The Georgia Straight - Dynamic Duo - April 18, 2019

APRIL 18 - 25 / 2019 | FREE Volume 53 | Number 2674

4/20 EXPLAINED It’s both a protest and a festival

RENTAL-ONLY ZONING Green councillor sees benefits

SOMETHING’S HAPPENING Wallows finds its footing

Dynamic Duo

At the Vancouver Opera Festival, La Cenerentola lead Simone McIntosh and Faust star Simone Osborne share much more than a first name

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2 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT APRIL 18 – 25 / 2019

(BEFORE WE ALL BECOME WHEEL- FOOTE D ROBOTS)

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APRIL 18 – 25 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 3

CONTENTS

April 18 – 25 / 2019

17 COVER

Mezzo Simone McIntosh and soprano Simone Osborne both tap an inner strength to play iconic parts at the Vancouver Opera Festival.

By Janet Smith Cover photo by Emily Cooper

6

NEWS

Coun. Pete Fry is keenly interested in having rental-only zoning in Vancouver, but he also sees some legal risks.

By Carlito Pablo

11

CANNABIS

Opponents of the annual 4/20 event question why it’s necessary after legalization, but organizers insist that many cannabis-related issues still need to be addressed.

By Piper Courtenay

26 FOOD

Local chocolatiers have created unique and sophisticated treats in advance of the Easter weekend.

By Tammy Kwan

31 MUSIC

Los Angeles three piece Wallows spent 10 years with nothing happening—then came the Coachella invite.

By Mike Usinger

e Start Here 15 BOOKS 27 THE BOTTLE 33 CONFESSIONS 21 DANCE 16 HOROSCOPES 15 I SAW YOU 28 MOVIE REVIEWS 8 REAL ESTATE 35 SAVAGE LOVE 23 THEATRE 22 VISUAL ARTS

e Online TOP 5

e Listings 25 ARTS 33 MUSIC

Vancouver’s News and Entertainment Weekly Volume 53 | Number 2674

Spring in Whistler brings longer days and off-peak pricing, which means it’s the best time to enjoy everything under the sun. Kick the season off with a round of golf and a float on the lake. Squeeze in a day of skiing, dine on a sunny patio, take in an event like GO Fest, and cap it all off on a quiet beach.

1635 West Broadway, Vancouver, B.C. V6J 1W9 T: 604.730.7000 F: 604.730.7010 E: gs.info@straight.com straight.com

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Regulate supply or overdose deaths will continue, hundreds cry.

Condo residents justifiably pissed off with binners.

Park commissioner says 4/20 fest should drop Cypress Hill show.

Martyn Brown: Trudeau torches Liberal values for votes.

Housing co-op proposed on city land near Joyce Station.

GeorgiaStraight @GeorgiaStraight @GeorgiaStraight

The Georgia Straight is published every Thursday by the Vancouver Free Press Publishing Corp. Copies are distributed free every week throughout Vancouver, Burnaby, North and West Vancouver, New Westminster, and Richmond. International Standard Serial Number ISSN 0709-8995. Subscription rates in Canada $182.00/52 issues (includes GST), $92.00/26 issues (includes GST); United States $379.00/52 issues, $205.00/26 issues; foreign $715.00/52 issues, $365.00/26 issues. Contact 604-730-7087 if you wish to distribute free copies of the Georgia Straight at your place of business. Entire contents copyright © 2019 Vancouver Free Press, Best Of Vancouver, Bov And Golden Plates Are Trade-Marks Of Vancouver Free Press Publishing Corp. SUBMISSIONS The Straight accepts no responsibility for, and will not necessarily respond to, any submitted materials. All submissions should be addressed to contact@straight.com.

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NEWS Politician ponders rental-only zoning

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ancouver city councillor Pete Fry says that both the West End and Hastings-Sunrise neighbourhoods could benefit greatly from rental-only zoning.

“The West End is in crisis,” Fry told the Georgia Straight in a phone interview. “We are losing a dramatic amount of affordable rental housing in the West End, and it’s a true crisis in the true sense of the word, especially with the LGBTQ community.”

The same rental-zoning argument applies to Hastings-Sunrise and other East Side areas around Commercial Drive and Joyce-Collingwood Station, the Vancouver Green councillor said.

For the Joyce area, Fry noted that most of the new condo developments there are not tailored for families. “How do you fit them into a small apartment?

Does that even work?” he asked.

The City of Vancouver has yet to utilize the rental-only zoning authority that the province has provided to local governments.

It will be a year on Wednesday (April 24) since the B.C. government introduced legislation giving municipalities a greater ability to preserve and increase rental housing. The law took effect on May 31, 2018, but only New Westminster has used the power so far.

In January this year, New Westminster city council adopted a bylaw applying the rental zoning to 12 cityowned properties and six condo buildings currently used as rentals. The city is now facing a lawsuit from owners of the private buildings, who claim that the zoning takes away their rights to sell their assets as strata properties.

According to Fry, rental-only zoning is a “tool that needs to be wielded with a great deal of discretion and thoughtfulness”.

He explained that the value of

Coun. Pete Fry says that downzoning can leave the city vulnerable to lawsuits.

private properties in Vancouver runs to billions of dollars and any move to “essentially downzone the city will have possible repercussions”.

“We need to operate sensitively around that,” Fry said. “And, furthermore, if we were to downzone, for instance, property that’s been purchased, you know, with an expressed intent to do XYZ under the existing zoning—i.e., condos or whatever—if we then turn around and say, ‘Oh, you know what? We’re going to

change the zoning on you and you can only do rental apartments,’ does that open us up to a lawsuit?”

That said, Fry noted that council has instructed city staff to prepare a report on what options the city can employ to apply rental-only zoning.

“Clearly, we’re in the throes of crisis too, so we don’t have time to sit on our hands on this,” Fry said. “So I’d like to see us moving faster on it. Coun.

[Jean] Swanson and I and Coun.

[Adriane] Carr, we’ve all been pushing to see more movement on that.”

According to Fry, the propertyrights issue is one of the things City of Vancouver planners need to take a closer look at.

“I think if you’re effectively downzoning an area, then that might be problematic,” Fry said. “If it’s still an upzoning—I mean, if you have a lowdensity area that’s only zoned for, you know, modest density, and suddenly if you’re upzoning it for more density but it has to be rental-only zoning, that’s still a win.”

For rental-only zoning to work effectively, Fry said, it must be used “judiciously, like surgical-style”. g

P arade OF THE WEEK TAKE PUBLIC transit, ride your bike, or walk—but don’t you dare drive—to the always joyful annual Earth Day Festival and Parade on Commercial Drive.

The event brings green-minded students and adults together, beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday (April 20) at Commercial Drive and East Broadway. From there, a colourful, zany, and sign-filled procession heads north to Grandview Park, where educators and

performers will keep the crowd entertained. This event was launched back in 2011 by young environmentalists with the help of the Wilderness Committee.

And it’s still going strong—and is even more necessary than ever before. Greta Thunberg may be capturing headlines around the world, but at this event you’ll discover that we have more than our share of local young climate heroes here in Vancouver. g

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HOUSING

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or the second time in two days, a high-profile economist has called for a rethink of the B-20 mortgage stress test.

Benjamin Tal, deputy chief economist with CIBC World Markets, released a paper on April 16 recommending that regulators revisit a requirement that prospective homebuyers qualify for mortgages two points higher than the contracted rate.

Part of the reason, according to him, is that this regulation is leading more borrowers to rely on “alternative lenders�. “Alternative lending is an integral part of any normally-functioning market,� Tal wrote. “But a fast-growing alternative lending market is not. “Behind the scenes, there is a transfer of risk from the regulated to the less regulated segment of the market—from where there is light to where it is dark,� he continued. “That was certainly not the intent of B-20, and any other mortgage-related change to regulations.�

On April 15, the chief economist of the B.C. Real Estate Association, Cameron Muir, linked the B-20 stress test to “near recession-level housing demand despite the province boasting the lowest unemployment rates in a decade�.

The “B-20� rule was introduced in January 2018 by the federal Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions in response to Canadians’ high debt levels.

In December, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation stated that the debt-to-income ratio in Metro Vancouver was 242 percent—the highest in the country. Metro Toronto was in second place at 208 percent.

Tal’s paper noted that it’s possible to get a fixed-rate mortgage nowadays at 3.5 percent, but a person must still be qualified at 5.5 percent. “There is little doubt that the architects of B-20 had Vancouver and Toronto in mind when they designed the new rule,� Tal wrote. “The more stretched you are, the more likely you are to fail the test.�

That is indeed what has happened in those two cities, according to research

There is little doubt that the architects of B-20 had Vancouver and Toronto in mind. – Benjamin Tal

he pulled together from his bank, the real-estate industry, Statistics Canada, and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Sales in Metro Vancouver, in particular, have plummeted during the past year.

alk TOF THE WEEK A BLURB for a housing lecture in Vancouver suggests big-picture thinking. “There is nothing inevitable about the housing crisis, but changing it requires understanding the role of housing within urban capitalism today,� reads the promotion for Home or Commodity? The Transformation of Housing and its Discontents.

It seems to echo the critique that capitalism cannot provide affordable and decent housing for everyone, because it is not designed to do so. Most homes are built for one purpose: profit.

Their value lies not in meeting a basic human need, which is shelter. Housing is prized because it creates more wealth.

Sociologist David Madden, codirector of the Cities Programme at the London School of Economics and Political Science, delivers the talk at the SFU Segal Building (500 Granville Street) on Tuesday (April 23). Doors open at 6:30 p.m. g

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“The damage to the housing market was directly linked to unaffordability,� Tal declared.

He pointed out that 21 policy changes related to the residential mortgage-lending market in the period leading up to the introduction of the B-20 stress test have significantly improved the overall quality of credit in the Canadian market. But he also noted that this evaluation does not capture credit scores of those who don’t rely on traditional lenders.

And it appears that far more borrowers are choosing this route to pay for their homes.

Citing data from the Ontario Land Registry, Tal concluded that during the past two years, “mortgage originations provided by alternative lenders rose by a cumulative 27% while originations in the market as a whole fell by 11%.�

He acknowledged that this might not be entirely due to the B-20 regulation.

It would also “reflect the impact of the stress test that was imposed on high-ratio mortgages in late-2016 as well as regulatory-related credit restrictions on new immigrants and those self-employed�. “The stress test imposed on the market was probably necessary, since there was a need to save some Canadian borrowers from themselves,�

Tal wrote. “But is 200 basis points the right number?�

Since B-20 became a requirement, Tal stated, the Bank of Canada has increased its rates by 75 basis points and the five-year mortgage rate has gone up by 35 basis points. “Furthermore, borrowers’ income is likely to rise during mortgage terms,� he noted. “Average personal income has risen by a cumulative 12.5% over the past five years—the stress test does not take that into account. Nor does B-20 allow for the fact that during the course of the mortgage term, equity position rises due to principal payments.�

For these reasons, he called for a “more flexible benchmark� with potentially a narrower spread over the contracted mortgage rate. g

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Another Modo move to zero emissions (This story is sponsored by The Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association.)

E

arth Day (Monday, April 22), provides an important opportunity for consumers and businesses alike to demonstrate their support for environmental protection—something desperately needed given that climate change is by far one of the most frightening issues we are facing. Since 1850, the global average temperature has increased by 0.9 ° C.—with the five warmest years on record taking place since 2010. The planet is getting warmer due to increased concentrations of carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels.

The Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association (CHFCA)—a national, nonprofit that works with corporations, government, and educational institutions to develop, demonstrate, and deploy hydrogen and fuel cell products and services in Canada—knows this better than anyone. Earth Day marks a crucial time for the CHFCA to promote clean tech solutions; the organization envisions a future in which industry can meet growing energy demands in an environmentally sustainable way.

By re-examining our sources of energy, we can reduce carbon dioxide emissions and halt further climate change. And hydrogen and fuel cell products are an important part of the solution. They were first used by utility vehicles such as forklifts and transit buses.

But with increased pressure to come up with cleaner alternatives to fossil fuels, car manufacturers are now making hydrogen available in consumer vehicles as well.

Hyundai Auto Canada Corporation announced the national launch of the NEXO, Canada’s first and only fuel cell-powered consumer vehicle. NEXO is an electric vehicle powered by a hydrogen fuel cell which allows it to use renewable hydrogen—and emits nothing more than water vapour.

Compared to battery electric powertrains, this technology offers superior range (up to 570 kilometres), refills in less than five minutes, and is tough enough to take on

choosing Modo’s round-trip service reduces GHG emissions by up to 50 percent, and of its 700+ vehicles, one in five is an EV or hybrid. But now, in celebration of Earth Day, Modo has taken its commitment to clean mobility a step further, by partnering with the CHFCA and Hyundai to become the first and only carshare in Canada to add hydrogen vehicles to its f leet.

“Our goal is to experiment with as many alternative fuel types as possible,” says Selena McLachlan, Modo’s Director of Marketing.

“In addition to better understanding user behaviour, we’ve learned a lot about the operational implications of having hybrids, full EVs, and plug-ins in our f leet. Bringing in the new hydrogen vehicles gives us an opportunity to add to our learnings, and gets us one step closer to an eventual zeroemissions fleet.”

NEXOs are a rare find in Vancouver. In fact, On Earth Day, Modo will become the first carshare with hydrogen vehicles in its fleet. Photo by Terell Ward there are only 10 Canada. But through Modo, Vancouverites will have unparalleled access to even the coldest weather, making it particuVancouver-based carshare co-operative, experience the technology firsthand.

“We’re the only carshare with NEXO,” larly resilient to Canadians winters—east of Modo, is well known for offering members B.C. of course! more sustainable ways to get around. In fact, says McLachlan. “And while you won’t be able to buy one any time soon, members of Modo will be able to drive them and provide feedback to help shape the future of this technology.”

Modo members can book the NEXO startc THERE ISN’T AN ABUNDANT SOURCE c IT’S EXPENSIVE With higher volumes, ing Monday (April 22). While it’s still early scientists optimizing the technology, and Hydrogen can be made from almost any days for hydrogen refueling infrastructure, companies improving manufacturing, source of energy. Hydropower, solar and Vancouver is home to one of Canada’s only the price for hydrogen and fuel cells will wind power, nuclear power, geothermal public stations, located in the city’s Marpole continue to go down. power, and other energy sources can all be transformed into electricity and then, by neighbourhood. c IT’S DANGEROUS Like any fuel with high electrolysis, into hydrogen.

“Hydrogen makes no-compromise, zeroenergy content, hydrogen needs to be emission vehicles possible for everyday use,” handled properly to be safe. It is neither c IT CAN’T COMPETE WITH REGULAR says Andreas Truckenbrodt, President and more nor less inherently hazardous than GAS Vehicles that use hydrogen in a fuel CEO of the Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell gasoline, propane, or batteries. cell are twice as efficient as comparable Association. “Carsharing f leets are a great gasoline vehicles—plus they emit no carbon c IT ISN’T A CLEAN FUEL Hydrogen way to bring this promising technology onto dioxide, nitrogen oxides, or particles. doesn’t create any emissions when used the roads, and we are very happy to assist in a fuel cell. Producing hydrogen from c HYDROGEN INFRASTRUCTURE IS with the support of B.C.’s government.” g natural gas does create some emissions, EXPENSIVE AND DOESN’T EXIST

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APRIL 18 – 25 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 9

10 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT APRIL 18 – 25 / 2019

CANNABIS

4/20 is both protest and celebration

by Piper Courtenay

A

sk any organizer of Vancouver’s 4/20 and none take issue with politicians calling the event a “celebration”. For the heavily stigmatized community, in fact, it is.

“Of course it is. This is how we’ve been celebrating marijuana—without anyone’s fucking permission— for 24 years,” event host and organizer Greg “Marijuana Man” Williams says with a laugh while chatting with the Georgia Straight.

“It’s a beautiful day of diversity and inclusion,” activist Jodie Emery says in another conversation. “When I am at these events, and I look into the crowd, we have all ages, all races, all ranges of socioeconomic backgrounds. It’s people coming together and having a wonderful time.”

Sensible B.C. director and event spokesperson Dana Larsen goes further, saying that media tagging the event as a “fun festival” aren’t wrong either—in fact, that is one of the few things they get right.

“4/20 has always been a celebration of cannabis and its culture and our forbidden love for this wonderful plant,” he says.

It’s not surprising, then, that the hundreds of booths slinging a tantalizing spectrum of cannabis products, the celebrity musical acts, and the smiles on the tens of thousands of faces are enough to mislead many to believe that’s all it is—a festival.

It is also why recent comments from the likes of city councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung and park commissioners Tricia Barker and John Coupar, all of whom are pushing for a rebrand of the word protest, seem defensible.

Even Jeremiah Vandermeer, Cannabis Culture CEO and one of 4/20’s

Critics seem to think in order for it to be a protest we all have to be poor and disorganized.

– Jodie Emery

According to event host and organizer Greg “Marijuana Man” Williams, the lack of a permit has never stopped Vancouver’s 4/20 event. Photo by Piper Courtenay

lead organizers, has dubbed April 20 a “cannabis lover’s day of freedom”, when attendees get to experience what the world would be like if weed were “truly” liberated.

But what terms like celebration and party miss, however, is that if Canadian laws were enforced to the fullest extent, everyone at the event would be, by definition, a criminal.

“Every single person could be arrested,” Vandermeer says.

The annual cannabis protest has not secured a permit for the past 24 years—meaning everything from smoking weed in the park to the sale of product comes with risk. Yet somehow the smoke-in remains one of the city’s largest and most beloved annual gatherings. Why?

“Peaceful civil disobedience means breaking bad laws openly, and 4/20 is still a demonstration of that,” Vandermeer adds. “People still believe there is something to fight for. That hasn’t changed.”

Every year, the park board withholds a licence for one of the city’s largest events, and that hasn’t changed with the event going into its 25th year.

A few weeks prior, Barker introduced a motion to urge city councillors to discuss a new venue for the unsanctioned event. Although she had no suggestion for an alternate location, she says it can’t stay at its current spot, Sunset Beach Park, at the mouth of False Creek. The protest was originally mounted at Victory Square, then moved to the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery. Over the years, it outgrew the downtown core. Although the new site has been contentious for the past three years, some politicians are pivoting away from location talks and instead

taking a new approach to halting the gathering, fixating on the legitimacy of the word protest in light of the plant’s newly legalized status. Conversation around 4/20 is dissolving into a game of semantics.

