Vancouver Events - 2/5

The 13th Annual Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival: The Day in Pixengos

August 12, 2012 by Emme Rogers 2 Comments

Hell of a great day yesterday at the 13th Annual Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival! Took a ton of photos and video to share the day with all of you, but given my current state of exhaustion, you, my friends, are going to have to wait for me to process all of that.

In the meantime, however, I have a teaser for all of you in the form of pixengos Erica and I shot and recorded from the day. What is a pixengo you ask? A photo combined with a sound file. Simply click on the photos below, and you will get the photo with it’s sound bite from the day.

Enjoy!

Up first … rocking the stage for too short a time … No Sinner.

Kicking off a great day with a sausage, a beer, and the blues stylings of No Sinner.

Followed by one of our festival favourites, Canada’s only 7-piece Bluegrass Band, The Washboard Union.

These good old boys certainly know how to play a jig …

… and boy do they have style … speaking of which, does anyone know if any of these fellows are single?

Followed by the powerful voice and fearsome bass of Meshelle Ndegeocello.

mmm … mmm

Enjoyed the music of Saskatchewan‘s Deep Dark Woods, but less than cared for a few of their self-obsessed fans. Shame as they really took away from their performance.

Not sure what made these self-centered hipsters so self-important that they thought they could stand directly in front of the stage and in front of everyone’s view, even though there was plenty of room to stand off to the side. Rather ruined this act. Glad to say it was the only time we saw this lot all day ~ the hipsters, not Deep Dark Woods.

Thank goodness the next act was who I’d been waiting for since I got my tickets, Amadou & Miriam. They certainly did not disappoint, and got me out of my funk from the hipster asses

Apparently it wasn’t only me that loved Amadou & Miriam.

Now while not as much of a stomper, the beauty of the music of the next blues man, Kelly Joe Phelps, would tame the wildest beasts with his sweet lullabies.

This man would lull the wildest of beasts.

Great atmosphere, and only moments after this scene and the end of Kelly’s set, the audience was on their feet giving Kelly a standing ovation.

Up next? None other than the sweet, jazzy blues stylings of Jimmie Vaughan!

Well, really what’s there to say, other than mmm … mmm … mmm!

And what better way to end the day, than with the Indigo Girls!

Still just as fantastic as they were 20 years ago!

Did I mention it was a Hell of a great day?!?

Filed Under: All Aboard!, Around the World, BC, Canada, Emme Rogers, Erica Hargreave, Events, Music, Our Travelers, Perfect Dates, Roamancing, Roamancing the Soul, Tunes from the Road, Vancouver Events Tagged With: 13th Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival, Amadou & Mariam, blues, burnaby, Burnaby Blues, Burnaby Blues & Roots, Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival, Deep Dark Woods, Indigo Girls, Jimmie Vaughan, Kelly Joe Phelps, Meshelle Ndegeocello, No Sinner, pixengo, pixengos, The Washboard Union

Overcoming Personal Fears with Florence + the Machine at Deer Lake Park

August 6, 2012 by Hannia Curi 2 Comments

Concerts are a very rare feature in my life; I love music, yet am generally so out of the loop when my favourite artists are touring that I do not notice when they come and go. When I do, I am often too scared to bother attending because when it comes to venturing into the wild outdoors, my co-dependency springs up crying “There will be crowds! Crowds and noise and you don’t know anyone who can escort you in and out of this safely!” So I stay home and dream instead.

This summer, though, lady luck smiled upon me and I was given the chance to attend Florence + the Machine’s Vancouver show for her Ceremonials tour at Deer Lake Park with my dear friend Janice! It was the perfect opportunity. I am a great fan of Florence, albeit a rather recent one, so the artist in question made this a much anticipated summer event for me from the start. Add to that a mate to keep me company during the whole thing, and possibly rescue me from dwelling on the possibility that my nightmares come true and I am literally devoured by a large crowd. (We all have our personal boogeymen…)

Lovely moment in which Florence asked audience members to hoist one another upon thei shoulders. Janice and I couldn’t support each other’s weight, sadly. (Photo: Janice Cheng)

When asked how my evening was after the fact, I had one thing to say in particular: Florence was great. I do not imply that the experience was something akin to having to dance on hot coals while beautiful music plays to partially soothe your aching feet somehow, but there were a few hang ups to be had. Some were self-made: my friend and I had a chance to claim a great spot towards the front of the stage, but we wasted it for love of pizza. We decided to chill on the grass for a bit before Florence came out, thinking we could just run up at some point and cut through the crowd like butter. (Or, well, I naively thought as much.) Nope! When we did choose to join the crowd, it had turned into an impenetrable fortress, at least for two mild-mannered young ladies. So our view of Florence was… slightly compromised.

