FREE | OCTOBER 24 – 31 / 2019
Volume 53 | Number 2701
ZIYA TONG
Reality isn’t always what it seems
LIVING DEAD
Zombies invade the Cinematheque
BANGARRA DANCE Indigenous Spirit on-stage
Urban Living
Design expert Alison Mazurek shares her spacesavvy tricks for raising two kids in 600 square feet
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OCTOBER 24 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 31 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 3
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COVER
Blogger Alison Mazurek has a lot of neat tricks for raising a family of four in a one-bedroom apartment.
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CONTENTS
5
NEWS
Former MP Svend Robinson wants the NDP caucus to try to thwart the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. By Carlito Pablo
6
FEATURE
Author and science journalist Ziya Tong argues that limits to human perception make us blind to certain realities.
FRIGHT NIGHTS WHERE SCREAMS COME TRUE
By Charlie Smith
11
ARTS
Star countertenor Iestyn Davies weighs in on music history, Michael Nyman, and more as Modulus kicks off. By Alexander Varty
24 MUSIC
Australian DJ Benjamin Plant didn’t like the way music was changing, so he started a band and moved to L.A. By Mike Usinger
e Start Here 20 ARTS HOT TICKET 6 BOOKS 23 THE BOTTLE 21 CONFESSIONS 22 FOOD 9 HOROSCOPES 23 I SAW YOU 21 MOVIE REVIEWS 18 MUSIC 27 SAVAGE LOVE 15 THEATRE
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Here’s what people are reading this week on Straight.com.
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Justin Trudeau interrupts Andrew Scheer’s speech. Tribunal dismisses man’s claim of right to barbecue in winter. Jody Wilson-Raybould and other Vancouver incumbents reelected. Patti Bacchus: The Scholastic book fair problem. Woman, 37, found dead in Burnaby’s Central Park.
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4 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT OCTOBER 24 – 31 / 2019
ELECTION
NDP pressured to veto pipeline project
P
by Carlito Pablo
oliticians often talk about the urgent need for bold action on the climate crisis gripping the planet. New Democrats, led by Jagmeet Singh, now have an excellent opportunity to take such action. Handed a chance by voters to hold the balance of power in a Liberal minority government, the NDP can demand as its price the scrapping of the $9.3-billion Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion project. Svend Robinson expressed such a wish as he joined New Democrats at their victory party at the Hilton Vancouver Metrotown hotel on election night Monday (October 21). “My hope is that the NDP caucus will, in fact, make it very clear that we are not prepared to support a government that tries to push through the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion,” Robinson told the Georgia Straight. The voice of the former longtime MP will be absent from that caucus following his election-night loss in Burnaby North–Seymour, where the pipeline originating from Alberta ends. According to Robinson, stopping the Trans Mountain expansion should make or break the deal for New Democrats. Carbon emissions from human activities, including the use of fossil fuels like oil, contribute to global warming. Based on estimates, emissions associated with the Trans Mountain expansion will exceed those produced by the entire province of B.C. According to provincial figures, B.C. generated 64.5 million tonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalent in 2017. Emissions from downstream activities related to Trans Mountain, like refining, distribution, and retailing of petroleum products, are projected at 71.1 million tonnes per year.
Jagmeet Singh says the NDP would back a ruling party that will lower emissions.
The estimate was made by SFU professor Mark Jaccard and was submitted as evidence by the City of Vancouver to the National Energy Board. In addition, the city told the NEB that the project will generate annual carbon emissions of about 7.7 million tonnes from upstream activities such as exploration and production. Singh has said that he opposes the pipeline expansion. In the closing days of the campaign, Singh laid down six conditions for supporting a party in a minority government. One of the conditions is a commitment to reduce emissions. On election night, the Straight asked reelected NDP Vancouver East MP Jenny Kwan how important Trans Mountain is in securing her party’s support for a Liberal minority government. Kwan did not address the pipeline matter directly, saying only that the “issue around climate action is very real”. “We need to ensure that we take action to address the climate emergency,” Kwan told the Straight. Peter McCartney, a climate campaigner with the environmental group the Wilderness Committee, shares Robinson’s wish. “It’s very
clear that Canadians have spoken in favour of bold climate action, and bold climate action does not include pipelines,” McCartney told the Straight by phone. The NDP won 24 seats in the election, enough to sustain a minority government. Liberals earned 157 seats, which is 13 short of a majority. Rita Wong was sentenced to almost a month in jail for protesting outside the pipeline’s Westridge Terminal in Burnaby in violation of a court injunction. Wong, who is a poet and a professor at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, also wants to see the pipeline expansion project scrapped in a deal to be struck by New Democrats. “I would support that as a condition of an agreement, but I don’t know what the prospects of that are,” Wong told the Straight by phone. Justin Trudeau has approved the pipeline expansion twice. In 2018, his government bought the pipeline for $4.5 billion from the Canadian subsidiary of Texas-based company Kinder Morgan. Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, has been one of the most vocal opponents of the pipeline project. “I would imagine that a LiberalNDP coalition will offer opportunities to continue our struggle to ensure that the Salish Sea and orcas and wild salmon and our rivers and whatnot are protected from catastrophic oil spills and tanker spills,” Phillip told the Straight by phone. As to whether New Democrats should demand the scrapping of the project, Phillip said that “time will tell how that card is played.” “It’s going to be up to Jagmeet Singh and his team to, you know, finesse the issue,” Phillip said. g
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OCTOBER 24 – 31 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 5
BOOKS
Tong takes on illusions and blind spots
S
by Charlie Smith
Store co-founder Bruce Smyth and his partner Jim Deva rst opened Little Sister’s upstairs in an old residential house at 1221 Thurlow Street in April 1983, before moving to their current location in the 90’s. Since opening their doors, Little Sister’s has championed queer voices and created a community gathering place while surviving years of government harassment as they challenged censorship and survived three anti-gay terrorist bombings. In 2016 Don Wilson took over the iconic store, and continues the tradition of maintaining a great selection of queer books for all ages, vital coming out info, sex advice, hot erotica, queer art, fun clothing, quality adult toys and supplies.
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cience journalist and author Ziya Tong clearly recognizes that human beings are an incredibly intelligent species. But because of the way we’re built biologically, we have some fundamental blind spots that leave us vulnerable. Human beings can’t see like birds, can’t smell like dogs, and can’t match a bat’s ability to sense sound vibrations. The former long-time host of the Daily Planet TV program decided to explore the consequences of human beings’ natural limitations in her first book, The Reality Bubble: Blind Spots, Hidden Truths, and the Dangerous Illusions That Shape Our World, which was published earlier this year. “One of the things I noticed is scientists are able to see things that are invisible to the naked eye—that the average human being can’t see,” the Vancouver-raised Tong explains over the phone from her home in Toronto. “Whether it’s imagining black holes or whether it’s…atomic structures, they see a world that most of us are not privy to.” The book opens with Buckminster Fuller’s quote that “humans have learned that what they can touch, smell, see, and hear is less than onemillionth of reality.” Over the years, she’s interviewed scientists from a variety of fields with different windows into the truth. “They’re all seeing it slightly different,” Tong notes. “It’s almost like a pixilated world-view. So I wanted to put some of these images together to form a bigger picture.” She believes that a person’s perspective can really change once they realize there’s a great deal out there that cannot be observed by the naked eye. “To see the world clearly, we must first become aware of the veil; we must recognize our blind spots,” Tong advises readers in the book. “The way we’ve come to perceive reality is so deeply ingrained, so socially and intergenerationally enrooted, that we’ve lost sight of the manner in which we think. This is important, because what we think creates reality. “Clock time, with the five-day workweek and the nine to five of the ‘real’ world, exists not because of some cosmic temporal order but because we invented it, we maintain it,
The Reality Bubble author Ziya Tong admires badass rebels like Galileo.
One of the things I noticed is scientists are able to see things that are invisible to the naked eye. – Ziya Tong
and it’s become the reality we adhere to,” she continues in the book. “Inheriting a reality makes it that much harder to see it for what it is.” There’s a reason why Tong focused so much attention in her book on the father of modern science, Galileo Galilei, and the father of microscopy, Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek. It’s not only because they exposed previously unknown realities: the very nature of the solar system and the existence of microbes. “The other reason I picked them is because they’re badass rebels,” Tong declares. They weren’t afraid to tell people what they could clearly observe. And they didn’t hesitate to challenge others over their denials of
realities they had uncovered. Galileo was viciously persecuted by the Catholic Church and van Leeuwenhoek was called a charlatan. In this regard, Tong sees parallels between these two scientific trailblazers and Greta Thunberg, the blunt-speaking teenage climate activist from Sweden. “I found them to be inspiring figures, a lot like Greta,” she says. Even though The Reality Bubble is not a book about the environment— it’s more about the history of science and the rise of machine learning—it’s hard not to look upon it as a warning to those denying the existence of a potential planetary apocalypse. Take species extinction, for example. Tong is vice-chair of the World Wildlife Fund, which has reported that almost 67 percent of vertebrate species that existed in 1970 will have vanished by 2020. “That’s staggering,” she says. “It’s more than half of vertebrate wildlife in my lifetime.” Tong acknowledges that many people remain unaware of the extent of this annihilation of animals because they don’t see it. She also says she understands why people choose to look away from catastrophes when they’re trying to survive the rat race of daily living. “But at the end of the day, there is a bigger-picture version of selfpreservation that we all have to get onboard with,” Tong emphasizes. For that reason, she’s an unabashed supporter of Extinction Rebellion, which engages in peaceful civil disobedience in several countries to raise the alarm about the climate crisis. One of her greatest inspirations has been primatologist Jane Goodall, who sent a postcard to her as a young woman, encouraging her to pursue her dreams. “It’s really been a very beautiful full-circle moment to be able to follow in her footsteps and continue championing her work for the world,” Tong says. “I believe also when you fall in love with the world, you’ll fight to protect it.” g Ziya Tong will speak at the Vancouver Playhouse next Monday (November 4) as part of the UBC Connects series presented by UBC president and vice-chancellor Santa Ono. For information, visit events. ubc.ca/ziya-tong/.
Author examines Taiwanese identity
A
by Charlie Smith
6 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT OCTOBER 24 – 31 / 2019
search for a stolen bicycle may simply be a hunt for a lost object, or it could be seen as an allegory of the 400-year history of colonialism in Taiwan. The author of The Stolen Bicycle, which was longlisted for the Man Booker International Prize in 2018, tells the Straight by phone from his home in Taipei that he wants readers to make up their own mind. Wu Ming-Yi is not interested in controlling how they interpret his book. But through a translator, he says that Taiwan is already an independent nation and it’s time that the global community woke up to this fact. And he wasn’t impressed that the Booker Prize Foundation first identified him as being from the “country” of Taiwan before changing the term to “territory”. According to Wu, Taiwanese people are used to this type of thing because it happens constantly. “You just have to think of what the most intelligent response is to try to change the situation—or to try to mitigate the damages,” he says. The Stolen Bicycle, Wu’s fifth novel, centres around a narrator named Cheng’s obsession with finding his father’s “iron horse”, which was stolen years ago. His father, who himself disappeared 20 years earlier, helped build fighter planes for the Japanese military in the Second World War. This occurred in the final period of Japan’s 50-year colonization of Taiwan. “The Japanese did not want Taiwanese people to build a sense of who they were as Taiwanese people,” Wu says. “And toward the end of the Japanese period, of course, there was the imperialism movement to convince people in Taiwan that they were Japanese in order to get them to support the war effort.” Cheng’s father, like many older Taiwanese people, was nostalgic for the period of Japanese rule. But in the market where Cheng grew up, there were many Chinese soldiers who felt no connection whatsoever to Japan. “If you ask different people, they have radically different ideas about what Taiwan is and what Taiwan’s experience is,” Wu says. The book explores the many aspects of Taiwanese identity, and includes an Indigenous person as one of the main characters. Taiwan’s Indigenous population, like
Author Wu Ming-Yi says the global community must recognize that his homeland of Taiwan is independent of mainland China.
that in Canada, has endured tremendous discrimination, according to Wu. He maintains that Indigenous culture is the most important aspect of Taiwan’s culture, making it distinct from its Asian neighbours. Wu’s literary translator, Darryl Sterk, was raised in Victoria and is the son of former B.C. Green party leader Jane Sterk. He tells the Straight on the conference call with Wu that he was recommended for the job because of his interest in Indigenous issues. And there were several Indigenous characters in Wu’s previous novel, The Man With the Compound Eyes, which explored environmental themes and which Sterk also translated. “I have a lot of friends who are Indigenous,” Wu said. “They are charismatic figures. If you want your characters to come alive on the page, it can help if you can base them on real-life people who have charisma.” g Wu Ming-Yi and translator Darryl Sterk will join Anna Ling Kaye in conversation on Friday (October 25) at the Nest as part of the Vancouver Writers Fest.
urban living
Kids thrive in space-smart small condo
A
by Janet Smith
lison Mazurek never planned to raise two kids in a 600-square-foot apartment. But life happened, along with a real-estate squeeze faced by countless Vancouverites just like her and her husband. And then she took on something else that she never set out to do: becoming a blogger giving advice on how to make space for a family in a one-bedroom apartment. One of her main goals is to help Vancouver shift to a mindset that was long ago adopted in places like Copenhagen and New York City: one where people can picture themselves having children outside of the singledetached-house model. “I feel that a lot of conventional wisdom on what you need to have a kid is that kids need a yard, or you need a basement, but many of us can’t afford that now,” the writer behind the blog called 600sqftandababy tells the Straight, before hitting the Vancouver Fall Home Show to re-create three of her rooms for display. “I think we’re really privileged to have a onebedroom in Vancouver. And so it becomes, ‘Okay, if we can’t have a yard, we can use the beautiful parks around us in the neighbourhood or put our kids in classes at the community centre.’ We have to get creative about how we’re living in this city.” When Mazurek and her partner bought their one-bedroom Mount Pleasant apartment nine years ago, there was plenty of room. And then, about three years later, she had to face some hard choices when she learned she was going to have her first child. “When I got pregnant everybody said, ‘Where are you going to move?’ ” she says, adding the assumption was that she was going to have to relocate to a bigger home out in a ’burb like Langley or further. “And I got really adamant and said, ‘No, we’re going to stay in the city.’ ” Mazurek and her husband had become attached to the nearby restaurants and cafés of their ’hood, and they loved the big windows and high ceilings in their place. And she recognized how much smaller their ecofootprint would be if they could stay put. “We love the walkability of it,” she says. “We can do a lot of chores
Here are a few other small-living hacks Mazurek offers, most of them on view in the rooms she’ll re-create for the new Vancouver Fall Home Show feature called SMÄ(ll), presented by IKEA, at the Vancouver Convention Centre West from Thursday to Sunday (October 24 to 27).
Urban Living TIP SHEET
WALL BEDS
Mazurek calls her high-end wall bed “absolutely critical to us staying in a one-bedroom”. She and her husband use the Penelope style from Resource Furniture. THE VANCOUVER FALL “We’ve used it every day for six HOME SHOW hits the years. And we’re really hard on Vancouver Convention Centre things; we let the kids jump on it, West from Thursday to Sunday (October 24 to 27). Here are a we have,” she says. The style has two few of the highlights: straps that hold in your sheets and comforter when you make the bed c SABRINA SMELKO The each morning before flipping it into Squamish designer (shown place. And safety stops are a must here) from the HGTV show when you have kids. Save My Reno helps you bring holistic style to your digs. Mazurek has now put the same brand’s Kali bunk duo in her chil- c PORTOBELLO WEST MARKET dren’s small bedroom because of its The Vancouver artisan mecca narrow, Euro-twin size. Before that, hosts a pop-up version her first child slept in an IKEA crib throughout the show. (the Sniglar) that converted into a c RAVEENA OBEROI On Friday at toddler bed. 4 p.m., the pastry chef at Just Alison Mazurek says a wall bed is critical to her family staying in a one-bedroom unit.
on foot. Community centres, coffee shops, art shops: they’re all within walking distance.” As a freelance design project manager, Mazurek already had a skill for planning spaces. So she started researching how families manage to live in small spaces in high-density cities in Europe. But all she could find was “pretty pictures” and not a lot of details about how to maximize storage and space with a baby. “So I felt like if we did it and were happy, I would share about it,” she says. Her choices have played out against a metropolitan area that’s struggling with growth. The City of Vancouver has found a “missing middle” of housing choices for families between studio and one-bedroom condos and single-detached homes. At the same time, studies are showing urban households, where most people live in apartments and use mass transit or travel by bike and foot, are better for the Earth. As David Owen argues
l’Arctique Comment Roald Amundsen a-t-il remporté la course vers le pôle Sud
in his book Green Metropolis, “living smaller, living closer, and driving less” are the keys to sustainability. The good news is that, even now with a three-year-old and a six-yearold, Mazurek has been managing to make a one-bedroom work well. Having an infant in the space was surprisingly easy, she reports, with everything close at hand. When the second child came along, she admits her clan of four had to get even more creative. “The main thing is just to have less things with children; you have to edit all the time,” she advises. “We have to just not shop a lot and not bring a lot into our home.…We have to be ruthless about what can we live without and intentional about what we live with.” That means being disciplined about swapping out clothing by season, packing away sweaters or summer wear in vacuum-sealed bags and storing them away on higher shelves when they’re not in use.