“After years of staging the annual protest, we’re now in a new era of legalization. They made it,” KirbyYung wrote in a recent Daily Hive op-ed, glossing over a list of issues that activists, medical patients, and consumers have flagged since pot’s legalization in late 2018.

She continued: “It’s a party on the residents’ dollar and it’s a trade show.”

Kirby-Yung says Pride started as a protest and “grew and evolved”, and so should 4/20—although the former operates with a permit, sanctioned locations, and city funding.

“They say, ‘You got what you wanted,’ but they continue to act the same way they did under prohibition. Have you seen anything change in the way they handled 4/20 this year than any year before? No. Of course not,” event organizer Williams says. “We’re still treated like third-class citizens.”

Commissioner Coupar used the Monday park-board meeting to take aim at the event’s musical headliner, Cypress Hill, filing an “urgent motion” to formally request the board to ask organizers to cancel the rap group’s appearance for fear of the gathering getting “out of hand”; the board voted in favour. In a media statement, Coupar referred to the upcoming day of peaceful civil disobedience as a “commercial venture”—later telling reporters at City Hall that police could prevent the stage being set up. Mayor Kennedy Stewart told CBC that any such police see next page

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action is unlikely.

“The event is not about profit, but we need to generate revenue,” event organizer Larsen clarifies.

“We spend over $150,000 each year for protection of the park, our own emergency services, food and water, printing bills, our own site security.

It’s a very long list of things.”

Last year, organizers also paid more than $63,000 to the city to cover costs to the public, not including two $4,200 donations to St. Paul’s Hospital and Vancouver firefighters.

The one fee they did not pony up was a $44,000 policing bill, which Larsen says no other protest is asked to pay.

As for continued use of the word protest, event organizers say there are now more discriminatory and ineffective laws to challenge than ever before.

“Critics seem to think in order for it to be a protest we all have to be poor and disorganized,” activist Jodie Emery adds. “We are demonstrating that we are all normal people. This is what a protest looks like. This is the cannabis community.”

According to Emery, cannabis is now harder to access and more expensive, and carries with it a new catalogue of criminal sanctions.

For example, although Canadians are now permitted to grow up to four pot plants in their private residence, they can be slapped with a fine of up to $5,000 and three months’ jail time if they are visible from the street. The charge can double for a repeat offence.

This is one of about 50 new punishable offenses, including questionable impaired-driving laws.

“There are so many examples in this legislation of cannabis being punished at a severity far beyond what you would get for the same kind of situation involving alcohol,” Larsen says.

Williams says that neither lack of a permit nor political campaigning has ever stopped organizers from pulling off a “magical” event.

“We completely operate as if we had a permit, even though they have vowed to never issue us one,” he adds.

Backers say 4/20 is relevant even after legalization. Photo by Piper Courtenay

Organizers scan the ground with sonar to ensure correct generator placement, ship in toilets and trash receptacles, work alongside the police to contain crowds, coordinate with Vancouver health and safety officials, place protective mats on the grass to prevent damage, and hire engineers to erect the stage.

“We do a good job of keeping it clean. Every year, we pay a lot of money and put in a lot of work to make sure the park is in mint condition when we’re done,” organizer Vandermeer says. This year, Weeds, a local dispensary chain, has also put together a volunteer “green team” to stay after hours to pick up refuse.

“At the end of every event, a VPD rep shakes our hand and says it’s one of the best events in terms of lack of violence and damage,” Vandermeer adds. “This idea that we ruin the park and do this in defiance of the city are some of the biggest misconceptions.”

While talking to the Straight, Williams lights a joint and muses for a moment on his years pulling the city together around weed.

“It’s pretty fucking cool this group of people is still prepared to do this— stand up against the oppression, the authority, and without a bat of an eye after all these years of threats,” he says.

Holding true to the definition of a protest, Vancouver’s 4/20 community is set to spark up at 4:20 p.m. on Saturday without the permission of the park board. g

APRIL 18 – 25 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 13

Hey Vancouver, show some pride in 4/20!

For 25 years, 4/20 has been a massive act of public civil disobedience, and remains a powerful protest against the ongoing stigmatization and criminalization of cannabis users and growers.

Despite “legalizationâ€? there is still much to protest and much work to be done in terms of achieving equality and fairness for cannabis users, both here in Vancouver and all across Canada. +HUH DUH VRPH RI WKH UHDVRQV ZK\ LV D SURWHVW DQG ZKDW ZH DUH Ă€JKWLQJ IRU 1. We are protesting that there are no legal lounges or spaces to use cannabis.

2. We are protesting that we are treated and punished far more severely than alcohol users in every way.

3. We are protesting that the cannabis industry is being taken over by millionaires, ex-cops and prohibitionist politicians, while those communities most harmed by prohibition are left out and continue to be demonized.

4. We are protesting that it has become harder for many patients to access medical cannabis now than it was before “legalization.�

5. We are protesting that events with alcohol use can get permits to use public spaces, but events with cannabis use are forbidden from getting permits.

6. We are protesting the high taxes on cannabis, especially taxes on medical cannabis, which is taxed like no other legal medicine.

7. We are protesting arbitrary limitations, like how growing more than 4 cannabis plants at home remains a serious crime, but there are no limits on home beer.

8. We are protesting discriminatory driving laws which declare people to be impaired even if they are a medical user or haven’t ingested cannabis for days.

9. We are protesting the VPD raid and seizure of cannabis from the Overdose 3UHYHQWLRQ 6LWH ZKHUH LW ZDV EHLQJ RŲHUHG DV D VDIHU VXEVWLWXWH IRU RSLRLGV 10. We are protesting Vancouver city bylaws which restrict cannabis shops far more strictly than liquor stores in every way.

11. We protest in solidarity with those around the world who live in much more UHSUHVVLYH UHJLPHV ZKHUH WKH\ VXŲHU WRUWXUH DQG H[HFXWLRQ RYHU FDQQDELV 12. We stand with all drug users, and call for an end to all prohibition and drug war.

Anyone who says “there is nothing to protest� isn’t paying attention.

A protest is an act of civil disobedience designed to challenge existing rules, draw public attention to an issue, and create social and political change. In all those regards, 4/20 is a very successful protest!

Join us at Sunset Beach on April 20, in a celebration of cannabis and a protest against the prohibition, punishments and stigma which remain.

www.420Vancouver.com 14 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT APRIL 18 – 25 / 2019

BOOKS

Spring reads test boundaries Authors examine chronic illness and the unseen wonders of nature

by Brian Lynch

A MIND SPREAD OUT ON THE GROUND (By Alicia Elliott. Penguin Random House) The title of this meditation by acclaimed Haudenosaunee writer Alicia Elliott is an incisive Mohawk phrase describing the human struggle with depression. And Elliott is fearless here in revealing her own encounters with mental illness and family trauma. But these are not chapters of autobiography. They’re meant as lenses through which author and reader can view what would otherwise be too vast to take in at once: the ongoing cultural catastrophe Indigenous peoples have experienced under colonialism, stretching across continents and generations, and persisting in racism so ingrained that it’s easily ignored by most who are not its targets. There are ways out of this brutal old arrangement, Elliott suggests, but not without confronting it on an individual level.

VISUAL INSPECTION (By Matt Rader. Nightwood) Poetry is always a test of limits, but this new blend of essay, memoir, and verse is out to test the boundaries of the genre itself. How we frame art is, like all experience, determined by the state of our bodies, says renowned Kelowna poet and author Matt Rader here, and on this point he’s speaking from intimate knowledge: Rader wrote

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Visual Inspection while in the grip of deep chronic illness. Turning for evidence to the work of other disabled artists—the blind poets Milton and Borges among them— he ref lects on the powers of pain, community, and strength. “I want to make invitations,” Rader stated in a recent i nt e r v i e w, “invitations to imagine, to be in rel a t i o n s h i p, to see what is there even when we can’t see.”

Due out April 27.

BINA: A NOVEL IN WARNINGS (By Anakana Schofield. Knopf Canada) The Vancouver author of the celebrated novels Malarky and Martin John returns with another extraordinary character able to drive a story with her voice. “For every woman who has had enough,” declares the dedication in Bina, and our narrator certainly counts herself as one. “Don’t arrive at the end of this tale insisting it was too long or too wide or too unlike you,” she tells the reader early on. “I am not interested

in appealing to you. I am not you.

I am only here to warn you.” Many of these warnings, along with much of the story, are delivered in short bursts that fall somewhere between poem and aphorism. As always with Schofield’s work, the outcome is stark, funny, and blood-warm. Due out May 18.

THE SECRET WISDOM OF NATURE (By Peter Wohlleben.

Greystone) With this, the former German forest ranger and now best-selling author completes his trilogy on the unseen wonders of the nonhuman world, which began with The Hidden Life of Trees and The Inner Life of Animals. Wohlleben wants to offer a sense of the dizzyingly marvellous web that connects and balances all living forms on the planet (Chapter 10 is titled “How Earthworms Control Wild Boar”), and so he writes in a wholly readable tone, and with infectious curiosity. With reports of environmental chaos constantly in the news, you may be surprised that you can bring a sense of delight and gobsmacked reverence, rather than fear or numbness, to the idea that “we’d do better to keep our hands off everything in nature that we do not absolutely have to touch.” g

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Looked up to see you sitting in front of me. Definitely wanted to tell you you’re a babe. We got off at the same stop. Maybe see you around the hood?

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: APRIL 11, 2019 WHERE: Sweet Cherubim, Commercial Drive First noticed a handsome, scruffy guy in the line up. We locked eyes across tables at one point, then again when you were leaving, then a third time as you left. Wouldn’t mind looking into your eyes again.

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: APRIL 13, 2019 WHERE: Brentwood CIBC I am kicking myself in the ass. I was rushing to get back to work. You and I looked at each other and shared a smile. You have such a beautiful smile! I wish I had introduced myself! If by chance you see this, I would love to take you out for coffee or dinner. :)

TWICE IN A WEEK.

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: APRIL 13, 2019 WHERE: Dollar Store @ Waterfront First I saw you with a friend, riding the SkyTrain into the city, and now I saw you shopping at the Waterfront Dollar Store.

You are so beautiful. If there is a third encounter, I will not let the chance escape me to meet you. I hope you read this.

THE GIRL WITH THE DISTRESSED DENIM (DOUBLE TAKE)

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: APRIL 12, 2019 WHERE: Ash & 12th

You were crossing 12th at Ash on Friday afternoon. I waited on that languid strut, making left in white truck. You glanced back, hard stare. I ogled. A perfect peach bottom in distressed denim. Flyaway hair the colour of unpasteurized honey. You rubbernecked, twice, all comehither. I came back round, but you were gone. I’m the bespectacled bearded driver, swarthy.

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BEFORE THE RUSH AT NO FRILLS ON FRASER

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: APRIL 13, 2019 WHERE: No Frills on Fraser It was just after 9am. The rush at the cashiers had not yet started.

You were cashing and were friendly beyond the call of duty.

Please don’t be offended, but you are a young chubby Chinese woman with hair dye. It all works for you. It works for me, too.

WATERFRONT STATION BLONDE

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: APRIL 12, 2019 WHERE: Waterfront SkyTrain Station You were at the ticket kiosk at Waterfront station, a blueeyed blonde in a black yoga suit with wireless headphones on. I told you that you looked lovely today and went on my way. Respond with something about me if you’re interested in grabbing a drink.

I FACE-PLANTED IN FRONT OF YOU OUTSIDE OF THAI SON

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You were standing outside Thai Son. I was making note of how handsome you were when I face-planted in front of you. You were startled and immediately came to see if I was okay and help me up. I was so embarrassed and in shock I said “Sorry” and quickly limped away. What I meant to say was “Thank you for your kindness.”

YOU MADE MY LUVAFAIR NIGHT

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: APRIL 11, 2019 WHERE: Luvafair Night at LanaLou’s Your energy, enthusiasm, and beauty on the dance floor made my night! I told you that as my friend and I were leaving but am now kicking myself for not asking for your number.

Let’s hit another dance floor together soon.

YOU ALWAYS SIT FACING THE WALL - WHY?

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Yet, you have a wonderful smile, and you smiled at me.

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APRIL 18 – 25 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 15

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APRIL 18 TO 24, 2019

by Rose Marcus

he holiday long weekend launches on a full moon.

Happening at the very last degree of Libra (just 28 minutes off Scorpio!), it can have a sneak-upon-you punch. This extra kick is due to the influence of Uranus in opposition to the full moon. Relationship and/or financial strain can take a toll.

Then again, you may feel it as simply an opportunity to switch off the workweek just past and to log on elsewhere.

The sun enters Taurus just after midnight on Friday evening. While Taurus is a slower-moving archetype, there is no slowdown when it comes to facing front on the critical issues of the day. The stars will continue to keep pressure on us to confront what’s necessary until we can figure out a better way to cross the road.

Early Saturday, Venus, ruler of Taurus, leaves Pisces for Aries. Mercury, the communication and commerce planet, made the switch just a few days ago. They set the stage for something fresh and new to “go live”.

Both gain extra turbo from Chiron, the no pain, no gain archetype: Mercury/Chiron (Friday) places emphasis on key people, making the connection, and getting the message straight; and Venus/Chiron (Monday, Tuesday) dials up money, survival, and relationship matters. Chiron intensifies a sense of fate, destiny, or karmic replay.

Monday ends the long weekend with the sun on a fresh perk-it-up with Uranus. Back-to-work Tuesday should see the week off to a good start.

Watch for a block or obstacle to move out of the way on Wednesday as Pluto in Capricorn begins a four-month retrograde (restructuring) cycle.

Happy Easter/Happy Passover!

strong, especially so if you are born on or near July 22. Then again, the stars might be just timing it right for a well-deserved switch-track long weekend. Monday, sun/Uranus can deliver a second punch or a second wind. Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday, take your best shot.

F

VIRGO

G

LIBRA

H

SCORPIO

Friday’s start could push the refresh button, perhaps unexpectedly. Watch for a fresh idea, insight, or incentive to get you going. Saturday through Tuesday, your stars loan you good sway and swagger. Despite Monday’s edgy stars and Chiron adding a price to the mix through the long weekend, overall you’ll find yourself on a positive upswing. Next Wednesday/Thursday keeps you driven and going strong.

A

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July 8 - 19, 2019 a collaboration between

16 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT APRIL 18 – 25 / 2019

Centre for Digital Media 685 Great Northern Way Vancouver, BC, V5T 0C6 thecdm.ca/program/tmdm

October 23–November 22

Friday’s full moon can feel more Scorpio than Libra. In other words, feelings run deep. Don’t ignore your intuition or your body’s signals. Stay ready to spring into action on a moment’s notice or pounce on it when the opportunARIES ity appears. On Good Friday and March 20–April 20 Earth Day Monday, the stars can Sometimes you just have to stir it up unexpectedly. Emotions, bite the bullet and say it, do it, pay for passion, and impulsiveness are easit, or accept it for what it is. Thurs- ily triggered. day/Friday can trigger something SAGITTARIUS thought-provoking, sudden, or inNovember 22–December 21 flaming, perhaps regarding the comUnplug yourself Friday munication track or health. Monday to Wednesday can extract a price or and let the world spin without you make it worth your while. Friday’s for a temporary spell. Friday’s ilfull moon and Monday/Tuesday dish luminating full moon could spark a creative breakthrough or pull you up the unexpected or opportune. deeper into ref lection and soulTAURUS searching. Passover and Easter April 20–May 21 Sunday keep you in good f low.

Friday’s full moon kick- Earth Monday can fire it up, then starts more than the holiday long fizzle it quick. What’s next? It’s weekend. Watch for something un- time to start actively thinking and expected (perhaps with karmic tone) planning. to crack it open. You could find yourCAPRICORN self with more work to do, in greater December 21–January 20 need, or required to give or give in Although it is good to get more. On the other hand, you could find yourself (it or them) suddenly away from the work, the holiday revived. Saturday through Tuesday, long weekend requires that you show up for it—or, rather, that you show you’ll hit an upswing. up for yourself. While on a changing GEMINI moment-to-moment basis, Friday’s May 21–June 21 full-moon off/on fast-track triggers Beyond a well-deserved extend through Easter Monday. Satlong weekend, now through mid– urday, Sunday, and Tuesday, you’ll next week could trigger a break- net your best gains. through regarding someone or AQUARIUS something. Spontaneity delivers.

January 20–February 18 Mercury, freshly into Aries, could Apt for a long-weekend speed up the process or the conversation or produce a great find, break from the routine, Uranus a stroke-of-genius moment, or a opposes the full moon on Good chain reaction. Saturday through Friday and conjuncts the sun on Tuesday, Venus in Aries fires up Easter Monday. Between these two something fresh or extra regarding trigger points, Mercury and Venus in Aries stoke the refresh-it fire. gifting yourself or one you love.

Make the most of your time and CANCER conversations. As of Tuesday, you’ll June 21–July 22 gain better ground.

Launching on a full moon, PISCES Good Friday can start with an energy February 18–March 20 boost, a phone call, or something unIdeal for a change of scenexpected. You could get going earlier or faster than you planned. The holi- ery and a fresh energy infusion, day weekend can mark a milestone Friday’s full moon opposite Uraor a cutoff point. Despite challenge in nus and Monday’s sun/Uranus the mix Saturday/Sunday and Tues- conjunction bookend the holiday day, you’ll get the goods out of your long weekend. You aren’t likely to be sitting still on either day. Saturtime. Monday, you need a change. day/Sunday, soak up the good stuff.

LEO A special one tugs on the heart.

July 22–August 23 Tuesday, the getting is good. g With Chiron and Uranus adding an extra edge, Friday’s full Book a reading or sign up for Rose’s free moon can come on sudden and monthly newsletter at rosemarcus.com/.

J

REGISTER AT thecdm.ca/program/tmdm

September 23–October 23

The full-moon action could sneak up on you. Watch for the start and end of the long weekend to deliver the goods. You can feel that fate is pulling the strings, especially so if you are born on or near September 26. Thanks to sun/Uranus, Monday could produce a second wave, but it can strike in a completely different way than on Friday.

