New Patrick Lane poetry anthology difficult, with few rewardsAn anthology by Canadian poet Patrick Lane, Washita’s narrative stumbles laboriously like a circus bear on fire. It effectively embraces the disjointed reminiscence of old age, groping at limbs of sentimentality I usually reserve for commercials featuring glassy-eyed dogs and Sarah McLachlan. The anthology is meant as a disjointed autobiography, transcending personal experiences to contemplate […] Continue Reading |
New Music Revue: Fugazi, the garage band?Fugazi First Demo (Dischord Records) 4/5 The story of Washington, DC post-punk band Fugazi is the stuff of legend, especially if you grew up going to punk shows, making ‘zines, and wearing your heart on your sleeve, like I did. So when news dropped a few months ago that guitarist/vocalist Ian MacKaye’s label Dischord Records […] Continue Reading |
UVic dresses up A Midsummer Night’s Dream in ’70s clothes for big winWilliam Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a staple of the stage, particularly amongst university players. The script is fast-paced, zany, and supercharged with sexuality and angst; an absurd story of young lovers whose love is unrequited and prohibited. One couple runs away into the forest to elope, the other couple follows to stop them. […] Continue Reading |
Darrell Dennis examines First Nation assumptions in new bookAssumptions are made quickly, often without factual information to back them up. Especially about First Nations people. Darrell Dennis knows this as well as anyone, and the Los Angeles-based writer’s new novel, Peace Pipe Dreams: The Truth About Lies About Indians, explores these assumptions. “People really are willing to believe the first thing they hear,” […] Continue Reading |
Britten’s War Requiem honours those who suffered in battlesOver 150 voices will ring out in the Royal Theatre on November 8 when Britten’s War Requiem, an emotional orchestral performance of tragedy and remembrance, takes place in Victoria. The concert will include the talents of the Victoria Symphony, as well as 165 choral voices from the Vox Humana Choir, Victoria Choral Society, and St. […] Continue Reading |
Latest Buck 65 album a product of troubled marriageRichard Terfry, better known by stage name Buck 65, didn’t take the release of his new album lightly. Terfry’s latest, NeverLove, is a very personal account of his recent divorce. Terfry is one of the most innovative figures in the Canadian music scene and Buck 65 is a one-man band with a reputation of having […] Continue Reading |
New Music Revue: New solo disc not Thurston Moore’s best workThurston Moore The Best Day (Matador) 2/5 Thurston Moore, best known for being the guitarist of the now-defunct New York alternative rock band Sonic Youth, has been releasing solo records since 1995. His latest release, The Best Day, falls flat on finding just exactly what it wants to be. A majority of the songs on […] Continue Reading |
New Music Revue: Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga covers album disappointsTony Bennett and Lady Gaga Cheek to Cheek (Streamline/Interscope/Columbia) 2.5/5 This collaboration may come as a surprise, but as soon as you listen to the first song, it makes sense. Bennett and Gaga’s voices sound very serendipitous together; in combination, their voices remind me of an old Judy Garland and Fred Astaire duo. But here […] Continue Reading |
Jesse Roper stays true to Metchosin rootsVictoria’s Jesse Roper strutted barefoot on stages all over Vancouver Island this summer playing his eclectic music. And although playing live as The Roper Show is what he loves to do, Roper says it’s very difficult to get recognized without traditional radio airplay. “Mainstream radio is, from what I can tell, the best way to […] Continue Reading |
America’s creepiest bunch, the Addams family, hits the stage in VictoriaWhat can a musical about America’s spookiest family teach us about our own families? A lot, says Pat Rundell, director of a new stage production of The Addams Family: A New Musical Comedy. The world first met the Addams family in The New Yorker magazine in 1938. Charles Addams’ single-panel cartoons depicted a nameless, gothic […] Continue Reading |
