New Music Revue: Bluebloods trip over own ambition on debut EPBluebloods Make It Rain (Independent) 1.5/5 It’s nearly impossible to pin down what Winnipeg’s Bluebloods are attempting to accomplish on their debut EP. During Make It Rain’s 20-minute runtime, the band delivers some daring genre blending but constantly trips over its own ambition. Led by guitarist Conrad Sweatman, Bluebloods primarily focus on the hardships of […] Continue Reading |
Snowed in Comedy Tour returns to Victoria with big lineup, big laughsTwelve years ago a few comedians booked a handful of shows as an excuse to go snowboarding. With 70 shows scheduled for this year, the Snowed in Comedy Tour is now the largest comedy tour in Canada. Award-winning comedy veteran Pete Zedlacher, who this year will be hitting the road for his fifth Snowed in […] Continue Reading |
Langham Court musical focuses on what’s under the surfaceOne of the biggest challenges facing Victoria-based director Heather Jarvie these days is adapting an outdated show: for example, taking a musical and stripping it of the misogyny, sexism, and gender stereotypes of the 1970s. When a modern version of the show in question, Company, hit London’s West End in 2018, she jumped at the […] Continue Reading |
What’s Going On: January 6 to 21, 2019Thursday, January 9 Make an exhibition of yourself I never knew this was a thing, but apparently even the Royal BC Museum has a happy hour. This is a mindfulness-themed happy hour for adults (how adult do you have to be?) with museum fare, drinks, and tapas. You can tell people you got drunk with […] Continue Reading |
New Music Revue: MAVI’s charisma shines on new albumMAVI Let the Sun Talk (Independent) 4/5 While some artists benefit from high-budget production, Charlotte, North Carolina rapper MAVI thrives on skeletal, sample-heavy beats that allow his non-linear flow and sharp lyricism to shine through. When he’s not studying neuroscience at Howard University, MAVI constructs insightful songs detailing stories of human experience and understanding his […] Continue Reading |
nêhiyawak navigate the intersection between traditional and contemporaryThe North Saskatchewan river kisiskâciwanisîpiy flows through the heart of amiskwaciy (Edmonton) on Treaty 6 territory. In their new album, nipiy (Cree for “water”), Edmonton-based post-rock/ambient/pop band nêhiyawak echo the pace with which that river flows. “When we think of nipiy, there is an intellectual and physical resource there that those waters, these rivers, have […] Continue Reading |
New book offers immersive but incomplete sail into historyOriginally, I looked at Victoria author Robert Turner’s book The Klondike Gold Rush Steamers: A History of Yukon River Steam Navigation and thought, Of course they want me to write a review of a book about boats. Being in the Navy, I can’t get away from them. I looked dubiously at the book, as it […] Continue Reading |
Artist explores queer form and sculptural abstractionJade Yumang is a Chicago-based artist who explores the concept of queer form through abstract installations, performances, and sculptures. He says that the crux of a lot of the work that he does revolves around what queer form looks like. “It’s usually kinda exercised through a lot of archival work, looking at the historiography of […] Continue Reading |
O Christmas Tea performers say it’s all about connection and magicFor Vancouver-based comedians/actors/writers Aaron Malkin and Alastair Knowles—who go by the stage names James and Jamesy— there’s always time for tea. Their show O Christmas Tea uses traditional Monty Python-era British comedy, but it also breaks down the fourth wall, bringing performers and audience together. “A big part of what sets us apart from traditional […] Continue Reading |
New Music Revue: Kanye West offers mixed-bag Christian deep-dive with new albumKanye West Jesus Is King (Getting Out Our Dreams II/Def Jam Recordings) 2.5/5 Christianity has always been one of Kanye West’s greatest thematic inspirations. Even though Jesus Is King is West’s first deep-dive into religious music, it employs several familiar sounds. “Follow God”’s Whole Truth sample packs a layered punch reminiscent of West’s earliest beats, […] Continue Reading |