B

ATTEND THE APRIL 25th INFO SESSION

August 23–September 23

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D E

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arts

Two Simones take the lead at opera fest

by Janet Smith

T

hey each star in a main-stage show at this year’s Vancouver Opera Festival, they both grew up in Vancouver, they both studied at UBC School of Music, and they both did stints at the Canadian Opera Company’s ensemble studio.

But most coincidentally of all, they share the name Simone—a moniker that, incidentally, means “heard by God”.

One of the two vocal knockouts, soprano Simone Osborne, will play Marguérite in the fest’s production of Charles Gounod’s Faust, while fast-rising mezzo Simone McIntosh is taking on the title character in Gioacchino Rossini’s La Cenerentola (Cinderella).

“It’s funny: we’ve had this very parallel path, but she’s been ahead of me the entire time,” notes McIntosh, speaking to the Straight in a lively conversation with her colleague at VO’s East Side headquarters. “I’m going through all these things in my career, and it’s odd to be sharing it with such an uncommon name.”

“We did one charity concert together for a friend,” adds Osborne, referring to a 2017 gig in Toronto (one of the rare times, like now, that the affable pair’s paths have actually crossed), “and within five minutes we dubbed ourselves Simone Squared.”

At the festival, audiences will see very different Simones on-stage. In the dark Faust, the lovesick Dr. Faustus sells his soul to the Devil for rekindled youth and a chance to bed the innocent Marguérite, with disastrous results. Osborne will travel anguished terrain, madness, and heavenly melodies, including her character’s famous “Jewel Song”, a joyous lyrical aria before all hell breaks loose.

In La Cenerentola, McIntosh plays the rags-to-riches character in full storybook-fantasy splendour, with not one but two showstopping gowns, she’s excited to report. But don’t let the family-friendly, make-believe trimmings fool you: the opera, not performed on the VO stage since 1981, demands serious vocal agility and ends with a stunning aria.

“You know it took a long time to learn this role,” says McIntosh, laughing, in a case of obvious understatement. “And it’s paying off, so that’s good.”

CHATTING WITH “SIMONE Squared”, you start to see how much more they have in common than just their résumés—and their names.

Reassuring for those who’ve questioned their own career path, both took a while to really find their way in operatic singing—and both credit UBC’s opera and vocal professor Nancy Hermiston with helping them excel.

McIntosh grew up in a musical family, with a dad who played the tuba and a mom who sang and studied opera. She loved choir in high school, and was considering acting or jazz, before deciding classical studies would allow her to both act and sing.

But McIntosh wasn’t sure about it until a turning point between the second and third years of university, when she had to sing in concert at Bard on the Beach.

“I hadn’t memorized it until I was on the bus on the way there,” she admits. “And it was the worst experience of my life. I was fully phoning it in at this point.” That’s when Hermiston, chair of the voice and opera division at UBC, stepped in. “She said, ‘You’re too good for this shit and I’m not going to give you anything till you prove to me otherwise.’ It’s so important to have that person who can tell you that. And it completely changed my life.”

Osborne, who graduated a year before McIntosh started the UBC program, remembers registering as a way to continue singing but also to get a degree (mostly to please her mother, who’s a scientist, and her father, who’s

Mezzo Simone McIntosh plays the fairy-tale title character in La Cenerentola, while soprano Simone Osborne stars as Marguérite in Faust. Photo by Emily Cooper

VO Fest TIP SHEET Within five minutes we dubbed ourselves Simone Squared.

– Simone Osborne

a lawyer). She had not seen an opera till 16, when (like McIntosh, again) she won a spot in the VO work-experience program for kids in grades 11 and 12.

During that time, she was blown away by seeing American Mary Jane Johnson sing Giacomo Puccini’s The Girl of the West at VO. “I watched Mary Jane Johnson sing on the stage with all these men, in flawless Italian, and she’s Texan!”

Osborne marvels. “And it was like, ‘I want to do that. I want to be that!’ ” But she never loved singing in the chorus in early university productions.

“It was a little bit soul-crushing,” Osborne says candidly. “It’s overwhelming as a young student; you don’t know your place or whether you’ll even have a place.

“So Nancy [Hermiston] was one of the major inspirations for me too,” she says. “There was a lot of pressure as a young student in her studio.

Anything she wanted, I wanted to do. She understands what it means to be a working singer and she won’t let you stand in your own way.”

There have, of course, been many other mentors and turning points, including major awards for each, along the journey.

Osborne would go on, in 2008, to become one of the youngest winners of the Metropolitan Opera National Council audition in history, later finding a guiding force in legend Marilyn Horne. She’s now in high demand for

ASIDE FROM its two full

productions, Faust and La Cenerentola, the Vancouver Opera Festival has a roster of concerts, talks, and other odes to the art form. Themed Fairytales and Fables, the celebrations run from next Saturday (April 27) to May 5.

Here are a few of the highlights:

d THE RIVER OF LIGHT (May 3 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre) The Vancouver Bach Choir joins VO for this outsized oratorio by one of Canada’s top composers.

The inspiration promises an otherworldly experience: Brian Current explores transcendence as it’s described in Hinduism, Christianity, and elsewhere, drawing from Dante’s Paradiso, and its glowing core of heaven. d FESTIVAL OPEN HOUSE (April 28 at at šxw ́ exən Xwtl’a7shn [the former QET Plaza]) Free

operas, recitals, and symphonic concerts in Canada and abroad, putting her mark on a wide range of roles—including a few other notable Marguerites: Marguerite Riel in the COC’s new opera Louis Riel in 2017, and St. Marguerite in Joan of Arc at the Stake with Marion Cotillard at Lincoln Centre.

These days, Osborne lives in Frankfurt, Germany, with her husband, bass-baritone Gordon Bintner.

McIntosh’s gleaming mezzo won her first prize at the Canadian Opera Company’s 2016 Ensemble Studio Competition and, later, the $25,000 Wirth Vocal Prize, while she earned her master’s in McGill University’s opera program. She’s gone on to tackle new music, art song, and a growing roster of operatic roles—including Cis in Vancouver Opera’s Albert Herring. She’s just moved to San Francisco from Toronto for a prestigious spot as an Adler Fellow at the San Francisco Opera.

The Vancouver Opera Festival marks a welcome homecoming for both.

community stage performances, workshops, and more as the plaza comes alive from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. d VOX SINGING COMPETITION (April 26 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre) The night before the fest, don’t miss the vocal fireworks of eight contestants showing their stuff in front of a live audience and expert judges headed by VO conductor emeritus Jonathan Darlington. d FAUST SCREENING (May 1 at the Fox Cabaret) Chris Gestrin provides improvised piano accompaniment to the devilishly good 1926 film. Bonus: Berlinbased soprano and pianist Rachel Fenlon’s one-woman Liederabend is included with admission; her trip through everyone from George Crumb to John Cage happens at 9 p.m., after the 6:30 screening.

THE MORE THEY talk, the more parallels Osborne and McIntosh see between their characters at the festival here.

Osborne says Marguérite is a role she’s always wanted to perform. And it’s not just the famous music she gets to sing. “With Marguérite, it’s her sincerity and her optimism, and her unabashed belief in true love,” she says.

“There are duets that will make you believe in love.”

Both Marguérite and Cenerentola are victims of their circumstances, they observe—Marguérite of not being worldly enough to see how she’s being manipulated; Cenerentola, in Rossini’s version, of her stepfather Don Magnifico, and his mean daughters Clorinda and Tisbe, who share his rundown castle.

“What I love about these characters is they’re not women of means or power, but they both end up having a total growth in power,” Osborne says. “Marguérite gives in to this love, she gives in to this tenor, which

is so often the case for a soprano, but in the end she takes complete control of the situation—even when she’s out of her mind.”

McIntosh says her approach with director Rachel Peake has been to make Cenerentola the embodiment of goodness, charity, and strength. “She finds that place of strength to forgive someone. And the epitome of strength is forgiveness,” she asserts. “There are these people that have not been kind to her and neglect her and treat her like a second-class citizen in her own home.”

As they discuss it more, the two singers start to talk about that strength as it applies to their own rising opera careers—and you see that the two Simones have something else in common. They share a deep passion for their art form, but also a groundedness that will take them farther still in the glamorous world they now find themselves in.

“I think there is something so special about someone who just fundamentally doesn’t change based on their circumstances,” Osborne says, to the hearty agreement of McIntosh.

Osborne has shared the stage with some of the most successful names in opera. And that’s exposed her to people who take a wildly different approach to stardom than she has chosen. “They either let that power and adoration go to their heads, or they are exactly who they were when they were 20 years old in music school and grateful for the success that they’ve had,” she says.

The latter is clearly the attitude that Osborne has. “That’s the kind of artist I want to be, and that’s the kind of person I think that Cenerentola is,” she tells McIntosh. “I haven’t changed at all.

Certain people will treat you differently because all of a sudden you’re getting more attention in their eyes, and I’m thinking, ‘I’m exactly who I was last Tuesday,’ you know? And it’s in that moment that you decide you’re just going to be who you are and who you were.” g The Vancouver Opera Festival presents La Cenerentola at the Vancouver Playhouse from April 27 to May 12, and Faust at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre from April 27 to May 5.

APRIL 18 – 25 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 17

ARTS

Pushpamala N. plays with roles in Moving Still photos

by Janet Smith

At the VAG, a hand-tinted shot from “Sunhere Sapne (Golden Dreams)”, finds Pushpamala N. donning a glitzy dress and living out adventures as a glam socialite.

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iewers can’t help but build their own elaborate story lines around South Asian artist Pushpamala N.’s photographs.

At Moving Still, the Vancouver Art Gallery’s major group exhibition on India’s photo scene, one pastel-tinted shot shows the artist climbing stealthily out of the trunk of a classic Hindustan Ambassador car. She’s wearing a luxe gold dress and a bouffant hairdo in the image from the “Sunhere Sapne (Golden Dreams)” series. So how on earth did she get here? And where is she sneaking off to?

In a photo from “Return of Phantom Lady (Sinful City)”, she’s masked and caped, Zorro-like, holding a revolver in one hand and leading a girl in a school uniform to safety with the other. She’s surrounded by guntoting gangsters in what looks like a vintage theatre, engaged in some epic standoff.

Hung with other images of the same characters in different scenarios, the photos invite the viewer to go further still, and edit even more complex plots together. “Sunhere Sapne”, for instance, juxtaposes shots of Pushpamala N. as a glam socialite with images of her middleclass housewife alter ego. Is the lady in the golden dress the fantasy of a woman confined to domestic duties?

Pushpamala N. is clearly taken by the language of Indian cinema through history. So why, then, has the Bangalore-based multimedia artist swayed more to still images than narrative film?

The reasons are multifold. “There is something very different about looking at a still photograph; the eye takes in the whole image in a different way,” she begins, speaking to the Straight during a visit to a friend in Cleveland before heading here for the VAG opening. She’s enjoying a brief break after recently finishing her widely covered stint as director and curator of this year’s Chennai Photo Biennale.

“With my ‘photo romances’, they become almost like montages, because they’re not logical,” she adds. “Something is happening and the audience becomes part of that, because they can make up their own story.”

Whatever the strategies behind them, Pushpamala N.’s images epitomize the theme of the VAG survey, subtitled Performative Photography in India. She is part of a larger movement in that country that finds its subjects playing roles, challenging gender and cultural norms. Featuring the work of 13 artists, the exhibit traces the approach all the way back to the mid-19th century, when cameras began to appear in the country’s wealthier sectors, and people like the Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II (the “photographer prince”) began playing with the idea of self-portraits. Amid the contemporary wave of work in the show, Gauri Gill depicts villagers posed in papier-mâché tribal masks,

and Sunil Gupta explores the idea of gay men inhabiting public spaces.

FOR HER PART, Pushpamala N. started out as a sculptor, but then shifted into photography in the 1990s. The pioneering artist continues to draw not just from film influences, but a wide array of historical and cultural inspirations, usually with feminist underpinnings— and usually casting herself.

“I use all these kinds of references in my work. For example, one thing I’m interested in is the whole history of tableaux vivants,” she begins, referring to the historic arrangement of an elaborate static scene with costumed actors and sets.

“In India they always put up a tableau at festivals and so on, and this whole idea of the masquerade and performance is also very much a part of many of these kinds of functions.

“I’m very interested in these kind of low forms of photography, like studio photos, and the use of backdrops and all that,” she adds. “And then in theatre in India, in the 19th century they used all these painted backdrops also.”

Sometimes, Pushpamala N. draws directly from cinema: “Phantom Lady” is based on Fearless Nadia, a masked, caped stuntwoman and film star from the 1930s. Sometimes, she gleans ideas from what is around her on her location shoots. For the “Sunhere Sapne” series, she commissioned artists from a village’s handpainted-photo studio. Hiring them to tint her own shots gave them their vintage-kitsch pastel-fantasy feel.

And in “Ethnographic Series/Native Women of India: Manners and Customs”, also on view at the VAG, she upends the 19th and early 20th century’s anthropological photography. In the black-and-white images, she poses as tribal women and circus performers having their proportions measured and documented.

Her influences span decades, but Pushpamala N. stresses that her work is “about the present”.

That may be part of the reason why her photo series travel so easily across continents. “What I use in the narrative is stock images and stock stories,” she explains, “so even if they don’t know the story, they know that kind of characters. I give them clues—for example, somebody being chased. Anybody can understand that. So each scene is very readable.”

Still, it may ultimately be Pushpamala N.’s sense of humour that makes her vivid tableaux so translatable. “My sculpture used that a lot too—comedy, wit, irony,” she says.

“I’m really interested in work that is entertaining. And the one thing is, people laugh like hell because I am playing the characters.” g Moving Still: Performative Photography in India is at the Vancouver Art Gallery from Friday (April 19) to September 2.

ARTS

Tony Wilson revisits tough years at “training school”

T

by Alexander Varty

ony Wilson admits he got off lightly, compared to many of the young offenders incarcerated at St. Joseph’s Training School in Alfred, Ontario, which operated from 1933 into the 1970s.

Yes, he was put into solitary confinement (at 14), and suffered both physical abuse from the Christian Brothers who ran the institution and bullying from his fellow inmates, but that was nothing compared to the psychic scarring others had to endure.

In the 1990s, more than two dozen priests and lay wardens from the facility and others like it were convicted of sexually or physically molesting their young charges, and in 2004, Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty offered victims a public apology.

Investigations might soon resume: Hamilton, Ontario, MP David Sweet, held at St. Joseph’s during the same time as Wilson, is calling for a public inquiry into the way “juvenile delinquents” were treated in what was then a largely Catholic-run system.

Wilson, now a Hornby Island resident and a beloved member of Vancouver’s creative-music community, says that he’s mostly put his demons behind him. “I kind of got over that in my mid-40s, when I went to rehab and I did all the therapy,” he tells the Straight in a telephone interview from his home. “I let a lot of the anger and the resentment go then. But it took me many years—I mean, until my mid-40s, so 30 years later.”

He’s also found creative ways to process any residual angst, through music but also through writing, first with A Day’s Life, which presents a lightly fictionalized version of his time as an addict in Vancouver’s

Downtown Eastside, and now with Looking Back, a short memoir of his teenage incarceration. The book, along with a new CD from his band Burn Down the Cornfield, will be released at the Fox Cabaret this week.

The staged version of Looking Back is a good indication of how far Wilson has come. A multimedia production that includes narration, projected images, and improvised movement from Kokoro Dance founder Barbara Bourget, it also employs a 13-piece band that’s part jazz ensemble, part string octet. And while the stories Wilson tells in the book have a horrific edge, the music will at times be lush and lovely. The guitarist and composer explains that he’s gone from making music for catharsis to finding a more contemplative kind of redemption in sound.

“The music can still be dense and maybe confusing,” he explains, “but a lot of it is really quite simple. It’s just about creating a certain feeling that, hopefully, is comforting and healing…

Well, I don’t know about healing, but comforting, for everyone. And it’s not trying to be hip or anything; it’s just trying to be what I can imagine would be something that could help someone.

Or it helps me. I guess maybe that’s the thing. I don’t know about helping anyone else, but the music helps me, and so I just kind of put it out there and hope that maybe other people like it.”

As for the book, he continues, “I’m not pulling any punches here. It is what it is, and I’m just telling it as it is—but this shit is still going on, man, so I need to say something!” g

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Tony Wilson releases Looking Back at the Fox Cabaret on Thursday (April 18).

Viva MOMIX treats crowd to nonstop tricks of the eye

by Janet Smith

DANCE VIVA MOMIX

A MOMIX production.

A DanceHouse presentation.

At the Vancouver Playhouse on Friday, April 12. No remaining performances

d A FIGURE APPEARED out of the dim light, a gigantic, billowing piece of fabric swirling out of his head and into the rafters above him, defying both gravity and logic.

As at other points in the nonstop parade of vignettes in Viva MOMIX, it took a few minutes to figure out what was going on—then you got lost in the dream again.

In the case of the aptly titled “Man Fan”, the fabric spread out into a massive undulating V. Eventually, it became clear that dancer Steven Ezra wore a harness on his torso that held the massive, structured sheet of silk that splayed above him like a towering palm frond waving in the wind.

Artistic director Moses Pendleton’s playful, often well-crafted trompe-l’oeils drew gasps and laughter through the sold-out night at the Vancouver Playhouse. Though it was less intricately choreography-based than a lot of the international shows DanceHouse brings in, the evening was accessible, acrobatic, and often funny—lightly entertaining in its array of kinetic illusions, culled from MOMIX’s larger themed works.

It would be interesting to compare the effect of this series of sketches to that of a sustained evening from MOMIX. Some of the pieces here easily stood on their own, working the elements of perception and surprise. In “Echoes of Narcissus”, an ever-morphing kaleidoscopic sculpture at centre stage turned out to be a woman lying on a mirror, sensually dancing with herself; the

movement was complex and detailed here, as Jennifer Chicheportiche’s beautifully articulated flickering hand edged out through her tangled limbs.

In an equally ethereal standout, three moonlike glowing orbs, manipulated by a trio of powerhouse female dancers, were revealed as big helium balloons when the performers finally released them into the air. While they controlled the unruly spheres, legs fluttered, bent, and lunged in unusual ways.

Some of MOMIX’s sketches came close to gimmickry (hello, black light), but there was always something new just a few minutes away. The audience could count on constant surprise and, most of all, relentless, driving motion.

