The Capital reels in east coast all-stars

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Fredericton’s Capital Complex will be serving up some Maritime-based fun next month.

Halifax Pop Explosion and Molson Rocks the Coast presents a night that most won’t want to miss.

The show, on Feb. 10, will feature three talented East Coast groups: Boxer the Horse, Dog Day, and In-Flight Safety.

The show will come on the heels of In-Flight Safety’s CD release for We Are An Empire, My Dear. The album will be released across Canada on Jan. 27.

Vocalist and guitarist for In-Flight Safety, John Mullane, says the band’s sound has evolved on this album.

“It’s quite different from The Coast is Clear. I hate to bias people, but it’s not as layered and subtle as the last record. The new record has more backbone and is a little bit more immediate,” says Mullane.

The show will predominately feature the new album’s songs, but old-fan favourites will be included too.

In-Flight Safety is no stranger to Fredericton; the band was formed in nearby Sackville, N.B.

“The band started at Mt. Allison. A bunch of us, who were more interested in music than we were in school, bonded together over our love for the same bands,” says Mullane.

“We started playing music together and found that we were on to something. So, we sort of scrapped our intellectual and academic pursuits in favour of playing music together. We continued [playing music] outside of school and have been impoverished ever since – but very happy!”

The opening acts shouldn’t be overlooked, however – Dog Day and Boxer the Horse have their own impressive material to showcase.

Dog Day are like the indie Fleetwood Mac of Halifax – only without the divorces and the ever-changing band line-up. The band, which is made up of two couples, has been making music together since 2005.

The band has taken an interesting leap into fame since their first EP. That EP, which was originally released by creator Seth Smith on some homemade CD-Rs, was picked up by local radio stations where it gained popularity. Eventually, CBC Radio Three picked up the CD and invited the band to play a full concert on air.

Boxer the Horse is a band of university-aged guys from Charlottetown. The band has been to Fredericton before – particularly last year at the ECMAs where they were showcased.

Like Dog Day, Boxer the Horse started off as a small project that quickly grew much larger. When they released their first EP – a short, five song demo – the 50 pressings were quickly sold out.

The young the band’s sound recalls some of the classic rock greats – updated with upbeat indie pop. They have been compared to music scene veterans like The Strokes, The Kinks, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.

The diversity of sounds and talent should have a lot of people looking forward to coming out to the show.

But it’s not just the audience that is – or should be – looking forward to the show. Mullane says he’s looking forward to what the show might bring.

In-Flight Safety says that nights playing at the Capital always bring some sort of craziness.

“In the winter I remember huge dude fights outside and ambulances pulling up blocking the place and we couldn’t get out. We’d be driving over snow banks to get out and get to the hotel,” says Mullane.

“At the Capital it’s always a funny show. People will try and get on stage I remember one time we were playing a really great show – it was a really great time – and towards the end of our set some girl kept trying to sit with Dan (Ledwell) at his keyboard – she wanted to play really bad. I remember Dan looking over at me at one point and being like, ‘John, this show is over. This show is done.’ She was still sitting there when we were like, ‘thank you very much!’

“That’s always been one of the funny stories for sure. She split beer all over his piano. It was the funniest thing ever. It’s the kind of think we’ve grown accustomed to at the Capital - it’s always a lot of fun,” laughs Mullane.

He says In-Flight Safety will try to be good sports if more antics happen at this show.

“We enjoy that kind of stuff. When we were younger we were a little more uptight about that kind of stuff but now it’s exciting. You never know what’s going to happen,” says Mullane.

Halifax Pop Explosion is a music event that is hosted every autumn, two weeks after Thanksgiving, in Halifax. In addition to this festival, the event organization promotes various other independent arts, music, and pop-culture events in the Maritimes.