The Georgia Straight - Crafted Vancouver- May 9, 2019 by The Georgia Straight

FREE | MAY 9 - 16 / 2019

Volume 53 | Number 2677

GREEN SURPRISE Will ex-Liberals join the party?

REVISITING RETAIL Entrepreneurs driven by data

FILTHY FRIENDS Why itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a supergroup

Crafted Vancouver The 25-day festival reveals the continuum of handcrafted works, from traditional to cutting edge, including experimental furniture by Nicholas Purcell

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MAY 9 – 16 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 3

CONTENTS

May 9-16 / 2019

13 COVER

Furniture maker Nicholas Purcell is one of many artisans whose work will be shown at Crafted Vancouver. By Gail Johnson Cover photo by Marina Dodis

NEWS

Nanaimo-Ladysmith MP-elect Paul Manly says Jody Wilson-Raybould could win as a Green in Vancouver.

SPRING SALE

By Carlito Pablo

12 TECHNOLOGY

Local entrepreneurs are turning to technology to design and sell their products directly to customers. By Kate Wilson

19 ARTS

At the West of Main Art Walk, two artists explore clouds and contemplation in dramatically different ways. By Janet Smith

27 MUSIC

Fronted by Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker and R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, Filthy Friends is a supergroup with a powerful social message. By Alexander Varty

Over 8,000 ft2 of everything OPEN Wednesday to Saturday 10:00 am – 5:30 pm

e Start Here 17 THE BOTTLE 29 CONFESSIONS 17 FOOD 15 HOROSCOPES 18 I SAW YOU 26 MOVIE REVIEWS 11 REAL ESTATE 31 SAVAGE LOVE 22 THEATRE 23 VISUAL ARTS

e Online TOP 5

e Listings 25 ARTS 29 MUSIC

Sunday noon – 5:00 pm Monday – Closed Tuesday – Film Industry Only

Vancouver’s News and Entertainment Weekly Volume 53 | Number 2677

121 McLean, Vancouver (one block East of Clark) 604.456.0515 • www.filmgo.ca • info@filmgo.ca

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Surprise roof replacement gets realtor in trouble. Is your blood boiling over Andy “CAPP” Wilkinson’s billboards? Couple convicted of confinement of sexseeking quadriplegic. Punk in Drublic craftbeer and music fest coming to Vancouver. Video: Hear the sounds of a crash of cruise ships at Canada Place.

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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6 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MAY 9 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 16 / 2019

NEWS Greens covet Liberal caucus castoffs

by Carlito Pablo

ormer New Democrat and now Green MP-elect Paul Manly has a message for two women banished from the Liberals by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “I would love to see Jody WilsonRaybould and Jane Philpott hop onboard the Green Party,” Manly told the Georgia Straight. Manly was on the line in the morning following his victory in the May 6, 2019, byelection in Nanaimo-Ladysmith, that made him Canada’s second elected Green MP after Elizabeth May. According to the filmmaker, the win demonstrates that his party is a viable option for those seeking a new political home. This could be important to Wilson-Raybould and Philpott, who were kicked out of the Liberal caucus in April this year amid the SNCLavalin corruption controversy. The two now sit as independent MPs for Vancouver Granville and MarkhamStouffville, respectively. Canadian voters go to the polls in October this year. Manly suggested that WilsonRaybould and Philpott may have better chances of reelection as Greens rather than as independent candidates, should they decide to run. “I think that they could potentially win with the Green Party,” Manly said. The incoming MP also said that the Nanaimo-Ladysmith by-election validates what Greens have been saying for a long time. “When you vote for what you want, and for policies and people that you want to represent you, you can elect them,” Manly said. He cited two recent provincial elections as examples of this trend. One was in April this year, when eight Greens won seats in the legislative assembly of Prince Edward Island, forming the first Green official

Green MP-elect Paul Manly and Leader Elizabeth May want more shipmates.

opposition in Canadian political history. In New Brunswick, Greens picked up three seats in September last year, an improvement to the one spot they captured in 2014. In B.C., Andrew Weaver became the first Green member of a provincial legislature in Canada when the climate scientist won in the 2013 B.C. election. In 2017, the B.C. Greens increased their seats to three, with the addition of Adam Olsen and Sonia Furstenau. In June last year, the Green Party of Ontario had its own breakthrough when leader Mike Schreiner was elected as member of the provincial parliament for Guelph. In cities like Vancouver, Greens are also making inroads in electoral politics. Manly first ran for the Greens in Nanaimo-Ladysmith in 2015, coming in third behind the NDP and Liberal Party with close to 20 percent

of the vote. In the May 6 by-election, Manly almost doubled his share of the vote to more than 37 percent. Manly switched to the Greens after the federal NDP leadership blocked him from seeking a nomination in 2015. His father, Jim, was an NDP MP. Hamish Telford is an associate professor of political science of the University of the Fraser Valley. Telford noted that it remains to be seen how the Nanaimo-Ladysmith by-election results will weigh into Wilson-Raybould and Philpott’s consideration of their next moves. “But I do think that as a more general proposition, the little wave that we’re seeing for the Green Party— maybe it’s a ripple—will help in a couple of ways,” Telford told the Straight by phone. “It takes enormous pressure off Elizabeth May. She’s had to do everything for so long, and now she will have some assistance in Parliament. “It will also help perhaps in the recruitment of candidates,” Telford continued. “And…so that would include the likes of Jody WilsonRaybould or Jane Philpott. But, you know, I think for them, they’re [Wilson-Raybould and Philpott] going to have to sort of make also other calculations about what they want to do with their political, professional futures. Do they stand a chance with the Green Party in their particular ridings? Are there better ways for them to advance their concerns?” As a student of politics, Telford warns against reading too much into by-elections, as these exercises typically free a lot of voters from the constraints of strategic voting. “Having said all of that, the result last night obviously put some wind in the sails of the Green Party,” Telford said. g

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RESEARCH FOR GOOD Ground-breaking research that harnesses the immune system to provide new clues into HIV vaccine development. The front-lines of harm reduction, overdose prevention and opioid treatment services. We’re redefining fuel cell development. Using robotics to help wheelchair users walk again. And working with NASA to tackle the world’s water crisis.

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MAY 9 – 16 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 7

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limate change is one of the greatest threats facing humankind. People tend to feel helpless in the face of this overwhelming thought but by reducing our individual energy consumption at home, we can significantly decrease our impact. VictorEric is a Vancouver-based business, which designs and builds custom, luxury homes that also meet the highest standards of sustainability. By recognizing that more mindful consumption starts at home, VictorEric is raising the bar in terms of what we can expect from our houses and the way they are built. Airtight homes with high-efficiency heat-recovery ventilator (HRV) systems result in a 90 percent reduction in energy consumption related to heating and cooling. And that means a consistent temperature regardless of the weather outside, as well as superior indoor air quality, which minimizes allergens. It also costs one-tenth of your existing utility bill to operate. But living a more environmentally friendly lifestyle has far broader implications beyond you and your family. That’s why the government enacted the B.C. Energy Step Code in April 2017, which is a voluntary provincial standard outlining an incremental and consistent approach to achieving more energy-efficient buildings that go beyond the requirements of the base B.C. Building Code. At present, builders can choose whether to adopt the series of measurable, performance-based requirements for construction, but bylaw changes will make this mandatory by 2030—with the goal of making all buildings netzero energy-emitting by 2032. Anyone who is buying a home, working in real estate development, interested in conserving their energy costs, or concerned with saving the

VictorEric’s certified Passive House design-build team makes cutting-edge homes.

planet should take note. That’s because most houses will fall out of compliance in 2030. VictorEric’s certified Passive House design-build team has spent the past 15 years creating cutting-edge spaces and sustainable homes for its clients. The performance standard of the Passive House is two to three times as strict as conventional code-built houses due to a better performing building envelope, an airtight barrier, high efficiency HRV system, and high-performing windows and doors. All building components of a home built to the Passive House standard requires testing by the Passive House Institute in Germany before it can be deemed as certified, which gives the homeowner quality assurance. Future-proofing buildings in this way makes for more comfortable and environmentally friendly living. It also improves resale value. Homes certified as Passive House can be complemented with solar roof panels that result in free electrical (EV) charging, making it very easy to achieve Net Zero performance. They can also come with fully automated climate control using light-flow from nature, as well as the ability to

return energy to the grid and creating potential to earn money on your home. VictorEric’s purpose is to revolutionize the industry and delight the community by creating amazing spaces that are both sustainable and beautiful. Those who are interested in learning more about the core principles of attractive Passive House design and building energy efficiency regulation implementation in Vancouver are invited to VictorEric’s public service seminar entitled Future home—don’t let upcoming bylaw changes strip your home of its value. The event, taking place from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Oak Room of the West Point Grey Community Centre’s Aberthau Mansion (4397 West 2nd Avenue) on May 18, is free to attend and important for anyone interested in being the change they want to see in the world. g To learn more about Passive House standards, energy efficiency, or how you can own a high-performance home, visit VictorEric’s website at victoreric.com/ high-performance/. Or contact VictorEric at 604-677-0021 to reserve a seat at the future home seminar.

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Buffet Dinner 6:00pm - 9:00pm

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w w w.eventbrite.ca /e/the-authentic-italian-table-reception-tickets- 61444594436 For more information call 604.682.1410 or visit www.iccbc.com #trueitaliantaste #iffoodcouldtalk #extraordinaryitaliantaste Event brought to you by:

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MAY 9 – 16 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 9

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FEATURE Literary luminaries on Indian Summer calendar by Charlie Smith

he artistic director of Vancouver’s Indian Summer Festival, Sirish Rao, likes to describe writer Amitav Ghosh as “part archaeologist, part museum curator, and part chronicler of people’s stories from inside large movements and the debris of empires”. That’s because the Kolkata-born Ghosh, a towering intellectual, has written novels and nonfiction books on monumental topics, such as the British opium trade, the colonial history of Burma, and the failure of contemporary fiction writers to address climate change. Along the way, Ghosh has won a multitude of awards for Sea of Poppies, The Glass Palace, The Shadow Lines, and other titles. In an interview with the Straight, Rao revealed that Ghosh will be one of the headliners at this year’s festival, which runs from July 4 to 14 in Vancouver. “Very often with Ghosh—when he writes something—you feel like ‘How did I not even know that this massive piece of history that has shaped my life exists?’ ” Rao said. “For me, The Glass Palace and that whole story of Burma is my personal family story.” That’s because Rao’s grandparents, a doctor and nurse, were both in the British Indian Army in Burma during the Second World War and had to flee to escape the Japanese. Ghosh will be at the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts at SFU Woodward’s on July 9 as part of the SFU Vancouver Speaker Series. “This is a very happy collaboration,” Rao noted. Another celebrated writer coming to Indian Summer is the U.S.– based world traveller Pico Iyer. His essays regularly appear in the New York Times, the New York Review of Books, and Harper’s, but he may be equally famous for his TED talks. Rao noted that Vancouverites can pay a far lower price to see Iyer at Indian Summer on July 7 than they would to attend a TED conference in Vancouver.

Kolkata-born Amitav Ghosh has inspired many writers. Photo by Ivo van der Bent

But Rao stressed that the Indian Summer Festival is more than a literary gathering. It’s also made a mark with its musical, visual-arts, and cultural activities, themed this year as “Tricksters, Magicians, and Oracles”. The festival launches every year with an opening party at the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre, featuring “culinary magicians” like Vikram Vij. According to Rao, there are also “tapas for the brain” at the 5X15 event at the same location on July 5. It will showcase five eclectic artists—including Iyer and Trickster trilogy author Eden Robinson—who each speak for 15 minutes. CBC Radio’s Reclaimed host Jarrett Martineau will curate an evening of trailblazing music on July 6 at the Imperial Vancouver, bringing together Indigenous, queer, Filipinx, and South Asian artists. Another major musical event will take place on July 12 at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts with Amjad Ali Khan & Sons and three-time Grammy winner Sharon Isbin, one of the world’s greatest classical guitarists. “I think it’s really important because with the Khans being Muslim and her being Jewish, this is not just a fretted guitar meets fretless sarod or an East meets West thing,” Rao said. g

THE P E T E R WA L L D OW N TOW N L E C T U R E S E R I E S

EXCHANGE

Bank of Canada governor calms fears over housing

by Charlie Smith

n May 6, the governor of the Bank of Canada, Stephen Poloz, offered some reassuring remarks for those freaked out about the national housing market. “As markets stabilize in Toronto and Vancouver, the Canadian housing sector should return to growth overall later this year,” Poloz said in a speech in Winnipeg. But he also pointed out that there isn’t actually a “single housing market” in the country. It’s a collection of regional markets. During the past four years, the market has slowed significantly in Alberta and Saskatchewan, whereas there were housing booms in Vancouver and Toronto. According to Poloz, this was as a result of “strong population and employment growth and supply constraints on new housing”. “Low interest rates were, of course, supporting strong housing demand,” the governor added. “Rising house prices fuelled even stronger demand, as first-time homebuyers feared missing out. Foreign buyers were attracted to both markets, adding more fuel.” Last year, the number of home sales in the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver’s territory began falling sharply, partly as a result of tighter mortgage-qualification rules. Other factors affecting sales included higher

housing taxes on foreign buyers, a new provincial surtax on homes worth more than $3 million, a higher property-transfer tax, and a speculation tax, which is, in fact, an occupancy tax. So is there going to be a turnaround in the number of sales, as Poloz suggests? Andrew Ramlo, vice president of intelligence at the Rennie Group, pays special attention to the rate of household formation. And he told the Straight by phone that in this region, the rate has fallen between five and 15 percent for millennials during the past two decades. Part of the reason is many young people are living with their parents to older ages. In other cases, they’re doubling or tripling up with friends. He also pointed out that housingstart statistics can be misleading because they don’t take into account the number of demolitions that have occurred. That’s why he prefers to look at “net” housing starts before coming up with a demand forecast. “It shows that within the next couple of years, we expect again to be in a situation where the number of units coming online and are available for folks falls below what our expectation of demand is,” he said. But Ramlo added a caveat: if household formation rates are further constrained, that could restrain upward pressure on prices, even as demand outstrips supply. g

THU MAY 23 2019 7PM I VOGUE THEATRE

DRUG USE FOR GROWN UPS Carl Hart, neuropsychopharmacologist at Columbia University, will explore the myths and social forces that shape our views on drugs and drug policy. He plans to provide evidence-based recommendations to enhance the pleasure adults seek from drug use, and strip away the misinformation and harmful practices that drive our ongoing drug crises. Commentary by Caitlin Shane (Pivot Legal Society). Moderated by Garth Mullins (Crackdown podcast).

Tickets are FREE I More info at pwias.ubc.ca/events

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MAY 9 – 16 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 11

HIGH TECH

Data-driven retail breeds successes

by Kate Wilson

ver since retail locations started shuttering across the province, big box store owners have been prophesying the decline of the industry. But while new shops continue to close their doors within months of opening, people’s desire to purchase shows no signs of slowing down. Buoyed by the rise of Internet shopping, consumers are spending just as much—and in many sectors, even more—online. That shift is largely due to the increasing intelligence of technology. While retail has long been the domain of merchants picking products by gut instinct, that’s changing fast with the development of tools able to understand people’s preferences, test the popularity of items before they’re created, and send them straight to their door. Analytics platforms have become so sophisticated that individuals aren’t just buying cheap entertainment products like books or games, but are now comfortable dropping thousands of dollars on items like jewellery, musical instruments, and mountain bikes—all sight unseen. One person who understands the development of the online retail sector better than most is Aamir Baig. A computer engineer by training, he began his career by founding a company named Etilize, which specialized in making e-commerce technology and counted Amazon, Apple, Walmart, and Best Buy among its customers. After selling his business in 2011, he settled in Vancouver and cofounded one of the region’s most exciting new companies: the furniture retailer Article. He’s now CEO of the rocketing company. Baig’s mission of “engineering remarkably better furniture experiences” is underpinned entirely by the team’s self-built technology.