When one group of women flicked white transparent sheaths, the constant rippling could evoke clouds one moment, glowing jellyfish the next. In “Marigolds”, fuzzy, multilayered orange tutus appeared first like headless and limbless puffball aliens, shifting into women spinning like human tops.

One of the evening’s most multilayered works explored paper and projections to endless puzzling lengths, text catching the bodies of the dancers and white sheets that rolled across the floor, then lifted into ribbons dancing in space.

One of the works’ overriding moods was mysticism-lite, heightened

by Pendleton’s use of music like the trancelike El Hadra and Deva Premal’s mantra-pop. And there was a lot of comedy—not something you usually get from contemporary dance. The more Chaplinesque moments included the crowd-pleasing slapstick finale, which featured increasingly absurd duets with wildly flailing dummies.

Behind MOMIX’s inventive conjurings is an almost childlike sense of play. That, and a fast-moving mix that could entertain even dance neophytes, went a long way to earning the warm standing O—ending a strong DanceHouse season with an upbeat bang. g

April 25-28, 2019 Vancouver Convention Centre Art Vancouver International Art Fair presents over 100 galleries and artists from around the world. You can look forward to experiencing over 1,200 visual artworks, panel talks and a curated speaker series, art classes, live art demonstrations and more.

Tickets available at: artvancouver.net APRIL 18 – 25 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 21

ARTS Cultural appropriation probed in Cabin

by Robin Laurence

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In Oliver Jackson Works, artist Joseph Tisiga reveals various objects possessed by a white man who dressed as an Indian chief.

VISUAL ARTS TALES OF AN EMPTY CABIN: SOMEBODY NOBODY WASâ&#x20AC;Ś

At the Audain Art Museum, Whistler, until May 6

d JOSEPH TISIGA is a storyteller.

His medium, however, is not oral but visual, not the spoken word but paint and collage, sculpture and assemblage, installation and performance photography. Tisigaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s show Tales of an Empty Cabin, at the Audain Art Museum in Whistler, is informed, as the artist states in the exhibition catalogue, by â&#x20AC;&#x153;ambivalent identity constructions, spiritual amnesia and the effect of displacementâ&#x20AC;?.

This wide-ranging survey is bookended by works inspiredâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;or perhaps provokedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;by two Anglo-Canadians who made vocations out of â&#x20AC;&#x153;playing Indianâ&#x20AC;?. One of them is Archibald Delaney, better known as the writer and naturalist Grey Owl; the other is Oliver Jackson, whose consuming occupation was the making and displaying of pseudo-Indigenous art and artifacts. Grey Owl is referenced in both the exhibition title and a series of colour photos of a performance Tisiga undertook in a deserted office building in Yellowknife. Jackson, who was based in Kelowna and who died in 1982, is represented here by a brandnew installation in a wall tent. Tisiga created it on-site and filled it with a mind-numbing array of Jacksonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wildly cross-cultural objects, from feathered headdresses and feast bowls to masks, moccasins, knife sheaths, cradle boards, and deerskin clothing. In both the Grey Owl and Oliver Jackson works, Tisiga probes the natureâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;good, bad, and uglyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;of such concerted cultural appropriations.

The exhibition also features Tisigaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s two-dimensional images, many of which conflate the past and the present, the Indigenous and the non-Indigenous, the sublime and the banal, all within seemingly supernatural narratives. These narratives reflect not only the artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reclaimed Kaska Dene cultural heritage, from which he was estranged while growing up, but also the personal and intergenerational traumas he has witnessed as a community worker with at-risk Indigenous youths in Whitehorse, where he is based.

Tisigaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s supernatural narratives are most powerfully realized in his acclaimed watercolours. Some of them depict the Kaska story of DzohdiĂŠâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, a young hero who slays a

ravenous giant worm that threatens his people. Others feature recurring characters of Tisigaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own invention, such as the Red Chief, a bare-chested man who wears a black top hat and performs sacred ceremonies, and the White Shaman, a blue-eyed man who wears 19th-century European clothing and performs magic tricks.

Many of the watercolour images are so strangely surreal that it is difficult to fully understand what is going on.

In Post No Bills, a naked Indigenous man crawls across the ground, dragging a wagon on which are perched pieces of weird machinery and a phantom drummer, this unhappy scene witnessed by Indigenous children in residential-school uniforms. The work is suggestive of the legacy of colonialism, although Tisiga has written that â&#x20AC;&#x153;colonial structuresâ&#x20AC;? is an inadequate term for the complex social, political, economic, and cultural realities with which First Nations people have to contend. In It Is Not Our Intention to Take Unnecessary Precaution (Bladder Head Man), the bloody hand of a First Nations man is caught in the mouth of a wolf. (The setup is like a weird inversion of an animal caught in a leghold trap.) The creatureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hind legs are held by another man, while a third swings an axe aloft. All this occurs in front of a high wall, broken in places to reveal a treed landscape.

Power, it seems, is cruelly contested at the nature-culture interface.

Also on view are a series of paintings titled â&#x20AC;&#x153;A Prop for Reconciliationâ&#x20AC;? and incorporating characters from the Archie comics, as well as large-scale, hand-tinted photographs of a â&#x20AC;&#x153;scorched earthâ&#x20AC;? performance in a fire-swept forest, oddly uninflected collages, and assemblages mounted on big squares of artificial turf, which Tisiga employs as a metaphor for the land. Some of the new work is uneven, but all of it contributes to a complex narrative of identity.

GREG GIRARD: TOKYOYOKOSUKA 1976-1983

At the Monte Clark Gallery until May 4

d GREG GIRARDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S photographs of Asian cityscapes, notably shot in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Hanoi, have firmly established his reputation, both locally and internationally. During the 30-year period the Vancouver photographer spent in Asia, he mostly supported himself as a freelance magazine photographer. His true creative vision, however, has been realized through

his self-driven book projects, some of them containing striking images of populous cities undergoing rapid redevelopment.

Lesser known are the photos Girard took as a young man while living for extended periods in Tokyo.

These works, which demonstrate his developing technical and compositional skills, are featured in the newly launched book Tokyo-Yokosuka 1976-1983, published by the Magenta Foundation. Some of the images, both colour and black-and-white, are also on view at the Monte Clark Gallery, and reveal Girardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fascination with what Christopher Phillips describes in the bookâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foreword as Tokyoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;seamy nightlife districtsâ&#x20AC;?. Subjects include bars, clubs, and love hotels, many of them shot from the street. As seen in Night, Kabukicho, they show an interest not only in the social margins of the city, but also in the ways in which artificial lighting casts nighttime scenes in lurid hues of green, blue, or yellow.

It appears that Girard was also interested in the huge presence of United States military bases in Japan, one of them being in Yokosuka, southwest of Tokyo. In Club Apollo, Yokosuka, English-language signage gives ample evidence of a â&#x20AC;&#x153;notoriousâ&#x20AC;? nightlife district catering to the Yanks: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Welcomeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Big Titsâ&#x20AC;?, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Girls Can Get So Excited and Lustfulâ&#x20AC;?. Such images are conspicuously contrasted with those of Japanese modesty, orderliness, and decorum: an elevator operator in a big Tokyo department store and a platform conductor in a train station, both wearing white gloves and tidy uniforms.

Shots of unhappy-looking Japanese men smoking and drinking in bars, and a naked young Japanese woman kneeling on a bed and gazing into a small viewfinder, epitomize an uncomfortable element of voyeurism in some of the photographs here. (There is a self-reflective but still somewhat creepy irony at work in the image of the naked woman: a viewer who is also being viewed.) Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an aspect of the work that is difficult to reconcile with contemporary thinking about otherness, objectification, and the male gaze. Perhaps the voyeurism relates to Girardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relative naivetĂŠ at the time, to a youthful, beat-culture fascination with raw, seedy, and sexualized scenes. The good news is that he outgrew these preoccupations to focus, instead, on the impacts of economic globalization and unfettered urban development, subjects that concern us all. g

ARTS

Music and story interweave in moving Never the Last

Actors Anton Lipovetsky and Christine Quintana, plus violinist Molly MacKinnon work their interdisciplinary magic in Never the Last. Photo by Matt Reznek

THEATRE NEVER THE LAST

By Christine Quintana and Molly MacKinnon. Directed by Laura McLean. A Delinquent Theatre production. At the Annex on Wednesday, April 10. Continues until April 20

d WHILE VANCOUVER has no shortage of live theatre and live music, it is all too rare to see an event that incorporates both into a single performance. Delinquent Theatre’s Never the Last is such an undertaking, pairing the versatile violin with an original script. Does the combination, based on the relationship between real-life composer Sophie Carmen EckhardtGramatté and her painter husband, Walter Gramatté, ring true, or fail to strike a chord?

The play is staged in the stunning Annex, where Jennifer Stewart’s set design provides a suitably abstract backdrop for Joel Grinke’s projections. The performance opens with a solo from violinist Molly MacKinnon, whose melodies grace the stage for virtually the entire play.

The story begins in earnest when a struggling composer named Sonia (Christine Quintana), Sophie’s selfgiven nickname in the play, is seen admiring a painting at an art gallery. Soft-spoken Walter (played by Anton Lipovetsky) strikes up a conversation about the portrait with the uptight Sonia, and quaint banter ensues. Quintana and Lipovetsky have tremendous chemistry on-stage, best exemplified when their conversation leads them back to Sonia’s unfurnished apartment, and troubled pasts come bubbling up to the surface—one cannot help but feel for Walter as he struggles to open up about his time as a soldier. After a bit of convincing, Walter finally manages to win over Sonia, and the two later wed.

Yet, this is only the beginning of their tale. A series of financial setbacks sees the couple move everywhere from Berlin to Barcelona, with their love blossoming despite the hardships. This is lovingly represented through a fantastically choreographed montage sequence involving projections. Here, even the sound of actors dragging chairs across the stage has a musical rhythm—an incredible level of detail that only adds to the

musical feel of the performance. Alas, after seemingly endless trials and tribulations, Sonia is forced to make a choice between the two loves of her life: Walter and music.

Music is just as much a character as Sonia and Walter. The violin plays a role every step of the way, accentuating every high and low, yet never takes away from the superb acting. MacKinnon’s mastery of her instrument is astounding to watch, especially as the show begins to take on a more solemn tone towards its end, with the final few caprices communicating what words never could.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the movement/dance sections, which feel overly drawn out, and perhaps too ambitious for the actors’ physicality.

Never the Last is a love letter to fine art, staged with great reverence for the original score and the woman who inspired it. Touching and nostalgic, Laura McLean’s production offers storytelling and music at their finest.

by Sam Jing

ACT OF FAITH

By Janet Munsil. Directed by Rena Cohen. A Realwheels Theatre production. At the Cultch’s Historic Theatre on Friday, April 12.

Continues until April 20

d WHEN CONFRONTED with an unexplained phenomenon, what conclusions can individuals draw, and will these speculations be enough to mend the rift caused by such an assault on the order of things? Janet Munsil’s play Act of Faith explores this quandary through one woman’s surprising change in physical ability, testing the limits of knowledge, identity politics, and the basis of friendship through her transformation.

Faith (Danielle Klaudt) is a prominent member of the paraplegic community, whose joint efforts with her best friend Jess (Emily Grace Brook) have resulted in a new accessibility centre, championed by the latter’s mother, Gloria (Tanja Dixon-Warren). With an Internet following and a nature-themed show to come, she is an articulate supporter of disability rights, raising awareness of the diverse endeavours of wheelchair users. Lately, Faith has been experiencing leg pains and recurrent dreams of a hooded figure beckoning see next page

APRIL 18 – 25 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 23

from previous page

her to walk. When she suddenly regains the use of her limbs, Faith has to re-evaluate everything.

Integral to Munsil’s dramatic investigation is the concept of identity: Faith has lived with paraplegia after falling ill shortly before her high-school graduation, and her life has adapted to this condition in the 12 years since. When alliances have been made with disability as a connective tissue, its abrupt absence incites suspicion. Characters unable to comprehend the change find themselves wrestling with the reason behind it, with Faith taking on religion as salvation and Jess viewing her friend’s prior experience as fraud. With an existing identity in crisis, the play invites audience members to contemplate people’s need to retain a sense of self, whether steeped in science or religious devotion.

Depending on one’s worldview, the work may proselytize the divine

succour of the faithful, or the secular power of perseverance. Gloria is steadfast against the vagaries of life, fighting for a daughter born small, whose survival she owes to Jess’s own strength and not God’s grace. Likewise, Raff (Raugi Yu), Jess’s physiotherapist, concedes his beliefs are more spiritual than religious, framing his departure from a troubled past to be of his own making. Conversely, Faith’s belief in a higher power allows her to move past psychological darkness, and the reappearance of her wayward brother Damon (Mason Temple) signals more divinity in action.

Director Rena Cohen breaks up dramatic action by placing designer David Roberts’s domestic sets at either end of an elongated stage, and transitioning between scenes with Carolina Bergonzoni’s geometric wheelchair choreography. Klaudt is convincing as the uprooted, teetering Faith; Brook

spectrum of colours and intensities.

At its heart, Act of Faith is a story about a devout person—Faith’s beliefs can be alienating to those who don’t identify with her theology.

Nonetheless, in creating an opportunity to inspect our inclination to seek out differences, Munsil touches on how it’s similarities that may ultimately unite us.

by Danny Kai Mak

CHERRY DOCS

Tanja Dixon-Warren and Emily Grace Brook in Act of Faith. Photo by Caspar Ryan

and Dixon-Warren, as mother and daughter, share a jolting lineal fierceness.

Sound designer Matthias Falvai creates Zen sounds of nature and dreamscapes, while lighting designer Michael K. Hewitt grounds terrestrial and otherworldly realms with a

2019/20 SEASON

SINGULAR CAPTIVATING INTERNATIONAL DANCE

By David Gow. Directed by Richard Wolfe. A Cave Canem production.

At Pacific Theatre on Friday, April 5.

Continues until April 28

d WITH DIVISIVE POLITICS and fringe ideologies dominating the public’s consciousness of late, David Gow’s Cherry Docs can seem like a premise ripped straight from today’s news headlines, thanks to its plot, which is structured around a hate crime and its consequences.

The fact that the play was written over 20 years ago dulls none of its incendiary actions; instead, it highlights its urgency and wisdom in a current climate of social unease.

Unfolding almost entirely in the confines of a jail interview room, Cherry Docs pits the devout Danny Dunkelman (John Voth), a Jewish legal-aid lawyer, against Mike Downey (Kenton Klassen), a neo-Nazi skinhead. Mike has been held for a racially motivated attack, and his cherry-coloured Doc Martens boots form part of a skinhead’s “recognizable uniform”, and were used to inflict grave injuries on an innocent man. Assigned to his case, Danny must reconcile their differences if they are to have any chance in court.

Given the fundamental polarity of the two characters’ belief systems, drama is inherent in the high-stakes environment. Danny’s dedication to his profession comes into sharp contrast with his disdain for Mike’s dogma, just as Mike’s brusque desire for the death of Jews takes second priority to his legal defence. Although Gow takes great

care to sew common threads in both men, like their need to restrain a mutual repulsion, logically the play does take some liberties with how that comes to pass.

An exchange reveals that Danny has a choice not to represent Mike, but still takes him on, due to a hunch his act was not premeditated. Considering that he struggles to stay impartial from the outset, it may seem at odds with professional judgment to stay. Likewise, Mike’s confidence in a disinterested defence from Danny, solely out of an assessment that he’s a liberal thinker, can strike an incongruous tone with the personalities on display, with the two jousting verbally and nearly coming to blows. Nonetheless, once engaged, the characters’ intransigence softens through a series of revelations, in the form of impact statements and concurrent incidents.

Director Richard Wolfe opens up a tight stage by varying spatial perceptions, through lighting that reflects introspection and gestures that address an audience, as though in an imagined courtroom.

As Danny, Voth has a commanding presence, with clear projection and a stately gait. However, his character’s temperament is muted as a result, where an edgier delivery could have wrung out deeper distress. Klassen plays a frenetic Mike, whose histrionics suggest mental disarray. Phil Miguel’s lighting cocoons the leads in isolating spotlights that serve as confessional spheres; sound designer Matthew MacDonald-Bain concocts drumbeats and heartbeats alike to flavour transitions and tense thoughts.

Wooden chairs, a table, and a twotoned wall make up Sandy Margaret’s minimalist set, while Julie Edgeley’s costumes divide status, a vest and overcoat in tandem with a prison jumpsuit.

Cherry Docs has proven to be a resilient play that taps into conflicts that are understandable without historical precedents, but that are deeply informed by them.

by Danny Kai Mak

“Sophisticated music making, joyously conveyed and received in kind, a rare and memorable evening.” — The Whole Note

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ARTS LISTINGS ONGOING

THURSDAY, APRIL 18

THE ORCHARD (AFTER CHEKHOV) The Arts Club Theatre Company presents Sarena Parmar’s timeless family drama set in the Okanagan Valley. To Apr 21, Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage. Tix from $29.

CHERRY DOCS A Jewish lawyer is assigned to defend a skinhead. To Apr 28, 8-10:15 pm, Pacific Theatre. $20-36.50.

NEVER THE LAST Story follows the relationship between composer Sophie Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté and painter Walter Gramatté.

To Apr 20, 8-10 pm, Orpheum Annex. From $10.

KING RICHARD AND HIS WOMEN Seven Tyrants Theatre presents a new adaptation of Shakespeare’s Richard III. To Apr 19, Tyrant Studios. $29.

ACT OF FAITH New play explores the mystery of faith-based healing and the consequences of life-changing transformation. To Apr 20, 8-9:30 pm, Cultch Historic Theatre. Tix $10-51.

THE YOUNG KING Classic Oscar Wilde coming-of-age story. To Apr 21, Performance Works. $18-35.

CHIMERICA Thriller about an American photojournalist seeking the lone protester at Tiananmen Square. To Apr 21, 8 pm, Jericho Arts Centre. $28/24.

PERSUASION Jane Austen’s work depicts a young woman’s struggles with love, friendship, and family. To Apr 20, 7:55 pm, Metro Theatre. $25/22.

PRESENT LAUGHTER Noel Coward comedy about a self-obsessed actor in the midst of a midlife crisis. To Apr 20, Coast Capital Playhouse. $10/19/22.

SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN Royal City Musical Theatre presents the classic musical comedy.

To Apr 20, Massey Theatre. $19-49.

