Archive for November, 2010

KIXS n GEAR
Southcentre Mall – 403.278.0000
Crossiron Mills – 403.275.1005
Prices range from $80-$250
Visit KIXS n GEAR’s Facebook and Twitter pages for more info

Style starts from the bottom up. At least, that’s the case for KIXS n GEAR. This contemporary fashion boutique makes footwear the focal point for fashion. Sneakers of all styles and shades adorn the store walls with popular brands like Vans and Converse on display alongside more off-beat shoes like TOMS, PF Flyers, and J SHOES.  The playful contrast with the stark black-and-white concept of the store makes the displays stand out in this comfortable shopping environment. KIXS specializes in streetwear staples such as hoodies, tshirts, jeans, dress shirts and more. Notable labels include J. Fedders, Nudie Jeans, Cheap Monday, Alternative Apparel and Naked & Famous just to name a few. Shoppers can find an outfit for any occasion at KIXS and accessories like ties, hats and bags to mix and match with.

The company opened its two storefronts in 2009 with the concept that style has no age and providing exclusive brands at great prices. Add in their award-winning customer service and KIXS has found a formula that lends itself more to an indie 17^th Avenue store, rather than a traditional mall outlet. The company offers men’s fashion in its SouthCentre location and unisex options in its CrossIron Mills store.

C.I.A. EXCLUSIVE: Calgary is Awesome readers can check out KIX themselves and take advantage of some awesome savings: $10 off any item $49-$99, $20 off any item $119 – $195, $40 off any item $219 or more. Just mention code word calgaryisawesome at the store to redeem. Offer expires December 24^th, 2010.

Alberta’s oil sands have made big news in recent months and continues to be a prevailing economic and environmental debate in Canada and around the world. With so many different agendas on the line, a University of Calgary team set out to film a political documentary about an important environmental issue. OilLiteracy tries to dissect the conflicted discourses of market liberalism, ecological democracy and modernization, and environmental citizenship surrounding energy resources and the oil sands.

The film will premiere on Sunday, December 5, 2010 at the Uptown Stage and Screen.

For more information, visit the OilLiteracy website.

Calgary would like to welcome, the Toronto roots-rock trio The Schomberg Fair!!! The band have developed a reputation for their hard-breathing, sweat-stained, late-night speed-gospel sets.  They’ll be playing The Distillery on December 3rd!!  Best of all, we are doing a ticket giveaway for this!!  Email justin@calgaryisawesome.com with your name/number and why the banjo was invented.

The Schomberg Fair’s music grapples with the inclination to destroy oneself, the desire to be saved, and the hope of better things ahead. The band itself was born out of the near destruction of the musical ambitions of lead singer, guitarist/banjo and primary songwriter Matt Bahen. At 24, Bahen cut off all of the fingers from his left hand in a work accident, and had them reattached. While recuperating, he reconnected with high school friend Nathan Sidon, and the two bonded over their mutual appreciation of pre-war blues. It was as Bahen regained movement in his digits, and with the addition of drummer Pete Garthside’s thunderous beat and high lonesome vocals harmonies that The Schomberg Fair was born resulting in electrifying music and performances that breathe new life into Rock, Gospel and Roots music. (MustBeSanta.ca)

‘Gospel’ released in 2009, was received with overwhelming critical acclaim, reached top chart positions on college radio and landed the on several tours across Canada with shows with Elliott BROOD, Pack A.D., Jim Cuddy and 85 year old blues legend T-Model Ford. The Schomberg Fair entered 2010 with a show at Toronto’s legendary Horseshoe Tavern performing on New Years Eve with The Sadies and Ron Sexsmith, and a showcase at CMW hailed by CHARTattack as one of the Top 10 performances of the entire festival.The true stories songwriter Bahen has been privy to in his job as an outreach worker heavily inspires ‘Gospel’. These are tales of the dispossessed, the hurt, the vulnerable, the lost, the cruel and ultimately, the survivors. But the music is raucous, rousing and wild – it is within this dichotomy that the band shines brightest. The result is a sober reality with decidedly dynamic delivery. (MustBeSanta.ca)

www.myspace.com/theschombergfair

Wasteland, Lucy Walker’s transcendental documentary follows artist Vik Muniz and his work with pickers and recyclable materials in Brazil’s Jardim Gramacho, the world’s largest landfill site.

WASTE LAND
Wednesday, December 1 @ 7:00 pm
$12.00
Plaza Theatre – 1133 Kensington Road Northwest

*** Win a pair of tickets to this unforgettable screening by being the first to e-mail your name to: docsoup@calgaryfilm.com.

Chow Down in Cowtown is an (almost!) weekly account of Calgary’s most awesome eats from Ceci n’est pas un food blog.

B. and I both love the complex flavours and spices in Indian cuisine, so when Delhi Darbar opened not too far from his home this summer, we’d made a mental note to go. We finally had the opportunity a few weeks ago, with a coupon from the latest Entertainment book to boot! (Yay for teenage sisters in band!)

Read more

Hey Calgary, we always love telling you about good news and here is some for you!!  Live this weekend at the Whiskey is Michael Rault!! He will be playing with Bedouin Soundclash this Sunday November 28.  CIA wants to send you and a friend to see the Alberta boy perform his awesome live set!  All you have to do is email justin@calgaryisawesome.com with your name and number and what makes a good ol Alberta boy.

Photo taken by Ryan Fujiki

“The first mixtape I remember having, the two songs that kicked it off were “Wild Thing” by The Troggs and “I Want Candy” by The Strangeloves,” Michael Rault says before laughing. “I haven’t gone too far past that.” A telling, but not entirely true statement. For it’s not merely the past but the present and the future that are the signposts pointing to the music featured on Rault’s sensational debut for Pirates Blend record label, MA-ME-O. (The Musebox)

Recorded in his hometown of Edmonton and featuring a dream team of local musicians, including his honey-vocalled sister Emily,MA-ME-O is a raucous, retro party record that burns with an energy ignited half a century ago by the surf and sockhop songs and the show-stopping tunes of Little Walter, Lee Dorsey and Bo Diddley — but in which new life is breathed by such contemporary acts as Black Keys and Beck. From the teasing, pleading teen dream opener “Call Me on the Phone” to the dirty, funky Dorsey homage “I Don’t Need No Help Gettin Down” and the sweet, wistful, nostalgia-driven slow-stepper “The Times When You Were Mine,” the 10-track MA-ME-O is a deliriously loosey, goosey jukebox of memories and melodies, but that’s only a mere whisper of the history of the album and the artist behind it, and the past is more than essential to the exciting present and future in front of Rault. (The Musebox)

Chow Down in Cowtown is an (almost!) weekly account of Calgary’s most awesome eats from Ceci n’est pas un food blog.

My friend Michelle is part of yyceats – a group of Calgary-based Twitter users who meet up (almost!) monthly to try a new restaurant. I was lucky enough to be squeezed into their most recent outing to celebrity chef Michael Noble’s latest venture, NOtaBLE.

Read more