Founders Aamir Baig and Taran and Bunny Ghatrora sell direct to consumers.

“We have some building blocks to achieve our goals,” he tells the Georgia Straight. “Everything from the products, to the marketing, to the shopping experience, to how we run the supply chain, to how we manage manufacturing, to product design, to logistics, to the final mile [delivery]—each one of those building blocks can be made to run a whole lot better through technology, and technology automation. Data underscores everything. We collect all kinds of data, and we make all kinds of decisions with data. It’s shaped us to be a very different furniture company than the incumbents.” Article uses topflight designers to create modern, midcentury, and Scandinavian-style pieces that have proven to be very popular with consumers. Part of the furniture’s appeal is due to the company’s ability to offer huge discounts. Instead of creating a sofa and seeing how well it sells, for instance, Article shows potential

customers computer-generated images of the item online, and won’t manufacture it unless it reaches a threshold of popularity. Similarly, its ability to track returns from buyers and ask for feedback allows the company to tweak its creations to sell better in the future. Plus, as an entirely direct-to-consumer business, Article doesn’t need to waste money showcasing its pieces in expensive high-street furniture stores. All of those savings are passed on to shoppers. “It starts with collecting data directly from the customer,” Baig says of the business. “If you’re not direct-toconsumer, you have lost the opportunity—or at least you’re going to be reliant on some other intermediary to provide the data, and I’m not sure how well that would work.…It [technology] is certainly such an incredibly important driver for businesses, because it enables you to collect data, it enables you to act on data, it enables

you to automate, and lets you be a whole lot more productive with your systems, because you’re getting code to do what would have otherwise required people and processes. Anytime you’re doing that, you’re just making systems a whole lot more reliable.” Article is far from the only Vancouver retail company using data to drive its business. Entrepreneurs across Vancouver are using a techfirst, direct-to-consumer model to start their business from scratch and have a competitive advantage over legacy companies that are being forced to adapt to the new trend. One of those is local upstart Blume. Founded by sisters Bunny and Taran Ghatrora, Blume offers female wellness products with a special focus on young women going through puberty. A self-described “mission-oriented company”, Blume is dedicated to helping prevent girls’ self-esteem from plummeting as they navigate their teen years, and offering a community to better their mental health. The business sells organic pads and tampons, a scentless natural deodorant, and products targeted at reducing symptoms of PMS and acne. Each was selected and developed after analyzing data. “We started by operating a subscription service of third-party products,” Bunny Ghatrora, COO of the company, tells the Straight by phone. “Each month when we were sending them out, we were getting feedback about what products were really lacking in their routine, what the options were on the market right now, and what was missing in those options that would help to elevate that routine each day of the month. We used all that feedback to create our products, and we want to keep using that technique as we continue down the road.”

As well as illuminating what items women need to make their lives easier, tech is vital to building the community around Blume’s product. As much an educational resource as a product manufacturer, the company relies on its website and social media presence to support women and girls with facts about menstrual health, self-care, and life stages like puberty. Some of those individuals have become loyal to the Blume brand. “Education is a really important part of our business,” says Taran Ghatrora, the company’s CEO. “There are a lot of benefits to it— that girls can find us easier, because we’re a resource and authority on information. A lot of people find us on Instagram, which is a really engaged channel. We do stories every single day, we do all kinds of educational takeovers, and we have different experts on our Instagram Live to talk about different topics. It really helps us build a relationship with the customer, as well as helping her to find us.” Baig and the Ghatrora sisters agree that, in the future, few companies will be able to survive without rooting their products and processes in technology. “I think that as more and more things move digitally, technology will be the driving force,” says Bunny Ghatrora. “It helps them [the company] to make better decisions to improve consumer experience, and stay competitive with the current market.” Baig agrees: “I can certainly say with confidence that the vast majority [of businesses], if they’re not driven by technology, will not be able to compete well.” g

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FEATURE

Crafted shines a spotlight on makers

by Gail Johnson

he word craft can mean different things to different people. To some, it brings to mind an activity parents do with their kids; some of those who practise a craft prefer to be called designers, artisans, or artists—anything but craftspeople, or vice versa. No matter. Crafted Vancouver founder Carrie Ross deliberately chose the term crafted for the ambitious festival because of the breadth of work being presented throughout Metro Vancouver over its 25 days. The title also reflects the fact that craft exists on a spectrum, from the traditional to the technological. “We have a continuum, with traditional, ancestral types of craft that’s been handed down with hereditary knowledge all the way up to new craft,” Ross says in an interview with the Georgia Straight at a Gastown coffee shop. “It’s all craft. “You’re going to see fine crafted work,” she adds. “If you love a particular discipline—glass or jewellery or ceramics—you can find something. You can go to artist openings, exhibitions, and workshops. We’re trying to create this really fun, exciting way to explore craft.” Ross was inspired to start Crafted Vancouver, now in its second year, after many travels. A few years ago, for example, she and her then 15-year-old son were in Italy, and they wanted to find an authentic Venetian mask to bring home. It proved surprisingly difficult: the pieces for sale in the City of Canals were all made in China. After much research and even more walking, they eventually found a shop run by third-generation mask makers, a family carrying on an intricate tradition at risk of becoming a lost art. While some people’s travels revolve around beaches and warm weather or fine wine and food, Ross’s journeys to other places centre on a singular passion: to seek out craftspeople and learn about their work. “Studios are fascinating to me,” Ross says. “Every time you walk through the door you don’t know what to expect. To see the work and hear people talk about their work and what inspires it and how it marries with where they live, and making that human connection, is a beautiful thing. “Talking to the mask maker and hearing about his frustration at how these traditional crafts are either dying or aren’t supported really struck me,” says Ross. “It’s happening all over the world, so it’s really important that we seek out authentic craftspeople and support them so they can continue with their craft and hone their skills.” Through Crafted Vancouver— North America’s only nearly monthlong celebration of the handcrafted world—Ross hopes others will become

Work to be presented during the ambitious 25-day event Crafted Vancouver includes (clockwise from left): handmade moccasins by Jamie Gentry, 3-D–printed textiles from the Material Matters program, and furniture by Nick Purcell.

as excited about artisanship as she is. Collaborating with various event partners, the festival also aims to shed light on workmanship that people may not initially consider craft or even be aware of. Take a partnership with Vancouver Opera, for example. With La Cenerentola, festivalgoers will get a chance to look at the backstage craftsmanship that goes into a major opera production. Or look at the fest’s series Balvenie After Hours: Second Sip. The Balvenie is a distillery in the Scottish Highlands dedicated to the craft of whisky-making. Its Canadian brand ambassador, Jamie Johnson, along with Vancouver civic historian John Atkin and glass artist Benjamin Kikkert, will host the intimate gatherings, which take place in unique locations, such as the Green Solarium at Hycroft Mansion. There, guests will sip Scotch out of the glasses Kikkert is designing and making specifically for the event. (They get to take the glasses home.) Crafted in the City, another event, features works commissioned by retail shops and showrooms to display in their spaces. Various galleries throughout the region are participating in Crafted Vancouver as well. North Van Arts, for instance, is creating an exhibition for the festival. Called On the Same Page: Transforming Paper, it takes place at CityScape Community ArtSpace and showcases artists working with paper. The Surrey Art Gallery and Omer Arbel are partnering with the festival for an artist’s reception for the lighting designer and Bocci creative director’s first solo exhibition, Particles for the Built World, and a tour of a South Surrey home he designed.

Craft TIP SHEET As it celebrates its second year, Crafted Vancouver has more than 70 events on offer this month. Here’s a handful to get you stoked about the vast range of fine craft from down the street and further afield.

Knives founder Douglas Chang, a former chef, will show people how to properly sharpen and maintain kitchen knives and talk about the patience and precision required of craftspeople who make them.

c SPOTLIGHT ON MEXICO (Until May 12 at various venues) This collection of diverse events includes two hands-on clay workshops with ceramic artists from Oaxaca.

c MADE FROM SCRAPS: VOLUME 1 (May 17 to 30 at SPACE) The exhibition of more than 40 local craftspeople centres on reclaimed and salvaged wood. Pieces include wooden “rockets” by a salvage-material artist that were constructed out of decommissioned Canada Post office furniture.

c MEET THE MAKERS (May 8 to 11 at Heritage Hall) This is the chance to share a table and possibly even some art materials with master craft makers, and take in a pop-up exhibition called Pin & Post hosted by 22 members of the Vancouver Metal Arts Association. c THE EDGE OF CRAFT (May 18 and 19 at Ai & Om Knives) Ai & Om

Crafted Vancouver’s international component shines the spotlight on Mexico this year (last year it was South Korea), bringing in artisans for workshops and demonstrations in a cultural exchange. “There are all these really exciting things happening in the craft world, and we want to make sure they make it to Vancouver every May,” Ross says. “We want to have this cornucopia where people can pick and choose what they see and do; there’s a lot of ways to participate.” With more than 70 events and 100

c UNBOUND: CRAFT BEYOND FUNCTION (May 23 to 26 at East Vancouver Studio and Gallery) The sculptural exhibition takes a new look at media like wood, steel, textiles, and ceramics as they’re used in nonfunctional ways.

artisans, the fest (which is produced by the not-for-profit Vancouver Craft Festival Society) features concerts, films, and guided tours of everything from Granville Island’s artist studios and food vendors to the Fluevog Design Studio. There are walks, talks, and sewing classes; metalwork, waxwork, embroidery, and gardening; makers of carpets, dolls, flatware, and knives; a live podcast; and more. Crafted Interiors is a five-day signature event at the Pipe Shop at the Shipyards in North Vancouver. Interior designer Suzanne Ward will create

various rooms featuring pieces made by national and international craftspeople. One of those makers is Nicholas Purcell, who designs and builds furniture at his East Vancouver studio. Purcell, who has a background in graphic design and screenprinting, became interested in woodworking in high school in Vancouver. Eventually landing in England, he studied with master craftsman David Charlesworth, who taught him traditional hand-tool skills. “In some ways it’s like classical music: if you’re trained as a classical musician, you can go on and do whatever you want; you can play chords in a rock band,” Purcell says by phone. “You have that choice and can bring in all your other training. With Charlesworth, we covered the basics, and he was a real perfectionist. With a graphics background, I liked the accuracy and meticulousness you had to bring into it.” While he can custom-build pieces with joinery, like hand-cut dovetail drawers, Purcell is becoming more experimental. He has incorporated materials like bronze, leather, and even pink velvet into his furniture, which is made of walnut, western maple, white oak, ash, and other types of wood. “The maker movement is remarkable in how it has exploded, and it’s not slowing down,” he says. “People are experimenting and the creativity is amazing.” Emily Carr University of Art and Design’s Material Matters research program will be one organization to represent contemporary approaches at the festival with a new craft symposium. Material Matters stemmed from the school community’s interest in 3-D printing and grew from there to include emergent technology and media. Students might create 3-D–printed textiles or meld 3-D–printed materials with glass, ceramics, or wood. “New craft is the means and methods of how we make,” says Material Matters codirector Keith Doyle in an interview on campus. “New craft is fairly agnostic to technology; it doesn’t have to be a 3-D printer. It’s more a collision of contemporary art and social media and how we exist now. Students who have been coding toolpaths for robots to make stuff might encounter ceramics for the first time. This is the new industrial design: grounded in materials and material play and understanding how a material works, and that movement from the digital space to the making. “Every one of us is a maker,” Doyle says. “We make things to know things.” Jamie Gentry, a Kwakwaka’wakw Nation member who specializes in handmade moccasins, will also be participating in Crafted Vancouver. On the line from her Sooke home, see next page

MAY 9 – 16 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 13

from previous page

she explains that she has always been drawn to craft, having grown up in a family of artistsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;her uncle is renowned carver Kevin Cranmer, while her aunt, Lou-Ann Neel, is an ECUAD alumna who does everything from jewellery-making to carving. She also has a lifelong fascination with shoes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Whenever Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d meet people, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d look down at their feet instead of their face,â&#x20AC;? Gentry says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I imagine what the pattern looked like to put them together. Fashion was always a way for me to express myself.â&#x20AC;? She happened to snag a spot in a moccasin-making workshop being hosted by her mentor, Mohawk artist Lindsay Katsitsakatste Delaronde. The former Indigenous artist in residence with the City of Victoria, Delaronde also taught Gentry how to bead. Made of moose or buffalo hide (which Gentry acquires from Indigenous people who hunt for food and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want the animalsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; skins to go to waste), her shoes might feature detailed beadwork depicting something from the natural world that the wearer is drawn toâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;an eagle, perhaps, or fireweed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A lot of people choose a plant that has healing properties,â&#x20AC;? Gentry says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When I bead that on a moccasin, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re wearing that healing energy. My whole mission is to create pieces that have substance to them. We have enough empty products out there that are disposable and filling the landfill. I want to get back to where we have a connection to things that we wear and the things we bring into our lives. They should have meaning behind them.â&#x20AC;? g

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other’s Day is bookended by the sun’s trine to Saturn on Saturday and to Pluto on Monday. Quality time spent is its own reward. Even if the day is a duty call, you are likely to feel that showing up for it is worth your while. Aim to get things cleaned up and cleared out on Monday. Sun/Pluto supplies good fuel to the creative process, the workability factor, and the potential benefit. This resources-rich, motivational transit supplies something substantial to work with, something worth the investment. It can trigger a more encompassing perspective or added appreciation for what it will take to get to the next level. Overall, the move-along should feel like a natural evolution. Sun/Pluto sets up a goodtiming backdrop for Monday/Tuesday. At peak on Tuesday, Venus and Mars are good travelling companions for most of the week ahead. Desires and needs are in active development as Venus exits Aries for Taurus and Mars exits Gemini for Cancer on Wednesday. Aim to make it look good/look better; sexy up. Venus in Taurus favours enhancements of all kinds. The tuning fork and “art of inner hearing” archetype also aims to put you back in touch with your heart’s desire and what is truly of merit. Mars in Cancer can increase emotional sensitivity, need, and reactiveness. Home, real estate, family, the past, safety, and security (personal, domestic, national) gain added attention. Feeling in conflict with yourself? Most importantly, Mars amps up matters to do with self-preservation and self-care. Yes, make personal needs your number one priority.

before or the week(s) before. Saturday through Monday, the sun is on a smooth go with Saturn and Pluto. The stars set up good timing and opportunity through next Thursday. Communication tracks and intentions continue along a smooth and productive track.

August 23–September 23

Bookending Mother’s Day, the sun’s trine to Saturn on Saturday and to Pluto on Monday sets you up for an “ah, just right” go of it. You’ll have no trouble making the most out of the time you spend. Sunday/Monday, the moon in Virgo supplies you with fresh fuel. Relationship accord is at its best through next Thursday.

LIBRA

September 23–October 23

Venus in Aries continues to stay fired up through Friday. Folks can be sharp-edged. You can be too, especially when you feel your needs are not being met or considered. Saturday through Monday hits the other end of the spectrum (smooth, steady, well delivered). In fact, the getting is good through next Thursday. Venus, Mars, and the Libra moon keep you/it nicely energized.