BED & BREAKFAST The Arts Club Theatre Company presents Mark Crawford’s comedy about being out and finding home. To May 4, Granville Island Stage. Tix from $29.

ALMOST, MAINE A midwinter night’s dream

by John Cariani. To Apr 20, 8-10:30 pm, The Theatre at Hendry Hall. $20/18.

DOUGLAS COUPLAND’S VORTEX Douglas Coupland’s radical art installation takes an imaginative journey to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, immersing viewers in the ocean-plastic pollution crisis. To April 30, 2019, Vancouver Aquarium. $22/39.

VANCOUVER ART GALLERY aFRENCH MODERNS: MONET TO MATISSE, 1850–1950 to May 20 aAFFINITIES: CANADIAN ARTISTS AND FRANCE to May 20 aDISPLACEMENT to Jun 9 aMOWRY BADEN to Jun 9 aMOVING STILL: PERFORMATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY IN INDIA Apr 19–Sep 2 aVIEWS OF THE COLLECTION: THE STREET Apr 19–Nov 17 THE POLYGON aA HANDFUL OF DUST to Apr 28 aCHESTER FIELDS 2019 to Apr 21 aSK _WX _WÚ7MESH NATION BASKETBALL: PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALANA PATERSON to May 12 MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY AT UBC aIN A DIFFERENT LIGHT: REFLECTING ON NORTHWEST COAST ART to summer 2020 aSHAKEUP: PRESERVING WHAT WE VALUE to Sep 1 MUSEUM OF VANCOUVER aWILD THINGS: THE POWER OF NATURE IN OUR LIVES to Sep 30 aHAIDA NOW: A VISUAL FEAST OF INNOVATION AND TRADITION to Dec 1, 2019 aTHERE IS TRUTH HERE to Dec 31

MAL AND CARA Comedy about a Vancouver couple and a radical career change. Apr 18-28, PAL Theatre. $10-20.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17 DEAD PEOPLE’S THINGS Zee Zee Theatre’s darkly comedic play about a millennial who inherits a house and all of its contents after her estranged hoarder aunt commits suicide.

Apr 17–May 5, Studio 16. From $28.

ARTIST TALK WITH JOHN DIVOLA Talk with American artist John Divola. Apr 17, 7 pm, The Polygon. By donation.

WE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ART Vancouver comedians try to make sense of the world’s most treasured works of art. Apr 17, 8-9:30 pm, Little Mountain Gallery. $10.

IMPROV AGAINST HUMANITY: SUPERHERO COMEDY Local comedians serve up superhero laughs. Apr 17, 8-10 pm, Rio Theatre. $12.

THE BEST BROTHERS The Sidekick Players presents Daniel MacIvor’s eccentric modern comedy. Apr 17-27, 8-10 pm; Apr 21, 2-4 pm, Tsawwassen Arts Centre. $18/15.

A BROADWAY CABARET Soprano Nadya Blanchette interprets some the most memorable tunes of Broadway. Apr 18, 10 am, The ACT Arts Centre. $25.

DISCOVER DANCE! BALLET BC Program features excerpts from Ballet BC’s current repertoire. Apr 18, 12-1 pm, Scotiabank Dance Centre. $15/13.

JOKES PLEASE! Standup comedy show hosted by Ross Dauk. Apr 18, 9-10:40 pm, Little Mountain Gallery. $10.

GEEKS VS NERDS—EP 50: THE ULTIMATE SHOWDOWN A comedy debate with geeky topics. Apr 18, 9-11:30 pm, Rio Theatre. $15.

FRIDAY, APRIL 19 HAYDN’S THE CREATION Pacific Spirit Choir and Orchestra perform an oratorio celebrating the beauty of the world. Apr 19, 2 pm, West Vancouver United Church. $35/30.

MOZART AND MENDELSSOHN The United Voices and Chamber Orchestra performs choral selections from Felix Mendelssohn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Apr 19, 7 pm; Apr 20, 2 pm, Pacific Spirit United Church. $20.

VANCOUVER CHAMBER CHOIR: MUSIC FOR A VERY GOOD FRIDAY Program includes works by Bach, O’Regan, and Vaughan Williams.

Apr 19, 8 pm, Orpheum Theatre. $20.50-55.

THE DELIGHTLY: AN ALL GENRE CABARET An all-genre cabaret of new works by local artists. Apr 19, 10:30 pm, Havana Theatre. $15.

SATURDAY, APRIL 20 KAREN FLAMENCO DANCE COMPANY Traditional flamenco music, dance, storylines, puppetry, and magic every Sat. at 3 & 5 pm.

To Apr 27, The Improv Centre. $12.

CAPTURE PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL—THE FLATS GALLERY HOP Gallery flats walking tour with Capture Photography Festival. Apr 20, 2-4 pm, Gallery Jones. Free.

BLOODFEUD: POTS AND PANS Standup comedy vs. improv comedy. Apr 20, 7:30 pm, Little Mountain Gallery. $10/12.

FLEETWOOD MAC BURLESQUE April O’Peel Productions presents 10 burlesque tributes to Fleetwood Mac. Apr 20, 8 pm, Rio Theatre. $20/25.

THE COMIC STRIP Standup comedy by Ryan Williams, Gavin Banning, and headliner Ari Matti. Apr 20, 9 pm, Tyrant Studios. $18.

MOSTLY FOR US Shawn O’Hara and Abdul Aziz host a comedy variety show featuring sketch, improv, and standup. Apr 20, 10-11:45 pm, Little Mountain Gallery. $10.

SUNDAY, APRIL 21 DINNER IS COMING! A GAME OF THRONES FEAST AT THE STORM CROW! The Storm Crow Alliance screenings of geek obsession Game of Thrones are back, and seeing the final season off with the celebration it deserves! Indulge in a threecourse meal, win great prizes and take your best stab at the Dead pool! Tickets on sale on Eventbrite, showings at 5 & 8 pm every Sunday, hosted by Ava Lure & Mr Nickel!

Apr 21, 5 pm; Apr 21, 8 pm; Apr 28, 5 pm; Apr 28, 8 pm; May 5, 5 pm; May 5, 8 pm; May 12, 5 pm; May 12, 8 pm; May 19, 5 pm; May 19, 8 pm, Storm Crow Alehouse. $45.

JOKES N TOKES COMEDY Comedian Andrew Packer hosts a night of weed-oriented standup. Apr 21, 8 pm, Cannabis Culture Headquarters. $10.

TUESDAY, APRIL 23 BEST OF VANCOUVER Fundraiser for Small Talk Centre for Language Development features standup comedy by Erica Sigurdson, Ivan Decker, Yumi Nagashima, Darcy Michael, and Kevin Foxx. Apr 23, 8 pm, The Comedy MIX. $15.

EMERGE ON MAIN 2019: SPOTLIGHT ON RISING MUSICIANS Performances by local genre-bending musicians Julia Chien (percussion), Alex Mah (composer & interdisciplinary artist), and Matthew Ariaratnam (musician, composer, improviser). Apr 23, 8 pm, Fox Cabaret. Tix $29/10.

Arts HOT TICKET

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objects, dioramas, and puppets, the troupe transports the audience to far-away lands, where a boy finds out that wealth and power come at a price—a lesson old and young sometimes need to be reminded of.

MUSIC FOR A VERY GOOD FRIDAY (April 19 at the Orpheum)

THE YOUNG KING (To April 21 at Performance Works ) In Oscar Wilde’s tale, an innocent young goatherd suddenly finds out he’s heir to the throne. And in this bold rendition adapted by Nicki Bloom and staged by Adelaide, Australia’s endlessly inventive children’stheatre company Slingsby, the play becomes not just a whimsical coming-of-age story, but a parable for capitalism and corruption. Using

Outgoing Vancouver Chamber Choir conductor Jon Washburn is pulling out all the stops to fill the holiday evening with song.

Galvanizing the vocal power of not only his own ensemble, but also the Pacifica Singers and the Vancouver Youth Choir, he presents a transcendant program that includes Johann Sebastian Bach’s Missa brevis in G Minor, Ralph Vaughan Williams’s rousing Five Mystical Songs, and the premiere of his own Two Canadian Folk Songs. g

Program 3 May 9 10 11 Choreography Sharon Eyal & Gai Behar Bedroom Folk Serge Bennathan New Work Ohad Naharin Minus 16

Queen Elizabeth Theatre Tickets at balletbc.com PLATINUM SEASON SPONSOR

PERFORMANCE SPONSORS

COMMUNITY BALCONY SPONSOR

SUPPORT FOR BALLET BC HAS BEEN GENEROUSLY PROVIDED BY

MEDIA SPONSORS DANCER PETER SMIDA. PHOTO MICHAEL SLOBODIAN.

HOTEL SPONSOR

Following sold out performances in London and Tel Aviv APRIL 18 – 25 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 25

from previous page WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24 4 POETS AND A DEBUT NOVELIST WALK INTO A BOOKSTORE Authors Laura Matwichuk, Sarah de Leeuw, Cass Blanchard, Victoria Hetherington, and Patricia Young attend the launch of their new books. Apr 24, 7 pm, Massy Books. Free.

BEST OF VANCOUVER Fundraiser for the Small Talk Centre for Language Development features standup comedy by Graham Clark, Patrick Maliha, Charlie Demers, and Simon King. Apr 24, 8 pm, The Comedy MIX. $15.

LET’S TRY THIS STANDING New show by writer-performer Gillian Clark. Apr 24, 25, 26, 27, 8 pm, Shadbolt Centre for the Arts. $15-36.

THURSDAY, APRIL 25 ART VANCOUVER International contemporary art fair. Apr 25-29, Vancouver Convention Centre. $15-100.

THE GREAT LEAP The Arts Club Theatre Company presents Lauren Yee’s play, a jump shot across borders. Apr 25–May 19, Goldcorp Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre. Tix from $29.

ART VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL ART FAIR Western Canada’s largest international contemporary art fair. Apr 25-28, Vancouver Conventrion Centre. $15-100.

HAPPY HOUR CHOIR SERIES Explore feature exhibitions and enjoy live music by the West End Chamber Choir & Rhythm ‘n’ Roots. Apr 25, 7-9 pm, Museum of Vancouver.

Pay-what-you-can at the door.

ROBYN HARDING Author discusses her latest book Her Pretty Face. Apr 25, 7-10 pm, Christianne’s Lyceum of Literature and Art. $22.

SPLENDOR IN SPACE: A DRAG ODYSSEY All-ages drag performance with music and astronomy. Apr 25, 7:30 pm, H.R. MacMillan Space Centre. $15-20.

LA STATION CHAMPBAUDET Le Petit Théâtre presents a classic French vaudeville play, with English surtitles. Apr 25-27, 7:30 pm, Alliance Française de Vancouver. $20.

LITTLE VOLCANO Veda Hille’s new solo show blends storytelling and live music. Apr 25-27, 8-10 pm, Shadbolt Centre for the Arts. $15-50.

FRIDAY, APRIL 26 VOX SINGING COMPETITION Young singers compete at an event hosted by CBC’s Sylvia L’Ecuyer. Apr 26, 6:30 pm, Queen Elizabeth Theatre. $65.

EZRA DUO Viola and piano duo. Apr 26, 7:30-9:30 pm, Unitarian Church of Vancouver. $25/35.

GRAHAM CLARK’S QUIZ SHOW Comedy game show with host Graham Clark. Apr 26, 8 pm, Fox Cabaret. $10/$12.

YOU’RE THE VOICE Marcus Mosely Chorale eighth season finale concert, with guests Showstopper. Apr 26, 8-10 pm, Highlands United Church. $30/25.

SATURDAY, APRIL 27 MANIFESTATIONS Multidisciplinary art exhibit and artist talks as part of the Capture Festival. Apr 27-28, The Arc. Free.

TWOBIGSTEPS COLLECTIVE: LIVESPACE Movement installation uses livestream video to explore the emotional states we experience in relation to technology. Apr 27-28, Scotiabank Dance Centre. Free.

THIRD ANNUAL VANCOUVER OPERA FESTIVAL Nine days of voice, music, theatre and visual arts. Apr 27–May 5, various Vancouver venues.

FAUST Jonathan Darlington conducts the Vancouver Opera Orchestra and Chorus in Gounod’s opera. Apr 27–May 5, Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

LA CENERENTOLA Vancouver Opera presents Rossini’s masterpiece. Apr 27– May 11, Vancouver Playhouse.

CAG FAMILY DAY | TRACING VANCOUVER Create a mixed-media collage of found images, maps, and texts of Vancouver. Apr 27, 12-3 pm, Contemporary Art Gallery. Free.

ART IN ACTION! Live painting by Amelia Alcock-White. Apr 27, 12-5:30 pm, Petley Jones Gallery.

THE BIG SING METRO VANCOUVER The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival’s new choral event. Apr 27, 12:30-2:30 pm, Vancouver Art Gallery Plaza. Free.

FOOD

Indulge your inner child with sweet Easter treats

by Tammy Kwan

CREATIVE DANCE FOR PARKINSON’S Creative Latin-style dance for people living with Parkinson’s. Apr 27, 1-2:15 pm, IMPACT Parkinson’s. By donation.

CAPTURE PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL— SONY PHOTO WALK WITH JOHN LEHMANN Gastown photo walk with John Lehmann as part of Capture Photography Festival.

Apr 27, 2-4 pm, Pendulum Gallery. Free.

ARTIST EXPERIENCE Meet Kwakwaka’wakw/ Coast Salish artist Maynard Johnny Jr. Apr 27, 2-4 pm, Coastal Peoples Fine Arts Gallery.

BLOOMING ART Works by more than 40 local artists and craftspeople. Apr 27, 2-7 pm, Pacific Arts Market. Free.

TAGORE SPRING FESTIVAL 2019 Multicultural music and dance festival. Apr 27, 6:309 pm, Surrey City Hall. Free.

VANCOUVER YOUTH CHOIR GALA Fundraising gala hosted by Christopher Gaze. Apr 27, 6:30-9:30 pm, Heritage Hall. $100.

THE COMIC STRIP Standup comedy by Jacob Samuel, Ola Dada, and headliner Simon King. Apr 27, 9 pm, Tyrant Studios. $18.

ARTS LISTINGS are a public service provided free of charge, based on available space and editorial discretion. Submit events online using the event-submission form at straight.com/AddEvent. Events that don’t make it into the paper due to space constraints will appear on the website.

R

The half-shell egg filled with mini foil eggs is a sure crowd-pleaser from Purdys.

emember when you were young enough to partake in the Easter tradition of hunting for chocolate eggs? It’s always a good memory when you’re tasked with finding sweet treats. Although some of us may have grown older and wiser, it doesn’t mean we should stop indulging in Easter confections. Luckily, many Vancouver chocolatiers have created some unique and sophisticated goods for the holiday this year. Here are eight places to find delicious chocolate Easter eggs around town. The best part? You don’t have to scavenge for them.

TEMPER CHOCOLATE & PASTRY

(2409 Marine Drive, West Vancouver) For the record, it’s clear that Temper’s Steven Hodge knows how to create a presence on social media. This West Van sweets parlour is offering unicorn chocolate eggs, which are characterized by a golden horn and filled with signature mini eggs and truffle eggs.

Besides the limited-edition photoworthy treat, visitors will find many other varieties of Easter eggs: dark-, milk, and white chocolate truffle eggs; hollow dark chocolate eggs filled with smaller eggs; and a milk chocolate egg carton filled with six colourful graffiti-covered eggs. Find them in store until April 22.

BETA5 CHOCOLATES

(413 Industrial Avenue) This chocolate shop’s unconventional chocolate Easter bunny may be making waves around the city, but its signature chocolate Easter egg is just as noteworthy. Beta5’s polygon egg is a unique geometric treat: made of dark chocolate (63 percent) that features a multicolour white-chocolate drip, it can easily pass as edible art. The chocolate egg is filled with 15 assorted mini eggs (with flavours like peanut butter, hazelnut, and strawberry Pop Rocks), which allows you to easily share with others—but doesn’t mean you have to.

Available in store and online.

CHEZ CHRISTOPHE CHOCOLATERIE PATISSERIE

(4717 Hastings Street, Burnaby) Chocolate lovers will find three beautiful Easter egg showpieces at this popular Burnaby establishment.

The signature item is a hollow dark chocolate geometric egg coloured blue and gold and filled with four different chocolates from the shop, including three award winners. There’s also a trio of milk and caramelized-white chocolate eggs and feathers tucked inside an edible nest and finished with gold dust. But the most impressive showpiece is the Little Yolk, which looks like a real egg straight from the grocery store. It’s a brown hollow chocolate egg, and inside is a limitededition chocolate: elderflower and rhubarb. Available in store.

PURDYS

(Various locations) Vancouver’s long-time chocolate factory doesn’t disappoint when it comes to holiday-themed treats. Its Easter collection includes various chocolate bunnies and lamb lollies, but it’s the chocolate-egg selection that steals the show. Classic mini foil-wrapped eggs are on offer and come in different 26 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT APRIL 18 – 25 / 2019

flavours, like solid milk and dark chocolate, peanut butter, and caramel. Larger picks—fudge eggs, peanut butter eggs, milk chocolate creamy-yolk eggs, and crisp eggs—are also available. For a crowd pleaser, go for the milk chocolate half-shell egg filled with mini foil eggs—it can be a satisfying treat after your Easter Sunday dinner. Available in stores and online.

MON PARIS PATISSERIE

(4396 Beresford Street, Burnaby) Besides chocolate Easter chicks and a spring-themed mille-feuille, chef Elena Krasnova’s Easter collection features various eggs made with quality Cacao Barry chocolate. Small speckled milk and dark chocolate eggs have a hidden treat inside, while the larger milk and dark chocolate eggs are filled with candied nuts and dried fruits. A stunning red velvet Easter egg is also on the menu, and comes with two signature truffles— and we don’t doubt its ability to be the centre of attention at any holiday gathering. Available in store.

GEM CHOCOLATES

(2029 West 41st Avenue) Chocolate Easter eggs aren’t hard to find around the city, but showstopping Easter eggs are more difficult to come by. Gem Chocolates has created some beautiful Easter eggs that are hand-painted with cocoa butter. They come in milk and dark chocolate, and are filled with foil-wrapped Valrhona chocolate-truffle eggs—a small chocolate chick can also be added inside.

Vegan chocolate-truffle eggs are also on offer. Available online.

