The Georgia Straight - Holiday Arts - Nov 21, 2019

NOVEMBER 21 – 28 / 2019 | FREE

Volume 53 | Number 2705

CLIMATE SHORTFALL City misses mark on emissions

DONNA STRICKLAND Nobel Prize winner plays with lasers

STEPHEN HAMM

Centres himself on Theremin Man

Holiday Arts

Homegrown Vancouver plays, including a madcap Yuletide musical set in the Elbow Room Café, are putting their own warped spin on the season

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2 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT NOVEMBER 21 – 28 / 2019

NOVEMBER 21 – 28 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 3

CONTENTS

November 21 – 28 / 2019

13 COVER

Our Holiday Arts roundup spotlights new Vancouver-spawned seasonal plays and shows for every mood.

Cover photo by Emily Cooper

5

NEWS

The City of Vancouver is falling far short of its target to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 2020.

By Charlie Smith

6

N OW – N OV 3 0

NEWS

Canadian researcher Donna Strickland still likes playing with lasers, even after winning the Nobel Prize in physics.

By Travis Lupick

12 FOOD

SPELL PARQ FOR

A CHANCE TO WIN UP TO

New pastries and some festive chocolates are featured alongside old faves in Beta5 Chocolates’ new space.

By Tammy Kwan

31 MUSIC

Vancouver legend Stephen Hamm launches a new phase of his storied musical career with Theremin Man.

By Mike Usinger

M O NDAY – T HURSDAY | 8 PM FR ID AY – S AT UR D AY | 9 PM SUNDAY | 6 PM

e Start Here 10 BOOKS 12 THE BOTTLE 8 CANNABIS 33 CONFESSIONS 9 HOROSCOPES 10 I SAW YOU 32 LOCAL DISCS 27 MOVIE REVIEWS 7 REAL ESTATE 35 SAVAGE LOVE 24 THEATRE

EARN BALLOTS BY PLAYING SLOTS & TABLE GAMES. 4X BALLOTS EVERY THURSDAY. MUST PRESENT VALID GOVERNMENT ISSUED PHOTO I.D. TO PARTICIPATE. RULES APPLY. ACTIVATE BALLOTS BEGINNING 2 HOURS PRIOR. VISIT PLAYERS CLUB FOR DETAILS.

e Listings 26 ARTS 33 MUSIC

3 RD FLOOR

L I V E E NTE RTA I N M E NT EV E RY F RI DAY & SATU RDAY F E ATU RI N G

THE DUELING PIANOS

Vancouver’s News and Entertainment Weekly Volume 53 | Number 2705 1635 West Broadway, Vancouver, B.C. V6J 1W9 T: 604.730.7000 F: 604.730.7010 E: gs.info@straight.com straight.com

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e Online TOP 5

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Here’s what people are reading this week on Straight.com.

1 2 3 4 5

Eric Denhoff: A Marshall Plan for B.C.’s forestry towns.

Heritage designation sought for one of Main Street’s oldest stores.

Transit subsidy proposed at four Metrotown projects.

Dining experiences to enjoy before holiday season takes over life.

StarMetro to shut down all daily print publications in Canada.

GeorgiaStraight @GeorgiaStraight @GeorgiaStraight

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

Canadian Publications Mail Agreement #40009178, return undeliverable Canadian addresses to The Georgia Straight, 1635 West Broadway, Vancouver, B.C, V6J 1W9

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NEWS

City not close to making emission-reduction goal

by Charlie Smith

One of the biggest climate challenges in Vancouver is replacing natural gas–burning heating and hot-water systems with electric heat pumps. Photo by Janet McDonald

T

he City of Vancouver is rarely described as a climate laggard.

But a report shows it is falling far short of its Greenest City Action Plan goal for reducing emissions of carbon dioxide equivalents.

The plan’s latest update indicates that there was only a 12-percent drop in greenhouse-gas emissions from 2007 to 2018.

Last year, 2.44 million tonnes were emitted citywide. The plan calls for a 33-percent reduction by 2020, to 1.87 million tonnes.

“It’s understandable that people are worried about the cost of taking action,” the update states. “That said, if we don’t cut carbon, if we don’t adapt our city and our economy, the cost of not taking action will be far greater.”

One of the greatest dangers is that feedback loops will kick in, sending the average global temperature far higher.

A study published last year in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences described the risk of a “Hothouse Earth Pathway” that could activate tipping points in a domino-style cascade.

Meanwhile, the 2018-19 update shows that the City of Vancouver exceeded its goal in the Greenest City Action Plan of having more than 50 percent of trips made by foot, bicycle, and public transit. It reached 53 percent by 2018.

The city has vastly exceeded its objective to reduce distance driven per resident to 20 percent below 2007 levels. That was down 38 percent by 2018.

However, the city has only managed to bring emissions from existing buildings down by 11 percent from 2007, whereas the goal is to cut those by 20 percent.

Earlier this year, Vancouver city council endorsed six “Big Moves” recommended by staff to achieve far greater reductions in greenhousegas emissions.

They include the goal that zeroemission vehicles will be used for 50 percent of kilometres driven in 2030

and that 90 percent of residents live within an easy walk or roll of their daily needs.

One of the most challenging Big Moves is ensuring that all new replacement heating and hot-water systems be zero-emission. About 95 percent of emissions from buildings in Vancouver are linked to the burning of natural gas for space heating and hot-water systems, according to the city.

“Eliminating these emissions is essential to meeting our 100% renewable energy target [by 2050] and heat pumps powered by low/zero-carbon electricity will be the primary enabling technology,” a city staff report stated earlier this year. g

alk TOF THE WEEK A PAPER PUBLISHED in a

recent issue of the Review of Environmental Economics and Policy cites the need for a “more purposeful geoengineering of coastlines”.

According to Sathya Gopalakrishnan and coauthors, this approach “creates opportunities for mitigating climate-related damages” and maximizes economic gains.

Gopalakrishnan is an associate professor in the department of agricultural, environmental, and development economics at Ohio State University. A visiting research scholar at UBC’s Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies, Gopalakrishnan will deliver a talk on the dynamics of coastal management. This comes at a time when impacts of climate change, like rising seas and ocean acidification, are adding to the transformation of the coastal environment brought by nature and humans. The talk will be held in the institute’s seminar room (6331 Crescent Road) on November 27 starting at 3 p.m. g

ER O F FD I N G PEN

NOVEMBER 21 – 28 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 5

NEWS CALL ME FOR EXPERT ADVICE

Nobel laureate still loves lasers

by Travis Lupick

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In 2018 Canadian researcher Donna Strickland became only the third woman in history to win the Nobel Prize in physics.

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Our take on holiday gift giving & festivities.

arly one morning in October 2018, in the Waterloo, Ontario, home she shares with her husband, Donna Strickland sat in bed in a state of shock. It was exactly 5 a.m. and she had just received “an important call from Sweden”, which was how the man on the other end of the line had described it. Then he placed Strickland on hold for several minutes. She sat there in bed, one hand holding the phone to her ear and the other clinging to the arm of her husband.

Each year, the Nobel committee for physics notifies its recipient or recipients on the same date at the same time. Strickland knew that and allowed herself a guess.

“I think this is the Nobel Prize,” she said to her husband. “I can’t believe it.”

Strickland was right. More than three decades earlier, in 1985, she and her PhD supervisor at the time, Gérard Mourou, had created a highintensity, ultrashort optical pulse, a new type of laser that concentrates more energy into a smaller space.

Now that work was being recognized with science’s highest honour.

“It was quite a nice wake-up call,” Strickland said in a telephone interview ahead of a November 25 engagement at UBC’s Chan Centre for the Performing Arts.

She had become one of 53 female Nobel recipients (versus 866 males) and one of just three women who have received the award for physics. But, Strickland adds, notification that she was a Nobel laureate is not the career moment she cherishes the most.

Strickland told the Straight that in the 1990s, when it emerged that her discovery could be used in laser eye surgery to return the gift of sight,

When I felt proudest was when I got the laser itself to work.

– Donna Strickland

that was also wonderful to learn. But again, Strickland said, that was not the high point of her academic life.

“When I felt proudest was when I got the laser itself to work. That’s the moment I remember the most,” Strickland said. “It was pure science.”

What exactly is a high-intensity, ultrashort optical pulse? Canada’s 26th recipient of the Nobel Prize dumbs it down like this: “My analogy is always with a nail and a piece of wood. You can push on a nail and it doesn’t go in.

But you pick up a hammer and you tap on the nail quickly and it will go in.”

Using a new technique she developed called chirped-pulse amplification, Strickland and Mourou invented the ultrashort optical pulse laser. They figured out how to pack more light—and therefore more energy—into a smaller space. That allowed for the creation of lasers significantly more powerful than existing devices and, crucially, lasers that emit less heat.

It’s an ideal example of why science should be funded for science’s sake, Strickland said. In 1985, she didn’t know that the method she

developed to concentrate light would be used in laser eye surgeries or in the manufacture of tiny components crucial to the assembly of mobile phones. But other scientists built on her research and that’s where it led.

“It is only from a body of knowledge that we can come up with new applications,” Strickland explained.

“It was Einstein who first came up with the equation for the laser, in 1917. We didn’t even have a laser until 1960. And then it really only exploded 25 years later. That’s when lasers were starting to be used everywhere.”

Magnetic-resonance imaging is another example, Strickland said. The technology it relies on, nuclear magnetic resonance, was first described in 1938. Forty years later, MRI machines began appearing in hospitals around the world.

Science should be funded as a matter of simple exploration. “But there is also a tremendous economic benefit,” Strickland added. “I think Canada should be spending a bigger portion of our GDP on science and research. The economy of the future is going to be explored using science.

I think we want to get on that wave.”

What’s Canada’s Nobel laureate working on today?

Strickland said she’s working on crunching lasers into even smaller spaces. “I still just like playing with any laser I can put my hands on, especially smaller lasers,” she said with obvious joy. g As part of the UBC Connects series, president and vice chancellor Santa Ono has invited Donna Strickland to speak on Monday (November 25) at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. For more information, visit events.ubc.ca/ubc-connects/.

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Ming Wo straight.com 6 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT NOVEMBER 21 – 28 / 2019

mingwo.com

REAL ESTATE

Developer seeks master lease to switch to hotel

T

by Carlito Pablo

hey’re going to be built as homes, but they’re also planned for a hotel business.

A developer is asking the City of Vancouver to approve hotel use for a portion or all of the residential units of a mixed-use project in Mount Pleasant.

The hotel, if approved, would be operated through a partnership with Sonder Canada, a technology-based company that offers short-term rentals across North America and Europe.

“The hotel use would be accommodated through a master lease of the strata residential units between the owner [the developer] and Sonder Canada for a set term (typically five years), after which the lease would be re-assessed by the owner,” Karen Hoese, assistant director with the city’s rezoning centre, wrote in a report to council.

The owner is Main Street Arts 2 Investments Inc., a company affiliated with development firm PortLiving.

After the lease, Hoese continued, the units could either continue as hotel lodgings for another term or become residential.

The project is located at the northeast corner of Main Street and East 4th Avenue, currently home to various auto-related businesses and a propane depot. The development will have 49 units, with commercial uses on the ground level and below street level, and childcare service on the second level.

The 37-space childcare facility, which is valued at $4.7 million, will be turned over to the city by the developer.

The rezoning application for 1940 Main Street, which was the subject of Hoese’s report, has been referred by council to public hearing.

An unusual arrangement with the city is sought for a project on Main Street.

According to Hoese, the provision of hotel use is encouraged by the city’s Interim Hotel Development Policy.

The policy was approved by council in July 2018 to address the declining supply of hotel rooms in the city.

A staff report to council last year indicated that the city lost 1,105 rooms during the past decade. The same report stated that 1,674 more rooms are at risk because of redevelopment, primarily for residential purposes.

The interim hotel policy states that “new or existing hotels will be considered as part of neighbourhood planning programs, as well as rezoning and development applications and enquiries.”

In her report about 1940 Main Street, Hoese wrote that sites like this one are “particularly important due to their proximity to major convention facilities, major offices, the concentration of tourism destinations and regional economic importance”.

“The applicant would initially be required to construct the project for residential use, and apply for a Development Permit for the hotel use should they pursue the partnership with Sonder Canada upon project completion,” Hoese explained. g

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et me ask you this: who walks into a liquor store and asks for the beer with the highest alcohol content? If you find yourself raising your hand, you may be a certifiable party animal (and/or an alcoholic)—but, trust me, you don’t know how to appreciate good beer.

It makes me cringe when my budtender friends tell me that the highest-THC-content flower is always the one that sells out first because it is by far the most common request they receive from patrons. Truly, this is a clear sign of consumers who are still struggling to understand how to make their purchase, coupled with an endemic industrywide failure on the part of cannabis “retail specialists” to provide the unbiased, factbased guidance that clients deserve.

We have all been told that THC content tells you how potent a particular cultivar will be, right? Well, think again.

Although this may be true for

some people, it most certainly is not true for all of us. I have personally experienced being brought to my knees by a 14-percent-THC Congolese,

THC alone does not determine how long the high will last.

– Adolfo Gonzalez

even though I typically smoke Kush varieties with a 25-percent-plus THC content. This is because other

see page 10

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Vote for your favourite restaurants and enter to win $1,500 in gift certicates from Dine Out Vancouver Festival’s participating restaurants!

Watch STRAIGHT.COM for details.

8 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT NOVEMBER 21 – 28 / 2019

#GOLDENPLATES2020

HOROSCOPES ercury has just ended retrograde but will continue in Scorpio through the first week of December. Mars has just entered Scorpio and will continue in this sign through the start of next year. Keeping motivation going strong, both transits continue to keep us digging deeper for the gold. If you haven’t gotten a handle on it yet, you will soon enough.

The sun in Sagittarius, starting Friday, sets everything to do with the upcoming holidays into fuller swing. It’s likely to be quite a profitable weekend for businesses that cater to the season.

Jump-start your holiday shopping or get your entertainment fill however it suits you best. The moon in Scorpio marks Saturday night as the better pick for getting your sexy on.

Do you feel an emotional undercurrent building? Have a sense that there’s something in front of you that you can’t quite see but that you know is there? Mars is on a tension buildup with Uranus in Taurus through Sunday morning. It’s an edgy, excitable, unpredictable, even volatile combination. Emotions, action, or reaction can come on sudden and strong. Saturday night’s sleep could be unsettled.

Essential-services personnel should prepare for a busy night.

Mars in opposition to Uranus can bring the action to a breaking point or facilitate a breakthrough. Venus conjunct Jupiter in Sagittarius adds volume and value, reward and/or cost.

Venus enters Capricorn Monday afternoon; Tuesday delivers a new moon in Sagittarius; and Neptune ends retrograde on Wednesday. These transits keep the week on a smooth rollout and set up a pleasant social backdrop for USA Thanksgiving.

A

ARIES

March 20–April 20

Mars, freshly into Scorpio, will keep matters to do with finances, trust, and rebuild initiatives on the front burner through January.

Stress, uncertainty, and/or excitement escalates to Sunday’s full steam ahead. Mars hits a breaking point with Uranus; the Scorpio moon triggers the power play and emotional intensity; and Venus/Jupiter puts the money, the value, the newsworthy, and matters of heart into full swing.

CandyTown is coming!

NOVEMBER 21 TO 27, 2019 sun in Sagittarius puts everything to do with the upcoming holidays into full swing. Now that Mercury retrograde is out of the way, you can expect to see better progress. In fact, Saturday/Sunday can fast-track you/ it/them, perhaps unexpectedly so.

Monday/Tuesday can be productive.

F

VIRGO

August 23–September 23

Mercury, now done with retrograde, and Mars, freshly into Scorpio, set you onto a whole new line of thinking. Both transits boost your intuitive smarts, empowerment initiatives, and ability to connect the dots. Saturday/Sunday could bring news, a surprise, a cutoff point, or a breakthrough of significance. Venus in Capricorn (starting Monday) helps you regain control, set better boundaries, and gain better results.

G

LIBRA

September 23–October 23

The workweek ends on a social and upbeat note. Saturday night through early Sunday, the moon in Scorpio could unleash an emotional flood. Venus/Jupiter put more of everything on the increase and the go. Mars/ Uranus can surprise you (or shock you) with something out of the blue. To the plus, it could produce a great brainstorm or breakthrough. Monday/Tuesday, you’ll accomplish well.

H

SCORPIO

I

SAGITTARIUS

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by Rose Marcus

NEW FOR 2019

“Winter is Coming” feature with dragon ice sculptures & live swordplay Expanded CandyTown Cocktail Tour

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October 23–November 22

Freshly into your sign, Mars will tenant Scorpio through the beginning of next year. Building an opposition to Uranus to Sunday, and joined by Venus/Jupiter pumping it up, the start of this breakthrough transit has quite a kick to it. Regarding a conversation, money matter, health issue, or important relationship, Saturday/Sunday can produce a game-changer moment. Monday/ Tuesday, keep it rolling well.

