Beatroute Magazine - BC - Print E-Edition - June 2017

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JUNE 2017
VANCOUVER PUNKS PLAYING THE LONG GAME
Hurray For The Riff Raff • Fleet Foxes • White Reaper • Annihilator • Bard On The Beach + Summer Festival Guide

June ‘17
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CITY
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COMEDY
Graeme Wiggins
graeme@beatroute.ca
04
05
06
09
10
11
WORKING FOR THE
WEEKEND
∙ with Jason Corbett
HOORAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF
DIANA
WHITE REAPER
MYSTERY MACHINE
PRAIRIE CAT
ROCOCODE
SHELDONCOLE
ROYAL WOOD
TRAVIS E. TRIANCE & THE .
NATURAL WAY
MEATBODIES
12 SEABORNE
BPM
13 -Goldroom
-Clubland
26 QUEER
28 FILM
SKINNY
14 -Wolves in the Thrown Room
REVIEWS
18
-Annihilator
-Needles//Pins (cover)
-Tiger Army
-Metalocalypstick Festival
SUMMER FESTIVAL
GUIDE
20
29
CANADA 150
21 CITY
-Tacofino
-Sky Harvest
-Traces of Words
-Ian Wallace
-TD Vancouver International .
Jazz Festival
-Guitar Festival
--Bard of the Beach
24 COMEDY
-Jane Stanton
-Jacob Samuel
25 BOOZE
-Sons of Vancouver
-Woods Distillery
-Back and Forth Bar
-Queen of the Month
-Queerview Mirror
-Queer Arts Festival
-From the Desk of Carlotta Gurl
-Capsule Reviews
-This Month in Film
-Fleet Foxes
-Father John Misty
-The Jesus and Mary Chain
38 HOROSCOPES
photo by Lauren D Zbarsky
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ROCOCODE - Page 9
xxxxxx
June 2017 3

HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF
joyful protest in an urgent time
MUSIC
photo by Sarrah Danziger
SARAH BAUER
JOHNNY PAPAN
Jason Corbett has been an established
name in the Vancouver music
scene for over 20 years. Beginning as a
long-haired shreddy guitarist during
his angsty teens, Corbett’s style
would soon evolve into something
on the opposite end of the musical
spectrum.
Currently the owner and operator
of Jacknife Sound, his own recording
studio, Corbett has produced various
Vancouver artists including: LEATH-
ERS, Sex With Strangers, Art d’Ecco,
and his own band, darkwave synthrock
group ACTORS.
Corbett is a full-time working musician
and composer. When he’s not
recording his own band, or producing
other artists, Corbett scores music
for entertainment. He has done
work for big-time video game companies
such as EA Sports and Sega,
and scored seasons one and two of
the Canadian TV series Letterkenny,
just to name a few of his many projects.
It’s clear Corbett eats, sleeps, and
breathes music. BeatRoute got the
chance to ask him a few questions
about his journey.
BeatRoute: Your biography says
you were once a long haired shredder.
Your current dark, new-wave
synth style sound is far from that you
would hear at a Slayer concert. Can
you talk about your influences from
your long-haired days to some artists
that inspire you now? Do you still listen
to those bands from your youth?
Jason Corbett: The more I look back
on my influences, the more I realize
that the 80s synth sounds were always
a part of what I was listening to.
As much as I was into metal as a teen,
I was just as into Depeche Mode or
Duran Duran. David Bowie is tops for
me though, even when I was learning
Master of Puppets on guitar at 14
years old. I think what ties it all together
is that there has always been
an element of darkness to what I enjoy
and create.
The Soft Moon, Drab Majesty,
Cold Cave, and Exploded View are all
examples of contemporary
artists that I find inspiring musically
but really there’s so many more. And
yes, I for sure still listen to bands from
my youth. Right now I’ve been on a
with Jason Corbett
Celtic Frost and The Danse Society
binge.
BR: To support yourself, you used to
be a restaurant manager. You now
work in music full-time, how long did
it take you to get to this point and
can you talk a bit about the journey?
Did you have any other sort of day
jobs?
JC: I worked in restaurants for so long
I wasn’t sure I would ever get out.
I tried construction, retail, and a
few other odd jobs when I came back
to Vancouver after attending music
college but there was nothing else
that I enjoyed or could stick with.
It’s a flexible enough job that you
can work on albums, play shows and
tour. It’s also a very social job and I really
enjoyed that aspect. I essentially
worked double duty between restaurants
and music until music just took
over.
BR: Are there any similar parallels
between working in the restaurant
business and music business?
JC: Late nights and rampant alcohol
and drug use? Just late nights for me!
BR: Aside from making music with
your group ACTORS, and producing
for other artists at your studio, you
have also done music for film, television,
and even big time video game
companies like EA and Sega. Was this
something you anticipated being a
part of your career? What led you to
composing for entertainment?
JC: I joke that I’ll develop a successful
music career in film by accident. Really
it’s been about relationships and
the support of some great people
in my life that have exposed me to
these opportunities. For example, to
be a part of a show like Letterkenny
in my small way is super exciting and
rewarding. I love it!
BR: You own your own professional
studio, Jacknife Sound. How long did
it take you to build this studio, what
are some things about it that separate
it from others?
JC: My home was overtaken with
synthesizers and guitars so it was
time to move into a space I could
work out of 24/7. I found a cool
room that worked and named it
Jacknife Sound. I’m perpetually in
gear acquisition mode so I don’t
think I’ll ever stop “building.”
People tell me it’s a fun and relaxed
space that they enjoy creating
and working in. I’m proud of that.
BR: You also take part in promoting
live events such as “Jacknife Sound
Presents…” as well as "Common
Courtesy,” a show in which 100% of
the proceeds are donated to charity.
How did you get involved with Common
Courtesy, and which charity/
types of charities are donated to?
JC: I was involved with charity work
in the DTES at my last restaurant
management job. I found it rewarding
so it just made sense to incorporate
that element into some of
the work that I do with music. My
Common Courtesy partner and AC-
TORS bandmate Adam Fink is an
amazing guy who works tirelessly to
help make these projects a success.
I couldn’t do it without him. We’ve
Jason Corbett of Jacknife Sound has made music his full time gig.
worked with Kids Up Front, A Better
Life Foundation, and most recently
Girls Rock Camp Vancouver!
BR: What do you think are the basic
necessities for a musician just starting
out in building their own studio,
whether it be at home, on a budget,
or otherwise?
JC: I think you should ask yourself
how serious you want to get and
what kinds of music you are going to
be doing. A good computer, quality
interface, and the best headphones
and studio speakers you can comfortably
afford would be a safe first
step.
BR: Your whole life seems to revolve
around music, what else do you enjoy?
JC: I was thinking about this question
for a while. It seems at the moment,
music is getting 110% of me
and I couldn’t be happier.
Jason Corbett is performing
with ACTORS on June 8 at Fortune
Sound Club.
photo by Shannon Hemmett
When Hurray for the Riff Raff’s front woman and
visionary Alynda Segarra returned home to New
Orleans from the first leg of a tour promoting the
band’s latest LP, The Navigator, all she wanted to
do was watch RuPaul’s Drag Race. It was her escape
from a political climate she still can’t make sense of.
“I feel like the world is falling apart and our country
is going to total shit, but then you can watch
someone like a drag performer and be filled with
this incredible life energy because it’s so radical,
and it’s saying ‘F*ck you’ to just about every confinement.
And it’s so celebratory.”
Joyful protest is what The Navigator is all about.
It’s a concept album centered around Navita Milagros
Negrón, a young and impassioned Puerto
Rican woman on the road from her home in the
Bronx to a sci-fi imagined alternative realm where
her culture has been stripped dry and her friends
are nowhere to be found.
Segarra created Navita (who shares her similarities
as a Bronx-bred Latinx), out of a single question
which had held a grip on Segarra’s life and career
as a musician:
What would happen if Segarra felt like she belonged?
As a Puerto Rican, as a woman; where
could that power take her?
Segarra discovered the more she followed Navi’s
path, the more confidence she retained in herself
and her cultural identity. The songs born of this
DIANA
Toronto power trio come to grips with doing just fine
journey have made Segarra feel “more alive and
more free,” than she has ever felt in making music.
“Those voices in your head that make you feel
bad about yourself,” Segarra says, “for so many
years they were just crippling me on stage and
sometimes I just hated playing music because the
whole set I’d just be like, ‘You suck, you suck, you
suck’”.
Lack of self-belief can be a prison, even to an artist
with as much vitality and influence as Segarra,
who at twenty-nine-years-old marks The Navigator
as the sixth full-length for Hurray for the Riff Raff,
an acclaimed contributor to the Americana cannon.
The Navigator includes sweet moments of Segarra’s
folk influence, with a sunrise-toned country
melody on “Nothing’s Gonna Change That Girl”
and stripped-back guitar for “Halfway There”, but
the overarching sensibility of the remaining tracks
is expansive and influenced by Caribbean percussion,
lyrics and recorded art. An a cappella doowop
chorus accompanies Segarra on the opening
track “Entrance”, while “Pa’lante” is arranged to
stop listeners cold with specific historic references
to the injustices of gentrification, loss of cultural
identity, and racism.
