so for awhile we had a really nice thing going. that thing of course, was SAD RAD. a couple years ago I wrote a recap for 2011 & mentioned that one of my future dreams was for a diverse group of punks to run a co-op venue on the peninsula. well shit, it happened & it was a dream come true... for a time. eventually the bloodsucking motherfuckers killed it.
when sad rad was evicted the punk scene went in three directions; back to gus', down to plan b, & then a wounded group of us took what was left of the sad rad skeleton & bought a boat battery.
the best show of the summer happened deep in the woods, far from greed & those who would use our passion to sedate & rob us. we followed glow sticks into the night & found forgotten bunkers buried on the hillside of the halifax harbour. ridiculous, amazing... the type of evening where you confirm to yourself despite the doubt that "no, halifax punks
are better".
since then it's been parking lots, the commons washroom, the skatepark, point pleasant, george dixon park & hopefully more once we shovel out from this snowstorm.
 |
| 4-lom @ the bunker |
& then there is plan b. the sometimes absurd, eclectic & eccentric merchants co-op on gottingen that I always feel lost in no matter how many times I do the pre-show tour. this place really became valuable to us, & hopefully it will continue opening up for shows.
my favourite set of the entire year happened at plan b, at a show that wasn't particularly well attended or memorable in any other way.
AHNA! @ plan b, june 14th with versifist (who also totally slayed), weed thief, sleight.
by far my favourite band I saw all year was this three piece from the west coast. I'd seen ahna before, but it never felt like this. here's a old blog post that I wrote after seeing them.
"
the other night I went out to a show by myself & saw AHNA from vancouver. they killed whatever jaded feelings I had lately & made me feel completely excited at all the possibilities of harshness, heaviness & chaos capable in punk.
these folks were a three piece; two bass players & a drummer & were so goddamn unreal. they have this bizarre, unique feel to them. it’s like devastatingly sludgey, but there’s blasting snare hits too. imagine an undead marching band of terrifying size coming slowly towards you, shaking spasms & moving limbs & bones in directions that are not natural. heads spinning all the way around…
glass frames fell from the walls & shattered.
I think halifax needs more bands like AHNA. tired of genre purists & emulation. make evil fucking hell noise from inside you. combine all the madness you feel & vomit it out in blood & glass on the floor for fuckers to see.
they were also at the end of their tour & still hella sincere & nice. you could tell they just really liked being in a band. thanks ahna for reminding me you don’t have to be a darshy self obsessed punk rockstar to play crushing shit. ”
some other highlights for me from this extremely up & down year...
1.
ABJECT PAX @ HARBOUR WATER FEST IV
probably the most I danced all fucking year. my favourite set of the fest. how many mic stands did adam break again? totally siiiiiiiiick.
2.
4-LOM
my favourite band in the city, but only because vixens broke up. seriously though, the
ckdu demo is never far from my tape deck.
3.
SAD RAD
the space, but mostly the family that came from it & the resources & effort we share.
personal highlights... my dog, primary stress, & becoming a veterinary assistant.
please send in your year end recaps & reviews! include photos & text & any links to DIYHALIFAXatGMAILdotCOM
-r.
and then there was sad rad. we holed up in the top of a radiator
shop, screaming and dancing and creating, keeping warm by packing the
room. it was in that space that i got to be in my first punk band. i had
always wanted to, but i guess didn't really know how to start or join a
band. when the idea of a "band lottery" was floated at a meeting, i
disguised my self-interest of thinking that this might finally be my in!
the general idea was to get more bands to form and use the space to jam
and then have a fundraiser. people would submit their names on pieces
of paper and then the names would be randomly drawn and people would be
paired with each other to form new and random bands. i thought "if i put
my name in, then people will have to be in a band with me!
whahahaha." well, they didn't really have to, but i'm really glad that
they did. my bandmates were really wonderful and patient and supportive
people (i really lucked out) and we played some covers and wrote some of
our own songs, then played an awesome show at sadrad on the last day
before our eviction from the space. we had a lot of fun and liked each
other enough to decide to keep playing and become a "real band"
afterwards (we are called half-read and will have a demo tape out soon!). 
