Arts

Vogue Dots Mauka (Indica Records) 4/5 Mauka is the latest EP release from Vogue Dots, a dream pop duo hailing from New Brunswick. Right from the start, I found myself being consumed with this release. “Way with Silence,” the first track from the record, sounds like drowning in electronic bliss.  It’s a really great track, […]

Noah Wall Print the Legend (Driftless Recordings) 4/5 Noah Wall’s soundtrack for the documentary Print the Legend blends instrumentals with dream-like technological sounds. The songs, which aren’t longer than a minute or two, are mesmerizing. I listened to the album without any knowledge of the manufacturing and industrial elements of the film, and I was […]

Kelt Eccleston is somewhat of a local celebrity; he’s been a local musician for “too many years to count,” he says, and also keeps busy as an actor. The last notable performance Eccleston has done was a Belfry Theatre production of the homelessness-themed Home Is a Beautiful Word, but this time he’s starring in a […]

Students in UVic’s Performing German Drama class are readying a two-night run of a dark comedy entitled Der Besuchen der alten Dame (roughly translated to The Visitor), performed entirely in German. And if that sounds like a vast undertaking, it’s because it totally is, according to UVic student Caitlin Burritt, who performs two supporting roles […]

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. […]