“I was trying to say, ‘I’m a Latina woman, and
this is what my life has been like, and here is how
I’m seeing my country right now,’” says Segarra.
with Familiar Touch, DIANA conquers self doubt and growing pains to climb to the top of the bill
COURTNEY HEFFERNAN
With The Navigator, Alynda Segarra brings music to unite us in these trying times
She credits producer Paul Butler for helping power
through the exhaustive emotional growth The
Navigator demanded.
On tour for The Navigator, Segarra has reclaimed
the joy of playing music and feeling connected to
her audience. And as far as any American news
channel can tell her, personal connection is needed
more than ever.
The connection shared between the three members of DI-
ANA is a deep one. Vocalist Carmen Elle, keyboardist Joseph
Shabason and drummer Kieran Adams are in separate places
in Toronto when they connect via Skype with BeatRoute.
“Our band is getting a bit more vocal with regards to our
personal politics,” Elle says. “If not in our lyrics and interviews,
then at least in how we are conducting ourselves in
the world and on stage and in the way that we’re treating
other people.” As the intricacies of their dynamic unfold
over the course of the call the band’s collective humour and
honesty is what shines the brightest.
Shabason says that over the past few months DIANA
have been “enjoying the album and the upcoming tour
[without] not stressing too much about it.” Following the
August 2013 release of their debut, Perpetual Surrender,
and the runaway success of single “Born Again,” DIANA
took their time working on their follow up album, Familiar
Touch. Six months after its release, Elle says Familiar Touch
is “maybe the only album I’ve made that I really, really like.”
Shabason agrees: “It made me feel proud that I don’t know
any other albums that really sound like it. It’s exciting to me
that we made that album.”
It’s no coincidence that DIANA are proud of their latest
album. Shabason says that a lot of the creative process
around making Familiar Touch involved “learning from the
mistakes of the past album, wanting to make something
that was a lot more cohesive.” Much of the cohesion in the
album’s sound has to do with the dynamic within the band.
Familiar Touch was a more collaborative effort than their
debut. Adams says of the creation process, “All three of us
[were] involved the whole time… DIANA seems to be the
space where we all come back together.” By contrast, Adams
“I keep thinking the same thought of, ‘You guys,
this is not a drill.’ I can’t believe all of this is happening.
We need each other.”
Through the hardened voice of Segarra, it’s
made clear: we can’t come together quietly.
Hurray for the Riff Raff perform at the Imperial
(Vancouver) on June 15.
and Shabason largely wrote Perpetual Surrender before Elle
joined the band. In the years since their first release Adams
says, “We all know each other quite well and have a whole
series of feelings about each other, which are still evolving
and, I think, improving… Even that evolution throughout
the making of Familiar Touch was part of what went into
it.” The result is a multifaceted album with an even richer
sound than their previous effort.
Despite the pride they feel in their completed album, DI-
ANA admit their creative process was fraught with insecurities.
Elle, who is known for speaking candidly about mental
health and her struggles with anxiety, says, “There’s usually a
crippling self-doubt that comes with making music. At least
for me, I have that.” While Adams and Shabason are quick to
joke about their own insecurities, Shabason admits, “Even
thinking [now] of the last album and how proud of it I am,
I remember when we first finished. My only thoughts were,
‘This sucks.’ When [I] have perspective and look back at the
times that [I’m] completely filled with self-doubt, it’s staggering
how little faith [in myself] I sometimes have.”
Following their tour in December 2016, DIANA are touring
Western Canada and the United States in June and July
as a seven person band made up of the musicians they
worked with on the record. While Elle admits it can be
stressful to play as the headliner she says, “It’s amazing to
be in a room where the people that showed up, showed up
for you.” She adds, “No matter where you’re at you always
[think], ‘I could be more successful, I could be doing more.’
So it’s nice to have a moment when we’re like, ‘Oh yeah,
we’re doing okay.’”
DIANA perform at Fortune Sound Club (Vancouver)
on June 26.
4 June 2017
June 2017 MUSIC
5

MUSIC
WHITE REAPER
keeping rock ‘n’ roll sweet and simple
MAX ASPER
When we are younger, we tend to be much more
impressionable - there are certain things we come
across that can set us on a particular path. For
Tony Esposito, lead singer of White Reaper, it was a
simple as watching music videos from the likes of
Judas Priest and Accept; two influences very prevalent
in the band’s guitar-heavy sound. The young
Louisville, KY. native would eventually take some
of that inspiration and charisma to create “The
World’s Best American Band,” or so White Reaper
have deemed themselves with their latest release
of the same name.
It was around the age of 13 that Esposito, the
lead vocalist and guitarist of the group, would rally
the troupes to start playing together. Esposito
recalls playing at Skull Alley, an all ages venue in
his hometown that allowed his band. The band
consisted of Esposito, Ryan Hater (guitar), and Sam
(bass) and Nick (drums) Wilkerson, and honed
their skills at the Alley. Through high school, the
guys would grind through the local scene, hitting
the road nationally only once they could ditch the
books.
White Reaper’s sound has certainly evolved over
the years, but it’s always been loud. The quartet
seem to fit in a variety of genres within the indie
rock world, they bring elements of classic ’60s garage
rock and the rock revival of the late ’90s to
early ’00s. The product is a library of lo-fi, melodic,
poppy rock ‘n’ roll songs. That being said, their new
album, The World’s Best American Band, released
in April via Polyvinyl, incorporates a healthy dose
of arena rock which is felt through the heavy, driving
guitar riffs.
Obviously the new project’s title is supposed to
be taken in jest, the band has displayed their sense
of humor with earlier releases as well, like 2015’s,
White Reaper Does It Again. The band is obviously
confident, and maybe that’s because they are obsessive.
After their four month North American
tour, Esposito bluntly proclaims that he and his
band mates are “just going to keep making records
and putting them out,” without pause. A method
defined by their choice to book studio time without
having any material to work with for their
newest project; Esposito calls it, “Let’s just make a
record.” A bold strategy, but one that has led to a
very good album this time around.
The future for White Reaper is bright, and it’s
certainly nice to see a band penetrating the ever-expanding
indie rock scene with a more traditional
power pop sound. Esposito even admits that
modern rock ‘n’ roll seems to be a little bit softer
than it used to be, but denies any credibility to anyone’s
opinion on such a massive and diverse category
of music. Things are much less complicated
with White Reaper; they’ll either be on the road or
in the studio; always making a racket.
White Reaper perform at the Cobalt on
June 20.
photo by Jesse DeFlorio
With The World’s Best American band, White Reaper brings it back to basics and keeps it loud
MYSTERY MACHINE
coming out of hibernation organically
GRAEME WIGGINS
Like good whiskey, Mystery Machine ages well over long periods of rest
When a band takes almost 15 years between albums,
and only plays sporadic shows that crop up
every once in a while, one might imagine there’s
some interpersonal strife and acrimony that lies
beneath the surface. For local stalwarts Mystery
Machine, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
The nearly 30-year-old band is forged out of
strong friendships and an organic sense of letting
things happen when they do.
“We only come out of hibernation occasionally
and usually it’s for a specific reason,” explains
vocalist and guitarist Luke Rogalsky, “we put out
a record with Sonic Unyon in 2012 and that was
only because we know those guys and they kind
of asked us to. We weren’t actively shopping
anything or whatever. And we did a few shows
around that album. Then nothing for about a year
and then Billy Talent, who we knew when they
were kids (they used to be in this band called
Pezz). We still have the cassette they gave us on
Queens St. when they were young. So we sort of
kept in touch, but then Ian D’sa asked us to open
for them at the Commodore. They did a couple
of “intimate shows” I guess, for them, in 2013 and
because they asked we couldn’t say no to playing
at the Commodore.”
This time the motivation for action was due to
another band that came up in Mystery Machine’s
heyday (the 90s, a golden age of Canadian indie
rock): Hamilton’s Sianspheric. “We’re such huge
fans of their music,” explains Rogalsky, “They were
one of our favourite bands/contemporaries from
back then…once we found out they were coming
to Vancouver, we didn’t want to miss playing with
them either.”
photo by R.D Cane
Still, one does have to wonder why the vast
lull between their third and fourth albums. Rogalsky
suggests it was organic. “It was time to take a
break. We didn’t sit down and say let’s take a 12
year break. And we did some shows. We never really
stopped fully. And really anything we’ve done
that made the public eye, like records, our shows
it’s not been our fault! It’s really been driven by external
things.”
When a band has been a thing for nearly thirty
years, things must have changed and evolved over
time. For Rogalsky the changes mostly come from
maturity. “We’re wiser. In terms of just how we get
along and communicate, it’s seamless now. I mean,
we had our moments when we were young, fight
with each other and stuff. But also musically, we’re
way more in control of what we can do and what
we can’t do. We have nicer guitars now, it sounds a
bit better in that sense.”
Another advantage Mystery Machine has at its
disposal, one that few bands who’ve been together
as long as they have seem to share, is their friendship.
