We are locals who go to things that we enjoy. From shows to clubs to anything. We have eyes and ears there. And we'll show you and tell you what we thought. We are the Wolf & Owl.
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Halifax Zombie Walk 2009
Its August. Which can only mean one thing: Zombies.
The annual Halifax Zombie Walk had the perfect day. Sunshine, clear skies, and lots of healthy pedestrians with no idea what was going on. The Undead Parade was filled to the brim this year with ghouls of all ages, shapes and sizes. It was so excellent to see not just the 18-30 year olds in costume; so many children got really into character with some terrifying make-up and costumes. Check out the photos for all the gory details.
Off the Cuff, July 26
Another Sunday, another runway show, another winner and another eliminated. This weeks work was to be inspired by Halifax weather, so I was prepared for rain apparel aplenty. The other curve ball that was thrown to the designers was that the garment needed to transform. Being a child from the 80’s I was very excited to see transforming clothes, and the designers didn’t dissapoint. Akshay Tyagi won this weeks challenge with a garment that transformed twice, inspired by the volatile weather patterns that are constantly changing in Halifax.
This weeks challenge is to make a garment for a local musician. This will be the first time that the competitors have had an actual client, so let the egos clash! See you next week.
W&O
Off the Cuff, July 19
In a less music oriented move, we took our camera gear to an Off The Cuff event at Halifax’s Argyle Fine Art gallery (1869 Upper Water St.). OtC is a Project Runway-esque competition that takes local fashion designers and gives them weekly challenges to complete for a mini-runway show. The show is then judged and critiqued. After each round of competition the judges eliminate one contestant and choose a winner. This week, the challenge was to make a garment inspired by a locally made textile.
Stephanie Fortin’s fabulous purple/turquoise/sea green fabric won by being the inspiration behind Louanna Murphy’s jumpsuit.
We hope to be at the July 26th show, where the designers will be faced with the challenge of creating a transformable garmet themed after Halifax weather (wind and rain anyone?).
Until Next time!
W&O
(More info on the event at Fashion Magazine)
King Khan, July 18
I was a little late getiing to the show and unfortunately missed the Stolen Minks. Instead I got to hear The Grass, whom, although I would never put them on the set with King Khan and Stolen Minks, pulled of a decent show. Their 70’s rock style wasn’t terrible, but wasn’t what I was in the mood for either. The visuals being projected on them was neat at first, but eventually made it just hard to look at the band.
King Khan and BBQ are an extremely entertaining group. They play an awesome rock thats very pure. The crowd went a little crazy, but they loved every minute of it. I decided to split before getting crushed by the energetic crowd… All in all, great show.
As an aside: to the sound guy working that night: What The Fuck is your problem? Pushing through the crowd? Throwing beer bottles? Thanks alot! Not only have you made the Paragon look bad, you’ve put broken glass on the floor.
Kid Koala, July 17
When I heard that Kid Koala was coming to Halifax again I got extremely excited. He has an extremely excellent stage presence and knows how to work a crowd into a frenzy. The night started off with a member from the The Scientists of Sound because due to technical difficulties, they could not all show up. It was interesting to be around a crowd that was more hip-hop oriented with some really excellent electronic music playing. The sound varied from very technical electro to a beyonce remix which was cut very well.
Then came the main event. Kid Koala. There isn’t enough time to describe how awesome he was. He had a great set and interacted with the crowd as often as he could, leaving little tid bits of info about himself, his music and his upbringing. 2/3 through his set he got two volunteers to have a one armed pillow fight in the middle of the dance floor. AMAZING. Nuff said. The guy is great.
All while these great and interesting artists were playing, Peter Farmer was painting quite the mural behind the turntables. Art and music always go hand in hand, but is great to see them both being produced in front of you.
W&O
Ruby Jean & The Thoughtful Bees, Room Doom, Jenocide
Kicking off the not-your-typical-jazz portion of the Halifax Jazz Festival were Ruby Jean & The Thoughtful Bees, Room Doom and Jenocide.
Starting off the night were Room Doom, and I’ve heard these guys before and they never dissapointed this time either. The crowd however didn’t seem to be feeling their vibe. They seemed a little strange to be in the opening acts for RJ&TB as I personally wouldn’t put the two together, but they preformed very well.
Jenocide has a very Lady GaGa feel. Her synth-filtered vocals over some pretty solid beats got the crowd much closer to the stage and moving. She also through out a handful of LED flashlights, which coupled with her coming off the stage and writhing around on the floor singing, made it have a bit of a rave feel.