EAST VAN ROASTERS

(319 Carrall Street) This Downtown Eastside bean-tobar chocolate shop has created three chocolate Easter eggs this year that are made with organic, fair-, and direct-trade chocolate. Mouthwatering flavours include passion fruit (chewy caramel inside a Tanzanian white chocolate shell), pecan praline (pecan butter mixed with Madagascan chocolate [70 percent] and crunchy pecan pieces), and malted ganache (Peruvian chocolate [70 percent] shell with a creamy malt-ganache centre).

Available in store. East Van Roasters is a registered charity and social enterprise operated by the PHS Community Services Society that employs women experiencing challenges living in Vancouver’s DTES. Proceeds from sales support the women who work there.

THOMAS HAAS CHOCOLATES

(2539 West Broadway and 128–998 Harbourside Drive, North Vancouver) Sweet tooths will find many chocolate Easter eggs at this local spot, besides its regular programming of chocolate Easter bunnies and chicks.

Fill your basket with everything from colourful, crispy gianduja eggs (chocolate eggs with hazelnut cream and Rice Krispies) to assorted chocolate-truffle eggs (which come in dark, milk, and white chocolate). The stars of the show are the surprise Easter eggs, which are hand-painted and airbrushed and filled with chocolate surprises—and these treats come in three sizes and various colours and designs. Available in stores. g

DRINK Italian wines generate plenty of buzz

T

by Kurtis Kolt

his week’s column is being filed from Vinitaly, the biggest wine show on the planet, which happens each spring in Verona, Italy. Picture an open area the size of a couple of football fields, each with a half-dozen convention-centre sized buildings. Those buildings showcase Italian wine regions like Tuscany, Piedmont, Sicily, and so on.

In each building there are a few hundred different spots for wineries and subregions to show their stuff.

The idea is to sell Italian wine to the world, and that’s who shows up. Importers from around the globe meet with wineries they already work with and have introductory powwows with those for whom there might be business. The rest of the crowd is filled with sommeliers, media, and a smattering of consumers, each one darting from building to building and booth to booth, trying to taste as much wine and chat with as many folks as possible.

The footwork is relentless; I’ve been over the 12,000-step mark each day.

A big focus for me was to gauge the buzz from fellow attendees as to what’s hot and happening in Italian wine. It was an easy task to keep in mind: each time I ran into global colleagues, I was pointed in various directions to the areas that excited them the most. Although this was more of an anecdotal exercise, a particular trio of favourites became quite evident. The big three consistently coming up (by a long shot) were wines from Mount Etna in Sicily,

Luigi and Lorenzo Scavino go organic at Azelia wines. Photo by Jeff Bramwell

the sparklings coming out of Franciacorta in Lombardy, and the legendary Barolos and beyond out of Piedmont.

Those Sicilian Mount Etna wines made from indigenous grape varieties have certainly garnered much buzz over the past few years among the young-sommelier crowd. While it’s exciting enough to think of the challenges of winegrowing along the side of an active volcano, the wines made from many of these historic red and white varieties offer incredible value and stylistic components that one would be hard-pressed to find anywhere else. For a good example of what’s on offer in the region, look to Pietradolce Etna Rosso 2017 ($28.99, B.C. Liquor Stores), grown on the north side of the volcano and made from the red Nerello Mascalese grape.

Think of a slightly rich Pinot Noir– type structure, buoyed by plenty of red berry fruit, a serious crack of clove, and dried Italian herbs.

The Franciacorta DOCG (denominazione di origine controllata e arantita) wineries are solely dedicated to traditional-method sparklingwine production, where 85 percent of each wine must be made from Chardonnay, with Pinot Noir and/ or Pinot Blanc allowed to carry out that remaining 15 percent if a producer so chooses. Often discussed is how these wines are starting to rival those coming out of Champagne. For those who want to play judge and jury on that, perhaps look to Villa Crespia Millè Franciacorta Brut 2009 ($47.99, B.C. Liquor Stores), wholly made from Chardonnay, with creamy and nutty limeladen waves cresting the palate.

And, finally: yes, wines out of Piedmont continue to be the crown at the top of Italy for many. Of all the producers I met, among the best at expressing the many intricate components of the region were Luigi Scavino and his son Lorenzo of Azelia wines. They are the fourth and fifth generation to be at the helm of this property, farming everything organically in their estate vineyards. A good selection of their wines is available all around Vancouver, particularly at B.C. Liquor Stores and Marquis Wine Cellars in the West End.

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APRIL 18 – 25 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 27

MOVIES

from previous page

AZELIA DOLCETTO D’ALBA 2017

Seaworthy women rule on The Raft THE RAFT

A documentary by Mrcus Lindeen.

In English, French, German, Spanish and Japanese, with English subtitles. Rating unavailable

d ALTHOUGH SPANISH anthropologist Santiago Genovés said he was inspired to study the human need for violence after being on a plane that was hijacked, his real motivation was more elemental. He had participated in two of Thor Heyerdahl’s Ra expeditions and subsequently had a raft of his own ideas.

Where the famous Norwegian wanted to test the limits of circumnavigation with limited technology, Genovés set arbitrary limits to examine

human behaviour under pressure.

He managed to talk a British company into building him an unsinkable craft—dubbed the Acali (presumably after scholars of ancient India)—with the idea of floating from Europe to Mexico in the summer of 1973. Out of hundreds of applicants, he chose six women and four other men, ostensibly for their skills, diversity, and heteronormative attractiveness. To tweak the then-cracking gender roles—46 years ago, for cryin’ out loud—he put the women in charge, led by Maria Björnstam, a Swedish sea captain. He wanted to see what elemental conflicts would unleash the incipient violence in his voyageurs, especially the men.

Guess who blew his top first.

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AZELIA LANGHE NEBBIOLO 2014

($47.74, Marquis Wine Cellars) This is another example of a grape showing its true colours when done in stainless steel, without any oak getting in the way. Twenty-year-old vines bring pretty rose-petal and violet notes, with lively cherries singing.

AZELIA BAROLO 2014 Decades before Big Brother aired, a similar scenario played out on an ocean voyage.

Filmmaker Marcus Lindeen, himself Swedish, was able to find the captain, crucial since the experiment’s mastermind used pseudonyms in his record of the journey. She had actual contact information, and he tracked down the rest of the women, still living, and one of the men, a Japanese photographer. The film doesn’t tell us what happened to the other fellows, nor to Genovés, who died in 2013, although the latter is given voice through actor Daniel Giménez-Cacho, who reads from the original journals, which reveal little of scientific value, but also mitigate against the “Sex Raft” view of tabloids at the time.

Lindeen had an exact replica of the raft constructed on a soundstage, and this gives the survivors an appropriately theatrical setting to conjure their experience of this real-life Big Brother scenario. Fé Seymour, the only African-American aboard, declares the mission a success, mainly because everyone pulled together to resist one man’s macho bullying.

“Santiago only had ulterior motives,” she recalls. It’s fascinating stuff.

by Ken Eisner

THE GRIZZLIES

Starring Ben Schnetzer. In English and Inuktitut, with English subtitles. Rated PG

nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up

A Place Called Chiapas

Tasha Hubbard

SAT MAY 4 | 4:15 PM | VANCITY

WED MAY 8 | 6 PM | SFU THU MAY 9 | 12 PM | VANCITY

Eight months in the life of the Zapatista National Liberation Army revolution in the southern state of Chiapas, Mexico. Director Nettie Wild in attendance.

An Indigenous family fights for justice after a young Cree man named Colten Boushie was murdered on a rural Saskatchewan farm.

Nettie Wild

Everything Must Fall

Buddy

THU MAY 9 | 6 PM | SFU

SUN MAY 5 | 3:15 PM | VANCITY

An unflinching look at the #FeesMustFall student movement in South Africa and the protests that emerged over the cost of education.

A heartwarming exploration of the dog-human bond, celebrating the extraordinary skills of service dogs and how they support their companions.

Mom Calling

One Child Nation

SAT MAY 11 | 1:45 PM | VANCITY

SAT MAY 11 | 4 PM | VANCITY SUN MAY 12 | 12 PM | SFU

Rehad Desai

Nelleke Koop

Follows three women who care for their aging mothers with dementia while balancing jobs and other family obligations.

Heddy Honigmann

Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang

Weaving personal experience with archival propaganda, Nanfu Wang reveals the human rights violations and trauma caused by the Chinese government’s one-child policy.

($27.99, B.C. Liquor Stores) This is an incredible, juicy singlevineyard wine, coming from a mere two hectares of calcareous and sandy soil with vines that are more than 50 years old. It’s fermented in stainless steel with no oak aging to both preserve and express the natural character of the fruit, resulting in bright purple fruit with lovely acidity and dusted with dried thyme.

d A NEWLY minted doctor, mired in student debt, reluctantly moves to a small town near the Arctic Circle, and encounters impoverished but characterful Inuit plus some eccentric exiles. Wait a minute: that’s the pilot for Northern Exposure, not the plot of The Grizzlies!

Well, the new movie does manage to cover fresh territory in its tale of an arrogant outsider who gets educated by the locals. Here, the arriviste is Russ

Sheppard, a novice teacher literally cooling his heels in a remote Nunavut outpost, paying off loans until a posh private-school gig comes through.

He’s played by Euro-American Ben Schnetzer (Pride, The Riot Club), who does the Clueless White Guy thing quite well. Using the actor’s apparent mixed-race background could have added a little more complexity to the initially routine script from Breaking Bad producer-writer Moira Walley-Beckett and Graham Yost (who wrote Speed). Our newbie’s only guides, when faced with students who clearly don’t want to be in school, are another Southie (B.C.’s Will Sasso), who has chosen to drink and keep his head down, and the school principal (national treasure Tantoo Cardinal), understandably impatient with pale dudes who think they can master any situation.

Russ admits he’s in over his head, and then launches an overly familiar salvation story with the realization that his knowledge of lacrosse—played for perhaps a thousand years before Europeans arrived—can pull the kids together. Smoothly directed by Miranda de Pencier, better known for producing Beginners and Green Gables update Anne with an E, the film is unsparing in its depiction of alcoholism, domestic abuse, and teen suicide. And it’s surprisingly clear in suggesting the roots of these problems—especially when it comes to survivors of residential schools passing on their trauma and mistrust of institutions in general.

Where The Grizzlies, named after the eventual team, really comes to life is in the space it gives a young, mostly nonprofessional cast to shine as winning individuals. (Newcomers Anna Lambe and Ricky MartyPahtayken have inherent star power.) see page 30

($62.99, B.C. Liquor Stores) It’s made from hand-selected fruit sourced from seven different estate vineyards with an average vine age of about 50 years. Twenty-four months in large oak barrels put all of that purple and black fruit on a lightly toasted pedestal, with some nice savoury olives on the finish.

AZELIA MARGHERIA BAROLO 2012

($129.99, B.C. Liquor Stores) Of the single-vineyard cru Barolos I tasted, this was my favourite. I’d actually tried the 2015, which made me quite excited to race home, go without the next time or two dining out, and nab myself a bottle of this gently aged bottling while it’s still available, before that 2015 hits our shores in the future.

Clay and calcareous soils and 60-yearold vines from less than two hectares—coupled with a long ferment of about 50 days—brought mouthwatering complexity, purple fruit, prunes, and a hint of salinity, keeping the palate lively. I’d want to lay it down a few years, which makes the prospect of a ready-to-go 2012 mighty tempting. g

rink D OF THE WEEK

THE FAIRMONT Chateau Whistler turns 30 this year, and to celebrate it has launched a few new cocktails at its Mallard Lounge at the base of Blackcomb Mountain. One of them is the CP Tiki, a throwback to the Chateau’s early days as a Canadian Pacific Hotel. This one has flair and flare.

CP TIKI

2 oz coconut-washed Bacardi Oakheart spiced rum 3/4 oz fresh lime juice 3/4 oz pineapple juice 1 1/2 oz homemade passionfruit cordial 1/2 oz simple syrup To make the passion-fruit cordial, place in a pot on mediumhigh heat 7 ounces passionfruit purée, 1 1/2 ounces honey, 1 1/2 cups hot water, and 1 1/2 ounces strained fresh lemon juice; reduce. (Makes enough for four cocktails.)

To make coconut-washed rum, melt 8 ounces of virgin coconut oil and combine with a 26-ounce bottle of Bacardi Oakheart spiced rum in a large container such as a Mason jar.

Shake periodically and leave overnight at room temperature. Place in freezer until fat congeals, then strain liquid through a paper coffee filter.

Combine ingredients in a martini shaker. Shake, and strain over shaved or crushed ice, preferably in a funtiki mug. Garnish with fruit, mint, and banana leaf. To flame, hollow out half a lime, add Chartreuse or highproof rum, set on fire, then dust with cinnamon powder.

by Gail Johnson

28 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT APRIL 18 – 25 / 2019

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APRIL 18 – 25 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 29

Swedish bank robbery that gave rise As you’d expect, in the end, Russ to the notion of hostages throwing in doesn’t want to leave this faraway with their captors, the new movie is place. And neither will you. more about Toronto writer-director

by Ken Eisner Robert Budreau’s affection for bankheist movies and period set dressing STOCKHOLM than anything sociological. Budreau Starring Ethan Hawke. Rated PG cast Ethan Hawke as doomed trumpeter Chet Baker in Born to Be Blue, d THE TERM Stockholm syndrome, and Hawke’s cool restraint was the now used to describe everything best thing about that movie (as with from Trump supporters to Apple the recent First Reformed). The opdevotees, is such a fraught part of posite happens here, with the veteran modern life, it would be useful to see turning in a cartoonishly comic perexactly where that psychiatric short- formance as a petty criminal with a hand came from. Sadly, Stockholm fixation on American pop culture, doesn’t get into that. and Bob Dylan in particular.

Ostensibly depicting the 1973 It turns out that the reason everyfrom page 28

one speaks English in Stockholm is that Hawke’s Lars Nystrom is actually a Swede, and the film is helpfully translating for us. That also allows Budreau to assemble an international cast affecting a generally Scandinavian attitude in a tale shot in Hamilton, Ontario, and the title city. The players include Dragon Tattooer Noomi Rapace, as the plucky teller who gets the famous syndrome the worst; England’s Mark Strong, as Nystrom’s best pal and fellow bank robber; and B.C.’s Christopher Heyerdahl, as the cool-headed Stockholm police chief. (That the lanky Canadian is a cousin of Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl is only one

of several connections with The Raft, a Swedish-based documentary about unlike people trapped together, also set in 1973.)

Considering how many facts Budreau changed, including names and the number of actual hostages (most of whom he shows no interest in), it’s bizarre that he fails to explore the contagious radicalism of the 1970s, as reflected in events as different as the Patty Hearst kidnapping and the standoff at Entebbe’s airport. Instead, we get a kind of Dog Day Afterthought that doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry about the way human beings treat each other, with or without guns.

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by Kate Wilson

ritics and journalists have dubbed The Grizzlies a sports film. They’re wrong to do so.

The feature, which opens Friday (April 19), is based on the true-life events at Kugluktuk high school between the late-’90s and mid-2000s.

Back then, the community in the snowbound, remote Nunavut town

by Ken Eisner was suffering from one of the highest teen suicide rates in the world due to the community’s widespread prob“AN INTELLIGENT ROMANCE… lems with alcohol and drug abuse A WARMLY NUANCED LOOK AT LOVE IN A PLACE FILLED WITH and domestic violence.

— HOLLYWOOD REPORTER CONSTRAINTS AND CONTRADICTIONS.” When a white teacher arrives from the South, he hopes to introduce the students to lacrosse in order to offer them a focus outside of class—an endeavour that initially draws resistance. But as the kids become teammates and celebrate each other’s successes, the deeply divided town begins to mend and the students help to heal each other.

To limit its description to “sports TILLOTAMA VIVEK drama” does the film a disservice— SHOME GOMBER and one of its producers, Stacey Aglok MacDonald, agrees.

“I’d say it was an inspirational dramedy,” she tells the Georgia Straight with a laugh while on the line from her home in Nunavut.

Working on The Grizzlies was more than just another job for the veteran producer, who—as the brains behind seven-season Inuktitut-language drama Qanurli?—is one of the region’s most recognizable makers of TV and film.

Born and raised in Kugluktuk, Aglok MacDonald experienced the A FILM BY community’s darker periods firstROHENA GERA hand and felt a weighty responsibility to respectfully tell the story of the ¿OPVweOLNH town’s healing.

“It was a community in transition,” SILVERCITY RIVERPORT &,1(3/(; &20 ¿OPVweOLNH she remembers. “The cultures were 14211 ENTERTAINMENT BLVD • RICHMOND ADVANCE TICKETS See the Trailer • ¾OPVZHOLNH FRP colliding. It was definitely a very difficult time. We were constantly losing a friend or a family member, one after another. It was a very scary time, because nobody felt safe, I think. Even me, growing up, I remember feeling a lot of shame towards my own culture.

There’s so much trauma I think that was carried over and passed down to children from the residential-school legacy. The very hard effects of it were felt in Kugluktuk in the ’90s.”

In order to deal with the subject matter authentically, the project took almost a decade to complete—a period that director Miranda de Pencier (Anne with an “E”), Aglok MacDonald, and the rest of the crew used productively. Keen to cast entirely Inuit talent, the team auditioned more than 500 youths from 25 communities in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. More than 60 kids were then invited to attend workshops in Iqaluit, Nunavut’s capital, where they were offered training in performing arts, regardless of whether or not they would end up being featured in the film.

“We actually did two huge casting calls: one in 2010 and another in 2014,” Aglok MacDonald recalls.

“A number of people had aged out of the first one by the time the movie was almost ready to be greenlit.

After the first workshop, me and Miranda, did our first short drama together called “Throat Song”. A lot of the youth that were in the workshop got to be in that. It was really important to have them be part of VIFF‘18 that growth along with us. More and more we are striving to be the ones telling our own stories. We need people in our own communities who have experience and training.”

For Aglok MacDonald, the increasing number of movies in recent years that focus on Inuit and First Nations societies represents an imVIFF‘18 portant step forward.