“We’re friends, I mean I’ve known Shane, our
bass player since we were 13. And all our wives are
friends too. So we have that relationship even before
the band. We all went to high school together
in Chilliwack. Three of us anyway.” This allows
the band to continue at its own pace and gives
them reasons to keep going: “We just love getting
together, just to hang out, first and foremost. An
excuse to do that is just great, if we can sound half
decent as well that’s a bonus.”
Catch Mystery Machine live w/ Sianspheric
June 29 at the Rickshaw Theatre
6 MUSIC
June 2017
June 2017 7

PRAIRIE CAT
there’s something about Carry Pratt
EMILY BLATTA
Now a writer and multi-instrumentalist, Pratt puts himself in the
genres of contemplative soft pop and singer-songwriter.
“I could have gone down a more instrumental path, had it not
been for a few people who gave me the confidence to keep pursuing
the vocal side of things.” Using less vocal tricks and becoming more
introspective, Prairie Cat’s newest album …is Carry Pratt is about
being, well, Carry Pratt.
SHELDONCOLE
deciphering the right path in life and music
MAXWELL ASPER
MUSIC
After a four-year hiatus, Carry Pratt (better known as Prairie Cat)
is releasing his fourth album, …is Carry Pratt. The Kelowna born
drummer-turned-singer-songwriter first moved to Vancouver in
2001 and has since become a well-known staple of the city’s indie
pop scene.
Although it’s mainly bars and small venues that he will be touring
this summer, Pratt found his footing at the independent Vogue theatre.
He started working there in 2010, first as an usher and then as a
general manager—a time that he says gave him the “opportunity to
get closer to the arts, but also to understand the difference between
playing in clubs and playing in 1200 seat theatres.”
A lot of Pratt’s music was written at the Vogue after hours, and
this comes across in how it sounds—energetic, poetic and made to
fill a room of Vancouverites.
But before Carry Pratt became Prairie Cat, he was a drummer
in Kelowna during the mid to late ’90s. “We started playing music
because we had nothing else to do,” he says. Eventually this changed
and Kelowna became known as a natural point for artists to stop
and play between Calgary and Vancouver. As the Okanagan got a
feel for other types of music, so did Pratt.
“As a drummer you’re always at the whim of when temperamental
songwriters feel like writing songs and playing shows. They go through
their trials and tribulations, and you’re sort of just there,” Pratt points
out. “So I was advised a long time ago to write music as well.”
ROCOCODE
turning sad songs into dance tracks
ADESUWA OKOYOMON
Vancouver duo Rococode are equal parts
the indie pop band who could have gotten
you through puberty and the band you
could have formed in your parents garage
during your brooding phase; alas, no garages
were infiltrated in the making of this
band. The duo met on MySpace and joined
forces to form the band that is regarded as
one of Vancouver's best-kept secrets.
Starting out as a guitar driven rock band,
Rococode's sound “has become much more
rooted in electronic elements and synthesizers
as [their] interests and tastes have
shifted in that direction.”
The band’s new EP, Young Ones, doesn’t
just feature a whole new sound but a new
message as well—one that is more direct
and relatable. The songs were written over
the course of a week in downtown Los Angeles
and the sonic aspect created during
a week-long residency at the National Music
Centre in Calgary; a place the band has
dubbed “Synth Heaven.”
Laura Smith's pleading vocals blend perfectly
with Andrew Braun's voice which
quivers beautifully but can still surprise
you with a little bit of bite at just the right
moment. Together they create a haunting
sound that Andrew calls "a marriage of our
contrasting personalities."
Rococode's affinity for synths, guitars,
(heavy) bass and drums, and catchy melodies
give them the power to make you
Prairie Cat performs at the Railway Club on June 17
Carry Pratt is bringing music forged behind the curtain up to centre stage
photo by Lauren D Zbarsky
Rococode delivers the goods straight from synth heaven with Young Ones
snap your fingers and bob your head even
to melancholy songs with aching lyrics that
will leave a lasting impression. This shines
through on the title track, “Young Ones”
which the band insists is the happiest song
they’ve ever recorded, “but still has the underlying
subtlety and layers to peel away
and somehow fits in with what Rococode
is.” Although Smith and Braun are constantly
evolving, “Young Ones” speaks to
the EP as a whole because it is “a good representation
of where [they] are at and how
[they] see the world and [their] place in it.”
Embarking on a tour of the US west coast,
the band is looking forward to writing a fulllength
album this Summer and touring and
recording in the Fall months.
Rococode perform at the Railway
Stage and Beer Cafe (Vancouver) on
June 10.
It doesn’t seem like Sheldon Cole is afraid to make bold leaps of
faith, something that is certainly incorporated into his progressive
and experimental folk-rock sound. That being said, Cole still has the
hesitation and fear shared by anyone dealing with the pressures of
young-adulthood and the disparity involved with the feeling that
you’re just not in the right place yet. What has allowed the young
artist to parse through the battlefield and angst of being a young and
confused twenty-something is his ability to be brave and let his innate
passion guide him.
Cole’s hunger to grow as an artist has always seemed to fuel him.
The earliest memories the Surrey-born, Newberg, Oregon-raised musician
has are of a primitive desire to just sing – around the house,
in the shower, in his room alone. Naturally, he was enamored with
his K-12 school’s mandatory choir program, leading him to pick up
both piano and guitar before the age of 12. Cole would continue to
refine his musicality through his adolescence in Newberg, eventually
heading North to Vancouver so he could attend university at Trinity
Western.
While at Trinity, Cole felt “disillusioned with university,” and was
plagued with a need to travel, so he dropped out, now on the move
again. The young musician crossed Europe to Belarus. Armed with
an old picture of his relatives, he learned of his origins, meeting his
distant family members and spending a couple weeks learning their
small-village way of life. Upon returning home, the young musician
was motivated and felt he “owed it to [his] family to see how far [he]
could take things” after understanding his circumstance versus theirs.
Cole then enrolled in UBC, and began studying political science with
an intention to pursue a law degree, leaving music on the sidelines.
It’s great to let your passions guide you, but sometimes the passion
can be clearer than the path you are trying to decipher. Cole dropped
out of university once again, realizing that perhaps his motivation was
misguided. But he didn’t have time for pause, as he was on to his next
appetite, the city of Detroit, which he became obsessed with while at
UBC. Cole would move there for summer 2016, interviewing people
around the city and imbedding himself within the house-show scene,
resurging his music career in the process. Once again impassioned,
Cole wrote his first solo EP, which is aptly titled Detroit.
Today, Cole feels like he’s deciphered his path clearly. Cole’s head is
held high as he is soon to embark on a 52-city house-show tour, and
he’s overjoyed to talk about his new Dark EP, which will be released
on June 16. Despite living such a spontaneous and adverse life, Cole
has a calm demeanor, perhaps because his passion, for the first time,
is aligned with his destiny.
Sheldoncole performs on June 15 at Studio Records (919
Granville)
Cole finds that it’s a long hard road from Detroit to the Dark
8 June 2017
June 2017 MUSIC
9

ROYAL WOOD
a return to innocence and embracing of one`s inner voice
HEATHER ADAMSON
Royal Wood has been a sought after songwriter for
more than a decade now, sharing his time between
LA and Toronto. Born John Royal Wood Nicholson
but performing under his given middle names, his
eighth album, Ghost Light, was a cathartic expression
that was brought upon by significant loss and
a recognition of life`s fragility and beauty. With no
plans to make an album, Wood entered the studio
and the songs came immediately. “The album felt
like a natural evolution and I needed to get out of
the way,” shares Wood. “My father passed away
and I lost my last grandparent. I felt there were
spirits in the room and serendipity surrounding
me. The record came so fast; a song a day or every
other day. It was a little too perfect.”
Coming off his album The Burning Bright (2014),
Wood had been incredibly busy and was used to
sharing a lot of his music during production and
writing, whereas Ghost Light was much more of an
insular experience and process. “I didn`t tell anyone
I was making an album,” says Wood. “No one heard
any of the songs until I had recorded them.” It was
something he needed to experience, a completely
independent and individual approach, which allowed
Wood to let go of a lot internally to help him
grow as a person and artist. “I didn`t realize how
much I needed to go through that on my own to
get to where I am now, which is being more collaborative
than ever before. I have gone from making
an album completely by myself to now working on
music where every single song is a co-write. I have
never enjoyed making music more than I am right
now. When you let people into your world, you elevate
your own world.”
Royal Wood follows the Ghost Light to a circle of truly stellar company.
Wood also fully embraced a return to writing
and recording simply for the joy of creation, similar
to how he approached music as a kid. “When I was
a kid I had a natural inclination to create and make
something unique that day. I had lost that somewhere
along the way but found it again with the
making of Ghost Light.”
It is this philosophy that is driving his current
dedication and commitment that has landed him
a coveted spot on Bonnie Raitt`s upcoming tour.
Being personally selected by her and her team, it
is a huge feather in the cap to be opening for an
artist he has adored since childhood. “I remember
being a little kid and seeing her on Saturday Night
Live and the next day I went and got her record and
a slide for my guitar. I have done festivals with her
and watched from the side stage. She can sing and
perform like so few people. She is a power house of
a human being.”
