I’m pretty hyped over Day Two of Halifax Pop Explosion. It’s one thing to out-do all of the line-ups with a set of awesome bands in one night. And it’s another to cater to a music fan like myself, who is pretty much dropping his jaw to the floor right now, at this amazing line-up of bands, this night of the festival. Let’s see now… Tokyo Police Club is playing, Lights is playing, Kestrels is playing, Glory Glory is playing, Rush Midnight is playing, you get the idea.
CKDU PRESENTS: KESTRELS AND SOFT SPOT
Wednesday, October 22 – 5:30pm CKDU Lobby
Kestrels will be playing at the CKDU Lobby, which is a pretty small spot, but they will surely rock the place. They’re from Halifax; Jeff thinks they sound like The Doughboys, or Sandbox of the 90’s rock scene. I agree with him. I saw them play at Halifax Pop Explosion a couple years ago, they’re fucking awesome. The singer/guitarist likes to lose his shit on stage, the bass player hangs tight, and the drummer has a slight resemblance to spaced out alien-Homer from the Simpsons, (inside joke). More tunage here.
SONIC CONCERTS PRESENTS: LIGHTS, RUSH MIDNIGHT AND SONREAL
Wednesday, October 22 – 7:00pm Multi-Purpose Centre
So yeah, after you’re done at the CKDU Lobby, head over to newly renovated Multi-Purpose at the Halifax Forum to check out electro-pop artist, Rush Midnight. Russell Manning, former Twin Shadow bass player and smooth-music provocateur really brings this sensual and groovy vibe to the genre. If he brought his style to a soccer baseball game, this is how the video would look, see above. Let’s hope the pitcher, the one in the high heels, doesn’t have to run the bases after they are up to bat. More music can be found here. Including a sweet cover from Lykke Li.
Lights, I think I am gonna give them a second chance. I wasn’t overly impressed by their sound when they opened for Tegan & Sara last year at the Halifax Metro Centre. But promoter Sonic Concerts wants to bring them back, and after hearing some of their newest material off of Little Machines, I don’t blame them. Lights’ new sound is upbeat & fresh, introducing some catchier beats into the indie-pop genre. And you might agree that the new video (the one above) is quite visually appealing. More songs from the band here.
MOLSON CANADIAN LIVE PRESENTS: TOKYO POLICE CLUB, GLORY GLORY, COYOTE AND TAKE PART
Wednesday, October 22 – 8:00pm Olympic Community Hall
I love chillwave music; if there’s a band out there that can do the genre justice, I’ll jump onto the bandwagon. But there’s not a whole lot of artists/bands out there that can do it quite right. So when I heard of Glory Glory back in April, I was like “holy fuck, these guys are awesome!” And then when I heard they were also from Halifax, I was like “no fucking way!” Their So Long – Single has been getting quite the rotation on my music player over the past year. See what all the fuss is about over here.
Tokyo Police Club, this band is a no-brainer to go see at Halifax Pop Explosion. They’ve been around since 2005, and they are the go-to band for most people listening to indie-rock. They’re making their return after playing HPX in 2010. They need no introduction ‘cept for this awesome video-gamesque music video, that promotes their last release, Forcefield. If you don’t know already, check out their music here.
That’s it for Day Two of Halifax Pop Explosion. What exciting bands are up next for Day Three? I don’t even know. But I’ll sure go to their website to find out, and you should too by clicking over here.
