Latest Buck 65 album a product of troubled marriageRichard Terfry, better known by stage name Buck 65, didn’t take the release of his new album lightly. Terfry’s latest, NeverLove, is a very personal account of his recent divorce. Terfry is one of the most innovative figures in the Canadian music scene and Buck 65 is a one-man band with a reputation of having […] Continue Reading |
New Music Revue: New solo disc not Thurston Moore’s best workThurston Moore The Best Day (Matador) 2/5 Thurston Moore, best known for being the guitarist of the now-defunct New York alternative rock band Sonic Youth, has been releasing solo records since 1995. His latest release, The Best Day, falls flat on finding just exactly what it wants to be. A majority of the songs on […] Continue Reading |
New Music Revue: Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga covers album disappointsTony Bennett and Lady Gaga Cheek to Cheek (Streamline/Interscope/Columbia) 2.5/5 This collaboration may come as a surprise, but as soon as you listen to the first song, it makes sense. Bennett and Gaga’s voices sound very serendipitous together; in combination, their voices remind me of an old Judy Garland and Fred Astaire duo. But here […] Continue Reading |
Jesse Roper stays true to Metchosin rootsVictoria’s Jesse Roper strutted barefoot on stages all over Vancouver Island this summer playing his eclectic music. And although playing live as The Roper Show is what he loves to do, Roper says it’s very difficult to get recognized without traditional radio airplay. “Mainstream radio is, from what I can tell, the best way to […] Continue Reading |
America’s creepiest bunch, the Addams family, hits the stage in VictoriaWhat can a musical about America’s spookiest family teach us about our own families? A lot, says Pat Rundell, director of a new stage production of The Addams Family: A New Musical Comedy. The world first met the Addams family in The New Yorker magazine in 1938. Charles Addams’ single-panel cartoons depicted a nameless, gothic […] Continue Reading |
Comedian Roman Danylo finds his way back to the stageAlberta-born comedian and actor Roman Danylo has done a lot: standup comedy, theatre, film, his own TV show… But what is Danylo’s niche? What does he like besides water sports, raisins, and some humans? The answer: performing live. After being in front of the camera with enormous pressure placed on him to not waste anyone’s […] Continue Reading |
The Smalls pleasantly surprised at reaction to reunion tourComing face to face with a fan of The Smalls can be a rather intense prospect. The Edmonton punk/metal/rock hybrid band, who tore across Canada with their legendary live show in the ’90s, recently kicked the tires for the first time in 13 years and decided to reform for a Canadian tour. So just imagine […] Continue Reading |
The Slackers bring their ska sounds back to VictoriaUpstairs Cabaret in Victoria was a sweaty mess recently, when the rude and reckless crowd got down to the beat of The Slackers. It was one hell of a night, to put it mildly. The ever-charming Jamaican rock ‘n’ rollers of Manhattan, New York made a stop in Victoria as part of their West Coast […] Continue Reading |
New Music Revue: Exit Verse’s debut proves life after Karate is possibleExit Verse Exit Verse (Ernest Jenning Record Co.) 4/5 Geoff Farina is truly one of the great musical minds of our time. He’s one of a kind: his work in indie-emo pioneers Karate flirted with jazz way before anyone else did… well, no one else ever really did. His solo material, his work with Secret […] Continue Reading |
Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra charm hometown crowdVictoria’s Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra recently played Upstairs Cabaret here in their hometown of Victoria with locals Compassion Gorilla and Carousels opening up. There was a strong sense of community and no shortage of dancing at the show. Carousels, a young, eight-piece orchestral band, kicked off the night with a set of carnival-esque show tunes. Instrumentally, […] Continue Reading |