“I think all communities, all Indigenous communities, go through something like this,” she says. “We really thought about how to tell the story, and we really made it as good as we could. A lot of that was down to the trust we had in each other.” g

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music

Something’s happening for Wallows

by Mike Usinger

W

hen two-thirds of Wa l l o w s — d r u m mer Cole Preston and singer-guitarist Dylan Minnette—dial the Georgia Straight on a conference call, Coachella is the main concern of the day. Along with singer-guitarist Braeden Lemasters (who’s under the weather and resting up), the long-time friends and bandmates are getting ready to play what’s arguably the most prestigious music festival on the planet.

What makes this hard to believe for Wallows is that they never saw it coming. Preston, Lemasters, and Minnette are proof that there’s usually no quick path to stardom when you’ve chosen music as your favoured medium. As for tens of thousands of artists before them—from Kurt Cobain to Jack White to James Murphy—there were years of wondering if anyone would ever care.

“We played countless shows to nobody in L.A. when we were, like, 15,” Preston says. “Literally, it happened so many times that we became totally desensitized to the negativity. And that’s because we just love playing at the end of the day.”

The three bandmates are in their early 20s now, and after some dark and directionless years, they’re watching their debut full-length, Nothing Happens, catch fire with fans who are convinced that guitarbased rock isn’t nearly as dead as it sometimes seems these days.

Those who remember the ’00s rawk boom that brought us the Strokes and Arctic Monkeys will be able to draw a through-line between early Wallows singles and Nothing Happens tracks like the overdriven “Treacherous Doctor” and “Scrawny”.

What might be most impressive about Nothing Happens is that Wallows obviously aspires to more than the sound that made Brooklyn famous two decades ago. “Ice Cold Pool” swerves into retro R&B territory, “Only Friend” channels the synthshrouded postpunk ’80s, and “What You Like” suggests someone might have a passing affection for the Beatles.

The album’s greatest moment might just be the mesmerizingly mournful “Do Not Wait”, which— thanks to lyrics like “And it gets worse before it gets better/That’s one thing that I have come to know”— should be mandatory listening for anyone going through a tough time.

The members of Wallows met as kids when their parents enrolled them in a music program called Join the Band.

We definitely had some moments where we were like, ‘Man, what are we doing here?’

– Cole Preston

NOT TO OVERDRAMATIZE things, but the members of Wallows know what it’s like to wonder if everything’s going to work out.

The journey that’s taken them to Coachella started when they were kids. Both Lemasters and Minnette found themselves in Los Angeles for acting at a young age, that gamble paying off with regular work today.

(Minnette is a regular on the Netflix hit 13 Reasons Why; Lemasters’s credits include Betrayal and Men of a Certain Age.) Looking to build a support network for both their kids and themselves, their moms connected via an online group for new-

to-L.A. stage parents. That led them to enroll their kids in a music program called Join the Band, where, right off the bat, Lemasters and Minnette met Preston.

The three became inseparable, initially playing under the name the Feavor. After they rebranded themselves as the Narwhals, the band gained a brief bit of traction with a

song placement on the soundtrack to the Steve Carell/Jennifer Garner comedy Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Then came some serious soulsearching, along with another name change, to Wallows. While acting was working out for Lemasters and Minnette, music remained a somewhat less successful endeavour.

Music TIP SHEET c METRIC (April 18 at the Pacific Coliseum) Remember all those times you caught Canadian indie darlings Metric at the Media Club and Richard’s on Richards? Sometimes you get to say “I saw them when.” c BLAC RABBIT (April 18 at the WISE Hall) Ever wondered what the Screaming Trees would have sounded like if they’d grown up on Prince and Tame Impala? Wonder no more, as YouTube-famous former buskers Blac Rabbit give East Van a lethal dose of psych-pop. c EX HEX (April 19 at the Biltmore) Helium founder Mary Timony knows as well as anyone that the ’90s were a magical time— despite what Creed, Live, and

the Stone Temple Pilots might make one think today. The singer-guitarist keeps the spirit of the era alive with Ex Hex.

c WHITE DENIM (April 19 at the Rickshaw) Sometimes, when you’re a musician, you walk away from a gig thinking “I’ve really got to practise more.”

Get ready to feel hopelessly inferior as Austin’s mighty mash-up kings White Denim prove there’s no such thing as too much genre-blending. c TAKING BACK SUNDAY (April 21 and 22 at the Commodore) Once upon a time—when Pete Wentz was at his most screwable—emo was the hottest thing in America.

Taking Back Sunday was a major reason why.

“The last time we toured we were playing these small rooms, some of them not even having anyone there,” Minnette says. “It was like they might as well have left the houselights on.”

“We definitely had some moments where we were like, ‘Man, what are we doing here?’” Preston says. “I don’t think it ever became super negative to where we got really down on the band though. For us, we try and spin things to be super positive, so we’d be like, ‘Next tour we’re going to step it up, put out more songs, and do all this extra stuff.’ We tried to make the tough times as much of a motivator as possible—to sort of discuss ‘How can we make it so that, hopefully, this sort of stuff doesn’t happen again?’”

All the challenges and hurdles would indeed provide fuel for keeping at it. A series of singles in 2017 and 2018, as well as a debut EP called Spring, showcased Wallows as a band working hard to find its own sound, with reviews usually mentioning the Strokes in the first or second sentence. That only made the band more determined to double down.

“What was going on with us back then sort of feeds into our new album title, Nothing Happens,” Minnette opines. “We’d been together for 10 years, and sometimes we had unrealistic expectations, and sometimes we had totally real expectations depending on our age. It would be like, ‘Man, we’re doing all this work and nothing happens.’ That was something we’d always say, to the point where it dawned on us one day that that had to be our debut album title.”

The invitation to Coachella is proof that sometimes it pays not only to have a dream, but also to devote every bit of your energy to making that dream come true. But perhaps even more admirably, Nothing Happens is strong enough that it doesn’t sound like a bunch of guys moonlighting from their successful day jobs. It may have taken Wallows a while to get where it is today, but the band wouldn’t change that.

“If anything would have happened with Wallows when we were younger, that would have been super bad,” Preston says with a laugh.

“Imagine a bunch of 14-year-olds trying to cope with some kind of success. So we’re all pretty happy with the results right now.” g Wallows plays Venue on Tuesday (April 23).

Bad Animal LP documents changes d GROWING PAINS SEEMS an odd title for the second full-length from Calgary-based Bad Animal—that having everything to do with the group making a successful and seamless attempt to move forward from its beginnings as a loud and revved-up rawk unit.

Reached at home in Cowtown, singer Ben Painter suggests the band didn’t transition to where it is today without a few challenges. Original members left after the release of a 2016 debut album titled Tonight, with whatever friction having something to do with what’s commonly known as artistic differences. Painter and guitarist Trevor Stoddart were determined to soldier on.

“The album is called Growing Pains because we’d had changes within the group,” Painter says. “It was a mutual agreement because things were just not working. They wanted to keep going the harder, faster rock kind of direction. Me and Trevor wanted to expand our sound, branch out, and do something different. We wanted to make songs that you can’t really compare to other songs or a sound.”

That goal was successfully executed with help from Vancouver Island producer Colin Stewart,

Calgary-based indie-rock band Bad Animal is planning to pack its gear and move to Vancouver.

noted for his work with such acts as Dan Mangan, Yukon Blonde, and the New Pornographers. Bad Animal still knows how to come out swinging, with “Blackout” showcasing blazing

postpunk guitars and “Oh No” going all-in with gang-chant vocals and rumbletone bass.

At the same time, the band is anything but a one-trick pony. “Boombox” does postdisco with a panache that would impress the early Killers, while “Abigale” starts with space-transmission six-string atmospherics and then roars across the finish line like a full-blown sonic exorcism.

Finding his footing as an artist has been doubly gratifying for Painter. A few years back he was diagnosed with cancer while fronting an early incarnation of the band that evolved into Bad Animal. During the treatment and recovery process the singer lost almost all interest in the idea of making music.

“I got sick for a long time, and that kind of put everything on hold,” he says. “You’d think that would make you want to create, but it made me not want to do music for a long time. I felt like I couldn’t create anything. I had so many other things on my mind that writing a song was the last thing that I could think about.”

When he was ready to return to action, however, Painter—urged on by family and coworkers—was a man on a mission. Early shows painted Bad Animal as an act best filed under

“unrelenting”. And, ironically, one of the major failings of the group in the months and years that followed was capturing that energy again.

“Our live show was cool, but all of our recordings didn’t translate that because we had no idea what we were doing,” Painter says. “We were trying to do it ourselves every time, and it sounded like shit. We were doing everything at home, and when I look back to what we were doing and compare it to what we’re doing now, those recordings really sucked.”

In case it’s not clear, that’s a tipoff that Bad Animal is justifiably more than a little proud of Growing Pains, to the point where Painter and his bandmates have decided they might have the stuff to make it in Vancouver, where they are about to relocate the band from Calgary.

“I just want to save up some money, with the ultimate goal of working on this band,” the singer says. “That’s the dream. Right now it’s all about trying to do more. We just want to elevate things and keep moving.”

by Mike Usinger

Bad Animal plays Fortune Sound Club on Wednesday (April 24).

APRIL 18 – 25 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 31

MUSIC

Hille looks back at her life in song

by Alexander Varty

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L

ooking back can be dangerous, and I’m sure there are more than a few of us who are damned glad that they burnt every scrap of their teenage writing before it could be leaked to friends, family, and the wide world of the Interwebs.

Not Veda Hille, though.

On turning 50 last year, the Vancouver singer, songwriter, pianist, and theatrical composer decided to assemble a kind of personal best-of, a lightly theatricalized autobiography in song. And in going way, way back, she was surprisingly pleased to find portents of who she would become in the journals of who she was then— including “a list of things I wanted to accomplish before I was 25, or something like that”.

“One of them was ‘Ride a motorcycle across Europe,’ which is never going to happen, people!” she says, reached on her cellphone while practising piano at Music on Main artistic director David Pay’s East Van house.

“But another one was ‘Make a record.’

And this was before I wrote songs, so that was kind of nice to see.”

Hille has in fact gone on to make almost 20 records, most recently releasing her scores for the musical Onegin, cowritten with director Amiel Gladstone, and King Arthur’s Night, a collaboration with Neworld Theatre. For Little Volcano, the career-spanning retrospective she’ll unveil at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts next week, she’ll be picking some of her favourites, both for sentimental reasons and to illustrate her path as a songwriter.

“I think some artists start out writing more fictionally, and then turn to autobiography later. I definitely started firmly in confessional, personal songwriting, so it was a great freedom for me to suddenly realize that there were other stories,” she says with a laugh, referring to her theatrical projects, which have run from working with choreographer Jennifer Mascall to explore the life of Emily Carr to writing pop parodies for the wildly popular East Van Panto series. “The pressure of keeping up a life that’s full of good stories is a big pressure!

It’s good to look away. And that way, I can keep writing and have all these interesting assignments from people, and then every five or six years I can do a really personal project—which feels about right for my pace.”

Hille’s also bringing some of her theatrical associates into Little Volcano, including Theatre Replacement’s James Long and Maiko Bae Yamamoto. The two, she explains, have helped her determine which parts of her life to lean on, and have come up with some innovative ways to make the show—which Music on Main will remount next year as part of the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival—more than

Local singer-songwriter Veda Hille will unveil a career-spanning retrospective titled Little Volcano at the Shadbolt Centre next week. Photo by Matt Reznek

The pressure of keeping up a life that’s full of good stories is a big pressure!

– Veda Hille

just one very talented woman sitting at a large, black piano.

“My life may have not been the most exciting life, but there’s enough going on that you have to pick and choose,” Hille says understatedly. “So this is why it’s been so amazing to work with James Long and Maiko Bae Yamamoto. I’ve worked with them for almost 20 years on theatrical projects, but finally I’ve requested that they turn their excellent artistic eyes onto me and help me figure this out.

“I’m playing songs; it’s essentially a heightened concert situation,” she continues. “But the things that I say between songs are scripted, and

I have actions to perform. It’s very much in line with the Theatre Replacement aesthetic, which is never too baroque—which is actually ironic, because I play a lot of Bach in this show as well as my own music.”

Johann Sebastian Bach has been a constant in Hille’s artistic life. His music, she explains, has been a source of inspiration, challenge, and consolation, although she jokingly cautions that she’s not a classical pianist, if only because of her “small hands”.

“But playing Bach means so much to me as an experience of music,” she says, “that I wanted to bring that sense of practice and subservience to a great composer to a show.”

It’s also a chance to fulfill one of her teenage dreams, even if going full-on Easy Rider on the Autobahn will have to wait for her next incarnation. Among the instructions to herself that Hille found in her teenage notebook was “Write lyrics for a Bach aria.” She hasn’t aimed quite that high, but has composed words for one of the German master’s simpler preludes—and, for now, that’s close enough to the fulfillment of a dream deferred. g Veda Hille presents Little Volcano at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts from April 25 to 27.

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MUSIC LISTINGS

CONCERTS JUST ANNOUNCED VANCOUVER WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL Festival highlights include Mokoomba from Zimbabwe and a tribute to Paul Simon’s Graceland.

Apr 24-27, Imperial Vancouver. $15-50.

CAITLIN CANNING Alt-pop singer-songwriter from Abbotsford, with guests Counterfold, Eric Gray, and Rocky. Apr 25, 8 pm, Railway Stage and Beer Café. $10/13.

PARK SOUND PRESENTS Monthly showcase features performances by Kaylan Mackinnon, Holly Rees, and Derek Wayne Martin. Apr 26, 7 pm, Park Sound Studio. $8-10.

TODDCAST PODCAST PRESENTS Best Night Ever album-release party, with guests the Fallaways and Bobby’s Cane. Apr 26, 9 pm, Railway Stage and Beer Café. $8/10.

GLENEAGLE Rock ‘n’ roll band plays a homecoming show, with guests Yvette, Molly Aspinall, and Bryan Michael. Apr 28, 7:30 pm, Railway Stage and Beer Café. $10/13.

HUNTER & FRIENDS An all-ages night of music and comedy hosted by Char Hunter and Richard Lett. Apr 30, 7-10 pm, Cottage Bistro. No cover.

BIG JOHN BATES: NOIRCHESTRA Local film-noir inspired Americana band, with guests Shiloh Lindsey and the Van Rays. May 4, 8 pm, Railway Stage and Beer Café. $12.

ROYAL OAK Acoustic showcase with guests Belcarra and Bridgeworks. May 5, 7:30 pm, Railway Stage and Beer Café. $10/13.

CORY GALLANT AND THE RED DIRT POSSE Canadian country artists, with guests Taylor-Rae and the Backseat Drivers. May 7, 7:30 pm, Railway Stage and Beer Café. $10/13.

COLIN WEEKS Local pop ‘n’ soul singersongwriter, with guests Sola, the Lone Palms, and D Fretter. May 9, 8 pm, Railway Stage and Beer Café. $10.

DAMSEL Local band plays an EP-release show, with guests Getaway Van, Servo, and Paul Is Dead. May 11, 7 pm, Bourbon. $10/13.

JACOB SEYER AND LES FINNIGAN. Double bill of original acoustic-guitar music. May 11, 7 pm, West Point Grey United Church. $20.

BC MUSICIAN SERIES Performances by Alexandria Maillot, Douse, the Jins, and the Faceplants. May 16, 7 pm, Railway Stage and Beer Café. $15.

JONATHAN WILSON Touring guitarist-vocalist for Roger Waters performs tunes from new album Rare Birds. Jun 22, 9 pm, Imperial Vancouver. $35.

MDOU MOCTAR Tuareg rock band from Niger, with guests JJUUJJUU. Jul 31, 9 pm, Fox Cabaret. Tix on sale Apr 18, 11 am, $20.

CANCER BATS Canadian hardcore-metal punks. Sep 20, 8 pm, Rickshaw Theatre. $25.

STEVE HILL Juno-winning blues rocker.

Sep 27, 7:30-10:30 pm, ANZA Club. $35-40.

AMON AMARTH Melodic death-metal band from Sweden, with guests Arch Enemy, At the Gates, and Grand Magus. Sep 28, 7 pm, PNE Forum. Tix on sale Apr 19, 10 am, $49.50.

BAND OF SKULLS Rock band from Southhampton, England. Sep 30, 9 pm, Venue. Tix on sale Apr 19, 10 am, $30.

HOLLERADO Indie-rock quartet from Ottawa.

Nov 2, 8 pm, Commodore Ballroom. Tix on sale Apr 19, 10 am, $24.50.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17 SAWYER FREDERICKS Contemporary folk singer-songwriter. Apr 17, 8 pm, Biltmore Cabaret.

MARIZA Portuguese fado singer. Apr 17, 8 pm, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. From $15.

MAGGIE ROGERS Indie-pop singer-songwriter from the States, with guest Melanie Faye. Apr 17, 9 pm, Commodore Ballroom. $30.

ONYX Hardcore hip-hop group from Queens, New York. Apr 18, 8 pm, Biltmore Cabaret. $20-25.

THE BOTTOM SHELF BOURBON TRIO Acoustic roots duo blends deep blues, bluegrass, and Americana. Apr 18, 8 pm, The Heatley. $10 or by donation.

FAILURE & SWERVEDRIVER Alt-rock bands from L.A. and England play a coheadlining bill.

Apr 18, 8 pm, Venue. $32.50.

METRIC & JULY TALK Canadian indie-rock bands play a coheadlining bill. Apr 18, 8 pm, Pacific Coliseum.

MR. EAZI Nigerian Afrobeat musician and pioneer of Banku music. Apr 18, 9 pm, Commodore Ballroom. $25.

BLAC RABBIT Psych-rock band from New York. Apr 18, 9 pm, WISE Hall. $13.

Careers

FULL-TIME FOOD SERVICE SUPERVISOR Responsibilities:

($17-$18P/H)

■ Supervise, establish, & schedule staff

calendar

■ Estimate & order ingredients/supplies ■ Train staff in job duties & other procedures ■ Ensure food & service meet quality control

standards

Interested email resume:

bc001@pokeworks.com

THE VANRAYS THE VANRAYS All we want to know is this: where in Vancouver do the VanRays play gigs? It’s a pertinent question given that the band is an eight-piece complete with an organist and a trombone player.