November 22–December 21

The weekend sets you or it into action, perhaps in some overthe-top, take-flight, or go-the-distance way. It could be the game, the heat of the moment, a brainstorm, something new or completely out of TAURUS the blue that overtakes you. There’s April 20–May 21 no way you can hold it back or back You’ll now hit a much faster down. Take the ball and run with it! go, perhaps unexpectedly so. This is CAPRICORN due not only to Mercury being done December 21–January 20 with retrograde but Mars building An irresistible urge or obsestoward a strike-flint trajectory with Uranus on Sunday. Anything goes. sion can get the better of you. A shakeA breaking point can be reached; it-up or spice-it-up could do the trick someone or something could cause quite nicely this weekend. Then again, you to react in some extreme way; Mars/Uranus can pull you into more the exceptional could make your day. than you bargained for. You could Venus/Jupiter makes it big, not small. make a significant breakthrough or find yourself on a surprise turnaround GEMINI with someone or something.

B C

J

May 21–June 21

The sun in Sagittarius shines its light on your social and relationship sector. Saturday night, get your sexy on. Building to Sunday, Venus/ Jupiter and Mars/Uranus send it over the top. You could feel overcome, overwhelmed, or on the brink of something major. There’s plenty of traction or attraction to keep you/it/ them going strong. Monday/Tuesday moves along a smooth-running track.

D

CANCER

June 21–July 22

You’ll gain better stride now that Mercury is done with retrograde and Mars is fresh at it in Scorpio. Moving forward, both transits will help you to hit the target with better precision.

Saturday/Sunday, don’t hold back; go by feel; go all out; get your sexy on.

Venus into Capricorn, starting Monday, draws attention to the necessity to make good use of your time.

E

LEO

July 22–August 23

Mars, now freshly on a tour of Scorpio, increases the attention on home and family. Starting Friday, the

K

AQUARIUS

L

PISCES

January 20–February 18

Taking a break, pushing the refresh button, or diving into something new? No matter whether it is necessity or opportunity at play, Mars/Uranus and Venus/Jupiter set big wheels in motion this weekend.

Venus in Capricorn, starting Monday, and Tuesday’s new moon set the new week off to a smooth start. Go where/when the getting is good.

February 18–March 20

Mercury out of retrograde and Mars on a fresh tour of Scorpio set you up for a better go of it. Looking forward to something special, starting something new, or simply gearing up for the holidays?

Planned or not, Saturday/Sunday, Venus/Jupiter, Mars/Uranus, and the Scorpio moon keep it impactful, opportune, and exciting. Monday begins a mostly smooth-running week. g

Book a reading or sign up for Rose’s free monthly newsletter at rosemarcus.com.

NOVEMBER 21 – 28 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 9

BOOKS

I Am C-3PO is a tale of man and droid

T

by John Lucas

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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.

1238 Davies Street, Vancouver

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> Go on-line to read hundreds of I Saw You posts or to respond to a message < SMILES AT YVR

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: NOVEMBER 16, 2019 WHERE: Vancouver International Airport We were on the same flight from Minneapolis. I accidentally opened the door on someone in the bathroom and had a little giggle. We exchanged smiles several times after that... I was too shy to say hello.

You seemed intrigued with me too but you were with a group.

I think I over heard you were there with you mom (very cute).

I also overheard that you were staying at the Hyatt. Not going to lie, I thought I might go grab a coffee in the lobby but thought that might be a bit weird. Hoping that you make the next move and ask me for a drink before you leave?

BABE WITH THE INFECTIOUS LAUGH

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: NOVEMBER 17, 2019 WHERE: The Birds and The Beets You were sitting at the table next to mine in the corner chatting with a friend. I wanted to say hi but I didn’t want to interrupt either. You were wearing a red top with jeans and your smile was second to none. Would love to get to know you more.

PARK ROYAL WINDOW SHOPPER IN THE RAIN

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: NOVEMBER 16, 2019 WHERE: Park Royal Near Whole Foods I crossed paths about three times on Saturday afternoon.

Tall, dark, and handsome, and I should have rolled down my window as you passed in front of me with that giant smile. I drove a Navy Blue car and was wearing my favourite coat. If you find this ad and want to have coffee at Park Royal sometime, send me a note. To test your memory, what colour coat was I wearing, and what model of car was I driving? You had a black umbrella and a navy blue quilted jacket.

SOUTH AFRICAN ACCENT @ CULTURE CRAWL

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WEST COAST EXPRESS GIRL OF MY DREAMS

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: NOVEMBER 16, 2019 WHERE: 1859 Franklin St.

I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: NOVEMBER 13, 2019 WHERE: West Coast Express

I was working the door at the Eastside Culture Crawl. You walked in and said hi. You had and amazing smile and I asked where you were from. Wanted to ask for your number but didn't want to be that guy.

To the Persian babe who sat across from me and slayed me with your hotness - wanna be friends?

MACDONALD #2 GENTLEMAN

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: NOVEMBER 15, 2019 WHERE: Burrard St. Station 9.40 pm boarding the #2 at Burrard. You, tall, green coat, black jeans, glasses, accent.

You let me get on first and smiled so kindly. I sat down and you walked by me and winked. Wow. I was the girl with white glasses and yellow coat, reading a book about migraines. I got off without saying anything, but looked at you through the window. You looked back. Let’s meet?

I ALWAYS SEE YOU IN DOWNTOWN LIBRARY

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: NOVEMBER 15, 2019 WHERE: VPL Main Floor Almost every time I walk into VPL downtown, I usually walk to the washroom. I always see you at the same computer, and you are always standing at the computer. This is on the main floor. I try and walk to the side to see your face, and I have gotten to see your face before. You are so beautiful. I love your long hair. Is that rock music you listen to?

Because I see you rocking your head to it? I love metal music myself. I’m a hardcore Marilyn Manson and Ramstein addict. I hope you like them too! I’m just a cute Swedish girl. I’m only 29. I hope you like dating younger women... I think I’ll have to get the courage to approach you next time I’m in the library... mmmm... sometimes I just want to grab your butt when I watch you... I don’t think you have ever seen me, but I'm totally your secret admirer...

CALM AND LOVELY GIRL

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: NOVEMBER 13, 2019 WHERE: Starbucks at Pender & Granville There is a big and nice Starbucks at Pender & Granville. I bought coffee and was looking for a chair. Then, I asked you “May I sit here?”.

First I didn’t hear you. Then, I couldn’t find time to talk! Not sure that you will read this, but if you read this, I will be there.

Coffee? Espresso!!? Ice cream or...? Oh, and you have a really cool red backpack.

CHAOS AT BILLY BISHOPS

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: NOVEMBER 13, 2019 WHERE: Billy Bishops You were with a girlfriend upstairs near the back wall, I was in a brown suit with my Military medals. You ran your fingers through my hair and I was loving it as we kinda samba’d in the crowd, but then those guys attacked me. I saw you try to explain to the staff but I was asked to leave, I couldn't say good night...

BIRD NERDS AT REIFEL BIRD SANCTUARY

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: NOVEMBER 10, 2019 WHERE: Reifel Bird Sanctuary You: video game designer, green jacket and a large camera (and your dad was an ornithologist)! Me: blue jacket, originally from the UK, studied marine biology at SFU. Really enjoyed our brief chat and it would be fun to continue to find it more about each other!

Hoping the girl you were with was just a friend!

Visit straight.com to post your FREE I Saw You _ 10 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT NOVEMBER 21 – 28 / 2019

o determine just how much of a Star Wars geek you are, consider the following phrase: “I am C-3PO.” If your mind automatically filled in the rest—“human-cyborg relations”— the odds of you being a true-blue fan of the Skywalker saga are very high indeed. (And you get bonus points if you just said “Never tell me the odds!”)

Those words were spoken in the first Star Wars film by Anthony Daniels, who also used them as the title of his book, I Am C-3PO, in which he reflects on his 40-plus years of playing the golden protocol droid.

“It’s the unspoken phrase, yes: ‘human-cyborg relations’,” says the genial actor, who is at a media-tour stop in Toronto when the Straight connects with him by telephone.

“I guess, if I think about it—I haven’t talked about this at all—I am the human, he’s the cyborg, and I talk about our relations. I may use this thought in the future…”

Daniels relates to the character so well, in fact, that he refers to him as “my friend” throughout the book. It might surprise some readers, then, to learn that the London-based performer was initially skeptical about the whole thing. He was not, it turns out, a fan of science fiction (he writes that he demanded his money back after suffering through 2001: A Space Odyssey), but he agreed to meet with American filmmaker George Lucas to discuss the project that was then titled The Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Starkiller. At that initial meeting, Daniels saw something that hooked him almost instantly: Ralph McQuarrie’s concept art depicting C-3PO and his constant companion, R2-D2.

He writes: “Standing on a sandy terrain, against a rocky landscape, with distant planets filling the sky, Threepio gazed out forlornly. Our eyes met and he seemed yearning to walk out of the frame into my world. Or, I felt, for me to climb over and join him in his. I sensed his vulnerability. Maybe he sensed mine.

It truly was a strange moment.”

It was a moment, in fact, that would shape the course of the actor’s life.

Daniels has donned the shiny—and dreadfully uncomfortable—robot suit to play Threepio in almost every Star Wars movie, including Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, which is due to hit cinemas on December 19. Some performers chafe at being identified in the public’s eyes with one particular role—Sir Alec Guinness, for example, was famously touchy about being associated with his own Star Wars character, Obi-Wan Kenobi—but Daniels seems genuinely at peace with it.

“It is difficult for some people,” he from page 8

Anthony Daniels has been donning C-3PO’s golden suit for over 40 years, and the actor says he has no misgivings about having the Star Wars droid define his career.

acknowledges. “I think I’m helped by him being such an enduring character that he has given me a very interesting career, in one kind of groove, if you will. And maybe I was only designed for that groove, but it’s certainly become a career of its own with all the spinoff activities—and I do like the character. I like how different writers and directors are able to put him in situations that bring out some other side of his abilities and personality.”

Those spinoff activities are listed in an appendix at the back of the book, cheekily titled “Droidography”.

They include radio dramas, TV commercials, video games, and more. Of Daniels’s 77 acting credits listed on the Internet Movie Database, roughly twothirds are for on-screen or voice performances as C-3PO. Threepio has certainly taken Daniels to some enviable places. How many actors can say that they have dined with the king and queen of Jordan, conducted the London Symphony Orchestra, been a presenter at the Oscars, and appeared on Sesame Street four times?

Daniels credits Lucas with giving him a free hand to develop his own characterization for C-3PO. This happened, in part, because Lucas, although rightly hailed as a visionary, has never been known as an “actor’s director”.

“George has so much going on in his head, the whole movie, and back then it was really groundbreaking,” Daniels says. “That’s why people took to his films so much— that nobody’d seen a film like this before. And he wasn’t necessarily adept at explaining what he wanted.

He kind of chose people—including me, I suppose—who he felt he could trust to get on with things, like Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, and of course Sir Alec Guinness. He had a lot on his plate, and

compounds found in the plant—like terpenes, flavonoids, and other cannabinoids aside from THC (like THCV, CBN, CBD)—vary substantially between these two varieties.

Each of us has a different degree of sensitivity to each of the naturally occurring compounds found in cannabis. People who use cannabis as part of their daily routine tend to want more out of their experience than just “getting high”—they want a rich, flavourful experience that leads them to the right kind of high. Whether this means relaxation, obtaining energy/inspiration, or killing pain, we are all mostly looking for that special flavour that will take us to that place.

Some people do, in fact, have a high degree of sensitivity, primarily to THC, but most with experience smoking a broad set of cannabis genetics will tell you that they are more focused on finding the genetic that provides that beloved flavour/effect. Yes, THC is a key component of any intoxicating cannabis biochemical profile, as it does work to augment the psychotropic properties of other components, but THC alone does not determine how long the high will last, how deep it will go, or the type of emotions, feelings, or therapeutic effects it will trigger. This nuanced effect produced by the complex biochemical load of a particular cannabis variety is referred to as the “entourage effect”.

To complicate the story further, different people

he accepted what I did on the set, although he clearly had plans to replace the voice.”

Ah, yes. Just as, in hindsight, it’s impossible to imagine Darth Vader sounding like anyone other than James Earl Jones (even though it was David Prowse we saw on-screen in the original trilogy), it would be hard to envision a version of Threepio who spoke with the voice of, say, Richard Dreyfuss. The American Graffiti star was reportedly in the running, but of course the dulcet British tones of Daniels won out in the end. “Threepio is a one-piece character—he is the voice, the face, the walk, the movements, the attitude—it’s all one, and you can’t take one bit away from him,” Daniels says, with justifiable pride.

Threepio fans who feel their favourite droid got short shrift in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi will be happy to hear that he plays a more essential role in The Rise of Skywalker, thanks to director and cowriter J. J. Abrams. But will the character who uttered the first line of dialogue in the entire saga get to have the last word, as well?

“That’s a neat thought,” Daniels says with a warm chuckle. “It did occur to me on my last day, suddenly, that this was the third time I’ve said goodbye. And as I said in the book, my last shot as we filmed it—not the last shot of the movie, but for me the last day on the set—I have no words at all. So we will see. J. J. loves to move things around, right up until the last minute. So we’ll have to see; maybe, maybe not. I don’t know.”

In any case, C-3PO isn’t quite ready to shut down, and neither is the man who plays him. Daniels turns 74 in February and says he has no plans to retire. And while the Skywalker saga may be drawing to a close, there are still video games on the horizon.

And animated series. And… “No, it’s not the end of me being involved with Threepio at all,” Daniels says. “Already there are other projects—not films. The career goes on, and aren’t I lucky?” g

experience the high from the same plant differently, making it hard to make a one-size-fits-all prediction of how a particular cultivar will affect a specific person.

This is explained by the fact that the number, location, and sensitivity of cannabinoid receptors in the body vary from person to person. For this reason, knowing the THC content is not nearly as reliable in terms of predicting potency as, say, knowing the alcohol content.

When it comes to re-educating the public about THC content as the end-all measure of a f lower’s worth, what I recommend to my budtender friends is the following: discard the words indica and sativa as ways of describing effects and focus instead on specific varieties and how their different gene pools relate to certain types of nuanced aromas, f lavours, effects, and physical appearance. Use descriptions of f lowers that were previously enjoyed by your client to find something in stock that is at least relatively close to those variety type(s). When you see a preference for a specific type of f lower, always contextualize the information as follows: “To me, this variety felt like…” or “Other clients have reported that this f lower made them feel like…” and then always end with “…but keep in mind that everyone is different.”

Finally, remind clients who are always chasing the highest THC content that they may be missing out on the flower of their dreams because, despite its fame, THC is not the only player in the symphony. g

40

years TA R A N A B U R K E later F E AT U R I N G

Founder of the #MeToo Movement

AND E XCLUSIVE SCRE E NING OF BWS S 40 YE ARS L ATE R DOCUME NTARY

NOV. 25, 2019 • 7PM

at The Orpheum Theatre Tickets on TicketMaster

COMMEMORATE BWSS 40th anniversary and International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women with BWSS and a special program.

PERFORMANCES BY DJ Kookum

M’Girl

Leah McFly

Safety Changes Everything

Tonye Aganaba

Wildflower

bwss.org

ENGAGING FOR GOOD SFU is for those who flourish in the classroom and also connect with people beyond it. We don’t wait to make an impact, we get right on it.

CANADA’S ENGAGED UNIVERSITY Find out more at sfu.ca

We believe communities teach us as much as we teach them. Our winning formula of engagement and innovation applies to everything we do. That’s why SFU continues to be an instrument of change committed to solving the real issues of the day. Every day.

Outside thinking with tomorrow in mind.

NOVEMBER 21 – 28 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 11

DRINK

FOOD

Natte Valleij wines land in Vancouver Beta5 Chocolates opens new café right next door

O

by Kurtis Kolt

ne of the things that impressed me most during my recent South African wine travels was the smaller producers with a quality focus on just a few grape varieties, as opposed to larger producers with a vast catalogue, trying to be all things to all people.

One producer I hadn’t experienced in the past totally knocked my socks off, and I practically jumped for joy when I learned that their first shipment of wines was on the water, making its way to Vancouver.

I’m thrilled that the wines of Natte Valleij have now landed and are on store shelves around town.

The Simonsberg mountain farm in Stellenbosch where the winery is located was established in 1715. For many years, the property was under vine, with most of the fruit going to brandy production. When the current proprietor, the Milner family, purchased the land in the late 1960s, most vines were pulled and the property was used to raise thoroughbred racehorses. The winery cellar and equipment had lain dormant for a half-century, until 2005, when Alex Milner decided to return the family property to its roots and begin producing wine again.

Here’s a look at Natte Valleij’s offerings in our market, and they are some of the most exciting wines I encountered in all of my South African travels. The entire lineup is available at Kitsilano Wine Cellar at prices listed below, but smatterings can also be found at places like Liberty Wine Merchants on Commercial Drive and Marquis Wine Cellars on Davie Street at similar prices.

that only gets minimal punch-downs in the winery, so it’s not overly ex- by Tammy Kwan tracted before going to the concrete egg for aging. A fascinating wine that can tackle the what-red-to-pair-withcurry conundrum.

NATTE VALLEIJ SWARTLAND CINSAULT 2017

($48.99, private wine stores) These bush vines were planted in 1986, and once the grapes are harvested and destalked, Milner leaves 20 percent of the stems to dry out in the sun for a day, before adding them to the tank fermentation. There’s hibiscus in Alex Milner, proprietor of South Africa’s spades here, with Rainier cherry, red Natte Valleij winery. Photo by Kurtis Kolt currants, raspberries, huckleberries, planted white variety. This Chenin and fresh thyme, then just a pinch of Blanc blooms with jasmine and citrus white pepper on the finish. Aging in on the nose, then the palate is awash oak barrels frames everything well. with yellow plum, key lime, Meyer lemon, and some juicy salinity on the NATTE VALLEIJ SIMONSBERG finish. I’m thinking fresh oysters, spa- PAARL CINSAULT 2017 ($48.99, private wine stores) ghetti alle vongole, or fish and chips.

