Ian Bain’s new tunes work through emotional tumult with purpose and poise Softside’s 2017 EP Lower Hands opens with a gloomy thought: “It’s been a bad year,” sighs frontman Ian Bain over a web of dark guitars. “I was very down and upset that summer,” said Bain. “That year was a real rough […]
Author: Will Wellington
Future Peers, Animatist, Softside bring different flavours to Off the Floor Fest
Annual event features prog rock, dance rock, surf rock This past weekend, the 2018 installment of Off the Floor Fest, organized by local promoter Brian Gillis, took over DSTRCT and Jimmy Jazz for two nights of loud, guitar-driven indie music. The Ontarion attended Saturday night’s show at DSTRCT. Danny Don’t […]
In the face of fake news, Facebook shirks public duty
Turns out Mark Zuckerberg didn’t read the user agreement This past Friday, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg made a post detailing the social media giant’s plan to alter the way that “public content” — including news articles, branded content, and videos — appears on its users’ feeds. This plan […]
Ben Montero’s comics promote cosmic kindness
Gentle psychedelia marks Aussie cartoonist’s Froggy & Friends It feels right that Australian musician and cartoonist Ben Montero’s comics surface every so often in my Facebook feed. Montero’s adorable little characters feel like old, dear friends. Their simple, gently psychedelic adventures have appeared on Vice and across many social media platforms. Montero […]
I love you, animatronic singing lobster
Chasing laughs and smiles I studied English and theatre studies at the University of Guelph and graduated with a double major in 2016. I’m of the opinion that “it’s fun” is all the meaning a piece of art needs — I have a good time making felt badges and people […]
Nathan Campagnaro: Guelph’s poster boy
Local cartoonist started by printing comics in The Ontarion Nathan Campagnaro is a local artist and musician known for his vibrant, gross, and funny concert posters — notably including the poster for last year’s Kazoo! Fest. He’s also well known around the music scene for his work as a drummer […]
The Room’s Greg Sestero triumphs with a story of failure
Author of The Disaster Artist comes to Kitchener-Waterloo There are a lot of weird things going on in The Room, the totally incompetent 2003 melodrama that has become one of the biggest cult films of all time. Many of them, of course, come back to Tommy Wiseau, the shaggy-haired oddball […]
Local filmmakers’ new documentary celebrates Josiah Henson
Forgotten abolitionist inspired Uncle Tom’s Cabin Josiah Henson is not a household name in the province of Ontario — not yet, anyway. Local documentary filmmakers Jared and Michelle Brock, who make films as a not-for-profit under the name The Brock Stewardship, are aiming to change that with a new film. […]
The Burning Hell sings subtle songs on sombre subjects
Mathias Kom’s dense, funny lyrics weave politics into narratives For the past decade, Mathias Kom has been unemployed. At least, that’s what The Burning Hell frontman and songwriter tells interviewers. “Anyone observing any band can see that it’s a shit-ton of work,” said Kom. I spoke to Kom, bushy-bearded and […]
Man’s thirteen exes now dating each other
What goes around, comes around In what local barista Gerald Downing is describing as a “living nightmare from hell,” all thirteen of the women he has ever dated are now dating each other — simultaneously. “We really bonded over what a sack of crap Gerald is,” said Tina North on […]
About
The Ontarion publishes independent, student-produced news, opinion, and commentary for University of Guelph students so that they can make informed decisions in their lives. To do this, The Ontarion provides learning opportunities and training in journalism, media production, leadership, board governance, and other aspects of nonprofit news.
The Ontarion is the University of Guelph’s independent student newspaper. It began in 1951 as part of the Ontario Agricultural College and then began to represent the entire University of Guelph once it amalgamated in 1964. The Ontarion incorporated in May 1970 as The Ontarion, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation registered with the province of Ontario.