Blogs

Hallo Gentle Reader,

It is coming up on the merry month of September and, while I'm lamenting the disappearance of August, I'm here to remind you that summer is, technically, not over until September 21st AND September is known as a very lovely month in our fair province - hurricanes notwithstanding - so we do have a lot more nice days to look forward to, I think (hope, pray, etc. etc.).

For those of you not on the Newsletter list, you missed a phenomenal Gordie Johnson show the other night. Packed - of course - and over three hours long... Kinda like a lot of our shows lately, come to think of it! Anyway, if you're not on that Newsletter list, just hit the News tab on this page, go to Newsletter, and click on the "subscribe" button on the left.

There are plenty of great shows coming up in the next few months and some possible BIG SHOW announcements soon. You're going to want to hear about them before the general public finds out... Trust me...

I'm torn at the moment. I've spent the better part of the "summer" bitching about how awful the weather has been - easily the worst season I've ever seen in this town - and now that I'm cautiously optimistic about the start of August, I'm choked because, well, it's August! And August heralds the END of the summer... Oh well, I guess I should just accept that it's almost time for some clown to start counting down the days to Christmas and allow myself to try to enjoy the sun while it's here.

Come hang on the patio with us. When the yellow orb in the sky is visable, there's no better place to be!

If you missed the Gordie Sampson shows, you blew it. Gordie's three nights were fabulous and, not that I generally call favourites, but the third night was truly something special. Our pal Dave Carroll of "United Breaks Guitars" YouTube fame (almost 5 million hits and still counting) did a surprise opening set and then Bruce Guthro joined Gordie on stage for the encore, capped by a completely unexpected a cappella version of Stan Rogers' "Northwest Passage." Not a dry eye in the house, I swear... Absolutely remarkable and - if I do say so myself - not anything you'd see anywhere but at The Carleton...

Check out the music tab on this site to see what we've got in store over the next couple of months, it's all good. Trust me.

I patiently waited through the weather hell that was June to get to the month of July and how was I rewarded, dear reader? I'll tell you. I was rewarded with more of the same!!! I have officially stopped watching the Weather Network and turn off the radio when the forecast is about to happen. I find myself apologizing to visitors to the city - as though it were my fault - and struggle to get out of bed in the morning. I am as pissed about this as you are, believe me.

But there's nothing we mere mortals can do about it except to keep our chins up and trust that, if nothing else, the law of averages will have to kick in eventually and the sun will come out. I've seriously never seen anything like it and I've been in Halifax for 17 years. Disgraceful.

We'd llke to think The Carleton can be a bit of an antidote though. Mike and I are sunny people, and we promise to brighten your day, should you choose to visit us during these soggy times. Our weapon of choice to combat the elements is our $6 martini and vodkatini special that is available whenever we're open, which is ALL THE TIME!

Come in to see us and pay attention to our fabulous live music schedule. Click the "Music" tab on this site and browse away...

OK, summer has offically arrived - at least as far as the calendar is concerned - and I, for one, am seriously not going to mourn seeing the last of this ridiculous June. Good riddance, I say! The streets and lawns of the city are waterlogged, we're suffering from seasonal affect disorder syndrome (SADS) due to lack of sunshine and i'm seeing insects in my backyard the likes of which would make a National Geographic photographer drool... Not cool at all, my friends, not cool at all...

However, even if the weather denies us sunshine, we've got plenty of the musical sunshine variety coming up at The Carleton. July is chock-a-block with excellent, world-class entertainment (and August isn't going to suck either)! Check out the Music tab here and go to Upcoming Performances to get the skinny on the likes of Melanie Doane, Po'Girl, Kellin Watson & Sierra Noble, Bucky Adams, Willie Nile, Jeff Lang, Andrew White, Amy Campbell and more, more, more...

And, for the love of God, come in for some of our frozen $6 Martinis and Vodkatiinis - any time, all the time!!!

Technically, summer isn't due to arrive before June 21st, so I guess I shouldn't really be disappointed with the spring's performance so far - but I am! However, it's come to my attention that June 21st is not that far away and I am waiting - like a 3 year-old on Christmas Eve - for the sun to start kicking some lily-white ass. Let's keep the fingers crossed that'll happen sooner, rather than later...

To business... If you haven't been to our joint for lunch (on the patio, or otherwise), you're missing the proverbial boat. Our lunch specials are great and our patio is sunny and comfortable. What are you waiting for, summer? We've also got some excellent shows coming up:  June 22nd, Juno-nominated Little Miss Higgins from Saskatchewan; June 28th, Melanie Doane (from here and making her first area appearance in ages); Po'Girl from Montreal on July 6th, etc. etc. etc. Check out the Music tab on this site for more info and more shows - there's a reason we're considered one of the best live music venues in the country...

Come in and say, "hi." We won't bite!

As much as I hated to leave Halifax just when the weather was starting to get civilized, I'm awfully glad I made the trip to Toronto. My primary reason for going - Joel Plaskett with The Emergency, Family & Friends at Massey Hall - was an unmitigated triumph. Oh, and I was in the front row, just so you know the full extent of the awesomeness... Too many highlights of the show to mention but there are already a few fun things on YouTube if you care to explore.