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You could fight to get through it Thursday/Friday, but as of Saturday, the going runs a lot smoother. The sun is at its creative best through Monday. Satisfaction is relatively easy to drum up. No matter where you put your time, heart, or money, you should ARIES feel you are gaining good ground. March 20–April 20 Through next Thursday, Venus and Venus in Aries continues Mars keep relationship interaction in high gear Thursday/Friday. If you in good f low. have felt the harsh or caustic side SAGITTARIUS of this transit, you’ll be happy to November 22–December 21 know that as of Saturday, relationThursday can stretch you ships, money matters, and potential reward are on the upswing. You emotionally, financially, or timeshould find you are able to make wise. Venus is still under stress on better use of the time you spend. Friday, but as of Saturday you can Mother’s Day weekend, satisfaction unplug and move on. You’ll get better goods out of the stars and the comes easily and readily. time you spend. In this regard, SunTAURUS day/Monday can be healing. TuesApril 20–May 21 day through Thursday, Venus and Mercury, freshly into Taur- Mars keep relationship matters on a us, has given you a good kick-start smooth and productive track. this week. Saturday to Monday, the CAPRICORN sun is in excellent shape with Saturn December 21–January 20 and Pluto. Tuesday through ThursThursday/Friday could be day, Venus and Mars are in creative harmony as they finish up and begin a cutoff or cut-corners time. Renew signs. These transits set an opti- quests can be demanding or abrupt. mal backdrop for relationships, ca- Perhaps you are short on patience reer, creative enterprise, health, and yourself. Saturday through Monday, satisfaction is at the ready. The general well-being. pace suits you to a tee. For the week GEMINI ahead, Venus and Mars put relationMay 21–June 21 ships (social, personal, professional) Have you recently switched on a productive move-along. gears or moved on to a next phase? AQUARIUS Over this past week, Mars in Gemini January 20–February 18 has set big wheels in motion. In the Short and fast is the best bigger picture, Mars will continue this staging and/or development way to play it Thursday/Friday. track through next spring. Relation- Saturday/Sunday, take your time, ship accord, communication tracks, savour your time. Monday begins and creative potential hit good stride the workweek on a productive note. from Saturday through next Thurs- Tuesday to Thursday continues the trend. This incorporates the midday. Ride the good wave! week shift of Venus and Mars out CANCER of fire and air signs (creative, acJune 21–July 22 tive) and into earth and water signs Raw emotions can get the (consolidating, responsive). better of you Thursday/Friday. Why PISCES let it fester? Get it off your chest February 18–March 20 quickly and you’ll fast-track your Get out Friday night and benefits package. The sun is in great shape with Saturn on Saturday and shake off the workweek. A fresh diPluto on Monday. Venus and Mars version does you good. You’ll settle take over from there. Social activ- into a groove easily this weekend. ities, money prospects, and relation- Sunday is good for a top-up with ships are as good as they get through Mom/someone you love and for remembering those who are not with next Thursday. you. Monday begins an opportune LEO run for creative endeavours and July 22–August 23 relationship accord. g Friday could get you excited or riled up about something. Per- Book a reading or sign up for Rose’s free haps it is a carry-over from the day monthly newsletter at rosemarcus.com/.

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Gurkha boss: Nepali food is not Indian by Gail Johnson

Daal-bhaat tarkari is one of the dishes served by Gurkha Himilayan Kitchen’s new owners, Raju Bhattrai and Prakash Adhikari.

ooking back at his childhood in Delhi, Raju Bhattrai recalls how hard his Nepalese parents worked. His mother had a job in an international clothing factory, while his father held various positions, including washing dishes, working for the Indian government’s ministry of welfare, and making prosthetic limbs. By the time he was 11, Bhattrai was buying groceries and making meals for his younger siblings, his mom having taught him how to make the traditional dishes of Nepal. After a circuitous journey to Canada, he’s now sharing the flavours of the Himalayas with Vancouver as the new co-owner of Gurkha Himalayan Kitchen (1141 Davie Street). Bhattrai completed a master’s degree in sociology in India, then relocated to Spain, where he planned to continue his work in education policy. However, he soon realized he missed being around food. He worked as a server and went to culinary school in Barcelona. When he and his wife started to have a family, they decided in 2013 to move to the Lower Mainland, a place he felt he and his family would feel safe as immigrants. Once here, he waited on tables at White Spot, among other places, but when he learned from his former employers turned friends at Gurkha that they were selling the West End restaurant, he knew he wanted to make it his own. Teaming up with Prakash Adhikari, a chef originally from Nepal whom he met in Spain, Bhattrai is carrying on the culinary traditions he grew up with. Although Gurkha has existed since 2013, it’s in a neighbourhood that could be called Vancouver’s new Little

India, at least foodwise, with many recently opened restaurants. Within a few blocks on Davie Street are Mumbai Local, India Bistro, Davie Dosa Company, and Kinara Indian Cuisine. Each specializes in different types of food from that country, a reflection of the growing diversity of the region’s Indian population. At the same time, many people mistakenly assume that Nepali cuisine is the same as Indian fare, Bhattrai explains during an interview at Gurkha, which is on the second level of a house that’s about 100 years old and has a hidden gem of a back patio decorated with hanging lights and flowering planters. While there are, of course, similarities between the two nations’ cuisines, with the use of ingredients like cumin, coriander, and ginger, the food of Nepal is distinct. “Indian food is very good, but we’re not Indian food,” Bhattrai says. “We use freshly ground herbs and spices, but they’re not heavy spices. There’s also Chinese influence. It’s a tasty food, and you feel good after eating it. Gurkha is the kind of food we used to eat every day at home; this is like Mom’s kitchen.” Both Bhattrai and Adhikari wear brimless caps, called Dhaka topi, emblazoned with images of two crisscrossed curved knives. Called kukri, these are the traditional weapons of the Nepalese Gurkha soldiers, who form an important part of the British Army. The blades, the national emblem of Nepal, are now mainly used for cooking. Recipes call for jimbu, a dried Himalayan herb with a subtle garlic flavour, and dalle khursani, a type

of red chili. There’s timut pepper, a grapefruitlike spice, and ajwain, or carom seed, which is in the same family as dill and caraway. Dishes also often contain black pepper, fenugreek, saffron, and cloves. Menu items with an Asian influence include momos. The Tibetanstyle steamed chicken dumplings are served with house-made hot sauce, mint sauce, and tomato-garlic sauce. Lhasa chow mein consists of soft noodles that are seasoned with soy sauce and fresh coriander and stirfried with seasonal vegetables and tofu or chicken. Served on a copper platter, dal bhat tarkari is a small feast with lentils, sautéed spinach, and lekaali taam, a Himalayan delicacy with bamboo shoots, black-eyed peas, and potatoes. There’s also warm housemade naan, basmati rice, green salad, garlic yogurt and mango sauce, rice pudding, and more. Gurkha pulau is saffron basmati rice studded with cashews, raisins, green peas, and green onions. Pohkara lamb takes its name from a lakeside city in central Nepal, with the meat marinated for 24 hours in yogurt, ginger, garlic, and spices, then grilled. Jackfruit and potatoes are cooked in rukh katahar’s light coriander and cumin sauce, while gorkhali khasi’s bone-in goat simmers in a curry sauce (and is one of Adhikari’s favourite dishes). “When I was in high school, I began cooking with my mom,” Adhikari says. “I saw how busy she was; we are five kids. When I started helping her, I loved it. It makes me feel very happy. We are sharing Nepali culture this way.” g

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by Kurtis Kolt

ere hours before writing this column, I was at a Wine Australia seminar and tasting at the Waterview event space, perched over False Creek across from Granville Island. While I’m constantly impressed by the breadth of Shiraz, Grenache, and Chardonnays across many regions, I found myself gravitating more toward the less common varieties we regularly see from Down Under. There’s a good amount of Italian grapes finding success in Australia, and with Italy boasting well over 350 of them, there’s plenty of fodder for those in other countries to play around with. Take Fiano, a white variety hailing from southern Italy and Sicily. While it’s comfortable getting ripe with pear, apple, and ginger notes in warm climates à la Codici Masserie Fiano 2017 (Puglia, Italy; $14.99, B.C. Liquor Stores), it can still retain vibrant acidity and freshness. It has a slightly waxy viscosity, making it quite food-friendly, with an ability to age a few years, no problem. That aging capability is in full effect when we look at Oliver’s Taranga Vineyards Fiano 2014 (McLaren Vale, Australia; $27.99, $21.97 to June 1, B.C. Liquor Stores). It’s a bit of a misnomer to refer to Australian wines as New World, a common refrain in wine circles. When we’re talking some of the oldest soils in the world—and, in this case, the Oliver family has been tending vines here for five generations over 170 years—they’re hardly spring chickens. This is one of my favourite wines I had at the tasting, that bit of age bringing a little honey and hazelnut character to the glass. Staying on the white side of things, Argiolas Costamolino Vermentino di Sardegna 2017 (Sardinia, Italy; $18.99, B.C. Liquor Stores) is quite the mouthful, both

to say and by trait. There’s a breezy, citrusy nature to this Vermentino: a little salty sea air on the aromatics, leading toward yellow grapefruit, muddled lemon, and a distinct mineral note on the palate. Perhaps those Sardinian sea breezes are echoed by those coming up from the Great Southern Ocean across South Australia, where we find Berton Metal Label Vermentino 2018 (Riverland, Australia; $14.49, B.C. Liquor Stores), a fresh and spirited take. There are many similar notes here, maybe with a bit more tropical fruit like mango and guava. Just a few weeks back in this column, I was smitten with Azelia Dolcetto d’Alba 2017 (Piedmont, Italy; $28.99, B.C. Liquor Stores). Dolcetto is becoming an increasingly well-travelled grape, with even a few local examples right here in British Columbia. Stag’s Hollow Winery in Okanagan Falls is no stranger to playing around with unique varieties, with a roster that includes Tempranillo, Teroldego, and Albariño. Do they do a Dolcetto? You bet. Stag’s Hollow Dolcetto 2017 (Okanagan Valley, B.C.; $22, www.stagshollowwinery.com/) is at once both complex and damn crushable, particularly when served with a hint of a chill on it. There are violets and cloves on the nose, then blackberries, mulberries, raspberries, Italian plums, and a wisp of leather bringing just a little amiable funk. While the grape can have lower acidity, those cool Okanagan nights bringing a wide diurnal temperature shift allow the grapes’ acidity to be preserved, bringing a buoyant and fresh structure. That acidity, and a very light note of wild sage, make it a solid reflection of Okanagan terroir; I like that it’s not just a

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Kilian Chiropractic kilianchiropractic.com MAY 9 – 16 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 17

from previous page

“Amazing magic full of charming surprises. Ingenious!” – Penn & Teller

“A Master Illusionist Makes Magic On His Own Terms” – Forbes

A n o f f b r o a d w ay h i t !

straight mimic of Italian style. Of course, when we think of Italian wine, we often think of Chianti, and it’s wonderful examples like Barone Ricasoli “Brolio” Chianti Classico 2016 (Tuscany, Italy; $29.99, B.C. Liquor Stores) that provide evidence as to why these Tuscan wines are so universally adored. This take is primarily Sangiovese, with 15 percent Merlot and five percent Cabernet Sauvignon added to the mix. Peppery red berry fruit fills both the aromatics and palate, with a generous spot of balsamic reduction at the core, and fine, dusty tannins. Although it’s quite a distance from Tuscany, the Sandhill Estate Vineyard just outside of Oliver in the South Okanagan is where Sandhill Small Lots Sangiovese 2015 (Okanagan Valley, B.C.; $35, www.sand hillwines.ca/) hails from, and there are definitely common threads from with its Old World counterpart. Red fruit and balsamic? Check and check. I’d venture this version of the variety is a little more opulent and riper, with the mix of French and American oak bringing a touch more backbone, tannin, and overall oomph. Grazie, Italy, for your globetrotting grape varieties and wines. Luckily, you also provide plenty of inspiration when it’s time for food to hit the table. Now, where’s my pasta? g

D rink OF THE WEEK CHERRY BLOSSOMS not only signal spring but also represent renewal in Japanese culture. To pay homage to the historical significance of sakura, Minami bartender Barnaby Malong created the Saku, a cocktail that incorporates Tantakatan shochu and a sakura-salt rim. “My aim was to create a beverage that embodies the spirit of freshness,” he says.

MINAMI’S SAKU

¾ oz Tantakatan shochu ½ oz Bénédictine D.O.M. B&B ¾ oz fresh lemon juice ½ oz elderflower syrup 2 oz Cave de Lugny Crémant de Bourgogne (or sparkling rosé) To make the sakura-salt rim, combine equal portions of ground, dried sakura blossoms and pink Himalayan salt. Rim a Double-strain into a wineglass small wineglass with it. filled with ice. Top with Cave de In a Boston shaker, mix and Lugny (or sparkling rosé). shake the Tantakatan, Bénédict- Garnish with lemon zest and ine, lemon juice, and elderflower viola flowers on the rim. by Gail Johnson syrup on ice.

AN EVENING OF WONDER S JUNE 5, 2019 - RIVER ROCK SHOW THEATRE T i c k e t s a r e s e l l i n g fa s t at ticketmaster.cA

> Go on-line to read hundreds of I Saw You posts or to respond to a message < NORTH VAN CLEANER?

I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: MAY 6, 2019 WHERE: You Know Where and If U Read This One I Will Know It's U We saw each other a couple times... you walking down the hill and I am always walking up... I looked back and you were looking at me... how I wish I could see you more... and I live very very close to where you work I guess.

DRESSING FOR A FUNERAL

I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: MAY 1, 2019 WHERE: Granville Street This was last week. We were both wearing a black. You had a jacket on that looked too warm for the weather, and platform shoes. You said hi, and I said hey. We should talk more next time.

NEW WEST VAMPIRE

I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: MAY 1, 2019 WHERE: Pinball Expo 2018 We dated.

EYE CONTACT & A SMILE

I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: MAY 3, 2019 WHERE: Maple and West Broadway I miss your half smile. It was the best part of my day. You wear a navy blue quilted jacket with a black umbrella and work somewhere on West Broadway. I need your energy in my life. Hope to pass by you soon.

YOU SMILED AT ME SEVERAL TIMES

I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: MAY 2, 2019 WHERE: Deacons Corner I was working on my computer in the window booth. We locked eyes several times. You sat outside. You had a very nice smile. I’d love to share the burger/beer special with you some time.

COMPUTER SCIENCES

I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: APRIL 30, 2019 WHERE: New Westminster I met you a couple of days ago. I came to your home for work. You told me you usually sleep in every day but that you were going to summer school and hoping to get into computer sciences eventually. I had to knock on your door again after I left because I forgot my phone. I didn’t want to ask for your phone number in the moment because I was working and I thought it would be unprofessional. I was planning to ask you when I came back today, after I was finished and not technically working, but apparently you weren’t home. In the unlikely event you should see this, could I interest you in a coffee or dinner date?

GIRL OUTSIDE KITS BEACH WHO SMILED FROM BUS#2

I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: MAY 2, 2019 WHERE: Closer to Kits Beach, Yew St. Bus Stop This was a Wednesday, around 9:15 AM right outside Kits beach waiting for a bus. I was with a couple of friends and you were on your own. You had glasses on, were listening through your headphones and pacing back and forth. We locked eyes a couple of times. We took the #2 bus, and when I got off at W 10 Ave., you smiled at me. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.

