Thursday 30 Halifax on Parade Kick-off concert The Trews, Matt Mays & El Torpedo, Joel Plaskett Emergency, Jimmy Rankin and Garrett Mason treat you to a free concert to kick off Juno weekend. And what a treat it will be! Grand Parade Square, Barrington at George, 5:30-11pm All Ages King Konqueror Punk rock, soul, ’60s […]
Music
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Posted inArts + Music
Hurry Heart
If all of the rising indie bands in the world could be poured like flavoured drink into a tray and come out of the freezer as yummy as The Constantines, every slurpy, purple and drippy indie band would sound pretty goddamned sweet. Formed in Guelph in 1999, The Constantines signed to Sub Pop (Nirvana, Wolf […]
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The French third
Montréal’s Torngat are lugging their armloads of instruments into town to create ambient, experimental and instrumental sounds at Gus’ Pub on April 7. “The concept of the album *La Rouge* reflects our live show,” says Mathieu Charbonneau. “The songs are like structured improv; although, we play a lot of other material which is free-change improv […]
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Seeing red
1. Just because it’s always balmy outside the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles does not mean that you can abandon your coat in Halifax. In April. One wee heat lamp located 10 feet away does not a warm writer make, as some coatless journalists in open-toed shoes quickly discovered. I suspect that Saskatoon, the location […]
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Where is the love?
The JunoFest kicked ass and for the most part, Halifax represented itself well over Junos weekend, but the media got the shaft on the evening of the Juno Awards ceremony. Cordoned off from anything remotely accessible to the show, they appeased us with pizza, chips and beer. They even went the extra mile and blacked […]
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A night at the Metro Centre
A more extensive recap of the Junos show is on the way, along with pictures, but for now, here are some of the most memorable sights and memories from Sunday night’s extravaganza. Highlights from the Junos show included: 1. Buck 65 rubbing his head into Pamela Anderson’s chest to close the Juno’s show2. Fergie doing […]
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Day 3: Canadian Idol-who?
Look up, look way up and what do you see? Leslie Feist, singing to me. Still one night to go and the highlight of the weekend has already occurred. The Broken Social Scene performance simply blew everyone away. It included nearly the entire crew throughout the night, including Amy Millan from Stars, producer Dave Newfeld […]
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Take me out
Friday night proved to be everything expected from the Junos extravaganza with the city of Halifax out in attendance at every venue I stopped at. As a music writer for three years, I haven’t felt Halifax this vibrant since the ECMAs in 2003. It was as if people knew they shouldn’t miss the experience of […]
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Crowds, rockstars, and beer drinking
Toronto has descended upon Halifax. At least, that’s the impression I got after Night One of the Junos festivities. While out on the town, I saw men with more product in their hair than any Haligonian woman. I think they might have been wearing make-up too. Not that they looked bad. They looked damn good […]
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So it begins
Here we go! A weekend of schmoozing, star-sightings, drinking, and most importantly, experiencing great live music is here. For those who aren’t in the know, this is the Juno Awards weekend and it’s a music writer’s dream come true. Especially this music writer. Ever since I knew I’d be missing South By Southwest – AKA […]
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Awards of Merritt
The diverse and talented Atlantic theatre family came together at Alderney Landing on March 27 to celebrate its brightest and its best. The 2006 Merritt Awards ceremony was a glamorous affair complete with red carpet and live band. MC Marty Burt had the audience in stitches as he took aim at the practice of hiring […]
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Idolize this
Chances are you’ve noticed the Juno nominations appear slanted towards Canadian Idol acts. For instance, Rex Goudie is nominated for Artist of the Year, yet he has not been an artist for a year. John-Angus MacDonald of The Trews isn’t impressed. “These people enter a competition and were groomed by the industry for success and […]