Whether it is surrounding himself with fellow
musicians and songwriters in the making of new
music or touring with someone as esteemed as
Bonnie Raitt, Royal Wood is living with a current
mantra of being open to anything and seeking to
learn from as many people as possible. “They say
you are the average of the five people you spend
the most time with,” shared Wood. “So these days
I am feeling pretty damn good.”
Royal Wood performs with Bonnie Raitt on
June 19 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
photo by Jen Squires
TRAVIS E. TRIANCE & THE NATURAL WAY
debut self-titled album for seasoned West Coast musician
Tavis Triance finds room for himself within music and fatherhood.
Living on Half Moon Bay on the Sunshine Coast
with his wife and two young children, life as a musician
has changed dramatically over the last few
years for Tavis E. Triance. Rehearsing and touring
have taken on whole new meanings as scheduling
between his family and day job as a teacher at an
alternative school have made making time for music
that much more creative. “I am two and a half
hours out of Vancouver, including a ferry ride. I will
travel to the city to rehearse, stay overnight and
then ferry back early the next morning to get to
work,” Triance says.
There's a whole host of scary people
at the helm of the careening car we
call the world these days. Repressive
and ghoulish caricatures impose religious
and party-line dogma to quash
human nature’s hedonistic tendencies.
Violence is wrought.
They scorch the earth with war
and machinery and leave it in ruin in
place of profit. The news cycle keeps
spinning.
It's as a witness to the above that
Meatbodies’ frontman, Chad Ubovic
cleverly renders his visionary pop
opus, Alice, a collection of fuzzy and
powerfully gritty glam rock that's
part Roy Wood, part Bowie and most
importantly, part L.A.
Ubovic and his contemporaries
like Mikal Cronin and Ty Segall are
fostering the current psych-inspired
rock scene in Southern California
with a signature sound that deftly
manages to avoid typecasting.
Upon learning they were expecting their
first child a few years ago, Triance had an overwhelming
feeling that he would no longer have
the same amount of time to make music, which
motivated him to write and record his album,
A Brief Respite from the Terror of Dying. When
asked about the album title, Triance explained
it is simply what music is for him. “I am getting
older and less youthful and naive. There are a lot
of pitfalls and bumps in the road. If you can have
these brief respites or islands in the chaos, then it
“Metal on Molly,” Ubovic describes
it.
Themes coursing throughout the
album are plentiful, encircling a desire
to return to our most natural
selves without the bonds of religion.
A pagan-like affinity for the earth
and nature, the sacredness of the
feminine, and the pursuit of pleasures
contained in hedonism.
“On Alice, I really wanted to make
a pop album but the songs came out
a bit dark. Down here in the States
and with everything going on politically
in the world, the news cycle
really inspired me to write a kind of
concept album. I guess this is also
kind of our political record,” Ubovic
states.
Tabbed as a “band to watch”, the
band didn't let outside pressure
undo any momentum following their
acclaimed self-titled release in 2014,
and after extensive touring, set their
sights upon the latest album released
earlier this year.
Side project, Fuzz, with Ty Segall
and Charles Moothart, while still
with beating pulse, became secondary
to Meatbodies current swell in
popularity. Ubovic is now throwing
his whole weight behind it.
With the band in full swing touring
the United States and Canada in
support of the album, what can fans
expect on this tour?
“We've been playing these songs
helps to keep you going. That is what I hope the
album is for people.” Having played in countless
bands over the years, including The Royal Mountain
Band and Spoon River, Triance approached
these songs for the first time without a band in
mind, but solely as a singer/songwriter. “I had just
started playing keys so it provoked me to make
different sounding songs and get out on my own
in a way I haven’t done before,” he says.
Although writing was approached differently,
the recording of the album was done with a
team near and dear to Triance. “All the guys who
played on the album are really close friends of
mine from Montreal that I have played with at
different times in my past,” he says. “We went
into the studio with everything set up in one
room. It was a real live and spontaneous process.
A lot of the guys had not heard the songs. We
threw the headphones out entirely so we could
really hear each other. It was an amazing way to
work.”
The result is an album that feels incredibly cathartic,
honest and raw. Already having played
Canada Music Week in Toronto, Triance is gearing
up for a Canadian tour that includes the Winnipeg
Folk Fest and Ness Creek Music Festival in
Saskatoon, performance opportunities that he
is not taking for granted. “Because of the extra
effort it takes now, I want to make every experience
count.”
Tavis E. Triance & The Natural Way perform
at the Biltmore Cabaret on June 24.
Meatbodies bring their visionary pop opus, Alice, to life.
now for almost a year and a half and
know them really well. When we
play them live, we stretch them out
a bit. They're monsters at this point.
We have some new ones too that we
might bring out,” Ubovic says.
Careening cars aside, Meatbodies
plan to unleash their own monstrous
creations in Vancouver, albeit the
kind driven by ethics and dogma free.
Meatbodies perform on June
26 at the Biltmore.
RIO
THEATRE
1660 EAST BROADWAY
10 MUSIC
June 2017
June 2017 MUSIC
11
photo by Kris Krug
HEATHER ADAMSON
MEATBODIES
the makings of a gritty glam rock
MIKE RYAN
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SEABORNE
keeping the tide at bay with a foundation of mutual love
BPM
KAROLINA KAPUSTA
Living in a time where electronic music
is pumped out at an alarming rate for
the sake of topping charts, it's a breath
of fresh air to stumble upon music in
this genre made with love, patience and
care.
This can be said about West Coast
indie electronic two-piece Seaborne.
With Maryse Bernard on vocals and
Solomon Krause-Imlach on production,
the couple creates cinematic soundscapes
accompanied by darker lyricism
and soulful vocals. Together they’ve created
Seaborne’s first EP, Lustre.
When asked how the couple first
met, they both jump in to tell the tale,
their words overlapping, making each
other laugh. Krause-Imlach and Bernard
first crossed paths six years ago when
a friend was putting together an indie
rock band. “We both had eyes [for] each
other but we decided it would be better
to focus on the music at the time
and it was really a great thing because
it allowed us to build a foundation of
friendship and respect,” says Bernard.
“I sort of professed my love [to
Maryse after the band broke up around
two years later] and told her what I
had really felt the entire time,” reveals
Krause-Imlach.
“It was the sweetest thing in the
world,” Bernard gushes. “It wasn’t until
last year that we decided to do a project
just the two of us and it’s definitely
become the project that’s closest to our
hearts.”
Like many living by the sparkling sea,
surrounded by lush green forests and
mountain peaks, the couple had an affinity
for the nature that surrounded
them—especially the Pacific Ocean.
They chose the name Seaborne as their
identifier because the sea is a place of
comfort and refuge for them. They both
have family members who first arrived
in Canada by boat, making the name
also a homage to their histories and
families.
“Solomon wouldn’t say it because
he’s really humble but he plays, like,
absolutely every instrument,” Bernard
says, adding how he performs all of the
instrumentation for the group.
“I listen to a lot of different stuff,
electronic music and otherwise, but in
the electronic world I’m not just a deep
house guy or a drum and bass guy specifically,”
Krause-Imlach goes on to explain.
“I’ve always enjoyed dabbling in
Mutual respect and love breathe life and Lustre into the Victoria-based two-piece Seaborne.
a bunch of different styles and twisting
them into my own kind of thing.”
Bernard is the artist behind Seaborne’s
lyricism. “I always write about
personal experiences. The tracks on
[Lustre] are all geared towards different
relationships within my life from the
past or present, positive or negative, but
I also wanted to focus on my relationship
with myself,” says Bernard.
Seaborne’s work is electronic music
to listen to when lost at sea; their debut
five-track EP gently guides the listener
back to shore, the synths like rippling
waves, the breezy bass and the soothing
vocals like a siren singing out from the
dark.
Working on a creative project with
your significant other, however, isn’t
always a picnic on the beach. “It’s only
natural to take criticism a little more
personally, but we’ve learned a lot in
the last year to remove ourselves and
our egos from our creations,” Bernard
admits.
Despite this, Seaborne has brought
the duo closer together in ways they
never could have imagined. “It can be
really surprising what comes out of
making music together because you’re
already in such a vulnerable place with
your partner,” says Bernard. “As you
open your soul even more, that is what
makes the music really special.”
Seaborne’s debut EP, Lustre, is
available now on Spotify, iTunes,
Apple Music, Google Play and
SoundCloud and will be performing
at the Railway Stage & Beer
Café June 10th.
GOLDROOM
distilling the intrigue of half-remembered pasts with summer jams
Three years in the making, Josh Legg aka Goldroom’s debut studio album West is West is like a sexy sun-drenched beach party.
PRACHI KAMBLE
Having gained much of his momentum
over the past few years as a DJ and producer
through festivals, boat parties
and dance floors the world over, Legg
created his ode to the Californian dolce
vita as a direct reflection of the glittering
ocean surface that he loving spends
his time sailing on.