YOUR MA PUT YOUR VANS IN THE WASHER

I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: MAY 1, 2019 WHERE: Metrotown Vans Can’t believe my ma has more game than I -- but she was right, you are real pretty. But what really sold me was your story about your ma putting your shoes in the washer. Would love to hear more about your Asian family shenanigans. If not, well, you made my day.

THE BEAUTIFUL LADY ON THE EPIC RIDES BUS

I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: APRIL 28, 2019 WHERE: Epic Rides Bus Saw you on the Epic Rides bus on April 28/19 from downtown Vancouver to Whistler on the 1:00 pm bus. I picked up your Brisk drink off the floor behind you. You were looking very pretty in the sunlight that afternoon. It seemed like you weren’t feeling in the happiest of moods, it almost seemed like you were arguing with the guy you were with and wish I had said something. It felt like you were giving off a not so happy energy and I really felt it when we past Lions Bay. Hope your outing in Whistler turned out ok.

WHIMSICAL GIRL ON CORDOVA

I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: APRIL 30, 2019 WHERE: Cordova

Your hair was in two curly bunches with a tiny colourful skateboard attached to your backpack. I thought you had fantastic style and couldn’t help but notice the curious way you were taking in the world walking down Cordova toward Carall street. I had to run across at the crosswalk in the green hoodie but I should have stopped to tell you, you have killer style.

COLONY KITS

Rosanne Cash Mari Boine DakhaBrakha Flamenco Legends: The Paco de Lucía Project NOV 16 Orquesta Akokán FEB 29 We Shall Overcome: A Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. MAR 8 Dianne Reeves: Beleza Brazil APR 4 La Santa Cecilia APR 18 Kalabanté: Afrique en Cirque SEP 28 OCT 5 OCT 19 NOV 2

ROSANNE CASH

WE SHALL OVERCOME

DAKHABRAKHA

MARI BOINE

I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: APRIL 30, 2019 WHERE: Colony Kits on Broadway I was on the patio at Colony (Kits) with two girlfriends. Long red/yellow hair and blue glasses. You were inside at the table right by the patio, with an older white gentleman, dressed very chic with a blue shirt and sleek shades when you went outside. We smiled at each other several times and then once again when I left and you were heading back in. Wished I would've said hi and started a conversation.

Visit straight.com to post your FREE I Saw You _ 18 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MAY 9 – 16 / 2019

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arts

Collages, clouds, and contemplation at Art Walk by Janet Smith

t first glance, the work of West of Main Art Walk participants Shira Gold and Crissy Arseneau could not be more different. Gold’s moody photographs capture West Coast seascapes and skeletal trees in desaturated, greyish tones. Arseneau’s painted collages conjure colourful worlds, with stylized shapes drawn from nature, cities, and the cosmos. But when you see their pieces side by side, as they will hang in this year’s open studio and sale on Saturday and Sunday (May 11 and 12), you immediately see what connects the artists. Together, they’ll be showing with abstract painter Amy Stewart at her Granville Island studio (1249 Cartwright Street). “I think people are surprised how our work complements each other and hangs nicely on a wall together,” Gold says, talking to the Straight over speakerphone with her friend and colleague. “One obvious thing would be that there’s a lot of negative space and room to breathe. And there are a lot of different interpretations you can get from our naturescapes.” “There’s contemplation in all of our work,” Arseneau adds. “It’s taking a moment to look at things and think about things. It gives the viewer a place to rest for a while.” For Gold, exploring nature and its emotional effects has come later in life. Although she’s a born-andbred Vancouverite, it’s only in the last 10 years or so that she’s discovered the photographic possibilities of landscapes and seascapes. “I’ve discovered that nature invokes some message in me,” she says. “I see myself and my feelings in nature. I venture out oftentimes without a very specific destination. I’m a very emotional person and I search for things that invoke something inside of me; that could be a tree losing petals or a bird that has a hesitant landing. And it conjures up feelings and memories.” In the case of her deeply moving series “Good Grief ”, well-represented in the Art Walk, the images express the different stages she went through after the loss of her mother. The initial pieces express shock through flowering trees standing stark and alone, losing their blooms and bereft of colour. “I felt I was suffocating. That’s what happens when your life source

At the West of Main Art Walk, a collage from Crissy Arseneau’s “Cloud City” series (left), and Shira Gold’s After the Show.

is taken away,” she explains. From there she travels through vulnerability, with images of weeping willows and leafless trees amid mist. Later photographs find renewed hope, with flocks of birds rising from the shifting ocean. “They speak to the idea that you carry your loved ones with you no matter where you venture,” Gold says. “Especially if you were a caregiver for several years, as I was, there’s also

fact, one of the series at the Art Walk is called “Cloud City”, inspired by the reflections of the floating puffs in the glass towers that fill Vancouver. In it, she plays with rounded, organic forms—in shades of not just silvery grey, but subtle sunset and sunrise hues like peachy pink and lavender—against the rectangular, geometric lines of “windows”. CLOUDS, TOO, MAKE a regular ap“Living in Vancouver, our sky is pearance in Arseneau’s collages—in so beautiful,” says Arseneau, who new freedom and opportunity. It’s the loosening of the grip of grief.” Elsewhere, her almost painterly new photo series “Sea Swept” finds the dramatic play of light and dark in the West Coast’s misty skies— capturing those highly metaphorical moments when sun rays suddenly cut through roiling black clouds.

Arts TIP SHEET

Forms Media Society conjuring its high-tech magic. The party also offers a chance to scope out cool new exhibits like Moving Still: Performative Photography in India and French Moderns: Monet to Matisse, 1850-1950, the latter one closing soon, on May 20.

d FUSE: GESTURES (May 10 at the Vancouver Art Gallery) DJs, MCs, and multimedia installations: that and more will bring the Vancouver Art Gallery alive for the biggest art bash of the season. For this rendition, the multilevel event will feature names like MC Missy D, DJ Softieshan, singer-songwriter Evy Jane, and interactive installation artist Kiran Bhumber, with the New

d TRAGIC LOVE: WAGNER & PROKOFIEV (May 10 at the Orpheum) Here’s music to soothe your broken heart. Maestro Otto Tausk leads the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in two gorgeous odes to doomed love: Richard Wagner’s ravishing Tristan und Isolde: Prelude and Liebestod and Sergei Prokofiev’s blissful ballet excerpt Romeo & Juliet: Suite (arranged by Tausk himself). It’s part of the intimate Inside the Symphony

series, and that means a 6:30 p.m. start time, happy-hour drinks before the show, an insightful talk by our new Dutch music director before the performance, and a chance to mix and mingle with VSO musicians in the lobby afterward. d YOUTH & MUSIC 2019: MUSIC’S FUTURE (May 10 at

Shaughnessy Heights United Church) The energy of young voices drives this biennial event, sponsored by the Vancouver Chamber Choir and the Canadian Music Centre (B.C. region). Highlights include the winners of the Young Composers’ Competition, while Jon Washburn’s VCC and Carrie Tennant’s Vancouver Youth Choir sing a diverse program that features new commissions from up-and-comers. g

gets inspiration on jaunts outside before coming back to her studio to work on a more abstract and stripped-to-its-essence interpretation. “This rainy city gets a bad rap; that’s what makes it beautiful here. And the fact that we’re a city of glass sometimes gets a bad rap too.” Arseneau’s complex process begins with watercolour paints, as she plays with hues on paper. She then uses an X-Acto knife to meticulously cut her shapes out of those coloured sheets, layering and arranging the pieces, photographing them as she experiments so she can consider them before gluing them into place. “I have issues with commitment,” she says with a laugh. “Collage is an interesting thing: I have the chance to play and not commit immediately. Then when I glue them they become partners forever. “Behind each cloud form is another cloud form; there can be as many as 10 layers,” she adds of her small-scale works. Although Arseneau’s collages are sometimes described on first glance as simplistic, Gold observes they’re the opposite, due to the craftsmanship and carefully rendered forms. Both formally and thematically, then, these artists working in decidedly different media create work that invites a similar reflection. But it turns out they have one more thing in common: they’re both showing at the West of Main Art Walk for the first time. They see it as an accessible way for the public to scope out the work of more than 60 artists, and to get to know stories and processes like their own. “Even as an artist I’m intimidated by going into a gallery, and this feels more relatable,” Gold says of the two-day open-studio event. Adds Arseneau: “There’s something very nice about the casual nature of this and the community nature of it. You can feel very comfortable coming into this situation, and you can come in without needing to know a lot about art.” g The West of Main Art Walk opens with a preview gala and exhibition at the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre on Thursday (May 9), with the open studios happening Saturday and Sunday (May 11 and 12) from Point Grey to Main Street, and from Granville Island to 41st Avenue.

Venice in the East travels to Renaissance Crete

by Alexander Varty

or most of us, making sense of Venice in the East: Music From Renaissance Crete, which Cappella Romana will present in Vancouver this Friday, will require some study. Fortunately, the Portland, Oregon–based vocal ensemble’s Mark Powell is on hand to deliver a brief but enlightening lecture. First off, the singer explains, we should know that Venice in the East isn’t an attempt to replicate how this music would have been heard when new. Instead, it’s a show with a thesis: to compare and contrast two distinct and enduring liturgical styles. One is that of the Roman Catholic Church, while the other belongs to its Eastern Orthodox counterpart; the two met under less-than-happy circumstances on Crete and the Ionian Islands after rogue crusaders occupied Constantinople, then the centre of the Byzantine Empire, in 1204. “These musical examples wouldn’t have ever been performed in a single place at the same time,” Powell notes. “In a concert format, we’re sampling from both the Latin and the Greek traditions, but those would have been performed in different places. Even in

Portland, Oregon’s Cappella Romana will be here for the Early Music Vancouver concert.

a town where you had a Latin church on one side of the square and a Greek church on the other side of the square, they’d be doing their own thing. But there are influences that have crossed over, one to the other.

“When Crete, in particular, was taken over after the Latin conquest of Constantinople, it fell under a pretty oppressive regime,” he continues. “They didn’t give a lot of space for the Greek population to express itself culturally. But as time went on, that was relaxed. It moved towards more toleration, and the Greeks were largely able to carry on with their language and their religious and cultural practices without too much interference by the Venetian governors. So the program explores, in the liturgical music, how there were mutual influences back and forth. One simple example is that in the Latin tradition the creed, from the Mass, is usually sung, either in a chant or with polyphony. In the Greek tradition, the creed is almost always just said—but on Crete there are musical settings of the creed, more than one, and so we’ll be presenting one of those examples in this program, showing that where the Latins got to sing their creed, the Cretans wanted to sing theirs, too.” Despite this cultural exchange, Powell adds, Orthodox choristers retained their fondness for Byzantine scales and singing styles, which bring an exotic and musically challenging edge

to Cappella Romana’s antiquarian program. Cretan singing from the Renaissance, he points out, “has a bit more buzz in the voice. There’s a lot more ‘nose’ involved, but it’s not nasality like you’re holding your nose and singing. It’s more of a style of projection, so that overtones can be created to carry the voice, much as a bel canto singer would employ, but in this case with microtonal inflections.” The effect is beautiful, as is Cappella Romana’s dedication to discovering the notes of continuity and connection that run through seemingly diverse forms of music. “That’s definitely what we’re about,” Powell says. “We want to show that while there are many differences in expression in the Christian tradition in the Mediterranean, as well as in the Slavic and European lands, there’s a lot that is held in common. We love to find those threads that show a bond with something that’s larger than just a particular national or ethnic tradition.” g Early Music Vancouver presents Cappella Romana at Christ Church Cathedral on Friday (May 10).

MAY 9 – 16 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 19

ARTS

Wave wields metal, clicks, and, yes, coffee stir sticks

9th Edition

by Alexander Varty

July 4—14 FESTIVAL THEME: TRICKSTERS, MAGICIANS & ORACLES FEATURING NOVELISTS, MUSICIANS, THINKERS, VISUAL ARTISTS, FASHION DESIGNERS, DJS AND CULINARY MAGICIANS. PICO IYER • DEBORAH BAKER • AMITAV GHOSH • AMJAD ALI KHAN • SHARON ISBIN • HUMBLE THE POET • SARA KHAN • EDEN ROBINSON • VIKRAM VIJ • ZARQA NAWAZ • NEP SIDHU • PIQSIQ • JARRETT MARTINEAU • JOLEEN MITTON • SIKH KNOWLEDGE • HAN HAN • DAME VINYL • CHIMERIK • IMMIGRANT LESSONS • RICHARD SIDE • ARTHUR FLOWERS • RUBY SINGH TIFFIN TALKS, ISF + VANCOUVER ART GALLERY, ISF + SURREY ART GALLERY, ISF + AUDAIN GALLERY, ISF + MUSEUM OF VANCOUVER + MUCH MORE

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Standing Wave dives into the mysteries of Deus ex Machina: The Nine Lives of Shrödinger’s Cat. Hint: it will include rattling and stomping. Photo by Janet Baxter

s Winston Churchill once famously said of Russian foreign policy, composer Gordon Fitzell’s Deus ex Machina: The Nine Lives of Schrödinger’s Cat is “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma”. Even percussionist Vern Griffiths, who’s been rehearsing the work with his Standing Wave colleagues, is at a loss when it comes to describing the electroacoustic composition. He suggests perusing Fitzell’s program note, but warily adds: “When you read it, you’ll probably just go, ‘Huh?’ ” A little sleuthing turned up said note, and proved Griffiths correct. “I have recently taken to basing certain aspects of my work on the unlikely pairing of seemingly unrelated concepts, in the hope of discovering unforeseen commonalities,” Fitzell writes. “In my 2017 flute concerto Techno Messiah: Zoom/Richter/Langsam/Pop, for example, I examine the abstract paintings of Gerhard Richter’s alongside the synth-pop music of Kraftwerk and other West German artists of 1970s and 80s. In Deus ex Machina.…I explore two equally dissimilar concepts—an improbable plot device and a preposterous thought experiment.” The plot device is the ancient Greek technique of using the sudden appearance of a “god from the machine” to resolve a theatrical cliffhanger. The thought experiment, created by physicist Erwin Schrödinger in 1935, asks us to consider the state—alive, or dead?—of a cat that has been locked in a steel chamber with a potentially fatal radioactive atom. As for how this will sound, it seems that we’ll have to wait until the Standing Wave new-music ensemble’s upcoming Ex Machina concert to find out, although Griffiths offers some insight into how it works. “The piece is for the six of us with an electronic track,” explains Griffiths, who’s also the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s principal percussionist and a UBC music prof. “Basically, we all play off a score together; it involves extramusical things, or I guess musical but strange things like scraping or rattling chairs, or stomping your feet. And there are rattly things going on in the tape, so you have to blend various metal and skin sounds with that. There’s also a click track that comes in and out through the whole piece, which basically gives you landmarks, so that you can all keep together—

– Vern Griffiths

which actually works really well. It’s like having somebody whisper in your ear, ‘Hey! Now you’re at letter P.’ ” Is the click track the god, or some kind of external force that resolves the action? “Oh, man,” Griffiths says. “Um… That, I don’t know.” He laughs, conceding that even by Standing Wave’s adventurous standards, Ex Machina offers a heady selection of conceptually astute oddities—including Paul Steenhuisen’s Pink Pink Pierrot, another electronically assisted effort in which a radically altered version of Arnold Schoenberg’s modernist staple Pierrot Lunaire meets a variety of moon-themed pop tunes from Henry Mancini, Nick Drake, and Pink Floyd. Also on the bill will be Brian Current’s dense and shimmering Shout, Sisyphus, Flock, Western Front music curator Aram Bajakian’s openended Dolphy Formations, and Dutch composer Mayke Nas’s Douze Mains. The last is especially unusual, in that it asks the Standing Wave players—with the exception of pianist Allen Stiles— to temporarily relinquish their chosen instruments. “We basically take the lid off the piano, and then the six of us stand at stations around the piano, using coffee stir sticks, dish brushes, and ping-pong balls scraping on the strings,” Griffiths says. “Nas describes it as ‘operating on the piano’, like in an operating room, which is actually really clever. “It’s a fun project to work on,” he adds, “and it just feels like this closeknit chamber thing for all six of us to be playing the same instrument.” g Standing Wave presents Ex Machina at the Orpheum Annex on Monday (May 13).