THE SHOE CABINET
Shoes become a challenge in a 600-square-foot space where entry space is lacking. Mazurek likes IKEA’s Stall shoe cabinet, with its four doored compartments for each family member. “It’s this narrow white cabinet that holds a decent amount of shoes,” she says. “The kids can access it and everybody has a little cupboard for their shoes for that season.” A DINING TABLE STORAGE BENCH
Used as seating under her expandable dining table, Mazurek’s bench now houses kids’ puzzles and games in one drawer, and a cordless vacuum in the other. At the SMÄ(ll) display, check out the IKEA Nordli drawered bench as a clean, white option. She’s laid IKEA Pinnarp ash countertop on top to strengthen it for seating and to give it a warm, finished look. FOR NOW, TRICKS like these have helped her family of four hold out in their one-bedroom. She admits there can be challenges to overcome.
Cakes Bakeshop, winner of the Food Network’s The Big Bake, shows how to make an applecaramel mousse. g
“For me the hardest thing is the lack of alone time in our space,” she says. Sometimes that means asking for alone time and grabbing the headphones. “Or sometimes I have to meet a friend for a drink or go to a coffee shop. “And play dates are a hard thing,” she adds. “If my kids are having kids over, there’s nowhere to hide; I’m in the play date.” She always keeps one eye out for a two-bedroom or something bigger for the time when her kids start to ask for more space or privacy. But chances are she’ll still keep her blog going. “The thing that keeps me going and sharing is I get a sense of community and support from it,” she says. “Anytime I’m writing about the challenges, there’s an outpouring from people going through the same thing. The more people are talking about different ways of living and raising kids, it makes people feel less alone.” g
HALLOWEEN AT KINGSGATE KID’S ARTS & CRAFTS
Sat. Oct. 26th, 1:00 – 3:00 pm Centre Court Make Halloween decorations and decorate your very own cookie!
GREAT PUMPKIN WALK Tues. Oct. 29th – 9:30 am Mt. Pleasant Elementary School will hold their 18th annual Great Pumpkin Walk. The Pumpkins will be on display by Marks from Oct 29th – 31st.
15th ANNUAL PUMPKIN CARVING CHALLENGE Wed. Oct. 30th, 11:00 – 1:00 pm, Centre Court – Judging: 1:00 pm
Collingwood Community Police has challenged their fellow emergency service personnel, community groups and media to have some fun and show who has the best pumpkin carving and decorating skills in Vancouver.
Email: leyda.molnar@kingsgatemall.com to participate – pumpkins are supplied or you can deliver your pumpkin to centre court by 11:00 am. Bring your carving tools and decorations
TRICK OR TREAT! Thurs. Oct 31st – 3:30 – 4:30 pm, Centre Court. Candy will be handed out to all ghosts and goblins in costume.
A Fram Museum Exhibition
UNe Exposition du musée Fram
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HAVE YOU BEEN TO...
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by Charlie Smith
ne of the most treacherous races in the 20th century took place at the bottom of the Earth. In 1911, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and British explorer Robert Falcon Scott were each trying to be the first to reach the South Pole. But Amundsen had a major advantage. From 1903 to 1906, he’d become the first to navigate the Northwest Passage, spending two winters at King William Island in the Arctic Ocean, learning polar survival skills from the Netsilik Inuit. Amundsen made it to the South Pole on December 14, 1911, almost a month before Scott’s arrival. The story of the Norwegian’s meticulously planned explorations is part of a new Vancouver Maritime Museum exhibition called Lessons From the Arctic: How Roald Amundsen Won the Race to the South Pole. This travelling display from the Fram Museum in Oslo, Norway features about three dozen panels in English and French, along with many photographs from Amundsen’s expeditions and a videotaped reenactment of how his team survived in Antarctica. Much of the information was gleaned from Amundsen’s diaries, which explain what he did on every day of his journeys. “We know in detail what he learned from the Inuit and how he used that in Antarctica,” the Fram’s director, Geir O. Kløver, explained to the Georgia Straight in advance
Geir O. Kløver, director of Norway’s Fram Museum, says Roald Amundsen applied lessons he learned in the Arctic to his South Pole journey. Photo by Charlie Smith
of the exhibition’s opening. First off, Amundsen relied on dogs from Greenland rather than Alaskan huskies because they would run in a “hand” formation, which was more efficient than in a straight line. The advantage? The dogs don’t fight as much, making for more efficient travel. He also learned from the Inuit that if a runner was placed in front of the dogs, they would chase this person even if they had poor vision due to darkness. “So what did Amundsen do when he gets home?” Kløver asked. “He hires the fastest skier in the country to be a front-runner because he also understands that in Antarctica, there are the same problems.” According to Kløver, Amundsen also learned from the Inuit that
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Lessons From the Arctic: How Roald Amundsen Won the Race to the South Pole will be at the Vancouver Maritime Museum until January 19, 2020.
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8 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT OCTOBER 24 – 31 / 2019
dogs from Greenland will engage in cannibalism when another dog dies, whereas this isn’t the case with Alaskan huskies. So if a dog from Greenland broke a leg in Antarctica, Amundsen’s team could kill it, chop it up, and feed it to the other animals, making for more efficient travel. Scott’s team never knew this. That’s not all. The Inuit taught Amundsen about the proper clothing to wear, how to build igloos, and the importance of finding fresh food. So Amundsen set off for the South Pole from a bay full of whales, penguins, and seals, so he would have more fresh meat at the start of his expedition. But the most important lesson of all from the North, according to Kløver, was that petroleum vaporizes in extremely cold weather, even when it’s in metal containers. That’s because the metal shrinks as the temperature drops. “That creates minute holes between the lid and the actual can,” he said. Amundsen responded to this by ensuring he had a tinsmith in his crew to make extremely sturdy petroleum containers. Scott never did this and died on March 29, 1912, on the Ross Ice Shelf in -40 ° C temperatures. Kløver also noted that Amundsen was decades ahead of his time in the humane way he treated his crew, even bringing gifts from their wives, which would be presented to them on their birthdays. In addition, Amundsen frowned upon sexual contact with the Inuit, feeling that the Norwegians were visitors. He also feared contracting syphilis. Genetic testing of the Inuit conducted by the Fram Museum has not found any evidence that Amundsen has any descendants living in northern Canada. “He was very disturbed that two married men on the expedition would sneak off into an Inuit tent behind a hill,” Kløver related. “He thought that was very inappropriate. Amundsen also warned his men not to deal with the Inuit on that level.” g
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by Rose Marcus
s of Friday, Jupiter and Ceres in Sagittarius join forces. Their mythology is one of hunkering down, tough negotiations, and forced concessions. There are plenty of examples of Jupiter/Ceres in play regarding the politics of the day, not only here at home but everywhere. On the personal front, Ceres/Jupiter advocates for you to stay the course and to fight for your rightful dues but also to recognize the truth of the matter, what the bottom-line reality dictates, and when concessions are wise. As their story goes, Jupiter/Ceres eventually worked their issues out and created a win/win. Friday’s planetary merger fertilizes an opportune backdrop for doing exactly that. The creative force of the sun is fresh at it in Scorpio. Thursday/Friday, the stars keep it rolling well. Saturday/ Sunday, Mars is on a constructive push-past-it track with Saturn. As of Sunday/Monday, the new moon in Scorpio supplies added get-the-jobdone traction. In dynamic tension to Uranus retrograde, this new moon can produce a sudden jolt or a shockwave effect. To the plus, the start of the new week can bring it back to life in some timely and opportune way. Tuesday/Wednesday, Venus and Mercury team up in Scorpio. They set a favourable backdrop for relating, communicating, and moneymaking. Feel it out and take full advantage of the opportunity within reach. Hearts and minds can be swayed. On the other hand, issues of trust and questions of value and worthiness can be on the dial-up. Mercury in Scorpio begins retrograde on Thursday. (No wonder negotiating Brexit has been such a problem!) Don’t assume it is on track or under control. Mercury retrograde can undermine the best of intentions or plans.
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ARIES
March 20–April 20
Whether it is intuition that provides you with a strong signal or it is a circumstance in play, the future is shaping up in some undeniable way. Do you have a game plan for it? It is wise to think long-range and long-term. Sunday/Monday, the new moon in Scorpio can jump-start the unexpected. Tuesday/Wednesday, start the conversation; make your feelings known.
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TAURUS
April 20–May 21
Starting a new job, relationship, or treatment program? Expect to hit the ground running. Sunday/Monday thrusts the action switch in a sudden, provoking, sexy, enlightening, or resurrecting way. You could have a significant reaction to something you ingest, hear, or witness. Someone could do a 180 on you. It’s full-off or full-on. It’s a matter of trust and/or money.
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GEMINI
May 21–June 21
Your fullest commitment is required; nothing less than your all will do. Starting a new job, health treatment, training program, or school-of-life track? Relocating? Fullto-the-brim days lie ahead. Friday can see you/them/it take flight. Saying hello or goodbye? Expectations are high. Sunday/Monday changes the score or the direction forward in a significant way. Tuesday/Wednesday: travel; connect; partake.
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CANCER
June 21–July 22
Now through mid–next week can rev up something new. The action can happen in a major, abrupt, suddenonset, or life-altering way, but it has been long in the works. Sunday/Monday, the new moon produces an eyeopening, breakthrough, or tide-turning couple of days. Tuesday/Wednesday are optimum for money-handling, connecting, strengthening bonds, and enlisting folks or one you love.
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LEO
July 22–August 23
Waiting for confirmation on something you already know but
OCTOBER 24 TO 30, 2019 haven’t quite yet brought yourself to accept or believe? As of Friday, you’ll get much better clued in. Jupiter/ Ceres also set a favourable backdrop for travel, performing, and promoting. Ready to take a deep dive, a next step, or to renovate? Friday through next Wednesday, the stars set you up for a good jump-start.
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VIRGO
August 23–September 23
You won’t run out of ideas or things to say, try, or do. Watch for a fresh insight, a conversation, or for something more to springboard you. Friday through mid–next week sets a timely backdrop for a change of address or a renovation project. Tuesday/Wednesday, feedback or results are pleasing. Use these days to meet, talk, write, negotiate, and establish or strengthen bonds.
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LIBRA
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SCORPIO
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SAGITTARIUS
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CAPRICORN
September 23–October 23
What is it worth to you? How much should you or can you invest? Mars in Libra continues to prompt an important reevaluation process. It has also been forcing you to reclaim your power base, to be more assertive, to push past whatever or whoever has been standing in your way. Friday through next Wednesday, say it; do it. A potent wind supports your sail. October 23–November 22
Sunday’s new moon in Scorpio has an extra kick to it. Something major is in the works, a major hurdle gives way or is suddenly surpassed. You can feel the full-steam-ahead or sudden-onset effect as early as Friday and/or extending through Monday. Tuesday/Wednesday, you’ll read it well. Your negotiating skills, people skills, and money smarts are at peak. November 22–December 21
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magine making your way through sandstone sculpted caves from a mineral massage pool to a waterfall massage to a tidal bath, every muscle feeling more relaxed every step of the way. Picture the dreamy walk meandering through wafts of aromatic steam and under a glacial waterfall, rejuvenating you to your very core. This is the Pacific Mist Hydropath at Vancouver Island’s Kingfisher Oceanside Resort & Spa. There’s nothing like it anywhere else in North America. The soothing walkway is a West Coast shoreline re-created in a cavelike setting. A guided experience, it draws on ancient healing properties of water for detoxification and relaxation in a stunning setting that evokes a natural seascape. Whether you’re with a group of friends, travelling solo, having a romantic weekend, or bonding with your mom, the hour-long journey with eight stations is transformative. Afterward, lie back in a lounge chair overlooking the Strait of Georgia. Maybe you’ll see eagles, seals or orcas as clouds float above or the sun sets. Seaside serenity is what Kingfisher Resort is all about. The Pacific Mist Hydropath is just one element that makes a getaway here so aweinspiring—and ahhh-evoking. Situated eight kilometres south of Courtenay in the verdant Comox Valley, Kingfisher Oceanside Resort & Spa is the perfect escape from the city. With a recent huge capital investment into the resort, the transformation has been stunning. The entire Kingfisher property evokes a sense of calm from the moment you arrive and step into the
Serenity Gardens. With panoramic ocean views, the picturesque gardens have beautiful flowers, fire bowls, streams, and a pond complete with Adirondack chairs providing the perfect sanctuary. The world-class Pacific Mist Spa has everything to pamper yourself. Superior manicures, pedicures, facials, and body wraps plus services tailored to men and expectant mothers are all on offer, steps from the shore. The unparalleled experience continues into the culinary offerings. Take a seat at the live-edge bar at AQUA Bistro and Wine Bar. The vibe is West Coast casual, the cocktails and cuisine topnotch. During warmer months, large garage doors open up to the patio, enticing you to sit outside with breathtaking views of the ocean and the lush Kingfisher gardens. The award-winning Ocean7 Restaurant offers an elevated fine-dining experience. Seafood-focused, executive chef Richard Benson’s locally sourced menu has exquisite menu items like fresh oysters, charred Pacific octopus, Hecate Strait halibut, and seared sea scallops. Ocean7 earned
the Best BC Seafood on Your Plate award during the 2019 BC Seafood Festival for the third consecutive year. Add in luxurious rooms with gorgeous views. Experience the newly appointed Ocean Courtyard wing, which opened in December after a complete rebuild. The Westcoast Craftsman-style building features luxurious rooms with custom-built local furniture, romantic hand-crafted lighting, and five-star bathrooms with floor to ceiling White Carrara Italian tile. Or stay in Beachfront Suites steps away from the water’s edge. The resort is complete with a heated pool, fitness centre, seaside yoga, and more. You could spend days enjoying everything Kingfisher has to offer right on-site. Or you could explore this beautiful part of B.C., from whale watching to Mount Washington Ski Resort. With all this, it’s no wonder Kingfisher was in the top 2 of Best Out of Town Spa Getaway in the 2019 Georgia Straight Readers’ Choice awards. g To book at the Kingfisher Oceanside Resort & Spa, visit kingfisherspa.com/.
Jupiter has toured Sagittarius all year; you may have experienced its effect as full of promise or potential, but where’s the beef? As of Friday, Jupiter hits a new takef light trajectory, supported by a hot-wired new moon in Scorpio and expected to hit forward thrust in some major way. Tuesday/Wednesday, Venus/Mercury put head and heart on the same page. Take your best shot. December 21–January 20
Something new to shoot for or to process? A major reset in the works? Friday through mid–next week kicks it up a great big notch. You could make a breakthrough with someone or something. Tuesday/Wednesday, you have great sway. Venus/Mercury are optimal for making good headway, cashing in, or getting your sexy on.
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AQUARIUS
January 20–February 18
What’s new? By the look of this week’s stars, the answer is “Plenty.” Jupiter/Ceres sets up a potent seeding time for your personal and professional life. Whether it’s the result of a long process or a sudden flint strike, now through mid–next week you’ll hit a faster forward regarding a career trajectory, renovation, relationship, money matter, or lifestyle change.
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Featuring Jon Kimura Parker and Desmond Hoebig.
PISCES
February 18–March 20
Now through next week, Jupiter/Ceres and the new moon in Scorpio set big wheels in motion. You could gain excellent mileage. In fact, you can find yourself great leaps and bounds from where you were just a short time ago. Tuesday/Wednesday, cash in on opportunity. Venus/Mercury loans you sway and makes for great same-page accord. g
Jon Kimura Parker
Desmond Hoebig
6:30pm | Tuesday, November 12, 2019 The Chan Centre for Performing Arts Assigned seating: $40 Limited free seating for UBC students
Tickets: ceremonies.ubc.ca/presidents-concert-series
Book a reading or sign up for Rose’s free monthly newsletter at rosemarcus.com/.
