The Good Soul of Szechuan
Soul-full performers Sometimes plays by Bertolt Brecht are described as preachy and overly-didactic, but neither word applies to DalTheatre’s spirited take on The Good Soul of Szechuan. It is a gorgeous and utterly engaging production, filled with both humour and pathos. Marina Gwynne shines as Shen Tei, the soft-hearted prostitute whose goodness is rewarded by…
Pink Mascara gets a new face
“It’s time to pass it on to someone who’ll make it bigger and better because they have that passion I had at 23 when I opened it,” says Barb Israel who opened Pink Mascara Accessories (5640 Spring Garden Road) five years ago. Since then she’s been helping Haligonians accessorize with what they’re buying from other…
Valentine’s Day must-do: tiny poems!
Local writer and poet (and occasional Coast contributor) Shannon Webb-Campbell has the ability to woo with only a few words. That’s obvious from one quick glance at her Twitter page (@shannonwc), which is all it took for Argyle Fine Art’s (1559 Barrington Street) Adriana Afford to recruit her to help fill a bunch of little…
Sully’s is back in action
It was late October when Sully’s Roast Beef & Smoked Meat quietly closed its little Novalea Drive location with the promise of a new, bigger home on Agricola Street. And after three months of cosmetic changes that turned 2733 Agricola Street from what was once Turnstile Pottery into a retro-feeling, 30-seater deli-style restaurant, it’s gearing…
Chris Locke’s talk
“If my style of comedy was on a T-shirt, it would be one of those ‘I Survived a Shark Attack’ shirts that look like you really did just survive a shark attack,” says Toronto’s Chris Locke. The frequent Comedy Network comedian and actor returns to Halifax for Warm Soda at The Company House on Tuesday…
Relive the magic of the Pusha T show right here
If for some reason you missed Pusha T’s live show in Halifax last Monday because, oh I don’t know, you had a cold that had you so dozy you were napping on the way from the couch to the bed (cough*STEPH*cough PS those coughs are real), then here’s a Pusha T treat for you. Photos…
Halifax musician Jenny MacDonald wants her $92 back
Halifax musician Jenny MacDonald has had to pay $92 to get her car back, and the company she says improperly charged her is ignoring her. And at least another dozen people have had the same experience, she says. MacDonald’s sister Alicia moved into her north end apartment building when it was called Ocean Towers. Last…
2014 Juno nominees you could see at Salim’s
The 2014 Juno nominees were announced today and I am not going to list them all here because I’m not made of internet so click here if you are so inclined: CANADIAN MUSICIANS! Some local (or basically local) folks made the list, click around and get familiar: Matt Mays (rock album of the year for…
Emotions, pizza and Crass patches: A Blue Rodeo review
I always thought I was a Cuddy man. That pristine, emotive voice and those gratifying pop hooks make his songs so satisfying to vibe to. But over time, I have gravitated towards the raw and honest darkness that emerges in Greg Keelor’s devastatingly catchy and well crafted jams. But really, it is like trying to…
enVie’s Lauren Marshall is vying for Top Chef Canada
If you weren’t already a reality TV junkie, here’s an excuse to cross over to the dark (but very entertaining) side. Halifax’s very own Lauren Marshall—the chef de cuisine at enVie-a vegan kitchen (5775 Charles Street)— is one of 14 Canadian food wizards, and the only Nova Scotian, who’ll battle for the title of Top…
Where can I get some pie?
