New Music Revue: Iggy Pop gets half-great with Free

Iggy Pop Free (Loma Vista) 2.5/5  Not only is Iggy Pop alive, but somehow at 72 he’s still making great music. For half a century he’s been the poster boy for punk rock, and he’s still going: on September 6, Pop released his 18th solo album, Free. Naturally, expectations are high for the follow-up to […]

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New Music Revue: Toxic Holocaust deliver dystopian imagery over raging crossover

Toxic Holocaust Primal Future: 2019 (Entertainment One) 4.5/5  After six years of waiting, thrash fans will be satisfied by the seventh studio album from Portland’s Toxic Holocaust (the brainchild of Portland’s Joel Grind), Primal Future: 2019. Looking at the title of the album, we expect to see a dark, dystopian world. Primal Future: 2019 begins […]

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What’s Going On: September 11 to 24, 2019

Until Friday, September 20 A sketch of the synagogues Ben Levinson is sharing his architectural sketches of synagogues of the western world with the western world in his new exhibit, Synagogue Sketches of the Western World. This free exhibit is open to the public, and if you love beautiful art and vivid culture—and synagogues, sketches of synagogues, […]

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New Music Revue: Eamon McGrath delivers emotion and variety on new album

Eamon McGrath Guts (Saved by Vinyl) 3.5/5  Well-travelled Canadian singer-songwriter Eamon McGrath explores toxic masculinity from a heterosexual man’s point of view on his new concept album Guts, which follows up his 2018 triumph, Tantramar. Guts’ dark lyrical imagery is spread across a diverse musical landscape. The album showcases McGrath’s versatility as it transitions seamlessly […]

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Vancouver psych-rockers Black Mountain talk success and balance

Any performer can appreciate that distinct feeling that comes with the responsibility of holding a crowd’s attention. As a stand-up comedian, I can value that feeling of nervousness or excitement that fills you when everybody’s eyes are on you, waiting in anticipation. Black Mountain keyboardist Jeremy Schmidt has found his band playing in front of […]

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Cancer Bats take matters into their own hands

When Toronto hardcore punk band Cancer Bats released their sixth full-length album, The Spark that Moves, last year, it felt like a salute to their diverse repertoire: 2008’s Hail Destroyer, 2010’s Bars, Mayors, Scraps & Bones, and 2012’s Dead Set on Living, to name just a few of their full-lengths. Vocalist Liam Cormier says that […]

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Male burlesque show explores politics, gender identity, and Canadian culture

It’s been nine years since all-male, Toronto-based burlesque troupe BoylesqueTO formed, and in that time a lot has changed as far as gender identity and politics in Canada go, says performer James and the Giant Pasty. And, he says, these are exactly the topics the show doesn’t shy away from exploring. “We just wanted to […]

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New Music Revue: Creeping Death deliver extremely promising debut

Creeping DeathWretched Illusion(Entertainment One)4.5/5  Texas-based death metal band Creeping Death just released their debut full-length album, Wretched Illusions, after four years of releasing demos, EPs, and singles. “Heavy,” “headbanging,” and “brutal” are words to describe this album and this band. The title track starts off the album on a really brutal tone. As the listener […]

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What’s Going On: August 28 to September 10, 2019

Until Tuesday, September 11Attention foodies!I admit that our sweet, small city hasn’t got the best reputation as a place for fine food, but the situation is improving all the time, and what a way to find out: A Taste of Victoria: Food Tours is a two-hour tour that hits up various eateries around town. It […]

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New Music Revue: Bananagun offer up something completely unique on 7″

BananagunDo Yeah(Full Time Hobby)3.5/5  Bananagun, a five piece psych rock band out of Melbourne, Australia, are ready to share their music with the rest of the world. Do Yeah, the band’s first 7” single, is set for worldwide release on September 6. With hints of Donovan and Velvet Underground scattered throughout these three songs, Bananagun’s […]

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