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... | Continue reading article

Forget crooning men in slick suits; Remi Royle is not your grandmother’s lounge singer. Royale, a comedy/music act that plays the first and last Sunday of each month at the Manx Pub (370 Elgin), is the type of act you either love… or hate. The contentious act is now the subject of a mini-documentary by Algonquin Documentary Arts student Julien Sokol, who first saw Royale in action a year and a half ago. I remember his performance had a very polarizing effect on the audience. Half the people seemed to... | Continue reading article

The third episode of Ottawa Sketch’s Locker Lives (a behind-the-scenes look at washed-up actors on a fictional high school dramedy TV show) has popped up online. “The actors are playing 16-year-olds but they’re actually 30-year-olds, 40-year-olds who are sort of washed up and can’t get any other jobs. They’re stuck on this show.” says Ottawa Sketch member Rachelle Casseus. Here are episodes one and two. For more on Ottawa Sketch, visit their Facebook page and blog.

Writing about a show that hasn’t happened yet is hard. Writing about a comedy show that hasn’t happened yet is nearly impossible. Humour is so personal, and because it’s so easy for stand-up to go horribly horribly wrong, it is often easier to stick to previewing music shows and reviewing food. All this to say that while I don’t know if you’ll enjoy the comedy of John Hastings, a local stand-up doing a live recording at the Preston St Yuck Yucks this weekend, his YouTube video did teach me several... | Continue reading article

Ottawa Sketch Comedy has launched episode one of its new web series Locker Lives. “The real drama, the real show is about the actors on this TV show,” explained Ottawa Sketch member Rachelle Casseus. “The actors are playing 16-year-olds but they’re actually 30-year-olds, 40-year-olds who are sort of washed up and can’t get any other jobs. They’re stuck on this show.” You can see the pilot here. The group has been filming in Ottawa at St Pat’s, but the show is set in Vancouver, B.C. (aka Canadian Hollywood). Episode one... | Continue reading article

If this heat is making you want to run around in nothing but your birthday suit, why not do it with a few others on bikes? If you’re feeling a bit more modest, make like WestFest and stick to going naked in name only – you do get to hang out with Bif, after all! And if you do need to don some new duds, the sample sale at Road Trip this weekend can hook you up. While we’ve got serious summer weather upon us, Ottawa’s crafters have been working... | Continue reading article

After a sold-out first show at the Elmdale Tavern in February, Ottawa Sketch is bringing back their Live Show — a mix of scenes, videos, and puppets — to entertain Ottawa this week. The nine-person show has gotten bigger, with a three-night run and a larger venue: The Mayfair Theatre. “We liked the Elmdale because we liked the coziness of it, but we did have some problems with people not being able to see…” said group member Rachelle Casseus. “And we wanted that sort of red carpet movie theatre event... | Continue reading article

Let’s get right to it, Ottawa! Start your pre-weekend off right and head to Raw Sugar to see Zac Crouse and Steve Gates tonight – or head over to Mavericks to see Maybe Smith (who will hopefully come back to town again and again). For Friday, if you’ve been missing the early ’90s of late (and who doesn’t from time to time?), the Allrights will happily fill that void for you. Library Voices and Luke Doucet will compete for Prairie Scene audiences on Friday night, while Right by Midnight and... | Continue reading article

Fried chicken fans in Hintonburg have some reason to celebrate today – and not only due to their surprising Hood Wars win against Centretown yesterday. Energetic Hintonburgers took to the streets last night in support of the local KFC location, swelling to a crowd of dozens of chanting citizens by 9pm. A Hintonburg historic site, and one of the final remaining Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets in the Ottawa region, the KFC is a source of pride for the neighbourhood… but has also attracted its fair share of criticism. “This is... | Continue reading article

“Snow! Blizzard! Minus 14!” YouTube star Wilbur Sarguanaraj came to Ottawa, lamented our Prime Minister’s Tamil vocabulary, tried a beaver tail and somehow found a pair of those annoying red mittens. The results make for an awesome way to start your weekend.