What the fuck is UP with the lesbians in this city. Where the hell do I find a woman to date other than POF. Come out of your caves, dykes and come play —Horny lesbo
Apartment Fucking
I’m so sick of hearing neighbours having sex. I’ll be relaxing and then…boom boom boom slam slam slam…awww! ooooh!! awww yes!! fuck! oaaawwwwwwhhhhh!! Every fucking day, every fucking night. The ones above me do it, the ones below me do it, the ones to my left and right do it, the ones across the hallway…
Ur just jealous, bitch
To the twat who told me I was too skinny and to eat something. I lost a bunch of weight and now I’m a size 1 and 103 lbs. I posted new pics of myself on facebook and you go and comment, too skinny go eat! I’m not too skinny, I’m just the right size.…
Xara’s Constellations
Paige Marvel as Andromeda Constellations is Xara Choral Theatre’s most ambitious program to date. It uses dance, spoken word and music that ranges from the classical “Magnificat” to the catchy “Royals” to explore celestial-based myths. The show, staged in the round at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, delivered on both esthetic and emotional levels.…
To the smoking Anarchists.
Thank you for your bowl of relief as I walked down Grafton St. Saturday night. Those military pricks were pieces of shit that didn’t know right from wrong, nor have any sense of reason. It’s hard to believe how someone can understand so little of what goes on in the job they call a career,…
City love
Oh Halifax how I miss you. You are my city of choice when I have that choice. Just now I must be away as the NS workworld was not kind so I drove away to work elsewhere for a while. But I miss you my city – I miss your street face – I miss…
Violin playing girl on Barrington Street
To the girl who takes the time on mild, winter mornings to open her window and serenade all the less than enthusiastic morning folks with her love story style violin playing; I thank you. Every time I walk by from my parking spot and hear you play, no matter what mood I’m in, I am…
Tokyopics
You dork, there’s no way in hell I could be friends with a self absorbed liar. I’ve asked to, insulted you and your so called “ex wife” who you dumped or she dumped you (who knows/cares) in Burma. Go and fuck yourself because no one else would. See a dentist please, your breath is atrocious…
It’s tone as much as content
If you don’t know how to make conversation, spend some of that 18 hours a day you’re on the ‘net to look it up. What you’re doing right now is alienating people because everything out of your mouth makes you sound like an accusatory jackass. —I’m not listening anymore
Idiot dog owners!
This is primarily for the idiot hipster with her dog at the corner of Oxford and Quinpool around 4pm on Friday. I’m pretty sure you knew your dog was going to try to attack my dog, yet you did nothing to try to pull in his leash or keep him away from my dog. I…
HRM drivers suck at times
To the middle-age female coming out of Dartmouth Crossing late morning on Jan 30th: Learn to read the “lane ends” signs at the bottom of Commodore Drive heading towards the 118. You were in the right lane – that lane ends with plenty of warning, 2 signs to be exact, the left lane is the…
One Coward Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
I have nothing against falcons. They have their place in the animal kingdom as birds of prey. Some might even describe them as majestic. But the human kind (no, I’m not talking about the football team), they are despicable. Any cowards who prey on the young, defenseless, and innocent have no place in our society.…
Ray’s Lebanese Food and A Taste of India are being evicted from Scotia Square
Two favourites at the Scotia Square food court have been told to leave. Crombie REIT, which manages the mall, has given Ray’s Lebanese Cuisine and Taste of India until March 31 to vacate the premises. “They told me yesterday,” says Ray Khattar. “I’ve been here 31 years, and I have never missed a rent payment,…
E-Cig Education
Nicotine patches and gums are medicines. These pharmaceutical nicotine products do make medicinal claims — hence they are “drugs” (medicines) under Canadian law, regardless of their content. E-cigarettes are not medicines. They do not make medicinal claims, and do not function as medicines either. Hence e-cigarettes are not “drugs” (medicines) under Canadian law, regardless of…
Go Back To Toronto Already…..
YES, Toronto has more good restaurants and YES, Toronto has better shopping and YES, Ontario has “real” winters…so here’s a thought…instead of CONSTANTLY bitching about Halifax and how it’s inferior to Toronto, why not do us all a favour and just move the hell back and shut the hell up already? Why are you here?…
The truth about the Bitch
I post here often. I comment often. I also tell the truth about what happened in my life. Good, bad, ironic or funny. That’s the great thing about this medium… you can be totally honest with people anonymously, say what you “Really want to say out loud and in public” without the risks of being…
Membership only apparently means do whatever the hell you want
My Mom was recently assaulted at work by a customer/member. He came up behind her, unprovoked, grabbed her by the shoulder and violently shook her, injuring her. You would think that her long time employer would stand by her, right? NOPE! They are staying out of it. Going so far as telling employees they are…
SMU
You got a bad rap cause of some douche bags, but you know what, SMU? You’re all right. —love the smell of your cologne
Thank you!
