It’s NYE 2013. You will find me misting the room with Beyoncé Midnight Heat eau de parfum, drinking a mini-bottle of champagne, grabbing a vegan cupcake and turning up the audio/visual experience that is Beyoncé. Alternating between sexually charged, heartfelt and bombastic, the surprise album that whipped the internet into a tizzy doesn’t crumble under […]
Stephanie Johns
flossin'
off on a natural charge bon voyage
Posted inArts + Music
The Disaster Artist
Fans of cult hit The Room in all its rose petal-strewn, surreal glory, would do well to dive into actor Greg “Oh, Hi, Mark” Sestero’s mind-boggling and hilarious account of the making of, and his bizarre and intense friendship with broken man/impossible puzzle/The Room director Tommy Wiseau. It certainly helps to have seen the movie […]
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Critics’ picks 2013: Music
DAVID DAHMS David Dahms AKA Odysseus Catfish Jenkins III, Big Titteh, Dubs, OCJ3, The Toothless Wonder, D-Double, DMN8R, One Dread and Potato Salad is a premature mic dropper and has been writing for The Coast since 2013. The Caravan LOCAL The Caravan (independent) “What Up Steve?” channelled frustrations with the federal government more than any other […]
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Paper Beat Scissors’ postcards from the stage
Releasing albums is weird business. Contrary to what you may believe, they aren’t like babies. There’s a number of release dates required for albums internationally, each requiring its own publicity schedule of tours, interviews and the rest of it. But if you’re the type who thinks touring is a grueling slog, maybe you should have […]
Posted inArts + Music
Road warriors
Scrapes was born on the road. “We were driving to Montreal, in an old convertible Lebaron with flames on the side Devin [Delaney, bassist] bought on Kijiji for a couple hundred bucks and we got the idea that we would kind of do everything backwards,” says vocalist and guitarist Lee MacDonald, meaning nailing down the […]
Posted inArts + Music
Light club: seeking spectacular Xmas lights
We want to see the best, brightest and wackiest outdoor light displays your neighbourhoods have to offer. The tastefully tacky. The colour coordinated work of art. The synched perfectly with the carols playing from a pirate radio station (well done, Connolly Street). Can you do us a favour? The next time you’re blinded by the […]
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Eugene Ripper
The opening strains of former Haligonian Eugene Ripper’s Fast Folk Underground are mild and twinkly, betraying his veteran punk roots. Pedal-steel twangs and the metallic percussion of an acoustic guitar look ahead to Ripper’s present and future. Ripper’s voice sits high on top, raspily reciting letters to an unknown subject, evolving to near psychedelia with […]
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So long, herohill
Monday marked the beginning of the end for Halifax-based Canadian music blog herohill. Bryan “Ack” Acker’s morning post detailed with thoughtful retrospection why the prolific blog would be shutting down after 10 years of reviewing and reflecting on music. Acker, who along with Shane “Naedoo” Nadeau ran the site for a decade, announced the swan […]
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Duelling videos: Jay Mayne’s “My Addiction” and Like A Motorcycle’s “Hitting The Bottle”
Like any red-blooded human, you’ve probably been craving a Jay Mayne and Like A Motorcycle mashup. I live to serve. Multi-task and watch two new videos from the local artists in one go. Think of the time saved! YouTube Doubler Here they are separately, if you’re some kind of purist. Like A Motorcycle’s video for […]
Posted inArts + Music
Grump
A follow up to February’s addictive demo, Grump’s Love Punk Hate Punks—a five song assault—keeps the intensity at the same searing high. From the first moments, an almost uncomfortable length of ear-splitting feedback on opener “Paroxysm”, to the epic (at 2:31, this is basically the band’s “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”) and driving “Culture In […]
Posted inArts + Music
Black Sabbath at the Metro Centre April 3
Just like the headline says, the men of Black Sabbath, Ozzy, Tony and Geezer are going to be sniffing lines of ants all over this piece (the Halifax Metro Centre) April 3. This makes me feel very very like this: Here is your ticket info, get on it. Tickets for the Halifax show go on […]
Posted inArts + Music
On the road
Winnipeg folk poet Jenny Berkel pulls no punches with her newest video for “Like a Rope.” She is trying to break your heart. Animated by Karsten Wall, the video features a beautiful and sad interpretation of Berkel’s heart-rending lyrics. Just try not to mist up. “When I wrote this song, a number of my dearest […]