Bush vines planted in decomposed NATTE VALLEIJ CINSAULT 2017 granite in 1993 produce the fruit that ($29.99, private wine stores) composes this Cinsault, which is a This is a multiregion Cinsault blend little more generous and riper on the that gets hand-sorted and then fer- palate, but made in a similar style to mented, a portion of it whole-cluster. the Swartland version. The large oak Turkish delight and nougat are quite barrel brings a handful of baking intoxicating aromas, with pink grape- spices to the profile, well-integrated fruit, raspberries, and dark cherries into gobs of purple fruit. Although studded with pink peppercorns carry- this is drinking just fine now, it’ll cering the palate. The flavour profile tainly go the distance in the cellar. is quite bright, with spot-on acidity keeping things lifted, and just enough NATTE VALLEIJ DARLING French-oak aging to give it a medium CINSAULT 2017 weight, well positioned for poultry, ($48.99, private wine stores) The Darling version from 40-yearbeef, or wild game. old bush vines is my favourite of the NATTE VALLEIJ STELLENBOSCH bunch. There are some wild elements CINSAULT 2017 of leather and musk on the nose, while NATTE VALLEIJ AXLE CHENIN ($48.99, private wine stores) the palate is loaded with blackberries The juicy palate is full of pink lem- and Italian plums, with umami notes BLANC 2018 ($34.99, private wine stores) onade, blood orange, red plum, and of sun-dried tomato on the edges. AgOkay, before we get into the Cinsaults, Redhaven peaches. Forty-five-year- ing in concrete eggs keeps all those a quick taste of the country’s most old bush vines offer dazzling fruit flavours concentrated and precise. g

I

There’s no shortage of Beta5’s signature cream puffs. Photo by Tammy Kwan

t’s been a long time coming, but the award-winning Beta5 Chocolates (413 Industrial Avenue) has finally opened its new location—right next door, at 409 Industrial Avenue.

The artisan chocolate shop is known for its inventive confections and signature line of cream puffs that are offered in rotating, seasonal flavours.

The 16-seat, 900-square-foot space is a far cry from the original retail establishment. For starters, guests will be able to sit down and enjoy their treats, and the new beverage program will offer 49th Parallel coffee as well as mocha and hot chocolate made with Beta5’s own chocolates.

A highlight of the new café (which they call Beta5 V2.0) is an expansive, L-shaped refrigerated glass countertop/display case that houses all the goods: chocolates, cream puffs, and custom pastries. Unlike in the old retail space, customers can now ogle the droolworthy and photogenic sweets.

Colourful Bocci lights hang from the ceiling, complemented by a pastelcoloured polygon mural by artist Scott Sueme.

“We’ve had them [Bocci lights] for seven years in our lunchroom next

door,” Adam Chandler, owner and pastry chef at Beta5 Chocolates, told the Straight during an interview in the new establishment. “Now we can kind of show them off properly after they’ve been hiding upstairs for so long.”

Chandler and partner Jessica Rosinski have been on the hunt for a new space for the past few years because the retail storefront was never meant to be a permanent, customerfacing location.

“This was an opportunity for us to really think through what we want the customers’ experience to be, how we want to interact with them, how we want them to interact with the product,” Chandler explained.

The opening of the new space comes just ahead of the holiday season, which means new holiday cream-puff flavours like strawberrymilk tea, pavlova, and matcha-sesame will be in stock.

“We’re excited to give people space to come in and sit down and sort of enjoy what we’ve created with the food, the space, and also the experience with that,” Chandler added. “I think that’s the big thing for me. It feels like Beta5 is a little bit more grown-up now.” g

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H Y D R AV A N C O U V E R . C O M | @ H Y D R AY V R 12 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT NOVEMBER 21 – 28 / 2019

825 W Pender St. Vancouver, BC

holiday arts

Homegrown shows sleigh it this season

M

East Van Panto: Pinocchio (starring Pippa Mackie) gets hyper and hyperlocal (photo by Tim Matheson), while It’s a Wonderful Christmas-ish Holiday Miracle finds the absurdity in family gatherings (photo by David Cooper).

aybe it’s because we have a history of bucking convention. Maybe it’s because we celebrate a green Christmas year after rainy year. Or maybe it has something to do with a different kind of green floating around town. But by the looks of what’s hitting stages this year, Vancouver is a sometimes funny, sometimes absurd, and often warped place to spend the holidays.

Three city-spawned seasonal shows are set to celebrate Christmastime, West Coast–style, and we talked to the people behind the productions bent on creating new traditions.

IT’S A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS-ISH HOLIDAY MIRACLE On the Goldcorp Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre from November 21 to December 22

d FITTINGLY, CONSIDERING the songs of alternative icon Sufjan Stevens have been a massive inspiration, Marcus Youssef originally wasn’t sure what to make of the new play It’s a Wonderful Christmas-ish Holiday Miracle.

“The reason why Sufjan’s music has been so central to the writing of this play is that his music encapsulates all of the difficulties and drama of Christmas, but also the hilarity and the absurdity,” the decorated Vancouver playwright says, reached on his cell between rehearsals. “The question was ‘Is this a drama or is this a comedy?’ It’s a comedy, actually—a serious comedy, but a comedy.”

In some ways, the seed of It’s a Wonderful Christmas-ish Holiday Miracle was planted a half-decade ago, when Youssef’s partner, Amanda Fritzlan, came home from a night of rehearsing with her community choir, the Kingsgate Chorus.

“She was like, ‘We’re playing this amazing song,’ ” he recalls. “And then she played it for me—it was called ‘Christmas Unicorn’ by Sufjan Stevens, who I had never heard of in my life, I’m embarrassed to say. I went,

Holiday Arts TIP SHEET His music encapsulates all of the difficulties and drama of Christmas.

– Marcus Youssef

‘Holy fuck, that is such a great song.’

It’s funny, it’s smart, it’s ironic, it’s sincere, and it captures my experience of the holidays in a way that no other seasonal ritual or tradition or song ever has.”

Youssef has a complicated relationship with Christmas, which is something many of us can relate to. The official party line is that the holiday season is the most wonderful time of the year, and it can be if you’ve got an endless appetite for candy canes, Bing Crosby, and nightly screenings of Home Alone and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Youssef confesses that he loves the traditions of the holidays, which became even more magical once he and his partner had children. But he notes that the season can also be a source of tension, especially in families for whom Christmas hasn’t exactly been a Norman Rockwell painting come to life. Get folks with complex family issues in close quarters, and it doesn’t take much for old wounds to reopen.

Bringing back characters that Youssef introduced in his 2014 play Chloe’s Choice, It’s a Wonderful Christmas-ish Holiday Miracle has an elderly family matriarch, who suffered from Alzheimer’s, returning from heaven to deal with unfinished family business. She finds herself navigating dynamics where a divorce, an estranged family member, rebellious teens, and other lifedisrupting forces are at play.

SOMETIMES, YOU DON’T need tinsel, carols, or turkey feasts to enjoy the season. Here are a few top-flight musicals that allow a night out with the whole family, without the usual Christmas trimmings.

c PETER PAN (November 20 to January 5, 2020 at the Waterfront Theatre) Fast-rising local talent Kaitlynn Yott stars as the boy who can fly and never grows up in a Carousel Theatre for Young People/Bad Hats Theatre production that boasts live folk music and a few new twists on the tale of pirates and ticking crocodiles. c THE SOUND OF MUSIC (To January 5 at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage) As Maria, actor Synthia Yusuf has been blowing the roof off the Arts Club venue, in a show our reviewer called “an inspirational retelling of the classic musical”.

“I started to explore the idea of this family going through what I went through as a kid, as my partner did too, which is divorce and the first holidays after the divorce,” Youssef says. “And what happens when all the rituals and traditions change by necessity. The storytelling structure gives the chance to look at what happens between generations and how the stuff that’s going on in families really does emerge during the holidays, because that’s when we’re really together in a concentrated form.”

Heavy as that sounds, It’s a Wonderful Christmas-ish Holiday Miracle is also deeply inspired by the lighter side of the holidays.

“I thought about the many traditions that often have to do with things like watching It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story,” Youssef says. “All those stories that we consume during the holidays in a ritualized way.”

Those moments can provide

c JOSEPH AND THE

TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT

(December 12 to 31 at Gateway Theatre) Director Barbara Tomasic moves the action from ancient Egypt to the modern day, with Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s rockin’ musical playing out in a kid’s present-day dream world (shown here). g

invaluable touchstones when things get complicated later in life.

“I was raised as an only child and my parents were unhappy,” the playwright remembers. “Christmas was, certainly for me and I think for many of us, a time when the burden of expectations of how we’re going to behave and how things are going to go is pretty high. But I also remember my dad reading ‘ ’Twas the Night Before Christmas’, and me curling up into his lap. He wasn’t a super affectionate guy. But there I was, much later than I would have ever curled up into him for any other reason, because that was our tradition.”

Helping him balance the two sides of things were Stevens’s eclectically beautiful holiday collections Silver & Gold and Songs for Christmas. Essential listening for anyone who wants to make the most of the season, the compilations serve up everything from poignant classics (“Silent Night”, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”) to

rollicking celebrations (“Lumberjack Christmas”) to thoughtful meditations (“Christmas Unicorn”).

“What’s kind of anchored me the whole way through has been the tone established by Sufjan’s music, which is both complex and deep and sad, but also joyful and funny and absurd,” Youssef says. “That was the note that I wanted to hit.”

The best sign that he succeeded?

That It’s a Wonderful Christmas-ish Holiday Miracle, which contains six of Stevens’s songs, has been blessed by no less than the singer’s team.

“At some point I was like, ‘I think these songs are going to be in the show,’ ” Youssef says. “So my agent got on the phone with Sufjan’s people, who asked to see a script. And then they got onboard, saying, ‘Great, we’re really into you guys doing this.’

That was a pretty amazing honour.”

by Mike Usinger

EAST VAN PANTO: PINOCCHIO At the York Theatre from November 20 to January 5 d WHAT MIGHT PINOCCHIO look like if he’d been born, bred, and indoctrinated on Commercial Drive?

In this year’s East Van Panto: Pinocchio, the fairy-tale puppet who comes to life hails from hippie-heyday-holdover Beckwoman and is raised by an old ice-cream vendor named Gelato.

True to the title character’s sustainability-minded ’hood, Panto star Pippa Mackie is today dressed in a costume that is equal parts bluebox chic, dumpster-bin rescue, and hopelessly disorganized thrift store.

The knotty-wood-grain-print tights under her shorts are a nod to the original puppet, but her arms are all recycled materials—one a row of repurposed plastic cups and the other a cluster of discarded metal duct pipes.

“The original little puppet made of pine I’m not,” declares the wellknown local playwright and actor, smiling as she takes a break from rehearsal at the Drive’s York Theatre.

“I’ve been focusing a lot on the

see next page

NOVEMBER 21 – 28 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 13

from previous page

physicality. Basically, Pinocchio comes alive, and what would he do, moving from not being physically present to being alive? It’s using the joints, how a puppet would move,” It’s very rare for a she says, jumping up to swivel a hip and an elbow. “It’s a bit like how a todshow to go from page dler would walk for the first time.” to stage in one year.

It’s pretty clear here, as it just was during the Theatre Replace– Pippa Mackie ment production’s tech rehearsals, that Mackie—who’s performing in her first Panto—is having a blast.

Her friend Christine Quintana, Holiday at the Elbow Room Café reimagines the storied Vancouver diner on a stormy Christmas Eve. Photo by Emily Cooper who starred as Dorothy in last year’s East Van Panto: Wizard of marathon; tech rehearsals run 12 almost every minute during the singing, dancing, and perfecting Vancouver, for Vancouver, hilarious Oz, had warned her it would be a hours and Mackie will be on-stage Panto’s extended seven-week run, her puppet walk. and heartwarming, and specifically Still, she’s calling it a “dream gig”. for adults—not a family show,” Deveau The show represents Marcus Youssef’s reports, on the line from his Vancousecond year in a row as Panto play- ver home. “I said, ‘Are you saying we wright (and second holiday show this should do the Elbow Room again?’ It’s year; see story above). Arts Club The- funny—I think that was actually their atre associate artistic director Stephen idea. But they very strategically let me Drover is directing his third edition. think that it was my idea.”

After mulling it over, Deveau and And songstress Veda Hille is on hand with her newly arranged hits. “When Mackenzie decided that maybe there you feel your energy drop, it’s too much was another musical chapter to the 2017 fun not to be having a good time,” show that (along with Anton LipovetMackie says. “And I live eight blocks sky) they wrote as a tribute to both the away—so the reworked characters Elbow Room and its married owners, from East Van are very familiar to me.” Patrick Savoie and Bryan Searle.

The National Theatre School of As anyone who ever received a Canada grad is also stoked at getting tongue-lashing for requesting extraan inside look at a production that’s crispy bacon knows, the restaurant been built from the ground up—al- was as famous for its staff as its menu. ways with new, hyperlocal characters, The motto at the Elbow Room, which HOLIDAY settings, and touchpoints—in time for started out on Jervis and then moved the holiday season. The artist is as well- to Davie, was “Food and service is SPECIAL known for stage appearances in works our name, but abuse is our game.”

4 TICKET PACK like 2017’s dark and deranged hit The Wickedly sharp-tongued, Savoie and Society for the Destitute Presents Titus Searle didn’t suffers fools—or anyON SALE Bouffonius as she is for JULIET: A Re- one else—gladly, which meant that NOW! venge Comedy (cowritten with Ryan a stream of good-natured insults was Gladstone) and The Progressive Po- served to each visitor. lygamists (cocreated with Emmelia Gordon). Among the many hats she wears these days, she’s also workStarring Jim Byrnes as Scrooge ing as associate producer with UpFeaturing Margo Kane, Tom Pickett, Sam Bob & Kevin McNulty intheair Theatre. But she’s never really TICKETS witnessed something this big being turned around with such success.

There’s a lot of DECEMBER 5 – 21, 2019 EVENINGS & MATINEES “It’s very rare for a show to go from dick jokes in it. It’s SFU’S GOLDCORP CENTRE FOR THE ARTS page to the stage in one year—especially with the amount of people that 149 West Hastings Street, Vancouver everything you need are working on this show, with this for the holidays. calibre and positivity backstage,” she observes. “There must be 100 quick – Dave Deveau changes backstage, then there are all these kids to keep track of. It’s an incredibly well-oiled machine.”

It’s also a wonderfully warped take on life in East Van. But if MackThat made the LGBTQ–friendly ie has noticed anything about this year’s rendition, it’s that it manages Elbow Room a mecca for both its ento move you as well—at least when tertainment value and its food. Add the it’s not making you laugh at jokes fact that Deveau and Mackenzie were about the Cappuccino War between friends with Savoie and Searle, and it’s the Abruzzos and the Calabrias, or at no surprise that the playwrights wantthe kids skipping school to go to the ed the story to continue.

Holiday at the Elbow Room Café— Hastings Racecourse.

Pinocchio is, after all, about a lone- featuring a brand-new book and a side ly old man who longs for a little boy of new songs—sets a cast of five in the FEATURING ARTS UMBRELLA to raise and love. Or, as Shawn Mac- restaurant on Christmas Eve, when a DANCE COMPANY donald’s hilariously handlebar-mus- massive snowstorm hits Vancouver.

“We knew that we wanted to tachioed Gelato sings (much to the chagrin of the pets on-stage) in faux– capitalize on some of our favourite Andrea Bocelli mode, “A family, that songs from the last one, and then is my wish; not just a cat and a fish.” amplify it with some holiday tunes “It’s the story of a parent and their that I could write Elbow Room– child, and in a lot of ways it’s modern specific lyrics for,” Deveau says. “It parenting,” Mackie hints. “It’s really was a beautiful thing, knowing that going to tug at people’s heartstrings.” I would have Patrick and Bryan at

by Janet Smith the centre of it, but figuring out who from the old musical would return, and which new characters I would HOLIDAY AT THE ELBOW add to the mix.”

ROOM CAFÉ The new musical is geared to both At the Cultch Historic Theatre from those who love the holidays and December 10 to 29 those who miss the Elbow Room, which Savoie closed in 2018 after d B EFORE THERE WAS Holiday Searle’s death a year earlier. And like at the Elbow Room Café, there was a the eatery’s best brunches and lunchdinner, presumably at a restaurant es, when the insults, off-colour comwhere the staff isn’t allowed to abuse ments, and four-letter words were the customers and no one suggests flying, Holiday at the Elbow Room you get your own goddamn cof- Café is definitely not for those withfee when it’s time for a refill. Writer out a sense of humour.

