Tag Archives: halifax

IDOW ’12 Contest: Willie Stratton

Posted on January 17, 2012 by jbriggins| 1 Comment

In the Dead of Winter is set to kick off at the end of January. The festival tends to primarily feature music on the folkier and acoustic side of the music spectrum. Over the days leading up to the festival, we’ll be running a few spotlights on our favourite artists set to play.

We’re going to kick our coverage off this year with a contest, because really, who doesn’t like free stuff?

Willie Stratton is a 19-year-old artist who doesn’t sound like a 19-year-old. His music is influenced by everything from Romantic era composers such as Tchaikovsky and Rich Wagner to folk legends Woody Guthrie and Robert Johnson.

Curious to know what this sounds like? Check out his show at the the Bus Stop Theatre on Thursday Jan. 26th along with Jenny Berkel and Moonshine Ramblers. It starts at 8:30 p.m. and costs $10.

How to win
If you want a pair of tickets, send us an email (thebrokenspeaker [at] gmail [dot] com), tweet, Facebook comment or comment on this page telling us how you stay warm in the dead of winter. Contest closes January 24th.

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Posted in concert preview, contest, free stuff

Tagged contest, free, halifax, IDOW, in the dead of winter, willie stratton

Bad year for live music venues in Halifax

Posted on December 22, 2011 by jbriggins| Leave a comment

The following are locations for live music in Halifax that have closed down during the calendar year of 2011. All of them were venues for Halifax Pop Explosion shows with the exception of Elephant & Castle. They were scheduled to host a number of shows, but they were moved to North St. Church when it closed in September.

May 2011 – The Paragon Theatre (formerly the Marquee) shuts down. Location and devastating cancellations are part of the reason according to Mark Townsend, one of the people who ran the venue. (the Coast story)

June 2011 – Coconut Grove Nightclub closes, later to be reopened as Bikram Yoga. (the Coast story)

September 2011 – Elephant & Castle closes its doors due to rent issues. (the Coast story)

December 22, 2011 – Reflections move to the former Paragon Theatre is approved. Loses Cabaret License and must close at 2:30 a.m. (PDF from NS utility board)

January 1, 2012 – Tribeca closes due to pressure from liquor board and fire marshal. (aux.tv story)

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Posted in News

Tagged halifax, marquee, music venues, reflections, the paragon

Halifax Concerts This Week: December 12-18

Posted on December 12, 2011 by jbriggins| Leave a comment

You know we’re getting close to Christmas when local heroes are taking over Halifax watering holes for three night stands. Dartmouth hero Matt Mays and Halifax’s beloved Joel Plaskett are both putting on a number of shows at the Seahorse this week. Most of them are sold out, but keep your eyes for extra tickets. Juno winner Meaghan Smith will be playing St. Matthew’s for what promises to be a fantastic festive spectacular. If you just need to dance the night away to make room Christmas baking and turkeys, then check out Gus’ on Friday night when Windom Earl bring their energetic show to the pub.

Monday (Dec. 12)

Joel Plaskett Emergency, Jay Smith @ The Seahorse 8:30 p.m. $25

Tuesday (Dec. 13)

Joel Plaskett Emergency, Yellow Jacket Avenger @ The Seahorse 8:30 p.m. $25 SOLD OUT
Rose Cousins, Dan Brownrigg @ The Carlton. 9:00 p.m. $25

Wednesday (Dec. 14)

Joel Plaskett Emergency, Mardeen @ The Seahorse 8:30 p.m. $25 SOLD OUT

Thursday (Dec. 15)

We’re All Daying to Live – Rich Aucoin Film Screening @ The Kyhber. Screening starts at 8:30 p.m. sharp. Money donation or non-perishables for Feed Nova Scotia

Friday (Dec. 16)

