The Year Pop Exploded
Olivia McDonald // October 28, 2011
Did you Hop on Pop?
Now, I’m not talkin’ about no Dr. Seuss nursery rhyme, here. The 19th annual Halifax Pop Explosion (HPX) exploded this past Saturday, October 22, with bands playing their hearts out, breaking guitar strings, crashing cymbals, and reaching octaves high enough to leave your ears ringing for hours. Didn’t get a chance to check it out? I have nothing to say to you… (just kidding – but seriously, FOR SHAME!) For all of the music connoisseurs out there, this five-day music festival is an event that is long-awaited all year. The thrill that is bass thumping, music blasting, sweat-dripping, voice losing HPX is almost better than Christmas! Because of the Pop Explosion I’ve perfected the following: time management (to maximize the amount of bands I get to see), finding the perfect parking spot in between all the bands/venues you want to see, organization (organizing my free time and school work enables me to see all my favourite artists), foot massages (for after standing on your feet jumping for hours on end…), and lastly, how-to-function-with-only-a-few-hours-of-sleep-for-five-days-of-non-stop-music-greatness.
This year’s Pop Explosion was its biggest yet! With just under 200 bands from all over and 16 venues, HPX 2011 left no part of Halifax untouched. Every night venues were at capacity and concertgoers left fully satisfied from double encores. To quench everyone’s thirst for tunes, the Pop Explosion houses bands and artists from every genre. From Dubstep bands such as Zeds Dead (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AQr06ZUlR0&feature=relmfu ), local artists like Mo Kenney hailing from Waverely, NS (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em6JaCq44nY ), acoustic maven Dan Mangan (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5RIHff3oas), DJ sets from Atlantic Canada’s best, and world-class DJ Skratch Bastid, to indie folk rock with Rural Alberta Advantage (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-bSQWRM7_I ) the Pop Explosion had something for everyone. VIP and Priority Passes sold out within weeks and scalpers were charging top dollar for a piece of the magic. The festival kicked off the opening reception at the Citadel Hotel with Halifax’s own DJ James Reid scratching vinyl all night long.
Every year the Pop Explosion has a free all-ages outdoor concert in Parade Square to say thanks to their fans. This year, however, due to Occupy Wall Street (Halifax Edition) the space was…well…occupied. But, you know what they say: “the show must go on”. And on it went. The amazing organizers at HPX were quick on their feet and respectfully found a replacement venue to host the afternoon’s free show. The venue was moved to Olympic Hall with a capacity of 1100, and in less than 30 minutes, capacity was met–and no wonder. Papermaps, Carmen Townsend, Plants and Animals, and Stars graced the stage for two and a half hours of sweaty sing-a-long fun.
All over Halifax, people were out on the streets singing to their favourite songs. Space was scarce and people were plenty, but the tunes kept on rockin’.
The final evening of the POPular festival finished off with a “special guest” at the Seahorse Tavern. Plants and Animals played a second show to close out the festival with a sold-out performance and a double encore that kept the audience on their tired feet.
The festival was a smashing success and 12/10 people agreed that it was the best one yet! I don’t know about you guys, but after this 5-day musical bender my iTunes library expanded by about 1000. Awesome!
This year’s explosion is over (boo!) and now it’s time to rest our heads, ears, wallets, and feet. Stuck on the post-HPX blues? Be sure to check out their Facebook page for video footage and pictures from this year’s festivals and links to band pages and tour dates. And while you’re at it, send Executive Director Jonny Stevens and his team a big ol’ “THANK YOU”!
Still not satisfied? Help support another great cause and grow out that facial hair for Movember! The team at HPX are growing er’ out to support prostate cancer. Donate more than $40 and get free HPX merch! Who doesn’t love free stuff?!
Until next year, keep poppin’.