West is West has also been instrumental
for Legg in dealing with the
pressures of his heavy tour schedule. “I
tend to return to the strong emotions
of my teenage years a lot,” says Legg of
his self-proclaimed escapist tendencies.
“The older you get, the more life becomes
complicated.”
Goldroom first came into being
when a friend of Legg’s convinced him
to put his research at the University of
Southern California on hold in order
to spend time DJing across LA under
the moniker Nightwave and blogging
about it on what would later became
an iconic music blog known as Binary.
“I loved the writing and the chance to
explore my tastes,” reflects Legg. “Blogging
was actually my first step in becoming
a DJ.”
The rest as they say is history as
Legg continues to spend the majority
of his time touring around the world
far and away from the comforts of his
own home. “It’s something I wrestle
with all the time,” he explains, going
on to describe how he finds inspiration
to create new music through personal
experiences over anything else. “I feel
incredibly lucky to travel and play music,
but I watch it erode my life in many
ways. Some of the songs sound lonely
because that’s what it feels like being
on the road.”
Despite the serious revelation surrounding
the melancholic background
of his new record, the overall sentiment
remains joyful and breezy as Legg continues
to push beyond his boundaries
in song writing and singing. “Before
West is West, I was making music solely
for the dance floor, but I had also always
been a singer and songwriter. I felt
like I hadn’t done a good enough job of
bridging the gap between the two and
wanted to bring honest song writing
into my style of music.”
Collaborating was another first for
Legg on this record when an aimless
Wednesday afternoon hangout session
at a studio in Silverlake with pitchers of
mojitos, Nick Stadi and Candy Shields
culminated into the bewitching single,
“Underwater.” “I wanted an early 90s,
Bad Boy Records music video feel [with]
an old West Coast, Dr. Dre, daytime
pool party video vibe,” he said. “Plus, I
wanted to do a disco version of that!”
West is West could conjure up
strong summer feels in the dead of
winter. That’s how sensually evocative
and brimming with Californian elements
the record is; Legg’s fascination
with Los Angeles’s culture is evident in
it all. From the sweet, synth-pop melodies
that beckon pink sunsets, to the
plush percussion arrangements that
make you want to groove low key until
you get hungry for a fiery taco, West of
West screams California in every track.
This exaggerated happiness in the album
stems from Legg’s own resistance
to bouts of depression, a not so idyllic
a childhood and his very un-Californian
upbringing in Boston. “You need music
that has hope and is real,” he explains.
“I’m not trying to paint a blue sky over
clouds; I try to do both.”
In the wake of the current political
unrest in the United States, Legg noticed
a new level of darkness emerging
in his work. “I don’t feel like I’m doing
the world a lot of good sometimes by
flying around the world and playing
shows, so I consciously try to find ways
to support the community and do
more.” The Goldroom shows are supporting
two major causes this year, one
of them being the Global BrightLight
Foundation to provide solar lights to
villages in Guatemala.
Goldroom performs aboard the
Abitibi Boat June 24th.
CLUBLAND
your month measured in BPMs
VANESSA TAM
As we start to approach the real meat and potatoes of summer, I feel like it’s
important to remind you to drink lots of water, eat your vegetables, and that
Beyonce Knowles is most likely going to give birth to twin Geminis this month.
While that sits in, be sure to hit up every single hip hop and electronic music
show on this list, oh and don’t do drugs or whatever.
Jesse Rose
June 9 @ Open Studios
Hailing from London, UK, Jesse Rose is a savant of house music. Known for his
long developed personal blend of Chicago house and Detroit techno, Rose’s
work has been featured everywhere from BBC’s Essential Mix to Berghain’s
Panorama Bar in Berlin. Step into the vast darkness of Open Studios and prepare
to dance.
Shiba San
June 17 @ Celebrities Nightclub
Parisian beatmaker Shiba San first broke the charts with his dancefloor hit
“Okay” released on Dirtybird back in 2014 and has continued to tear up the
scene ever since. With a strong background in hip hop and interest in futuristic
house, the producer blends the two genre into his own one of a kind bass
heavy sound.
Omar Souleyman
June 25 @ The Imperial
Born in a small village in Syria, Omar Souleyman started his career in music as
a wedding singer performing dabke, a genre of Arabic folk music, layered over
intense beats and pulsating synth work. A cult favourite among electronic
music connoisseurs the world over, Souleyman plans to release his latest album
To Syria, With Love June 2nd on Mad Decent.
Rich Chigga
June 29 @ Fortune Sound Club
Relatively new to the global hip hop scene, Rich Chigga, also known as Brian
Imanuel, is a 17-year-old Indonesian rapper and comedian born in Jakarta.
Armed with a deceivingly deep voice and inspiration from artists like Childish
Gambino, 2 Chainz and Tyler, The Creator, Imanuel released his debut single
“Dat $tick” on YouTube in February of last year to international viral success
and was coined as “the hardest n**** of all time” by rapper Tory Lanez.
Kid Ink
June 29 @ The Vogue Theatre
Born as Brian Collins in Los Angeles, California, Kid Ink is a multitalented rapper,
singer and songwriter who just released his latest EP, 7 Series. Inspired by
Timbaland, Pharrell Williams and Swizz Beatz, Collins began to pursue music
full time at the age of 22 eventually signing with RCA Records and work with
artists like Ty Dolla Sign, Fetty Wap and Usher.
Rich Chigger
12 BPM
June 2017
June 2017 BPM
13

THE SKINNY
WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM
out of the ashes
CHRISTINE LEONARD
It’s been five long years since black metal shapeshifters
Wolves in the Throne Room last wrapped the
stage in their dark embrace. Ending their half-decade
hiatus with a tour of Europe and the East Coast
of the U.S., the Cascadian metal act have proven as
surefooted as ever in their return thanks to the natural
healing powers of the verdant Pacific Northwest.
“All of us need a bit of time to rest and recuperate,
and gather energy and inspiration,” explains drummer/bassist/synth-player
Aaron Weaver.
“For my part, that meant walking in the woods
every day and go swimming in the salt water as
much as possible. I’ve come to realize that if your life
is a fire that has everything in it then music is just
the leftovers. So, it’s important to me to spend time
really living life in order to really play our music from
the heart instead of just going through the motions.”
Steadfast in refusing to be driven by materialism
or the need to observe genre-prescribed iconography,
Wolves in the Throne Room have traveled
many miles since the appearance of their debut album
Diadem of 12 Stars (2006). Subsequent releases
on Southern Lord Records, including Two Hunters
(2007) and Black Cascade (2009), aided in winning
ominous repute for the band’s turbulent heavy metal
epics. Elementally bonded through the sacred
vibrations of Washington’s wildness to his spiritual-brother
guitarist-vocalist Kody Keyworth and
his biological brother (who is also the band’s lead
vocalist-guitarist, Nathan Weaver), Aaron believes in
bringing a little piece of heaven on Earth to every
Wolves in the Throne Room appearance.
“It’s super important for us that the music emanates
from a place. It emanates from our home. That
ANNIHILATOR
Canadian thrashers return home with overseas destruction in their wake
jphoto by Jasmina Vrcko
the thing that first attracted me to Scandinavian
black metal. It seemed so clear to me that such music
could arise from no other landscape than a wild,
and rocky, and forlorn, and cold northern landscape.
And I love music that is stamped with the imprint
of the land it comes from. It’s just a beautiful thing
to me when the artists are specifically calling upon
the spirit of the landscape to animate the music,” he
explains.
“When we travel, it’s our intention to bring that
spirit with us, which we do by burning cedar or sage,
and by literally bringing objects from home to carry
that energy, and actively trying to conjure the sprits
that inform our music. Our music comes out of an
interaction with Spirit; the spirit of the salmon or
the spirit of the cedar tree. These totemic spirits
that are so powerful here, where we live. And, it’s my
hope to be able to share some of that magic with the
people who come to see our shows.”
The mystical outfit’s fifth studio album Celestial
Lineage (2011) saw the Weaver brothers drowning
nascent folk and punk influences in a soul-scouring
doom undercurrent. Launched in 2014 under their
own label Artemisia Records, the follow-up album
Celestite, was an ambient-synth experiment born of
the lupine clan’s desire to return to the cavernous
realms of their previous LP in drone form. Following
their intuition, the band of brothers has recently adopted
two new (touring) pack members, who share
their monastic regard for yoga and vegetarianism,
generating a fresh outlook on the practice of spreading
their proverbial ashes.
“The biggest change we’ve got is three guitars on
stage now, which makes a huge difference. In the
With seemingly endless tread on their tires, Annihilator is still very much alive and kicking
“We aim to create an immersive atmosphere…. The everyday ‘monkey mind’ is put aside for a while…”
past our sound has been somewhat striped-down
and a bit raw, and we’re really excited perform a
more fully-realized live sound,” says Weaver.
“The person who’s going to be playing guitar with
us is a really old friend of ours named, Peregrine
Somerville (Sadhaka). We also have an amazing
woman, Brittany McConnell, from the Idaho band
Wolf Serpent, playing keyboards and doing additional
percussion.”