OCTOBER 24 – 31 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 9
OCT 26, 2019 – MAR 8, 2020 BUY TICKETS VANARTGALLERY.BC.CA Cindy Sherman is organized by the National Portrait Gallery, London in collaboration with the Vancouver Art Gallery
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Cindy Sherman, Untitled #477, 2008 (detail), chromogenic print, Courtesy of the Artist and Metro Pictures, New York
10 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT OCTOBER 24 – 31 / 2019
arts
Countertenor relays music’s timeless charge by Alexander Varty
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arly on election day, the Georgia Straight is getting an intimate look into life at the top of the classicalmusic food chain. In a Skype call from what he describes as “this incredible apartment” in New York City, countertenor Iestyn Davies is weighing in on music history, British composer Michael Nyman, and the recording process. Meanwhile, a documentary crew is shooting video footage of Marc-André Hamelin in the next room; his sparkling piano occasionally drifts into the conversation as the Canadian virtuoso and composer illustrates a point. It’s all a welcome reprieve from Monday’s political tension—especially as one of Davies’s core beliefs is that music is among the most timeless of the arts. That’s a point made stylishly by Purcell & Nyman: Music After Awhile, the program that Davies and the Fretwork viol consort will soon present at Christ Church Cathedral. Appropriately, it’s being jointly sponsored by Vancouver Early Music, which specializes in sounds from the preclassical repertoire, and Music on Main’s Modulus Festival, which concerns itself almost entirely with contemporary composition. On the bill will be music from Nyman, the 75-year-old pioneer of a uniquely British approach to minimalism, and Henry Purcell, the 17th-century composer who brought a similarly temperate eloquence to baroque forms. As documented on If, the recently released CD that Davies and Fretwork made together, the pairing is harmonious and thought-provoking. Nyman and Purcell are old acquaintances, the former having referenced the latter in his score for Peter Greenaway’s 1982 film The Draughtsman’s Contract. On If, Nyman returns to a similar vein of inspiration with his newly commissioned Music After a While, a work for five viols inspired by Purcell’s song “Music for a While”.
Iestyn Davies finds the harmonies between the music of Henry Purcell and that of Michael Nyman. Photo by Chris Sorensen
But the record’s highlight, for this listener, digs even deeper into the past. With The Self-Laudatory Hymn of Inanna and Her OmnipoMUSIC ON MAIN’S annual tence, Nyman takes an ancient Modulus Festival has always Sumerian text as his starting place, reflected Vancouver’s cultural conjuring the vainglorious goddess diversity, as well as music’s it describes with a winning comstylistic range, but with this year’s bination of rhythmic drive, regal edition from Tuesday (October harmony, and declamatory singing. 29) to November 3, artistic Davies shines on the recording, director David Pay has staked out working patiently towards a quietly an even larger tent. Every event ecstatic finale. But when asked what is a must-hear in its own right, he needs to do to embody such a but here are three concerts that supernatural being in song, he deshow just how wide a spectrum the festival covers. fers, preferring to focus on his introduction to the score, which Fretwork c STILL LIFE WITH AVALANCHE premiered with countertenor James (November 2 at Studio 700) Bowman in 1992. Three emerging artists, “I was having a drink with Nico including Georgia Straight Fall Muhly, the composer, in his apartArts Preview cover star Kimia ment, when he was working in LonKoochakzadeh-Yazdi, join the don,” Davies recalls with an audible
Modulus TIP SHEET
veteran virtuosos of Standing Wave to survey Vancouver’s booming new-music scene.
c FLAT EARTH SOCIETY (November 2 and 3 at the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre) The Belgian equivalent of our own Hard Rubber Orchestra offers a live soundtrack to Ernst Lubitsch’s 1919 film The Oyster Princess, then returns to the same venue a day later to join American saxophonist Travis Laplante for a free afternoon show of extroverted bigband jazz. g
smile. “It was about 2 in the morning, and we’d had quite a bit of wine, and we’d been listening to old recordings of Alfred Deller and stuff. And he said, ‘Oh, you’d better do this piece one day,’ played it, and we sort of listened to it and had a really good laugh. The way James flings himself into it is pretty amazing. And then a few years ago, Richard Boothby of Fretwork said, ‘We’re very interested in re-recording it; it’s time to give it another hearing.’ So that’s where it all came from.” Davies’s reading is arguably even more entrancing than Bowman’s original, but the singer modestly suggests that Fretwork’s first version was likely recorded live, while the remake was more of a studio confection. “With this kind of minimalist music, you have to be exact,” he explains, adding that Inanna is a true test of stamina. “There’s a tension whenever we do this piece, like it’s being held together by some kind of invisible force. And so, performing it live, there’s that kind of charge. But when we recorded it, we were able to do it in much more healthy chunks; we were able to stop and say ‘Right. We’re going to do this bit here.’ “The great thing about recording is that you can put down a version of a piece that’s, in a way, slightly fake,” Davies adds, laughing. “Whether you’re recording Bach, Handel, or Nyman, you’re putting together a patchwork of versions of that piece that you’ve done in that three-hour session, or whatever. So as much as people like to say ‘Oh, I like to do things as one big take,’ it’s never really that. You’re always doing a composite of perfect moments, whatever perfection is.” g Early Music Vancouver and Music on Main present Purcell & Nyman: Music After Awhile at Christ Church Cathedral on Tuesday (October 29), as part of the Modulus Festival. For a full Modulus schedule, visit musiconmain.ca/.
Australia’s Bangarra taps Indigenous Spirit
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by Janet Smith
angarra Dance Theatre may be based on the other side of the planet, but the Aussie company feels a deep kinship with what’s going on here in Canada. That’s because for the last three decades, it’s been bringing its own contemporary spin on Indigenous culture to the masses—reflecting a kind of reconciliation and rebirth that’s going on here too. “The dancers are so excited—they feel like they’re going to see a sister or brother that they’ve never seen,” enthuses artistic director Stephen Page from the company’s headquarters in Sydney. “Yet we carry traumas, but at the same time we’re empowered in that.…We are changing people’s consciousness on-stage.” In its first visit to Vancouver and first extensive tour of Canada, the iconic company will draw from 30 years of repertoire in its show Spirit—although Page likes to point out that, despite its bold contemporary movement and striking visuals, the work actually pulls from 65,000 years of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island culture. “With the work we’re bringing now, we’re trying to curate it so it doesn’t feel like a best-of variety show,” the affable Page explains, adding each vignette will meld up to five separate pieces, all pulled together with scenery, lights, and costumes, and played out in front of a giant traditional cloth that captures the diversity of the continent’s First Nations. Short works take inspiration from mythology, the natural environment, and its wet season, and even delve directly into social issues. There is a wealth of material to draw from
Bangarra Dance Theatre launches its first big Canadian tour here. Photo by Edward Mulvihill
by now. In its home country, the company is a major force. “We just did 75 performances in eight cities, so about 50,000 people saw our work,” Page relates. “In Sydney alone, there’s 15,000 people that would have seen it in the run we had at a 600-seat theatre. There’s a demographic range of 18 to 40, and it’s multicultural, but predominantly non-Indigenous people. And then we do special shows for Indigenous people.” That renown has built steadily over the company’s history, not just for artistic excellence, but for extensive, sensitive work with elders in the northern regions of Australia and a commitment to Indigenous protocol. “Many of the artists are from the south of the country, and they’re really connecting back to their tradition,” Page explains. “Dancers do contemporary ballet, Pilates, yoga, but Indigenous dance is injected into it. So it’s this beautiful collection of practices. You’ll see it in
our dancers: we have a very diverse palette of skin colour. There are some who grew up not celebrating their culture. “A lot of this is entrusted to us from the northern part of the country,” he adds. “We are comforted by living with the song and the story that are surviving in the north.” Like the Indigenous people still grappling with the legacy of residential schools and the Sixties Scoop here, Bangarra carries the pain of history even as it celebrates the vibrant Indigenous culture. In the last century, Australia enacted atrocities on children similar to those committed in Canada: by law, officials could kidnap mixed-race and Indigenous children from their parents and force them into institutions and foster homes. (Those children are now known as the Stolen Generations.) “Only in 1967 Indigenous people were considered human,” Page adds. “We weren’t recognized as humans from 1788 to 1967. We were part of a massacre, part of a human displacement.” Page, who is of Nunukul and Munaldjali heritage, grew up the third-youngest in a family of 12 children in Brisbane. His parents had experienced the hardship of the last century: his father’s mother was a domestic labourer, forbidden from speaking her Indigenous language, but passing it secretly to her children; when the welfare people came, she hid those kids “in the dungeon”, Page says, beneath a house. Page’s mother was half English-Irish and half Aboriginal, and he says the family would sometimes call themselves Indian to make things easier. “But when she met my father it was like going
back to culture and back to Country,” Page says, using the Aboriginal term that encompasses land, living things, and creation spirits. Raising their big clan in Brisbane, the couple managed to instill a deep respect for family and heritage in their children, and particularly the fair-skinned Page. “My father said I cried for four years because I wasn’t black,” he relates with a laugh. Page carried his love of the culture to dance studies and a three-year apprenticeship at Sydney Dance Company before taking over Bangarra in 1991 at just 25, with his brothers David composing the music and Russell performing on-stage. Page went on to choreograph work for everything from the Australian Ballet to the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. All of that history is woven into the work of Bangarra, whose name is the Wiradjuri word meaning “to make fire”. “Politics is in our DNA,” asserts Page, who’s looking forward to building bridges between Indigenous people in the Southern and Northern hemispheres. “We reflect the land and its social climate, and within that comes a strong line of politics. But we’re not out there campaigning. “We’re carrying on the creative knowledge, protected and preserved,” he adds. “It’s full of honesty and spirit.” And true to its name, it’s full of fire. g DanceHouse and Dancers of Damelahamid present Bangarra Dance Theatre’s Spirit on Friday and Saturday (October 25 and 26) at the Vancouver Playhouse.
OCTOBER 24 – 31 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 11
ARTS
Loss of art spaces drives Displacement
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by Janet Smith
he space crunch facing local artists hit a new level of urgency last year for the Eastside Culture Crawl Society. That’s when it found out the Glass Onion studio, home to 30 artists— photographers, jewellers, painters, sculptors, prop designers—would be shutting its doors. “That was the real wake-up call— and that was one of the founding studios at the Crawl,” says the society’s artistic and executive director Esther Rausenberg. That loss has compounded a drastic decline in artists’ access to affordable space due to Vancouver’s real-estate boom and, more specifically, the redevelopment frenzy in the industrial lands where Crawl artists work. It’s all prompted the organization to take on a stronger advocacy role, and to study the matter in search of solutions. The result is a new public dialogue and a multivenue art exhibition called the Displacement Forum & Exhibition. The kickoff event on Friday (October 25) at DUDOC (1489 Frances Street) will unveil the findings from the survey the society spearheaded over the past year—a study called City Without Art? No Net Loss+. Though the number of studios lost over the past decade is under wraps until that day, Rausenberg allows: “It’s quite dramatic. And this was just over a 10-year period, so what is going to be lost in the next 10 years? “But the bigger piece here is: if we value artists and say they’re important and part of our lives, if we think they’re all of those things, then why are we not supporting that?” she says. “We’re supporting the end product but we’re not supporting where it’s produced.” When Rausenberg and her team began collecting anecdotal evidence
Left, Benjamin and Jonathan Lee’s art maps the displacement via mobile homes; the Glass Onion Studios housed 30 artists.
of eviction from Crawl participants, the full scale of the problem began to take shape. Stories displayed as part of the salon-style exhibit, which will run from October 29 right through the massive Eastside Culture Crawl openstudio event (November 14 to 17) to November 24, reveal artists having to scramble for new space, live precariously in sheds or mobile homes, put their life’s work into storage, or just move out of the city entirely. Amid the first-person accounts, veteran large-scale-sculpture artist Alan Storey describes his eviction from a 2,800-square-foot space at 339 Railway Avenue, where he had spent 32 years, from 1984 to 2016, as the neighbourhood gentrified. He ended up having to store the tools, materials, and artwork accumulated over the decades in shipping containers. He photographed
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them as they sat on an abandoned turkey farm in Langley and has turned those photos into images at the exhibit. It took him three years to find and renovate a space in New Westminster that would allow his scale of work. Another series at the show captures artists having to live in recreational vehicles, vans, and even horse trailers. Benjamin and Jonathan Lee have printed photographs of these mobile homes onto maps of the area where they’ve been displaced. “When myself and my team read these stories, we were really depressed,” Rausenberg admits. “It gets personalized in that way. It really weighed on us and I don’t think we expected that. We said, ‘How do we turn this around?’ ” Among the possible solutions to be discussed at the forum is decreasing the property taxes that get passed on
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MOZART & HAYDN WITH ALBRECHT MAYER
OCT 25/26, 8PM | CHAN CENTRE, UBC
Classical Traditions at the Chan Centre Berlin Philharmonic principal oboe leads as both conductor and soloist, in a concert showcasing Mozart’s witty Overture to Cosi fan tutte, Haydn’s most surprising symphony, and more. ALBRECHT MAYER
ONE NIGHT IN VIENNA
OCT 30, 8PM | CENTENNIAL THEATRE,
NORTH VANCOUVER
North Shore Classics
OCT 31, 2PM | ORPHEUM
Parc Retirement Living Tea & Trumpets Christopher Gaze, from Bard on the Beach, hosts a concert that will make you want to take to the dance floor: the great Viennese waltzes, from the likes of Strauss, Brahms, Beethoven and Mozart.
CASABLANCA
ORCHESTRA FROM PLANET X
NOV 3, 2PM | ORPHEUM
OriginO Kids Concerts Two aliens have landed in the concert hall trying to influence “Earth Music.” A fun, sci-fi twist in a program full of music by Copland, Williams and more.
RUFUS WAINWRIGHT WITH THE VSO
NOV 6, 8PM | ORPHEUM
The great Canadian vocalist and songwriter joins the VSO for a night of his greatest hits with orchestra.
NOV 1/2, 8PM | ORPHEUM
London Drugs VSO Pops / TELUS VSO Digital Concert Hall The VSO performs the music of one of Hollywood’s most iconic films while you enjoy Bogart and Bergman’s tragic love story on the big screen above. RUFUS WAINWRIGHT
OCT 25/26 SUPPORT AT THE CHAN CENTRE BY
OCT 25/26 CONCERT SPONSOR
OCT 31 TEA & TRUMPETS SERIES SPONSOR
NOV 1/2 VSO POPS SERIES SPONSOR
12 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT OCTOBER 24 – 31 / 2019
NOV 1/2 VSO POPS RADIO SPONSOR
NOV 3 KIDS CONCERTS SERIES SPONSOR
VSO DIGITAL CONCERT HALL PRESENTER & PREMIER EDUCATION PARTNER
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to the artists, or that make housing them untenable for landlords. “I think taxes would definitely abate a lot of the problems quickly, but it’s not the only solution,” Rausenberg says. “What it means is a one- or two-storey building built before 1950 is being taxed at whatever its neighbour might be. The property tax goes up for the owner and that owner may not want to sell or change the use of the building, but they get caught in a situation where they’re basically forced to sell. They want to maintain it for artists, but they can only pass on so much to a tenant.” Zoning industrial land so it is protected from the spread of multiunit housing is another factor to look at, she suggests. The City of Vancouver’s new “Making Space for Arts and Culture” report includes a
target of creating 800,000 square feet of dedicated artist space in the city. But Rausenberg points out we need action from higher up in the city to help make that happen. Other than evictions, there are less obvious effects of shrinking studio sizes, she points out. The idea is captured in the exhibit by Dzee Louise, who sets a tiny three-inch-square painting in the back corner of several nested larger canvases; as she explains in her text, “As artists lose their spaces or face increasing rental rates, they are pushed into mere corners of the space they used to occupy and forced to reimagine the work they create.” “Is this going to shift our artists’ practice?” Rausenberg asks. “Artists do need space. If you’re in a small space, you can’t think and it’s constraining. To think big and execute something bigger than a wall piece, you need space.” These are all starting points for the discussion that takes place over two days, wrapping with a “Now What?” talk on Saturday (October 26) from 1 to 3 p.m. that looks at action plans with a team of artists and building experts. “You just can’t keep packing up your bags and moving your stuff and trying to find a place,” Rausenberg says of the artists’ plight. “There are artists who will stop practising their art simply because it takes too much. We’re really questioning if we value art in our society.” g The East Side Culture Crawl Society presents the public Displacement Forum on Friday and Saturday (October 25 and 26) at DUDOC (1489 Frances Street) and the Displacement exhibition from October 29 to November 24 at the Arts Factory, the Firehall Arts Centre, the Cultch, and Alternative Creations Gallery. See culturecrawl.ca/events.