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We basically take the lid off the piano, and then the six of us stand at stations...scraping on the strings.

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MOVING STILL

Following sold out performances in London and Tel Aviv

Performative Photography in India THROUGH SEPTEMBER 2, 2019

This exhibition is organized by the Vancouver Art Gallery, an initiative of the Institute of Asian Art and curated by Diana Freundl, Associate Curator of Asian Art and Gayatri Sinha, Independent Curator and founder of Critical Collective Visionary Partners for the Institute of Asian Art:

Visionary Partners for Photography Exhibitions:

With additional support from:

Liu Bao, Wang Ying and Liu Manzhao

Miles, Maureen and Larry Lunn

The Institute of Asian Art Development Committee Dr. Hari Sharma Foundation

[left to right] Umrao Singh Sher-Gil, Sisters in bed, c. 1932, modern silver gelatin print with selenium toning, Courtesy of PHOTOINK; Pushpamala N, Sunhere Sapne (Golden Dreams), 1998, hand-tinted black and white photograph, Shumita & Arani Bose Collection, NY; Naveen Kishore, Performing the Goddess: Chapal Bhaduri Story, 1999, inkjet print, Courtesy of the Artist

MAY 9 – 16 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 21

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ARTS Acting wins, but laughs sometimes miss the shot by Samuel Jing

THEATRE THE GREAT LEAP

By Lauren Yee. Directed by Meg Roe. An Arts Club Theatre Company production, presented by special arrangement with Samuel French Inc. At the Goldcorp Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre on Thursday, May 2. Continues until May 19

d WITH THE 30-year anniversary of the June 4 crackdown at Tiananmen Square drawing near, there is no better time to be staging a production of Lauren Yee’s The Great Leap. Does it manage to sink its shot? The Great Leap focuses on the leadup to the first-ever exhibition basketball match between the USA and China, in 1989. Plucky 17-year-old Manford, played by Milton Lim, is determined to play in the match despite his short stature. He seeks to prove himself to the USA team’s obnoxious coach, Saul (Toby Berner), by making 100 consecutive free throws. However, he must first convince his protective cousin Connie (Agnes Tong) to let him go. Manford’s journey to Beijing is interspersed with flashbacks of Saul’s first visit to China, where he strikes up a friendship with Wen Chang (Jovanni Sy), a timid interpreter destined to coach the Chinese team for the exhibition match. As these stories weave in and out of each other, everything culminates on the fateful day of the match: the day of the June 4 massacre. While alley-style seating often poses challenges for staging, director Meg Roe capitalizes on the space by having actors “courtside” in the front row, emulating the feel of an actual basket-

ball game. On the production side, projections by the design team Chimerik delight, with geometric patterns tessellating at every scene transition. On the other hand, Yee’s script unfortunately falls short on basketball action and compelling political drama. Its biggest problem lies in the fact that its comedy too often relies on Asian stereotypes. In one scene, American coach Saul declares that his recommendation to the Communist party is the only reason why Wen Chang is the Chinese team’s coach. In another, Manford is surprised that the Chinese team consists of players who could be over seven feet tall. While playwright Lauren Yee (who also wrote the comedy King of the Yees) is Chinese-American, and appears to be poking fun at how white people perceive the Asian community, audiences instead laugh at, say, Saul referring to the Communist party’s leader as “Deng Xiao Ping Pong Ping Pong” because it sounds funny. Yee does an excellent job of humanizing the struggle of Asian athletes. But too often, she falls back on cheap shots. On the acting side, Lim makes a respectable Arts Club debut, bringing a youthful cockiness to Manford as he convinces Saul to give him a spot on the team. Berner’s Saul and Sy’s Wen Chang have decent chemistry, with their polar-opposite personalities bringing out the comedy in Yee’s banter. Tong’s Connie is the standout in this production, injecting a playful energy into her physicality as she shoots some hoops with her cousin. I commend the Arts Club’s initiative to showcase the talents of AsianCanadians in its season, but in future I hope that Yee can dig deeper and push for more meaning in her work. g

MAY 22 – JUNE 2

Featuring: After Party Theatre • Robert Azevedo • Candy Bones Theatre • Julie Hammond • Hip.Bang! • Killjoy Theatre • Kyle Loven • Lester Trips (Theatre) • Madonnanera • O Albatross • Popcorn Galaxies • Whells Phargo Productions • Updrafts Reading Series • xLq

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22 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MAY 9 – 16 / 2019

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ARTS

VETTA CHAMBER MUSIC 2018 - 19 33rd Season

Artists connect poetically with the land

Joan Blackman Artistic Director

TAKE 5

by Robin Laurence

CHARLENE VICKERS: CHRYSALIS HOLLY SCHMIDT: QUIESCENCE

At the Burrard Arts Foundation until May 25

MOZART

Made of biodegradable papier-mâché, Holly Schmidt’s Quiescence depicts the shapes of desert plants, inverted to hang upside down from the ceiling .

our and gesture indicating sky, land, and water, over which float brilliantly hued organic forms, some of them, as seen in Mating Pods Over Illuminated Landscape, seemingly in flames. Floral or geometric forms also appear, sometimes overlaid with compressed scribbles of colour that convey pure energy. In works such as Buzz Cells and Memory Sparks, Vickers deploys concentric circles across her surface, reminiscent of Anishinaabe designs, in colours ranging from brilliant yellow and orange to muted purple and intense aqua. The impression is poetic and celebratory, expressing a sense of connection with the land of her ancestors. Schmidt’s projects have often been collaborative or community-based, with a frequent focus on parks, gardens, and growing things, especially as they bear upon social and ecological issues such as food security and sustainability. Her installation Quiescence is an outgrowth of an earlier residency and a food-justice project she undertook in the American Southwest. At BAF, she riffs on work she did with schoolchildren in the

New Mexico city of Española, leading them in the creation of papier-mâché sculptures of local flora. Quiescence consists of Schmidt’s own keenly observed sculptures of food-bearing plants that occur on the New Mexican plateau: banana yucca, buffalo gourd, and prickly pear cactus. The sculptures, which she produced using unpainted, biodegradable papier-mâché, are hung upside down from the ceiling. The effect of this pale, silent, inverted landscape is ghostly and unsettling, almost hallucinogenic. Quiescence honours the ways in which desert plants have adapted to the extremes of their natural environment. And although the high desert of the American Southwest is an entirely different place from the temperate rainforest of the Northwest Coast, this work finds a philosophical home here that is both beautiful and disturbing. It is impossible to walk through Schmidt’s installation without thinking about the impact of the harshest conditions of all, the pollution and climate change that our species has catastrophically wrought upon the natural world. g

Clarinet Quintet in A major, K.581

SCHUBERT

Cello Quintet in C major, D956

THU MAY 9 at 2pm

West Point Grey United Church

FRI MAY 10 at 7:30pm West Point Grey United Church

SUN MAY 12 at 2pm Pyatt Hall

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Thu $20 / Fri & Sun $25 / Student $10

vettamusic.com JOSE FRANCH-BALLESTER

d THE TWO SOLO shows on at the Burrard Arts Foundation (BAF) spotlight the work of local artists Holly Schmidt and Charlene Vickers. At the same time, they showcase BAF’s admirable programs in support of the cultural life of our city. Both Vickers and Schmidt recently completed residencies at the foundation’s gallery in False Creek Flats. Vickers, a multidisciplinary artist whose work includes performance, installation, and sculpture, here presents paintings on paper and canvas that use colour, gesture, and texture to convey, she says in her exhibition statement, “a dreamt and imagined space of floating and transformation within memory of Anishinaabe territory”. In the past, she has employed watercolour and gouache to create abstractions that allude to the porcupine quillwork of her Anishinaabe forebears. Here, however, her abstract forms are landscape-based, evoking a liminal space between inner and outer worlds, between a meditative state and a land “brimming with life”. These works were inspired, Vickers writes, by a summer of tree planting in her ancestral lands, when each long and laborious day ended with a swim in a freshwater lake. Floating on her back in the cool water, looking up at the sky and at clouds of mating dragonflies, centred and refreshed her—and charged her with the sense of “new life being created” above her. These memories and sensations are evoked in horizontal passages of col-

JOSE FRANCH-BALLESTER clarinet JOAN BLACKMAN violin DAVID GILLHAM violin DAVID HARDING viola EUGENE OSADCHY cello PAULA KIFFNER cello

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MAY 9 – 16 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 23

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24 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MAY 9 – 16 / 2019

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ONGOING 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

VANCOUVER ART GALLERY aFRENCH MODERNS: MONET TO MATISSE, 1850–1950 to May 20 aAFFINITIES: CANADIAN ARTISTS AND FRANCE to May 20 aMOWRY BADEN to Jun 9 aDISPLACEMENT to Jun 9 aMOVING STILL: PERFORMATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY IN INDIA to Sep 2 aVIEWS OF THE COLLECTION: THE STREET to Nov 17

CONTEMPORARY ART GALLERY aDEANNA BOWEN | A HARLEM NOCTURNE to Jun 16

THE POLYGON aSK _WX _WÚ7MESH NATION BASKETBALL: PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALANA PATERSON to May 12

SINGERS WANTED AT SONGRISE! Join an uplifting singing experience inspired by Bobby McFerrin’s Circle Songs. Sing vocal grooves, heavenly harmonies, and body-shakin’ rhythms, all composed in the moment! For anyone who can sing in tune and has a basic sense of rhythm. 11 am most Sundays until June 16. Info and preregistration: www.songrise. ca To Jun 16, 11 am–12:45 pm, Kitsilano Neighbourhood House. $15. THE GREAT LEAP The Arts Club Theatre Company presents Lauren Yee’s play, a jump shot across borders. To May 19, Goldcorp Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre. Tix from $29. THRONE AND GAMES—THE LAST LAUGH Improvised Game of Thrones parody. To Jun 15, The Improv Centre. From $10.75. LA CENERENTOLA Vancouver Opera presents Rossini’s masterpiece. To May 11, Vancouver Playhouse. THE SEA Slamming Door Artist Collective presents Edward Bond’s comedy. To May 19, Jericho Arts Centre. $18-29. DUETS Comedy of relationships and awkward moments. To May 18, Deep Cove Shaw Theatre. $25/23. COMMUNICATING DOORS A dominatrix from the future is summoned to witness a man’s confession to murder. To May 25, 8 pm, Metro Theatre. $25/22. THEATRE BC NORTH SHORE ZONE FESTIVAL OF PLAYS Plays include Hidden in This Picture, Ten Tips for a Collapsed Uterus, The Shape of a Girl, Little Voices, and Almost, Maine. To May 11, 8 pm, Presentation House Theatre. $20/18 nightly. NASSIM New play explores the mystery of faith-based healing and the consequences of life-changing transformation. May 7-19, 8 pm, Cultch Historic Theatre. Tix $24. VAMP Supernatural musical burlesque. May 8, 7:30 pm; May 9, 7:30 pm; May 17, 8 pm; May 18, 8 pm; May 10, 8 pm; May 12, 7:30 pm; May 15, 7:30 pm, Performance Works. $29-35. STAGE DOOR THEATRE PRESENTS “SKIT-TAGEOUS OUTRAGEOUS” May 7, 8, 9, 7:30-8:30 pm, Stage Door Theatre. $10—pay at the door.

ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST Stage 43 Theatrical Society presents the classic mental-institution drama. May 8, 9, 10, 11, 8 pm, Evergreen Cultural Centre. $24/19. DINNER IS COMING! A GAME OF THRONES FEAST AT THE STORM CROW! Game of Thrones–themed three-course meal and screening. May 12, 5 pm; May 12, 8 pm; May 19, 5 pm; May 19, 8 pm, Storm Crow Alehouse. $45. THE LAUGH GALLERY WITH GRAHAM CLARK Graham Clark and friends present a comedy show with trivia and prizes. May 13, 20, 27, 8 pm, Havana Theatre. $5.

ARTS LISTINGS

Arts HOT TICKET

Schubert’s equally memorable Cello Quintet in C Major, with virtuosos Eugene Osadchy and Paula Kiffner on that instrument at the concerts.

VIBRASI BALI (May 11 at the

WEDNESDAY, MAY 8 IN SEARCH OF THE REAL WOLF Author Paula Wild presents images and stories from her book Return of the Wolf: Conflict & Coexistence. May 8, 6:30 pm, Vancouver Public Library Britannia branch . Free. MOTHER’S DAY JEWELLERY NIGHT Create a hand-stamped, personalized wooden pendant. May 8, 7 pm, Pacific Arts Market. $30 each or 2 for $50. STORY STORY LIE: FIGHT CLUB Near-impossible stories that seem too questionable to be true. May 8, 7-9 pm, Rio Theatre. $10/12.

THURSDAY, MAY 9 JAMES AND THE GIANT CIRCUS PEACH CircusWest presents a theatrical creation inspired by Roald Dahl’s book. May 9-12, PNE Gardens. $16-24. ART FORT LANGLEY: ART WALK Over 15 artists open their studios to display and discuss their art. May 9, 4-8 pm, Fort Langley. WEAR YOUR ART ON YOUR SLEEVE VOL 2.0—A CLOTHING PAINT NIGHT May 9, 7-10 pm, The Basement. 40.00. MAGIC UNICORN ISLAND An apocalyptic tale of horrific proportions as part of the Hunch Festival. May 9, 8 pm, The Red Gate Revue Stage. $25/20.

FRIDAY, MAY 10 ANNUAL MOTHERS’ DAY POTTERY SALE Pottery created by over 20 makers. May 10-12, 7-4 pm, West End Community Centre. Free. DIGITAL SANCTUARY: SHOWCASE + ART RAVE FOR CYBER HARM REDUCTION A futurist-themed multidisciplinary art party. May 10, 7:30 pm, The Pace. $35. TOTALLY SCHUBERT! Barbara Ebbeson (mezzo soprano) and Alix Nishihara (pianist) perform a gender-queer evening of Schubert songs. May 10, 7:30 pm, Vancouver Unitarian Church. $20. FUSE: GESTURES Event merges visual art, music, and performance. May 10, 7:30 pm, Vancouver Art Gallery. $29/15. ART WORLD EXPO Event features over 100 artists, vendors, music, body painting, silent and live auctions, and food trucks. May 10, 7:30-11:45 pm, Science World. $40. C/4 CANADIAN CHORAL COMPOSITION COMPETITION Meet the composers, hear their works performed for the very first time, and participate in a discussion led by artistic director Erick Lichte. May 10, 8 pm, Orpheum Annex. Tix $35. VANCOUVER CHAMBER CHOIR: YOUTH & MUSIC 2019—MUSIC’S FUTURE Program includes works by Tavener, Rutter, Sandstrom, and Washburn. May 10, 8 pm, Shaugh-

in India. May 15, 7 pm, Annex Theatre. $40/35.