Dave Deveau recalls being asked out “It’s quite lewd, frankly,” Deveau

by Cultch executive director Heather says with a laugh. “There’s a lot of Redfern and marketing director Ni- dick jokes in it. It’s everything you cole McLuckie. The company was need for the holidays.” looking to fill a slot during the holiAnd in the event you need more day season, and both women hap- than dick jokes, Holiday at the Elbow pened to be big fans of Elbow Room Room Café also serves up something Café: The Musical, which saw Zee substantial, which is appropriate Zee Theatre’s Deveau and his dir- considering everything Savoie and ector-husband, Cameron Macken- Searle did for Vancouver’s LGBTQ zie, partner up to pay tribute to one community. “It’s pretty heartfelt,” of Vancouver’s most beloved—and Deveau says. “People are going to fabulously bitchy—institutions. laugh a lot, but by the end I think “They said that they were look- they’re going to be moved.”

by Mike Usinger ing to develop a thing that is of

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HOLIDAY ARTS

Seasonal shows go from serene to retro

H

by Janet Smith

oliday performances are packing the weeks before Christmas, with offerings from the elegant to the silly.

Aside from the unprecedented wave of homegrown seasonal plays (see page 13), here are some of the top shows decking the city’s halls from now through the New Year, sorted for your every Yuletide mood.

MISS BENNET: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY At the Granville Island Stage from December 5 to January 4 Cue the witty dialogue as Roy Surette directs a Yuletide follow-up to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. When it debuted last year, our theatre critic called it “cozy and romantic”.

UNCONVENTIONAL XMAS

A EUROPEAN CHRISTMAS At the Orpheum on December 7 The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra plays sparkling seasonal selections from Hansel and Gretel and Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, with maestro Constantin Trinks on the podium. Mezzo Barb Towell and soprano Allie Clayton lend their vocal power.

BAH HUMBUG! At SFU Woodward’s in the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts from December 5 to 21 It’s the 10th and final version of this modern, hyperlocal twist on A Christmas Carol. Set in the Downtown Eastside, the show stars singer Jim Byrnes as a pawnshop owner and slumlord who preys on the poor. Directed by Michael Boucher, it also features actors Tom Pickett, Stephen Lytton, Kevin McNulty, Sam Bob, Savannah Walling, and Margo Kane, with the St. James Music Academy Youth Choir joining the live band, and muralist Richard Tetrault artfully conjuring the alleyways that lie just outside the theatre.

O CHRISTMAS TEA At the Vancouver Playhouse from December 5 to 7 Fringe-circuit favourites James & Jamesy put a holiday spin on their comedic British tea party.

Catastrophe strikes, tea floods, and physical comedy abounds.

PAUL ANTHONY’S TALENT TIME CHRISTMAS SHOW At the Rio Theatre on December 5 The city’s most twisted live-comedy talk show brings in inspired special guests, promising more surprises than a stuffed stocking. Local funnyman Ryan Beil cohosts.

MIXED NUTS At the Vancouver Playhouse from December 13 to 15 The Arts Umbrella Dance Company upends

Jim Byrnes reprises his role in Bah Humbug! for the Downtown Eastside–set show’s final installment, while Alberta Ballet’s glistening classic The Nutcracker returns to town (Photo by Gerard Yunker).

and reimagines The Nutcracker in entertaining fashion, with vignettes that retell the story through everything from hip-hop to ballroom and polished pas de deux.

draw is guest music director Ivars Taurins, who helms the famed Tafelmusik Chamber Choir and has led more than 200 renditions of the monumental work. He’ll be conducting the Pacific Baroque Orchestra and the Vancouver Cantata Singers in a landmark production copresented by Early Music Vancouver. World-class soloists include sopA CHRISTMAS CAROL rano Joanne Lunn, mezzo-soprano Krisztina At Pacific Theatre from November 29 to Szabó, tenor Thomas Hobbs, and baritone December 21 Peter Harvey.

Local theatre artist Ron Reed has not only written this adaptation of Charles Dickens’s CHRISTMAS WITH THE BACH CHOIR famous work, but taken on performing it solo, At the Orpheum on December 1 stepping into the shoes of 43 of the book’s The first rendition of this concert was in characters—including, of course, the infam- 1930, making it one of the oldest holiday ous old miser himself. traditions in the city. And it’s now grown to showcase more than 400 performers (inHANDEL’S MESSIAH cluding the Bach Choir’s children’s chorus), At the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts on this year singing classic Viennese and other November 30 European Christmas fare. Vancouver-based Here’s a concert that should be truly epic—in horn quintet A Touch of Brass provides acother words, everything you could hope for companiment, as does Michael Dirk on the in the soaring choral masterpiece. The big Wurlitzer theatre organ.

CLASSIC CHRISTMAS

GOH BALLET’S THE NUTCRACKER At the Queen Elizabeth Theatre from December 20 to 22 The Goh’s family-friendly spin on the beloved holiday ballet has lush sets and international stars in the roles of the Cavalier Prince and the Sugar Plum Fairy. But what sets it apart is the fun touches, from tiny gymnasts tumbling out from under a giant skirt to mice that throw big hunks of cheese during the battle scene. The Vancouver Opera Orchestra brings Tchaikovsky’s famous score to life.

CHRISTMAS REPRISE XVII At Holy Rosary Cathedral on December 21 Traditional carols mix with contemporary holiday compositions in the atmospherically historic church. The Vancouver Cantata Singers’ all a cappella repertoire spans Hieronymus Praetorious’s “Magnificat Quinti Toni”, Morten Lauridsen’s “O Nata Lux”, and a signature rendition of Franz Biebl’s “Ave Maria”.

ALBERTA BALLET’S THE NUTCRACKER At the Queen Elizabeth Theatre from December 28 to 30 Choreographed by Edmund Stipe, Alberta Ballet’s elegant version of the classic takes its inspiration from opulent imperial Russia; think mice see next page

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Surrey Nights / Musically Speaking Operatic excerpts from the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale plus Tchaikovsky’s splendid 5th Symphony will make this concert a festive treat. Constantin Trinks returns to Vancouver to let the drama of this music shine.

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Merry Kissmas—A Royal Romance parodies the sappy holiday specials on TV right now, while jazz songstress Holly Cole joins the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

from previous page

Westminster’s Holy Trinity Cathedral on December 18; and at Christ Church Cathedral on December 20 Flickering candlelight, soothing harps, violins, and flutes, and medieval garb make this atmospheric concert the antidote to all mall madness.

RETRO HOLIDAY

SING LULLABYE At St. Philip’s Anglican Church on December 15, and at Christ Church Cathedral on December 21 The a cappella masters of musica intima draw from the British choral tradition for this year’s transcendent treat. Seasonal music spans Herbert Howells, Kenneth Leighton, Jonathan Dove, and James MacMillan.

Canadian composers Kristopher Fulton and John Burge also join the mix.

dressed as Cossack soldiers, snowf lakes garbed as Russian princesses, arctic wolves, and onion domes on the fairy-tale buildings. The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra plays the score live.

A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS: LIVE ON STAGE November 24 at the Vogue Theatre A live-action cast re-creates some of the best scenes from the 1965 animated TV special. The iconic Vince Guaraldi tunes are all there, as well as a show-ending audience sing-along.

CHRISTMAS WITH SINATRA At the Kay Meek Centre in West Vancouver on December 8, and at the Norman and Annette Rothstein Theatre on December 15 Amid holiday sets and lighting, singer Dane Warren resurrects Old Blue Eyes’ festive hits, from “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” to “The Little Drummer Boy”.

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE At the Anvil Centre from December 19 to January 5 Patrick Street Productions turns the beloved 1946 holiday movie into a musical stage adaptation, weaving in nostalgic show tunes like “Rhapsody in Blue” and “Lost in the Stars”, alongside traditional carols.

It’s all backed up by a swingin’ live orchestra. Stage veteran Greg Armstrong-Morris plays Clarence, the angel trying to get his wings by saving George Bailey (Nick Fontaine).

SEASONAL SERENE CHRISTMAS ORATORIO The Vancouver Chamber Choir’s recently installed conductor Kari Turunen hails from Finland, and he brings a gorgeous dusting of northern frost to the ensemble’s annual Christmas program. Think Ēriks Ešenvalds’s “Northern Lights” and “O Salutaris Hostia”, Otto Olsson’s “Guds Son är Född”, and fellow Finn Einojuhani Rautavaara’s “Canticum Mariae Virginis”, set alongside reimagined standards like Michael McGlynn’s glimmering new arrangement of “Silent Night”.

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MUSIC FOR THE WINTER SOLSTICE At Heritage Hall on December 11 and 12 Music on Main celebrates the darkest days of the year with candlelight and eclectic performances by New York City vocalist, violinist, and composer Caroline Shaw and singer-composer Gabriel Kahane, as well as local avant-pianist Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa. The program ranges from Arvo Pärt to Rodney Sharman and the Wyrd Sisters, as well as to composer in residence Sabrina Schroeder.

CHRISTMAS WITH CHOR LEONI: ANGELS DANCE At the Orpheum on December 21 The polished young contemporary dancers of the Arts Umbrella Dance Company bring a new layer to the men’s choir’s holiday program. The performance centres around two folk-inspired works: composer Conrad Susa’s American Southwest–tinged Carols & Lullabies (choreographed by Lesley Telford) and Malcolm Dalglish’s haunting, harp-accompanied Star in the East, which features Appalachian shape-note singing (and choreography by Ballet BC alumna Livona Ellis). Watch for the debut of Two New Counting Carols by composer in residence Zachary Wadsworth, too.

Pianist Tina Chang, harpist Vivian Chen, guitarist Ed Henderson, and percussionist Katie Rife lend their skills to the program.

POP-CULTURE TRIMMINGS MERRY KISSMAS—A ROYAL ROMANCE At the Improv Centre from November 20 to December 24 Vancouver TheatreSports playfully parodies the nonstop stream of holiday specials filling up your PVR right now. This time, along with sending up TV’s usual Christmas clichés, it’s building in a plot surrounding an imagined royal wedding in an unknown small country called Improvanzia. As usual, audience suggestions fuel all the sappy romantic twists and turns leading up to Kissmas Day. HOLLY COLE CHRISTMAS At the Orpheum on December 11 The smoky-voiced Canadian jazz songstress presents a holiday program of Christmas favourites and her own sultry hits, including music from her latest album, HOLLY. The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra performs rich orchestral backup to her band.

HOME ALONE At the Orpheum on December 18 and 20 John Hughes’s rambunctious comedy classic gets live accompaniment by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, celebrating the score composed by John Williams. Bask in the antics of WINTER HARP Macaulay Culkin’s bratty eight-yearAt North Vancouver’s BlueShore Fi- old Kevin while gaining a new apprenancial Centre for the Performing ciation of the music behind the laughs.

Arts on December 11 and 12; at New Julian Pellicano conducts. g

DANCE & COMEDY

Inclusion Project and Performance closing night performance with Troy Ogilvie Rebecca Margolick Pamela Schuller and guests

Leading internationally-renowned dis/ability and mental health advocate and comedian PAMELA SCHULLER and Brooklyn-based professional dancers and choreographers TROY OGILVIE and REBECCA MARGOLICK will perform standup comedy and solo dance work, respectively, in a shared evening of dance and comedy. The show will also present and highlight Troy and Rebecca’s new movement dance work created, directed, and performed with members and guests of the Inclusion Community of the Jewish Community Centre.

Sunday November 24 7pm Norman Rothstein Theatre

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Elektra taps the choral and the natural worlds

by Alexander Varty

OF

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HOLIDAY ARTS

n Canada, at least, the notion of seasonal choral music inevitably invokes the carols sung during Christmas festivities across snowy northern Europe. And Elektra Women’s Choir will not disappoint with its annual Chez Nous: Christmas With Elektra show. This year, the veteran ensemble will include music from England, France, and Austria on its program. But for artistic director Morna Edmundson, the spirit of giving demands taking an inclusive approach.

Elektra will also be performing newly composed music from North and South America, while inviting both the Vancouver Bach Children’s Choir and the voices of the natural world to join in the chorus.

Meadowlark, American robin, mourning dove, wood thrush, redwinged blackbird, rufous-sided towhee, and white-throated sparrow will all feature in So Hallowed Is That Time, embodied by the violin and cello of guest musicians Joan Blackman and Rebecca Wenham. Taking as its text a passage from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the work was composed by Elektra’s resident pianist, Stephen Smith.

“Stephen grew up in a tiny little place called Cape Sable Island, in Nova Scotia, and he was an avid birdwatcher when he was a child,” Edmundson says, in a telephone interview from her Surrey home. “So there’s a deep love there. “The violin and the cello start the piece by playing those bird calls, and then the choir comes in underneath them and we start singing the words. It’s just beautiful.”

Although So Hallowed Is That Time has been in Elektra’s repertoire for a number of years, it might also hint at where the ensemble will be going next spring. For its The Lost Words: A Spell

Morna Edmundson and her singers take an inclusive approach to the holidays.

Book concert in May, Edmundson has commissioned Smith and nine other Canadian composers to set 20 poems from Robert Macfarlane’s magical, animal-themed alphabet book The Lost Words. One of the pianist’s two choices, naturally enough, is “Starling”.

New to Elektra for 2019 is the young Argentine composer Santiago Veros, who’ll contribute a setting of the Latin text O Magnum Mysterium. Only 29, Veros is already becoming a force in the choral world, both for his music and for his online Choral Club, dedicated to building bridges between cultures.

Like Veros, Edmundson finds the Internet a stimulating resource for musicmakers and listeners alike.

“When we first started Elektra, people thought, ‘Oh, you’re going to run out of music in a year,’ ” she says.

“But now, 30 years later, all of us are online with one another, creeping each other’s YouTube channels and listening to stuff and asking for recommendations.…It’s just a huge network— and now there’s just too much music!

“I don’t really mean that,” she adds, laughing. “But it’s a really, really amazing time to be doing this.” g Elektra Women’s Choir presents Chez Nous: Christmas With Elektra at Pacific Spirit United Church on Saturday (November 23).

ARTS

Fado echoes with sorrows of history

T

by Alexander Varty

he characters in PortugueseCanadian playwright Elaine Ávila’s Fado: The Saddest Music in the World include a young woman in search of her roots; her Portuguese-born mother, who came to this country as a political exile from António de Oliveira Salazar’s repressive government; and Lisbon’s greatest singer, Amália Rodrigues, who had her own conf licted relationship with the authoritarian strongman.

But the real star of the show might be fado itself.

“I think the music really supports the emotional journey of the characters and the story,” says director Mercedes Bátiz-Benét, whose Puente Theatre company will present Ávila’s play at the Firehall Arts Centre through December 14.

“So whenever a song appears, it really connects to the visceral emotions that the characters are having on-stage. So it’s really almost like the subtext—but on a very deep level, because, as you know, music can connect in a raw, visceral way with every person. It doesn’t matter if they understand the language or not; music has that way of intimately connecting to a person’s way of understanding things.”

The music, performed in Fado by singer Sara Marreiros with live accompaniment, “really lets us in on what these characters are all about”, Bátiz-Benét adds, reached on her cellphone while en route from her Victoria home to rehearsals in Vancouver.

Although it shares genetic material with Spanish flamenco and Argentine tango, fado is a uniquely Portuguese phenomenon, and its emotional content centres around saudade, a word that doesn’t have an exact analogue in any other

Fado’s music offers a rich blend of regret and nostalgia. Photo by Jam Hamidi

It’s almost like I discovered an aspect of my father’s past.

– Mercedes Bátiz-Benét

language. Saudade connotes a very specific blend of regret, sorrow, and nostalgia—emotions that play a large part in Portugal’s national character, but that will also be familiar to anyone who has experienced the feeling of being estranged from their homeland.

As the child of immigrants, Luisa is consumed by the idea that some part of her still resides in Lisbon, and Fado follows her on

a journey that takes her deep into the Portuguese capital, but also into her own family’s past. The action begins in 2000, a year after Rodrigues’s death, when Luisa makes contact with one of the fado legend’s backing musicians—who is also, as it happens, an old friend of her mother’s.

“Luisa is a singer by vocation, but realizes that she doesn’t know the music of her people,” BátizBenét notes. “So she thinks, ‘What a good opportunity to go figure out who I am, and what my people are all about, by trying to learn the music of my culture.’ ” The story of “immigration in reverse” has considerable personal resonance for the Mexican-born Bátiz-Benét. And since she debuted the play to great acclaim at the 2018 Victoria Fringe, her understanding of saudade—and fado—has, sadly, grown even deeper.

“My father passed away on opening night, so I wasn’t able to go home to Mexico,” she explains. “So this music will forever be linked to the passing of my father—and it turns out that he loved Amália Rodrigues, and I had no idea.…It’s almost like I discovered an aspect of my father’s past that I had no idea about, and I couldn’t imagine a better accompaniment for him to leave this Earth than her music.

“I can’t quite express what it is about fado music, but it really gives voice to a sorrow that’s almost inexplicable,” she adds. “But it’s there, and they’ve managed to make it into a beautiful art form.

It’s quite something, really.” g Puente Theatre presents Fado: The Saddest Music in the World at the Firehall Arts Centre from Thursday (November 21) to December 14.

THROUGH MAR 8, 2020 Cindy Sherman, Untitled #92, 1981 (detial), chromogenic print, Courtesy of the Artist and Metro Pictures, New York

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hen he was unceremoniously dumped from a long-standing CBC TV gig, Shaun Majumder had a skill he could fall back on. His years on the standup circuit allowed him to hit the road with a new 90-minute multimedia comedy experience.

Unlike a certain octogenarian hockey commentator, Majumder wasn’t cut from his 17-year run on This Hour Has 22 Minutes because of anything he said on-air; apparently, it was due to “a creative difference with the executive producer”. Still, his comedic mind sees the parallels.

“I got Don Cherry’d, bro!”

