Apartment613

Weekend roundup: What to do in Ottawa?

Written

on Thursday, January 26, 2012

First, Ottawans: let us know the real hotspots in the city by filling out our Big Sexy O-town Survey! Will the new Rink of Dreams become a different sort of dreamy spot? Or will the Hill be your tried, tested and true make-out location? Let us know…

In other hot news, we’ve got a few great bands coming to town this weekend. For some alt-rock/bluesy sound, Solomon Dean is your man – he’ll be at the Elmdale with Electric Blankets tonight. There will be a little bit of folk going down tonight at the Mercury Lounge, with the UP & UP Concert Series’ latest installment featuring Claude and the Storm Outside. Friday, Sunfields stops by Raw Sugar – they’ll bring some indie rock with a psychedelic twist to the stage. You might as well just get a room at The Black Sheep for the whole weekend: tonight, it’s the catchy tunes of Elliott Brood (it’s their ‘Oh Alberta’ video above), Friday KIDSTREET stops by with Ottawa’s clever duo The Peptides, and then Saturday and Sunday features a double dose of the stylings of Buck 65. The Mackenzie Rhythm Section brings horns and beats to the dance floor at The Rainbow on Saturday. Also Saturday? Camp Radio pumps things up at Irene’s, while locals Organ Eyes and The Matt Ferriers add to the indie music playlist of the weekend.

If you’re looking for a bit of variety in your evening, head to Rooster’s at Carleton for Fresh Tracks, a night of Indigenous hip hop, spoken word and folk music on Friday. For those of you with a competitive streak, the Women’s Slam Championships is Saturday, while Once Upon a Slam takes place the night before.

Looking to get dressed up? It’s time for the Red Death Masquerade, where you’ve got to hide your identity – masks are not optional! If your idea of dressing up includes hiking boots, then the Ottawa Valley Nature Hike is probably a better spot for you to stop by. Clothing will likely be optional for the performers at Girlesque Ottawa Sunday night, where they’ll have some international and hall-of-fame guests in the house.

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Ask the Interweb: Where are the best waffles in Ottawa?

Written

Katie

on Thursday, January 26, 2012

Photo courtesy of TheCulinaryGeek on flickr

The interweb is a series of magical strings invented by Al Gore in the 1990s. Through our ‘Dear Interweb’ column, Apt613 will use its awesome powers to poll its readers on questions of import. If you have a query to make to the interweb, screw Google – ask Apt613 readers by emailing apartment613 [at] gmail [dot] com. Post by Alex and Katie.

One of the drawbacks of running a blog on stuff to do in Ottawa is that people are always us asking about stuff to do in Ottawa. Unfortunately, omniscience does not come included with a WordPress account, so more often then we like to admit, we are stumped by what should be a no-brainer. For example, this text message, which was sent to a few of the editors last weekend by a mutual friend:

“Where are the best waffles in town? Go!”

I’m sad to report a complete and total fail by the Apartment613 editorial team. In our defense, this does not seem to have been a widely broached question on the usual food forums. Ottawa Foodie’s list is unusually pitiable, while Google is having a difficulty focusing and keeps telling me about Ottawa’s best overall breakfast (the poor thing’s probably not over the SOPA scare).

Luckily, the Ottawa twitterverse is already ready to lend an opinion. We sent out our feelers and got a few replies.

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One big happy family: Ottawa’s Burlesque Collective comes to Maxwells

Written

Veronica

on Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Burlesque in Ottawa has been an unstoppable force in recent years. Most fans know the Sin Sisters or Rockalily to be the Godmothers of Ottawa burlesque, both having hit the scene about 5 years ago. But let’s rewind to 2002: some may recall the Devil Dolls, Maxwells’ resident burlesque babes, who often shared the spotlight with local legend, Johnny Vegas.

Bella Barecat, co-founder of the Devil Dolls and proud Browncoat as of 2010, is back and making waves after her five year break from burlesque by forming the Ottawa Burlesque Collective. The Collective brings together local troupes for a grandiose one night affair at Ottawa’s original burlesque venue, Maxwells.

