Articles By Alan Ranta
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Reviews
Rich Aucoin / Tourist Company Lucky Bar, Victoria BC, November 02 Published Nov 03, 2019Halifax native Rich Aucoin is very well liked in Canada. His first two albums, 2011's We're All Dying to Live and 2014's Ephemeral, both mad...
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Reviews
Sloan Distrikt Nightclub, Victoria BC, October 29 Published Oct 30, 2019Navy Blues is a rather divisive album for fans of Sloan, the longtime Canadian rock institution. For those from their native Halifax, it was...
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Reviews
Bison / Black Thunder Upstairs Cabaret, Victoria BC, October 19 Published Oct 20, 2019It's been slow going for Vancouver's Bison (aka Bison B.C.) since they were unceremoniously (and unjustifiably) dropped from Metal Blade aft...
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Reviews
Black Mountain / Majeure Distrikt Nightclub, Victoria BC, September 15 Published Sep 16, 2019Black Mountain went through the ringer in order to deliver their fifth album, Destroyer. Drummer Joshua Wells and singer Amber Webber, toget...
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Reviews
Stereolab Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night (Expanded and Remastered) Published Sep 12, 2019It's a good thing that Twitter wasn't around 20 years ago. If the internet was what it is now back in 1999, when Stereolab released their si...
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Features
Sandro Perri Chills Out for 'Soft Landing' LP Published Sep 06, 2019Singer, songwriter, agreeable producer and casual gardener Sandro Perri's new album is very much an effort made in and of the great city of...
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Reviews
Sandro Perri Soft Landing Published Sep 05, 2019We live in intensely strange times, like society is being run through a blender. The whole political spectrum is in flux, pop culture is a b...
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Reviews
"Weird Al" Yankovic Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena, Victoria BC, August 21 Published Aug 22, 2019This review starts back in March of 1995, when a father drove his 14-year-old boy from Kamloops to the Vogue Theatre in Vancouver to experie...
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Reviews
Dirty Projectors Phillips Backyard Weekender, Victoria BC, July 28 Published Jul 29, 2019Brooklyn's Dirty Projectors came out looking like they were going to the Catskills for the summer, with bandleader David Longstreth dressed...
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Reviews
Yamantaka // Sonic Titan Phillips Backyard Weekender, Victoria BC, July 28 Published Jul 29, 2019The last time I saw Yamantaka // Sonic Titan perform was under very different circumstances. It was at the Vancouver Jazz Fest in 2014, whil...
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Reviews
The Mariachi Ghost Phillips Backyard Weekender, Victoria BC, July 28 Published Jul 29, 2019If there was any doubt, the Mariachi Ghost prove that Canada's (comparatively) welcoming immigration policy is one of our country's greatest...
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Reviews
Danny Brown Phillips Backyard Weekender, Victoria BC, July 27 Published Jul 28, 2019Danny Brown's set started weird, ended weird, and I'm not entirely sure what happened in between. Everything seemed normal enough for a...
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Reviews
Haviah Mighty Phillips Backyard Weekender, Victoria BC, July 27 Published Jul 28, 2019Fresh off scoring a Polaris Music Prize short list nomination for her debut, 13th Floor, rapper Haviah Mighty immediately showed why she ear...
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Reviews
k-os Phillips Backyard Weekender, Victoria BC, July 27 Published Jul 28, 2019Back in 2002, seeing the video for "Heaven Only Knows" from k-os's debut album, Exit, was a revelation. His first two albums ended up being...
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Reviews
Z-Trip Phillips Backyard Weekender, Victoria BC, July 26 Published Jul 27, 2019I've been to Shambhala six times, so I've heard of Z-Trip (which he joked was pronounced "Zed-Trip" in Canada). Hell, I've probably seen him...
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Reviews
Steel Pulse Phillips Backyard Weekender, Victoria BC, July 26 Published Jul 27, 2019The entity known as Steel Pulse is a hodgepodge of members assembled from several generations of lineups, only a couple of whom were around...
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Reviews
Random Recipe Phillips Backyard Weekender, Victoria BC, July 26 Published Jul 27, 2019The 2019 instalment of Phillips Brewing's Wonka-like Backyard Weekender marked the first time on the West coast for Random Recipe, a genre-b...
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Reviews
REZZ Beyond the Senses Published Jul 23, 2019Born as Isabelle Rezazadeh and lovingly referred to as Space Mom by her fans, REZZ is seemingly content to continue teasing us with EPs. As...
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Reviews
Makaya McCraven TD Victoria International Jazz Fest, Victoria BC, June 27 Published Jun 28, 2019Born in Paris, raised in Massachusetts, polished in Chicago, Makaya McCraven is one of the greatest living jazz drummers. His albums transce...
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Reviews
Beverly Glenn-Copeland / Elan Noon Upstairs Cabaret, Victoria BC, June 23 Published Jun 24, 2019Going to see Beverly Glenn-Copeland should be a Pride Month tradition for the whole of Canada. Not only is his music uplifting and joyous, h...