According to Weaver, audiences can (still) expect
to join Wolves in the Throne Room on a cathartic
and exhausting journey through heartbreak and triumph.
George R.R. would certainly approve!
BRAYDEN TURENNE
Canada has been responsible for various bands
and individual music artists that have gone on
to great acclaim, sometimes to a point where we
even forget they’re Canadian due to mass appeal
swallowing them whole. Ottawa’s own Annihilator
began in ‘84, in the time when thrash was
the ruling genre in metal. Since then, Annihilator
have gone on to forge an expansive, diverse discography
of over a dozen albums in their lifespan.
The passion project of core founding member
Jeff Waters, Annihilator is a band with varying
sounds. “If I had to categorize us, I’d say heavy
metal meets thrash metal,” Waters states, “I never
set out to do my own sound, I just went out to
play what I liked.”
The band has gone through more than a few
lineup changes over its lifetime, giving albums
each a sense of unique personality. “I went the
opposite of what would have made more sense
commercially. I said: ‘I want to change my sound,
I want to change lineups, I want to change writing
styles. I want to experiment and have fun.’”
Despite such a broad and varied string of work
over its lifetime, Annihilator has oddly become
more recognized overseas than on its own home
soil. “Metal, as I knew it, in the mid to late 80s,
“We aim to create an immersive atmosphere,
which means the everyday ‘monkey mind’ is put
aside for a while, and we can just be fully in the present
with the music, and give ourselves space to be
surprised by the what feelings will emerge and what
visions will arise. It’s a situation where space and
time are going to be torn open. People may be inspired
to go wild. There’s possession that occurs and
that’s understandable and desirable.”
Wolves In The Throne Room perform at Venue (Vancouver)
on June 23.
started to die out. I didn’t have places to play
or labels that were really interested in putting
our music out. I kind of thought my career was
over,” Waters recounts. “Within a year after being
dropped from [record labels] Sony and Roadrunner,
we had one of our biggest albums, King of the
Kill, release in Japan and Europe. That just kept
us going, we literally went non stop since ‘89 in
Europe, Japan, and South America.”
Even with all this success, Waters is still adamant
on touring his home country. “We played
a few club shows in the Ottawa area to warm up
for our ‘70,000 tons of metal’ cruise shows and
that’s when I realized I need to do a tour here before
I die.”
Now, after so long a time abroad, Annihilator is
returning to their home soil to remind us all that
they’re still very much alive and kicking. “Whether
there’s fifty people or twelve hundred people,
we’re just gonna have a blast. The fans we have
appreciate us live because we have a lot of fun,
our live show is honest.”
Annihilator perform at the Rickshaw
Theatre (Vancouver) on June 15.
14 THE SKINNY
June 2017
June 2017 THE SKINNY
15
4
Happy Hour
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3 Beer til 3pm
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Jokes feat.
Abby Roberge
13
Jokes feat.
Jane Stanton
20
Jokes feat.
John Beuhler
27
Jokes feat.
Chris Gordon
7
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3 Beer til 3pm
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Mr. Boom Bap
presents
Boogie Nights
with
Brown Paper Bag
Mr. Boom Bap
presents
Boogie Night
with
Burnt
Mr. Boom Bap
presents
Boogie Nights
Mr Boom Bap
hosts
“The Shed”
Jazzfest Funk/
Soul open jam
session
Mr Boom Bap
hosts
“The Shed”
Jazzfest Funk/
Soul open jam
session
9
2
The Railway
Stage presents
Ricky Ruth Band
The Railway
Stage presents
Dumb
16
The Railway
Stage presents
The Orange Kyte
23
The Railway
Stage presents
Thee Magic
Circle
The Railway
Stage presents
Mostly Marley
3
Lust for Life
special guests
Maiwah &
Kinship
10
Lust for Life
special guests
Rococode,
Battle Tapes &
Seaborne
17
Lust for Life
special guests
Prairie Cat,
Iceberg Ferg &
Rec Centre
24
Lust for Life
special guests
Living Hour &
The Servers

THE SKINNY
TIGER ARMY
iIn the undying light
WILLOW GRIER
NEEDLES//PINS
saying good night to old habits
JAMES OLSON
“Tiger Army never dies!" A catchphrase indelible in the minds and
hearts of fans and onlookers world over, shouted at the top of lungs
and carved into skin from west coast of the United States to South
America to Canada and beyond. For a band that has never found a
discernible niche but always created their own, never fit into the confines
of a single genre, and had almost a decade long gap in between
albums, it's impressive to see such a undying devotion to the Tiger
Army legacy.
In speaking with the band's primary song writer, Nick 13, BeatRoute
gains a little insight into where those strong roots come from.
"I've always tried to be true to myself as a songwriter," he describes,
referring to the whole of his band’s 20 year history. "I've never written
with anything commercial in mind or fallen into the trap of trying to
please different demographics. I just try to create something that is
true to me at the time...that means something to me. If I can do that,
it might mean something to someone else."
"The fans of Tiger Army are true music lovers," he continues. "They
care about the songs and the songwriting and they are relating to
something on a personal level, so it therefore becomes timeless in
a way."
Over the course of five albums, Tiger Army danced from punk, to
rockabilly, to everything in between, and on their latest release "V•••-"
find themselves drawing from a noir aesthetic, with heavy influence
from "the second wave of rock and roll" that took shape in late '50s
and early '60s. The album is like a grey, rainy day exploration, with
METALOCALYPSTICK FESTIVAL
never has snubbing the patriarchy sounded so loud
photo by Kaija Kinney
Festival organizer Kaija Kinney puts an emphasis on celebrating women in metal for a second year.
Tiger Army are still going strong in a timeless, genre-banding legacy spanning more than two decades.
ANA KRUNIC
The phrase "Women of Metal" has, in the past, unfortunately
been seen in magazines commonly accompanied
by photos of swimsuit models with guitars
they may not be too sure how to hold. This is fine
in its own way, until you consider the historical lack
of representation of female musicians in the metal
world in any real manner. This has changed quite a bit
over the years, but the gap is still there. Metalocalypstick
Festival founder Kaija Kinney saw this void and
sought to fill it with an event that invites metal bands
with female members from Canada and abroad to
showcase their music in a summer festival setting. "I
saw that there were really no female-oriented metal
festivals, and the ones I did find mostly focused on
only vocalists. Once I get an idea in my head, I have
to do it."
Kinney herself is the frontwoman for the band
Anarcheon, and no stranger to a question a lot of
women in metal bands hear ad nauseum – what's
it like being a girl in a metal band? "I guess I'm sort
of playing on that, too," says Kinney, "but that's not
what I want to do with it. It's more to showcase all
the women in metal and how badass they are, especially
since most of us are still playing in male-dominated
bands." Granted, in terms of proportion, there
are more male musicians playing metal for whatever
reason – but that doesn't mean it was at all difficult
to fill the festival's lineup. This year's festival includes
19 bands, from all over the world including Canada,
Mexico, and Egypt. "I literally spent 18 hour days on
the computer researching all these bands and just
trying to get them over here."
photo by Casey Curry
bursts of fire in between. Both a vintage throwback and the shock
of new life.
"I think there was something really interesting about that time [in
rock and roll] because the first wave was done and it was a transitional
period where people didn't know it was going to happen," Nick 13
describes. "There was a lot of experimentation and a lot of trying to
figure out what the next step was in the sound. There was something
I related to in that and in very early punk, specifically out of New York
City. I heard a musical link between doing something new and pushing
the boundaries that punk initially represented, but also having
sort of a direct lineage with early rock and roll and Du Wop.”
“As a music fan and a concert goer” himself, Nick 13 keeps a master
copy of all the setlists from each show Tiger Army has played so that
fans can get the most from every live performance, and not have to
see the same show twice.
Now about to embark on a co-headlining tour with dark Americana
group Murder by Death, Tiger Army will have the chance to
express additional parts of their repertoire, and dig into their discography
that includes “In The Orchard,” and other examples of sounds
that found expression in Nick 13’s solo country/Americana releases,
which he plans to work on again towards the end of this tour.
“I would say there's a certain musical overlap,” he explains. “That
mid century country and hillbilly music has always been a small part
of what Tiger Army is so the two do share that, but the solo stuff was
more about honing in on that.”
Despite this connection, Nick 13 expresses that the two projects
will always remain unique for him. “I get a different feeling when I step
onstage. There's a completely different energy at a Tiger Army show.”
Tiger Army and Murder By Death bring their depth of
sounds to the Commodore Ballroom on July 3.
In addition to being a showcase for women in metal,
Metalocalypstick donates profits from the festival
to groups like Vancouver Rape Relief and Shelter,
Earth Protectors as well as Girl's Rock Camp. "We
want to encourage women [in performance arts.]
Building confidence for these girls is so important.”
Girl’s Rock Camp is a non-profit society that does
mentorships and workshops offering musical training
and organizing performances to build self-esteem
and community through music.
Visitors will be camping out while bands play from
the beginning of the afternoon until late at night,
with no shortage of activities such as more-than-likely-drunken
baseball games and nearby lakes to swim
in when it inevitably gets too hot. You'll find Kinney
running around at the festival making sure the cogs
are turning.