Matt Mays @ The Seahorse. 9:00pm.m $25.00 SOLD OUT
Meaghan Smith, Carleton Stone @ St. Matthew’s Church. 7:30 p.m. $20/$25
Yellow Jacket Avenger, Cousins, Meat Tree @ The Khyber. 10:00 p.m. $6
Windom Earl, A.A. Wallace, Blondie Cover Band @ Gus’ Pub. 11:00 p.m. $5

Saturday (Dec. 17)

Christina Martin @ Tribeca 7:30 p.m. $6
Matt Mays @ The Seahorse. 9:00pm.m $25.00 SOLD OUT

Sunday (Dec. 18)

Matt Mays @ The Seahorse. 9:00pm.m $25.00

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Posted in concert listings

Tagged christina martin, halifax, joel plaskett, matt mays, meaghan smith, rich aucoin, Rose Cousins, windom earle, yellow jacket avenger

Video: Hollerado play the Seahorse

Posted on December 4, 2011 by jbriggins| Leave a comment

Hollerado and the crowd given'er at the Seahorse (Photo: Adam Scotti)

Holding babies, making cool music videos, meeting the mayor and driving around in a spray painted van give the impression that Hollerado is a fun band. Confetti, glowing balls, improv guitar solos and lots of sweat at the Seahorse proved that Hollerado are a fun band. While we didn’t catch the last half of their show, we did grab a video of the end of the catchy song “Juliette” that turns into a giant jam sesh and the band turning into a metal band for a few minutes.

Video of Hollerado drum solo

Video of the end of Juliette and more.

Photo gallery: Hollerado at the Seahorse. Halifax. Dec 2, 2011.

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Posted in concert review, Video

Tagged halifax, Hollerado, juliette, live concert, sonic concerts

Video: Willie Stratton at Dalhousie

Posted on November 20, 2011 by jbriggins| 2 Comments

Willie Stratton was originally set to open up for Mother Mother at the Grawood on Friday. A delayed start and soundcheck because of a reportedly blown speaker, he wasn’t able to play. Instead he and his band grabbed their instruments and played his song “November” to an anxious crowd. We only caught the tail end of the song, but the atmosphere in the room was pretty special. Check ‘er out.

Willie Stratton Facebook page

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Posted in Video

Tagged halifax, live video, unplugged, willie stratton

Video: Hey Rosetta! Acoustic

Posted on February 20, 2011 by jbriggins| Leave a comment

When Hey Rosetta! was in town this week they stopped by the Live105 radio station and played a few tracks off their new album Seeds. The two tracks are “Welcome” and “Young Glass”. When Welcome was first played at live shows it was an acoustic track, so it is neat to hear it with a mix of the original roots of the song combined with the final studio version.

(thanks to dave for the tip on the video)

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Posted in Video

Tagged acoustic, halifax, hey rosetta, live

Concert Review: Matthew Barber 09-22-2010

Posted on September 23, 2010 by jbriggins| Leave a comment

September 22nd, 2010. The Seahorse Tavern, Halifax NS.

Matthew Barber took to the stage of the Seahorse Tavern with his guitar, harmonic, piano, his voice, and songs. Usually when Matthew is visiting this part of town he is performing a couple doors down at the Carlton. He seemed to enjoy switching it up for this show instead playing at the Seahorse Tavern where perhaps a few more drinks were flowing and people are a little more at ease. At one point he admitted feeling pretty loose and playing some songs that aren’t always part of his set. This led to a number of occasions where he would forget the words in the middle of his songs. This of course led to smiles and laughter by both Barber and the audience who at points would shout out a few words to help him to keep playing along. While Barber played a number of tunes from his 2010 release True Believer and fan favourites, he also took the opportunity to play a trio of songs from the musical Haunted Hillbilly of which he wrote the soundtrack. These short songs each came with an entertaining story and their context within the musical. They were distinctly country without the twang, Barber easily taking on the role of country singer without sounding like he was trying to hard. Throughout the show Barber showed that he has a wonderful voice, being able to sing softly then seamlessly switch to more powerful vocals. His songs are easy to relate to. Listening to the show it was hard to not think of how these were the type of songs that help people get through the daily grind of life. What more could you ask for on a beautiful Halifax September night.