Vancouver Moving Theatre with the Carnegie Community Centre and the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians with a host of community partners presents
16th Annual Downtown Eastside
Heart City 30 Festival 10 of the
TO
2019
OCTOBER NOVEMBER
over 100 events at over 40 locations, including
Sis Ne’ Bi-Yïz: Mother Bear Speaks
Tale of the Eastside Lantern
ūtszan
Written and performed by Taninli Wright about her remarkable Messenger of Hope Walk Wed Oct 30, 7:30pm; Fri Nov 1, 3pm; Sat Nov 2, 8pm; Sun Nov 3, 3pm Firehall Arts Centre | 280 E. Cordova | $20/15 firehallartscentre.ca | 604.689.0926
Hybrid Chinese Rock Opera – workshop production Vancouver Cantonese Opera / Son of James Band Thurs Oct 31, 7pm CBC Studio 700 | 700 Hamilton | $15 eastsidelantern3.eventbrite.ca
Written and performed by Yvonne Wallace A passionate story about a quest to reclaim language Thurs Oct 31, 7:30pm; Fri Nov 1, 8pm; Sat Nov 2, 3pm Firehall Arts Centre | 280 E. Cordova | $20/15 firehallartscentre.ca | 604.689.0926
Spotlight on the East End MUSIC CONCERTS Sat Nov 2, 7:30pm | The Heatley | 696 E. Hastings | Free Tonye Aganaba, Khari Wendell McClelland, Shannon Bauman, Alfredo Flores Thurs Nov 7, 8pm | Russian Hall | 600 Campbell $20/15 spotlightrussianhall.eventbrite.com Francis Arevalo, Desirée Dawson, Chelsea Johnson, Edzi’u Sat Nov 9, 8pm | Tight Club | 261 Union $20/15 spotlighttightclub.eventbrite.com Missy D, JB The First Lady, Kimmortal & Megang & Estiqw, Haisla with Nasty, Brutish and Short
Ukrainian Hall Community Concert & Supper
Lively music, invigorating dance, exquisite costumes and a delicious Ukrainian supper. With special guests Bharatanatyam dance artist Arno Kamolika, vocal trio Vostok & world music band Sudanda Sun Nov 3, concert 3pm, supper follows Ukrainian Hall | 805 E. Pender | $25 Tickets: 604.254.3436 | eventbrite.ca
X
Home, Homelessness and the Culture In-Between
Week-long residency showcasing visual art, facilitated discussions, ceremony and theatre, led by Renae Morriseau with Sophie Merasty An Urban Ink Production Thurs Oct 31 to Wed Nov 6 | InterUrban Gallery | 1 E. Hastings By donation at the door
heartofthecityfestival.com OCTOBER 24 – 31 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 13
ITALY
October 24 to November 24
MM CONTEMPORARY DANCE COMPANY
November 1 - 4 Norman Rothstein Theatre
SANDRA BERNHARD “observational comedy with style” – The New Yorker “musicality to die for…” – Los Angeles Times
ProArteDanza
October 26 - 28 Norman Rothstein Theatre
UK
electrifying world premiere and 21st-century perspective on Beethoven’s 9th!
GARY LUCAS
“One of the best and most original guitarists in America” accompanies classic films
October 30 7pm – Frankenstein 9pm – Spanish Dracula Norman Rothstein Theatre
CANADA
USA
CANADA
COMEDY
DANCE
October 31 Vogue Theatre
MUSIC & FILM
In association with IL Centro-Italian Cultural Centre
USA
back with two North American premieres. Alexis Fletcher & Andrew Bartee open
GEOFF BERNER, TJ Dawe & Friends
new klezmer musical and CD release party of Geoff ’s new album 19+
November 1 Wise Hall
DANIEL CAINER
Gefilte Fish and Chips from award-winning, London-based songwriter and musical storyteller.
Co-presented with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights
YEMEN BLUES – HALLEL
ISRAEL
RAMI KLEINSTEIN
live film-concerto recounts the story of Colonel who saved thousands during the Holocaust.
ISRAEL/USA
the performers dance with their skins turned out”
THE RESCUE
ISRAEL
USA
UNA
CANADA/EL SALVADOR
October 24 Norman Rothstein Theatre
AvevA
November 23 Norman Rothstein Theatre
“one of the most exciting bands in world music” – Time Out Chicago Jack Garton opens 19+
November 9 Rickshaw Theatre
– The Dance Enthusiast
Vanessa Goodman and Belinda McGuire close
USA
November 15 - 17 Norman Rothstein Theatre
IRIS BAHR
award-winning comedian/actor draws from her hit show DAI, stand-up and more!
November 12 & 13 Norman Rothstein Theatre
“One of Israel’s most acclaimed pop stars” – The Times of Israel
October 27 Norman Rothstein Theatre
closing night performance with Troy Ogilvie, Rebecca Margolick and Pamela Schuller and guests
SHTICKS & GIGGLES
Join host Kyle Berger, Ivan Decker, John Cullen, Lisa Person, Yisrael Shurack and more!
November 19 Norman Rothstein Theatre
modern-day twist to the stage play Anne Frank.
November 6 - 9 Norman Rothstein Theatre
Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver
14 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT OCTOBER 24 – 31 / 2019
GUY MINTUS TRIO
Arabic maqam, Jewish folk song, Eastern European dance, classic hard bop, and more!
October 29 Norman Rothstein Theatre
HOLOCAUST BRUNCH
brave, moving new work from a third-generation perspective by Tamara Micner
October 27 & 28 Wosk Auditorium at the JCC
Tickets 604.257.5145
CHUTZPAHFESTIVAL.COM
CANADA
THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK LATINX
CANADA/UK
USA
THEATRE
November 14 Rickshaw Theatre
ISRAEL/USA
November 24 Norman Rothstein Theatre
CANADA
CANADA/USA
Dance & Comedy Inclusion Project and Performance
Ethiopian-Israeli singer is “A truly unique voice that needs to be heard” – TimeOut Leila Neverland opens 19+
Celebrating Youth!
25th Anniversary of Perry Ehrlich’s Gotta Sing! Gotta Dance! joined by professional alumni.
November 10 Norman Rothstein Theatre
OPENS THURSDAY!
ARTS
Hold These Truths honours act of resistance THEATRE
HOLD THESE TRUTHS
By Jeanne Sakata. Directed by Lisa Rothe. An Umami Fund production. At the Cultch Historic Theatre on Friday, October 18. Continues until November 2
d FEBRUARY 1942. Two months after the events of Pearl Harbor, U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt initiates Executive Order 9066, a decree that excludes all persons at its discretion from select areas. Under the command of Lt.-Gen. John DeWitt, the order escalates into a curfew for all people of Japanese descent, kick-starting an eventual forced relocation that is the Japanese-American internment. Gordon Hirabayashi, a University of Washington student, is among the few dissenters who flatly refuse to comply with what they deem an unconstitutional protocol. Hold These Truths chronicles his legal fight against the government, illustrating his journey before, during, and after these wartime measures. (Hirabayashi is the father of well-known local Kokoro Dance cofounder Jay Hirabayashi.) A man of the Quaker faith, Gordon (Joel de la Fuente) recalls advice his father once gave him: “The nail that sticks out is the one that gets hit.” As a nisei, or child of Japanese immigrants, he differs from his parents in that he believes in righteousness even at the risk of protrusion. Having experienced discrimination regularly in Seattle, Gordon is revitalized when he finds that his differences on the streets of Manhattan, on a trip to New York City, are socioeconomic and not racial. Thus, when Japan embroils the U.S. in World War II and his civil rights are at risk,
acquiescence is far from consideration. Playwright Jeanne Sakata structures her solo work primarily around Gordon’s legal battles, from his surrender to the FBI for violation of curfew to his time served in the King County jail, to a unanimous guilty verdict in Hirabayashi v. United States, and later legal troubles from refusing to fill in a biased draft-board questionnaire. Between these proceedings, she draws on his relationships with college girlfriend Esther Schmoe, best friend Howie Scott, and parents Shungo and Mitsuko Hirabayashi, all acted by de la Fuente. With a litany of legal aids and formal undertakings, the play reflects the challenges of dramatizing abstruse affairs, its strength mostly pooled in Gordon’s visceral responses. De la Fuente is a consummate solo performer, flipping between characters young and old at a moment’s notice, whether to embody Gordon Hirabayashi at various stages of his life or anyone he has encountered on his trek, equally at home as a drunken college schoolmate or a stern government official. Mikiko Suzuki MacAdams’s scenic design is beautifully minimalist, with three ladder-back chairs on a crimson carpet representing everything from a college campus to a high-rise elevator. Lighting designer Cat Tate Starmer uses a gradient backdrop to convey appropriate emotions, morphing from the liberty green of blithe sightseeing to the blood-red news of impending war. Signs of urban and rural life colour Daniel Kluger’s sound design, coupled with the distinct rasp of broadcast pronouncements and jazz standards. Alluding to the preamble of the Declaration of Independence, Hold
In Hold These Truths, Joel de la Fuente plays Gordon Hirabayashi, a man who fought for his rights while Japanese Americans were being interned. Photo by Lia Chiang
These Truths is a sobering look at institutional prejudice and how one man’s persistence inspired an entire generation to hold fast to immutable ideals, hard as it may be in the most trying times. To quote Gordon’s addendum to his father’s adage, “The nail that sticks out is the one that gets hit… unless the hammer is smaller than the nail.” by Danny Kai Mak
CHINA DOLL
Written and directed by Marjorie Chan. A Gateway Theatre production. At Gateway Theatre on Friday, October 18. Continues until October 26
d GATEWAY THEATRE’S production of Marjorie Chan’s China Doll is as complicated, confounding, and visceral as the play itself. Act 1 suffers through some stilted
performances and slow pacing, which creates an emotional distance between the audience and the story unfolding on-stage. China Doll is set in Shanghai between 1904 and 1918, and Su-Ling (Jennifer Tong) is just five years old when her grandmother Poa-Poa (Manami Hara) breaks and binds her feet, promising Su-Ling that this will be the path out of poverty, as it was for Poa-Poa when her own bound feet, the tiniest in her village, helped land her a husband. Circumstances—her daughter, Su-Ling’s Ma-Ma (Donna Soares), is dead, as is Su-Ling’s father—have returned PoaPoa to a position of servitude to the rich Chen family, and her only hope is to make a proper lady out of Su-Ling. But Su-Ling wants more, and her insatiable curiosity endears her to Master Li (Jovanni Sy), who secretly teaches her to read against Poa-Poa’s wishes. Act 2 feels like whiplash, so
significantly does the action ratchet up. Su-Ling is 16 and has been chosen as Wife No. 2 for one of the Chen sons. She will be a concubine, but Poa-Poa is thrilled. This means a room inside the big house and a return to being a person of status. Su-Ling is a commodity, and not just to her grandmother, but to everybody, including Master Li, whose fetishistic obsession, um, climaxes in a memorably vile scene. And spoiler alert: when Su-Ling ultimately decides to escape, inspired by the world she’s discovered through books and plays, it’s a tragic and symbolic bid for freedom and rejection of the status quo. She won’t get far on her unbound feet, broken and rotting as they are, but it’s better than the fate that awaits her as a concubine. China Doll is a visual masterpiece, thanks to beautiful projection design by the Chimerik team, lighting design by Chengyan Boon, and a simple but effective set design by Heipo Leung. But China Doll’s final 30 minutes almost feel like a whole other play, and not just because of its turn towards the disturbing, violent, and perverse (though that helps). This was Chan’s debut as a playwright in 2004, and it still has some of those debut quirks in 2019: murky character development, plot contrivances, emotional shortcuts. But there’s something about the direction, too, as if the cast were encouraged to keep their performances restrained until the last half-hour. This is particularly true for Jennifer Tong, who shines when she fully embodies Su-Ling’s horror, perfectly conveying the distressing and grotesque reality of her situation. China Doll is a feminist tragedy that takes too long to hit its stride, but the wild last quarter has to be seen to be believed. by Andrea Warner
see next page
Program 1 Oct 31 Nov 1 & 2 Aszure Barton BUSK Johan Inger B.R.I.S.A.
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OCTOBER 24 – 31 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 15
LIVE ONSTAGE · 129(0%(5 ৰ৳ȁৱ৲
from previous page
HISTORICAL THRILLER
By Martyna Majok. Directed by Ashlie Corcoran. An Arts Club Theatre Company production, in partnership with Citadel Theatre. At the Goldcorp Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre on Wednesday, October 16. Continues until November 3
THE
DOUBLE A E MURDERS By
Berni Stapleton
Directed by Tamara McCarthy Produced by Rusticate Theatre
Who will survive the long, haunting night?
TS T ICKNELY O
$
29
GATEWAYTHEATRE.COM , H GatewayThtr 604.270.1812 Yoshié Bancroft. Photo By Kayla Isomura.
Paula Kremer, Artistic Director
COST OF LIVING
d COST OF LIVING is a serviceable production of a relevant play. It’s engaging enough for its uninterrupted 105-minute run time, and fairly forgettable afterwards. The play’s off-Broadway production won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 2018. It follows two discrete story lines: cash-strapped Jess (Bahareh Yaraghi), is hired as a caretaker by John (Christopher Imbrosciano), a graduate student with cerebral palsy; and Eddie (Ashley Wright), an out-of-work trucker looks after his quadriplegic ex-wife, Ani (Teal Sherer). The play’s themes of privilege and struggle will certainly resonate with a working-class audience, but it lacks the emotional punch you’d hope for. The characters aren’t fleshed out enough for us to really feel for them. The most exciting part of the show is the set, designed by Drew Facey. The stage is inlaid with a rotating ring that spins to swap the main locations of each story. It’s a clever way to quickly transform the space, and it’s more dynamic than anything that happens on it. If there’s a standout among the actors, it’s Yaraghi as Jess. She’s funny, and gets to deliver some of the show’s best lines. (“I just want something that’s mine for one night. Even if it’s yours.”) Her story is most likely to tug at the heartstrings—a Princeton graduate who’s now a bartender, she works constantly to stay afloat, and most clearly exemplifies how high the “cost of living”, financial and emotional, really is. Wright as Eddie gets in a few powerful moments as well, especially near the end, when his character breaks down. Imbrosciano as John has good comedic timing, and is quite satisfying in his takedowns of ableism. (“How do I… refer to you?” Jess asks uncomfortably. “Are you planning on talking about me?” John replies. “No,” she answers. “Why not?” he quips. “I’m very interesting.”) He and Yaraghi share some nice chemistry in their scenes together. And I have to give both him and Sherer kudos for getting naked and bathed on-stage, surely freezing up there during every performance. Cost of Living handles issues of disability and classism with grace. But it’s a middle-of-the-road production that desperately needs more heart to
In Cost of Living, Bahareh Yaraghi plays a cash-strapped student who agrees to work as a caretaker for Christopher Imbrosciano’s John. Photo by David Cooper
make an impact. It’ll get its message across, but without much staying power—which is maybe more unfortunate for a play like this than it would be for something less weighty.
by Katherine Dornian
TAKE D MILK, NAH?