"For me, it's pretty hectic. Running around, making
sure everything's good and running smoothly. Being
the second year, I'm thinking things will run a bit
tighter and I have a few volunteers to help out."
The festival is a great female-oriented foil to the
rest of the growing metal festival scene in British Columbia.
Summertime gatherings like Armstrong Metal
Fest and Metallion in Prince George are gaining in
popularity every year. With Metalocalypstick Festival
joining the ranks, the three make for an entire summer
of metal.
Metalocalypstic Festival takes place in Lone
Butte, BC on July 1 and 2.
Needles//Pins
are in the midst of what
might be the biggest year of their
career. Their third record, Good Night, Tomorrow,
is set for release on June 30; its creation an
epicenter of change for the Vancouver based punk
band. Recorded at Rain City Recorders and with a
new producer; Good Night has presented the band
with a host of new opportunities. The pop punk
trio composed of Adam Ess (vocals/guitar), Tony
X (bass), and Macey Budgell (drums) has been a
consistently fun fixture of Vancouver’s local music
scene. Crafting catchy, high energy tunes, Needles//Pins
serve as the perfect soundtrack to chain
smoking and shotgunning beers in the parking lot
behind your favorite East Van music venue.
After releasing two enjoyable yet sonically similar
records, the recording process for Good Night
served as a genuine opportunity for the band to
grow as a unit. “The previous two records we had
done were completed in five days. You’ve got 10 to
12 songs and you bang ’em out in five days. You’re
really kind of rushed in that regard and there’s
always something you notice after it’s done and
you’re listening to it and you wish you had time to
make changes,” X explains. “This approach allowed
us to listen to things as they developed. There were
things that we absolutely went back and looked
at from previous sessions...it was nice to have the
space and ability to reflect on the products that
we had.” Ess and Budgell agree the new process
enabled the band to take the time they needed to
fine-tune each track as they were recorded.
After recording with Jordan Koop at the Noise
Floor (now located on Gabriola Island) for their
previous two releases, Needles//Pins elected to go
with Jesse Gander at Rain City Recorders for Good
Night. “It had nothing to do with Jordan. We just
switched up everything that we did,” says X. “We
decided we weren’t gonna make the same record
again for the third time. We needed to move forward
as a band. Because if you’re not moving
forward then what do you do? We needed to do
something different. Not because of bad experiences.
We were super happy with everything we
had done up to that point. We definitely had to
expand.” The results of the band’s hard work shows
upon advance listen of Good Night. Tracks like “Violet”
and “Back To The Bright” crystallize the ragged
everyman character of Ess’ lyrical and musical
voice, supported by uncomplicated yet emotionally
direct playing by X and Budgell. The band at
once conjures the nostalgic, wistful roots rock of
Gaslight Anthem with the careening, ramshackle
energy of Titus Andronicus and early Against Me!.
Gander not only served as producer for Good
Night, he supplied keyboard work throughout the
album and has since joined the band as their officially
unofficial fourth member. While scheduling
doesn’t permit Gander to appear on stage with
Needles//Pins for every performance, the band is
nonetheless excited to bring him into the fold and
he played his most recent live show with the band
last month on stage at the Commodore opening
for The Smugglers.
As part of their recent signing with Mint Records,
joining a roster including the likes of Tough
Age, Jay Arner and The Evaporators, Needles//Pins
are on the verge of releasing their first ever music
video for the anthemic and confrontational “Miracle.”
Directed by Mike Babiarz, the band is vocally
optimistic about the final product but they all
agree the shoot was hellish. Two savage 12 hour
days of shooting included turning the band’s jam
space into a makeshift bomb shelter, fire alarm
shenanigans and annoying the neighbors with their
after hours playing. “It was fun for two hours and
then it was like ‘We’re fucked,’” X chuckles. Budgell
adds “We’ll find out if it was worth it when the video
comes out. If it sucks I’m never making a music
video again.” The band intends on releasing it just
before they head off to Ottawa Explosion in mid
June.
This summer involves a lot of touring for Needles//Pins,
including dates at the aforementioned
Ottawa Explosion and Sled Island in Calgary, along
with a full mid-west and east coast tour of the U.S.
When BeatRoute last connected with Needles//
Pins, the band had just returned from their first
European tour. Ess says the band plans on traveling
across the Atlantic again in spring 2018 but the
trio were absolutely brimming with tales from the
road. An isolated village in the Czech Republic was
the site of one of the most memorable Needles//
Pins shows. “We played at this barn that had been
converted into a legion where the front bar area
was full of old men watching hockey and chain
smoking,” says Ess. “And the back was this huge
concert hall. We got there and we were like ‘What
the hell is this?’” According to Budgell, everyone
thought that they were in the wrong place. “We
were on tour with Sonic Avenues at the time and
I remember looking at Seb from Sonic Avenues
and he was so bummed when we got there. I told
him that the night could go either way, it could be
amazing or bad. He insisted it was going to be bad.
It wound up being the best show of the tour. It was
wild,” Ess concludes.
Longevity can often be rare to attain for a band,
particularly with the same lineup intact. A lot can
happen over the course of five years. The last time
Ess connected with BeatRoute in April 2013 he provided
an enthusiastic view on the Vancouver music
scene. Four
years on, Ess’ perspective
has certainly changed, but his
attitude remains optimistic. “I think Vancouver
has changed a lot. I also think that we’ve changed. I
will readily admit I’m out of the loop sometimes. A
lot of time has gone by since we started this band
and we’re not necessarily engaged in the up and
coming stuff,” Ess says. “I see that Music Waste is
still happening and every time Music Waste comes
out there’s a whole list of bands I’ve never heard of
before on it and I think that’s awesome. That’s indicative
of the fact that people are still doing things
and that’s really great.”
The camaraderie shared between the three original
members is palpable. Throughout the interview,
Ess, X, and Budgell were constantly laughing
at themselves, recalling a variety of hilarious episodes
and good times shared as a group of friends
making music together. As Needles//Pins approach
a decade working together, Ess’ summation of what
has kept the band together speaks volumes. “Be
friends before anything else. That’s the way we’ve
always approached it and it’s been great as a result
of that. I don’t know what other way we could have
done it,” he says. “It’s always been that way. We’re
more like a family and it’s been that way since day
one. The band is what we do together.”
Good Night, Tomorrow marks the end of the
first phase of Needles//Pins career but the beginning
of a new one. With the addition of a new
member and a greater focus on growing as a band,
Needles//Pins have said “good night” to old habits.
Tomorrow, new opportunities.
Needles//Pins play their album release
show for Good Night, Tomorrow at SBC
Restaurant (Vancouver) on June 30
photo by Shimon
16 THE SKINNY
June 2017
June 2017 THE SKINNY
17

American headliner the String Cheese Incident. SCI
as they are known consistently sell out Red Rocks
and many 20,000 capacity venues south of the border.
The band is following in the footsteps of other
jam greats like the Grateful Dead, and Phish having
fostered a fervent base of fans that often follow the
band from show to show. The Element music festival
also features Garaj Mahal, Five Alarm Funk, Steve
Kimock & friends, Genetics, Brickhouse, and the Big
Easy Funk Ensemble. (GM)
Sunfest
Aug 3-6 - Cowichan Valley, BC
As the only country music festival that takes place in
BC every summer, Sunfest has played host to most
of the biggest names in country music. Pull up your
most trustworthy cowboy boots and hat and set up
camp at the base of Mount Prevost as you get serenaded
by Toby Keith, Little Big Town, Old Dominion,
Brett Kissel and Chris Janson.
festival that could. Powered by sheer will and plenty
of elbow grease, Otalith has managed to attract
some world-class talent in past years including Fidlar,
The Black Lips and People Under The Stairs. Currently
in their fifth year, the growing festival is excited to
develop further while maintaining their boutique festival
community feels.
Atmosphere Gathering
Aug 18-20 - Cumberland, BC
Imagine warm summer nights filled with performances
by a curated list of electronic music artists
punctuated by mind and body enhancing workshops
and yoga during the day. Because that’s exactly what
Atmosphere Gathering is like. Paired with a great selection
of electronic music artists including Sabota,
Half Moon Run, DJ Shub and DiRTY RADiO, Atmosphere
incorporates little games and competitions
throughout the weekend to bring out the best of
their attendees.
VANESSA TAM AND GRAHAM MACKENZIE
Although Western Canada has lost two of their
largest summer music festivals over the past couple
years (RIP Squamish and Pemberton), the BC
festival circuit is still very much alive and kicking.
Going up against a high American dollar, many
boutique festivals are choosing to celebrate the
plethora of local artists located here in our own
backyard. From this year’s most historic festivals
(Shambhala and the Vancouver Folk Music Festival)
to the newest (Fvded in the Park and Westward
Music Festival), there will no shortage of
great music in the West this summer.
