When the cast and crew of Ivor Johnson’s Neighbours, at Ship’s Company Theatre, found out that cast member Bill Forbes had passed away in his sleep last Monday, they shut down the production for the day. The group later elected to complete the play’s run (it ended on July 26) in honour of Forbes’ memory. […]
Alison Lang
Posted inArts + Music
The Coast at Evolve Festival 2009
This past weekend, The Coast (along with some pals) headed to a big field in Antigonish to listen to music, sleep horribly in tents, and get thoroughly ripped. This is our third Evolve. For one friend, it’s his eighth year – for another, it’s his 10th. It’s hard to believe Evolve has, well, evolved from […]
Posted inArts + Music
King Khan’s smoking BBQ
Mark Sultan calls during one of those sloppy Monday afternoons where the sun keeps peeking out tantalizingly from beneath a wet blanket of fog. His lovely voice is an unrecognizable rasp. He’s been in Mexico for nine days, drinking vodka and dodging drunks while playing in his band, The King Khan and BBQ Show. One […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Not-so-Jolly Rogers
Although the theme of this year’s tall ships is naval, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic will still be presenting its usual pirate mascot alongside a costumed naval captain on the boardwalk this year. Museum curator Dan Conlin says the public’s interest in pirate culture remains as strong as it ever was, though he’s quick […]
Posted inLifestyle
Game face in the crowd
As you stroll demurely through the crowds at this year’s Tall Ships, delicately “ooh”-ing and “ahh”-ing at the Bluenose II and the Belle Poule, keep your eyes peeled for the people dashing erratically through the crowd wearing brightly coloured armbands. This is the Halifax Manhunt group and this Saturday night they’ll be using you as […]
Posted inArts + Music
Slackers do undoubtably great ska
Slackers’s saxophonist Dave Hillyard wants to make one thing abundantly clear: Although his band is technically considered ska, they’ve got nothing to do with No Doubt. “We play very old music,” he says. “We call it Jamaican rock ‘n’ roll—but we’re not faking being Jamaican. We sing about our lives in New York and we […]
Posted inArts + Music
The Baketones are locals faves
It’s not often that a band receives unanimous praise from the likes of Halifaxlocals.com. But The Baketones managed to inspire five pages of accolades on the local message board—after their first show ever, this past February. “I wondered how we managed to dupe all these people,” says guitarist Morgan Rigby. After a quick listen at […]
Posted inArts + Music
OWL under pop’s quiet wings
OWL came into existence last summer when Matthew MacDonald made a few tracks on his computer and convinced girlfriend Vanessa Murnaghan to write lyrics for them. After an initial bout of nerves, the pair had a song and sent it around to friends. “They liked it,” says Murnaghan, “so we just kept making more.” Murnaghan […]
Posted inArts + Music
Sure Thing: k-os gives free show
As many Haligonian concert-goers mentally divvy up their funds in anticipation of this summer’s Big Outdoor Concert offerings, it may be comforting to know that there’s at least one big show happening this week that won’t cost a thing. Rapper k-os is promoting his latest album, Yes!, with a cross-Canada string of shows that are, […]
Posted inArts + Music
Top 5 sure things playing at the Supernova! festival
A Rum for the Money Three Newfoundlanders are on a rum running mission in the middle of the night. They successfully dodge French bullets and evade RCMP cutters, but are hit and broken apart by a mystery ship, leading to an eerie night of survival. Neptune Studio Theatre, 1593 Argyle, Thu May 7, 7pm, Sat […]
Posted inArts + Music
Thunderheist pull off a cool media blitz
For most up-and-coming Canadian bands, a slot at the famed Austin, Texas, music festival South by Southwest is nothing to be embarrassed about. When the electro-hip-hop duo Thunderheist scored shows at the fest after a two-year wave of blog hype, success seemed all but guaranteed. But for the duo’s DJ Grahm Zilla, the set began […]
Posted inArts + Music
Tracking the comic sounds of Michael Winslow
Michael Winslow is turning Japanese. “Domo arigato?” he squeaks in a bizarrely convincing female voice. “Where is the bank?” The self-described “voicestrumentalist,” stand-up comedian and veteran of seven Police Academy movies is on the phone from his Florida home. As will happen many times during our interview, he’s abruptly lapsed into one of his favourite […]
