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ARTS
PuSh FEST Club PuSh nights promise cabaret-style adventures
by Steve Newton
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Programming a major arts festival has to be a daunting job at the best of times, but throw a global pandemic into the mix and the challenges really ramp up.
Nobody knows that better than Gabrielle Martin, director of programming of the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival. The rise of the Omicron variant has been causing havoc with the annual event, the latest casualty being the cancellation of Tarragon Theatre and Black Theatre Workshop’s Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers, and Little Brothers. Before that, Martin had to scrap the festival’s copresentation with Music on Main of Leah Abramson’s nine-song cycle, Songs for a Lost Pod, as well as The Café, a collection of plays by ITSAZOO Productions and Aphotic Theatre.
“They were two shows that were in their final stages of production,” Martin says on the phone from the PuSh Fest’s downtown office, “but there was just too much of a financial and health risk for these large casts coming together. So that was emotionally hard, because we were just sad to see them go, and we were worried about that being a trend.
“That said,” she adds, “the majority of our program is going forward, so 11 shows in eight venues. We’re just really happy that we can move forward with these shows be-
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DJ Kookum is among the performers at Night Two of Club PuSh, which is cocurated by Full Circle: First Nations Performance and features Indigenous musicians. Photo by Chris Randle.
– PuSh director Gabrielle Martin
cause we believe in each of them—that’s why we programmed them.”
Martin is particularly pleased that COVID-19 hasn’t put the kibosh on Club PuSh, which takes place over three nights at Performance Works on Granville Island.
“We’ve partnered with other arts and theatre companies to curate each of the nights,” she explains. “So February 2 is the frank theatre company, and we’re describing the event as ‘a celebration of the queer art of failure’. It also comes directly after the show How to Fail as a Popstar by Vivek Shraya, so they’re kind of taking that theme on into the night.”
According to the PuSh Festival website, that first Club PuSh night features drag artists Rose Butch, PM, Continental Breakfast, Maiden China, Kara Juku, Edzi’u, and DJ Softieshan, but Martin can’t say which of those performers she’s most psyched to see.
“I wasn’t involved in curating this,” she says, “but frank theatre has taken the lead on it, and I absolutely trust that they have put together what will be a fun night. To be honest, I know about as much as you from reading the names, but the names themselves have me intrigued. Maiden China and Continental Breakfast—those are really piquing my interest.”
The second Club PuSh, on February 3, is cocurated by Full Circle: First Nations Performance’s Nimkish Younging and Rob Thomson and features a lineup of Indigenous artists performing everything from burlesque to hip-hop music. The third and final Club PuSh, on February 4, is a “dance battle” featuring interdisciplinary arts collective Immigrant Lessons.
“This is actually something that [the festival] had done in previous years that was really successful,” Martin says. “There’s a spirit of exchange, and it’s improvised, and my understanding is that the root of it is to try and mix up people’s perceptions of what dance is and bring dancers together across disciplines. So whereas originally audiences could jump up and join in, it’ll be organized in advance where dancers will sign up to show their stuff.”
Martin notes that due to COVID-19 restrictions, there will be a cabaret-style seating arrangement at Club PuSh, and patrons will remain seated.
“People will not be mingling with their drinks in hand throughout the room,” she points out, “but the cabaret seating also allows for something different. I know with the frank theatre night, they’re really gonna use that to their advantage in that some performances take place in different areas of Performance Works. It’s a little bit hyperlive in that sense.
“It’ll be an adventurous night,” Martin promises. “All of the Club PuSh nights will be adventurous in spirit, so you won’t necessarily know exactly what you’re gonna get.” g
Club PuSh takes place February 2 to 4 at Performance Works as part of the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival. Tickets are $10 at the door, but admission is free with a ticket to any PuSh show.
MUSIC Record Store Day taps Taylor for a global first by Mike Usinger
Adding further fuel to the argument that she’ll one day be the Queen of Everything, Taylor Swift has been named Record Store Day Ambassador for 2022. And not just North America, but the world.
That’s a first for the singer-songwriter, who originally surfaced in her mid-teens as a big-haired Nashville country star, effortlessly transitioned into multi-pop during her 20s, and has made it a mission to stick it to the musicindustry machine in her 30s.
Taking to the Record Store Day’s website to comment on her Global Ambassador crown, Swift said this: “I’m very proud to be this year’s Global Ambassador for Record Store Day. The places where we go to browse and explore and discover music new and old have always been sacred to me. Record stores are so important because they help to perpetuate and foster music-loving as a passion. They create settings for live events.