THURSDAY, MAY 16

TAKE 5 (May 9 and 10 at West

Point Grey United Church and May 12 at Pyatt Hall) When it comes to the world’s classical clarinetists, Spanish-born, Vancouver-based Jose Franch-Ballester (shown here) is in the top tier, especially for his chamber work. He brings his woodwind wizardry to Vetta Chamber Ensemble’s final concert of the season, Take 5, for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s sublime Clarinet Quintet in A Major—one of the earliest and best-known works written for the instrument. Elsewhere on the program is Franz nessy Heights United Church. $29-$33. LA MAISON LUST PRESENTS: WET Exotic cabaret experience blends dance, burlesque, contortion, and circus. May 10-11, 8-11 pm, Rio Theatre. $40/45.

SATURDAY, MAY 11 SOUNDS UNHEARD Turning Point Ensemble presents a portrait concert of the work of Canadian/Tajik composer Farangis NurullaKhoja. May 11-12, SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts. $20/33. SPRING CLEANING SALE 2019 Purchase slightly imperfect, experimental, and one-ofa-kind handmade glass. May 11, 11 am–4 pm, Terminal City Glass Co-op. Free. SPIRIT OF INDIA SPRING FESTIVAL Art, music, cultural performances, demonstrations, and activities. May 11, 1-4 pm, Port Moody Arts Centre. Free. KARL JENKINS’ THE ARMED MAN: A MASS FOR PEACE A choir of 100 singers performs a work about peace. May 11, 7 pm, Highland United Church. $25. THE COMIC STRIP Standup comedy by Ron Gaudry, KC Novak, and headliner Sophie Buddle. May 11, 9 pm, Tyrant Studios. $18.

SUNDAY, MAY 12 SALUTE TO MOTHERS The Richmond Delta Youth Orchestra performs orchestral classics by Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach. May 12, 2 pm, Minoru Centre for Active Living . Free. JOKES N TOKES COMEDY Comedian An-

Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre) The 22-member Gamelan Gita Asmara brings its otherworldly gongs, metallophones, flutes, and drums to varied repertoire that will transport you to Bali. If you’ve never heard the dazzling gamelan played live, you’re in for a treat.

JACKY ESSOMBE (May 16 at

the Scotiabank Dance Centre) Cameroon-born, Paris-raised Vancouverite Essombe will energize your lunch hour with exuberant dances, live drumming, and singing, first with a noon show, then at 6 p.m. for those who need a similar boost after work. Don’t even try to sit still. g drew Packer hosts a night of weed-oriented standup. May 12, 8 pm, Cannabis Culture Headquarters. $10. CHICKS AT THE MIC Comedy show in support of Classic Chic Theatre Society. May 12, 8 pm, Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Club. $20. FISTFUL OF KICKS: EPIC ANIME IMPROV Asian-Canadian comedians create improvised anime. May 12, 8-9 pm, Havana Theatre. $12. MOTHER’S DAY! WITH THE DIRTY BETTY SHOW! Comedic variety features improv, standup, song parodies, and a live dance off. May 12, 8-10 pm, Café Deux Soleils. $10.

MONDAY, MAY 13 SIRIUSXM TOP COMIC COMPETITION Three nights of uncensored comedy. May 13-15, Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Club. $10. EX MACHINA Standing Wave presents a musical exploration of the intersections between art, music, and technology. May 13, 8-10 pm, Orpheum Annex. $25/15.

TUESDAY, MAY 14 THE FITTING ROOM Play about a griefstricken small town and five people whose lives collide. May 14, 8 pm; May 15, 8 pm; May 16, 8 pm; May 17, 8 pm; May 18, 2 pm; May 18, 8 pm, Havana Theatre. $15-20.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 15 THE VANCOUVER ART GALLERY HELLER LECTURE WITH VIVEK SHRAYA Author and musician speaks to the VAG’s spring presentation, Moving Still: Performative Photography

CANWRITE! 2019 WRITERS CONFERENCE Presentations, panels, and workshops covering poetry, fiction, memoir, book marketing, social media, and publishing. May 16-19, Walter Gage Residence. MATILDA THE MUSICAL The Arts Club Theatre Company presents an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s children’s novel. May 16–Jul 14, Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage. From $39. MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY AT UBC aSHADOWS, STRINGS AND OTHER THINGS: THE ENCHANTING THEATRE OF PUPPETS May 16–Oct 14

FRIDAY, MAY 17 EXPRESSIONS THEATRE FESTIVAL 2019 Arts Umbrella presents a curated selection of theatre and musical-theatre classics. May 17-25, Waterfront Theatre. $12. RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN’S G2K CINDERELLA Rodgers & Hammerstein’s G2K Cinderella May 17-25, Granville Island Stage. $18/28/38/48. A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM William Shakespeare’s romantic romp. May 17-25, 7:3010 pm, Matsqui Centennial Auditorium. $12-25.

SATURDAY, MAY 18 THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM: A TRIUMPHANT NEW BENEFIT AND AWARENESS SHOW Opera Mariposa presents an evening of opera, Broadway, and Disney music for charity! Join award-winning soprano Jacqueline Ko and pianist Karen Shumka for highlights from Hamilton, Wicked, Mulan, Madama Butterfly and more, then indulge at the dessert buffet and enter to win great raffle prizes. Proceeds support the ME|FM Society of BC. May 18, 7:30-9:30 pm, St. Helen’s Anglican Church. $15-25.

SUNDAY, MAY 19 KATE LIU PIANO RECITAL Award-winning pianist makes her Vancouver debut. May 19, 3 pm, Vancouver Playhouse. $15-50. COLIN CARR: THE COMPLETE BACH SUITES Colin Carr appears throughout the world as a soloist, chamber musician, recording artist, and teacher. The Vancouver Chamber Music Society (VCMS) welcomes Colin and his 1730 Matteo Goffriller cello for the most sublime composition ever written for the instrument to finish off the season 2018-19. May 19, 3-6 pm, West Vancouver United Church. $35-45.

THURSDAY, MAY 23 ZIYA TONG An award-winning broadcaster and co-host of Daily Planet, Ziya Tong’s forthcoming book, The Reality Bubble, presents her formidable understanding of the urgent problems confronting our world. May 23, 8 pm, BlueShore Financial Centre for the Performing Arts. $12/10. 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.

Paula Kremer, Artistic Director

SCANDINAVIAN TREASURES

MaY 27 — JuNe 2, 2019 oN GrAnViLlE IsLaNd, vAnCoUvEr

SONGS OF THE NORTH

cHiLdReNsFeStIvAl.cA

SATURDAY MAY 25, 2019 7:30PM Scandinavian Cultural Centre 6540 Thomas St. Burnaby, BC

Tickets: vancouvercantatasingers.com or 604-730-8856

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts. Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien.

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MAY 9 – 16 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 25

MOVIES

Rogen and Theron sell their Long Shot REVIEWS LONG SHOT

Starring Seth Rogen. Rated 14A

d IS LONG SHOT a good movie? Not really. But it is a good movie for this moment. The film’s winning mix of idealism, pragmatism, sexy banter, and gross-out comedy could actually encourage youthful engagement in the political process. Among other small ironies, South African–born Charlize Theron plays Charlotte Field, a U.S. secretary of state considering a run for the top job. Vancouver’s Seth Rogan is Fred Flarsky, a radical journalist hired to punch up Field’s speeches. Turns out

she used to babysit him when they were growing up in D.C. That’s just one of the many implausibles in a tale directed by 50/50’s Jonathan Levine and written by Liz Hannah (The Post) and Dan Sterling (The Daily Show). The jokes land more squarely than do the politics, and the focus remains more on Fred, though the story does make it clear that any woman has to be 10 times sharper, more articulate, and betterlooking than her male counterpart in order to succeed. The endlessly versatile Theron makes that look easy, especially when up against Bob Odenkirk as a doofus ex-TV-star president. But Fred continues to wear pre-adolescent attire and bring his loud, uncompromising politics to state functions.

Also aboard is Sweden’s Alexander Skarsgård, as an unmarried Canadian PM whom everyone deems “just right” for Charlotte, and O’Shea Jackson Jr. as Fred’s best pal. Oddly for lifelong buddies, race and politics have never been discussed, apparently. And it’s hard to reconcile Charlotte’s clearly Democratic environmental agenda with her seemingly Republican president. Anyway, Long Shot is less about improbable White House bedfellows than about bearded hipsters who dare to bat well out of their league— with nudges from a ’90s-nostalgia soundtrack and the odd hit of “molly”. Did I mention that this was mostly shot in Montreal? by Ken Eisner

AN ELEPHANT SITTING STILL Starring Peng Yuchang. In Mandarin, with English subtitles. Rating unavailable

d “WHAT DO people make of things happening to them?” That question, as logistical as it is philosophical, is central to An Elephant Sitting Still, a very prolonged study in modern ennui, enlivened slightly by insights into the crises faced by millennials, not to mention the odd pachyderm. The title refers to a circus animal adolescents here talk about as a symbol of passive resistance, resignation, or—who knows?—inner contentment. They attend a crumbling school in a once-thriving industrial city. A political creed of mass conformity has given way to cutthroat competition, and every interaction is marked by suspicion and one-upsmanship. That’s the world-view expressed by young writer-director Hu Bo, whose characters say things like “life is all about agony.” It’s hard to argue with the evidence here, as middle-agers

figure out how to dump their elderly parents in nursing homes while ignoring teenaged offspring like Wei Bu (Peng Yuchang), an ordinary, mophaired kid who goes on the run after accidentally hurting the school bully while defending a friend. The bully’s older brother, a stoical small-time hood named Yu Cheng (Zhang Yu), should seek revenge but is preoccupied by his own problems, which include sleeping with his best bud’s wife, with disastrous results. Wei Bu would like his sort-of girlfriend (Wang Yuwen) to leave town with him, but she’s having an affair with the school’s married vice-principal, and everyone knows it but our guy. A suicidal pallor hangs over everything like smog, and the director rarely lets colours seep through. No one reads a book or plays the guitar. The film is not without humour or insights, although the fourhour journey is hard to justify. An hour could have been saved simply by cutting out the lighting of cigarettes and following desolate people down dank hallways. The shaggy tale eventually rewards patience with a gently cathartic finish. But that hopefulness is undermined by the knowledge that Hu killed himself at the age of 29, reportedly after arguing with producers over the film’s length. This is the note he left behind, and it makes you think about the limitations of art. by Ken Eisner

JT LEROY

Starring Kristen Stewart. Rated 14A

d THIS TALE of false identity begins in 2001, which may come to be seen as the end of the Enlightenment and the beginning of the Age of Belief. When wars are launched on obvious

lies and TV personalities can pass themselves off as statesmen, how strange is it for an author to claim fiction as memoir, and to hire someone else to play her in public? JT LeRoy nominally stars Kristen Stewart, well-suited to the kind of unformed mask needed by an unstable writer like Laura Albert (Laura Dern), who actually dominates this tale of multiple deceptions. In real life, the author passed herself off as a gender-fluid truck-stop prostitute and teenage drug addict called Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy for a hit book called Sarah, and here is seen running out of ways to evade publishers and journalists. So when husband Geoff (Jim Sturgess) invites sister Savannah Knoop (Stewart) into their San Francisco home, it doesn’t take long to turn her into a fresh beard—albeit one in ostentatious shades, breast bindings, and an Andy Warhol wig. Albert passes herself off as LeRoy’s British assistant—an instant problem for her noisy ego when attention starts going to the enigmatic “author”. Then a European director called Eva (Diane Kruger) latches on to JT romantically, mostly in order to get the film rights to the work. The original story has even more meat on its Freudian bones when you know that Eva is a stand-in for Asia Argento, who played JT’s mother in her own film adaptation of LeRoy’s The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things, and later helped dethrone Harvey Weinstein before getting into #MeToo trouble with one of the boys who played her son. Got all that? Instead of deep-diving into this bizarre house of mirrors, this LeRoy is content to build a tepid finding-your-identity tale. Considering that it was written by Knoop and director Justin Kelly, it’s odd that her character has no more to say at the end than back at the beginning, when the wig did all the work. by Ken Eisner

THE WHITE CROW

Starring Oleg Ivenko. In English, Russian, and French, with English subtitles. Rated PG

VIFF‘18

d THE SUBJECT HERE is Rudolph Nureyev, still the best-known male ballet artist a quarter-century after his death from AIDS–related illness. It’s an ambitious directing effort by Ralph Fiennes, who also plays the dancer’s most important teacher, Alexander Pushkin. The filmmaker’s most difficult choice, surely, was in hiring Oleg Ivenko, a Ukrainian dancer with no acting experience and little resemblance to Nureyev. The movie centres on his dramatic defection to the West in 1961, and its shifting locations require Ivenko to communicate in somewhat halting English. Eventually, you warm to the performance, which must sell the soaring stage leaps while conveying the self-contained arrogance needed to survive an environment that lauded technical excellence while condemning overt individualism. The movie just about pulls that off. The bigger problem is that its script tries to cram in too much of Nureyev’s earlier life, especially when the flashbacks keep going long after the climactic defection occurs. The White Crow tells us less about Rudi’s almost-open orientation than about his long-standing relationships with older women. In particular, he sometimes slept with his mentor’s wife. The beloved teacher died in 1970, and a posthumous portrait in the New York Times included this little fillip: “Pushkin’s wife, Xenia Jurgenson, who was also a former Kirov dancer, would fuss over the young star [Nureyev], bringing him tea and making sure he got enough sleep. Years later, Mr. [Mikhail] Baryshnikov slept on that same couch before his important appearances and was fussed over in the same tender manner.” by Ken Eisner

26 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MAY 9 – 16 / 2019

music

Filthy Friends is a true supergroup by Alexander Varty

t’s all too easy to toss around the term supergroup, and in fact that’s the sixth word in Filthy Friends’ Wikipedia entry. Here, though, the label fits. The original incarnation of the Portland, Oregon, quintet included core members of five of the most influential bands of the late 20th century: Nirvana, R.E.M., Sleater-Kinney, Ministry, and King Crimson. Krist Novoselic and Bill Rieflin have since moved on, but the current version of the band still includes members of Pacific Northwest fan favourites the Fastbacks, the Young Fresh Fellows, and the Minus 5, as well as R.E.M.’s Peter Buck and Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker. Only new drummer Linda Pitmon lacks a substantial rock ’n’ roll pedigree, but she was handpicked by Rieflin to replace him in the drummer’s chair, and the group hasn’t suffered for the switch. Together, Tucker, Buck, Pitmon, Scott McCaughey, and Kurt Bloch have an extensive discography. But it’s not the spilt singles or the gold records that matter here: it’s that Filthy Friends really are friends, and while their new release, Emerald Valley, has a pointed message to put across, they mainly make music for fun. “I think that for us the magic of the band is actually the camaraderie of playing music with your friends, and with other people,” Tucker explains in a telephone conversation from her Portland home. “That’s something that I have discovered is really essential to my mental health, period. The kind of community that I’ve built up around music and friendship when I was a young person is one of the most important things that I’ve done for myself, and I find myself returning

Filthy Friends includes members of the Fastbacks, R.E.M., Sleater-Kinney, the Young Fresh Fellows, and the Minus 5.