By Jivesh Parasram. Directed by Tom Arthur Davis. A Pandemic Theatre and Rumble Theatre coproduction. Presented with Diwali in B.C., in association with Neworld Theatre. At the Vancity Culture Lab on Thursday, October 17. Continues until October 26
d CAN A TOPIC as faceted as identity be sufficiently explored on-stage? Does a performer speak directly about his or her own heritage and contemporary beliefs, or speak more philosophically, likening selfhood to a life raft or blade of grass? Jivesh Parasram’s Take d Milk, Nah? is a sojourn into hyphenated history, a oneman show of personal anecdotes and brief history lessons, heartbreaking truths and hilarious asides, all couched in an inventive deconstruction of its dramatic genre. An Indo-Caribbean Hindu Canadian, Parasram describes the difficulty of existing in the dichotomy of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, where he grew up: he was either “black” or “white”, with such racial distinctions deepening post–9/11, when systemic ignorance spurred hateful encounters. Tracing a lineage of estrangement, he recounts his great-grandfather’s exodus to Trinidad from India, where famine had been brought on by colonial policies. In reconciling his discrete selves, Parasram draws from a formative episode in his youth, when he was roped into the birthing of a calf. In a work richly suffused with historical markers and Hindu
mythology, Parasram navigates his multiple identities through primers on pivotal elements that informed his thinking, from the scourge of Indian indentured labour to the epic of Samudra Manthan, about an ocean of milk churned by gods and demons. Interleaved with these narratives are humourous feedback on ideology, summed up by Parasram’s mordant impression of Winston Churchill, and a gnomic phrase on belonging, “We are all Jiv,” derived from jivatman, or supreme consciousness. Eschewing the staid framework of a conformist reflection, the show excels as an interlocked series of moods, shuttling from a laid-back lightness to dazzling exuberance to candid cogency. Set and costume designer Anahita Dehbonehie and lighting designer Rebecca Vandevelde aid in these transitions, with a stout cabinet topped with soil, an incandescent floor yantra, striped curtains of saffron and scarlet, and dramatic lighting on Parasram, clad in a bovine-spotted sherwanii, a traditional Indian garment. Completing the setup are the ethereal and urban soundscape, full of bassy droning and streetcars bustling, and a playlist that ranges from South African jazz and Hindi tunes to the popular sounds of R.E.M., Bob Marley, and Snow. With his casual, conversational style and inspired audience involvement, Parasram has created a show that doesn’t simply engage at a passive level; rather, it invites an examination of the very genre of the identity play through surprising shifts in its narrative. While the solemnity of the show’s latter moments creates a slight discord with its general levity, it is perhaps a reminder that as with each of us, firm demarcations need not apply. by Danny Kai Mak
at the Telus Studio Theatre
Huff
WED OCT 30 2019 / 12PM + 7:30PM
FRIEDE AUF ERDEN
Indigenous playwright and performer Cliff Cardinal's unflinching solo show "will take your breath away" (Globe and Mail)
P E AC E A N D R E M E M B R A N C E
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 9, 2019 7:30PM Christ Church Cathedral 690 Burrard St. Vancouver, BC
Tickets: vancouvercantatasingers.com or 604-730-8856
chancentre.com 16 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT OCTOBER 24 – 31 / 2019
In Partnership with Dancers of Damelahamid "Do not lose track of this group: Even by today's high standards, it offers something very special." —The Boston Globe
BANGARRA DANCE THEATRE (AUSTRALIA)
SPIRIT
“BANGARRA DANCE IS A TRIUMPH.” HERALD SUN
DANISH STRING QUARTET
ALMOST SOLD OUT!
SUN NOV 3 at 3pm I VANCOUVER PLAYHOUSE The Danish String Quartet is that rare ensemble that comes along perhaps once in a generation. These dynamic young Scandinavians have the power to make centuries-old music come alive, giving audiences the sense of hearing even treasured canon repertoire as if for the first time.
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OCTOBER 24 – 31 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 17
ARTS
Strong singing drives a lavish ’20s La Traviata by Janet Smith
MUSIC LA TRAVIATA
By Giuseppe Verdi. A Vancouver Opera coproduction with Manitoba Opera, Edmonton Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, and Opéra de Montréal. At the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Thursday, October 17. Continues on October 24 and 27
“Everything she sings is radiated by an instinctive musicality, breadth of phrasing and generosity of spirit” — The Telegraph
TICKETS START AT
MEASHA BRUEGGERGOSMAN
$25
STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART
with JUSTUS ZEYEN, PIANO & BLACK DOG STRING QUARTET SUN NOV 17 at 3pm I CHAN CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS Whether it’s performing in front of billions at the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games, or an intimate gathering at Westminster Abbey with the royal family, this charismatic Canadian soprano always delivers powerful and passionate performances. Don’t miss her long-awaited return to Vancouver!
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d TO THE FIRST haunting strains of La Traviata’s prelude, a showgirl in a white-plumed headdress faces away from us, staring wistfully out a tall window. Then a spotlight finds Violetta and she turns to prance down the stage’s central, curving stairway. Heightened by the sighing, delicate strings of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra under visiting maestro Yves Abel, the scene highlights the opposing forces of Giuseppe Verdi’s most famous work—death, and the will to party in the face of it. The local opening of this new, cross-country coproduction also announces a shift from the work’s original setting in the early 19th century to Roaring ’20s Paris. Cue Marlene Dietrich–style short-shorts, satin flapper dresses, and—yes—even a brief Charleston number. But despite the update and the tweaked opening moments, director Alain Gauthier’s production remains a solid, traditionally staged rendition of La Traviata. The singing is strong, the conducting is dynamic and briskly paced, the chorus is powerful, and the sets and costumes by Stratford veteran Christina Poddubiuk provide plenty of eye candy—particularly in Act 3, when inspired lighting designer Kevin Lamotte sends the rays
of a dawning sun through the cracks of Old Paris window louvres and onto Violetta’s deathbed. About all that is missing from this story of the love between high-society romantic Alfredo and the consumptive courtesan (or, in this case, showgirl) is the kind of passion that rips your heart out at the end. And it’s hard to pinpoint whether that’s a matter of sheer chemistry or of sets that lack an intimacy on the big Queen Elizabeth stage. For her part, Canadian soprano Emily Dorn makes the crucial, and daunting, role of Violetta feel effortless—both in music and in acting. She hoists the Champagne and sings with gusto in the first act, but also puts the “colour” into the coloratura. What’s most interesting is her transition to the dying Violetta, not frail as you might expect, but fired up, a little pissed off at her fate, and particularly fevered. Ontarian Andrew Haji has a big, open Verdi tenor, yet he can make it sensitive and sweet, as he does with his opening aria. Baritone Chenye Yuan, as Alfredo’s father, Giorgio Germont, cuts a grave and yet increasingly empathetic swath, anchoring some moving duets with Violetta and Alfredo. Tellingly for an intimate love story like La Traviata, some of this production’s highlights are the big group numbers. When a spurned Alfredo tries to humiliate Violetta in the second act’s party scene, the outraged guests summon considerable lung power as they admonish him. And if some rafter-shaking singing and the lavish party scenes connect with you more than the tragic scenes, so be it: on a rain-soaked Vancouver night, that might not be such a bad thing. g
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November 9 & 10 | 3pm WEST VANCOUVER UNITED CHURCH
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Vancouver Bach Choir performs
BRAHMS GERMAN REQUIEM AND PÄRT BERLINER MESSE October 26 | 7:30pm Orpheum Theatre Pre-concert talk | 6:45pm Robyn Driedger-Klassen | Soprano Andrew Greenwood | Baritone
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HAVE YOU BEEN TO... Chickpea Food Truck ilovechickpea.ca
Pourhouse Restaurant pourhousevancouver.com
Switzercult Creative
2018/19 AGM Wed Nov 13 at 7pm
Info/Register bit.ly/RH1819 Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre 181 Roundhouse Mews
switzercultcreative.com
at the Telus Studio Theatre
Black Like Me An Exploration of the Word N ----WED NOV 20 2019 / 7:30PM THU NOV 21 2019 / 12:30PM Dance artist Jade Solomon Curtis takes a pointed and poignant look at historic and ongoing oppression through the lens of a singularly powerful word.
OCT 29 – NOV 3 / 2019 “A fantastic gift to the city.” - The Georgia Straight
chancentre.com
Epic music. Intimate concerts. Iestyn Davies | Fretwork Sabrina Schroeder | Peggy Lee Flat Earth Society | Les Voix Humaines George Rahi | Sawdust Collector Nigel North | Barking Sphinx Performance Joshua Zubot and Strings | Stéphanie Cyr C130 | Ben Reimer | Which Nancy Travis Laplante | Nancy Tam | Julia Chien Kimia Koochakzadeh-Yazdi | Aaron Graham Standing Wave
Tickets from $25 + Free Events
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OCTOBER 24 – 31 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 19
E’S DAN SAVAG
FESTIVAL 2019 FILM
Nov 13-16 THE RIO THEATRE, VANCOUVER T I C K E T S AT H U M P F I L M F E S T.C O M
ARTS LISTINGS ONGOING LUZIA Cirque du Soleil presents a poetic and acrobatic ode to the culture of Mexico. To Dec 29, Under the Grand Chapiteau (Big Top), Concorde Pacific Place. $39-$270. THE BIRDS & THE BEES Play about a turkey farmer who splits up with her husband and moves in with her beekeeper mom. To Oct 26, Granville Island Stage. From $29. COST OF LIVING Pulitzer Prize–winning play about relationships and living with physical disabilities. To Nov 3, Goldcorp Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre. From $29. REPLAY: A BUNCH OF GREAT PLAYS, AGAIN Staircase Theatre presents a collection of favourite shows and artists from this year’s Fringe Festival. To Oct 26, 7-9:30 pm, Havana Theatre. $18-22. CHINA DOLL Coming-of-age story which follows a young girl’s path to freedom through books and reading. To Oct 26, Gateway Theatre. From $29. THE BUSINESS OF MURDER Richard Harris’s psychological thriller on the theme of revenge. To Nov 2, 8-10:30 pm, The Theatre at Hendry Hall. $20/18. HOLD THESE TRUTHS Play starring Joel de la Fuente as Gordon Hirabayashi, a U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient who fought against the mass incarceration of people of Japanese ancestry during World War II. To Nov 2, Historic Theatre. $25-50. FRANKENSTEIN: LOST IN DARKNESS Experience Mary Shelley’s haunting fable of hubris and loss. To Nov 2, 8-10 pm, Pacific Theatre. $20-36.50.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24 CHUTZPAH FESTIVAL Comedy, theatre, dance, and music, featuring Sandra Bernhard, Iris Bahr, Daniel Cainer, and Gary Lucas. Oct 24–Nov 24, various venues. $24-60. LA TRAVIATA Vancouver Opera gives the perennial favourite a new look. Oct 24, 7:30 pm, Queen Elizabeth Theatre. $42-180. DRACULA’S GARDEN: DANCE SHOW & FUNDRAISER Showcase of dance works inspired by gothic themes. Oct 24, 6:30-9:30 pm, Scotiabank Dance Centre. $25. VWF: A TRIBUTE TO STEPHEN KING A celebration of the inimitable horror author as part of the Vancouver Writers Fest. Oct 24, 8 pm, Performance Works. $20.
TICKETS ON SALE NOW ALL NEW FILMS!
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25 CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES Cellist Victor Julien-Laferrière and pianist Jonas Vitaud perform works by Beethoven, Poulenc, Janacek, and Rachmaninoff. Oct 25, West Vancouver United Church . $35/25. COMEDY BANG! BANG! LIVE! Comedy show featuring Scott Aukerman. Oct 25, 8 pm, Queen Elizabeth Theatre. $55/49.50/35.
The Cinematheque It’s in the Trees! It’s Coming! British Folk Horror! October 25, 26, 31 The Wicker Man Night of the Demon Kill List Folk Horror Freak-Out! Halloween Party Thursday, October 31 7:00 pm – Doors 8:00 pm – What Lab performance 8:30 pm – Kill List Tickets: $20 in advance; $25 at the door 19+ only
1131 Howe Street, Vancouver thecinematheque.ca 20 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT OCTOBER 24 – 31 / 2019
DANCEHOUSE: SPIRIT DanceHouse presents Bangarra Dance Theatre of Australia. Oct 25-26, 8 pm, Vancouver Playhouse. $35. GASLIGHT Patrick Hamilton’s thriller set in England in 1880, directed by Peter Isaac. Oct 25–Nov 9, 8-10:30 pm, Kay Meek Studio Theatre. $22/18.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26 THE INCREDIBLE ADVENTURES OF MARY JANE MOSQUITO Indigenous playwright Tomson Highway weaves Cree language into a children’s musical story of acceptance and belonging. Oct 26-27, Presentation House Theatre. $22/18/12.50. VWF: YA RISING Writers share their latest YA works and their insights into why the genre transcends boundaries of age as part of the Vancouver Writers Fest. Oct 26, 2-3:30 pm, The Nest. Pay what you can. VWF: NAOMI KLEIN IN CONVERSATION WITH KATHRYN GRETSINGER Author and activist speaks on how climate action is essential for both our environment and a just society. Oct 26, 2-3:30 pm, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. Pay what you can. TEATRO INTIMO DEL FLAMENCO Karen Flamenco presents a one-hour production for all ages featuring traditional flamenco music, dance, storylines, and magic. Oct 26, 3-4 pm, 5-6 pm, Improv Theatre. $12. HALLOWEEN HOWL Halloween-themed improv-comedy event. Oct 26, 7:30-10:30 pm, The Improv Centre. $34.95. VWF: ADAM GOPNIK IN CONVERSATION WITH MARSHA LEDERMAN New Yorker writer and author discusses the future of democracy.. Oct 26, 8:30 pm, Waterfront Theatre. Pay what you can.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27 LA TRAVIATA Vancouver Opera gives the perennial favourite a new look. Oct 27, 2 pm, Queen Elizabeth Theatre. $42-180.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 28 OPERA GEMS An evening of opera performed by Tamar Simon, Emma Parkinson, Martin Renner Wallace, Brandon Thornhill, and Perri Lo. Oct 28, 7:30 pm, St. James Hall. $20.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29 ECHO COLLECTIVE PRESENTS KAYAK BY JORDAN HALL Annie is blindsided when her son, Peter, falls in love with Julie, a passionate environmental activist. Unable to reconcile herself to Julie’s radical worldview, Annie struggles to keep Peter from falling further into Julie’s world. Touching and provocative, Kayak invites us all to confront our choices and the growing climate crisis. Oct 29–Nov 1, 7:30 pm; Nov 2, 1:30 pm, Havana Theatre. $25.
Arts
HOT TICKET
EVERYWHERE FROM HERE
(October 24 to November 5 at 1387 Railspur Alley) Veteran local painter David Wilson brings his Vancouver street scenes to a pop-up exhibit, this time all imagined from the viewpoint of the Lions, high above the city.
AMORE/DOLORE (October
25 at St. Philip’s Anglican Church) Oh, sweet agony: the 12-member a cappella musica intima choir explores the pain of love, through such music as American composer Morten Lauridsen’s Madrigali, or “FireSongs”, and Jeffrey Ryan’s On Monsieur’s Departure.
BRAHMS GERMAN REQUIEM
(October 26 at the Orpheum) The Vancouver Bach Choir opens its season with two stunning meditations on spirituality: Johannes Brahms’s towering work, with a new orchestration for chamber ensemble; and Arvo Pärt’s transcendent Berliner Messe. g
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1 DIA DE LOS MUERTOS Come celebrate Dia De Los Muertos with us while helping make a monumental difference in the lives of poverty stricken kids in rural Mexico! With the power of education, our goal is to bring this gift to as many children as possible! Every child has dreams, and they all deserve a chance to feel what it’s like to achieve them. Dress up and come early because we’re featuring live mariachi, a live catrinas fashion show, Latin food vendors, live DJ, beer garden, and much more! Nov 1, 3-11 pm, The Shipyards. $15. ARTS LISTINGS are a public service provided free of charge. 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.
Powell River faces climbing quandary
by Adrian Mack
MOVIES
Bong Joon-ho in a class of his own by Ken Eisner
REVIEWS PARASITE
Starring Song Kang-ho. In Korean, with English subtitles. Rated 14A
“On the Verge” examines tensions between loggers and recreationists.
