Rockin’ For Dollars is a tradition in the Halifax music scene. Every Monday night bands sign up to play the Reflections stage in an open-mic format. Reflections has also been hosting a New Year’s Day rockin’ brunch for the past few years with lots of free food to soothe the savage hangover.

Of course, another Reflections tradition is having your video camera stolen by the john of a tall blonde transvestite hooker. But my new year’s resolution for 2007 is to let go of all of the hate in my soul and embrace the love. So I broke my Reflections boycott and headed down to Sackville Street for the first time since last July for some New Year’s food and music.

Alfred was cooking in the former smoking lounge. He had a big bucket of mixed-up eggs that he was pouring onto a grill. There was bacon galore… I love that word “galore.” Especially when used in conjunction with breakfast meat.

Alfred made me the biggest fluffiest pancake I have ever seen. In fact I don’t think he cooked it so much as he magnetically snagged it with the power of his Mind as it flew past Halifax on a flying saucer mission from the interstellar pancake future. “Greetings Earthlings, we have come to refuel, resistance is useless” as they open fire with lasers on the Aunt Jemima syrup factory.

Thirteen or fourteen bands in all must have played last night. I threw down an A/V set and had a blast. It’s strange how rewarding a three or four song set can be. It’s just more focussed I guess.

Part of the R4$ schtick is that at the end of the night when everyone is good and drunk, all the bands that played get to spin a big wheel for a chance to win prizes. Prizes as marked on the wheel include free rental from a local jam space; “shitty t-shirt”; “leftovers”; and of course the big money prize that starts at $200 and increases every week until someone takes it home.

But my favourite prize of all is a little slot on the wheel marked “Hit By Food”:

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