Actually, no. That was a bad analogy. The crowd was more like a selectively-permeable cell wall. Throughout the show, there were many instances of people shoving their way through the area Janice and I had managed to settle in. It felt like Grand Central Station at times. After so many sorry-coming-throughs, I began to get a touch … irritated at something I should have expected when going to a sold-out show and choosing to stand with the bulk of my fellow concert-goers.

Our breathtaking vantage point. I do enjoy how the red of her hair stood out, sort of! (Photo: Janice Cheng)

Yet, through all minor annoyances, including my camera and phone conking out minutes into the show, I can’t regret the experience. I could not see Florence all that well, capture the moment, or be of a wholly cheerful disposition when the lovely lady in front of me let her cigarette dangle with the smoking tip facing my way… I could still hear Florence just fine. Her powerful voice reached me, and while I did not forget the things that irritated me, I chose to accept them and love the show nonetheless. Most of my favourite songs were on the setlist! I would be jumping up and down happily at each song and was just grateful for my opportunity to be there at all.

Hopefully, though, the experience will help me prepare better for the next big show I attend in my lifetime. Everything is a lesson!

Receipts.

Filed Under: All Aboard!, Around the World, BC, Canada, Events, Hannia Curi, Music, Our Travelers, Tunes from the Road, Vancouver Events Tagged With: BC, burnaby, choose, concerts, deer lake, deer lake park, fears, florence + the machine, florence and the machine, Hannia Curi, outdoor concerts, overcoming personal fears

Birthday Celebrations & Travel Inspiration, Thanks to the Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival

July 26, 2012 by Emme Rogers 2 Comments

We have a long standing summer tradition at Ahimsa Media to celebrate our summer birthdays with those of us that happen to be in Vancouver at the time. You see three of our main team – myself, Alyzee Lakhani and Erica Hargreave all have summer birthdays, and often one of our seasonal storytellers also has a summer birthdays, like Hannia Curi this summer. Back in the old days this meant legendary parties in Erica’s backyard, hanging out by the fire pit and drinking fresh fruit margaritas with an eclectic mix of people, that often ended in great stories, including weddings. When Erica moved into a townhouse, these epic birthday celebrations nearly died, and they might have had it not been to the fabulous people at Burnaby Culture. You see for the past 4 years our summer birthday celebrations have moved to the Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival, and a damn good new birthday celebration this has become. Something we look forward to each summer.

With Erica’s actually birthday tomorrow (July 27th), I thought I’d share a bit of tease with her and you on what to expect at this year’s festival. Sharing this particular tease here as opposed to on Being Emme, as this couple of music videos by Amadous & Miriam also act as great travel videos of Mali.

Oh Amadou from their album Folio, featuring Bertrand Cantat, directed by Jessy Nottola.

Sénégal Fast Food from their album Dimanche à Bamako, produced by Manu Chao.

To learn more about Amadous & Miriam and their version of the blues, read on on this post on Being Emme.

Sweet Summer Night Kisses,

Emme xoxo

PS. In Full Disclosure: As always, the opinions and thoughts shared here are our own and honest ones. We are bought out by no one. In the spirit of disclosure, it should be noted that Burnaby Culture gives us a few Blues & Roots tickets each year, allowing us to celebrate our birthdays in the best possible way.