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Posted in concert review

Tagged halifax, matthew barber

Mixed Tapes: May 2010

Posted on June 3, 2010 by jbriggins| 2 Comments

The mix for the month of May features a few local artists (Wintersleep, Jenn Grant, Holy Fuck) as well as some of the finest songs from our American neighbours from the past month or so. And just like the previous mixtape for April, this mix features a song by an Australian band Tame Impala. Keep an eye on the blog for a review of their album from a guest contributor. As always, if you like the songs, buy them on iTunes, buy a CD, see them live, like them on Facebook, tell a friend, and tell the band you love them

Tracklist (not in order)

Tame Impala – Island Walking
Wintersleep – Preservation
The National – Conversation 16
Jenn Grant – Liar
LCD Soundsystem – You Wanted A Hit
Foals – After Glow
Dum Dum Girls – Bhang Bhang, I’m A Burnout
Broken Social Scene – Chase Scene
Bishop Morocco – Last Year’s Disco Guitars (Graham Walsh remix)
Holy Fuck – Red Lights

Listen to the streaming mixtape on 8tracks here.

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Posted in mixtape

Tagged Bishop Morocco, broken social scene, canada, dum dum girls, foals, halifax, holy fuck, Jenn Grant, lcd soundsystem, tame impala, The National, wintersleep

News Roundup

Posted on May 14, 2010 by jbriggins| Leave a comment

Say what you want about Twilight and societies obsession with vampires, they sure do know how to throw together some great soundtracks. The New Moon soundtrack was a guilty pleasure for many featuring a Grizzly Bear/Beach House collaboration, Thom Yorke, Bon Iver & St. Vincent, Death Cab for Cutie, and more. This time around they have managed to get a Bat for Lashes and Beck collab, Florence and the Machine, and Canadian band Metric. Metric, who have enjoyed an explosion in popularity over the past year or so, have co-written the song “All Yours” with legendary film composer Howard Shore.
Hey Rosetta! will be playing some shows over the summer including a handful in China. If you can’t make it to any of the shows in China, they will be in Halifax on July 24th at the Paragon Theatre with P.E.I. band English Words. There are a few other musical choices to be made that night as Classifies/Weezer/Black Eyed Peas will be trashing the Commons that night while Simon & Garfunkle will be performing at the Metro Center. If you don’t feel like dropping over $100 on these big acts, head down to the Paragon Theatre and enjoy what should be a spectacular show for a fraction of the cost. (Tickets are $20 plus service fees available through ticketpro).
Arcade Fire will be playing a number of shows around the world this summer, including Canadian dates at festivals in Montreal, Quebec City, and Ottawa. Fans are anxiously awaiting any possible news on a new album. This week a banner reading “Arcade Fire presents ‘The Suburbs,’” briefly appeared on their website. While it is uncertain what it means (is it about the new album, a new song, something to do with the Spike Jones film they are working on?), it was enough of a tidbit of news to get fans even more anxious as we’re about a month away from their first public appearance in quite some time. Keep an eye on Joel’s Arcade Fire Blog for the latest news and rumors.
If you like free music, as most people do, then check out the sampler that Long Live the Queen have available on Zunior. The LLTQ sampler features songs from Diamond Rings, Yellow Jacket Avenger, Cousins, Cursed Arrows, Rebekah Higgs, Jon McKiel, Julie Fader, Jenocide, Ruby Jean, Windom Earle, Daniel Ledwell, The Darcys and Heavy Meadows. If you’re in the Halifax area over the Victoria Day weekend try to catch a show. Info on the sampler can be found here.

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Posted in concert preview, free stuff, new stuff

Tagged arcade fire, halifax, hey rosetta, LLTQ, Metric