The first time I saw The Gideons, I stopped in my tracks, staring up at five boys in flashy outfits, all hair and impudence, playing dirty garage rock. There seemed to be too many of them to fit on the stage. Is this The Stance, I wondered? No—these boys were too young to be The […]
Alison Lang
Posted inArts + Music
Hilarious House of Frightenstein
Hilarious House of FrightensteinDirected by: Directed by Riff Markowitz(First Run Features)Childhood nostalgia can be a tricky and illusory beast. Many films and TV shows I adored as a kid have held up beautifully while others have fallen flat. So I was a little worried when I sat down with The Hilarious House of Frightenstein, a […]
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Monotonix Video
I saw Monotonix last night. I don’t really have many words to describe what happened, but I did take a video. It’s a bit dark but you get the general jist of what’s going on, I think: It’s all shaky at the end because I fell off the stage. More photos & blather comin’ atcha […]
Posted inArts + Music
I’m Tired
Yesterday was a gong show. It ended nicely, but getting there was a bit of a grind. I was stricken with terminal overambition and am paying for it today. I started off all gung ho and ready to see Spiral Beach at Saint Matt’s. I saw these guys once opening a few years back for […]
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What a Genius!
Everyone remembers those albums that their families used to play growing up. In my case, there are a few particulars that have been burned so deeply into my consciousness that I can still recite song lyrics and track listings by heart. These include Sportsby Huey Lewis and the News, INXS‘ Kick, and….um….Enter the Wu-Tang. Yeah. […]
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The GZA Brings the Pain. So Does Beer.
Today has been nuts, nuts nuts. I have lots of stuff I want to talk about and NO TIME TO DO IT AGGGH! Here’s a really short post until tomorrow when I write about Statues, Bloodsport, almost crying during Islands at the Pavillion this afternoon (beautiful! beautiful! Everyone tonight is in for such a treat) […]
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A Rough Start
Wooooo! It’s the eve of the Pop Explosion! I’m very excited to finally be able to see all the bands I want and not be so broke that I end up eating cheese and crackers for two weeks afterwards. However, I am ultimately foolish and perhaps undeserving of this honour. Y’see, I was really hoping […]
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Being Here
The scene: Guelph, July 2006. The Toronto mega-band Broken Social Scene is onstage at Hillside, the yearly music festival held at the Guelph Lake Conservation Area. I’m cold and tired after two shitty nights spent folded up in a friend’s pup tent like a lawn chair. Blinking and shuddering near the stage, I stare up […]
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Ojingogo ink
Last weekend, most of us probably slept in, drank some beer, hit the market or watched a little TV. Last weekend, Montreal artist Matthew Forsythe toured the Pixar studios in San Francisco and contributed artwork to a high-profile tribute show for Japanese artist Hayao Miyazaki (Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away). Oh yeah—and on the way […]
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Live Shot o’ the Week
Check out Pete Samples on Friday, Sept. 5, 10:44pm, at The Marquee. Photo by Richard Lann.
Posted inArts + Music
You’re Pitiful (It’s True)
So yes. It’s true. James Blunt is coming to the Halifax Metro Centre on Dec 2. We don’t have any beefs with James Blunt. Seriously. He’s such an easy target. Quite inoffensive, really. Nope, we don’t have any problems with French-beach-frolicking, Petra Nemcova-dating, whiney-voiced, ferret-faced British wanker minstrels. Nor are we particularly concerned about the […]
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Boom, Bust and ECHO
So—is it redundant to say that Wintersleep had a pretty good year? I mean, I was ass-deep in West Africa for a considerable chunk of the time and even I heard that “Weighty Ghost” was blowing up. Now the boys are getting yet another shout-out for their efforts by being nominated for the SOCAN 2008 […]