Hey Ocean were in Halifax last week, crowding the stage and playing energetic indie pop tunes that got the crowd dancing. The highlight of the night came during the encore when the band started playing a cover of Sprawl II by Arcade Fire. Hey Ocean were then joined by Aidan Knight and the rest of his band for an impressive cover including trumpets players coming through the windows behind stage.
Hey Ocean and Aidan Knight – Sprawl II (Arcade Fire cover)
Posted in Video
Tagged Aidan Knight, arcade fire, halifax, hey ocean, sprawl II, vancouver, Victoria
Hey Rosetta! like to throw in a cover here and there during their live shows. Lately they have been taking on the Paul Simon classic song Graceland. The crowd loved it, and the band looked like they were having a blast playing it.
The band will play at the Juno awards in Ottawa April 1st before hopping across the pond for a few shows in Europe.
Hey Rosetta! – Graceland (Paul Simon)
Have you ever gone to a show, loved the opening act and wished you could see them play a longer set? If you were at the Hey Ocean show at the Seahorse on Wednesday, or just an Aidan Knight fan really, your wish will be granted on Monday night (March 26) at the Carlton. Last year when he was in Halifax, he played solo. This time around, he has a band in tow. They add a little more ‘umph’ to his already impressive show. The Carlton, one of my favourite venues in Halifax because it is a listening room, is the perfect venue for this type of show. Alanna Gurr, Matthew Hornell and Corey Isenor are all on the bill as well. Tickets are available online or at the door for $10. Doors at 8:oo. Order some frites, they are delicious.
Below are a few newer songs he performed at the Seahorse show on March 21.
Aidan Knight – Margaret Down
Aidan Knight – Land’s End
Aidan Knight – New Song
Today was a big day for two indie Canadian bands. Snowblink signed with Arts & Crafts for her sophomore full length album. Daniela Gesundheit also lends her voice to Bruce Peninsula.
Vancouver punk rock poppers Apollo Ghosts signed with You’ve Changed Records. One of our favourite under the radar Canadian bands on one of our favourite labels. Sounds like a lot of win to me. They will release their third album Landmark on May 8 digitally and May 15 in physical form.
Apollo Ghosts – Money Has No Heart
Posted in News
Tagged apollo ghosts, arts&crafts, bruce peninsula, snowblink, you've changed records
This is the week of “Hey” bands. Both Hey Ocean and Hey Rosetta! are swinging through Halifax this week. Go to the show and say Hey. It would be incredibly witty. One of our favourite artists, Aidan Knight will be opening for Hey Ocean. He’ll also be back in town next Monday (March 26) for a show at the Carlton.
Wednesday (21st)
Thursday (22nd)
Sunday (25th)
Aidan Knight – Knitting Something Nice For You
Posted in concert listings
Tagged Aidan Knight, dale murray, heavy meadows, hey ocean, hey rosetta
On Sunday night, Tim Crabtree (AKA Paper Beat Scissors) stood in front of a crowd of attentive listeners for the Halifax album release show of his new album. He was backed by an impressive cast he dubbed the Paper Beat Scissors Rock Band. Mike Feuerstack (Snailhouse) played lap steel and electric guitars, Gina Burgess (Gypsophilia) played violin, Kyle Cunjack (Olympic Symphonium) was poked fun at because of his Magnum P.I. moustache and played bass while Ryan Brown (Glory Glory) wore glasses and played the drums.
The room was dark, the only light being provided by two lights and Christmas lights, or as Crabtree calls them, fairy lights. He is from the UK afterall. The lighting allowed the audience to zero in and focus on the music. Crabtree showed why he has a reputation for a great live performer, showing great range of vocals. At times soft whispers that grow into emotional screams. As good as his album is, it doesn’t quite do his voice justice in comparison to the live show.
Having a full band added to the show. The violin and pedal steel together provided a haunting atmosphere to compliment Crabtree’s vocals. Mike Feuerstack really added to the songs, knowing just when to throw in a little extra guitar without overpowering the performance.
Below are videos of the tracks Rest Your Bones and Let Me In from his new album.
Rest Your Bones
Let Me In
Posted in concert review
Tagged glory glory, gypsophilia, olympic symphonium, paper beat scissors, snailhouse
The Wooden Sky stopped by Taz Records on Saturday before their show that night at the Seahorse. The band was visibly tired, saying that they had a pretty wild night in Moncton the night before. Don’t worry, I won’t take any jabs at Moncton right now. The band played a few songs unplugged, mostly from their new album “Every Child a Daughter, Every Moon a Sun.” Despite being tired, lead singer and guitarist Gavin Gardiner was friendly with the twenty or so people gathered. After they finished playing “Angelina”, he turned to violinist Edwin Huizinga and told him his playing on that song made the trip from Moncton worth it. Below is a video of said song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTPfNzMxtRA
Tim Crabtree aka Paper Beat Scissors is set to release his self titled album with a release show at the Khyber tomorrow night (March 4th). We stopped by his house a few days ago to chat to Tim about his new record as well as the release show. We’ll have more from that interview up on the site next week. This post will just focus on the release show.
Crabtree says the last time he played with a full band was in January 2011 during his In the Dead of Winter show. Mike Feuerstack (Snailhouse) will be playing lap steel and electric guitars, Gina Burgess (Gypsophilia) will be on violin, Kyle Cunjack (Olympic Symphonium) will be on bass and Ryan Brown (Glory Glory) will be hitting drums and cymbals.
“It’s fun because it allows me to explore songs in a slightly different way,” Crabtree said about playing a show with a full band instead of solo. He also looks forward to playing the songs live with a different line up than what appears on the album since different people bring their own musical style to the arrangements.
Doors for the show open at 8:00 p.m. Nick Everett will open the show. Tickets are $10 at the door.
Posted in concert preview
Tagged glory glory, gypsophilia, nick everett, olympic symphonium, paper beat scissors, snailhouse
The Wooden Sky. (Photo: Justin Broadbent)
Sometimes I look at my Facebook events and think “wow, I have a lot on the go this week, I must be popular and socially cool.” Upon further review, it turns out that I have just clicked “attending” on every show event I’ve been invited to.
If you’re looking for some entertainment of the musical variety this weekend, here are 5 shows that you might enjoy.
The Balconies – Kill Count
Paper Lions released a pretty cool and catchy EP called Trophies out in 2010. Since then they have sold a bunch of copies of the album through a record label that has screwed them over and not paid them for the sales. You can read the band’s message below and grab the album for free. If you like what you hear, they have a big fancy donate button on the page too.
TweetApollo Ghosts are a band that never have to worry about overstaying their welcome. Making their debut on the Sackville, N.B. based label You’ve Changed Records, the Vancouver band continue to do what they do best: short, quick ditties that … Continue reading
Tweet Broken Social Scene announced the band was going on a hiatus in September 2011. The Stills wrote an open letter in April 2011 telling friends and fans the band had broken up. Fast forward a few months and we have … Continue reading
Tweet By: Jane Caufield As I was walking around the cold streets of Halifax listening to B.A. Johnston’s latest album Hi Dudes! on repeat, all I could think was summer. Actually, this album makes me want to be drinking a LaBatt … Continue reading
TweetWe’re a month and a half into 2012, so it is a little early to state the music trends of the year so far. But after listening to the new self titled LP from Phèdre on repeat for the past … Continue reading
TweetRyan Hemsworth dropped the Kitsch Genius EP during the wee hours of the moment for all of the internet to hear. We caught up with him before the release and asked him to give us a little overview of what … Continue reading