Filed Under: Africa, All Aboard!, Around the World, BC, Canada, Emme Rogers, Events, Music, Our Travelers, Perfect Dates, Roamancing, Travel TV, Tunes from the Road, Vancouver Events Tagged With: 2012 burnaby blues and roots festival, Amadou & Miriam, birthday celebrations, birthdays, blues, burnaby, Burnaby Blues, burnaby blues and roots, burnaby blues and roots festival, burnaby culture, Mali, summer birthdays, travel inspiration

Ben Jonson’s The Alchemist at Jericho Arts Centre

July 25, 2012 by Alyzee Lakhani Leave a Comment

Though there are only a few days left to see Ben Jonson‘s, The Alchemist, at the Jericho Arts Centre, I thought it was an important play-experience to share with theatre lovers in Vancouver. I say this simply because it is rare to find Renaissance theatre in the city that a) is written by a playwright other than Shakespeare, and b) feels like some sort of bizarre amusement park ride with elaborate schemes that go impossibly far, long tracts of fabulous lies improvised by lovable rogues, especially delightful word play and a few real explosions besides. Ensemble Theatre‘s production reminds us that Shakespeare was one of the many great playwrights of his time, Ben Jonson being another popular contemporary and rival.

The Alchemist tells the story of a few conning masterminds (Face, Subtle, and the beguiling Dol Common) working together to gip anyone who will believe into handing over their cash for the promise of boundless riches to come. All three undertake whirlwind of character changes throughout the play as part of their scheming. Each sorry client that knocks on their door is conned with individual attention paid to their particular dispositions, desires, and weaknesses.

I loved how the director and cast altered some of the characters to look like caricatures for the modern audience to laugh at. I particularly enjoyed the weed smoking surfer dude who fell for promises of lucky trading, all with the calm, good-natured optimism one can only put down to help from the magic root.

Dol Common spends most of the play in some very attractive lingerie, making sure the men do their part in the gold-getting scheme with a whip, and a tongue that acts much like one. As the professor that spoke at the talkback after the show pointed out, we are never invited to feel sorry for the characters getting cheated, as they do so while blinded by their own greed, or gullibility, or desire for an impossibly easy ride. Instead we laugh at them, enjoy their little weaknesses and overreaching ambitions, and recognize our own weaknesses in the easily-cheated folk. Rich or poor, none are immune to the promises of greater wealth and prosperity, even though it is delivered by means of some incomprehensible magic, explained in colourful pseudo-scientific, mystical language in the play. Freedom from the tyranny of hard work and tough circumstance unites many of the characters, including the alchemists themselves. Some are even drawn into their promises from easy circumstances for dreams of more, and even more plenty. Appetites grow to accommodate the offering, and this is the secret to the con artists’ success.

I think we don’t feel sorry for the defrauded because it seems to me that Face, Subtle and Dol earn every penny in the tireless, customized performances they give to everyone who approaches them with the hope for more. Sometimes they have to change in and out of character so quickly I can barely keep my head on straight. Face’s many hats and personas alone would have been enough to entertain me for several evenings. The cast is energetic and engaged in this spirited performance, and when I went the house was friendly, entertained and laughing as the plot lurched into areas of greater and greater improbability. I’d recommend this play to anyone who wanted to spend a light evening being amused, tickled, titillated frequently shaking with laughter. And to top all of that: somehow, the director and cast found a way to bring out a Dora the Explorer Snuggie as one of the props during one of the play’s more serious moments.

Thanks to Ensemble Theatre’s cast and crew for a highly amusing ride. Particularly memorable in the cast are: Tariq Lesie, Trevor Devall and Joey Bothwell (as Face, Subtle and Dol Common), William Hopkins (as Dapper the lawyer), Aaron Turner (as Drugger the dispenser), and Matthew Bisset (as Sir Epicure Mammon, a knight).

Ensemble Theatre‘s The Alchemist runs nightly at 8 pm until Saturday July 28 at the Jericho Arts Centre in Vancouver.

Filed Under: All Aboard!, Alyzee Lakhani, Around the World, BC, Canada, Events, Our Travelers, Theatre, Vancouver Events Tagged With: aaron turner, Ben Jonson, Ben Jonson plays vancouver, con artists, dol common, ensemble theatre, face, Jericho Arts Centre, joey bothwell, matthew bisset, renaissance theatre vancouver, shakespeare theatre vancouver, subtle, tariq leslie, the alchemist ben jonson, theatre talkback, trevor devall, william hopkins

Rent! in Vancouver with Fighting Chance Production

July 24, 2012 by Hannia Curi 1 Comment

The full cast! (Photo Credit: Jennifer Kuhl)