Also spent some face time with some agent friends and will hopefully have some future killer bookings to show for those efforts. Toronto is still one of my favourite cities and a little break from the action here was a welcome diversion...

But I'm back, and that means turning the attention to The Carleton and what I hope will be a stellar patio season starting... well, starting right now, I guess! If you're reading this, here's a reminder that we've got a great show this Sunday (May 31st) with Coco Love Alcorn. We've got some tickets left for that one. Ron Hynes - I'm telling you right now - is going to be sold out (June 3rd), probably before this weekend so I'd get on the phone if I were you and wanted to see that show. (I'll be there anyway so it makes no nevermind to me).

Wouldn't you know it, the weather forecast - if I'm to believe all combined media outlets - is telling me it's going to be the first truly sensational weekend of the Spring and I'm going to be... in Toronto! I'd be pissed about that if not for the fact that the reason I'm going is to see Joel Plaskett in my favourite venue in the world - Massey Hall!

Ah yes, the memories of that room... It's one of the reasons I quit university to join the circus that is the music business in this country... Kiss, The New York Dolls, Aerosmith, Genesis, Mott The Hoople, AC/DC, Roxy Music, U2, The Waterboys, Crowded House, The Stray Cats, Robert Palmer, Iron Maiden, UFO, Kansas; I saw them all there and more. And now Plaskett's act has gotten big enough to be on the same stage - makes a guy proud!

But for those of you who are staying in Halifax, well, I'd be remiss if I didn't remind you that our beautiful patio is up, the planters are planted and our staff is eager to serve you food and drink from the time we open 'til the time we close... C'mon, you've got to be kicking the stall by now... Get out and have some fun!

I'm starting to wrap my head around the fact that we're going to make it through our first year. This might seem like a no-brainer to those of you who've been our loyal customers. I'm assuming that you've appreciated what we're trying to accomplish and you've cut us some slack when we've needed it.

Thank you. Sincerely. We'll be the first to admit we totally didn't know what we were doing off the top but we learned quickly and, I think, we've figured out where we fit in the Halifax scheme of things We love Halifax. I moved here on purpose almost 17 years ago but I know it's not a place that necessarily gives the well-meaning a free pass.

We're trying to do something I don't think anyone else in the city is doing - offer a REALLY great dining experience, coupled with the best live performers (some of the best artists in the world) that we can cajole into coming here, in one of the best-sounding, historically cool, rooms in the country - and we're not about to give up. It's big city stuff and this city has big city heart... it's just waiting to bust out.

We thank you for supporting us. If you like what we're doing, tell your friends. If you don't, tell us...

The Carleton - An 11 Month Tradition of Presenting Shows That Do Not Suck,,,

I'm talking about the good weather, of course. And I haven't quite made up my mind about the premature advent of Daylight Savings Time. On the one hand, I appreciate the extra hour of "sun" but I can't help feeling like it's cheating somehow and it will come back to bite us in the collective ass...

In the meantime, we're quietly going about our business making little improvements to the restaurant that you probably won't even notice. Rest assured that it will only lead to a better experiencd for you when you come to visit us. And we hope you'll do more of that not that we've got that extra hour of daylight I was talking about.

Now that you're on the site, why not take a minute to sign up for our newsletter. Just click on the "News" tab, then the "Newsletter" and hit the subscribe button. We've got some very cool shows coming up and we'll be announcing the sale dates for tickets via that very newsletter, days before we announce them to the general public. We promise that we won't send out stuff that will annoy you!

I guess we might as well start looking into the patio process, it'll be on us before we know it. Hard to believe it hasn't even been 10 months since we opened but we'll make it through our first year and are looking forward to the next one!

I stood outside The Carleton last night (February 19th - Steve Poltz's birthday) - in shirtsleeves, I might add - wondering why the media insists on ramping up the fear factor every time we get some snow. Honestly, listening to the radio yesterday you'd have thought future civilizations would be finding our frozen bones centuries from now. Half the businesses on Argyle were closed, as were the malls(!) and every other damn thing.

Not us, of course. The Stanfields showed up to play their usual Thursday night gig and, thankfully, a lot of other sane people weren't hunkered down with their generators and got out to enjoy the mild evening too. I'm not saying it isn't a good idea to respect the power of nature but let's not be crying "wolf" every time a poodle walks down the streets of our town. It's embarrassing. We're starting to sound like Toronto's Mel Lastman with his infamous calling in of the army. Sheesh.

Anyway, March is going to come in like a lamb, or a lion, or a penguin, or a poodle, or some other damn critter and there won't be a farging thing any of us will be able to do about it. That being said, we've got some kick-ass shows coming up quickly at our joint. You will not want to miss the amazing Danny Michel on March 1st and 2nd and it would be criminal to miss Catherine MacLellan's CD release ("Water In The Ground") on March 4th.

We're doing our part to make sure you have great entertainment choices during this winter from hell and we hope you come out to enjoy that entertainment, regardless of what the fear-mongerers might have to say!