Music

The Halifax Pop Explosion was one of our 2013 highlights

by Mark Teo

Photo: Fucked Up at the Pavilion, by Amber Mahoney

The loss of a marquee act, the type that occupies the upper tier of an event’s poster, is usually enough to cripple a festival. Not so for the Halifax Pop Explosion. In fact, when Action Bronson cancelled his trip due to ambiguous “health reasons,” it barely caused a ripple—because HPX, unlike NXNE, isn’t largely focused on the music. Unlike M For Montreal, it isn’t about industry. And unlike the Wolf Island Music Festival, it’s not a destination festival. No, HPX is a celebration of Halifax as a culture, a community, and most importantly, a city.

That might sound like travel-brochure speak, but we assure you it isn’t. Rather, HPX—the fall festival that’s happened since 1993, save for when it skipped 2000—takes over the entire city, and for outsiders, it’s an excuse to explore a town that’s quietly one of Canada’s best. And we soaked it in: We saw DIANA perform outdoors in Halifax’s quaint downtown strip. We wandered up Agricola, bought a delicious growler from Bridge Brewing Co., then stumbled into a Tough Age show in the city’s North End. We travelled to the heart of the Halifax Common to see Fucked Up play an all-ages show, where teenagers stagedived their asses off. We left the HPX expo with an armful of punk-rock vinyl, zines about D.I.Y. travel, and screen-printed barf bags.

Indeed, the Pop Explosion isn’t about pop or that historical explosion—it’s about Halifax’s community. And while Killer Mike delighted, the city’s native bands—Old & Weird, Moon, Heaven For Real, Crosss, Monomyth—proved to be among the fest’s biggest highlights. We went to the Halifax Pop Explosion looking for music, and we came back loving Halifax. Here’s our guide to one of Canada’s best festivals, including a roundup of 2013’s best acts, a venue guide, and two band—one local, one touring—naming their favourite spots in the city.

 

Photo: Monomyth

The 5 best things we saw at HPX

During the Halifax Pop Explosion, music seeps from every crevice of the city. Accordingly, we spent our entire time rushing between venues—and catching sets we won’t forget for a long time. Here are the five bands that defined the festival in 2013.

HEAVEN FOR REAL

Who: The newest project from the Grundy brothers, best known for their work in D.I.Y. pop act Quaker Parents.
Where: The Pavilion, at a matinee show.
Why: Heaven For Real have dubbed their music baby jazz, and it’s a perfectly apt term: It’s a silly moniker for caffeinated pop music that’s indescribable. But we’ll try. Built around dueling junkshop guitars and singsong vocals, the band’s tied together by drummer Nathan Doucet—also of Crosss—whose hard-hitting work makes H4R feel half band, half athletic feat. In our opinion, they’re one of Halifax’s best.
Start with: Their Craft Single release, then the Wanton cassette.

 

WEIRD CANADA’S DIRTY BEACHES FUNTIME JAM

Who: Dirty Beaches’ mastermind Alex Zhang Huntai, with members of Yellowteeth, Moon, and the Ketamines.
Where: The Pavilion again, the all-ages venue that’d prove to be one of HPX’s best.
Why: Zhang Hungtai would throw down an absolutely ferocious set later that evening—at Reflections Cabaret, where he pounded through the experimental fare on Drifters / Love is the Devil—but his improvisational set earlier in the day was the true standout. Screaming over song fragments, Zhang Hungtai was backed by a crack squad of locals (plus Ketamine drummer Jesse Locke, who played on Dirty Beaches’ Badlands tour), who created a shapeshifting, haunted set that lingered long after its last note.
Start with: Dirty Beaches’ Suicide-worshipping classic, Badlands.

 

THE MINT RECORDS SHOWCASE

Who: Renny Wilson, with Jay Arner, Ketamines and Tough Age.
Where: Gus’ Pub.
Why: While Tough Age, who’d just received their LPs from the press, Ketamines and Jay Arner performed admirably, the real revelation was Edmonton-based Renny Wilson, who took to the stage wearing nothing but his boxers. Unveiling the pastel-hued disco of Sugarglider, Wilson proceeded to use Gus’ stage for a one-man aerobics class—to the delight and dismay of onlookers.
Start with: Sugarglider, then move your way through the rest of Mint’s new releases.

 

MONOMYTH

Who: Monomyth, opening for doom-tinged indie band Crosss.
Where: Reflections Cabaret.
Why: Monomyth earned a significant reputation in 2013—they brought their riffy gazer act across the country last summer, earning plenty of fans (including Jay Arner) in the process. It’s not hard to see why: Live, the band’s less about pedal play, more about dominating classic rock riffage, with long-haired singer Josh Salter leading the way.
Start with: King, Does This Not Please You? Or anywhere, really.