Majumder says with a laugh. “I’m gonna start saying that. I think that’s a fun term. I just made that up!”

His current Hate tour was inspired by a controversial sketch he did called “Beige Power”, a takeoff on white power, on the otherwise uncontroversial 22 Minutes.

“The fucking Nazis went crazy,” Majumder says on the phone from an Edmonton tour stop. “It triggered all these white supremacists who believe that this wasn’t just a sketch but a propaganda video, a call to arms for all brown people to come out and start fucking white people.

I got all these hate tweets. It blew up and there were death threats. I had [former Ku Klux Klan leader] David Duke tweeting at me directly.”

On-stage, the Newfoundlander, now living in L.A., takes a look at the general concept of hate in society and buttresses his jokes with video, while breaking down tweets shown on a big screen.

It’s not, perhaps, what many TV viewers expect when they go to see a beloved former cast member of a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation institution.

“A lot of them now think they’re coming to see CBC Shaun Majumder,” he says. “I actually have to set the table immediately before I start to let everybody know if they came out for Rick Mercer they’re up shit’s creek, because it’s not happening. It’s me doing raw standup comedy, talking about shit that makes people feel uncomfortable sometimes.”

He starts off with a Skype interview with himself getting to the bottom of his dismissal from weekly television, which leads now, naturally, to discussing Cherry.

“The day after Don Cherry got fired, I was like, ‘I gotta talk about this shit,’ ” he says. “I sat down at my computer and started writing: what am I gonna do, how am I gonna approach this, am I going to take a side?”

Some standups wouldn’t be able to go from idea to performance so quickly, but Majumder’s years on 22 Minutes no doubt aid him in turning current events into jokes. He’s also too positive a person to let his dismissal fester.

“In the end, I’m very, very thankful for my time on 22 Minutes and I’m not angry or bitter,” he says. “It was great, and now I’m free and I’m hustling and back to doing the things that I love doing as well: I’m writing a ton, and doing this tour has been so great. I’m just loving being that kind of raw artist who has to get back to basics.” g Shaun Majumder’s Hate tour plays the Massey Theatre in New Westminster on Saturday (November 23).

ARTS

Striking MĂ&#x17D;nowin captures larger shift

T

by Janet Smith

he Cree word mĂŽnowin translates roughly as â&#x20AC;&#x153;the act of clarifying directionâ&#x20AC;?.

And when Margaret Grenier learned it from a Cree elder, she knew it would make the perfect title for her new multimedia dance work.

Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in part because her Dancers of Damelahamid have been redefining their own direction for the past seven or eight years. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been finding ways to incorporate ageold Indigenous dances and make them new again, through digital projections, enviro-electro-acoustic soundscapes, and reimagined masks and regalia. Vancouverites saw this hybrid of old and new in 2016â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s visually striking Flicker; now theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll see it pushed even further in MĂŽnowin. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Part of the process was looking at origin stories and the stories shared by the elders, but also looking at how these become reinterpreted,â&#x20AC;? Grenier, who has Gitksan and Cree ancestry, tells the Straight, speaking over the phone. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It feels like in a lot of the old stories, and the more contemporary

stories as well, we come to this place of extreme imbalance and the need for transformation. And when we get to these places, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not just about â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;How do we regrow and find ourselves?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; but â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;How do we come back to it so that it moves us forward in our current context?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; So the original thought with this piece was to bring us to the present, but also to become clear about resiliency for the future.â&#x20AC;?

If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re starting to see a whole new level of meaning to MĂŽnowin, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no accident: Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Indigenous peoples are tapping into a similar resilience. MĂŽnowin consciously captures the way theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re recovering and reinterpreting stories, dance, and song, and redefining themselves.

Dancers of Damelahamid were early leaders in the Indigenous contemporary arts that are now flourishing across the country. The companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s background in Northwest Coast dance runs deep: Grenierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parents, Ken and Margaret Harris, started Dancers of Damelahamid in the 1960s as a way to revive and present

Traditional Indigenous dance takes bold new form in MĂŽnowin. Photo by Derek Dix

to the public the ancient art forms that potlatch bans had long pushed underground. Grenier, who holds a masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree in arts education from Simon Fraser University, started by carrying on that tradition, and running events like the Coastal First Nations Dance Festival.

But she was looking at ways to pull the practice into the future, and

took her cues from what was happening with Northwest Coast visual art, which had begun to apply an Indigenous world-view to various forms of contemporary art, to international acclaim. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So much work had been done in developing Northwest Coast visual design over the last couple of decades, but that really hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t taken place in our dance training,â&#x20AC;? observes the North Vanâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;based artist.

Just as Northwest Coast art is now celebrated in mainstream contemporary galleries, works like Flicker and MĂŽnowin are now being shown at contemporary-dance festivals and venues. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fitting, then, that Northwest Coast design plays such a huge part in MĂŽnowin. Euro-Cree multidisciplinary artist Andy Moro makes formlines dance and glow via projections throughout the work.

Elsewhere, collaborator Sammy Chien has helped the dancers use motionactivated digital projections that move across the floor.

The hybrid that the team has

assembled over multiple residencies here and at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity feels cutting-edge; the digital magic conjures everything from white-wolf packs to orca pods.

But itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all still rooted in Grenierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own ancestorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; interdisciplinary blend of dance, song, story, and masks. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a fullness in it that people feel when that is shared, because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s such a heart-driven work,â&#x20AC;? Grenier says.

Yet no matter how far Dancers of Damelahamid push the form of Northwest Coast dance, they are constantly checking in with eldersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; even as the work tours the world. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re really grounded in intergenerational practice, and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the core of everything we do,â&#x20AC;? says Grenier, whose son Nigel dances in the company. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s equally important to have elders and mentors as it is to have young people in the project. It really gives weight to the importance of why we do this.â&#x20AC;? g MĂŽnowin is at the Cultch Historic Theatre from Wednesday to Sunday (November 20 to 24).

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NOVEMBER 21 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 28 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 23

ARTS

Sound of Music boasts stellar singing THEATRE

What’s most compelling about this show is the story’s parallels with current times, when people worldwide continue to flee war and injustice. While this production of The Sound of Music is a pleasing display of classic musical theatre, it’s also a poignant reminder of humanity’s fight for freedom and integrity.

THE SOUND OF MUSIC

Music by Richard Rodgers. Lyrics

by Oscar Hammerstein II. Book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse.

Directed by Ashlie Corcoran. At the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage on Wednesday, November 13.

Continues until January 5

d THE ARTS CLUB Theatre Company has unveiled an inspirational retelling of the classic musical The Sound of Music. This production certainly does what audiences will expect—do justice to the famous score

by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. But above and beyond that, director Ashlie Corcoran has brought to life a stunning reworking of the show, resonating with messages for contemporary audiences, and sparkling with exciting performances and production values.

Most audiences will already be familiar with the tale of young postulant Maria Rainer, assigned to govern the seven children of widower Capt. Georg von Trapp. As Maria warms up to the children, she also softens what initially appears to be the stone heart of the captain. With the action set against the backdrop of pre–Second World War Austria, the impending invasion of the Nazi forces heightens the drama.

With such Broadway standards as “Climb Ev’ry Mountain”, “My Favorite Things”, and the title song, one would expect the singing in this show to be stellar—and it is. Under the musical direction of Ken Cormier, the vocals here soar, led by Synthia Yusuf as Maria, Jonathan Winsby as Capt. von Trapp, Meghan Gardiner as Elsa Schraeder, and Annie Ramos as the

by Vince Kanasoot

ANON(YMOUS)

Synthia Yusuf (centre) is a wonderfully relatable Maria in the Arts Club Theatre Company’s inspired production of The Sound of Music. Photo by Emily Cooper

Mother Abbess. But there’s much to enjoy beyond the music.

Yusuf is wonderfully relatable as Maria. With her playful personality and free spirit, she’s a character to root for, and the actor also paints her arc with great skill. At first rolling through the hills with childlike joy, Maria later carries herself with graceful maturity, after finding love and responsibility.

The emotional connection between Yusuf and Winsby is believable, especially after “Something Good”, when the two characters confess their true feelings for each other.

Lighting up the stage as the von Trapp children is a group of impressively talented triple-threat performers. These kids bring likable energy, personality, and musical talent to their roles, as well as great versatility.

They perform Shelley Stewart Hunt’s high-energy pieces of choreography, like “Do-Re-Mi”, with zest and polish, but also show affection when they help their father through “Edelweiss”.

As Louisa von Trapp, Jaime MacLean is a standout dancer, bringing

“The Lonely Goatherd” to a rousing climax with her cartwheels, as well as showing off lovely ballet lines and technique in the party scene.

The eldest von Trapp child, Liesl (Jolene Bernardino), and her love interest, Rolf (Jason Sakaki), playfully perform “Sixteen Going on Seventeen”, in which Hunt gives us nothing short of Broadway-magic choreography.

All this action is performed amid Drew Facey’s handsome set design.

Tall pillars line the stage, serving as the base for various set pieces that fly in and out, transporting us from the tranquil abbey to the sophisticated von Trapp living room, complete with plush ottomans and elegant staircases. Interestingly, giant trees encompass the stage for much of the show, reminding us of the story’s connection to the wilderness.

The open layout of Facey’s set makes the Stanley’s stage look huge, and Itai Erdal’s lighting nicely shows the passing of time in many scenes, using gorgeous shades of blue and red to paint exquisite sunsets.

“My main goal is to share classical music with as many people around the world as I can.”

— Sheku Kanneh-Mason

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By Naomi Iizuka. Directed by Carmen Aguirre. A Studio 58 production. At Studio 58 on Saturday, November 16. Continues until December 1

d NO TWO REFUGEE or immigration stories are the same, and each deserves to be told with humanity, care, and honesty. Playwright Naomi Iizuka’s Anon(ymous) strives to centre these stories, particularly the “invisible brown workforce in North America”, as Carmen Aguirre writes in her director’s note. When so much theatre continues to be about the white middle class, Aguirre writes, this play is “an act of resistance”. And Aguirre is right. Even if Studio 58’s production of Anon(ymous) doesn’t always work, it’s still a welcome disruption and addition to Vancouver’s stages.

Anon (Ashley Cook) doesn’t know where he came from. He’s trying to piece together bits of memory and find his way home. But “home” is less a place at this point than a person, specifically his mom. Anon remembers bombs raining down, being held in his mother’s arms, and the boat on which he fled capsizing. After washing up on an American beach, Anon has spent years searching for his mother, surviving increasingly horrible situations and escalating violence at the hands of racist and predatory people.

This is where Iizuka’s script either shows its age or reveals that she was awfully prescient when she wrote Anon(ymous). Commissioned in the early 2000s to develop a piece for the Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis, Iizuka chose Homer’s Odyssey as a framework on which to base this play. The villains are almost cartoonishly terrible, and they’re played for laughs to a certain extent, but the horrors of contemporary reality have eclipsed Anon(ymous). When a sitting American president is leading chants of “Build that wall” and there are tens of thousands of people in concentration camps in the United States, it’s hard to appreciate the absurdity of a lecherous sweatshop owner, a perverted human smuggler, and a homicidal butcher pulling a Sweeney Todd.

Anon(ymous) is an ambitious production, technically and creatively.

Jessica Oostergo’s set and property design is a highlight, finding multiple inspired uses for limited pieces: silver emergency blankets that are also used to simulate crashing waves as well as tabletops in a club; mobile chainlink fences used to indicate subway tunnels, back alleys, and detention centres. The play is most successful in its moments exploring Anon’s memories. The cast get a physical workout as they bend and crawl and contort across the floor, turning themselves into waves that Cook must ride to convey Anon’s treacherous and tumultuous journey, a tragic rebirthing as he’s ripped from his mother’s arms and delivered into a colonized North America. Cook’s performance is a standout, and it’s hard to take your eyes off Anon when she’s on-stage.

Anon is a difficult role, but Cook is a captivating lead actor and I can’t wait to see what she’ll do next.

by Andrea Warner

New apprenticeship program will boost local arts community Emily Carr University’s network gives students real-world experience in the cultural sector (This story is sponsored by Emily Carr University.)

F

Image: ceramics by Logan Kenler (BFA ’19) at the 2017 Student Art Sale.

rom sculptors and ceramicists to animators and digitalmedia creatives, Vancouver is home to a thriving, vast arts community. Among emerging artists, the ideas coming out of Emily Carr University of Art + Design are daring and diverse. And yet while up-and-coming artists bring forth all sorts of projects that open people’s eyes and minds, they don’t always have the opportunity to gain practical, hands-on experience in the daily operation of studios, galleries, and production spaces. Even rarer is being paid for that kind of work.

An exciting new initiative is about to change that.

It’s called the Art Apprenticeship Network, and it’s run by ECU’s Shumka Centre for Creative Entrepreneurship, which helps artists incorporate practical and logistical factors into their practices. Born out of a gift from the RBC Foundation, the three-year initiative will see 14 students per year placed as paid assistants with local working artists, curators, and cultural-sector professionals .

With a juried selection process currently underway for mentors interested in participating, emerging artists will soon be able to apply for part-time apprenticeship positions totalling about 150 hours. Students will be paid by the university, and there’s no cost to established artists seeking assistance with a well-defined project.

The first program of its kind in B.C., the Art Apprenticeship Network is a game-changer, a win-win for experienced artists and the next generation of makers and creators alike.

“We have this amazing ecosystem locally and regionally with established artists, and up until now

The Art Apprenticeship Network will enable students to advance their practices while working with established artists.

there hasn’t been a systematized approach to linking them with emerging artists as apprentices,” says Kate Armstrong, director of ECU’s Living Labs, which developed and now operates the Shumka Centre.

“Those established artists who are working in studios might not have the funds to support having a student come in and work with them.

“We’re building capacity on both sides so that established artists can build their own production capacity while transferring intergenerational knowledge, knowledge that students can’t get in a classroom, things like how to run a studio, how to archive and document, how to work with curators and dealers: the day-to-day of how to be a professional artist,” Armstrong says. “We’re giving students lived context of more established artists so they can learn.”

Students might glean insight into how to approach public artwork commissions or effective ways to handle marketing and communications. They may be involved in fabrication, production flows, or festivals.

The possibilities are endless.

The program will do more than benefit individual participants. It will also positively impact the greater local arts community as a whole, strengthening connections within it. Collaboration and dialogue could have a range of spinoff effects, such as the rise of new exhibitions or innovations in practices and processes.

“Keeping our community connected leads to great things,” says Shannon McKinnon, director of ECU’s Career Development + Work Integrated Learning, which connects students and alumni with local and international creative-industry employers.

“Being an artist’s assistant really helps kickstart a lot of careers, with that support helping people move forward in the arts. It’s incredible for our community, bringing new life into it while supporting other artists’ practice and their projects. I see real fertility coming from this.

“I believe in social change through art,” she adds. “Anything that builds up our arts community in Vancouver is good for our society.”

The Art Apprenticeship Network is just one ECU initiative that helps students learn to develop business skills and turn their talent and creativity into a viable profession.

Skill Up! is another. Presented in partnership with Career Development + Work Integrated Learning, the lunchtime sessions cover topics like how to price artwork, self-publish, and apply for grad school.

Then there’s the wildly popular annual Student Art Sale. Taking place November 29 to December 1 and open to the public, this year’s event will feature photographs, prints, wearable works, and more by nearly 200 students. (It all happens on campus at ECU’s Michael O’Brian Exhibition Commons [520 East 1st Avenue].)

The legendary sale is largely student-run, giving up-and-comers hands-on experience with things like selling work and managing a large-scale event, which last year drew 4,000 people.

Other initiatives geared to helping grads step into their careers take place year-round out of ECU’s Career Development + Work Integrated Learning Office. Professional-development opportunities include the upcoming Industry Day, a networking event to put students in touch with leadership from companies such as Microsoft, Google, EA, and Sony Pictures Imageworks. Design students are also treated to panels from industry leaders who speak to the inner workings of their companies and professional practices, give advice, and review the portfolios of ECU students.

Similar programs exist for visual-arts students as well, including Crit Night, which brings a suite of curators to campus from artist-run commercial and public galleries to critique student work and offer guidance on how to develop a professional practice. Last year’s curators included Equinox Gallery director Sophie Brodovitch, Access Gallery director/curator Katie Belcher, Vancouver Art Gallery associate curator Stephanie Rebick, and Or Gallery director/curator Denise Ryner. g For more information about the Art Apprenticeship Network and other ECU programs, visit ecuad.ca/.

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NOVEMBER 21 – 28 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 25

ARTS LISTINGS ONGOING

Financial Centre for the Performing Arts. $22/15/11.

80 huts stuffed with sweets, treats, and treasures. Nov 20–Dec 24, Jack Poole Plaza. $15.

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.

GAMÈTES Théâtre la Seizième presents a comedy that tackles the question of what self-fulfillment looks like for women. Nov 1923, 8 pm, Studio 16. $27.95-32.95.

EAST VAN PANTO: PINOCCHIO When a lonely old ice-cream vendor is given a puppet by the mysterious Beckwoman of Commercial Drive, his dreams of having a child suddenly come true. Nov 20–Jan 5, York Theatre. From $26.

CHUTZPAH FESTIVAL Comedy, theatre, dance, and music. To Nov 24, various venues. $24-60.

THE SOUND OF MUSIC Romantic musical about a young woman who takes a governess position with a large family and falls for the widowed father. To Jan 5, Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage. From $39.

