Arts

When someone says the word “director,” images of Broadway and Hollywood come to mind. But speaking to director Naomi Simpson, images of prison replace all thoughts of celebrity life. No, she’s not an inmate, but she has directed shows in Victoria at William Head Institution. And despite her unique directing background, she hasn’t been doing […]

When the curtain rises on a new production of Camelot, Victorians will get a chance for some time travel. The musical brings King Arthur’s Round Table, with costumes, music, chivalrous knights and all, to life in song, drama, and humour. The storyline of the Victoria Symphony/Pacific Opera Victoria c0-production explores the fallout from a love […]

It’s been a four-year wait for the release of Tokyo Police Club’s ForceField, and during that time the band have gained some new perspectives on the music industry. It was important to the band to take the time to produce an album that reflected their development and to push themselves, says keyboardist Graham Wright, and […]

Chic Gamine Christmas Vol. 1 (Independent) 4/5 I usually find Christmas music tacky and quite annoying, but Chic Gamine has changed my mind. The band, which features members from Winnipeg and Montreal, offers up a modern take on the genre while still maintaining their soulful harmonies and old-school Motown vibes. My French is not quite […]

When 10 men from Britain hit the Royal Theatre stage this month, they may be built like Marines (one was even planning on joining the Marines before he found his passion) but they’re actually professional ballet dancers. The BalletBoyz transform all previous notions of ballet into a masculine display of strength. Billy Trevitt and Michael […]

Some of the best bands start as people just jamming together. In the case of Downtown Mischief, a local funk/rap band that’s been creating beats and sharing their soulful rhythms over the past few years, jamming is how it all began. “We met through jam parties,” Jameson Daniels, one of the band’s main singers, says. […]

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IV Houses of the Holy (Atlantic Records) 5/5 A perfect 5/5 rating? Sure: these are reissues of two of the best rock albums ever created. To help clarify things, we’ve provided a step-by-step walkthrough of the thought process that went down during the listening process. It’s not easy, as discussed during […]

An 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 […]