveau. “I can’t wait to be
there this summer,” says Belliveau. “It seems like such a great way to
check in with Sackville again.” (SWC)

Canadian Forces Halifax Rockfest

August 2 with Chickenfoot, Our Lady Peace, Finger 11 and Sloan,
Garrison Grounds, Citadel Hill

If you haven’t heard, Chickenfoot is what they call a supergroup,
featuring Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony, formerly of Van Halen, stunt
guitarist Joe Satriani and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith.
The tunes certainly have that big party rock sound Hagar and Anthony
rode during their days in Halen. Hagar is inevitably listed as a
distant second among those who like to talk about their favourite
vocalists in that classic rock act, but it’s hard to deny that as a
musical force, he’s been much more vital than either David Lee Roth or
the Van Halen brothers without him. He had a solo career before VH and
has kept releasing albums since, refusing to become a nostalgia act,
while Halen briefly chose a third singer and released a poorly received
record, and Diamond Dave became a paramedic.

It’ll be cool to see what this new act can deliver. (CK)

Lunenburg Folk harbour Fest

August 6-9

Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival draws visitors annually to the old
town for a weekend of music and celebration. “I can’t believe I know so
many performers this year,” says Mary Beth Carty, Bette & Wallet’s
singer and accordion player. “Smokin’ Contra Band, New Tune Society,
Swampward Orchestra, Sheesham & Lotus, Kev Corbett. What a
line-up.” Steve Dawson, Heather Kelday, Lennie Gallant, Kim Begs and
The Marigolds also join in on all the seasonal fun.

As for Bette & Wallet, they’ve got some new songs and
collaborative ideas, “with electronic artists and gospel choirs.
Gabriel will play jigs and reels on electric guitar, and there will be
songs in Scottish Gaelic, my grandmother’s native tongue,” on the
horizon. But Carty knows little compares to sleeping outside, pickling
beans, baking red currant pies and picnics, all of which are among her
summer plans. (SWC)

Dutch Mason Blues Fest

August 7-9

dutchmason.com/festival”>The festival, named after the late, great Prime Minister of the
Blues, keeps on going. Blues masters Buddy Guy and Bonnie Raitt
headlined previous years, and though rumours of the appearance of a
certain slow-handed British guitarist of note were unsubstantiated, if
you love the blues, there are plenty to be found in Truro in summer
2009, along with the bikes (a motorcycle lifestyle show) and the
barbecue (cook-offs and best-sauce competitions). This year, the
musical line-up includes Canadian guitar shredder and big band leader
Colin James, along with James Cotton and Jimmie Vaughan, Kenny Wayne
Shepherd, Doctor Hook, Rick Derringer, Downchild, Shemikia Copeland,
TuTu Jones, Matt Minglewood, Garrett Mason and more. (CK)

Modest mouse

August 17

“I backed my car into a cop car the other day. Well he just drove
off, sometimes life’s OK.” Life’s especially OK when Modest Mouse
comes to town.

One of the great success stories of American indie rock, the
eclectic band from the Pacific Northwest with Isaac Brock, the
cantankerous genius at its creative centre, is an unexpected and very
welcome addition to the summer concert schedule, especially as this is
the band’s first appearance in Halifax. We have a lot of questions,
though. Will Johnny Marr be invited back for the touring band this time
out or will it be former Grandaddy guitarist Jim Fairchild? We’ve heard
the songs “Satellite Skin” and “Guilty Cocker Spaniels”—which feature
Marr—and we understand a new single “Autumn Beds”/”Whale Song” is due
June 23, but is there a full album to follow? Many of important details
are sketchy. What isn’t sketchy in the slightest is where we’ll be on
August 17. (CK)

AC/DC

August 6

OK, so Halifax gets Paul McCartney and Moncton gets Bon Jovi. We win
hands down on that one. But Halifax gets KISS and Moncton gets AC/DC?
Damn. They might have the edge there. Since 1973, the Australian band
has been the one act that almost everyone can agree on, the least
pretentious, most reliable deliverers of rock and roll to straddle the
planet with their leviathan success. Proud of the fact that their
formula has rarely deviated, in 2008, they released Black Ice, a
record that features three songs with “Rock ‘n’ Roll” in the title,
along with tracks like “Big Jack,” “War Machine,” “Decibel” and
“Rocking All the Way.” But don’t expect the show to lean heavily on
this wildly successful new album. We saw them in 1987 and again in
2000, and in 14 years the setlist varied on only a handful of songs. No
one will go home not having heard “Highway to Hell,” “Back in Black,”
“Thunderstruck” or “You Shook Me All Night Long.” (CK)

This article appears in Jun 18-24, 2009.