to it really gratefully, whenever I get the chance to do it.” That camaraderie is evident in the band’s performance videos. Buck and Bloch have wildly different but utterly compatible guitar styles; think Keith Richards and Mick Taylor, or Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd, for example. McCaughey and Pitmon make for an unflashy but solid rhythm section. And Tucker, nominally the lead singer but also a capable guitarist, is an electric presence at centre stage, with her wideeyed, incantatory delivery. What’s surprising, though, is that

on Emerald Valley the five Friends sometimes sound more “classic” than “indie”, with hints of Brit bluesrock coming to the fore on the title track and more than a little grinding, Stones-y grit powering “The Elliott”. “I’m not sure that’s really a conscious decision,” Tucker says. “I think it’s more that we were just enjoying the alchemy of the music that was coming together kind of naturally. And even when I write songs that are a little bit more punk rock, like ‘Last Chance County’, there is almost like a classic-rock vibe to us all playing together that fleshes out the song in a

way that I think is cool. But the thing I like is that we’re open to any style of song. We like variety, and we all have eclectic tastes.” The classic-rock sound certainly works for the songs on Emerald Valley that variously celebrate, mourn, and analyze the working-class culture that Tucker grew up with in Eugene, Oregon, and Grand Forks, North Dakota, small towns where MAGA–hat wearers outnumber liberal-arts students by a significant majority. The new record is in part a reaction to the 2016 election of Donald Trump, which Tucker says is less

unfathomable than it might seem. “When we’re trying to look at answers for why the election went the way it did…we have to recognize that we really have serious suffering going on in this country,” she explains. “You know, people who are worried about their future, their ability to put food on the table, and that needs to be part of the discussion as well. The kind of have-andhave-not society that we have now has gotten much worse, I think, in my lifetime, and that desperation is fuelling a lot of the turmoil that we’re experiencing.” The singer-guitarist is not without hope, however. On the anthemic protest-rocker “Pipeline”, for instance, she’s been galvanized by how her two children—one in high school, the other slightly younger—and their friends have been responding to the climate crisis. Her son’s girlfriend, she reports, recently helped organize an Extinction Rebellion–like student strike in Portland, and her 11-yearold daughter wants to know what she can do, as well. “They really see the intense effects of climate change and environmental destruction with these fresh eyes,” Tucker says. “So I’m really inspired by that passion, and I guess I’m trying to bring that perspective to the lyrics on this album. “We need to act on that urgency,” she adds, noting that music is a wonderful way to get a message across in a subtle and transformative way. “We can’t just sit back and say ‘Well, there’s nothing we can do,’ because I think that’s suicidal.” g Filthy Friends play the Rickshaw Theatre on Friday (May 10).

Bhad Bhabie’s got something to say d THERE’S ONLY ONE thing that Danielle Bregoli does not want to talk about, her publicist says at the beginning of our call. While her iconic 2016 appearance on Dr. Phil—responsible for spawning the now immortal catchphrase “Cash me outside”— might have launched her into the public eye, Bregoli is keen to show how she’s moved past the heavily memed encounter. No longer the car-stealing, knife-wielding, twerking 13-year-old daughter who tried to frame her mom for a crime, Bregoli has managed to successfully parlay her way into a bona fide hip-hop career. And she’s actually pretty good. After her debut single, “These Heaux” (read: “these hoes”), earned her the accolade of being the youngest female rapper ever to appear on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, she inked a deal with Atlantic Records, released three gold-certified singles, and dropped a 15-track mix tape. In her short time as a performer, she’s already been tapped by the Billboard Music Awards and the iHeart Radio Music Awards for her work. All of which is to say that the 16-year-old is taking her music very seriously. “Usually during the week I’m in sessions six to eight hours a day,” she tells the Georgia Straight on the line from her adopted Los Angeles home. “A rehearsal, or a photo shoot, or filming, or something like that.” For Bregoli, who raps under the stage name Bhad Bhabie, the toughest part has been the need to persuade people that she’s worthy of her musical success. Often pigeonholed by her youth and bad-girl rep, she finds that

some promoters and audiences expect her to be no more than the Dr. Phil caricature—a famous face to front some beats. In reality, Bregoli more than holds her own alongside names like Ty Dolla $ign, Kodak Black, and Lil Yachty—all of whom she counts as friends and collaborators. “People have certain doubts, or they’ll be shocked that I can do regular things sometimes—it’s kind of weird,” she says. “People will be like, ‘This is low-key fire,’ or they’ll be like, ‘Oh, she’s young, I can’t say anything about that.’ And I’m like, ‘What? Just because I’m young you can’t comment on my music?’ I mean, some people will give me more tips with things, or they’ll be a little bit easy on me. But then sometimes, they’ll just do the, like, ‘She’s young, she can’t do nothing.’ Get out of here.” Bregoli has grown both personally and musically since 2016. Toning down the outrageous behaviour of her preteen years, she believes that people often make the assumption that she’s still just as bad—even though, by her own admission, “I’m not usually like that.” Instead, she’s putting her energy into developing her talents: her instantly recognizable voice and—despite titles like “Hi Bich” and “Gucci Flip Flops”—often insightful rhymes. “I think my music is, like, so much differently,” she says of how she’s progressed since she started her career. “It sounds so much differently. When I was young I didn’t really know how to record that well. I was just, like, trying to get the lyrics out. It wasn’t, like, the sound I was worried about. Which sounds kind of dumb, but

Don’t ask Danielle Bregoli (also known as Bhad Bhabie) about that Dr. Phil episode.

that was kind of like my mindset. But yeah, it’s definitely different now—I’m now more worried about my sound. “I want to be the person who proved everyone wrong,” she continues. “ ’Cause everyone always swore I was going to be this little 15-minute-offame lil’ bitch that was going to come and go, and I’m here. I keep doing great things, and I’m not going nowhere.”

by Kate Wilson

Bhad Bhabie plays Venue on Friday (May 10).

THE JAPANESE HOUSE IS NOT HUNG UP ON PRIVACY d THE IMMEDIATELY STRIKING thing about the Japanese House’s debut full-length, Good at Falling, is the way singer-songwriter Amber Bain isn’t shy about pulling back the curtain on her private life. With lyrics that manage to

be profoundly sad and yet at times brilliantly funny, the English singer tackles everything from the fear of dying to soul-sucking depression to the selfloathing that comes from having five too many drinks the night before. As her career takes off, Bain is in the weird position of having turned her life into an open book—something entirely unexpected, considering the way her one-woman project the Japanese House started out shrouded in mystery. Those who’ve been following the 23-year-old since she began making EPs as a teenager will recall early speculation that Bain was actually Matty Healy of the 1975, working on a side project under a pseudonym. Today, she’s happy the record’s being set straight. And she’s okay with being prodded for the back story to “Maybe You’re the Reason” lyrics like “I turned my gaze to the ceiling/Thanked a God I don’t believe in” and “I think I’m dying/’Cause this can’t be living.” “I honestly don’t know what it is, but I’ve lost all sense of privacy,” Bain says, on the line from a Kansas City tour stop. “That’s not really something that I desire. But still, I’m becoming a very open person in my personal life. I’ll talk about pretty much anything— I just really don’t have a filter. And maybe that’s a good thing. When I write a diary, I’m thinking, ‘This is going to be read someday, and that kind of excites me.’ ” A large part of the thrill, she admits, is being able to connect with others who’ve fallen for her chilled-out, synth-saturated mix of downtempo electronica, sun-flooded MOR, and breathy dream pop.

That Good at Falling is as quietly celebratory musically as it is downbeat lyrically isn’t an accident. Like, well, pretty much all of us, Bain has learned during her time on Earth that everything isn’t always double rainbows and winning lottery tickets. To get to a point where you can enjoy the good days, you have to develop coping strategies for the bad ones. Music can be great on that front, as anyone who’s ever found solace in the beautiful misery of the Smiths, Joy Division, or every emo act from the early ’00s knows. With Good at Falling, Bain serves notice that she gets the joke, even when it can be hard to laugh. “The good thing about writing about all these emotions is that you get to find out there are all these other fuckers who have felt the same way,” she says appreciatively. “In the same way that what I’ve written is helpful to them, it’s also been good for me. I get to go ‘What’s happened to all of them is what’s also happened to me.’ Talking about whatever it is that’s bothering you is always a good thing. Even if it gets you in trouble, the positives outweigh the negatives.” If those sound like the words of someone who bottled things up for years before finally agreeing to try therapy, it’s no coincidence. Bain decided to get on the couch while she was working on Good at Falling, and reveals that the process opened some doors. She’s glad about that, even if it means everyone gets to see what’s going on inside. “It’s probably been really fucking annoying for everyone around me, because I’m always prattling on about see next page

MAY 9 – 16 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 27

Music

from previous page

myself,” she says with another laugh. “I don’t totally know how I feel about therapy. I have a very logical brain, so I like to be able to measure exactly what is helping, and therapy is an immeasurable thing. But I know that it makes c TWENTY ONE PILOTS (May 12 at Rogers Arena) Imagine me understand my own songs more. being the two guys (Nick I don’t always know what I’m writing Thomas and Chris Salih) who when it comes out, but afterwards, quit Twenty One Pilots right when I look at the songs, I’m happy before the alt-rock hip-hop duo that I get to go ‘Oh—this is how I feel.’” exploded into Ohio’s biggest

TIP SHEET

by Mike Usinger

The Japanese House plays Fortune Sound Club on Thursday (May 9).

COOPER EXPANDS HORIZONS BEYOND NASHVILLE COUNTRY d NASHVILLE-BASED Liz Cooper & the Stampede took over four years to follow up a debut EP, Monsters, with last summer’s impressively accomplished full-length Window Flowers—the musical differences on the two releases dramatic. When she first hit the studio in 2014 armed with a batch of songs she’d woodshedded with players around Nashville, the Baltimore-raised singer sounded perfectly at home under the umbrella of folk-based Americana. A former golf prodigy who decided that music was her true passion, Cooper moved to Nashville at the beginning of the decade. Immersing herself in songwriting, she hooked up with a friend of a friend of her dad’s who was happy to provide some guidance. “She was a songwriter living in Nashville who was kind enough to listen to the songs that I had,” she recalls, on the line from an Austin, Texas, tour stop. “That got me learning from people that were more in the country world, so that’s what I sort of started to become familiar with. But the more I learned about Music Row, the more I was like, ‘I never really grew up with listening to country music, so why do I want to make country music?’ Through trial and error, I started to figure out what I really enjoyed.” Window Flowers isn’t entirely de-

export since the Black Keys.

c SNOW PATROL (May 13 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre) Veteran Irish (via Scotland) quintet Snow Patrol headlines storied venues like the O2 and Wembley Arena back home, which means the band will look at the Queen E as the equivalent of a 100-capacity club. c LAURA STEVENSON (May 14 at the Biltmore) Pitchfork gave the indie-folk Long Island singer-songwriter’s fifth album, The Big Freeze, a 7.4. Don’t hold that against her. Her emotionally resonant songs make everything better no matter how bad things really are. c NEIL YOUNG (May 14 and 15 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre) “Cortez the Killer”. “Cowgirl in the Sand”. “Harvest Moon”. “Powderfinger”. “Rockin’ in the Free World”. And we could go on. And on. And on.

void of the country flourishes that marked Liz Cooper & the Stampede’s early material, with standouts like “Outer Space” flared with deserttwang guitars. But overall, the fulllength suggests Cooper was eager to expand her boundaries as a songwriter. The album draws on everything from dime-a-dance retro jazz (“Lights”) to bright-eyed garage (“Hey Man”). What you get is a record you might expect from someone raised in a no-boundaries household where Neil Young and the Ramones got as much airtime as the giants of classical music and ’60s rock.

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Liz Cooper & the Stampede play the Biltmore Cabaret next Thursday (May 16).

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Noticeably, especially when compared with Monsters, Window Flowers also establishes Cooper as something of an emerging guitar hero. The impressive thing is she only started playing electric a few years back. “Part of it has been just a lot of practice—I’ve learned from playing a lot,” Cooper says. “But I’m also lucky enough that I have the kind of ear where I can translate what I hear when I sit down with a guitar. I don’t know why I’m able to play the way that I can, but I’m excited to see the way that my playing is going to develop.” Her blossoming confidence led to a willingness to experiment when the tape was rolling for Window Flowers. Indeed, it’s often the little moments that stand out, whether it’s the Technicolor strings in the deliriously woozy “Motions”, the pillowsoft piano in the slow-dance delight “The Night”, or the extended stunguitar salvos, well, everywhere. Just as important to the way the record turned out was Cooper’s decision to embrace Nashville as her home. That’s included finding herself Stampede bandmates (bassist Grant Prettyman and drummer Ryan Usher) who’ve become trusted friends, as well as realizing sometimes you’ll find talent where you least expect it. Nashville is recognized as the official home of commercial country, but Cooper has discovered it’s a gateway to so much more if you expand your horizons. “On ‘Motions’ and ‘The Night’ I knew I wanted strings, and I had an idea of the melody that I was after,” she says. “Emily Kohavi played strings on the record. She was my Lyft driver—one night we started talking and she was telling me about herself, and I was like, ‘We’re about to go into the studio.’ She sent me some of her stuff and it was really good. So she came in and did an amazing job. She’s someone who knew exactly what to do, and that made things so much better than what I was imagining.”