RJ&TB always have the best costumes. Always. I’m a huge fan of the mid set costume changes. Their whole set had a great feel, never losing pace despite Rebecca spilling beer all over her set list. :) Enough of me rambling, check out the photos and definately check out these awesome groups MySpace pages.
Peace,
W&O
DJ Competition & Mix Master Mike
It took us a while, but we went back out. To the Paragon theatre, of course. Mix Master Mike of Beastie Boy fame was in town so, really, how could we not?
The night was pretty jam-packed with DJs. First off: The Come Up Documentary’s elimination round. Four brand new DJs from Halifax with only four months of training beneath an already established DJ (a mentor/apprentice thing) each took their turn with the difficult task of getting the barely drunk crowd to the dance floor to start off the night. All four had something different to offer and in the end there was a tie for second (although I think the young kid should have taken the win for sure, he came second..).
Following that was DJ Cosmo who got the last of the stragglers out on to the floor and warmed up for Mix Master Mike… who was pretty incredible. This post is a little late in the making so the details aren’t super clear, but I can tell you this: it was SICK! Mix after mix he delivered something to really dance to, although dancing was kind of hard when all you wanted to do was watch him go. Ticket prices were kind of steep for a Paragon show, but I’d have to argue they were worth every penny.
Until next time!
Retro Night May 9
Back at Retro Night, but can you really blame us? Last month’s event was epic and this month’s was a solid follow-up. If you have yet to make it to a DJ T-woo event, please do ASAP. He was the glue that held the dance floor together. (Well, that and the neon coloured get-ups!) The Retro Night DJs had a whole other thing going. They came with a lot of energy and put most of the audience’s dancing to shame with their own crazy moves. While we might wish they had focused a little more on a smooth set, there were lots of retro beats left over from the opener to last the rest of the night.
As always, The Paragon Theatre pulled through for a wicked Saturday night.
After you check out the photos (peep the girl with the awesome eye makeup!), click through the link above or click here for news on a new monthly event. Bleu Nuit is about to hit the ground running on May 23rd. We’ll definitely be there to see what’s good.
Until next time dudes and dudettes!
w&o
NSCAD Wearable Art Show 2009
Before I get started, I apologize if you aren’t seen in the slideshow or at the flickr site. Our photographer took as many pictures as he could, but we had to edit down the content until we start paying for our flickr account. So, don’t be upset if you’re not featured here.
The reason I apologized right away was because this years show was so amazing and I feel bad for those that couldn’t make it on the site. Everyone did an excellent job. There was some high fashion, some hipster styles, and some beautiful wearable art.
Despite being out the rain with a tarp over our heads (why it couldn’t be indoors, I’ll never know) it was enjoyed by all that were watching. It only took a turn for the worst when the hosts came on the runway. I know that picnicface is hilarious on the internet but I felt a real let down on their preformance as hosts. Thankfully, they didn’t detract from the excellent show the girls (and few boys) put off. I’m very proud of all of them. Excited already for next year.
W&O
Tom Fun Orchestra April 17 / 09
I’ve never seen the Tom Fun Orchestra (TFO) before and didn’t know quite what to expect. Before we get to that, the opening acts.
Carmen Townsend and the Shakey Deals were excellent. Very little to add to that. She had an almost Ruby Jean sound, but very quickly added her own sense of style and fun. Wonderful preformer, great stage personality. I would really enjoy hearing her at her own show. She seemed a little rushed to fit everything she could in before the next act.
I’ve heard of the Sleepless Nights before but never heard them. They had some interesting songs, and I could see how they could be enjoyable, but something had to have been wrong with the sound. Their bass was really overwhelming, didn’t sound correct. Even though the sound was barely tolerable, the new guitar player was extremely entertaining. He was really enjoying himslef on stage. It was very distracting from the whole band, but almost in a hilarious way. Almost. I won’t say they weren’t good, just that they didn’t sound too good this particular night. I would give them another chance.
Now the main attraction. TFO. Wow. What an experience. What a very unique sound. Can’t quite describe it, but it was excellent. The crowd was really into it, the violin, the trumpet, the accordian, everything, sounded wonderful. Great set. They played until the lights had to be turned on, and even a little bit after that. I think the crowd could have stayed their until dawn if they played that long.
Until next time,
W&O