THE WARS UBC Theatre and Film presents Timothy Findlay’s World War I drama, adapted by Dennis Garnhum. To Nov 23, 7:30 pm, Frederic Wood Theatre. $11.50-24.50.

A BUNCH OF AMATEURS Comedy about an aging Hollywood action hero playing King Lear as part of an amateur dramatic society. To Nov 23, 8-10 pm, Metro Theatre. $28/25.

THE DOUBLE AXE MURDERS Psychological thriller steeped in Newfoundland folklore. To Nov 23, Gateway Theatre. $29.

MACBETH The 2019-2020 CapU Theatre Series opens with one of Shakespeare’s most popular tragedies. To Nov 23, BlueShore

VANCOUVER ART GALLERY aVIKKY ALEXANDER: EXTREME BEAUTY to Jan 26 aROBERT RAUSCHENBERG 1965–1980 to Jan 26 aTRANSITS AND RETURNS to Feb 23 aCINDY SHERMAN to Mar 8 MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY AT UBC aIN A DIFFERENT LIGHT: REFLECTING ON NORTHWEST COAST ART to summer 2020 aPLAYING WITH FIRE: CERAMICS OF THE EXTRAORDINARY Nov 22–Mar 29, 2020

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20 12TH BIENNIAL DANCE IN VANCOUVER Performances by companies including Amber Funk Barton/the response., Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY, OURO Collective, Raven Spirit Dance, and Vision Impure. Nov 20-24, Scotiabank Dance Centre. $34/25.

BLACK LIKE ME Dancer-choreographer Jade Solomon Curtis performs his multidisciplinary solo work. Nov 20-21, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. $35.

PERSON OF INTEREST Actor-writer Melody A. Johnson’s new solo show about a good neighbour who goes bad. Nov 20-23, Kay Meek Arts Centre. $19-49.

SEMINAR Alex&Main presents Theresa Rebeck’s comedy about four aspiring young novelists who sign up for private writing classes with an international literary figure.

Nov 20-30, 8 pm, The Nest. $25.

THE FATHER Western Canadian premiere of French playwight Florian Zeller’s work, starring Kevin McNulty and Jillian Fargey. Nov 20-30, 8 pm, Vancity Culture Lab. $25-40.

MÎNOWIN Dancers of Damelahamid present a multimedia dance work about rebirth. Nov 20-24, Historic Theatre. From $26.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21

VANCOUVER CHRISTMAS MARKET Authentic German market features more than

FOREVER PLAID Off-Broadway musical comedy. Nov 21–Dec 7, Deep Cove Shaw

MUSIC & FILM

THE RESCUE

A Live Film-Concerto Co-presented with the Canadian Museum for Human Rights

Saturday November 23 8pm Norman Rothstein Theatre

Theatre. $23 seniors/students, $25 adults.

FADO: THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD The story of a young woman confronting her country’s fascist past and her own identity is interwoven with the heartbreaking national music of Portugal. Nov 21–Dec 14, Firehall Arts Centre. From $25.

IT’S A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS-ISH HOLIDAY MIRACLE Canadian comedy about a blended family during a complicated season. Nov 21–Dec 22, Goldcorp Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre. From $29.

TELEMETRY LOOP Shay Kuebler creates hybrid works that combine dance, martial arts, and theatricality. Nov 21-23, 8 pm, Shadbolt Centre for the Arts. $36.

Arts

HOT TICKET

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22 THE AUTOMATIC EARTH: A CONCERT FOR THE CLIMATE The UBC Symphonic Wind Ensemble and UBC Concert Winds perform.

Nov 22, 7:30-9:30 pm, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. $8.

TEEN ANGST NIGHT A comedic reading series of teenage notebooks, hosted by Sara Bynoe. Nov 22, 8-10 pm, Fox Cabaret. $12/15.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23

FUSE: RESONANCES

(November 22 at the Vancouver Art Gallery) In the labyrinth of delights at the latest installation in the VAG’s series of massive art parties, seek out the FUSE x CURRENT Art Bar— performances, visuals, and installations that meld electronic art and music in innovative new ways (the result of a CURRENT: Feminist Electronic Art Symposium mentorship program). The same night, make sure to take in seminal American artist Cindy Sherman’s fascinating retrospective.

PETER PAN Adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s classic tale reimagines Peter Pan for the new millennium. Nov 23–Jan 5, Waterfront Theatre. $18-35.

TEATRO INTIMO DEL FLAMENCO Karen Flamenco presents live flamenco dance and music. Nov 23, 3-4 pm, 5-6 pm, Improv Centre. $12.

CHEZ NOUS: CHRISTMAS WITH ELEKTRA Seasonal concerts with guests the Vetta Chamber Players and the Vancouver Bach Children’s Chorus. Nov 23, 7:30 pm; Nov 24, 3 pm, Pacific Spirit United Church. $40/35/18.

UBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA The orchestra performs works by Finzi, Britten, and Elgar.

Nov 23, 7:30-9:30 pm, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. $8.

SHAUN MAJUMDER: HATE TOUR Canadian comedian tackles themes of intolerance and prejudice. Nov 23, 8-10 pm, Massey Theatre. $45.

TELEMETRY LOOP (November 21 to 23 at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts) If you haven’t seen local contemporary-dance master Shay Kuebler’s mashup of street and tap forms amid live-interactive light, sound, and video, see it now.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 24

FULMER AWARD EXHIBITION

A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS LIVE ON STAGE The holiday classic comes to life in an all-new touring production. Nov 24, Vogue Theatre.

25TH ANNIVERSARY SCREENING OF DOUBLE HAPPINESS A landmark film in the history of Asian representation in Canadian cinema, Double Happiness is celebrated as one of the first North American films of the 1990s featuring a primarily Asian cast, starring Sandra Oh. Celebrate its 25th anniversary with VAFF by watching the film and meeting writer-director Mina Shum for post-film Q&A. Nov 24, 12:30-3 pm, Rio Theatre. $12 online; $15 at the door.

VAM SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: FROM GRACEFUL TO PROFANE Russian program features Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake Suite and Romeo & Juliet Fantasy Overture. Nov 24, 2-4 pm, Orpheum Theatre. $10-15.

KEVIN KENNER PIANO RECITAL Pianist Kevin Kenner performs works by Haydn, Schumann, Chopin, and Paderewski. Nov 24, 3 pm, Vancouver Playhouse. $15-50.

SCENES FROM CHILDHOOD The Turning Point Ensemble joins forces with the Bergmann Piano Duo. Nov 24, 7:30 pm, Orpheum Annex. $33/20.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25 VANCOUVER FOR BEGINNERS BY ALEX LESLIE Book launch with guest readers Elee Kraljii Gardiner, Estlin McPhee, and Amal Rana. Nov 25, 6:30-8:30 pm, Book Warehouse. Free.

(To November 21 at the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre) Bask in traditional and contemporary works by the winners of the 2019 Fulmer Award in First Nations Art—from North Vancouver Neskonlith artist Doreen Manuel’s intricate beading to Vancouver-based Coast Salish/ Penelakut artist Maynard Johnny Jr.’s striking graphic paintings and sculptures. g

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26 MINGLE OF THE JINGLES Conni Smudge and Marlee Walchuk host a variety show. Nov 26, 6:30 pm, Kay Meek Arts Centre. $28.

SASHA VELOUR’S SMOKE & MIRRORS Lip-synch drag-queen show. Nov 26, 8 pm, Queen Elizabeth Theatre. $75/55/35.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28 NASTY WOMEN COMEDY Feisty Vancouver women perform a standup comedy show.

Nov 28, 7-10 pm, Biltmore Cabaret. $10/15.

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.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW! JUST FOR LAUGHS BY ARRANGEMENT WITH LISA THOMAS MANAGEMENT PROUDLY PRESENT

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26 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT NOVEMBER 21 – 28 / 2019

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MOVIES

History drowns inside the endless noise of media

by Ken Eisner

Compulsive news archiving goes nowhere in Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project.

REVIEWS

RECORDER: THE MARION STOKES PROJECT

A documentary by Matt Wolf. Rating unavailable

d THESE DAYS, there are many ways to gather news—true, false, and everything in between. But four decades ago, most people read newspapers and watched TV for their data points. Marion Stokes, the subject of this fascinating, if necessarily frustrating, documentary, looked into her sources a little more deeply, or at least more obsessively, since she took on the task of recording everything she saw, and more.

Born poor and adopted out, Marion was a genuine bootstraps hero: a black woman who secured a great education and worked as a librarian before producing local television shows, in Philadelphia. Archiving and TV would dominate the rest of her life.

Highly suspicious of her segregated country’s role in the world, she also became an activist, joining the Fair Play for Cuba group that also had Lee Harvey Oswald as a member. She and her first husband fought about her Communism and how they should raise their son, Michael Metelits, interviewed extensively here. The ailing husband is seen briefly as well, dryly recalling that Marion was “extraordinarily loyal to her own proclivities”.

These included hosting a cableaccess show in which she jousted with coproducer John Stokes, a wealthy white philanthropist she would eventually marry, forcing him to abandon his previous family.

This TV-savvy woman was also tech-minded, early-adopting the Betamax format and, much more presciently, buying shares in Apple when they were cheap. When her archiving obsessions really kicked in—at the dawn of cable news, near the time of the Iran hostage crisis—her investment afforded her

Movies

TIP SHEET

d RINGU Now remastered, the scariest film of the past 20 years comes to the Rio Theatre for a late-night Grind appearance on Friday (November 22).

d IN FABRIC Don’t miss the latest from weirdo horrormeister Peter Strickland, receiving a single screening at the Rio Theatre on Sunday (November 24). d NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE: FLEABAG Quick! Tix for this broadcast performance by Phoebe Waller-Bridge on Monday (November 25) at the Rio are going fast.

the multiple dwellings, machines, and assistants necessary to record television news on all then-available channels, 24 hours a day. To her dying day, the younger Metelits insists, Stokes considered Steve Jobs “the son she never had”.

Filmmaker Matt Wolf, who has previously profiled eccentric artists Arthur Russell and Joe Brainard, here suggests there was something visionary about his subject’s compulsive taping, which eventually amounted to nearly a million hours of raw TV, recorded over 35 years.

Stokes’s mistrust of media motivated her to catalogue events in real time, but there was no organizing principle to her collection, and no way to retrieve its information for refuting later cover-ups and distortions.

Except for a split-screen sequence showing how different stations covered 9/11, Wolf doesn’t really know what to do with it either. Instead, he concentrates on the personal angle, which proves more disheartening than inspirational. Like street photographer Vivian Maier, who ceaselessly see next page

NOVEMBER 21 – 28 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 27

MOVIES

Spinning yarns at the Euro film fest

T

by Adrian Mack

he U.K. is (perhaps prematurely) absent from the lineup, but there are 25 member countries represented in this year’s European Union Film Festival. In an always mixed bag, standout titles include: Finland’s One Last Deal, opening the 11-day festival on Friday (November 22); A Moon of My Own, a biopic about ’70s Swedish pop star Ted Gärdestad from A Man Called Ove director Hannes Holm, screening Tuesday (November 26); and the quasi-experimental Icelandic-Danish coproduction Winter Brothers, which was a knockout at this year’s TIFF (December 1). Here are three more titles worth noting.

VIFF‘19

VIFF‘19

THE TOBACCONIST (Germany/Aus-

tria) Is it ever wise to populate your movie with real historical figures?

Whatever the answer, Sigmund Freud shuffles in and out of this German tale of a lake-country naif dispatched to Vienna by his widowed mother on the eve of the Nazi takeover. The story is frequently interrupted by the horny youth’s overtly symbolic dreams (they’re Freudian—surprise, surprise—so lots of water) while the father of psychoanalysis offers impish advice on how to score with the Bohemian hottie who dances at the after-hours bar. Meanwhile, the Gestapo is setting up shop and taking names, so you can guess how at least some of this ends. Based on Robert Seethaler’s novel, The Tobacconist is ripe for ridicule but ends up being great entertainment, provided you leave your feminism at the door. The late Bruno Ganz as Freud and the film’s splendid re-creation of 1930s Vienna help elevate its harebrained delights, placing it in the company of glossy trash like Never Look Away, which was also too fun to dismiss.

Friday, November 22 (8:30 p.m.)

THE WEEPING HOUSE OF QALA

(Malta) What is with Malta? EUFF 2018 gave us the supernatural relationship drama Gozo. This year it’s

An Egyptian DJ played by Karim Kassem (right) heads to Brussels but gets trapped in Luxembourg in the genial European Union Film Festival offering, Sawah.

verge of disowning his starry-eyed son. But bigger problems await the Belgium-bound Samir, a.k.a. DJ Skarab, when he’s mistaken at the border for an illegal and finds himself “at the pleasure of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg”. His confused response: “The grand douchey?” A light comedic touch and charming leads carry the film through its overly strained, After Hours–like plot, which eventually includes incompetent cops and a gang of murderous Roma. As braindead f luff, it’s likable enough, and it arrives with an odd local connection: director Adolf El Assal wrote the script with Vancouver’s Dennis Foon, whose last big credit SAWAH (Luxembourg) An Egyp- was 2017’s Indian Horse. Thursday, tian DJ takes off for an inter- November 28 (8:40 p.m.) g national competition in Brussels, leaving behind a Cairo in the grip The 22nd annual European Union Film of violent protests, a girlfriend en- Festival takes place at the Cinematheque dangered by her work as a news from November 22 to December 2. More photographer, and a father on the information is at thecinematheque.ca/. an old-dark-house tale set inside one of that island’s many abandoned and crumbling estates, with a bunch of filmmakers unravelling under their various relationship dynamics. It’s hardly any more straightforward than last year’s elliptical effort, just not as style-conscious, sadly. The ending cheats on the film’s premise and spends too long by half on mood, not substance—the curse of so much modern cinematic horror on a medium budget. But here’s your one shot if it’s scares that you want from EUFF, and some clever shocks in the final stretch provide a creepyenough payoff. Monday, November 25 (8:30 p.m.)

Chadwick Boseman is a trigger-happy homicide detective with trauma issues in the routine N.Y. crime thriller, 21 Bridges.

from previous page

collected images of the world around her but left thousands of film rolls unprocessed, Stokes amassed a body of work that left a colossal shadow but sheds little light on who she was.

21 BRIDGES

Starring Chadwick Boseman. Rated 14A

28 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT NOVEMBER 21 – 28 / 2019

d ORIGINALLY CALLED 17 Bridges, this routine crime thriller got an infrastructure upgrade somewhere along the way. No one gave it an injection of extra meaning, however, so 21 Bridges remains as forgettable as its title.

How routine is it? Well, it begins with a preamble showing the young Andre Davis getting traumatized by the death of his policeman father. More to the point, the dead dad’s boss is played by Keith David, the gruff black police chief in countless cop movies. Cut to the present day, and the gruff captain is now J.K. Simmons, chewing the N.Y. scenery (mostly Philadelphia, in fact) after seven officers and a couple of civilians are mowed down by weapon-toting crooks boosting a buttload of cocaine.

Briskly directed by Brian Kirk, an Irish journeyman with a lot of episodic TV under his belt, the movie shows some sympathy for the perps, a pair of small-timers

played by True Detective’s Taylor Kitsch and, more prominently, If Beale Street Could Talk star Stephan James. They’ve walked in on a stash 10 times bigger than what they’d been told about, so you just know the big shootout that happens 10 minutes into the story will not be the end of their travails.

Their more immediate problem is that Mr. Wakanda himself, Chadwick Boseman—as the grown-up Andre—is the homicide detective assigned to the case.

He’s one sharp dude, but worse, he’s famous for being one trigger-happy mofo. It’s Det. Davis’s idea to shut down all arteries going in and out of Manhattan— hence the bridge thing—and this limits urban exits, as well as exit strategies for screenwriters Adam Mervis and Matthew Michael Carnahan, who exercise some pretty basic procedural tropes, along with the usual thin-blue-line jargon.

They’ve also given Andre a female counterpart, in the form of Sienna Miller’s Brooklyn-accented narcotics cop, but the filmmakers show little interest in their relationship, or any others. They’re far more focused on elaborate chase scenes—in cars, on foot, in the subway, and more—and these are efficiently handled. The actors do themselves neither harm nor good with this cynical exercise. They simply got from Point A to B, letting the traffic take them where it will. g

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QueenAndSlim.ca FOR LOCATIONS AND SHOWTIMES. NOVEMBER 21 – 28 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 29

MOVIES

The Cinematheque European Union Film Festival November 22 – December 2 November 22 (Friday) 6:30 pm

Finland

November 22 (Friday) 8:30 pm

See the unseeable at a lovingly crafted Rio Grind

Austria

One Last Deal (Tuntematon mestari)

The Tobacconist (Der Trafikant)

Veteran Finnish director Klaus Härö brings his elegant craftsmanship to bear on this bittersweet tale of an aging art dealer up for one last score.

Iconic arthouse thesp Bruno Ganz portrays psychoanalytic sage Sigmund Freud in director Nikolaus Leytner’s sensitively rendered coming-of-age drama.

November 23 (Saturday) 4:00 pm

November 23 (Saturday) 6:30 pm

Estonia

The Little Comrade (Seltsimees laps) A box-office smash in its native Estonia—and winner of Best Picture at their Oscars equivalent—this tender period drama is set during Estonia’s oppressive Stalinist era.

