Arts

This Is It
Kenny Ortega
Sony Pictures

3/5

Michael Jackson’s This Is It, a tribute film featuring rehearsal footage for the King of Pop’s planned concert tour (cancelled due to his sudden death on June 25) isn’t “Bad,” but it’s certainly not a “Thriller” either.

Some of the footage is remarkable, but for one of the grandest and most ambitious musical icons of our time, it’s debatable whether Jackson would’ve wanted us to see these works in progress.

If you are like many students, you have been planning a trip to the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) on a Thursday ever since you heard admission is free after 5 p.m. but you were never able to find the time to get downtown before 8 p.m.

Well now you’re in luck.

Carleton and the NGC have partnered to offer Carleton students free admission from now until June 30, 2010 upon presentation of your student card.

Students will have access to the permanent collection as well as special exhibits. 

Metric
Ottawa Civic Centre
October 19, 2009

4/5 Stars

“Steph, Kevin wants to know if you’ll marry him.”

After The Stills vocalist Tim Fletcher made that announcement to a pair of soon-to-be newlyweds in the audience, you knew there was magic in the air.

Starting and finishing their show with two Oceans Will Rise tracks in “I’m With You” and the radio hit “Being Here,” The Stills proved to be a worthy opener.

Sainthood
Tegan and Sara
Warner Music

4/5

The new album Sainthood from Canadian twin duo Tegan and Sara is an excellent collection of synthesizer-driven songs predominantly about troubled love.

The album is a natural progression from their previous album, The Con, in that the apparent mood is different but the style and music is essentially very similar.

Many of the songs seem to have a more positive and upbeat sound than the sad melodies found in many songs on The Con.

Ottawa-Gatineau’s first-ever annual tattoo expo was held at the Palais des congrès Oct. 23-25, featuring live rock bands, beers and burgers, and tattoo artists from across Canada. 

Walking around the many booths representing tattoo shops from as far as Moose Jaw, Sask. to Vancouver, the buzz of tattoo machines was omnipresent.

The crowd was largely made up of the kind of people you’d expect to be attracted to such an event: some scantily clad women, long-bearded bikers, university girls with that deviously artistic streak.