To the bearded guy who helped push my car out of the snow in the parking lot in front of Pier 1 on Wednesday, thanks so much! Sorry I didn’t get a chance to say so in person! It was really awesome of you and your friend to stop and help. —Gold/beige honda civic
Your Special Damn House
Big props to the forward-thinking asshole who built the fashionable new house with the massive, just absurdly bright green florescent lighting system running completely around the building, which stays on all fucking night every night. I also love the huge motion-sensor spotlights aimed at the SIDEWALK, which also appear to make your next door neighbour…
NSA
People get so freaked out when they think the government is watching but everyone broadcasts their lives on social media anyway. Trust me even if you’re not directly doing it your friends are doing it for you. But the minute it comes up that the government has surveillance programs in place which is fucking obvious…
Happy birthday Urban Surf Kings!
This Saturday marks 19 years for Halifax’s preeminent surf band, the Urban Surf Kings (AKA USK). Together Rev Hank, Crash Flagg and Inky, members of Canada’s longest running instrumental surf band, have released 11 albums and won over fans worldwide. UK’s Raucous Records calls them “one of the best surf instrumental bands on the planet.”…
City abruptly changes food truck permitting system
City staff has abruptly changed the way permits food trucks. Until now, all food trucks operating on city-owned property had bid on specific spots via a tender that was offered five years ago. There were five allotted locations, and food truck owners competed for the spaces. The owners spent a significant amount on the spaces.…
Halifax mayor Mike Savage joins Mayors for Peace
Halifax mayor Mike Savage has joined Mayors for Peace. Founded in 1982 by then-Hiroshima mayor Takeshi Araki, Mayors for Peace is an international organization dedicated to “the total abolition of nuclear weapons.” Over 5,000 cities in 182 countries are members. Former Halifax mayor Peter Kelly had refused to join Mayors for Peace, but at the…
Nova Centre architect appointed to committee that will pass judgment on Nova Centre design
Construction cranes are swinging above the site, cement tucks line up on Argyle Street to deliver their loads and four floors’ worth of parking garage are materializing in the slowly filling pit, but there’s still no approved plan for the Nova Centre complex, no development agreement, no building permits issued. That’s because Halifax council has…
Get OUT
“The history of lesbian and gay activism in Halifax has been, to an extraordinary degree, a history of creating and contesting spaces.” Robin Metcalfe wrote this in 1997 in his essay on the exhibition Queer Looking, Queer Acting: Lesbian and Gay Vernacular, which was held at the Mount Saint Vincent University Gallery. That show chronicled…
The Look of Love
A biopic of Paul Raymond—once the richest man in England—a guy who combined the talents of Flo Ziegfeld and Larry Flynt, building an empire on nude showgirls and skin magazines. Helmed by the provocative Winterbottom (responsible for 9 Songs and 24 Hour Party People) and starring Steve Coogan as Raymond, the film plays more conventional…
New Art – Jesse Mitchell
“I like strange cultural products and mass produced stuff,” says Mitchell. In his industrial studio space above the Halifax Army Navy Store, Mitchell surrounds himself with VHS tapes, broken electronics, dusty Fisher Price toys and a selection of his completed work. Mitchell uses found objects to create installation pieces. “I conceptualize ways to fix things…
Rewind This!