November 23 (Saturday) 8:30 pm

Slovenia

My Last Year as a Loser (Ne bom več luzerka)

Germany

In Times of Fading Light (In Zeiten des abnehmenden Lichts) The late, beloved Bruno Ganz is a Communist patriarch in Matti Geschonneck’s acclaimed ensemble dramedy.

November 24 (Sunday) 4:00 pm

Ireland

Metal Heart

Millennial disillusionment is amusingly played for laughs in Urša Menart’s landmark fiction-feature debut.

Irish actor-turned-indie-director Hugh O’Conor packs considerable heart into this poignant coming-of-age comedy about warring teenage twins as they grow up.

November 24 (Sunday) 6:00 pm

November 24 (Sunday) 8:10 pm

Hungary

Eternal Winter (Örök tél) A multiple prizewinner on the festival circuit, Attila Szász’s harrowing account of survival in a Soviet labour camp tells WWII stories of interned ethnic German Hungarians.

November 25 (Monday) 6:30 pm

Lithuania

Slovakia

f I say “grindhouse”, you say “Yasujirô Ozu”, right? Okay, maybe not, but the transcendental Japanese master wasn’t above making a potboiler or two, like 1933’s silent gangster quickie Dragnet Girl.

When that film is accompanied on Friday (November 22) by a live score from Chicago-based ambient trio Coupler—fresh from performances in Seattle and New York—programmer Rachel Fox figures it fits the Rio Grind Festival bill just fine.

“We couldn’t pass it up,” Fox tells the Straight. “There’s only so many screens in Vancouver and we want to shed some light on content that otherwise might not get seen. When we curate something like this, we’re hoping people trust in the experience and walk away really charmed or enlightened or satisfied with something they weren’t expecting to feel that way about.”

Hewing a little closer to the classic definition, Rio Grind also offers the chance to see H. P. Lovecraft adaptation Colour Out of Space, in which Nic Cage “perhaps exceeds” his gonzo workout in last year’s Mandy. Richard Stanley’s feature drew raves at TIFF’s Midnight Madness and Austin’s Fantastic Fest, and Fox notes that tickets are moving fast for its single screening on Saturday (November 23).

On Sunday (November 24), Homewrecker finds Doctor Sleep’s Alex Essoe getting into an uncomfortable relationship with Precious Chong. “It becomes an intergenerational Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?,” says Fox, who otherwise describes Zach Gayne’s latest as “OK Boomer” distilled into a violent horror comedy. “It’s definitely a real oddball film that is otherwise never

Richard Stanley’s Colour Out of Space receives a rare Vancouver screening.

going to be seen on the big screen but deserves to be.”

The programmer is also pleased to bring Canadian titles to the party, including Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo, a portrait of your favourite cult-movie heavy from Vancouver’s Brett Harvey, opening the Grind on Thursday (November 21). On the same bill, Happy Face, by Québécois filmmaker Alexandre Franchi, places a teenager inside a therapy group for people with facial disfigurements— real facial disfigurements, no makeup here—challenging the viewer to check their own response to what the film calls “the tyranny of beauty”.

Says Fox: “It’s tender; it’s surprising. I think it forces the audience to come to terms with looking at people for their humanity, who we might otherwise not cast our eyes upon. It’s a really unusual film.” Back in 1977, megahack Michael Winner used real-life “freaks” to depict the inhabitants of hell in his film The Sentinel. Even the grindhouse is upping its sensitivity game these days. g The Rio Grind Festival takes place at the Rio Theatre from Thursday to Sunday (November 21 to 24).

HAVE YOU BEEN TO...

Freedom Under Load (Sloboda pod nákladom) Alpine-filmmaker Pavol Barabáš documents the oldest generation of porters operating in northern Slovakia.

November 25 (Monday) 8:30 pm

I

by Adrian Mack

Malta

KARAOKE

7 DAYS A WEEK

9:30PM-CLOSE HOSTED BY: EVIL BASTARD KARAOKE EXPERIENCE

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OPEN UNTIL 3AM FRIDAY AND SATURDAY

Ashes in the Snow Set during WWII, amidst Stalin’s dismantling of the Baltic region, this domestic blockbuster chronicles the heartrending experience of a family deported to Siberia.

November 26 (Tuesday) 6:30 pm

Sweden

The Weeping House of Qala (Hemm Dar il-Qala) The modest Mediterranean archipelago of Malta turns on the terror with a haunted-house thriller!

November 26 (Tuesday) 8:50 pm

Czech Republic

Electric Bicycle Brewing Co. electricbicyclebrewing.com

Hawksworth Restaurant hawksworthrestaurant.com

25 Anniversary Screening th

With Director Mina Shum

Sunday November 24, 12:30pm Moments (Chvilky)

A Moon of My Own (Ted – För kärlekens skull)

Learn about 1970s Swedish pop-star Ted in Hannes Holm’s follow up to Oscar-nominated A Man Called Ove. November 27 (Wednesday) 7:00 pm

Rising Czech filmmaker Beata Parkanová’s film won raves and earned its star (the remarkable Jenovéfa Boková) Best Actress honours at the 2019 Czech Lions.

at the RIO Theatre PRESENTED BY

Croatia

Europe without the jet lag! eufilmfestival.com Screenings at 1131 Howe Street The Eighth Commissioner (Osmi povjerenik) The debut feature of writer-director Ivan Salaj mines the humour out of highfalutin democracy.

T I C K E T S AT VA F F. O R G 30 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT NOVEMBER 21 – 28 / 2019

music

Hamm brings the theremin to life

by Mike Usinger

I

f decades on the frontlines of Vancouver’s indie-music scene have taught Stephen Hamm anything, it’s that there’s no sense toning things down for people who’ve been conditioned to appreciate a spectacle.

It’s no accident, then, that the cover art for his new solo album, Theremin Man, shows an illustrated Hamm standing in front of a star-studded black sky, looking resplendent in a low-cut red velvet robe while surrounded by Adventure Time–like neon flora. Recent Instagram liveshow shots, meanwhile, have left the curious wondering whether he’s a card-carrying member of the Church of Gibborim, an escapee from the Polyphonic Spree, or a man deeply inspired by the fabled Trundholm Sun Chariot.

Reached in Vancouver, which he’s about to leave for a series of concerts on Vancouver Island, Hamm reveals that he’s put a lot of thought into positioning himself as Vancouver’s emerging king of the theremin. Sometimes it’s about style as well as substance.

“Every good rock ’n’ roll band, at its best, has a duty to look pretty great,” he says with a laugh. “That’s how I’ve always seen things— I’ve always believed that if you’re going to put on a show, you put on a show. So don’t picture me wearing flannel pyjamas while I was making the record. I was wearing a cape.”

Whether that contention is fact or fiction is irrelevant. All that matters is that Theremin Man sounds like the work of someone with an endless appreciation for the world’s most outthere musical instrument.

Invented by Russian physicist Léon Theremin in the 1920s, the theremin is the only instrument you play without touching it; hands are waved in front of metal antennas, one of which controls the volume and the other the pitch.

The only time most of us hear the instrument is on Halloween or while watching any sci-fi B-movie filmed in the 1950s. On Theremin Man Hamm does a smart and admirable job of moving the theremin into the 21st century. So as much as he’s happy to embrace its soothingly eerie and ghostly side on “Inner Space” and “Cosmic Generator”, the homerecorded album is more than a great excuse to fire up the bong and gaze at the stars. “Another Planet” is techno-tinted disco for deep-space nightclubs, “Space Sister” channels the glamtastic spirit of the immortal Ziggy Stardust, and “Mountains R Heavy” gives postpunk a lethal shot of deep-dish soul.

Hamm notes that the theremin first hit his radar during a viewing of the Led Zeppelin concert film The Song Remains the Same, in which guitarist Jimmy Page ditches his Les Paul for a space-age solo in the middle of “Whole Lotta Love”.

ress was slow and frustrating. Finally, as part of a European vacation, he decided it was time to look for outside guidance.

“There are theremin academies, where people like Carolina Eyck—who’s probably the number one player in the world—teach lessons,” Hamm says. “So it was like, ‘Okay, I’m going to go to France, to Colmar and one of these academies, to hang out with some theremin people.’ I went in and realized that I knew nothing. Being Europeans and Germans and whatnot, people there quickly told me that I knew nothing. So I started with a week of basics—‘Here’s how we tune the instrument, here’s how you play a C. And here’s how you play a C and a B, which is what you’ll be doing for the next eight hours.’ ” Quickly, he learned to appreciate that the theremin is all about precision and finesse, more so than fretted instruments like the bass or guitar.

And as Hamm went all in, he started to make significant progress, even while accepting that he was nowhere near as proficient as he wished to be.

“I consider myself an intermediate player,” he says. “But it’s something that I intend to work on for the rest of my life.”

What he’s grown to love about the theremin is that it’s been part of his journey not only as a musician, but also as a person. Lyrically, Theremin Man touches on the idea of searching for a higher power on tracks like “Space Sister” and “Another Planet”. Instrumentals “Analogue Stephen Hamm was inspired to buy a theremin after seeing an Armen Ra show. Photo by Angela Hubbard Pluck” and “Stranger Friend”, meanwhile, have a distinctly meditative quality perfect for walk“I remember going to see it at a pivotal age, ing deserted beaches while contemplating one’s at the Ridge, for a buddy’s 12th or 13th birthvery existence. day,” he says. “We freaking walked out. Then, a Suggest there’s a spiritual side to Theremin couple of years later, when we’d started smoking Man, and Hamm doesn’t disagree. weed, we went and saw it again, and it was like, “Nick Thomas from the Smugglers once told ‘Woooaaaah.’ It was still a terrible movie—an abme after a few beers, ‘Hamm, you either have solutely awful movie—but that was the first time Don’t picture me wearing children or you become a Buddhist.’ I didn’t I remember seeing a theremin being played, and flannel pyjamas while have children, and I didn’t become a Buddhist, wondering ‘What the hell is he doing?’” but to find meaning in the world I had to look to Hamm was inspired to find out for himself I was making the record. see if there’s something greater than all of this years later, after stints playing bass in bands I was wearing a cape. out there. What I came up with—and maybe like Slow, the Evaporators, Tankhog, Jungle, it’s growing up in B.C.—is that my spiritualand too many others to list here had made him – Stephen Hamm ity is the natural world around us, which we’re a local legend. blessed here to have so much access to.

Being a lifelong sci-fi nerd had ensured “Vancouver, for all its beauty, can be a pretty regular exposure to the instrument. (“It was miserable place if you go down the rabbit hole like, ‘That’s the thing in The Day the Earth of ‘I can’t afford my rent’ or whatever,” Hamm Stood Still.’ ”) But a 2010 appearance by Nick continues. “So I do my meditation, and I’m from Cave’s Grinderman at the Commodore led to a revelation. As the opening act, theremin inspired out of me. So that’s when I went out the West Coast, so I’ve dabbled in yoga. I like to go hiking and I spend a lot of time over on Penplayer Armen Ra provided the calm before and bought a theremin.” a shitstorm, making magic out of songs like He promptly learned that while it looked der Island doing my thing there. There’s a spirit “Ave Maria”. easier to master than the violin, harp, or world that’s all around us, and you can feel that.

That’s very much a part of this record.” g “There was this guy, up there by himself French horn, that wasn’t the case. with the theremin, playing it melodically—it “It isn’t impossible to learn, but by yourself it’s was haunting and beautiful,” Hamm recalls. “It almost impossible to figure it out,” Hamm offers. Stephen Hamm plays a Theremin Man record-release blew my mind. I left that show with the heck As he worked from YouTube videos, prog- party at LanaLou’s on Saturday (November 23).

Gallagher brothers have truly blown it

by Mike Usinger

POP EYE

I

ncredibly, the past decade has gone a long way to suggesting that the most stupid person in Oasis wasn’t the guy who proudly answered to “Hey, Bonehead.”

Those who can’t go to a formal wedding, office Christmas party, or 50-and-still-breathing birthday bash without requesting the DJ play “Wonderwall” at least twice might have noticed that Liam and Noel Gallagher are back in the news again this week.

No, they weren’t announcing that they’ve decided to make up after an embittered decade of shit-talking each other, first in newspapers, and then on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Yelp.

And they weren’t announcing plans to finally shave off their respective monobrows for charity.

Instead, the Gallaghers once again made headlines for claiming they hate each other enough that Oasis will never get back together. Which is exactly what they’ve been doing ever since going to war after what

I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.

– Noel Gallagher in 2009

Former Oasis singer Liam Gallagher has made it clear the band won’t reunite.

was either a shoving match, fistfight, or epic deli-tray squabble at a 2009 Paris music festival.

Not to pick at a wound that’s never been allowed to scab over, but after refusing to perform that day, Oasis cancelled the rest of a planned tour. Noel Gallagher then issued this statement hours later: “With some sadness and

great relief I quit Oasis tonight. People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.”

What no one could have foreseen was that the guitarist would be unable to go a day without reminding the world that he and his brother are bitterly estranged. This week’s outrage started with Noel telling anyone with a ham radio, functioning smartphone, or tin can with a string that Liam has been harassing him on Twitter. And harassing his wife. And his children.

Each one of those tweets, Noel suggested, put a “nail in the coffin” of Oasis. Which was a strange way to put things, considering the band has been dead since the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Obama’s first arrival at the White House, and Michael Jackson’s sleepovers at the Neverland Ranch.

Never one to miss an opportunity to keep himself and his brother in the news, Liam promptly shot back on Twitter with “So news reaches me from afar that team NG are trying to get me shut down on twitter coz they don’t like my tweets” and “Good luck you little fart.”

Perhaps realizing he’d blown an opportunity by not referring to his brother as an “old fart”, “eye-watering fart”, or “award-winning elevator fartsmith”, the singer then jumped back on Twitter later to add “you’ve blown it the people have got your number.”

On that last front Noel has indeed blown it. And so has Liam. Many moons ago, the Georgia Straight interviewed the guitarist, who proved to be not only perfectly pleasant and riotously entertaining, but also somewhat dissatisfied with life. At the time Oasis was at the top of the British pops thanks to a string of unbeatable

hits: “Some Might Say”, “Don’t Look Back in Anger”, “Champagne Supernova”, “The Importance of Being Idle”, and, yes, “Wonderwall”. Which, really, every DJ on the planet loves getting requests for almost as much as “YMCA”, “Sweet Home Alabama”, and “The Chicken Dance”.

During that interview, Noel— who rivalled Marilyn Manson, Jello Biafra, and Courtney Love in his flair for soundbites—confessed, “I’m bored. I want to start making music that sounds like the Stooges crossed with Public Enemy.”

That’s something onetime Oasis punching bag Damon Albarn ended up doing with not only Blur but also Gorillaz and the Good, the Bad & the Queen.

Meanwhile, the Gallagher brothers continue to viciously hate each other. Worse, they’re doing it while pursuing solo careers that are never going to get anyone at a wedding to drunkenly yell out requests for “She Taught Me How to Fly” or “Chinatown”.

To think that there was a time when everyone thought Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs was the thick one in Oasis. g

NOVEMBER 21 – 28 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 31

OLT EDS/SHADBION A CORY WE -P T C U D O PR CENTRE CO

DEC.1P1M 10AM-1

MUSIC

Kaeli’s modern indie pop is no secret LOCAL DISCS KAELI

Secret (Independent)

d KAELI CERTAINLY got Straight music editor Mike Usinger’s attention with the package she sent her new EP in. The music itself was on a USB flash drive with her name and URL (www. kaelimcarter.com/) engraved on it.

This was tucked inside a hollowed-out book that also contained an RFID card case, and a stainless-steel straw. That last item, according to a note from the artist, “will protect your DNA from being stolen off your drinking glass”, because that’s definitely a thing that happens to all of us, right?

As soon as a duly impressed Mike handed me all of the above, I set it aside and looked up Kaeli’s five-song Secret EP on Spotify, because this is 2019.

And Kaeli McArter’s music is nothing if not contemporary; imagine an indie-pop Lady Gaga or Kesha. Not the glitter-and-vomit Ke$ha of “Tik Tok”, mind you, but the empowered version as heard on “Raising Hell”.

Kaeli’s “Freedom” and “Round 2” are very much in that independentwoman vein, and all of the songs boast impressively slick production, burbling with synths and electronic beats. The spooky closer, “Haunt Me”, is the EP’s high point, showcasing McArter’s powerfully plaintive singing over a subtly dubstep-inspired soundscape.

by John Lucas

Cory Weeds and the Cellar Music Group take over the Shadbolt for an all-day jazz extravaganza with local and international jazz sensations.

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by Alexander Varty

WASHERS

Drown (Independent)

d IT’S HARD TO KNOW where to begin when it comes to describing Washers. The band itself offers this on its Facebook page: “Four piece eclectic feedback worship from Vancouver”.

That’s not bad, actually, especially the “eclectic” part. On the surface, the quartet’s sound is akin to ’90s spiritof-Seattle grunge—that’s where the feedback comes in—but that would be too simplistic a definition. There’s also a sense of surging urgency and drama to these songs that recalls emo titans like Sunny Day Real Estate. (Okay, so we’re still in Seattle in the ’90s.)

That’s still not the whole story, though. As noisy as things get, singer garrett k tends to deliver the lyrics in a Morrissey-esque croon—except when he doesn’t, as on “Manleash”, where he lets the dogs out with a throatshredding howl.

