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Having growing up in a city whose main claim to fame is the promise of a stable career in government, running into old high school friends in Montreal has become quite the common occurrence. This past Wednesday, I once again found myself running into an old pal from my hometown. Like most instances, the encounter took place at a bar. Unlike other occasions, however, I was there to take part in their album launch.

Recently, I have spoken with individuals who, perhaps to my undeserved surprise, have never ventured to the Eastern edge—who have never set foot in Nova Scotia despite enticing tales of slackened lifestyles, dramatic landscapes, majestic sea creatures, and kindly leprechauns. This May, there is a more of a reason than ever to go the distance and explore the mysterious Maritimes firsthand—OBEY Convention X, one of the most forward thinking arts festivals in Canada, is celebrating its tenth year of being.

Perhaps this is simply an effect of the indie-scene filter bubble I’m floating in at the minute—the reverb-addled echo chamber that encourages me to skip any and every song that doesn’t start with a chip-packet crackle of feedback and some sweet, jangly, twangy arpeggio—but I’m convinced (hyperbole alert!) that we are currently experiencing a shoegaze revival. The Shoegaze Revival. Slowdive are back, Ride are back; in the last few years, we’ve had new albums by My Bloody Valentine and Swervedriver after hiatuses of 15-20 years.

April 3rd seems like it was yesterday. On this day, I was sitting fifth row at the BB&T center in Sunrise Florida. The Montréal Canadiens won the game 4-1 and they looked big, strong, and very fast disposing of the Florida Panthers. Maybe because I was in a condo next to the beach, but I did not even watch the remaining five games of the season because I thought to myself, win or lose, we are facing the New York Rangers in the first round and most likely beat them too… in five games!