I
t might be described as an inconvenient truth that the scope of outdoor adventuring in B.C. has been greatly enhanced by forestry. This tension is explored in the 45-minute doc “On the Verge”, screening at the Centennial Theatre on Friday (October 25) following a presentation by the U.S. rock-climbing legend Jim Donini. (The show is presented by the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival in partnership with the British Columbia Mountaineering Club.) The sleekly photographed film captures one community at a pivotal moment. Powell River has been a littleknown haven for rock climbers since its nearby granite faces were first explored in the ’90s by local pioneers, including Rob Richards, who compares the region to the U.S.’s Yosemite National Park in Robin Munshaw’s film. Repurposed logging roads deliver climbers to a remote camp named in Richards’s honour. Now the area’s remaining oldgrowth forest is marked for destruction, and recreationists find themselves between a rock wall and a hard place. “The story just seemed like a really good example of something we see and hear a lot in B.C.,” Munshaw says during a call to the Georgia Straight. As a veteran mountain biker, the Chilliwack native is familiar with what he calls the “transience of the infrastructure” built by fellow enthusiasts. “A logging company can come through and just log a trail that’s had thousands and thousands of man-hours put into it, and that’s part of our sport. But people will fight back and argue against it in the same day that they’re driving up forestry roads to access the areas they build their mountain-bike trails in, right?” It’s an uneasy accord, reflected by one of the film’s participants, who states: “I’m not opposed to the logging; it’s what’s being logged.” For Powell River, transitioning from an industry- to a tourist-based economy offers a solution—even if it means giving up the relative anonymity enjoyed by the climbing community during the past few decades. “They loved having this area that was their one little spot in the world, but they realized that the conservation issues they were seeing really meant that they had to share this and get more eyes on the area,” Munshaw explains. “Rock climbing is a very niche sport, but it’s part of a broader mosaic of what this region has to offer for people who want to do big adventures and big wilderness experiences.” It was a serendipitous visit to Powell River that sparked Munshaw’s interest in the issue, not least of all because he managed to capture Richards on camera before his untimely passing in 2018. More generally— and with the concurrent news that the Haida Nation has lost its latest battle to preserve culturally significant forest in the Blue Jackets area near Masset—“On the Verge” asks us to again consider the cost of sacrificing the province’s most ancient living resource. Munshaw sounds a familiar reverent note when asked about the sublime experience of visiting an old-growth forest. “I agree with everyone else who’s ever spent time there. It’s really difficult to describe the feeling,” he answers. “It makes you feel so small and so connected to it at the same time. As someone who’s not a religious person, it’s the closest I can come to understanding spirituality.” g
d KIM KI-WOO (Choi Woo-sik) sees everything as a metaphor in a film that ultimately views itself as an emblematic, if unusually twisted, slice of modern life as spent in the yawning gap between wealth and poverty. This young university grad is the introspective scion of a poor family that, after numerous bad turns, has ended up in a beyond-crappy Seoul apartment. His sister (Park So-dam) is a cynical scammer; their dad (Song Kang-ho) is a dreamer whose schemes have never paid off; and tart-tongued Mom (Jang Hye-jin) just barely holds the group together. The Kim family’s bonds, and inner resources, are tested when a college pal recommends Ki-woo for a job tutoring the teen daughter (Jung Ji-so) of a wealthy suburban family. Despite his class-conscious trepidations about the snooty Parks and their modernist villa, he fits in quite well—so well, he immediately starts looking for ways his whole fam-damily can ride the upper-crust gravy train. For example, Sis could tutor the rich clan’s more problematic little son (Jung Hyun-jun), and Mom and Dad would make an excellent housekeeper and driver if they can just convince the friendly, if melancholic, lady of the manor (Jo Yeo-jeong) and her unctuous husband (Lee Sunkyun) that they are not only qualified but don’t even know each other. Oh, and there’s still the little problem of getting rid of the people who are
Choi Woo-sik and Jo Yeo-jeong star in the twisted, instantly classic Parasite.
already doing those jobs. Parasite radically shifts tones over its wildly entertaining two-hour-plus running time. It would be understandable if the lighter first half reminded viewers of the ad hoc family in Shoplifters. And the latter innings could remind some of Jordan Peele’s Get Out and Us, especially regarding the transmutability of identity as it relates to money and class. But the elegantly composed style is pure Bong Joon-ho, the director who made movies as different as the sci-fi Snowpiercer and the semi-animated Okja, both with international casts. He returns to home turf here, even touting contrasts between the two Koreas, with the main families repping the two most common names in that divided land. The movie is an instant classic, although the director’s tendency to jam together different ideas and genres does create some narrative problems. There’s an essential disconnect between the slick Kims when they’re pulling a scam and the inept klutzes they seem to be at home. Bong may be saying something about the roles we play
in a stratified society, but you still have the f loors, and cleaning out a huge to wonder why such clever devils are cistern are relatively easy compared living in a basement with stinkbugs. to accommodating the whims of Thomas Wake, the veteran “wickTHE LIGHTHOUSE ie” played by Willem Dafoe. Starring Willem Dafoe. Rated 14A An ex–sea captain with a bum leg and a pirate’s Cornish accent, d POWERFUL IMAGES and even Wake has the wild hair and long more potent acting are the hall- beard of a biblical patriarch. Inmarks of The Lighthouse, a film that deed, he favours epigrammatic reotherwise strains to illuminate, well, collections such as “Aye, and the something or other. seas were so rageful, nothing could Robert Pattinson plays an 1890s launch nor land.” He’s also given to New Englander called Ephraim unforgettable curses, including a Winslow, an ex-lumberjack who Promethean rant that proves espesigns on for four weeks of light- cially prophetic. house-keeping duties, which turn References to Greek mythology, out to be far heavier than he had Moby Dick, old-school horror, and see next page imagined. Hauling coal, swabbing
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.
Scan to confess Crazy Plant Man I am not a crazy cat lady. Evens cats are too much responsibility for me. I am what you might call a crazy plant man. I have many plants, and the number only goes up. I spend a fair bit of time acquiring them, watering, repotting, propagating, moving around into sunlight. It seems healthy to me, but to outsiders I might seem like... (con’t @straight.com)
Not listening If I’m reading a book or trying to write, and you talk at me without having anything important to say, I will absolutely NOT engage with you. For what reason are you bothering me? I’m obviously trying to read, please... (con’t @straight.com)
I challenged myself and feel great about it - Join me! About 2 years ago I turned my ringer off and left it off. I only turn it on if I know I’m waiting for an important call or something of that nature. I return your phone calls... (con’t @straight.com)
Relieved sigh Nothing in my life made sense until I started really digging for the roots of my problems. No one to blame for the way things turned out, they are what they are. But it’s such a relief to have figured it out.
End of the line I need a job so I’ve been looking at job ads. They all make me want to crawl into a forest and die. How do people do this shit?
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to post a Confession OCTOBER 24 – 31 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 21
Zombie classics return from the dead
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by Adrian Mack
s many have noted: the Cinematheque’s weeks-long Abbas Kiarostami retrospective is perhaps the local cinematic event of the year. Coming in at a close second—probably—is the double bill of Zombie and The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue screening there on Tuesday (October 29). Curated by Northwest Horror Show honcho Shane Burzynski and presented in crisp, 4K restorations, both titles hail from the genre’s golden age of the ’70s, long before CGI splatter, increased frame rates, and shit TV shows caused fatigue to set in. Of the two, Lucio Fulci’s 1979 breakthrough Zombie (a.k.a. Zombi 2 and Zombie Flesh Eaters) is perhaps the best known. It’s a routine Italian knockoff that managed to transcend its lowly origins through sheer grisly force and general misanthropy. Now it’s considered a classic. “Zombie was Fulci’s turning point from his early giallo films into the horror stuff,” Burzynski tells the Georgia Straight. “So, in a sense you could say that it’s one of his most significant movies just because it’s that transitional film. It’s also one of the movies that helped break him out to
Movies
TIP SHEET
d THE WICKER MAN Followed by Night of the Demon, Robin Hardy’s classic headlines a series of British folk-horror movies at the Cinematheque on Friday (October 25). d THE WITCH With The Lighthouse hitting the big screen this week, the Rio Theatre looks back to Robert Eggers’s acclaimed debut on Saturday (October 26).
Art, trash, and politics collide in 1974’s The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue, double-billed at the Cinematheque with Lucio Fulci’s 1979 breakthrough, Zombie.
American audiences. It was one of his first big hits with the grindhouse audiences in the U.S. and definitely a very significant film for him.” It’s also relentlessly nasty, though the film’s infamy mostly rests on its bonkers shark-versus-zombie battle and the unforgettable moment when
actor Olga Karlatos has a huge wood splinter driven through her eye—all achieved, of course, through ingenious practical effects. “It’s a pretty visceral scene,” Burzynski says, with some understatement. “You really have nowhere else to look. If you don’t know what
d RE-ANIMATOR Halloween comes to the Vancity Theatre with Stuart Gordon’s 1985 splatterfest, double-billed with (the great) Society, on Wednesday (October 30).
you’re in for—boy oh boy, you sure figure it out after that scene.” With The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue (a.k.a. Let Sleeping Corpses Lie), Burzynski has lined up an even juicier attraction. Directed by Spain’s Jorge Grau and released
in 1974, the film is a little-seen gem that delivers on the gore and the scares but also on its counterculture/ arthouse aspirations. Where Fulci’s film is entirely brutal, right down to its lowbrow aesthetic, Manchester Morgue achieves a kind of mossy lyricism, depicting the U.K. countryside in rich greens and browns—and the blood in deep, deep reds. “It’s almost like an environmental horror film. And on top of that you have the old generation ragging on the hippie generation; there’s also that angle,” Burzynski notes of Arthur Kennedy’s unforgettable performance as one of the era’s meanest fascist pigs outside of Dirty Harry. He spends most of the film gunning for shaggyhaired Ray Lovelock while the living dead have themselves a country feast. A downbeat ending for both characters seals the film’s awe-inspiring ’70s cynicism. It’s hard not to adore it, or appreciate the work that distributor Synapse has put into its cleanup. “I’m told it’s a pretty jaw-dropping restoration,” Burzynski enthuses. “I have no doubts, cause Synapse is really on top of their shit.” After your jaw drops off, you can use it as an improvised weapon. g
Vancouver butcher makes the cut
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by Gail Johnson
riana White has a physically demanding job that calls for heavy lifting and the use of saws and scimitars. Her workplace might sound like a construction site, but in fact it’s at the back of a restaurant. And, as one of just a small handful of local female butchers, White is helping revive traditional methods of making charcuterie in Vancouver. White, the butcher at Timber and Forage restaurants, was just seven years old when she started cooking meals for her family while her mom was at work. Having spent part of her childhood on a farm in Agassiz, she learned to raise chickens, ducks, and turkeys. At 13, she became a dishwasher at a Vancouver Island restaurant, moving up to the position of line cook the following year. By the time she finished high school, there was no question in White’s mind that she wanted to pursue a culinary career. During her training (at Vancouver Island University) and subsequent apprenticeships, she began to notice a recurring theme, one that shifted her focus to butchery. “The average cook does not know how to butcher something as simple as a tenderloin, let alone a whole animal,” White tells the Straight
Ariana White is helping revive traditional methods of making charcuterie. Photo by Gail Johnson
during an interview at Timber over coffee, two types of lomo (cured tenderloin), and pork-andduck-offal terrine that she made. “People don’t know where their meat comes from, what it looks like before it’s in a package in the grocery
store. I find it all fascinating.” White also loves the precision, skill, and passion that butchery requires. In her 15 years in the industry, she has worked at Windsor Meats and Two Rivers Specialty Meats, among other places. She has learned how to make sausages straight from a Polish master and how to butcher big game like bison, and loves barbecuing items like chicken hearts. With the physical strength to dead-lift at least 80 pounds routinely (a beef or bison shoulder is around 20 pounds; a case has four or five), White is thriving in what’s very much a male-dominated industry. In the past, she’s had men tell her she doesn’t belong. “That fuelled a flame for me,” says White, who dreams of opening her own butcher shop in the Interior, where she plans on moving with her son and her husband, a chef. In the meantime, she’s excited about honing her skills and participating in Swine Out Vancouver. Chefs will pair artisanal charcuterie with local craft beer at the inaugural event, organized by the Chefs’ Table Society of B.C. in collaboration with the Mount Pleasant Business Improvement Association. Among the chefs participating in the November 5 culinary gathering at Heritage Hall
are Tacofino’s Stefan Hartmann, Nicli Antica Pizzeria’s Josh Gale, and Two Rivers Specialty Meats’ Ryan Byrd. Visiting chefs include Dave Mottershall, who’s from Terre Rouge on Prince Edward Island, and Brody White of Kamloops’s Chop’n Block. White plans on making two dishes for Swine Out: bierwurst on a house-made brioche beignet with bacon-mustard marmalade and sauerkraut; and cold-smoked pancetta crisp with compressed apples and fermented jalapeño cheese. (Welbert Choi, Timber/Forage executive chef, will join her at the event.) Swine Out is a chance for chefs to connect and learn from each other, while attendees will get to chow down on a whole lot of fine meat. “I love charcuterie,” says White, who would like to explore cannabis-infused items. “It’s something I really want to dive into. The flavours are constantly changing. Sometimes people complain that it costs too much money, but what they don’t see is the time and effort that go into it. Charcuterie can take four to five months. Prosciutto takes about two years. Traditional methods are more artisanal—the same idea as what’s been happening with bread, made in a small place by hand versus in a massive commercial factory. It’s delicious." g from previous page
ND 22NDAnnual
2019
Authentic Greek Food
Extensive Wine & Bar List 1830 Fir St. Vancouver | 604.736.9559
www.apolloniagreekrestaurant.com C L O S E D M O N D AY S L U N C H • W E D N E S D AY to F R I D AY 11:30A M ͳ 2:30 P M D I N N E R • T U E S D AY to S U N D AY 4:30 ͳ 9:30 P M 22 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT OCTOBER 24 – 31 / 2019
silent cinema come fast and thick, courtesy of director Robert Eggers, a veteran production designer who wrote this with his brother Max. His follow-up to The Witch likewise deals in demonic possession, although the culprit here seems to be testosterone, amped up by isolation. The film’s square format and high-contrast black-and-white look, beautifully shot by Jarin Blaschke, heighten a sense of stern dislocation and put further pressure on the two leads to deliver the drama, plus a surprising amount of waggish humour. Pattinson certainly looks the part of a man haunted by crimes both past and potential. Unfortunately, his Boston-ish accent wavers like a mermaid’s tail—and yes, this is a movie in which dangerous sirens appear. The absence of women, and of any other speaking roles (not counting seagull squawks), allows this to be a Battle of the Actors Workshop Veterans, with Dafoe the obvious victor. Their confined face-offs grow somewhat repetitive, though, especially once a box of grog is uncovered. But there’s enough salty wit to suggest a level of profundity that always seems just beyond the light’s reach. g
DRINK
Events to fill your wine-tasting agenda
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by Kurtis Kolt
erennially one of the best values on B.C. Liquor Stores shelves, José Maria Da Fonseca Periquita Original 2017 (Setúbal, Portugal; $9.99, B.C. Liquor Stores) just keeps on trucking. I recently enjoyed a couple glasses of the latest vintage and am still impressed by what a killer deal it is. Castelão, Trincadeira, and Aragonês are grown in sand, clay, and limestone soils, then blended and aged for six months in a mix of American and French oak. As usual, the wine carries a good dose of earthiness, with a mix of red and black currants and blackberries, along with some good lashings of espresso and cocoa. What was already a steal is coming in at an even better price; it’s currently one dollar off at B.C. Liquor Stores through October 26. Consider this advance notice to stock up for the holidays. Speaking of advance notice, and perhaps a little holiday shopping, the Vancouver International Wine Festival has announced its roster of featured wineries for its next edition, which will run February 22 to March 1, 2020. Tickets for the big International Festival Tastings are on offer as of November 6, and because these sessions end up selling out, it’s a good idea to jump on them sooner rather than later. France is the theme region for the 2020 festival, which will be featuring a who’s who of icons, from Hugel & Fils of Alsace to the Rhone Valley’s M. Chapoutier to Burgundian royalty like Maison Joseph Drouhin; all major regions are covered. Of course, that’s not all. We’ll see more than 30 Canadian wineries, a couple dozen Italians, and most other major global regions;
Renaud-Brisson and Kelcie Jones recently returned from South African and Australian travels and are eager to go beyond the better-known regions like Stellenbosch and the Hunter Valley. They’ll be sharing wines and stories from Swartland, Western Cape, Adelaide Hills, Geelong, and beyond. These are countries that were largely known to many for big-brand cheapie wines but in the past few years have been seeing a renaissance of authentic wines of place that are dynamic, exciting, and delicious. The Vintners Brunch packs ’em in at the Of course, the Crush Grand TastVancouver International Wine Festival. ing (November 9, 8:30 p.m., Whistler there’s even a quartet from Croatia! Conference Centre, $91) is the big A little closer on the calendar is can’t-miss shindig of Cornucopia. Cornucopia, Whistler’s celebration of food and drink, running November 7 to 17. Although the dinners and walk-around tastings are always a lot of fun, my favourite aspect of the festival is always the seminars, where various themes and wine styles are focused upon in a casual setting and you always walk away having learned something new (and maybe a bit tipsy, too). Bubble-icious (November 10, 11:30 a.m., Whistler Conference Centre, $43) is always a quick sellout. Each year, wine writer Daenna Van Mulligen pours an array of sparkling wines from local gems to Spanish Cavas to, yup, Champagne, comparing styles and illustrating why this category of wine shouldn’t just be reserved for special occasions. If those tickets go quick, all is not lost! Inside Scoop: Australian and South African Wine Revolutions (November 10, 11:30 a.m., Whistler Conference Centre, $43) is happening at the same time, and is sure to be one of Cornucopia’s highlights. Vancouver-based sommeliers Maude
The walk-around gala tasting is always full of feasting and revelry in a colourful room where things can be as casual or fancy as you’d like. It’s not often you see people walking around together in everything from tuxedos to snow pants, but it’s certainly not unheard-of here. Wineries from home like Laughing Stock Vineyards and Burrowing Owl Estate Winery are joined by the likes of Oregon’s Elk Cove Vineyards, California’s Paul Hobbs Winery, and many more. Rounding out my trio of seminar recommendations is Craft Beers for Wine Lovers (November 16, 11:30 a.m., Whistler Conference
Centre, $43). Veteran wine retailer Tyler Dawson is joining forces with Ken Beattie, the executive director of the British Columbia Craft Brewers Guild, to draw parallels between various beer and wine styles. As an example, those who are into those hoppy India pale ales that carry citrus and coriander may find similar traits in dry Rieslings, whose mineral f lavours can echo that of coriander, with citrus usually in abundance. I’ve sat in on a few seminars with this theme and they’re always quite enlightening, with plenty of food (well, beer and wine) for thought. I’ll see you up on the mountain! g
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> Go on-line to read hundreds of I Saw You posts or to respond to a message < YOU WERE VOTING IN WEST VAN, I WAS SMILING.