“I’ve pictured [Maxwells] as a cabaret club many times before so I reached out to them and they were stoked on the idea.”

It’s no secret that not all the troupes get along with each other as famously as they might like to. Former Sin Sisters are now Bourbon and Spice, Capital Tease used to be part of Rockalily, and there are a few solo performers who prefer to avoid troupe politics altogether.

“It’s hard to get a large group of people together without having any tension. I approached all the troupes individually and everyone had similar reactions to my proposal. The idea was very well received and I am impressed by the absolute professionalism as well as the enthusiasm of all of the troupes involved.”

Barecat attributes her inspiration behind the Ottawa Burlesque Collective to the most recent Nuit Nude Blanche, an all-night burlesque-a-thon held at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto.

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Rae Spoon plans to busta move at Q Bounce, Ottawa’s newest underground dance party

Written

apartment613

on Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Photo courtesy of QBounce.

Post by Noreen Fagan

Caitlyn Pascal is a woman who is seriously tapped into what Ottawa’s queer community wants, needs and loves.

Pascal is a music geek, an arts promoter and the maven behind the Divergence Movie Nights, a monthly event showcasing LGBTQ documentaries. She is also the instigator of Pitch Black, an experimental music evening with live musicians where Pascal, a.k.a DJ CPI, performs live and spins edgy tunes for music lovers alongside Jairus (ad-ver-sary)..

Pascal’s latest metamorphosis is as the creator of Q Bounce, an alternative dance party that debuts on Saturday, Jan. 28 at SAW Gallery. Q Bounce is also Pascal’s chance to play what she is most passionate about – underground bass music.

“Underground music is a catch all that is often used to describe a lot of contemporary electronic music,” says Pascal. “Bounce, booty, jungle, breakbeats, deep house, and post-dubstep.”

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Last week on Jim Watson’s facebook page…

Written

Katie

on Monday, January 23, 2012

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Weekly News Review: To all the single ladies, OCData, park(ing) and more!

Written

Francois

on Monday, January 23, 2012

Photo courtesy of Shyu13 on Flickr.

You think there are many more single ladies than men in Ottawa? The Citizen’s Glen McGregor debunks the 3 single women for every single man myth and maps it out for all the single people. (Pink: More single women than men; Blue: More single men than women)

OCTranspo doesn’t want to release GPS data of its buses to outside developers because it thinks it can make money if it controls it and sells its own app. However, in the past it had committed to making raw data available to outside developers. A number of councillors support open data and the issue is becoming political. I’m curious to see who will win….it’s now in the Transit Commission’s hands to decide.

Last week, many residents showed their displeasure at the prospect of the Museum of Nature’s proposed parking lot on the west side of the museum. The space would replace what’s currently a park. WestSideAction’s Eric Darwin shares his thoughts on the decision and process.

Is the city breaking up with the EnviroCentre, the independent, non-profit organization aimed at helping residents and business become more energy efficient? The EnviroCentre was housed in City Hall, but it appears that the city has indicated that it must find a new home by the end of March. Perhaps related to the turmoil, the Centre’s Director General, Dana Silk has stepped down from his position.

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So much theatre: Blood on the Moon

Written

Andrew Snowdon

on Sunday, January 22, 2012

Photo courtesy of Geekgirly on Flickr.

Take your familiar theatre review column, sprinkle in some academic insights and a good dose of industry knowledge, and you’ve got So Much Theatre: a semi-regular feature by Apartment613′s Andrew Snowdon. Follow Andrew on twitter: he’s @snobiwan.

People still talk about Blood on the Moon nearly thirteen years after its inaugural run as a Fringe show (and its subsequent three summers at the National Arts Centre, stint in Ireland, and TV movie). Once you’ve seen it live, as this remount at the Great Canadian Theatre Company permits us to do, you understand exactly why.