Hell, in this city even an acoustic folk trio is lucky to find a venue with a stage big enough to accomodate everyone. Anyhow, the photos on the VanRays’ website make it clear that the answer to the above question is “LanaLou’s”, and that at no point are all eight members on the stage at the same time. The fully fleshed sound of the band’s four-song debut EP explains why the group has so many members—who include

veterans of local acts such as Swank, 64 Funnycars, and the Beladeans. The VanRays blend indie rock with brassy R&B, and while the band’s bio suggests frontman Spencer McKinnon and his cohorts own every piece of vinyl ever released by the Motown label (it also makes allusions to Otis Redding and James Brown), “Hey Barcelona” sounds more like Blood, Sweat & Tears jamming with the Seeds.

Elsewhere, “Need Money” is the sound of a garage-soul act blasting out the soundtrack to a ’60s spy flick. Get these guys a bigger stage! And maybe a trio of backing vocalists. Heck, throw a full-time tambourine player in there too. Why the hell not?

FRIDAY, APRIL 19

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24 KERO KERO BONITO Indie band from London, England. Apr 24, 7 pm, Biltmore Cabaret. $19.

SATURDAY, APRIL 20 RUSSIAN TIM AND THE PAVEL BURES Local band plays an album release, with guests You Big Idiot, the Corps, the Greatest Sons, Aanthems, and Dead End Drive In. Apr 20, 6-11:30 pm, WISE Hall. $10/15.

TAYLOR-RAE & THE BACKSEAT DRIVERS Local country band, with guests with Richard Tichelman, Nicole Aubrey, and Anika Mackay.

Apr 20, 8 pm, Railway Stage and Beer Café. $10/13.

TAKING BACK SUNDAY Alt-rock band from Long Island, New York. Apr 21-22, 8 pm, Commodore Ballroom. Tix $49.50.

MONDAY, APRIL 22 BUDDY GUY Blues guitar legend from Chicago. Apr 22, 8 pm, Orpheum Theatre.

From $63.

MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST Hard-rock guitar legend Michael Schenker performs will MSG vocalists Gary Barden, Graham Bonnet, and Robin McAuley, plus Temple of Rock vocalist Doogie White. Apr 22, 8 pm, Vogue Theatre. $29.99-129.

Hospitality/Food TUESDAY, APRIL 23 Service ESCORT Dance-music group from Brooklyn, New York. Apr 23, 9 pm, Fortune Sound Club.

Special Guest:

LA Santos

Guest Performers: Ysabelle Santa Ana Russel Figueroa

Vip $100 | Dress Circle $75 | Orchestra $55 | Balcony $45 ***Additional service charges on orders online***

Tickets are available at eventbrite.ca for Tickets and Sponsorship call: Joyce: 778-996-0810 | Janice: 778-772-5847 | Stella: 778-865-5982

The Georgia Straight Confessions, an outlet for submitting revelations about your private lives—or for the voyeurs among us who want to read what other people have disclosed.

by John Lucas

THE DARBY MILLS PROJECT Former Headpins vocalist performs two shows with her current band. Apr 19-20, The Fairview .

BIG MADGE Local ska-punk band, with guests Dante’s Paradise, Fairly Feral, and Super Budget. Apr 19, 7 pm, Bourbon. $10/13.

EX HEX Power trio from Washington, D.C. Apr 19, 7 pm, Biltmore Cabaret. $19.

SERVO Local rock ‘n’ roll band, with guests the Seques. Apr 19, 19, 7-10 pm, The Roxy Cabaret. $10/14.

DEE DANIELS The Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival presents Vancouver jazz vocalist.

Apr 19, 7:30-10 pm, Bez Art Hub . $35.

LEIKELI47 Rapper from Brooklyn. Apr 19, 8 pm, Fortune Sound Club. $18.

SHY GIRLS Pop singer and producer performs tunes from new album Bird On the Wing. Apr 19, 8 pm, Fox Cabaret. $15.

WHITE DENIM Rock band from Austin, Texas, plays tunes from latest album Performance.

Apr 19, 9 pm, Rickshaw Theatre. $20.

LOVELYTHEBAND Indie-pop band from L.A., with guests Jagwar Twin and Flora Cash. Apr 19, 9 pm, Commodore Ballroom. Note: moved from original venue of Imperial Vancouver. $22.50.

FRIDAY JAZZ The David Sikula Trio performs progressive jazz with guest Brad Turner. Apr 19, 9 pm, Tyrant Studios. $15.

SUNDAY, APRIL 21

THURSDAY, APRIL 18

Employment EMPLOYMENT

A lbum OF THE WEEK

THURSDAY, APRIL 25 KING PRINCESS Pop singer-songwriter from Brooklyn, with guest Banoffee. Apr 25, Vogue Theatre.

MATT ANDERSEN & THE MELLOTONES Canadian blues singer-songwriter and guitarist, with guests Wild River. Apr 25, 8 pm, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. $46.50.

FRIDAY, APRIL 26 TURNOVER Rock band from Virginia Beach, Virginia. Apr 26, 6 pm, Biltmore Cabaret. $26.

THE 1975 Indie-rock band from Manchester, England, with guests Pale Waves. Apr 26, 7 pm, Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. $69.50/59.50/45.

RÜFÜS DU SOL Electronic-music trio from Australia. Apr 26, 8 pm, PNE Forum. $45.

MOKOOMBA Get ready for a full-on dance party with one of the most high-energy and entertaining bands in Africa. Apr 26, 8 pm, Imperial Vancouver. $25/30.

WINTERSLEEP Indie-rock band from Halifax.

Apr 26, 9:30 pm, Commodore Ballroom. $30/ four-packs $100.

SATURDAY, APRIL 27 ARIANA GRANDE American pop superstar.

Apr 27, Rogers Arena.

ICEAGE Punk rock band from Copenhagen, Denmark. Apr 27, Distrikt. $19.

ANOUSHKA SHANKAR Sitar player and composer. Apr 27, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts.

MOTOWN MELTDOWN Twelve-piece band performs the music of Motown. Apr 27, 7 pm, Commodore Ballroom. $32.75.

STRAND OF OAKS Rock project by songwriter and producer Timothy Showalter, with guests Wild Pink. Apr 27, 8 pm, Biltmore Cabaret. $20.

SATURDAY, MAY 4 GLITTER BALL Glitter Ball is a music festival fronted exclusively by women and those who identify with other marginalized genders. Over two days we explore cross genre creativity ranging from rap to rock n roll, with headliners Y La Bamba, Bbymutha, and Bambii, as well as a myriad of talented local musicians. May 4, 5 pm; May 5, 6 pm, The Pace. $20-40.

Scan to confess Soooo Victimized My sister writes Facebook posts along the lines of Sometimes You Just Try So Hard. Sometimes You Give and Give...(random ambiguous issue she wants to bait people with) meanwhile my sister-in-law hashtags everything on Instagram #socialanxiety #invisibleillness #otherbullshitlikethat. GUESS WHAT - we ALL have social anxiety. We all struggle with public situations and meeting new people and interacting. Stop being babies and limiting yourself with these stupid regressive shields.

Sold My Condo, Live In a Camper Van And couldn’t be happier the last year. No more $450 a month strata fees. No more property taxes. No more strata meetings.

Not stuck living next to asshole neighbours. I have everything my condo had, it’s just smaller- fridge, freezer, hot water, shower, toilet, comfy bed, a dinette,... (con’t @straight.com)

Laugh at me all you want I am not religious or overly spiritual, and I feel that I am sufficiently grounded in reality. But I’ve experienced and seen a lot in this lifetime, and I truly believe that there are benevolent forces that operate beyond my comprehension and have my back.

May barf a little From the cost of living as I move back :( All younger people have fun elsewhere... in Vancouver, you go out for a $20 hamburger and get chastised looks from the server after tipping 15% even if the service was horrible.

Visit

MUSIC LISTINGSare a public service provided free of charge, based on available space and editorial discretion. Submit events online using the event-submission form Laborers/Warehouse at straight.com/AddEvent. Events that don’t make it into the paper due to space constraints will appear on the website.

Careers

Careers

Careers

HERITAGE DRYWALL LTD

HIGHRISE GLASS LTD

TRICOM BUILDING MAINTENANCE Ltd.

is looking for Drywall Installers and Finishers Job location: Greater Vancouver, BC. Permanent, Full time. Wage - $25.50 per/h. Skills Requirements: Experience 3-4 years, Good English. Education: Secondary school.

Main Duties: Preparation of the drywall sheets for installation (measuring, cutting). Installation of drywall sheets. Securing of drywall sheets in metal or wooden studs or joists. Filling joints, holes and cracks with joint compound.

Applying successive coats of compound, sand seams and joints.

Company’s business address: 20448 – 90 Crescent, Langley BC V1M 1A7 Please apply by e-mail: heritagewall@gmail.com

is looking for Glaziers,Greater Vancouver, BC. Permanent, Full time. Wage - $ 26.50 per/h Skills requirements: Experience 3-4 years, Good English. Education: Secondary school Main duties: Read and interpret blueprints; Lay-out frame and window wall position; Install pre-build glass panels and metal panels in frames; Position and secure glass; Assemble and install panels on exteriors of building;Fabricate metal frames;Repair and service windows, aluminum doors;Replace damaged glass or faulty sealant;Measure, mark and cut glass; Assemble, erect and dismantle scaffolds, swing-stages.

Company’s business address: #221 – 17 Fawcett Rd, Coquitlam BC V3K 6V2 Please apply by e-mail: hrg.jerzy@gmail.com

is looking for CLEANING SUPERVISORS, Greater Vancouver, BC. Permanent, full-time job.

Wage - $21.00 per/h Skills requirements: Good English. Education: Secondary school. Previous experience as a cleaner or similar position is required; Previous experience as a cleaning supervisor is an asset. Main duties: Supervise and co-ordinate the activities of cleaners; Hire and train new cleaning staff; Resolve work-related problems and customer complaints; Periodically inspect job locations before and after the cleaning; Prepare work schedules and co-ordinate activities with other cleaning teams.

Company’s business address: 307 -1477 W/Pender St. Vancouver, BC V6G 2S3 Please apply by e-mail: hrd@tricomcanada.ca

to post a Confession Become a Big Sister. Become a Study Buddy

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Free advanced information and help on how quit drinking & using drugs. For more information call Barry Bjornson @ 604-836-7568 or email me @livinghumility@live.com

Battered Women's Support Services provides free daytime & evening support groups (Drop-ins & 10 week groups) for women abused by their intimate partner. Groups provide emotional support, legal information & advocacy, safety planning, and referrals.

For more information please call: 604-687-1867 BC Balance & Dizziness provides information & support for persons with balance, dizziness & vestibular disorders.

Bi Monthly info meetings @ St. Paul's Hospital.

Call for info. 604-878-8383 www.BalanceAndDizziness.org Distress Line & Suicide Prevention Services NEED SOME ONE TO TALK TO? Call us for immediate, free, confidential and non-judgemental support, 24 hours a day, everyday.

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NOTICE TAKE NOTICE THAT ELSIE CHOW (THE “DECEASED”), BORN IN 1919, ORIGINALLY OF TORONTO, DIED IN VANCOUVER ON MARCH 27, 2019 LEAVING SIX SURVIVING GRAND CHILDREN. IF YOU ARE A GRANDCHILD OF THE DECEASED, PLEASE CONTACT THE LAW FIRM OF MACKENZIE FUJISAWA LLP (ATTENTION: PATRICK M. HOLMES), SOLICITORS FOR THE ESTATE AT 604-689-3281

GOOD MORNING GENTLEMEN

Enjoy a Morning, Afternoon or Evening Delight with a Very Sensuous & Sexy Mature Lady Experienced in the Art of Relaxation. By appt. only. Thank you!

Mon-Fri 10-6PM Sat & Sun 10AM-4PM 604.540.0082

DEEP RELAXATION Tues, Wed & Thurs

NAAIP - Free Legal Assistance, Research and Representation. Sir/Dr. James Charles Chapala BA LLB PhD (NAAIP - Estd. 1995 in England and British Columbia) McKenzie Friend. General Practice. No Means Test. "Lawyers are the only people who uphold, protect and defend individual rights " Dean Peter Burns UBC Law School in Welcoming the Law Class of 1985.

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Fertility Support Group Discover new perspectives make positive changes and learn simple tools to take charge of your reproductive wellness while connecting with other women.

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SAVAGE LOVE

She was right to ditch this email snoop

by Dan Savage

b WHEN I FIRST started dating my girlfriend, I asked her about past boyfriends and she said she hadn’t met the right guy yet. After dating for nine years, I found out about a past boyfriend and looked through her emails. I found out she dated her married boss for three years. She broke up with me for looking and for judging her. I feel like she lied, and she thinks it was none of my business. We’ve been broken up for five months. She’s reached out, but I can’t get over my anger or disgust that she was someone’s mistress. Am I a bad person?

- Still Angry And Disgusted Yup.

“Haven’t met the right guy yet” ≠ “Haven’t met any guys ever.”

Almost everyone has done something and/or someone they regret doing—although it’s possible your exgirlfriend doesn’t regret fucking her married boss for three years, SAAD, and it’s possible there’s no need for regret. Sometimes people have affairs for all the right reasons. Sometimes abandoning a spouse and/or breaking up a home with kids in it—a.k.a. “doing the right thing” and divorcing—is the worse choice. Life is long and complicated, and it’s possible for a person to demonstrate loyalty and commitment with something other than their genitals. Sometimes people do what they must to stay married and stay sane, and their affair partners are doing good by being “bad”.

It’s also possible—and perhaps likelier—that your ex-girlfriend made an

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impulsive, shitty, selfish choice to fuck someone else’s husband. It’s possible he’s a serial philanderer, a cheating piece of shit, and then, after fucking him that one time, your girlfriend felt pressured to keep fucking him and wound up having a years-long affair with her married boss. And then, when it was all over, she stuffed it down the memory hole because she wasn’t proud of it and wanted to forget it.

It’s also possible she didn’t tell you about this relationship when you asked because she intuited—correctly, as it turned out—that you are, in your own words, a bad person, i.e., the kind of guy who would punish his girlfriend for having a sexual history, for making her fair share of mistakes, and for deciding to keep some things private.

(Not secret, SAAD. Private.) In other words, she correctly intuited that you would punish her for being human.

Finding out about a past boyfriend doesn’t give you the right to invade your partner’s privacy and dig through their ancient emails.

Your girlfriend was right to break up with you for snooping through her emails and judging her so harshly.

And she didn’t even lie to you, dude!

Her boss clearly wasn’t “the right guy”, seeing as he was married and her boss, and the relationship ended before you two even first laid thighs on each other nine years ago.

And from where I’m sitting, SAAD, it looks like she still hasn’t met the right guy.

To be perfectly frank, I don’t want to help you get over your anger and

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You have two options: You can be honest with this person or you can be that unsettling “friend” with an ulterior motive. Personally, GRADS, I think fessing up is better than shutting up— sublimated/unexpressed desire has a way of souring a friendship—but if your grad program is ending soon, I’d encourage you to wait. Most graduate programs are two years (some are less!), and you’ve been working together for more than a year. So there should already be a light at the end of that intensive tunnel. In the meantime, savour the agony and “pray on it,” as Mike Pence would say. (Only you should swap out prayer for masturbation.) And, hey, you didn’t have feelings for them until recently. So who knows? They may develop feelings for you by the time your intensive grad program ends.

And, yes, telling a friend you have a crush on them is always a risk—it could ruin the friendship or make things awkward for a while. Just be honest, direct, and unambiguous (“I would like to date you,” not “I hope we can hang out sometime”), and explicitly invite your crush to say no if the answer is no. g On the Lovecast, Dan chats with Boing Boing’s Cory Doctorow: savagelovecast. com. Email: mail@savagelove.net. Follow Dan on Twitter @fakedansavage. ITMFA.org.

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Or do I bend the rules? I’m just not weight of my feelings on them or looking to hurt anyone in a bad way. ruin our friendship.

truth, NTKOS: “Hey, we share a lot of common interests— BDSM, CBT, TT—but I usually require face pics before I chat. I understand why you may not be able to post your pics and why you would want to chat for a bit and establish trust before sharing pics with me privately. So I’m happy to chat so long as you’re okay with the risk that I might pass after seeing your face pic. Still, even if we’re not ultimb I’M A FEW months into OkCupid ately a sexual or romantic match, every dating, and it’s going well! I’ve stuck kinkster needs some kinky friends!” to two “automatic pass” rules: anyone who mentions my looks and noth- b SO I’VE FALLEN in love with one ing else in the first message and any- of my good friends. I am in grad one with no face pic. It’s worked out school, and we met because we are great so far. But I’ve noticed that most in the same intensive program and kinksters on OKC don’t post face pics. we spend a lot of time together.

I can understand this. I once came When we fi rst met, I had no interacross a coworker on the site—didn’t est in this person. And for the malook, passed immediately—and I can jority of the fi rst year we worked imagine nobody wants their boss or together, that feeling maintained. coworkers to know they’re looking However, over the past few months, for puppy play and CBT. Not every- I’ve found myself falling in love with one has the luxury of taking a risk this person. Their intelligence and like that. So I’m tempted to drop my beauty is simply intoxicating. I love “no face pic = pass” rule for kinksters. our friendship, but at times it is a bit But then I imagine how that would go: overwhelming being in their com“Chat, chat, chat. ‘Hey, can I see a face pany because I’ve developed strong pic?’ Oh, no, I’m not physically at- feelings for them. I don’t think they tracted to this person!” Then I have to share these feelings. Or at least I awkwardly unmatch and feel terribly haven’t been given any indication shallow and guilty for a while. So do that they share the same feelings.

I keep my rule and pass on some very How do I go about telling them? promising profiles without face pics I’d like them to know this is how I to avoid hurting someone’s feelings? feel, but I also don’t want to lay the

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disgust—not that you asked me to help you get past those feelings. It kind of sounds like you want your anger and disgust affirmed…and I’m going to go with that and affirm the shit out of those feelings: stay angry! Stay disgusted! Not because those feeling are valid—they’re not—but because those feelings prevented you from taking your ex back when she reached out.

She may not know it yet, but she’s better off without you, SAAD, and here’s hoping you stay angry and disgusted long enough for her to realize it.

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APRIL 18 – 25 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT 35

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North Vancouverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Best Value 723 Marine Drive, North Vancouver Open daily from 12-5pm (closed Friday) marineandfell.com 604.770.1966

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Marine + Fell is developed by Anthem 725 Marine Developments LP. E&O.E.

36 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT APRIL 18 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 25 / 2019