Arts

Local conductor Yariv Aloni scoffs at the idea of calling a composer “dead.” After all, their music is alive, he says. As the musical director of the Victoria Chamber Orchestra (VCO), he will be conducting what he calls “timeless music” here in town on February 17, when he brings Beethoven’s music to locals. “It never […]

Betraying the Martyrs The Resilient (Sumerian Records) 4.5/5 Paris-based deathcore band Betraying the Martyrs’ third full-length, The Resilient, is fierce and electrifying. Riddles of political statements find their place in the lyrics while beckoning an intense emotion within the listener that wills them to listen further. Lyrically, the album is profound; the instrumentation is astounding, […]

Shane DeGraaff, lead vocalist of Calgary hardcore band From the Wolves, says that his musical motivation came early: his father was into music, so when DeGraaff was a child he was already playing instruments. And when he discovered punk, DeGraaff picked up a bass guitar and started playing in punk bands. DeGraaff says that playing […]

The Victoria Film Festival (VFF) is a city-wide event, with different movie houses pulling their own weight, taking on showings; it’s a silent culture of film that takes hold of the town, enthralling those in the know. The fest is host to a multicultural cast of players, with films from around the world—Japan, Australia, France, […]

This month, venues along Victoria’s waterfront district will be transformed into a world of near-mystical performance art rooted in the wayfaring soul of the European Roma and the sparkling jazz clubs of the first half of the 20th century. It was by the blending of these two styles that Django Reinhardt, himself Romani, crafted a […]

Toronto’s USS (Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker) are playing not one but two dates in town on their current tour for new album New World Alphabet, and there’s a reason for that: it was Victoria where the band first started to get noticed outside of Toronto. “In 2008, when our first song got discovered and started getting […]

Wednesday, February 1 Strongerthans John K. Samson of Winnipeg indie rockers The Weakerthans is returning to town with his new project, the Winter Wheat. Northcote opens; the show will set you back $20. See sugarnightclub.ca for more info. Saturday, February 4 Drum bangin’ and general boogyin’ A drum and dance festival will be held in […]

Gracie explores the life of a girl growing up in a polygamist society in Bountiful, BC. Local playwright Joan MacLeod wrote the play; she says that she would like audience members to come away from the play with a conscious mind about what’s happening in BC, and even here in Victoria. “I’d like for people […]