After passing by the festival tent and strolling down a closed Spring Garden over the weekend, it was time for the first of many nights at the TD Canada Trust Atlantic Jazz Festival. Every year the festival deals Haligonians a wild card. Two years ago, it was the Stereolab meets My Bloody Valentine sounds from […]
Cultural Festivals
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I like being a lab rat
Last night, I was a lab rat. The experiment: get all the people that can fit (maybe 45 or 50 tops?) into Sonic Temple Recording Studio on Hollis Street to sit in on a session, which will provide the basis for a forthcoming recording, by Jerry Granelli’s quartet, V16. This was the first of two […]
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Spice Night with Tasa and Niyaz
Sunday night. I could scarcely resist the come-on. “Hypnotic, ecstatic, and eminently danceable, Niyaz represents the best of both traditional world music and electronic music. Applying the jump-start to this vibrant evening will be Torotno’s award-winning Tasa in performance of an inspired repertoire based upon the traditons of Northern India. The effect can both haunt […]
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A night of firsts
Night two of the festival offered me a few first-time experiences, all linked by an exuberant energy. Top among those, AfroMusica. I’ve had ample opportunity to see this band that presents a joyful pan-African sound, but didn’t actually take the opportunity – for no real reason – until this year. I shouldn’t have procrastinated all […]
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The Night The Son Shone
Friday night, the 20th opening of the Atlantic Jazz Festival got things on high-boil with a night in the Jazz Tent of Afro-Cuban jazz and dance music. The all-ages capacity crowd was primed to party (and to dust off their latent Latino dance moves) by a set of high energy Latin grooves and Latino songs […]
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Fall arts preview: June 2007
ARTS Margaret Atwood and Graeme Gibson Really, what is there to say about Mags? The grand dame of CanLit comes to town with partner Graeme Gibson, an accomplished author in his own right—hobbyist ornithologists will recognize his gorgeous The Bedside Book of Birds. At the Literacy Nova Scotia fundraiser with a $50 premium ticket, you […]
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Fall arts preview: July 2007
ARTS Atlantic Theatre Festival It can cost a lot of money to stage good theatre and the Atlantic Theatre Festival needs to know you’re willing to spend some to see some. The critically acclaimed but constantly cash-strapped summer festival is returning this year after shoring up the finances and securing an agreement with Acadia University […]
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Fall arts preview: August 2007
ARTS Al Fresco film festo The popular outdoor film festival returns through the month of August, with films projected against a handy wall down at Tall Ships Quay on the Halifax waterfront. Expected are crowd-pleasers such as Grease, The Party, the first outdoor screening in Canada of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Muppets Take Manhattan, […]
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Snack-o’-lantern
Pumpkins aren’t just for making pie or jack-o’-lanterns. They’re also the perfect source of the raw ingredient for one of fall’s most underrated snacks: pumpkin seeds. With a little bit of time and effort, you can turn your pumpkin’s innards into a snack that’s healthy and delicious—and which will put any Halloween candy to shame. […]