This much is certain: these guys have no qualms about reaching for the epic. For evidence of that, check

out this album’s title track, which closes the whole affair in a 12-minute spazz-out of math rock, posthardcore, and sheer noise. It’s pretty great, and will likely leave you with the impression that Washers must be jaw-droppingly good live.

by John Lucas

COACH STROBCAM

Coach StrobCam (Independent)

d MY FAVOURITE SONG on Coach StrobCam’s debut six-song CD EP is, by far, “The Problem”, which manages to insinuate itself into the listener’s psyche with the apparent intent of provoking an anxiety attack. This is thanks to an insistent chorus by Pete Campbell of “The problem is you”—the last word delivered like he’s pointing his finger square at you, leaving you no room to deflect.

I much prefer that song to the almost spiritual sweetness and apparently sincere sense of gratitude that inform “Milk and Honey”, but it’s remarkable nonetheless that the EP— with keyboards and accordions by Greg “Coach” Kelly and honey-sweet harmonies from Rachel Strobl— manages to span such a range, in the course of a mere six songs.

I described it in an interview with Campbell on the Straight website as what might happen if Ray Davies wrote songs with Burt Bacharach, and it’s still the closest I can come to an apt description of Campbell’s songwriting this time out, but it sure is nice to see that the long-time David M. collaborator and former member of Pink Steel, the Wardells, and the Sweaters hasn’t lost his touch.

This is probably the prettiest, easiest-to-listen-to music of Campbell’s long and undersung career, offering a truly unique flavour of smart Vancouver pop; it also (hint) makes a pretty great headphones album.

by Allan MacInnis

THE WILD NORTH

Ruby’s Ukes proudly presents

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d I HAD NOT PREVIOUSLY been a fan of jazz singer and pianist Champian Fulton, but I’m coming around.

That’s thanks to this intimate duet

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CHAMPIAN FULTON & CORY WEEDS

record, which places the 34-yearold in the company of local concert booker, label owner, and alto saxophonist Cory Weeds. And it’s not so much the quality of the music that’s turning my head, but the quality of the listening.

Unconfined by a rhythm section, Fulton sounds freer and more playful than on earlier releases; her playing is bluesier and more muscular, especially in the lower registers. She’s also grown into her voice: the kittenish mannerisms and nasal inflections that seemed so affected early on in her career have coalesced into a mature style that honours the jazz past without aping it. Weeds, wisely, lets her shine, contributing sprightly melodic improvisations but never overplaying.

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Welcome to… (Independent)

d AS THE TOASTMASTER to a certain quarter of Vancouver’s rootsrock scene for over a decade now, Elliot C. Way has seen his own music with the Wild North maybe be a little overlooked. The band itself has been busy for almost as long, as a denimwrapped Wrecking Crew for Vancouver and points beyond. Keyboardist Matt Kelly and drummer Leon Power were both recruited into City and Colour. Guitarist John Sponarski tours with country artist Aaron Pritchett, among others. Bassist Erik Nielsen sits in with everyone, everywhere.

Add to that an admirable commitment to a vintage form of downtime lifestyle debauchery—the kind you might have encountered in Texas circa ’73 or Vancouver before it went all artisanal ice cream and tech-sector micro-dosing—and it comes as no surprise that it took over six years for the Wild North to finally put the finishing touches on its debut album.

Still: at long last, here it is, as good as you’d expect from an outfit that’s grown from already hot to way hotter over those years of fitfully hitting the studio. Starting with “Even the Greats”, the record’s sonic orientation suggests junk-sick John Cougar Mellencamp stealing from Neil Young, but with a heaviness that finally overcomes everything seven tracks later in the fabulously ominous “Fools Gold”.

The biggest surprise might be the beefiness of Way’s vocals, presumably seasoned over periodic bouts of living in his van. It’s a rock record for sure, Nebraska-ish “Margaret” aside, and there’s at least one wink to the lighter moves of the Band in the clavinet murmur heard in the chorus of “Worlds on Fire”. Or maybe it’s a jaw harp, or maybe it was telepathically embedded into the track directly from Way’s feverboiled brain. Fitting for a record that seems to have emerged largely through sheer force of will.

by Adrian Mack

MUSIC LISTINGS

CONCERTS JUST ANNOUNCED ALEXISONFIRE Canadian posthardcore quintet, with guests the Distillers and NOBRO. Jan 25, 7 pm, Pacific Coliseum. Tix on sale Nov 22, 10 am, $80.50.

ANTIBALAS Brooklyn-based afrobeat collective. Feb 21, 9 pm, Rickshaw Theatre. Tix on sale Nov 22, 9 am, $30.

WILCO Alt-rock band from Chicago. Mar 21, 7:30 pm, Orpheum Theatre. Tix on sale Nov 22, 10 am, $55-69.50.

G. LOVE AND SPECIAL SAUCE American hip-hop/blues band, with guest Jontavious Willis. Mar 22, 8 pm, Venue. Tix on sale Nov 22, 9 am, $38.

BILLY RAFFOUL Singer-songwriter from Ontario. Mar 28, 8 pm, Rio Theatre. Tix on sale Nov 22, 10 am, $18.50.

OH WONDER London-based alt-pop duo composed of Anthony West and Josephine Vander Gucht. Apr 22, Orpheum Theatre. Tix on sale Nov 22, 10 am.

THE DIP R&B/soul band from Seattle. May 8, 9 pm, Rickshaw Theatre. Tix on sale Nov 22, 10 am, $22.50.

BASIA BULAT Canadian folk singer-songwriter and autoharp player, with guest Legal Vertigo. May 11, 8 pm, Commodore Ballroom.

Tix on sale Nov 22, 10 am, $22.50.

APOCALYPTICA Cello-rock band from Finland. May 15, 8 pm, Imperial Vancouver. Tix on sale Nov 22, 10 am, $45.

AJR New York City pop band composed of multi-instrumentalist brothers Adam, Jack, and Ryan Met. Jun 7, 7:30 pm, Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Tix on sale Nov 22, 10 am, from $75.

THE AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENT Indie-rock quartet from L.A. Jun 27, 8:30 pm, Commodore Ballroom. Tix on sale Nov 22, 10 am, $29.50.

SQUAMISH CONSTELLATION FESTIVAL Three-day music festival features performances by more than 40 bands and artists. Jul 24-26, Hendrickson Fields & Logger Sports Grounds. Earlybird weekend passes on sale Nov 21, 10 am, $159.

HARRY STYLES Pop singer-songwriter and actor, formerly of One Direction, with guest Jenny Lewis. Aug 23, 8 pm, Rogers Arena. Tix on sale Nov 22, 10 am, $57-225.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20 THANK YOU SCIENTIST Prog-rock band from New Jersey, with guests Bent Knee and the Tea Club. Nov 20, Rickshaw Theatre. $20.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21 CHELSEA WOLFE Goth-rock singer-songwriter from California, with guest Ioanna Gika.

Nov 21, Vogue Theatre. $25.

PROZZAK Electro-pop band performs on its farewell tour. Nov 21, 8 pm, Rickshaw Theatre. $29.50.

SLEATER-KINNEY Punk-rock trio from Olympia, Washington. Nov 21, 8 pm, Commodore Ballroom. $47.50.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22 ELEVATE MUSIC PROJECT: NIGHT ONE Performances by Strange Breed, the Fallaways, Adam Mah, Ivan Hartle, Antonio Larosa, and Nikita Afonso. Nov 22, Biltmore Cabaret. $5.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23 SERENA RYDER Toronto-based pop-rock singer-songwriter performs on her Christmas Kisses Tour. Nov 23, 7:30 pm, Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts.

AIR SUPPLY Soft-rock duo from the ‘70s. Nov 23, 8 pm, River Rock Show Theatre. $84.50.

INFECTED MUSHROOM Israeli electro-house duo. Nov 23, 9 pm, Commodore Ballroom. $35.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 24 THE BLACK KEYS American garage-rock duo, with guests Modest Mouse and Shannon & the Clams. Nov 24, Rogers Arena. From $39.50.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25 CAUTIOUS CLAY Soul-pop singer-songwriter from Brooklyn, with guest Remi Wolf. Nov 25, 8:30 pm, Venue. $22.50.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26 THE ROGUE FOLK CLUB & THE VANCOUVER FOLK MUSIC FESTIVAL PRESENT LE VENT DU NORD They were one of the mainstage hits at the Folk Festival last summer.

Now you can see them in the intimacy of a small hall! This award-winning and acclaimed band is a leading force in Quebec’s progressive francophone folk movement. “Exceptionally skilled, exceptionally experienced, and exceptionally entertaining”. – Sing Out! Nov 26, 8 pm, Mel Lehan Hall at St. James. $40 general/$36 members.

THIEVERY CORPORATION American electronic-music act featuring Rob Garza and Eric Hilton. Nov 26-27, 9:30 pm, Commodore Ballroom. $65.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27 KING DIAMOND Heavy-metal act from Denmark, with guests Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats and Idle Hands. Nov 27, 7 pm, Queen Elizabeth Theatre. $89.50/79.50/59.50/45.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28 ROGER HODGSON Former member of Supertramp. Nov 28, 8 pm, River Rock Show Theatre. $99.50.

Music

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.

HOT TICKET

SLEATER-KINNEY (November 21 at the Commodore ) What doesn’t destroy you sometimes makes you stronger, as when Sleater-Kinney lost long-time drummer Janet Weiss and radically overhauled the band’s sound on The Center Won’t Hold.

DESERT DWELLERS

(November 23 at the Rickshaw) Even if Burning Man is a go for next year, you have months of rain to get through before it’s even on the horizon. Take some of the sting out of that with electro mashup buddies Amani Friend and Treavor Moontribe.

BLACK KEYS (November 24

Scan to confess So disappointed When I’m on the bus I want to look out the window. Now they have these advertisements all over!!! And when I do look out, the blurry dots hurt my eyes. Who at Tran slink thought this would be a good idea? I don’t want to be on my phone, I want to look at what’s going on out there.

Music sharing is more intimate than sex I know. It sounds absurd. But musical taste tells a lot about person. Once I dated a guy that I thought shared my musical taste and also expanded my music library with really great selections.

Then I realized that he was actually... (con’t @straight.com)

at Rogers Arena) Man, if you’d been more on the ball—and/ or born—you could have seen them at the Pic Pub, Red Room, or Richard’s on Richards.

Chasing likes

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29 HILLTOP HOODS Australian hip-hop group, with guest Adrian Eagle. Nov 29, 8 pm, Commodore Ballroom. $32.50.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 30 HANSON Pop-rock band from Tulsa, Oklahoma, with guests Joshua & the Holy Rollers and Paul McDonald. Nov 30, Vogue Theatre. $39.50.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6 CHARLIE HUNTER AND LUCY WOODWARD Two musical mavericks with undeniable chemistry re-imagine classic blues, soul. and jazz standards. Dec 6, 8 pm, St. James Hall. $25 adv | $30 door - cash only.

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.

I take a lot of photos ( landscapes etc ) and post them on Facebook. I confess I feel validated when there’s many likes and disappointed when there’s few likes. It’s so dumb.

I Love Christmas... It’s the lights and the xmas music and the food, some sort of yummy special supper, delish desserts. Oh Ya The most important part, the caring in people’s hearts. It’s just a magical time of the year. People just seem happier, humming Christmas songs, holding the door for someone behind you, maybe saying hello to a stranger and there’s more giving too because not everyone has the perfect xmas scenario set up.

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Avoid being one of “those” professors

by Dan Savage

b I’M A 40-SOMETHING gay male professor at a small college. I try hard not to get attracted to students and usually succeed. But it’s tough to resist temptation when you’re surrounded by hot, smart, fun, horny young guys in a rural area with not many other options. Over the past several years, I’ve ended up having sex with several students. None of them were students I was currently teaching or likely to teach, and two had graduated. I’m not actually violating college policy, which only bans faculty from getting involved with students they’re currently teaching. I haven’t ever done anything on campus or made the first move—and when one of them starts trying to hit on me, I’ve usually mustered the willpower to ignore him. On rare occasions when I’ve ended up letting my cock do the thinking, I’ve treated my younger partners with kindness and respect and observed your campsite rule. All of these younger guys solemnly swore to keep our extracurricular activities secret, but, still, word might leak out, and I don’t want to become known on campus as one of “those” professors. Most important, I don’t want my queer male students—many of whom look to me for mentorship—to think I’m grooming them for sex after I’m no longer teaching them, and I don’t want my female and straight male students to feel like second-class citizens.

On the other hand, I’m a sex-positive person who believes that happy, consensual banging has its own intrinsic value. I tend to be attracted to younger guys, and I think part of the attraction is that they’re less jaded about sex and more excited. Fucking them feels less transactional than the

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typical hi-bang-jizz-wipe-bye Grindr hookup that seems to be the norm with gay guys in their 30s and older.

I’m struggling with how I should feel about these off-campus romps. We’re all adults, and we’re not breaking any rules. Obviously, the behaviour is professionally risky for me, probably foolhardy. But is it immoral? Above all, what should I do when future opportunities present themselves?

- Professor Horn-Dog Can we please

not describe one adult subtly and perhaps unintentionally telegraphing their attraction to another adult as “grooming”? That term refers to adult sexual predators insinuating themselves into the lives of minors, slowly gaining their trust and the trust of their family members so they can abuse them sexually. It means something very specific, PHD, and we shouldn’t confuse or cheapen its meaning by applying it to your behaviour—which, while not criminal or immoral, is incredibly stupid.

Yes, these relationships are permissible, in the sense that the school where you teach permits them. They aren’t against the rules; those young men were all consenting adults; and you’re honouring the campsite rule (leave them in better shape than you found them). But this is an advice column, PHD, and you’re not asking me what’s permissible but what’s advisable. And what you’re doing is crazy inadvisable for all the reasons you cite: the risk of promising and hot gay male students misinterpreting your interest in them as sexual, your straight students feeling like they may not be getting the full benefit of your attention, and your mediocre and not hot gay male

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others aren’t questions, MILF, they’re people—and you don’t intend to leave your person, and your online girlfriend doesn’t intend to leave hers. So if you want to spare your chronically ill partner the anxiety of worrying you might leave her for this other person, then you’ll keep the online GF a secret. But you need to ask yourself—and your online GF needs to ask herself—if this online relationship/emotional affair is making you a better, more contented, and more emotionally available partner to your IRL partner. If it’s making you a better partner to the person you’re actually/technically/physically with, then great. But if it’s a distraction that’s causing you to neglect or resent your IRL partner, MILF, then you’ll have to end it. If it’s harming your IRL relationship and you don’t end it, then you’re engaging in shitty, dishonest, slo-mo sabotage.

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As for the sustainability of online relationships, there are people out there who’ve maintained online connections—intense friendships, romantic and/or sexual relationships—for as long as people have been able to get online. Sometimes online relationships run their course and come to an end, just like offline relationships and sometimes the online platforms they began on. (There are people out there who are still involved with people they met on Friendster and Myspace.) But offline or on, MILF, there are always challenges and never guarantees. b I’M ONE OF your straight male readers. I’ve been seeing a professional Dom for the last year, with my wife’s okay, and it’s been very good for our marriage. I thought I could “give up” bondage when we got married, and then I found myself feeling resentful of my wife, even though it was a choice I made freely. This outlet— a wonderful pro that I see just for bondage, not for sex—solved our problem and even improved our sex life. I’m writing to say thank you. I don’t think we would have been able to discuss this calmly if we hadn’t been listeners of the Savage Lovecast.

And, yes, I’ve told my wife if there’s ever anything she wants that I can’t do for her, she only has to ask.

- Grateful Reader In Nevada Thanks for the sweet note, GRIN!

On the Lovecast, gender-reveal parties— annoying, and now…deadly: savagelovecast. com. Email: mail@savagelove.net. Follow Dan on Twitter @fakedansavage. ITMFA.org.

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We’ve talked it to death, with no real significant change. I started talking to a woman online a few states over who is married and in a similar situation with her husband. Things are great between us, but neither of us envisions a future where we would leave our partner. My partner is chronically ill and I support her financially, and my online GF and her husband have young children.

I’m wondering if you know anything about sustainability in a relationship with someone online. I’ll admit that sometimes it’s torture to not be able to be with her in real life. But then there’s the question of our significant others.

Is it okay to keep this secret if things are good otherwise?

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students—sorry, your mediocre and not conventionally attractive gay male students—interpreting their failing grades as sexual rejection.

I, too, am a sex-positive person who believes in happy, consensual banging, and I don’t think what you’re doing is immoral. But it is incredibly reckless at this particular moment on any American college campus.

Power and consent are minefields that students, professors, and administrators are tiptoeing through, PHD, but you’re humping your way across them. Becoming known on campus as one of “those” professors—because you are one of those professors— could wind up being the least of your problems. What if your college revises its rules while you’re balls-deep in a student? What if you have a fallingout with a student you banged and he files a complaint? What if you want to move to a different school that has different rules and your reputation precedes and disqualifies you?

Finally, PHD, it’s fine to be attracted to younger guys. But if all your experiences with guys in their 30s have been dispiriting and transactional, well, it sounds like you were the common denominator in a lot of meh sexual encounters. Speaking from experience, I can say that plenty of guys over 30 are excited about sex and good at it. If every guy over 30 that you’ve been with has been underwhelming, well, it’s possible they were picking up on your lack of enthusiasm/attraction and reflecting that back at you.

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