 

THE PLAN’S REUNION

Who: The Plan, a short-lived but cult classic for fans of mathy hardcore.
Where: Reflections Cabaret, sharing a bill with two of their contemporaries—Metz and Solids.
Why: It’s been more than a decade since the Plan disbanded, and like their mathy brethren in North of America, their sound—and performances—hasn’t aged a day. The band ripped through Only These Movements Remain and This Time is Not a Place, with the crowd gripping onto every chorus. Even better: The band gave free copies of Movements to anyone who bought Solids merch, and Metz—the headliners—paid tribute to the band, with bassist Chris Slorach declaring that they were “one of the first bands I saw.” Aw.
Start with: Only These Movements Remain, if you can find a copy.

 

Photo: Tough Age, by Noah Adams

Tough Age vs. Monomyth: On Halifax

As with any city, the Halifax seen by locals is very different, but no less fascinanting, than the city experienced by locals. We took the Halifax Pop Explosion—which had fistfuls of tour-hardened outsiders and locals co-mingling, often in the lobby of the Hotel Atlantica—as an opportunity to get a glimpse of both sides. So, that’s exactly what we did.

On one end, we had Vancouverite Jarrett Samson—whose band, Tough Age, recently cut their self-titled LP on Mint, and are planning an EP for Mammoth Cave in the coming year—tell us about becoming “a local” to the city. On the other, Monomyth’s Josh Salter, who’s hoping to release LP of riff-laded shoegaze by next spring, gives us the insider info about his hometown.

BEST VENUE

Tough Age: The Pavilion. “The fact that there’s a converted changing room on the edge of a skate park that’s a long-standing all-ages venue is mind-blowing to me. I loved the vibe in there because of that. Also, someone had stuck a band-aid on the wall in the washroom and that was the best graffiti I saw all week.”

Monomyth: “Someone’s basement. But the Khyber has the best people/vibe.  It’d be amazing if that place got more support from the city.  The ballroom is a little iffy for loud shows but anything quiet sounds amazing.  Plan B is the only place that really does AA shows right now so that place is great too.”

BEST PLACE TO DRINK

Tough Age: “We literally grabbed growlers from the amazing Bridge Brewing Company and then drank them in our friend’s hotel room and on the street, and that was my favourite place to drink in Halifax. Along with the artist double decker bus where we shared some fireball [whisky] with members of Ketamines.”

Monomyth: “The Commons.”

BEST PLACE TO EAT

Tough Age: “Everyone I know makes fun of me because I love being a regular, even on vacation, so I ate a few times at Good Food Emporium…. absolutely delicious. We also went to Heartwood twice because of that whole delicious plus vegetarian combo again. Lastly, those burgers they serve in Gus’ Pub ruled. Best veggie burger I’ve had. Yep, ever.

Monomyth:“I work at the Heartwood so I eat there the most. It is the best place for vegetarians/people with dietary restrictions. I’d say the Westcliffe Diner on Bayers Road is my Shangri-La. Cheapest food in the city. Only place you can get a real cheeseburger, fries and a shake for $6.”

BEST HPX 2013 MOMENT

Tough Age:“The Moon/Dirty Beaches/Ketamines/Diana collab at the Weird Canada show at Pavilion… [it] left me speechless. After that, all the best things I saw were Halifax bands—Moon, Monomyth, Heaven for Real and Old & Weird were all incredible. Moon is my new favourite band, I couldn’t believe how great they were.”

Monomyth:“Killer Mike’s FUCK HOPE/DO DOPE shirt or hardcore kids stage-diving at the Marquee while Cody Cross played guitar on Fucked Up’s last song.”

BEST HALIFAX RECORD OF ALL TIME

Tough Age:“The Great Scots. One of the greatest canadian garage bands of the 1960s called Halifax home—I don’t know how someone writes a song as good as “Give Me Lovin.” I really don’t. But, my all-time definitive Halifax record would be their That’s My Girl (Rotten to the Core) / Lost in Conversation 7-inch.”

Monomyth: “Who knows?  I own a copy of Out of the Fog [a compilation of Halifax’s ‘80s underground] but that isn’t really my bag.  Long Long Long’s Shorts EP?  Airplane Tracks by the Burdocks was the one that really blew me away and made me start going to shows. Nigel [Chapman of Nap Eyes] and I were just arguing about who gets to cover ‘Pop Cult’ first.”

