Spontaneity always gets the glory. Forget that. Simultaneity is where it’s at. As though all at once, Lance Blomgren peers into lives being lived beyond the doors in walk-up apartment buildings across Montreal. These are actual addresses in the city that the author occupies with stories, told in shifting voices and with varying points of […]
Sean Flinn
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The Stance
At its heart, The Stance is a live band. Putting groups like that on record doesn’t always work out: The energy and attitude gets lost in the process. That’s not a problem here. With bassist Jeff Leadbetter at the controls, the band ensures an open, energized sense of space to the album. That goes from […]
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Watt and the Glory
As one of Halifax’s busiest producers, Andrew Watt has birthed many artists in this city. Backed by Glory Glory Man United, Watt’s new solo album release, First Day of Summer Life, reminds us this musical midwife makes his own music too. “I’ve worked with hundreds of musicians, many of them friends or almost family and […]
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Home and Away
Estonia exists because it’s persisted in the face of occupation by foreign forces. “I found that extraordinary,” says Colleen Wagner, the Toronto-based and Governor-General Award-winning playwright. Her new play, Home, premieres at the Bus Stop Theatre on February 21. It follows an elderly Estonian man on a journey he’s fantasized about for a long time: […]
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The Joel Leblanc Quartet
Led by Hot Toddy member Leblanc on electric guitar, the quartet unloads the downbeats and improvisations on the 11:29-minute long opener, “Third and goal.” Then, the group goes to work, rearranging jazz, groove, breakbeats and rock with depth of skill and emotion. “Somebody Else Play Goal,” “Butt Out” and “Portland” are excellent examples, out of […]
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Nocturne spotlight: Water Works
David Clark is on top of the world, or nearer to it. “I’m on top of Whistler Mountain,” the Halifax-based new media artist says. He’s accompanied by David Ogborn, an electronics artist and composer from Hamilton. “Basically I’ve gotten 20 yards down the hill,” says Clark, asking for a 20-minute reprieve before continuing the conversation. […]
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Quiet Chaos
Another Oscar season fast approaches, adding another year to the more than 10 that have passed since Roberto Benigni’s Life is Beautiful so impressed the Academy. That film told the story of a Jewish father’s use of storytelling and humour to shield his son from the full force of life in a camp and the […]
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Kate Maki
This album has a high-ceilinged feel, a warm, saturated sound established and maintained from the opener onward. That first track, “Bloodshot & Blistered,” featuring a drowsy vocal harmony between Maki and Howie Gelb, one of the artist’s main collaborators, is wonderful. (Guests also include Brent Randall, Dale Murray and members of Calexico.) Maki, a onetime […]
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Museum of Natural History not ready for March Break
The kids were promised king cobras. The sign outside the Museum of Natural History announced an appearance by the snakes for the upcoming March break. Sadly, the cobras are cancelled, or at least postponed. The museum, which received about 10,000 visitors during last year’s school vacation, is closed for renovations until late May or early […]
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In the Loop
See a junior minister, Simon Foster (Tom Hollander), in Britain’s government put his foot in it, talking out of turn about a “foreseeable” war. Now, you don’t see the British PM busily rationalizing an incursion, alongside America, into some unlucky country (in fudged Blair-Bush fashion). See Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi), the begrudging Scottish director of […]
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The Pinecones
Akin to Dylan plugging in way back when, Brent Randall leaves behind the keyboard to shoulder the guitar. Now, before you get your knickers in a knot, the scale of these two events obviously differs, but the spirit’s the same. Randall’s known for leading a pop-orchestra (previously, His Pinecones) from the piano/organ, so playing more […]
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Lee Fields
There is always room in the world for the likes of Lee Fields and albums like this. Released last year in Canada as an import, My World got a domestic date right up against the holiday rush (and all the attendant hyped-up releases). This is some real R&B/sweet soul right here. After all, Fields has […]