This documentary profiles the history of VHS and examines how this revolutionary format changed the world. Rewind This! combines interviews with directors, producers, film critics, archivists, VHS collectors and video store owners to study the the impact of video tape on movie culture. No longer dependent on the neighbourhood theatre or drive-in, the proliferation of…
Sweet Caroline’s Bakery
I am no stranger to Caroline’s Bakery. It opened on Alderney Drive right across from the library around a year ago, and for a few months now I have stopped in pretty frequently, picking up a loaf of bread here and a turnover there. It’s a plain little bakery—mumsy, even—with chintz-upholstered cafe chairs, and a…
Various Artists
In Ajijic, Mexico, I’m usually kept awake by aerial firing, mariachi bands, dogs and a surprising abundance of roosters that I’ve never come across in person. Until last week I tried to extinguish the aural smog with two Dramamine and a YouTube collection of “soft white noise” that accompanied a totally unironic slideshow of beaches/footprints.…
Sweet Caroline’s Bakery
I am no stranger to Caroline’s Bakery. It opened on Alderney Drive right across from the library around a year ago, and for a few months now I have stopped in pretty frequently, picking up a loaf of bread here and a turnover there. It’s a plain little bakery—mumsy, even— with chintz-upholstered cafe chairs, and a…
Fred Eaglesmith
If you’d heard Fred Eaglesmith’s tormented musings 20 years ago, you might be concerned that he’d do himself or somebody harm. Well, he’s still at it, sounding just as wounded and occasionally hostile, releasing nearly an album a year—a brisk touring itinerary is needed to satisfy the Fred-heads. Eaglesmith is resourceful when it comes to…
New Art – Dylan Fish
At first glance, Dylan Fish’s series Social Fabric looks like a bunch of Facebook photos printed onto cloth, but appearances can be deceiving: “It’s actually woven,” he says, “so what you’re looking at is exclusively black and white thread.” Social Fabric was made using a process called Jacquard weaving. The Jacquard loom, introduced in 1801…
Steve Dawson
This musician’s musician finds the ideal setup for a solo recording with a 50-year-old microphone. With no overdubs and four prized guitars including a 12-string and National steel, Dawson’s virtuosity and imagination are front and centre, reminiscent of albums in the 1970s by John Fahey and Leo Kottke. He has fun with titles like “Flophouse…
Old man Wintersleep
Minutes before Paul Murphy calls, his old friend Jud Haynes has made public the link to The Dependent Years. It’s an online archive of posters, press and presence (plus audio and video) featuring the bands of the Dependent Music collective, where Murphy’s band Wintersleep got its start in the early ’00s alongside Brian Borcherdt, Contrived,…
Blackie and the Rodeo Kings
The band born from appreciation for Willie P. Bennett 18 years ago not only endures but may be just hitting its stride. Colin Linden, Stephen Fearing and Tom Wilson each has his strengths. Now, when it comes to playing, composing and singing, they become a unit more clearly than ever on this mostly acoustic set.…
The WAYO’s Wanderings home
Seen from one angle, The WAYO is a four-piece band that met at college—an oft-heard narrative. Gray Rowan, bass and keyboards, explains: “We all went to King’s College, we all did the first-year program there. The funny thing is we all played in different bands first year. We actually played in a battle of the…
How to Disappear Completely
Itai Erdal is not an actor, although he is the star of How to Disappear Completely. He is a well-known lighting designer and an engaging storyteller who marries these two talents in a mixed media theatre show about (among other things) the death of his beloved mother, Mery. Documentary footage of Mery, as well as…
Free Will Astrology
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Aquarius! (January 20-February 18) Extravagant wigs became fashionable for awhile in 18th-century England. They could soar as high as four feet above a woman’s head. Collections of fruit might be arrayed in the mass of hair, along with small replicas of gardens, taxidermically stuffed birds and model ships. I would love to see…
Pusha T: Rap royalty
