Well hello, everyone. Today’s the first day of Halifax Pop Explosion, and it’s literally going to kick off in a few hours, so I’m gonna try and make this preview quick. No worries though, you still have time to plan, cause this is the day four preview.
There are a lot of hidden gems on Friday of the festival. When I first looked at the list for the line-up, I didn’t see much that caught my eye, but looking in a little further, there’s quite a bit of shows worth checking out.
FIXTURE RECORDS PRESENTS: SHEER AGONY, FREELOVE FENNER AND BRAVE RADAR
Friday, October 24 – 2:00pm Gus’ Pub
My first recommendation is to go check out the free afternoon show at Gus’ Pub. If you’re a fan of classic punk rock, kinda like The Strokes, or The Clash, you’d really be interested in checking out the band Sheer Agony. They kinda have the right beats and melody to get you on the dance floor, and they seem to be a lot of fun. Freelove Fenner is a psychedelic pop band from Montreal, and so is Brave Radar, who are also from the same city. Actually you know what, all of these bands are from Montreal, and this is easily one of the most overlooked/underrated shows of the festival. There’s no other bands playing at this same time slot, so I totally urge you to go out and see this show. Ask your boss to get off early, cause this show is FREE!
Sheer Agony, bandcamp, click here.
Freelove Fenner, bandcamp, click here.
Brave Radar, bandcamp, click here.
HPX PRESENTS: ZEDS DEAD, AIN’T NO LOVE, PINEO/LOEB AND LTTRS & NMBRS
Friday, October 24 – 7:00pm Multi-Purpose Centre
Zeds Dead is the hot ticket item of the festival, the place is gonna get packed up at Multi-Purpose Centre to see Toronto’s electronic / dubstep / hiphop / dance / pop music duo. Yeah, they cover a massive amount of different genres. But they also have a massive following. My suggestion is to get to this show early.
Zeds Dead, soundcloud, click here.
Speaking of hidden gems, there’s this band called Ain’t No Love. They’re an Electro/hiphop group from Toronto, pretty bad ass sound. I just wanna go see them live, I think they’ll be entertaining, melodic and soulful at the same time. I just get a lot of good vibes coming from their camp.
Ain’t No Love, bandcamp, click here.
LIXAR PRESENTS: KEVIN DREW, PANOS, HARLEY ALEXANDER AND TECHNICAL KIDMAN
Friday, October 24 – 9:30pm The Marquee Ballroom
Kevin Drew, this is pretty obvious that I’d go see him, being a fan of his solo work, and a big fan of Broken Social Scene. I’ve been spinning his new album lately, Darlings. It’s a really good continuation of his previous work with Broken Social Scene, very upbeat & catchy.
Kevin Drew, his website, click here.
POP MONTREAL AND PASSOVAH PRESENT: PS I LOVE YOU, CROSSS, SHEER AGONY AND KURVI TASCH
Friday, October 24 – 10:00pm Gus’ Pub
PS I Love You, I f**king love their new album! Songs like “Friends Forever”, “For Those Who Stay”, “Limestone Radio”, simply amazing!, off of For Those Who Stay. They’ve been also tearing up CBC radio, getting a lot of airplay. That’s alright with me! The duo of the band have two shows playing, so if you are not awake enough to see them play at 1:00, they are also playing the following night at Olympic Community Hall.
PS I Love You, bandcamp, click here.
If you haven’t already gotten your tickets or passes for Halifax Pop Explosion, now is the time to do it. Check out their website by clicking here for schedule and ticket/pass information. You’ll see me, Trev, and Jeff all over the place, as the HAFILAX team cover the festival tonight.
