Everybody under the age of 45 likely has a story about the first time they heard Pixies. But unlike Shawn Duggan, a local actor, most people didn’t actually get to see them perform live at the height of their career. “I saw them in ’89 at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver. I think they were […]
Matthew Ritchie
Posted inArts + Music
Imaginary friends
Winnipeg’s Imaginary Cities’ name is fitting. Conjuring up images of scenes in Inception (or perhaps the rare B-side to a Yes album), the soul-rock duo—made up of vocalist Marti Sarbit and multi-instrumentalist Rusty Matyas—has seemed to have come out of nowhere. But with their debut album Temporary Resident gaining glowing reviews across Canada and an […]
Posted inArts + Music
Ong Bak 3
In the original Ong Bak, Muay Thai legend Tony Jaa seemed to throw knees and elbows to every criminal that came his way, but perhaps he got a few too many blows to the head during the process. In Ong Bak 3, a prequel to the original film, Jaa performs run-of-the-mill action sequences amid a dragging […]
Posted inArts + Music
Born Ruffians rock the Paragon
Midland, Ontario’s Born Ruffians may have conquered Europe and parts of Australia with their high-energy minimalist rock, but in the band’s seven-year career, the east coast has always eluded them. “It’s kind of strange that it’s been this long in our career since we’ve been out there,” says Mitch Derosier, bassist and vocalist for the […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best MC
For years Ghettosocks has been slaying the local hip-hop music scene with his mix of throwback beats and steady flow, but 2010 was the year the Halifax MC broke. With the release of *Treat of the Day,* Ghettosocks, aka Darren Pyper, showed his inner fatty by rapping about snacks and serving fresh beats heavily sampling […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Artist / Band To Be Blown Away By
It’s pretty surprising that Matt Kliffer, MC of hip-hop group Three Sheet, is awake this morning, approaching noon the day after St. Patrick’s Day. While most people are sitting in a dark room eating last night’s cold pizza in an attempt to stop their pain from the night before, Kliffer is busy at work. When […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Album
Fairview-born rapper Quake has been on the rise since his hilarious track “Quake vs. Canada” hit the blogosphere in 2007. At the age of 18, the young MC released the dis track against some of Canada’s most famous rappers, not as an insult to some to the greats in the business, but to draw attention […]
Posted inArts + Music
Beady Eye
Made up of three of the five members of the now defunct Oasis, Beady Eye sounds like Oasis, but worse. With the leaving of Noel Gallagher in 2009 from Oasis, bass player Andy Bell (formerly of shoegaze-lite band Ride) has taken over as a lead guitarist and songwriter for Beady Eye. Sadly, his work with […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Artist / Band
It’s pretty surprising that Matt Kliffer, MC of hip-hop group Three Sheet, is awake this morning, approaching noon the day after St. Patrick’s Day. While most people are sitting in a dark room eating last night’s cold pizza in an attempt to stop their pain from the night before, Kliffer is busy at work. When […]
Posted inArts + Music
CFAT at HIFF
The Centre for Art Tapes looks back at 20 years of its Media Arts Scholarship program with a screening at the Halifax Independent Filmmakers’ Festival. Upon entering the doors of the Centre for Art Tapes, one is immediately greeted with the contrasting image of old and new electronics. Bulky monitors are piled near the door, […]
Posted inArts + Music
Yuck
Fat Possum’s new fuzz-rock act Yuck makes a decent stab at the early ’90s American indie-rock sound everybody is recreating right now. With Jesus and the Mary Chain-esque distorted guitars, Stephen Malkmus solos and that super-simple tom-tom heavy drum fill music critics seem to love, Yuck is a surprisingly good pop album for a label […]
Posted inArts + Music
Printed matter
Jenner-Brooke Berger, curator of The Allan Street Reading Series and now Toronto-based writer, is occupying the newly relocatedEye Level Gallery for the month. Walking through the doors of the storefront located at 2159 Gottingen Street, one thing is for certain: this isn’t your average art gallery showcase. The walls are fully bare. In the distance […]