Since 1992, Pusha T (AKA King Push AKA Terence Thornton) has been on the grind with his brother No Malice (AKA Malicious AKA Gene Thornton, together AKA Clipse). The Virginian duo has collaborated with just about everyone in the game, breaking off into ones in 2010. King Push is one of those rap gods. His…
So Shiso Shop
After six months of pop-up shops and internet temptation at shisoshop.com, Natalie Slater’s Shiso Shop has found a place to call home. The mini shop of local art and objects created made with love by local artists, designers and crafters will open this Saturday, February 1 on the second floor of 1528 Queen Street (its…
New Art 2014
The diverse and prepossessing work of local artists like Beck Gilmer-Osborne, Jayme-Lynn Gloade, Dylan Fish, Jesse Mitchell and Stephanie Yee get those winter-dulled synapses firing. Have a look at our New Art issue and dream of longer days and creative nights. by Kevin Hartford, Allison Higgins and Jade Nauss. Jesse Mitchell Stephanie Yee Dylan Fish…
Word is bondage
Q I’m what was once quaintly called a “woman of a certain age” who started reading your column to broaden my horizons. I summoned the courage to join an online BDSM dating site. I got a response almost immediately from a man who decided to fill me in on how things worked. He proceeded to…
New Art – Beck Gilmer-Osborne
I FEEL GOOD home video from Beck Gilmer-Osborne on Vimeo. Beck Gilmer-Osborne is a person of lists: a self-identified dyke/fag/queer/feminist/non-binary trans* activist and a multidisciplinary artist working in video, performance, sculpture, installation, printed matter, photography and collaborative public events. Their recent show, I Feel Good, marks their graduation exhibition from NSCAD University where they completed…
How I stopped worrying and learned to love walking in the city at night
It’s 9:30pm and while finishing a game of darts the other night (yes darts, that’s a story, but not this story) in the north end, I posed a question on Twitter. “Is it OK to walk from Lady Hammond Road to the Macdonald Bridge to catch the bus?” As is typical with the Halifax Twitter…
Ride Along
From the moment James Payton (Ice Cube) emerges from a shadowy wall of flame in a tricked-out truck—about two minutes in—you know exactly what you’re going to get sitting shotgun on the enjoyable but completely predictable Ride Along. Ice Cube is a gruff cop toiling away at an impossible case—taking down Atlanta king pin Omar…
Letters to the editor, January 30, 2014
Car trouble Pedestrians are getting hit by cars on crosswalks more and more often in this city (“Walking targets,” Feature by Tim Bousquet, January 9; Letters, January 16 and 23). Everyone agrees that it is a problem and that something needs to be done about it. However, every time the problem is brought up, a…
New Art – Jayme-Lynn Gloade
Jayme-Lynn Gloade is serious about her art and her culture. She organized the first Aboriginal Collective at NSCAD and they recently held an exhibit, Aboriginalities at the Anna Leonowens Gallery. Gloade’s contribution was a series of four photographs. Her series, titled “The 8th Movement,” represents Mi’kmaq legends through portraiture. A boy wearing a bear skin,…
The Empty Room
The Empty Room covers a day in the life of alcoholic Colleen Kerrigan— and it’s not a good day. The haunting novel begins with a promise not to drink, but of course it doesn’t last long, especially after a confrontation at work. Filled with vivid description, Davis’ writing is honest, desperate and raw, resulting in…
New Art – Stephanie Yee
“Art-wise, I’m kind of all over the place,” says Stephanie Yee, who dabbles in performance art, installation pieces, and sculpture. “I’m drawn to stories and characters and a lot of my work comes from thinking about people’s experiences and referring to those in a very physical way.” Yee comes from a theatre background–she was enrolled…
The Dilettantes
Remember in undergrad when you worked on the school newspaper? Doesn’t matter. When you read this, you’ll relive those days whether you lived them in the first place or not—that’s how familiar Michael Hingston’s The Dilettantes, set on the campus of Simon Fraser, feels. It’s a funny, fast read and its portrait of university life…
Recently engaged: Melissa and James
James and I have been friends for over 10 years. We always had an eye for each other but it took us forever to figure that out. We started dating one-year-and-a-half ago and it has been a dream come true ever since. After all these years of knowing each other, he can still make my…