In the spring of 1868, the nascent Dominion of Canada was rocked by a brutal murder: the apparent assassination of prominent politician Thomas D’Arcy McGee. James Patrick Whelan, a fellow Irishman from Montréal, was quickly tried, convicted, and publicly hanged—the last public execution in Canada, in fact—for the crime. That’s all most people know of the story, if indeed they know anything at all (I imagine there’s a segment of the population that is only aware of D’Arcy McGee insofar as there is a local chain of Irish-style pubs that bear his name.).

In Blood on the Moon, Pierre Brault offers a different, much deeper, examination of the circumstances surrounding the only federal political assassination in Canada’s past. Taking on the persona of Whelan himself, Brault not only presents the events of the trial but delves into Whelan’s own experiences and emotions. Although Whelan maintains his own innocence to the bitter end, by telling the story from his perspective Brault manages to highlight the uncertainty surrounding his guilt.

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Winter Bike Parade: the extreme commuter goes mainstream

Written

Alex

on Saturday, January 21, 2012

Photo courtesy of Mike.Geiger.ca on the apt613 flickr group

Ottawa may have fallen into winter weather, but that doesn’t mean you have to let your beloved bike fall to disuse. Ottawa winter cyclists are out there, proving that navigating Ottawa in the cold can still be done with the right gear and attitude. If you’re a winter biking enthusiast or just looking for a chance to get out and try biking on winter roads, then the CfSC is hosting an event for you.

To promote winter cycling, Citizens for Safe Cycling is hosting the first ever Ottawa Winter Bike Parade this Sunday. Cyclists looking to celebrate winter cycling and get out with a group of fellow cyclists can meet at Laurier and Percy at noon. The parade will head down the Laurier bike lane and is set to run show or shine. CfSC encourages cyclists to bring friends, family, noisemakers and funky accessories for the parade. The event will end with free hot apple cider at City Hall. Or, if you’d rather stay in than head out for a ride in the cold, you can track the cyclists on the City’s counter or watch them on the live video feed at the Laurier intersections.

The City has committed to clearing the segregated bike lane on Laurier, though there may be temporary closures when conditions are unsafe. The segregated lane may help cyclists feel safer, but now that the cold is here to stay the number of cyclists on the Laurier bike lane has dropped significantly. The city keeps a counter tracking the amount of trips down the lane, which has gone from a high of 2331 trips in September, to 213 last Wednesday. But, despite the huge drop in riders since the weather got cold, there are still cyclists out on Laurier and this Sunday, it may see more.

The CfSC Winter Bike Parade starts this Sunday at noon. Meet fellow winter cycling enthusiasts at noon and Laurier and Percy to take the parade up the Laurier Bike lane to City Hall.

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Apartment613 Live for January 19th

Written

apartment613

on Friday, January 20, 2012

Photo courtesy sickmouthy on Flickr

Wish you could sit back and just listen to what Apartment613 has to say? You can. This week, Ryan Saxby and Karen Diepeveen host Apartment613 Live. Ryan interviews Malorie Bertrand from Ef Magazine and Karen chats with fellow Apartment 613 editor Katrina Marsh about beer and sex. If you noticed Apartment613′s recent blackout, Ryan explains the web’s response to SOPA and why Apartment613 joined in the black out.

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The best of #ShitOttawansSay

Written

Katie

on Friday, January 20, 2012

Photo courtesy of allthecolors from the Apt613 flickr group

The kids are all going wild for Shit Girls Say, the latest meme to start replicating itself across the net. Yesterday the popular series of YouTube videos spawned yet another iteration, this time on twitter. The #ShitOttawansSay hashtag hit the Ottawa twitterverse a big way, launching what was probably the largest inside joke sharing fest the city has ever seen.

Open File has collected and organized many of the tweets, which you can see here, but we couldn’t resist sharing some of our favourite ones here on the site. The following are Apartment613′s picks for the best of #ShitOttawansSay.

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