“They employ people who adore music thoroughly and purely,” she continued. “Those people and shops have had a rough few years and we need to support these small businesses more now than ever to make sure they can stay alive, stay eccentric, and stay individual. It’s been a true joy for me to watch vinyl sales grow in the past few years and we, the artists, have the fans to thank for this pleasant surprise. Happy Record Store Day, everyone! Stay safe out there.”
Before you go suggesting that Swift’s PR team wrote the above, consider that the singer has not only been vocal about her support for independent record stores in the past, but has also helped out on a grassroots level. The 32-yearold made headlines in 2020 at the start of the pandemic by stepping up for the staff of Nashville’s iconic Grimey’s New & Preloved Music store.
Swift donated an undisclosed amount of money to the store’s full-time staffers after they were forced home during lockdown measures. Later in the summer she shipped signed copies of her 2020 album Folklore to help generate traffic at a time brick-and-mortar stores across the globe were hurting.
To the surprise of no one, Grimey’s owners Anna Lundy and Doyle Davis were quick to endorse Record Store Day’s choice for 2022 ambassador.
In a statement, Grimey’s said, “Swift has shown her love and support for independent record stores by not only supporting our shop specifically during the dark, early days of the pandemic, when she directly donated to help us support our staff, but also by steering her eager, excited, and dedicated fans to independent record stores, places that many of them visited for the first time while in search of her signed CDs.”
Past Record Store Day Ambassadors for North America have included Jack White, St. Vincent, and Pearl Jam. Fred Armisen wore the crown in 2021, while Brandi Carlile served as Ambassador in 2020. Record Store Day has never had a global ambassador until now. Swift’s been busy during the pandemic, releasing two albums of new material in 2020 (Folklore and Evermore) and winningly re-recording her older records (Red and Fearless) as part of a fight over rights to the masters in her back catalog. All those albums have been released on vinyl, helping oldfashioned records outsell CDs over the past two years. Swift has promised a special Record Store Day vinyl release for fans which will be announced in the coming weeks.
And, as always, expect special drops from a whole host of artists who rightly understand that physical records smell better than MP3s, not to mention streaming services. Record Store Day returns for its 15th year on April 23, 2022. g
Peach Pit delivers mixed emotions on “Vickie” vid
by Mike Usinger
At the risk of reading too much into it, Peach Pit’s video for “Vickie” seems very much a product of its time, which is to say the fall of a less-than-memorable 2021.
You might remember that as a period when the rains started in late-September after a Death Valley-like summer, and then didn’t stop until half the Fraser Valley looked like Genesis Chapters 6-9. And a time when leaving the house was something that came with a calculated risk, namely the very real possibility of catching a virus that’s refused to fuck off for what seems like forever. And a time when going to shows was possible, but only if you were willing to sit in a chair with a facemask on no matter how much you felt like ripping up the nonexistent dance floor.
Maybe it’s all that and everything else that makes “Vickie” seem like it’s conveying mixed emotions. When Peach Pit singer-guitarist Neil Smith picks up and runs out of a modest bungalow at the beginning of the song, he takes just seconds to establish himself as a man thrilled to
When someone cuts it in the middle of a road trip, you either pull over and air the car out or you break into a singalong of the Cranberries’ classic “Linger”. Photo by Mackenzie Walker.
be out of the house for a walk. And walk he does, acoustic guitar in hand, covering a lot of Lower Mainland ground, from the muddy pumpkin-patches of Delta’s Westham Island to the rainy streets of East Van.
If you’re going to sum up Smith’s demeanor as he jumps, jives, shuffles, and modified-duck-struts his way across the screen, it’s dialed in, his eyes almost always on the horizon. Same goes for leadguitarist Christopher Vanderkooy when he pops in a couple of times in relief, and promptly proves himself one of the best musicians not only in the city, but perhaps the country.
The weather in “Vickie” falls somewhere between gloomy and West Coast grey. But the song’s gorgeous and breezy enough to make you feel like you’re walking on sunshine during the first warm day of spring. All of which is to say that life’s sometimes confusing and you don’t know whether to feel happy or sad. Except then you get back from an all-day walk and Vickie’s not only waiting on the couch, but ready with a blazing bomber. That’s when, against all odds, everything somehow seems okay. Don’t forget to get out of the house this week. Watch for Peach Pit’s upcoming third album, From 2 to 3, this March. g