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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: OCTOBER 21, 2019 WHERE: Collingwood School West Van. I was working with elections Canada at Collingwood School in West Vancouver. You are a tall and handsome Blundstone wearing man with long super curly hair and the sweetest smile. I smiled, you smiled, then you left and we shared one more before you took off into the rain. You should have come back!
JOHN FOGERTY CONCERT FLOOR.
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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: OCTOBER 13, 2019 WHERE: Rodgers Arena Blondie, you were one row up from me with floor seats too We rocked and exchanged smiles and glances, chemistry was so strong. You invited me to move up to your row. Oh how I wanted too I was there with wrong girl... Should have been you! Could have been you. Sending this out to the universe. If you see this message me. I'd love to chat.
SERVER AT JAMJAR SOUTH GRANVILLE
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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: OCTOBER 13, 2019 WHERE: Jamjar South Granville (West 11th) The date I picked isn’t necessary accurate, but you’ve worked at Jamjar South Granville as a server for some time now. I’m always excited and nervous when I come in and you’re working, because there’s just something about you. I’ve literally never caught your name and I’m too nervous to ask. You’re slender, quiet, dark features, dark hair, and beautiful. Always in a black tee like everyone, but I feel like I may have seen you wear a black band tee once? Maybe a denim jacket? Maybe not. Anyway, my hunch tells me you’re not into guys but if you are, I’d love to hear from you. If not, just know that I think you’re beautiful.
DENMAN STREET WHERE U ALMOST GOT HIT BY A CAR TRYING TO TALK TO ME
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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: OCTOBER 19, 2019 WHERE: West End I passed by you and your crew on the corner of Denman and Pendrell but walked into a restaurant with my girls España... Came out for a quick vape to say hello and you crossed a busy street (Denman), almost getting hit by a cab on the way. I remember your name Foster, but I regret not getting you number. Hope Parlour was fun! I like how my first recommendation was exactly where you were starting off your friend's bday outing. :D
THE GIRL WITH THE RACCOON TATTOO
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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: OCTOBER 16, 2019 WHERE: The Commodore We were at The Interrupters on Oct 16. I'm the tall guy with the shaved head and goatee. I saw you during the Skinny Lister set, lost you during intermission, found you again during the main act and lost you again during the mad dash for coats. Curse friends who have to get home so they can sleep! I'd love to hear the story behind the raccoon. Coffee / beer / ska show?
BHAT
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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: OCTOBER 16, 2019 WHERE: Canna, Bars the Block, My Dreams Hey, so so so sorry I called you ugly, I meant it as a dysfunctional compliment cuz ur crazy hot, I mean like beyond most, woof. I'm inspired to make music looking at a face like that. I'm pretty sure I remember you from Canna Clinic but I'm not sharp. Pretty sure I owe you several thousand beers. Sorry for being pushy but your tidbits of conversation are so effin fun. Hmu if ur interested.
CUTIE AT THE INTERRUPTERS
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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: OCTOBER 16, 2019 WHERE: Commodore Ballroom We were up the front, you had your black hat on backwards. I had a short black dress with stripes on the side... but you were with a friend and I was trying to figure out what was going on there...? Well, we exchanged plenty of smiles... if it doesn’t work out, you should find me :P
JORDAN THE TEACHER, WE SHARED A KISS AT THE PENTHOUSE
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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: OCTOBER 20, 2019 WHERE: The Penthouse I’m new to stripping, and was taken aback by the way your bright smile caught my eye. You asked me for a dance, and while we waited for a booth, you snagged a bit of my heart with sweet conversation and shared passion for helping kids. That was the best dance I’ve ever shared with someone, and the kisses were honest (I’ve never done that before!). I’d do it all over again - but next time, for free, in private, and without your hands glued to the chair. I gave you my number and now am worried that you thought it was for professional purposes and will never follow up, or that you wrote it down wrong. I’m sorry for darting off so quick - I was feeling bad for taking you away from your friend for so long - and made the assumption that I’d talk to you again soon. I wish I had grabbed your number instead, and would love to share a tea, a cuddle, and more good conversation and kisses on a rainy day.
BAUHAUS Bauhaus Restaurant is excited to introduce a new tasting menu that celebrates the warm colors and flavors of the cold seasons. Inspired by the remembrance of winters in Germany, Executive Chef Christian Kuehnel shaped the new winter menu focusing on flavors from cool forests and distinctly highlighting them with slow-cooking, curing and fermentation techniques that develop a unique profoundness in each course. Bauhaus Restaurant is known for its modern take on German cuisine and attention to detail. The menu delicately balances European cuisine with west coast influences. The chef’s creativity can be seen, tasted and felt in each of their culinary creations which are crafted with only the purest ingredients from a small group of local farms and suppliers. Discover what modern German cuisine is at Bauhaus Restaurant.
22NDAnnual
2019
SWEET CAROLINE - BAH BAH BAH
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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: OCTOBER 6, 2019 WHERE: Choices on Cambie Thanks for sharing the duet in the check out line... hope the tulips brightened the evening.
VOT ED M OST RO M A N T I C | B EST CO N T I N EN TA L 1 WEST CO RD OVA ST REE T | 604 974 1147 | W W W.BAU H AUS - RESTAU R A N T.CO M
Visit straight.com to post your FREE I Saw You _ OCTOBER 24 – 31 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 23
music
Miami Horror won’t stick to a formula
T
by Mike Usinger
here have been times when Benjamin Plant has wondered if he made the right decision by rebranding himself with the synth-heavy Los Angeles act Miami Horror. Before founding the project, the Melbourne-raised musician was carving out a successful career as a DJ, a gig that had both its benefits and drawbacks. Being able to globetrot with a laptop and a crate of records is a dream that can pay off handsomely, and there’s none of the drama and interpersonal conflict that often come with being in a touring band. The downside for Plant was having to play music that he’d started losing interest in. “I think it was about the music changing,” the bassist-keyboardist and producer says, on the line from his adopted home of L.A. “I loved DJing when I got to play the songs that I liked. I didn’t love DJing when it became this hard electro thing that happened around 2009—that’s when things switched over from fun indie dance stuff and Daft Punk to people that were doing this really heavy sound that I didn’t want to play into. So I opted for the live-band project. “And that was kind of a strange choice,” Plant continues. “I’d always seen Miami Horror as being one or two people—very Daft Punk or Justice or something like that, where you know that they are producers and can go off in any direction they choose. Once people know you for that, you’re a lot more open in terms of what you can be as an artist. The band really helped us step things up into a new category, including a really exciting live show. But it’s hard to know if it was the right choice.” There’s a pretty strong argument it was when one looks at Miami Horror’s recorded output to date. The group started as a solo project, with Plant writing, producing, and performing on a 2008 EP titled Bravado. Two full-lengths (2010’s Illumination and 2015’s All Possible Futures), another EP (2017’s The Shapes), and a bunch of singles have followed,
Miami Horror is a full live band, but the project’s founder, Benjamin Plant (far right) has spent much of this year writing by himself.
with the producer collaborating live and in the studio with guitarist Joshua Moriarty, keyboardist Daniel Whitechurch, and drummer Kosta Theodosis. Tellingly, those releases suggest Plant had little interest in sticking to a formula. After diving into the dark side of early-’80s dance music with Illumination, Miami Horror lit out for sun-flooded Euro-pop shores with All Possible Futures, and then brought an infectious dose of world music to the party with The Shapes. For touchstones, think electro pioneers Yaz, Talking Heads at its most Africa-obsessed, and Duran Duran back in the new-romantic years. “Yes, it’s true that we have been able to move in different directions,” Plant says. “I think that’s because, deep down, I’m still kind of a producer. It’s been a bit of a struggle because I love branding to be very specific, and I love people to know
The band really helped us step things up into a new category. – Benjamin Plant
what they are getting. In my heart, I would like to know what would have happened in my life if we’d never become a band, and Miami Horror was just me and a friend. That would have been really interesting. As
you’ve heard a million times, there’s so much more struggle and egos to manage with a band.” That was a problem in the past with Miami Horror. “There was a point on All Possible Futures where everyone said to me, ‘If you don’t end up being more involved in the writing of the music, we’re out,’ ” Plant says. “I was like, ‘Okay, I’ll stop being in no man’s land and we’ll see what happens.’ And some really good songs came out of that. It’s hard to know what kind of trajectory we’d be on today without that moment. But I’d like to think that I’m hard-working and driven enough that I would have somehow made all this happen.” Not interested in rushing things, Plant has spent much of this year working on a follow-up to All Possible Futures. While he plays live with a band, he’s steered the project back to its beginnings, writing by himself in the studio, and bringing
in friends for backing help. Two 2019 singles—“Restless” and “Luv Is Not Enough”—suggest a deep love for vintage funk and analogue French disco. Lyrically, Plant says he’s been making a conscious decision to write about more than himself, joking that All Possible Futures often had him “whinging” about his personal life. “That’s what All Possible Futures is about—that you can imagine all these different futures and that it’s completely anxiety-producing wondering what could have happened, or what will happen depending on what route you take.” What he has no torment about is the path he’s chosen with Miami Horror. Before he began seriously gravitating towards DJing, Plant was convinced that he was going to be a filmmaker. In some ways, that coloured his decision to leave Melbourne and reinvent himself stateside—not just as an artist, but as a person. “Being in film, I’d always wanted to shoot in locations that looked like Los Angeles,” he says. “When I got here, every 100 metres I was stunned by a mural or the vintage cars or the kind of Mexican-looking font you see here everywhere. There were palm trees everywhere and incredible sunsets. That got me feeling like Los Angeles could really be an inspiration. “Then there was the personal quest of me needing a break from Melbourne,” Plant continues. “We’re a very critical culture in Melbourne for art and music—that kind of criticism where people get some sort of pleasure out of pretending they know more than someone else. That gets old when you’re putting your heart and soul into something, and then are inundated by people making you feel bad about that. In L.A. people are excited that you’re doing something and working hard to achieve something new.” g Miami Horror plays Fortune Sound Club next Thursday (October 31).
Seaside living inspires Penelope Isles
I
by Mike Usinger
f a lifetime of living seaside in various parts of England has instilled one thing in Brighton-based siblings Lily and Jack Wolter, it’s that there’s something fantastically meditative about being by the ocean. That reality helped shape Until the Tide Creeps In, the superconfident debut album by Penelope Isles. “Whenever I’m away from the ocean I definitely get withdrawal,” singer and multi-instrumentalist Lily Wolter says, on her cell in a van heading towards Boston. “It’s funny—it’s not like I’m a pro surfer or a swimmer or anything, or that I’m even in the water every day. What I like is that there’s something really calming about it. Being by the water has been a big influence, including in our songwriting. There’s something about it that’s really emotive. We were just talking about how your surroundings can impact things. It just started raining here and the boys in the van were like, ‘I feel like writing a song.’” On Until the Tide Creeps In, the Wolters— along with bassist Jack Sowton and drummer Becky Radford—combine gauzy beach pop with pastoral shoegaze and feedback-drenched alternative rock. Much of the beauty of the album is found in its contrasts; consider the way “Cut Your Hair” balances pillow-soft vocals with rumbletown bass and how the dreamy “Gnarbone” is suddenly swamped by a tsunami of distortion. The roots of Penelope Isles can be traced back to Lily moving from the Isle of Man to Brighton to start a music course, arriving at school with a bedroom project she called
On its super-confident debut album, Until the Tide Creeps In, Brighton, England–based band Penelope Isles combines gauzy beach pop with pastoral shoegaze and feedback-drenched alternative rock.
KookieLou and often playing on acoustic instruments like the bass ukulele. For her final school project she wrote the 2014 EP KookieLou, after which she was determined to realize her dream of forming a band. Helping her out on that front was her brother. “We had a year of playing live, which is when the songs started to naturally adapt,”
24 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT OCTOBER 24 – 31 / 2019
Lily says. “They became more guitar-based because of Jack’s fantastic guitar riffs. What happened is things really started to move away from being a lo-fi, bedroom thing.” Despite that evolution, Until the Tide Creeps In ended up very much a DIY effort. The band began recording in a friend’s studio in Eastbourne, England, and vintage equipment
helped make the process a memorable one. But eventually, it began to feel like a controlled environment was impacting where the songs wanted to go. “What we were making sounded great, but it was like the magic wasn’t there,” Lily says. “I think the problem was that there was always an underlying sense of time and pressure. There wasn’t total room to relax and take the helm. So we made the decision to stop and then start again, doing everything ourselves. We had endless nights until 3, 4, and 5 in the morning where we experimented with different instruments—keyboards, Hammond organ, and xylophones— and really zeroed in on what was working.” What Penelope Isles ended up with is a transportive record perfect for sitting meditatively on the shores of the ocean of your choice. That’s a dream for the band’s members at the moment—not that Lily’s complaining. “After we finished recording, we did South by Southwest and Eurosonic, and a bunch of showcases, and then it was festival season back home, which kept us really busy,” she says. “The album came out in July, and since then we’ve been going nonstop. I sometimes feel trapped when I’m away from the sea. But it’s also hard not to feel like we’ve been blessed.” g Penelope Isles plays the Biltmore Cabaret on Tuesday (October 29).
