Fish Out of Water in Halifax - by Christine Montgomery - Before I came to Halifax, I thought writing an article about the music scene here would be easy; for a city half the size of Hamilton, how many great bands could there actually be? But now that I've been here almost a month, I've realized that trying to encompass all that's going on here musically would be an arduous task. The music scene here is as alive and multifaceted as Montreal or even Toronto. My first night in Halifax was, for the most part, spent lost on a bus trying to a friend's house in the North end of the city. Clutching my battered suitcase with a dear-in-headlights expression on my face, I was the definition of a lost tourist. Though it wasn't long after I got on the bus that I became acquainted with the infamous good nature of East Costers, and half the bus was giving me advice or directions. A 20-something sporting a Dalhousie sweatshirt offered to walk me to my friend's house, and dragging my suitcase on his long board, he told me all I needed to know about the area I'd be staying in. I was thrilled to hear that the North end, an area with a bad reputation but a colourful soul (think Parkdale in Toronto) was a hub of creativity filled with artists, freaks, and the best places to hear new music in Halifax. Three weeks later and I'm at my friend's place safe and sound. I'm in the dining room with my laptop trying to write up the scene here. In the connecting room, the couch I've been crashing on is littered with effects pedals, guitar cases, and three guys are banging on old gas cans and tambourines practicing for their first gig in a few days. They're playing at Gus', a dimly lit neighbourhood bar in the North end that also happens to host some of the greatest new indie bands from all across Canada. Gus' is the undisputed best place to hear new music here in Halifax, and for what's usually no more than a $5 cover. I'm lucky enough to be only a two block walk from the place. That's what's great about living in the North end, amongst the wood-panelled houses and antiques stores there are a bundle of great venues, bands rehearsing in their living rooms, and lampposts littered with flyers for upcoming shows. I'm lucky enough to have journeyed out East around the time the Halifax Pop Explosion. I was stoked to hear that Eric's Trip, whose concert I missed in Toronto a few weeks back, were headlining the festival after having played the first ever Pop Explosion 15 years ago and taken a ten year hiatus from playing together. After ten years, Eric's Trip were tighter then ever. For a week the city you can walk across in a half hour was overrun by music. Ask any Haligonian and they'll assure you the Halifax Pop Explosion is just as colossal a festival as Pop Montreal. Local favourites like Brent Randall and His Pinecones played to sold out crowds. The Superfantastics rocked, as did one of my Toronto favourites, the Bicycles. Of the greatest highlights of Pop Explosion for me was seeing the Zoobombs, a Japanese punk band who had a line run literally around the block to get into the small venue they were booked in. The Zoobombs perfectly balanced a psychedelic edge with 12 years experience under their belts, never hesitant to proclaim their appreciation to the sold out crowd. Fuck Montreal are a pretty stellar band based here in Halifax, and you've got to give them props for making an overt statement out of what most East Coast musicians are just too polite to say. It's not that there's a substantial amount of animosity towards Canada's big cities in the East, but a more subtle view amongst residents that everything you could possibly ask for is already here in Halifax. Far too often do the Maritimes get pigeonholed into a sort of ocean-folk sound that's come to represent the East nationwide, and it's hard to write an article about Halifax without mentioning Joel Plaskett, Jill Barber or Jenn Grant. But to be honest, I'd feel like a total sell-out if I quibbled a reader with a superficial analysis of Plaskett's "fashionable people." If you dig the high seas homely vibe these musicians embody that's great, but what really defines music here in Halifax is its abundance and assortment. Venues, bands, sounds — there's no shortage here in Halifax. If you want to hear the blues there's always Bearly's, which hosts live bands almost every night, or head to the Seahorse for their weekly funk dance parties. Halifax's favourite acid-jazz collective Gypsophilia holds masquerades where audience members come in outlandish garb and fill out larger venues like the Marquee, and more intimate venues anchor acts like Old Man Luedecke, whose audience sits quiet and cross-legged listening to his banjo and storytelling. Halifax is a small town with the modest charm livelihood a city dweller such as myself craves. The town is burgeoning with talent and its residents are profoundly supportive. Like my home town of Toronto, I'm finding what's really great here is that whatever you're into, it's out there for you to see. One of the greatest shows I've gone to since I've been here came up just by walking down to Gus' on a Thursday night and listening to an understated set by Omon Ra, a dissonant folk band who just released their debut EP. But hey, that's just me. I can't tell you the coolest scene or the next big thing coming out of Halifax, but I can say with assurance that if you come check it out, you'll surely find something you dig.