Doug Mutai’s Kenyan roots got him on his feet and running, but while he was moving forward he felt something stronger pulling him back. A deep nagging sense that the sport wasn’t propelling him to where he needed to be. “Running is something that runs in my family. So I tried it out in college […]
The Seahorse Tavern
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Live Music Venue
Gold Winner The Seahorse Tavern Silver Winner Michael’s Bar and Grill Bronze Winner The Marquee Ballroom Congrats, Seahorse! Pop a bottle (or a keg) of Horsepower and dance on those long communal tables (which were around long before communal dining became A Thing) and celebrate your best venue win. “A venue is only as great […]
Posted inArts + Music
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 […]
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 inBest of Halifax
Best Party Venue
Gold Winner Lower Deck, Halifax Silver Winner The Seahorse Tavern Bronze Winner Reflections Cabaret The three floors of the Lower Deck have taken a beating over the years, so many stomped feet and so many spilled beers, all in the name of a “SOCIABLE!”. But every scuff and sticky spot is evidence of a time […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
Best Place To Dance
Gold Winner Reflections Cabaret Silver Winner Pacifico Bronze Winner The Seahorse Tavern Wanna dance with somebody? Wanna feel the heat of somebody? Well there’s no guarantee you’ll find somebody who loves you, but at this legendary late night fun-land we promise you’ll never be dancing on your own. With the DJs cranking everything from hip […]
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Make ‘Em laugh
“My favourite thing is that the audience we attract has a great suspension of disbelief. An improviser will say something like, ‘I’m just drinking this glass of warmed-up peanut butter,’ and the audience goes, ‘Ewww.’ They’re totally on board,” says comedian Brian MacQuarrie. This year, MacQuarrie joined Halifax’s hottest improvisational group Make ‘Em Ups, a […]
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The Balconies’ are moving on up
If you’ve been a fan of Toronto’s The Balconies from the beginning, then you’ve probably noticed a significant change in the band. Where they were once fresh-faced indie-rock kids, they’ve now morphed into a hard-rock machine. For bassist Steve Neville, the decision to beef up the band’s sound grew out of a dissatisfaction with their […]
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Back in the USS
Have you ever been to a party that’s like “Fight Club standing on its feet clapping along to Ellen DeGeneres as she passes through her audience with an acoustic guitar, two microphones and a set of turntables”? I haven’t either, but on Friday Night, Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker (USS) promises to bring just that to the […]
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Black Joe Lewis’ classic rock
Let’s go through the list of bands that wholeheartedly wear their influences on their sleeves, yet create something, if not totally original, then far greater than the sum of their parts. You could start with Zeppelin. Sure, they aped the Chicago (and further back) blues masters shamelessly, but they never pretended to be the […]
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Devil’s in the details
A<fter releasing Kentville-inspired The Town in 2011, The Devil’s Half Acre went on hiatus when lead guitarist Chase Ross moved to Montreal. But you know what they say: you can take the man out of Kentville, but you can’t take Kentville out of the man. Returning a year later, Ross and his refreshed rock and […]
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Safety dance
Take a breath purple-face, it’s true, In-Flight Safety’s long-awaited new record is finally coming up the pipe. “We’ve had a few false starts and threw out a full record worth of songs that just weren’t all that exciting,” says guitarist John Mullane, adding that the ones they landed on were inspired. “The sound is very much […]