MUSIC LISTINGS
CONCERTS JUST ANNOUNCED FIVE ALARM FUNK Vancouver funk band, with guests Small Town Artillery and Rain City. Dec 26, 8:30 pm, Commodore Ballroom. Tix on sale Oct 25, 10 am, $32.50. THE BEACHES Alt-rock quartet from Toronto, with guests Hunny. Feb 7, 8 pm, Commodore Ballroom. Tix on sale Oct 25, 10 am. BEDOUIN SOUNDCLASH Alt-rock trio from Toronto. Feb 8, 8 pm, Imperial Vancouver. Tix on sale Oct 25, 10 am, $25. THE JUNGLE GIANTS Indie-rock quartet from Brisbane, Australia. Feb 22, 9 pm, Imperial Vancouver. $20. THE MUSIC OF CREAM: DISRAELI GEARS TOUR Blues-rock trio composed of guitaristvocalist Will Johns (Eric Clapton’s nephew), bassist-vocalist Malcolm Bruce (Jack Bruce’s son) and drummer Kofi Baker (Ginger Baker’s son). Feb 29, Rickshaw Theatre. $30. COLONY HOUSE Indie-rock quartet from Tennessee, with guest Tyson Motsenbocker. Mar 3, 8 pm, Biltmore Cabaret. Tix on sale Oct 25, 10 am, $20. ALAN DOYLE Former member of Great Big Sea performs tunes from latest solo album, with guest Kelly Prescott. Mar 8, 8 pm, Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Tix on sale Oct 25, noon. THE LONE BELLOW Alt-country trio from Brooklyn, with guest Early James. Mar 9, 9 pm, Imperial Vancouver. Tix on sale Oct 25, 10 am, $32.25. JESSE COOK Canadian nuevo-flamenco guitarist. Mar 21, 8 pm, The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts. Tix on sale Oct 25, 10 am. LITTLE DRAGON Swedish electronic-pop band. May 5, 8 pm, Commodore Ballroom. Tix on sale Oct 25, 10 am, $35. JOHN MORELAND Folk-rock singer-songwriter from Oklahoma. May 12, 9 pm, WISE Hall. Tix on sale Oct 25, 10 am, $18. JAMES ARTHUR Pop singer-songwriter from England. May 15, 8 pm, Commodore Ballroom. Tix on sale Oct 25, 10 am, $35.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23 THE WAILERS Roots rasta reggae. Oct 23, 8 pm, Imperial Vancouver. $36.75. TEENAGE BOTTLEROCKET Wyoming punkrock veterans, with local guests Isotopes Punk Rock Baseball Club and Modern Terror. Oct 23, 8 pm, Rickshaw Theatre. $17.50. JONATHAN BREE Composer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer from New Zealand. Oct 23, 9 pm, Fox Cabaret. $15. JEREMY DUTCHER Classically trained Canadian Indigenous tenor, composer, musicologist, and activist. Oct 23, 9 pm, Commodore Ballroom. $27.50.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24 THE WILD! Rowdy rockers from Kelowna. Oct 24, Railway Stage and Beer Café. $12. LAST DINOSAURS Indie-rock quartet from Australia, with guests Born Ruffians. Oct 24, Imperial Vancouver. ALIEN WEAPONRY Metal trio from New Zealand. Oct 24, Biltmore Cabaret. $12.50-14.99. JUDAH & THE LION Americana/alt band from Nashville. Oct 24, 8 pm, Orpheum Theatre. $29.50/39.50/49.50. THE YOUNG’UNS Folk trio performs traditional songs from their native Northeast England and further afield. Oct 24, 8-10:30 pm, St. James Hall. $30/26.
Employment EMPLOYMENT Child Care
CHILD CARE
Jiang Residence is looking for a Responsible Caregiver for 2 kids. Duties: Cooking meals, housekeeping, take children to and from school and appointments and maintain a safe environment in the home. $14.5/h, 40h/week. Minimum 1yr college diploma required, can travel with family. Please contact at v63744@gmail.com
Mind EMPLOYMENT Body & Soul Certified Massage
FALL SPECIAL Bodyscrub $79/70min. Waxing 20% off. Massage $28/half hour 8 - 4287 Kingsway 604-438-8714 Support Groups
A MDABC peer-led support group
is a safe place to share your story, your struggles and accomplishments, and to listen to others as they share similar concerns. Please Note: Support groups are not intended to provide counselling/therapy. ? Please visit www.mdabc.net for a list and location of support groups or call 604-873-0103 for info. A MDABC peer-led support group is a safe place to share your story, your struggles and accomplishments, and to listen to others as they share similar concerns. Please Note: Support groups are not intended to provide counselling/therapy. ? Please visit www.mdabc.net for a list and location of support groups or call 604-873-0103 for info. AL-ANON FAMILY GROUPS Does someone else's drinking bother you? Al-Anon can help. We are a support group for those who have been affected by another's drinking problem. For more information please call: 604-688-1716
THE ADICTS Punk band from England. Oct 24, 9 pm, Rickshaw Theatre. $25. DINOSAUR JR. American alt-rock band, featuring guitarist-vocalist J. Mascis. Oct 24, 9 pm, Commodore Ballroom. $35.
LITE AND ELEPHANT GYM Double bill of math-rock bands from Japan and Taiwan. Oct 28, Biltmore Cabaret. $25.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29
TODDCAST PODCAST PRESENTS Featuring performances by local rock bands Dead Quiet, Woodhawk, and No Liars. Oct 25, Railway Stage and Beer Café. $8. KERO KERO BONITO British indie-pop band. Oct 25, Rickshaw Theatre. JORDAN RAKEI Australian soul-jazz singersongwriter. Oct 25, Biltmore Cabaret. $19.99. BIG THIEF Brooklyn-based indie-folk/rock band. Oct 25, Vogue Theatre. HALLOWEEN WEEN TRIBUTE NIGHT Three local acts perform Ween’s hits, misses, Bsides, and rarities. Oct 25, 8 pm, Pat’s Pub & Brewhouse. $10. PETER BERNSTEIN Guitarist performs with CapU jazz ensembles. Oct 25, 8 pm, BlueShore Financial Centre for the Performing Arts. $32/29. BRET MICHAELS Former frontman of ‘80s glam-pop band Poison. Oct 25, 8 pm, Hard Rock Casino Vancouver. From $69.50. ZOMBIE COOKOUT’S HALLOWEEKEND Instrumental boogie band plays two nights, with guests Alex Marusyk and Silvacola (Fri.) and Mary Matheson and Matt Hoyles (Sat.). Oct 25-26, 8:30 pm, The Greedy Pig. $10. SHOVELS & ROPE American country-folk duo, with guest John Paul White. Oct 25, 9 pm, Commodore Ballroom. $30.
PENELOPE ISLES Indie-rock quartet from Brighton, England. Oct 29, Biltmore Cabaret. $16.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26 THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS Anglo-Dutch experimental rock band, with guests Orbit Service. Oct 26, Biltmore Cabaret. $25. MUMIY TROLL Rock quintet from Russia. Oct 26, Vogue Theatre. $39.50. NOAH KAHAN American folk-pop singersongwriter. Oct 26, 7 pm, Commodore Ballroom. $25. PARK SOUND HALLOWEEN SHOW Featuring performances by Sleepy Gonzales, Zach Kleisinger, and Hello Victim. Oct 26, 7 pm, Park Sound Studio. $10-15. THE DIME NOTES Blues-drenched, clarinetdriven 1920s vintage jazz band. Oct 26, 7:30 pm, Centennial Theatre. $37/32.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 28
IS PROUD TO PRESENT:
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30 JONATHAN RICHMAN American proto-punk folk-rock singer-songwriter. Oct 30, 8 pm, Rio Theatre. $27.50.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31 BIG WRECK Can-Am rock band, with guests Texas King. Oct 31–Nov 1, 8 pm, Commodore Ballroom. Nov 1 SOLD OUT, tix for Oct 31 $42.50.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1 THE BAND PERRY American country-pop trio composed of siblings Kimberly Perry, Reid Perry, and Neil Perry, with guests Phangs. Nov 1, Vogue Theatre. $30. STRUNG OUT California skate punks, with guests the Casualties from New York City. Nov 1, 8 pm, Rickshaw Theatre. $24.50. STEPHEN FEARING Canadian folk singersongwriter, with guest Matt Patershuk. Nov 1, 8-10:30 pm, St. James Hall. $28/24.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2 TOM MORELLO Guitarist playing full songs off his 2018 collaborative release, The Atlas Underground. Nov 2, 8 pm, Commodore Ballroom. $45. LEMON BUCKET ORKESTRA This notorious party-punk, Balkan-inspired band’s live shows are truly immersive experiences. Nov 2, 8 pm, Rickshaw Theatre. $30 advance/$35 door—cash only. THE PACO DE LUCÍA PROJECT Flamenco group carries on the musical legacy of late guitar legend Paco de Lucía. Nov 2, 8 pm, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. From $46. MUSIC LISTINGSare a public service provided free of charge. 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.
600 Hamilton St. Vancouver
info: www.vlacc.ca
WHITNEY Indie-rock band from Chicago, with guests Lala Lala. Oct 26, 8 pm, Venue. $30. BROCKHAMPTON Rap collective from Texas. Oct 26, 8 pm, PNE Forum. $56.50. HALLOWEEN AT THE COMMODORE Halloween bash featuring performances by Stickybuds, Moontricks, Dirtwire, and Rumpus & Sivz. Oct 26, 10 pm, Commodore Ballroom.
Downtown Vancouver
KARAOKE
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27
7 DAYS A WEEK
TIFFANY YOUNG K-pop/synth-pop artist from California. Oct 27, Vogue Theatre. $35. BUILT TO SPILL Indie-rock band from Boise, Idaho. Oct 27, 8 pm, Rickshaw Theatre. $32.50. THE PAUL MCKENNA BAND Folk quartet from Glascow, Scotland. Oct 27, 8-10:30 pm, St. James Hall. $26/22. SLOAN Canadian rock band on their Navy Blues Tour. Oct 27, 8:30 pm, Commodore Ballroom. $35.
Anorexics & Bulimics Anonymous 12 Step based peer support program which addresses the mental, emotional, & spiritual aspects of disordered eating Tuesdays @ 7 pm @ Avalon Women's Centre 5957 West Blvd - 604-263-7177 ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION Looking to start a parent support group in Kitsilano. Please call Barbara 604 737 8337 Battered Women's Support Services provides free daytime & evening support groups (Drop-ins & 10 week groups) for women abused by their intimate partner. Groups provide emotional support, legal information & advocacy, safety planning, and referrals. For more information please call: 604-687-1867
9:30PM-CLOSE EVIL BASTARD KARAOKE EXPERIENCE HOSTED BY:
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EMPLOYMENT Callboard Volunteers
SHELTER MOVERS,
a volunteer based organization that provides moving and storage services at no cost to women and children fleeing abuse, is looking for volunteers to help with these moves. We ask that you be able to lift 20 lbs. This is a great opportunity to make a BIG impact in a small amount of time. To apply email volunteervan@sheltermovers.com
BC Balance & Dizziness provides information & support for persons with balance, dizziness & vestibular disorders. Bi Monthly info meetings @ St. Paul's Hospital. Call for info. 604-878-8383 www.BalanceAndDizziness.org Distress Line & Suicide Prevention Services NEED SOME ONE TO TALK TO? Call us for immediate, free, confidential and non-judgemental support, 24 hours a day, everyday. The Crisis Centre in Vancouver can help you cope more effectively with stressful situations. 604-872-3311 Drug & Alcohol Problems? Free advanced information and help on how quit drinking & using drugs. For more information call Barry Bjornson @ 604-836-7568 or email me @livinghumility@live.com
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HAVE YOU BEEN TO...
APARTMENTS FOR RENT
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Annoucements EMPLOYMENT Notices NOTICE TO NEXT OF KIN of SHERGAR JAMAICA, deceased, formerly of 415 Alexander St, Vancouver, BC, who died on March 28, 2018, are required to contact Coast Foundation Society (1974), trustee of the Shergar Jamaica Trust, at 293 East 11th Ave, Vancouver, BC V5T 2C4 (Attention: Trust Administrator), on or before September 30, 2020, after which date the trust assets will be distributed having regard only to those next of kin whom the trustee is aware and whose relationship to the deceased has been verified.
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OCTOBER 24 – 31 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT 25 OCTOBER 24 – 31 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 25
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Advice for those in the cheaters club by Dan Savage
b I AM A guy in my 40s, handsome, more financially successful than most, and a classic sexual scoundrel. I cheated on my ex-wife and every girlfriend I’ve ever had. I’m currently dating a woman in her 20s. We are both each other’s ideal type. She has as scandalous a past as I do but has “accomplished” more in a shorter time. We met via a hookup app. Then another one. And another one. We enjoyed each other’s company from the moment we met, and the sex was great. (We share a few not-easyto-match kinks.) Most of her stuff is now at my house. We’ve had many deep dives into our respective pasts. We cringe now at how we met and why we’ve hooked up with so many random people. Here’s the issue: after 12 months together, with too many breakups to count, we have no idea how to move forward. We cannot establish trust. We are in love and everything’s great…so long as we have our eyeballs on each other. Once out of direct sight, we both turn into possessive assholes. So many phones have been stolen and thrown away, I can’t count. How do two sluts find peace?
yourselves to be and thanking your fucky stars for bringing you together, CPOS, you felt obligated to disavow your past behaviours—some of which sound legitimately terrible—and slutshame yourselves and each other. And for what? You are still the people you were before you started theatrically cringing about how you met. She doesn’t trust you not to cheat on her, and I don’t see why she should. You don’t trust her not to cheat on you, and I don’t see why you should. So why promise not to cheat? Why waste time and emotional energy policing each other for evidence of what you both know to be true: you’re going to cheat on each other. That you can trust in. So instead of making promises you can’t keep and then having meltdowns and stealing each other’s phones and breaking up and getting back together, CPOS, make a promise you can keep. Not to be faithful but to be considerate. And discreet. Promise not to do anything that makes her feel like she isn’t your top priority even if you do fuck around occasionally, and ask her to make the same promise to - Can’t Part Over Sex you. Then you can move forward as honest sluts and not lying cheats. You’ve cheated on everyone you’ve ever been with, and your girlfriend has b I AM IN love with a happily married presumably cheated on everyone she’s woman. I was the “other man” almost ever been with. (That’s what you meant 20 years ago, before she was married by “she has as scandalous a past as I but when she was living with the man do,” right?) But instead of embracing she’s with now. We fell madly in love, the cheats and sluts you both know but we didn’t end up together. In the
intervening years, we both married and had children. We’ve reconnected a couple times over the years and it became a sexual relationship again. Here’s the tricky part: my then-wife was an undocumented immigrant. My marriage was unhappy, but for my child’s sake I couldn’t leave my wife, for fear of his mother getting deported. This year, she got her green card and we divorced. Then I reconnected with my ex again. We desperately want to get married, but she is scared to end her marriage. She’s in a relatively happy marriage, and divorce will be a bombshell. She worries about the shock and destabilizing effect on her children, who are still young. And she fears that nothing short of admitting she’s in love with someone else could end her otherwise happy marriage, but admitting that she’s been unfaithful will make coparenting impossibly hard going forward. We agonize over this situation but can’t bear the thought of not being together. We understand that pain will have to happen, but we just don’t know what the best course of action is. - Pensive And Incredibly Nervous If you two can’t wait until her kids are
a little older before you marry, PAIN, then there’s no way to avoid the most painful possible version of this shit show. But your girlfriend’s husband deserves the whole truth right out of the gate, even at the risk of
complicating their coparenting arrangements in the short run. Letting her soon-to-be-ex-husband twist in the wind wondering why his decent, loving, seemingly stable marriage suddenly collapsed would just be cruel—and pointlessly so, as he will inevitably learn the truth. You two don’t plan to marry in secret, right? Which means her soonto-be-ex and their kids are going to find out about you, the new husband and stepfather, at some point in the very near future. The whole truth, all at once. Don’t draw it out. Infl icting pain on the installment plan won’t assuage your guilt.
my kinks. Unfortunately, in addition to living in a place without access to these kinds of events and workshops, my husband is monogamous without compromise. He is unwilling to co-top me alongside another Dominant partner and unwilling to let me bottom for others solo, regardless of whether sex is involved. Within the past several years, this frustration has led me to seek out the occasional experience with others, which is always discovered. My sex drive seems intact when I fantasize about hot, rough scenes with other people, but I experience very little desire for my husband. I’m at a loss. I adore this man, and haven’t ever felt like it would be worth it to leave him b I’M MARRIED TO a loving, handsome just so I could get my kinky needs met, man. For the first several years of our but we are at an impasse. Is it even posrelationship, we had amazing sex. At sible to find a compromise? - Sex Alacrity Diminished some point after moving in together, my interest in having sex with him decreased significantly. This has been a Knowing what you do about yourpattern in every long-term relationship self—your attraction to a partner I’ve ever had. Living together seems to craters after moving in together, you diminish my attraction to my partner, have a powerful need to explore your which is hugely problematic when I am kinks with casual play partners—you in a long-term monogamous relation- shouldn’t be cohabitating and/or ship. The second problem is that my making monogamous commitments. kink needs are not being met. My hus- But you are and you have, SAD, so band is aware of my kinks and is GGG what now? There’s no middle ground in theory, but he lacks the skill to deliv- between an uncompromisingly moner what I’m interested in. Before I met ogamous marriage and the kind of my husband, I spent many years as a freedom to explore your kinks that member of a very active kink scene in a you need to feel fulfilled, partnered big city. I miss the friendships and ex- or not. But your husband caught you see previous page periences I had when I was able to share
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