You’ll Have a Gael, Old Time
Let’s take a moment to reflect on some of the positive aspects of Queen’s Homecoming. The men and women in law enforcement, as well as University and community volunteers did a fine job ensuring that the illegal Aberdeen street party was as safe as humanly possible. There were no burning cars, a significantly reduced amount of broken beer bottles on the ground, and 105 arrests for public intoxication, and open alcohol in a public place. Aberdeen swelled with well over 6,000 people, while side streets, the Hub, and downtown were as busy as they’ve ever been. Ultimately, Queen’s Homecoming translates into a pretty sizable cash injection for the local business community, but then there’s the involuntary loss assumed by the rest of the us. Read more
Men in Blue
Naysayers had many reasons to criticize the KRC this summer, as it was either sitting vacant, or home to a lame BMX, Monster Truck or Circus-style affair. This past week was probably the busiest the KRock has been since it’s grand opened last winter with back to back action featuring the Tragically Hip and Frontenacs hockey. On Tuesday Cheryl Crow came to town, followed by the Blue Man Group on Wednesday, and the Fronts home opener on Friday. Although I wasn’t fortunate to attend any of these events, I can attest to seeing the caravans of buses, and transport trucks, as well as parking that spanned a 10 block radius around the revered/loathed LVEC. With sincere thanks to Master and Commander Brunner, and Tiffany Kemp, we were able to assemble a few pics from the Blue Man performance, found in our newest Flickr set. If you want to contribute what you’ve got from this show, the Crow concert, or some future event, please contact us. We can’t be everywhere all the time!
Your Kid’s Not That Cute
I am soooo tired of hearing about homecoming at Queen’s. I’m not even in Kingston right now and yet it’s still a topic of conversation everywhere I go. The Globe and Mail had a story on Queen’s Homecoming just two days ago (complete with a map showing out-of-towners where exactly to go to find the party). It is time to lay the smack down. Seriously. I’ve had it. Read more
You’re the Next Contest-ant
Last June, we gave away a pair of tickets for the Confederation Trolley Tour as a part of our regular comment contests. We’d been holding these contests for a few months to reward readers with prizes including gift certificates to locally owned businesses and restaurants. These competitions were a quick and easy way for us to encourage audience participation, and in my biased opinion, we were quite successful. The Kingstonist team never had to moderate a comment that wasn’t relevant to a given topic of discussion, nor were we inundated with massive amounts of comments from any one person. But a strange thing happened when we put the breaks on our contests over the summer. Your comments kept flowing in just as much, if not more than the days when we offered locally flavoured incentives. Just what does this mean for the future of contests at Kingstonist? Read more
Sunday Market
Check out the photos from my adventure to the Public Market yesterday on the Kingstonist’s Flickr. It was a great way to spend the last day of Summer and officially welcome the Fall. Usually the market runs until Thanksgiving, but if the weather permits, you’ll be able to enjoy fresh produce and all things vintage in Market Square until October 31st. Don’t miss out!
Jazz Festival
I was out and about last night and stumbled across this mini ad for the 2008 Jazz Festival , taking place from the 3rd until the 5th of October in the Baby Grand Theatre. Tickets are $25 a pop at the Grand Theatre Box Office, or at the door. The line up looks pretty good.
Friday, Oct 3rd at 8pm - Kellylee Evans : Kellylee Evans (vocals), Kevin Barrett (acoustic guitar), Dave Thompson (acoustic guitar), Matthew Lima (electric bass, electric upright), and Adam Bowman (drums)
Saturday, Oct 4th at 8pm - Brandi Disterheft Quintet : Brandi Disterheft (acoustic bass), Chris Gale (tenor sax), Stacie McGregor (rhodes), Sly Juhas (drums), and Kinga (vocals).
Sunday, Oct 5th at 2pm - Marianne Trudel Dou : Marianne Trudel (piano), and Jonathan "Bunny" Stewart (tenor sax).
Oct 4th and 5th at 10pm (After hours at the Aroma Resto Wine Bar, no cover) - Vanessa Rodrigues (hammond b-3)
Going Home
The renovations at The Grand Theatre have been done for some time now and a few shows have gone on since it’s reopening. Beauty and the Beast marked the official reopening back in May. I was fortunate enough to be playing in the pit orchestra that night so I witnessed a huge celebration with speakers including the mayor, the architect behind the design and a Sir John A. MacDonald impersonator (really). It was a big deal. Another big deal is happening this weekend. The Kingston Symphony is playing its first concert of the season and its first concert back in The Grand in three years tomorrow night. This is a big deal because the theatre has been home to the KSA for decades. Read more
There’s a Hole
How long has it been, one year or two? I honestly can’t remember, but it’s been a long time since I last saw construction equipment around the massive hole on the corner of Bagot and Queen. At last check this project was a $10 million, apartment building that was being developed by the local property holdings group known as Kincore . Kincore seems to know what they’re doing, as they’re behind some really amazing restoration projects including: the The British Whig building, Brock Street Common (Chien Noir, Atomica), and Gourdier Lofts. But when it comes to that massive hole, I can’t help but wonder what’s taking so long? Read more
Shad
Late night concerts during the work week are not fun, especially when you have to get up at an ungodly hour the next day for a United Way breakfast. I hummed and hawed about whether or not I should go see one of my favorite new Canadian hip hop artists last night, and in the end, I found myself in the crowd at AJ’s Alehouse listening to Shad . Thankfully the promising Polaris award short lister did not disappoint, although I personally found his set list rather short with no real plan for an encore. Next time, I want to hear more of the Old Prince! The best surprise of the evening was Hey Ocean , the Toyota-sponsored opening act who nearly stole the show with their amazing west coast flavour. I thoroughly enjoyed it when Shad K sang a few tunes and played his guitar with these multi-talented folks. Check out the pics in our latest Flickr set, and videos on our YouTube channel.
Taxi Strike
During the summer months I am without an automobile, and thus my ability to go to the Mall, RioCan and beyond is somewhat hindered. Having to rely on buses is usually not an option when I’m trying to keep a schedule and do things as efficiently as possible, so I try to carpool with friends. Snagging a ride with them and getting my errands done in the process works for the most part, but there are often times when I can’t hitch a friendly ride, or take the bus, such as early morning departures to the train station, or last minute emergencies on the other side of the city. In cases such as this, I rely on just in time transportation, also known as the taxi. However, trouble is brewing that may see local cab services indeterminately shelved in the near future. Read more
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