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28 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MAY 9 – 16 / 2019

MUSIC LISTINGS

CONCERTS JUST ANNOUNCED ROEDDE HOUSE JAZZ SERIES Andrew Nemr, tap dance; Dan Reynolds, piano; and Steve Smith, bass. May 9, 7-9 pm, Roedde House Museum. $15 adults / $12. LULU AND HER MAN R&B, reggae, show tunes, pop, and Western. May 10, 8-11 pm, Billy Bishop Legion. Free. MAYA RAE & TERMINAL STATION Local jazz vocalist and blues-rock band play a twonight double bill. May 10-11, 8 pm, Frankie’s Jazz Club. $17.50. ALFIE ZAPPACOSTA Juno-winning pop singer-songwriter from the ’80s. May 11, 7 pm, Blue Frog Studios. $49.50. JAZZ AND STRINGS: SURREY CITY ORCHESTRA FEATURING THE MILES BLACK TRIO Surrey City Orchestra presents, Jazz and Strings - An evening of jazz and movie music, featuring the Miles Black Trio, and led by music director Stuart Martin with the strings of the Surrey City Orchestra and guest singer Julia Copeman-Haynes. May 11, 7:30 pm, Bell Centre for Performing Arts. 35-45. LES ÉCHOS DU PACIFIQUE A selection of foot-stomping tunes, old and new, from across Canada. May 11, 7:30-8:45 pm, St Laurence Anglican Church. $15/10. GAMELAN GITA ASMARA: VIBRASI BALI Traditional and contemporary music of Bali. May 11, 8 pm, Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre. $5-20. ELTON JOHN TRIBUTE NIGHT Featuring Chris Ho, Rumour Mill, Fawkes & Hownd & Scribbly Doodle. May 11, 8 pm, The Avant Garden. $8 advanced/$10 door. SOFTNESS Experimental electronic and electro-acoustic performances as part of the Vancouver Low Frequency Festival. May 11-12, 8 pm–2 am, The James Black Gallery. $20. WANDA JACKSON NIGHT Monthly residency celebrating the Queen of Rockabilly. May 14, 8-11 pm, WISE Hall. $10. THE WHEELGRINDERS Local rockabilly trio, with guests the Alimony Brothers and Kelly Haigh. May 17, 8 pm, Railway Stage and Beer Café. $10/13. RAINCITY Local funk-rock soul band, with guests Apollo Suns and Sleepy Gonzalez. May 18, 8-11:55 pm, WISE Hall. $15/20. NEXT MUSIC FROM TOKYO VOL. 14 Japanese indie/underground music. May 20, 7 pm, Biltmore Cabaret. $15/25. THE KINGSTON TRIO Influential folk group plays two nights. May 21-22, Blue Frog Studios. $54. MIKE EDEL Album release, with guests Glass Forest and Wild Romantics. May 23, 8-11:30 pm, WISE Hall. $12. NO QUARTER Local quartet performs British blues-rock with a special dedication to Led Zeppelin. May 24, 8 pm, Railway Stage and Beer Café. $10. THE SQUARES PRESENT: HARMONIZING IN THE KEY OF “EH?” Traditional Canadian folk songs in the barbershop style. May 25, 1:30-4 pm, WISE Hall. $10-20. HARD RUBBER ORCHESTRA WITH NEW YORK HEAVIES New works by Canadian composers Darcy James Argue and Harry Stafylakis. May 25, 8-10:30 pm, Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre. $25/15. REDWOODS ALBUM RELEASE Redwoods release their debut album Daybreaker. Jun 1, 8 pm, Railway Stage and Beer Café. $10. SONGS ON THE WATER Performances by Melanie Dekker, Yvonne McSkimming, and Mark James Fortin, with proceeds to Autism Community Training. Jun 4, 6 pm, Vancouver Rowing Club. $50. MICHAEL BERNARD FITZGERALD & JJ SHIPLETT Canadian singer-songwriters share a double bill. Jun 6, 8 pm, WISE Hall. $20. THE UNKNOWN SOLDIERS Doors tribute band, with guests the Eleven Twelves. Jun 8, 8 pm, Railway Stage and Beer Café. $10. THE GATHERING Vancouver synth-pop postpunk band. Jun 14, 8:30 pm, Rickshaw Theatre. $10. BREAKOUT FESTIVAL Jun 15-16, 3-10 pm, PNE Amphitheatre. Single-day tix on sale May 3, noon, $99-149. HAR MAR SUPERSTAR American soul/pop artist. Jun 20, 8 pm, Rickshaw Theatre. $15. SLAPSHOCK CANADA TOUR 2019 Filipino rock/metal. Jul 6, 6:30 pm, Rickshaw Theatre. $50/55/65. KIEFER SUTHERLAND Canadian actor and singer-songwriter. Jul 10, 8:30 pm, Commodore

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A lbum OF THE WEEK ANNETTE DUCHARME WRECK•AGE d IT’S NOT EXACTLY easy to get a handle on what sort of artist Annette Ducharme wants to be. As a songwriter in the early ’90s, she penned hits for Cancon heavyweights like Lawrence Gowan and Tom Cochrane. Later that decade, she transformed herself into an edgy alt-rocker— fire up the video for “Tortured” if you’re looking for something that would sound perfect sandwiched between Curve’s “Fait Accompli” and Garbage’s “Only Happy When It Rains” on that millennial-angst playlist. More recently, Ducharme has been belting out arias by Verdi and Donizetti with Opera Pro Cantanti. Wreck•Age doesn’t really sound like any of the above.

Rather, it’s an immaculately crafted collection of songs that tend to fall squarely into the adultcontemporary category. There are occasional excursions elsewhere: “Murder” is an ill-advised attempt to rewrite Fiona Apple’s “Criminal”. “Apocalips”, meanwhile, proves conclusively that, as talented as she may be on the microphone, Ducharme has no business trying to rap, ever— although we can probably forgive her because the song’s chorus is deliciously clever: “I want to kiss your apocalips/I want to taste the end of the world/On the tip of your tongue.” Overall, Wreck•Age is a solid effort that will leave you wondering what Ducharme has in store next. (Here’s hoping it’s not a hip-hop mix tape.) by John Lucas

Ballroom. Tix on sale May 1, 10 am, $39.50/fourpacks $140.

SUNDAY, MAY 12

DEERHUNTER Rock band from Atlanta, with guest Cate Le Bon. Jul 15, 9 pm, Commodore Ballroom. Tix on sale May 3, 10 am, $35.

RODRIGUEZ: CANCELLED Singer-songwriter from Detroit. May 12, 8 pm, Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Refunds available at point of purchase.

RHYE R&B project of Canadian singer Mike Milosh. Sep 23, Vogue Theatre. Tix on sale May 10, 10 am, $34.50.

MONDAY, MAY 13

MATTHEW AND THE ATLAS English alt-folk band. Sep 25, 9 pm, Biltmore Cabaret. Tix on sale May 3, 10 am, $15. CROOKED COLOURS Electronic-music trio from Australia. Oct 3, 9 pm, Commodore Ballroom. Tix on sale May 10, 10 am, $22.50-27.50. NICK CAVE Australian musician, singersongwriter. Oct 10, Massey Theatre. THE JONAS BROTHERS American pop band featuring Nick, Joe, and Kevin Jonas, with guests Bebe Rexha and Jordan McGraw. Oct 11, 7:30 pm, Rogers Arena. Tix on sale May 10, 10 am.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 8 PHILOSOPHER KINGS Nineties pop band from Ontario. May 8, 9 pm, Imperial Vancouver. $30.

THURSDAY, MAY 9 FM-84 Eighties-inspired cinematic synthpop. May 9, Biltmore Cabaret. $19.99. CARMEN IN NEW YORK All 12 movements of Bizet’s orchestral suite reimagined for modern jazz orchestra. May 9, 8 pm, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. $20/17. 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. SHANNON SHAW Vocalist, bassist, and founder of Shannon & the Clams. May 9, 9 pm, Fox Cabaret. $15.

TUESDAY, MAY 14 NEIL YOUNG Canadian rock legend performs a solo show, with guest Elvis Costello. May 14-15, Queen Elizabeth Theatre. $75. LAURA STEVENSON Folk-rock singer-songwriter from Long Island, New York. May 14, 7 pm, Biltmore Cabaret. $14.99/$19.99.

Not dreaming of you

WEDNESDAY, MAY 15

Homebody

THOMAS RHETT May 15, 7 pm, Rogers Arena. Tix at www.livenation.com/. SUPERSUCKERS Rockers from Tucson, Arizona. May 15, 8 pm, Rickshaw Theatre. $20.

THURSDAY, MAY 16 LIZ COOPER & THE STAMPEDE Psychedelic folk-rock band from Nashville, with guests Briston Maroney and Em Chambers. May 16, Biltmore Cabaret. $15.

FRIDAY, MAY 10 FILTHY FRIENDS American rock supergroup fronted by Corin Tucker (of Sleater-Kinney) and guitarist Peter Buck (ex-R.E.M.), with guests Eyelids. May 10, Rickshaw Theatre. BRUNO MAJOR R&B singer-songwriter from London, England. May 10, 9 pm, Imperial Vancouver. $18.

SATURDAY, MAY 11 OMAR APOLLO Chicano singer-songwriter from Indiana, with guests Ambar Lucid. May 11, Biltmore Cabaret.

I wish I could find a woman who didn’t always want to go out and do stuff. Most times I just want to chill out in my apartment and do nothing. I mean, really literally just laze around doing nothing. Staring out the window, at the ceiling, books, YouTube, etc. I realize this isn’t very attractive to a lot of women. They seem to like adventure, ... (con’t @straight.com)

Somehow...

FRIDAY, MAY 17

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MOGLI Singer-songwriter, actor, fashion designer, and activist. May 19, Biltmore Cabaret. ORVILLE PECK Canadian psychedelic outlawcowboy crooner. May 19, 8 pm, WISE Hall. $12.

MONDAY, MAY 20 JENNY LEWIS American indie-rock/altcountry singer-songwriter. May 20, 8 pm, Commodore Ballroom. Tix $39.50. MUSIC LISTINGSare 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.

I know it isn’t much, but my yearly rent increase might just be the last straw. I barely manage to stay afloat and now the noose gets a tiny bit tighter.

Not much else to say But hipster restaurants here are the worst. I don’t care if you have homemade ketchup.

Not In My Backyard My family members think that there’s “no other way” for Canada and the pipeline. I pointed at the lake that they get their drinking water from and asked how they’d feel if it was polluted with oil.

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I’m in a relationship and everytime I have a sex dream about someone I know, man, do I ever feel guilty.

JULIA JACKLIN Australian art-pop/indie-folk singer-songwriter, with guests Black Belt Eagle Scout. May 17, Fox Cabaret.

SUNDAY, MAY 19

THE TEA PARTY Canadian power trio. May 9-10, 9 pm, Commodore Ballroom. Tix $45.

Scan to confess

COCO MONTOYA BAND The Canadian Pacific Blues Society presents blues-rocker from the States, with guests the Brandon Isaak Trio. May 13, 7 pm, Rio Theatre. $35/40.

THE LEMONHEADS Indie-rockers from the States, with guest Tommy Stinson. May 18, 9 pm, Rickshaw Theatre. $25.

THE JAPANESE HOUSE May 9, 9 pm, Fortune Sound Club. $18.

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.

WWW.STEAM1.COM Stay connected @GeorgiaStraight

New Westminster • 430 Columbia Street MAY 9 – 16 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT 29

MAY 9 – 16 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 29

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Do not give in to your clitful thinking by Dan Savage

b I’M A 43-year-old straight woman, and I spent the majority of my 30s celibate. At 40, I realized that while I wasn’t interested in dating, I was tired of my vibrator. I also realized that it was time to go forth and fuck with the body I had instead of waiting for the idealized body I was going to have someday. Over the past three years— despite being as fat as ever—I’ve consistently had fun, satisfying, exciting, creative, sometimes weird, occasionally scary, but mostly awesome sex. One guy I met on Craigslist was particularly great: awesome kisser, amazing dick. He came over, we fucked, it was excellent, we chatted, he left. This happened about four times. And then CL shut down the personals section. The only contact info I have for the guy is the anonymous CL address, and it no longer works. He has my Gmail address (the one I use for dating sites), but he has not emailed me. I’m not a crazy stalker (I swear!), but he once told me he teaches at a university in our area, and I managed to find his photo and contact info on the school website. So I know how to reach him—but that’s a spectacularly bad idea, right? Unless you think it isn’t? If a dude I’d fucked a few times tracked me down at my job, I would freak out. But I keep thinking: Would it really be SUCH a bad idea to send him ONE email? Should I just accept that it was great while it lasted? Or should I email him and run the risk of pissing off/freaking out a nice guy?

that thing you wouldn’t want some dude to do to you, that thing you were probably hoping I’d give you permission to do. That thing? Don’t do it. You’re engaged in what’s called “dickful thinking” when guys do it—at least that’s what I call it, CREEP. It’s like wishful thinking, but with dicks. Men convince themselves of something improbable (“I bet she’s one of those women who like unsolicited dick pics!”) or unlikely (“Showing up at her workplace will convince her to take me back!”) because it’s what they want. Think of all the guys you’ve ever known who said, “She wants me!” when in reality he was the one who wanted her. Clitful thinking may be rarer than dickful thinking—women being less likely to think with their genitals and/or being more risk-averse due to socialization, slut-shaming, and the ever-present threat of gendered violence—but it’s not unheard-of for a woman to rationalize unacceptable behaviour (contacting this man at work) or deploy a self-serving justification (it’s just ONE email) or solicit a “You go, girl!” from a sex-advice columnist when what she needs to hear is “Hell no, girl!” Again, don’t do it. Th is guy has your email address and he knows how to reach you. And since you didn’t have all that fun, satisfying, exciting, creative sex over the last few years with only him, - Can Really Envision Every Possibility CREEP, I shouldn’t have to tell you to focus on your other opDon’t do it, CREEP—don’t do that tions. But since your clit is doing thing you already know you shouldn’t, your thinking for you right now,

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for being able to think clearly even when your dick is hard—even when it’s buried in some hot guy—but I have to fault you for not reasoning your way to the obvious answer. You’re a white guy who doesn’t feel comfortable calling a black sex partner “boy”, which is usually what gay guys who call older partners “daddy” want to hear. But instead of asking the black guys you’re fucking what they want to be called, DURR, you opted to ask some other old white dude what he thinks the black guys you’re fucking might want to be called. Do you see the problem here? The guys you should be asking about this…are the guys you’re fucking. And you don’t even have to call a halt to the action in order to ask them! Next time you’re balls-deep in some hot guy and he says, “Fuck me, daddy,” growl and say, “That’s right, I’m your daddy—and what are you?” If he says, “I’m your boy,” then that’s obviously what he wants to be called. g

Good for you

On the Lovecast, is it time for a gay homeland? Listen at savagelovecast.com. Email: mail@savagelove.net. Follow Dan on Twitter @fakedansavage. ITMFA.org.

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I must: Leave this dude alone and go of the roughly four billion other men fuck some other dudes. on the planet and not a coworker? I don’t mean to be cruel, WORK, I b I HAVE A desperate question for just want to stop you from doing someyou. I’ve worked with a vivacious thing that could get you fired or screw 30-year-old for five years. For three- up what has, up to now, been a pleasant and-a-half years, she had a live-in work relationship. While kindness can boyfriend. She had a different boy- sometimes signal romantic interest, friend recently. I’m 58 years old the full weight of the evidence here— and not good-looking. She is always including the fact that she didn’t send sweet to me and always compliments an unambiguous signal when she was me. She’s said that I’m a genius and briefly single—indicates otherwise. a gentleman, that I’m a hoot, and that I have a confident walk. I’ve b I’M A CIS, white, gay male—partalso overheard her say that she likes nered 15 years, monogamous for the older men. However, a few months first 14. About a year ago, my partago she walked up to me out of the ner agreed to let me play on my own blue and said that she just wants pla- outside of the relationship. The rules: tonic relationships with coworkers. not when he’s in town, no one comes Then I overheard her say to another home, no regulars. I’ve taken good coworker: “I put out a sign, he will care of myself (sexual frustration + figure it out eventually.” But which gym)—and at 50, I find that I’m atsign did she mean? The “platonic” tracting guys half my age. Sometimes, in the heat of passion, they call me thing or the constant kindness? - Wondering On Reciprocated Kindnesses “daddy”. This took a LOT of getting used to, but am I going to stop what This probably isn’t what you wanted to we’re doing to discuss nomenclature? hear either, WORK, but this woman Anyway, I refuse to call them “son”, isn’t interested in you—and if you because I find that creepy. “Baby” weren’t engaged in dickful thinking, doesn’t really work for me either—it’s you’d know that. But your dick has what I call my partner. That leaves somehow managed to convince you “boy”. Which is fine if they’re white. that you’re the “he” she was refer- The problem is, some of the jaw-dropring to when she talked about send- pers calling me “daddy” have been ing someone a sign. But you need to black. And I absolutely refuse to call ask yourself—and it’s best to ask right a black guy “boy”. I want to leave after you masturbate, as that’s when them feeling amazing, not broodwe’re least prone to dickful thinking on race relations and power iming—which is likelier: she went out of balances. So what does a beautiful, her way to let you know she’s not in- dark-skinned, daddy-loving young terested in dating anyone at work and man want to be called by the older you’re the “he” she was referring to, or white guy pounding him? the “he” she was referring to was one - Daddy’s Uncomfortable Race Relations

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32 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MAY 9 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 16 / 2019