 

Photo: Braids at St. Matthew’s Church. By Amber Mahoney.

A quick and dirty venue guide to HPX

At the Halifax Pop Explosion, it seems like shows are happening everywhere—you’ll see band playing arenas and living rooms alike. But most of the shows happen in the city’s small- to mid-size venues, each with their own distinct charms. Here are seven of the essentials.

GUS’ PUB

Address: 2605 Agricola St.
Even if it’s located at the peak of ever-gentrifying Agricola Street, there’s no doubting it: Gus’ Pub is an out-and-out dive bar, right down to its glassed-in VLT room. (Save the Trailer Park Boys jokes, guys.) But while it’s a conduit to the North End’s seedier past, its musical selections are curated by Hamilton-Halifax funnyman B.A. Johnston, meaning it’s the unofficial home of emerging locals, mid-sized touring acts, and everything in between. Not that Gus’ dominance is uncontested: Michael’s, on Young Street, is poised to knock Gus’ off its divey perch.

THE MARQUEE / HELL’S KITCHEN

Address: 2037 Gottingen St.
Perched on Gottingen Street, historically the city’s Village district, the Marquee Room is one of Halifax’s most storied venues. The venue’s seen numerous shutdowns and rebranding efforts—it was called the Paragon in its clubbier era—but the Marquee’s scrap-metal deco and soaring stage have persisted. Its current iteration also features Hell’s Kitchen, a basement grotto that typically hosts all things loud and heavy. For quieter terrains, head to The Company House or the Bus Stop Theatre, both mere blocks away.

REFLECTIONS CABARET

Address: 5184 Sackville St
Ignore its crusty, dank exterior and beaten-up pool tables. Reflections may lack in polish, but the lineup outside this South End institution doesn’t lie: It’s one of Halifax’s most beloved dance clubs, a fact reinforced by The Coast’s yearly polls. The one-time sometimes usually gay bar also doubles as a wonderful venue, and it’s likely the place the Electric Six were envisioning when they sang “Gay Bar”—it’s grungy, the sound isn’t perfect, but there’s guaranteed explosions whenever someone takes the stage.

THE KHYBER CENTRE FOR THE ARTS

Address: 1588 Barrington St.
At the busy intersection of Barrington and Spring Garden stands the Khyber, a three-storey Gothic building that, some argue, is the historic nerve centre of Halifax’s arts scene. It’s a community hub, to be certain, but it’s also a multi-purpose venue: It hosted Halifax’s popular Rebel Girls Rock Camp, doubles as a gallery space, and yes, it’s one of the most memorable concert spaces in town. The space is forever memorialized in Joel Plaskett’s Down At the Khyber—he met his wife there—but it also produces the Khyber Comp, which provide must-listen introductions to Halifax’s underground music scene.

THE PAVILION

Address: 5816 Cogswell St
At the Pavilion, you can buy cans of Coke from dudes rocking plugs, Nike Dunks and straight-edge tees, which can only mean one thing: It’s an all-ages venue. We’re only half-joking, as the Pavilion—nestled in the Halifax Common beside the skatepark—is one of Halifax’s best venues, boasting an wide-open space and a low stage. Perfect for stagedives, natch. In its 15 year history, the venue’s hosted everyone from Death From Above to Fucked Up (Ben Cook legendarily did his first tab of acid closeby), and its musical inclusivity makes it one of Canada’s templates for all-ages clubs.

THE SEAHORSE TAVERN

Address: 1665 Argyle St, Halifax
Steps from Halifax’s famed Pizza Corner—where drunk college kids go to fight after last call—is Argyle Street’s Seahorse Tavern, one of the most picturesque bars in the city. Like its upstairs neighbor, the Economy Shoe Shop, the Seahorse is draped in faux foliage, and its stage is surrounded by vines, brick arches, an aquarium, and an antique piano. For that reason alone, its vibe in inimitable, but it’s best enjoyed with a pint of Horsepower, the tav’s signature brew.

ST. MATTHEW’S UNITED CHURCH

Address: 1479 Barrington St.
Concerts happen infrequently at St. Matthew’s, so if you get a chance to see one—like when Braids played there at 2013’s edition of HPX—don’t sleep. The pews are tad uncomfortable, but the soaring wood-panelled ceilings, rich acoustics, and stained-glass everything make it worth it. (Not to mention the novelty of being in an ancient church—John K. Samson placed lyrics in St. Matthew’s Bibles when he last played there.) In a word: Gorgeous.