No matter the stage, the place or song, folk powerhouse Ben Caplan seeks to thoroughly entertain. “It’s important to treat every show like an island,” he says. “Every gig has to be its own unique moment and I strive to reinvent the show every night, even if it’s the same set list, musicians and songs.” […]
Critics’ Picks of the Year
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Top 10 books released in 2015
Elizabeth Hay, His Whole Life (McLelland & Stewart) It’s the mid-1990s and Quebec is poised for its second referendum when Jim travels with his parents to his mother’s childhood home on a lake in Ontario. What follows next is the everyday meat of any family saga as Jim comes of age and finds out more […]
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Top 10 comics released in 2015
Astro City (Vertigo) Writer/creator Kurt Busiek has been scripting his masterpiece anthology series for two decades, and if you’ve never read it then you’ve been missing out on one of the best comic books of all time. I’ll say that again: of all time. Astro City explores every corner of its titular city and the […]
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Top 40 albums of 2015
Adria Young’s Top 10 Babysitter, Babysitter (Psychic Handshake) Drake, If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late (OVO/YMCMB) Freak Heat Waves, Bonnie’s State of Mind (Hockey Dad) Future, Dirty Sprite 2 (Epic) Hag Face, R.I.P. (Psychic Handshake) Justin Bieber, Purpose (Def Jam) Nap Eyes, Whine of the Mystic (You’ve Changed) New Fries/Old & Weird, Juice (Pleasance […]
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Top 10 movies from 2015
Amy If you had any wistful feelings about Amy Winehouse’s talent falling from the earth, they likely turned to white-hot rage after viewing Asif Kapadia’s exploration of the life leading up to her overdose. A puppet of her father and her husband, Winehouse’s onscreen personality turns from healthy spitfire to skeletal mess in a slow […]
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Top 10 plays of 2015
A Good Death (DaPoPo Theatre) The fact that I’m still thinking about this play, the first of over 100 I saw in the past year, is a testament to its power and beauty. Kim Parkhill’s finely crafted script explores the emotionally fraught topic of assisted suicide. An impressive all-female cast and gorgeous production design. —KW […]
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Top 10 visual arts happenings of 2015
Lisa Lipton, Hoop Dreams For some, the highlight of Nocturne was sitting on Citadel High’s bleachers buzzed out of our minds watching basketball. But not just any basketball game—Lipton staged a championship series between three fictional teams, bringing together many talented locals to create a multi-disciplinary performance piece, lulling viewers into a trance-like state with […]
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Our Critics’ Picks issue is here!
Sorry to say it, Old Man 2014, but we’re glad to see the arse end of ya. Go kick rocks and roll on 2015, a new year full of promise, hope and less general crap. We mined hard to find these diamonds in the rough of a tumultuous year, coming up with what we thought […]
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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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Critics’ picks 2013: Books
MICHAEL LAKE Michael has been writing for The Coast since July of 2013. He once took a photo of Michael Ondaatje and Jeffrey Eugenides and asked them to pose on a jungle gym. They said no. 1996 By Sara Peters (Anansi) The poems in this debut collection from Nova Scotian-cum-Torontonian are full of deftly observed […]
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Critics’ picks 2013: DVDs
Jacob Boon’s Top 10 Films You Should See Anyway They’re not all winners, but here are some picks from the man who has seen almost everything this year. They aren’t bad, they’re good-bad. Spring Breakers Directed by Harmony Korine (VVS) Harmony Korine’s candy-coated sexploitation assault would have been a cultural touchstone even if 2013 wasn’t […]
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Critically delicious
Welcome to our 2013 critics’ picks issue! We have chosen only the most contentiously awesome lists of the year in the fields of music, books and film. Haven’t made your own yet? Take one of ours. by Jacob Boon, David Dahms, Shannon Fay, Stephanie Johns, Carsten Knox, Michael Lake, Jeff Lawton, Zoë Migicovsky, Whitney Moran, […]