Last Thursday, I had the privilege of seeing Fighting Chance Production’s rendition of Rent performed on stage at the Waterfront Theatre. It was the first time I’d seen the musical on stage. My previous exposure was in the heat of my awkward teenage years (which are taking their sweet time leaving the nest), when my mother took me to see the film adaptation; we love going to the movies together and this was one of the many we’ve gone to see. I don’t remember why we chose this one, but I loved it. I bought the DVD when it came out, and I had the soundtrack. By the time I hit my second year of high school though, the shine wore off a bit and though I tend to retain a fondness for everything I liked when I was in middle school, I didn’t really think much about Rent apart from having some of the songs blaring in my mind every once in a while.

The disgruntled homeless. (Photo Credit: Jennifer Kuhl)

It was definitely a very different experience on stage! Ultimately, it was delightful, though it took me some time to stop visualizing the film and appreciate the stage production for what it was. I saw the show with Emme and when we were talking afterwardS she told me she didn’t like the film version of the show; I can’t say I think the same, since I did enjoy the film very much. The stage version is the source material for the film, but it was decently adapted and at least worked for me when I was younger. I saw a bit of it again to refresh my memory recently, and though it has its patchy bits, it mostly holds up well.

Brilliant view of the set. (Photo Credit: Jennifer Kuhl)

However, as it must have been for fans of the stage when the film came into being, I couldn’t really help but make comparisons. Mind you, the first thing that sparked comparison in my mind was the opening scene, and the stage version brought a lighthearted charm to the story’s opening scene that the film didn’t even attempt to capture. The film had the luxury of simply showing two of the central characters, Mark and Roger, living in their loft without having to give them a scene where they point out the amenities of the place, such as their illegal wood-burning stove, and describe the place in such a way that I believe they were trying to mockingly present it as one would a palace. Especially seeing as the set was rather minimalistic compared with the sets and location shooting options available to the film version, it helped bring the setting for much of the first act to life and, along with the little voice mail numbers that were either modified or did not make it into the film at all, brought a touch of sillyness to the show that I truly loved. The film (which, unlike the version of the stage incarnation I saw, actually opens with Seasons of Love and then segues into “Rent” right away) made use of Mark’s accumulating footage throughout the film and a spectacle out of the “Rent” number by having the performers burn up their eviction notices and let them fall gently from their windows; these were things I missed from the adaptation, though the flaming eviction notices possibly didn’t carry over because it could cause a major fire hazard. I would assume.

Chelsea Tucker as Maureen. (Photo Credit: Jennifer Kulh)

One thing I found worked better on stage than in the film was Maureen’s protest, a sort of Hey Diddle Diddle inspired allegory protesting her performance space being taken away to be transformed into a ‘cyber café’. This sequence was possibly the least beloved for me when I saw it on film, but on stage it somehow came off as… charming in its hokeyness. Part of it could have been Chelsea Tucker’s masterful rendering of the character; she nailed her almost comical primadonna attitude, in my opinion, and it was a joy to see her character on stage every time. But the stripped-down nature of the stage production and the different atmosphere made it a bit less unbearable than the larger-than-life treatment the performance gets in the film, complete with Maureen biking into the performance.

Emily Canavan as Mimi. She was sublime. (Photo credit: Jennifer Kuhl)

This brings me to part of the reason I was interested in seeing the show at all: I was curious to see how it would differ from the film and how it would be the same, what the adaptation changed and what it left out altogether. I would have been a little disappointed if everything was the same, really. At the heart of it, the story was the same and the messages, patchy on their own right or not depending on what came through strongest … I love the Rent’s core theme of treasuring your life and living with as much hope as possible even if your days are numbered, not so wild on the glorification of the ‘starving artist’ lifestyle. I almost cried at the end, as I did watching the film! (I rarely cry for real, so almost crying is as good as actually shedding tears as far as I’m concerned.) I can’t say which I enjoyed more, since they both had their ups and downs, but either way I had a good time at the show!

You can catch Fighting Chance Production’s version of Rent on stage at Granville Island’s Waterfront Theatre in Vancouver Tuesday to Sunday nights at 8 pm, now until August 18th, 2012 with matinees at 2 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Get your tickets here.