Tucked away in the corner of the Dalhousie Art Gallery—which is also currently housing Why are we saving All these artist publications + Other Galleries stuffs?, an exhibition of artist run centre archives—is a collection of an entirely different sort of archive. Archives of the Future, organized by Centre for Art Tape’s programming committee, examines […]
Kathleen Higgins
Posted inArts + Music
Sunday Night Comedy on a Tuesday
There may be no crying in baseball, but you can find a hell of a lot in comedy. For folks who make it their business to make people laugh, comedians can have a lot of pathos and sadness bubbling just below the surface. When that raw emotion spills over on stage, the results can be […]
Posted inArts + Music
Scotia Festival enters the 35th chamber
Halifax loves its summer festivals. Halifax Jazz, Multifest, OBEY, Fringe—as soon as patio season starts, we’re ready for music and theatre and dancing in any number of our parking lots/festival sites. One of the oldest of these festivals (and one that appreciates atmosphere and the value of comfortable seating) is the Scotia Festival of Music, […]
Posted inArts + Music
Tropic Of Cancer is not so sad
“I’m wearing all white right now” Camella Lobo says with a laugh. “I don’t know what that means!” While a pale wardrobe might not seem particularly puzzling to some, for Lobo, the brains beind Tropic Of Cancer, it does seem to pose a bit of a quandary. Tropic Of Cancer’s haunting, synth-laden output over the […]
Posted inArts + Music
Halifax Rumi Ensemble’s universality
OBEY Convention’s mission statement says that the event’s “only consistent theme is a spirit of adventure and innovation.” Fitting then, that the convention will be capped off by a performance by the Halifax Rumi Ensemble, a local collective of artists who are taking part in an ongoing, international musical collaboration that celebrates the life and […]
Posted inArts + Music
Alert the Medic ring the alarm
When we’re kids, we dream big. We want to be astronauts, world leaders, rock stars. Most of us grow up and settle (happily or not), for something a little more realistic, a little less fantastic. But what if we didn’t? What if, through a magic combination of hard work and good luck, we actually get […]
Posted inArts + Music
The Chris Martin Trio is Young and restless
How does an artist work for a decade creating a sound and a reputation that wins over audiences, and still find a way to grow and experiment? For Chris Martin, the secret seems to be juggling about a million different projects and never being afraid to try something new. “I’ve been playing music on the […]
Posted inArts + Music
Fuck Montreal
Two years after its entire online discography disappeared, Halifax ex-pats turned pug farmers Fuck Montreal are back with Saturn Return, a 31-track super compilation. Lurching from freaked-out pseudo pop to near dirges, this is the best of the best of Alex Currie and Jenna Empey’s basement-born lovechild. There’s lots to get excited about on this […]
Posted inArts + Music
Sherman Downey’s Sun rises
When Sherman Downey began recording his debut album, Honey for the Bees, four years ago, he went into the studio with a grant from MusicNL, a full set of songs…and no band. Rather than seeking out some session musicians and hoping for the best, Downey turned to the folks he was working with on a […]
Posted inArts + Music
Review: Obsolescence and Inscription
Amidst the printed images, sculptures and flashing screens that fill the Saint Mary’s University Gallery, an inkjet print of Marshall McLuhan’s “A Note of Obsolescence” offers up a hint of what Robert Bean and Ilan Sandler’s Obsolescence and Inscription expresses: “Obsolescence is a very large and mysterious subject which has had very little attention in […]
Posted inArts + Music
Dancing dead
I don’t tend to go for sexy-noun Halloween costumes, but with Port City Events teaming up with dance-party impresarios Heavy Petting for The Zombie Hop, it might be time to break out the glitter-bra. Why should Halloween revellers should come out to the Company House this Friday? “To see me try to dance in six-inch […]
Posted inArts + Music
Season of the Witches’ Ball
Like so many of Halifax’s beloved traditions, CKDU’s Witches’ Ball started out as a house party, a place for folks to dress up, dance and have a good time. Though not originally associated with the radio station at all, the Halloween party has been a CKDU fundraiser since 1997, and has grown leaps and bounds […]