Plants and Animals remain sincerePlants and Animals don’t believe in quick fame. The Montreal-based indie rockers have been releasing music since 2005 with the goal of making the best music they can possibly make as artists. Sound cliché? Absolutely. Still, the band’s sincerity truly shines. “We live in an era of quick fame and quick descent,” says guitarist/vocalist Nicolas […] Continue Reading |
Movie review: A SeparationA Separation is the first Iranian film to win an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars. In fact, it’s the first Iranian film to win many of the awards it has taken home. It’s well deserved, too: with this movie, writer/director Asghar Farhadi is credited for making the most […] Continue Reading |
Show goes down the rabbit holeThe death of a child, the earth-shattering event that the play Rabbit Hole is centered around, is like a deep cut to the soul: it changes everything life could have been and keeps thoughts and dreams tethered underground. But Sylvia Rhodes, director of Langham Court Theatre’s production of the bittersweet Pulitzer Prize-winning play, is concerned […] Continue Reading |
Sampson, storytellerJohn K. Samson is the highly praised singer and lyricist for Manitoba-based rockers the Weakerthans. The release of his first solo album, Provincial, coincides with the release of his first book, Lyrics and Poems 1997-2012 (Arbeiter Ring Publishing). Long recognized as a stellar songwriter, Samson takes us through the lyrical years from the Weakerthans’ first […] Continue Reading |
Local, Live, and Loud: March 7-20Thursday, March 8 Tower of Dudes, Dave Lang and the Black Squirrels The Fort Cafe, $5, 9 pm Come celebrate International Women’s Day with a tower of dudes. No irony here, purely literal. Purely literal, swampy, washboard, folky-rock goodness. Friday, March 16 Veviter, Bonehoof, Iceberg Ferg Logan’s Pub, $14, 9:30 pm I could go and […] Continue Reading |
New Music Revue: March 7, 2012 issueJohn K. Samson Provincial (Anti) 4/5 Provincial is the first full-length solo release from John K. Samson, singer/guitarist of Manitoban folk-punkers the Weakerthans. This album isn’t a huge stretch from his work with the Weakerthans: both show that Samson’s real strength is his lyrics. His ability to give the listener insight into the characters and […] Continue Reading |
Play sparks discussion on homelessnessSometimes a play is sparked by an idea of creating change. Like Joel Bernbaum’s play, Home Is a Beautiful Word, for instance, which came out of talks with the Belfry Theatre’s artistic director Michael Shamata about homelessness and will be debuting at the aptly titled Spark Festival. Bernbaum’s verbatim theatre piece was written based on […] Continue Reading |
Getting down with Down with WebsterOnce there was a group of kids with big dreams. Now, they’re a bunch of adults living those dreams. What started out as a middle-school talent-show act has turned into a music career for a group of six Torontonians. Together, they’ve forged the popular rap-rock group Down with Webster. “Growing up, what really got me […] Continue Reading |
Brave New Waves get sublime at tribute showBrave New Waves frontman Graham Eyerley ran away from home at 14 years old and made a new home for himself on his friend’s father’s sailboat in French Creek Harbor, just outside of Parksville. It’s here that his interest in music blossomed. “There was a guitar on the boat, and not having any parents tell […] Continue Reading |
Delhi 2 Dublin bring India and Ireland to VictoriaDelhi 2 Dublin formed for a one-off show in 2006, not even realizing that this performance would lead to others. Cut to six years later, and the band is fully realized and are certainly more than just a one-off party band. Doug Simpson, the director of Vancouver Folk Fest, was in charge of putting together […] Continue Reading |
