the mutual admiration society present:

Stage Presence: A

Audience Reaction: A+

Sound: A

Childlike Ambition: A+

Innovation: A+

I come from the West, characterized by a dog eat dog mentality. This competition is pervasive, extending even to the arts community. This scene where image has become everything, cynicism, skepticism and hate are the underlying qualities that make every scenester into a natural born critic. It seems that in this setting that friendship should be the primary goal, over fame and fortune. I am from a place where every musician stands solo on the stage.
This makes my move to Halifax even more perplexing.

On Saturday evening I joined my new musical friends at St. Matthew’s church for a artistic interpretation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, performed by the childlike Rich Aucoin. The most astonishing thing about this show was the celebrities in attendance. Glancing around Rebekah Higgs was spotted in the pews with her parents. Jenn Grant and her Down with the Butterfly boyfriend Jason Burns were surrounded by the boys of In-Flight Safety and The Just Barelys were sitting nearby. Waves were sent across balconies, enthusiastic clapping ensued and overall hijinks were to be observed. In addition to the audience peer support, Laura Peek, Brent Randall and His Pinecones and Jason Ball were on the bill.

In a church, in February, all of these phenomenally talented performers were present to support one man and his madness inspired multi-dimensional artistic creation. Aucoin demonstrated his proficiency with vocals, synthesizer, trumpet and a cacophony of prerecorded tracks. All the above was performed over a church wall projection of the Grinch. Not only is it remarkable that a on a chilly Saturday evening in mid-winter a group of adults would collect to watch a childhood Christmas movie and listen to the music of a drug induced persuasion, but that the audience was full of the hip and happening young musical professionals in Halifax.
The evening was concluded with an adorable production of Halifax talent. Fractions of the Halifamous shuffled up on stage while Aucoin arranged them on the riser like stairs at the front of the church; a choir of eager hipsters. The drum set, metalaphones, piano and other assorted instruments were manned, and off they went into a fabrication, described something like: Broken Social Scene, minus the drunken strumming; plus, The Arcade Fire minus the funeral theme.

All in all this was an excellent production. I’m thrilled to be drawn into a co-op community of musical and artistic creators who support whole heartedly, draw inspiration from each other, and are not afraid to try something totally new.