Victoria Ska and Reggae Festival
June 14-18 - Victoria, BC
Head out to the party isle of Victoria and jam out
to a generous dose of irie tunes at the Victoria Ska
and Reggae Festival. Supplemented with a series of
free workshops and visual art showcases, join the
local community for live performances by a wide
selection of artists including Skampida, The Boom
Booms, Booker T. Jones, Tonye and The Black Seeds
this summer.
Vancouver International Jazz Festival
June 22-July 2 - Vancouver, BC
With an infinite amount of nuance able to be rendered
from modern jazz, it’s impressive to see a festival
like the Vancouver International Jazz Festival
take the time to showcase them all. Playing host to
an international roster of both local and international
artists including Ziggy Marley and Seu Jorge,
the large array of shows spread out over 10 days
gives festival goers the opportunity to jump in as
deep as they desire.
Campbell Bay Music Festival
June 23-24 - Mayne Island, BC
A true labour of love held on picturesque Mayne Island,
the Campbell Bay Music Festival is a volunteer
run event that brings a cohesive selection of artists
together for a weekend of great music and great
vibes. Focusing on more indie and folk bands this
year with acts like Citizen Jane, Cuddle Magic and
Douse, only copious amounts of bliss can be expected
from this truly west coast festival in the forest.
Tall Tree
June 23-26 - Port Renfrew, BC
With undying support from the local artists, residences
and business of Port Renfew, Tall Tree Music
Festival is like a celebration for the whole city.
Currently in its eighth year, Tall Tree is the type of
festival you’d want to plan your extended family reunion
around. And with headliners like Jesse Roper,
Skiitour, Tokyo Police club, Shapeshifter NZ and DJ
Nu-Mark on the bill, there will surely be a little bit of
something for everyone.
Faded in the Park
July 7-8 - Surrey, BC
Evolved up from a dope little midweek club night
in Vancouver, Fvded in the Park has grown to become
the city’s first music festival to be located in
the middle of Surrey’s Holland Park. A modern rap,
R&B, EDM and bass music lovers dream, headliners
like The Chainsmokers, Wiz Khalifa, Partynextdoor,
Dillon Francis are reasons enough to jump on the
skytrain and hang out in the burbs for a couple days.
Bass Coast
July 7-10 - Merritt, BC
Bass Coast holds a special space in the heart of BC’s
robust electronic music community. Independently
founded by Andrea Graham and Liz Thomson, the
boutique festival continues to be independently
owned and operated
by artists, which is a
commendable feat in
and of itself. With a
heavy focus on
booking Canadian talent, especially those of the
West Coast persuasion, this grassroots event is truly
one of those festivals that is for the people, by the
people.
Khatsahlano
July 8 - Vancouver, BC
A festival that more closely resembles a block party,
Vancouverites religiously make a point to come
out to this annual bash to celebrate the many businesses,
artisans and musical acts that make Kitsilano
special. Walking end to end will uncover something
special to behold at every turn be it delicious hand
made ice cream by Rain or Shine, a rare pick up from
Zulu Records or a sun-soaked performance by The
Zolas on the main stage.
Vancouver Folk Music Festival
July 13-16 - Vancouver, BC
Celebrating its 40th year this summer, the Vancouver
Folk Music Festival prides itself on booking
a selection of some of the best contemporary folk
and roots artists from around the world. Situated in
Jericho Park right next to the ocean, a more pleasant
backdrop couldn’t exist for performances by artists
like C.R. Avery, the Belle Game, Begonia, Blick Bassy
and the Barenaked Ladies.
Armstrong Metal Fest
July 14-15 - Armstrong BC
More than 30 bands descend on the small hamlet of
Armstrong, BC for a two-day monster mash. Bring
your devil horns cause this is metal stacked on metal
on metal. Stick out your tongue raise those hands in
the air and get set to headbang for 48 hours straight.
Even when you're sleeping you are still going to be
headbanging. This much metal doesn't take a break.
Breaks are for folk fests. If you like metal this is your
Valhalla. Plus they have thrash wrestling. Sounds
badass doesn't it? Sounds like someone is
definitely going to get hurt.
Bands include a lot of unreadable
logos and
WMD, Slagduster, Planet Eater, Exit Strategy, the
Avulsion, NinjaSpy, Citizen Rage, Dragstrip Devils
and many more. (Graham MacKenzie)
Centre of Gravity
July 28-30 - Kelowna, BC
Enthusiasts of action sports, bikinis, Monster Energy,
EDM and hip hop need not look any further
than Centre of Gravity in Kelowna. Returning to the
shores of Okanagan Lake and Kelowna’s City Park
this July, the most extreme levels of live music entertainment
will be reached with artists like Snoop
Dogg, Schoolboy Q, Lil Dicky, Marshmello and Excision
ready to fuel the fire.
Electric Love Music Festival
July 28-31 - Agassiz, BC
Without a doubt, attendees of the Electric Love
Music Festival must vibrate at a higher celestial rate
than others. And if camping under the stars of Agassiz,
connecting with loved ones and dancing to an
incredible lineup of electronic music DJs won’t help
festivalgoers achieve a next level state of consciousness,
then nothing will.
Element Music Festival
August 3-6 - Princeton BC
This a new festival emerging in Western Canada
and it looks to be styled after the laidback hippy
happy vibe of early Bonnaroo with a heavy emphasis
on jam- my improvisational bands and an
eclectic mix funk, folk, jazz and psychedelia. The big
draw here being three nights and six sets by massive
Kaslo Jazz Etc
August 4-6 – Kaslo, BC
This intimate and laidback festival has been going
for 25 years and is gaining steam as it goes. This year
boasts arguably the biggest line up yet featuring Los
Lobos, A Tribe Called Red, Charles Bradley, Badbadnotgood,
Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the Sheepdogs
and many more. The festival showcases an array of
blues, jazz, folk, world music, and a bit of everything
really. Kaslo Jazz Etc has a unique floating main stage
in Kootenay Lake, which reverberates sound out into
the natural green amphitheater of Kaslo Bay. You
can expect to enjoy world class musicians perform
against a breathtaking backdrop of mountains and
sky. The festival has been selected as one of the top
ten places to get out doors and be in tune by USA
today and one of the top ten places to enjoy outdoor
summer music by Reuters. (GM)
Wapiti Music Festival
August 11- 12 – Fernie, BC
This festival delivers emerging Canadian indie artists
on their way to becoming household names. This
years line up includes Tokyo Police Club, Royal Canoe,
Five Alarm Funk, the Dead South, the Wilderness
of Manitoba and more. You can walk or ride a
bike to the centrally located festival site in beautiful
downtown Fernie at a riverside park. A myriad of
activities for all ages with bonus kids and seniors are
free. (BS)
Shambhala
Aug 11-14 - Salmo, BC
Shambhala is quite literally a family affair in every
aspect. Independently produced by the Bundschuh
family for the past 20 years and hosted on the family’s
working farm, Shambs has become the longest
running independent electronic music festival BC
has ever seen. A famously dry festival, the event plays
host to an impressive range of humans, each with
their own preferred method for connecting with
their inner spirit.
Otalith Music Festival
August 18-19 - Ucluelet, BC
Otalith Music Festival
is the little music
Pondarosa Festival
August 18-20 - Rock Creek, BC
Tucked into the tiny town of Rock Creek in the
Okanagan Valley, Pondarosa Festival is an honest getaway
from the hustle and bustle of the big city. Headlined
by Canadian bands Wolf Parade, Five Alarm
Funk, IMUR, Bear Mountain and Gang Signs, organic
growth with feedback from the community is the key
for this beautiful baby of a festival.
Motion Notion Festival
August 24-28 – Golden, BC
This is an exploration of electronic music, art, nature
and the infinite in the heart of the Rocky Mountains.
Motion Notion is a name with meaning. It can be understood
as the 'Movement idea,' the concept that
the flux of the universe is the essence of being and
that ever human, planet, solar system, and galaxy
maintains this continuous flux as long as it exists.
Movement is existence. You will be moving to acts
such as Datsik, Avalon, Dirtyphonics, Koan Sound,
The M machine, Minnesota and more. Also check
out the vendor village, and all the fire dancers, belly
dancers, flaggers, live painters, aerialists, contortionists
and wandering magicians. (GM)
Westward Music Festival
Sept 14-17 - Vancouver, BC
While most of the independent music festivals in
Vancouver have gone the way of the dinosaurs, a
brand new festival rises up to take over where they
left off. With plans to spread out across multiple venues
and genres, Westward’s inaugural year will hopefully
breathe new life into Vancouver’s local festival
circuit. With many details of the festival including the
lineup and ticket costs still to be announced, it helps
to be optimistic.
Rifflandia
Sept 14-17 - Victoria, BC
Victoria, BC, home to the oldest Chinatown in Canada,
that weird miniatures museum and Rifflandia,
the largest multi-venue music festival on the island.
With past headliners like Kiesza, Modest Mouse and
A Tribe Called Red on their side, skipping a few days
of school doesn’t seem so bad now does it?
18 BPM
June 2017
June 2017 CITY
19

The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir was founded in 1894 and gave the city its nickname “the choral capital of North America” in the 1900s.
CANADA 150
a thoughtful retrospective on a lifetime of Can-con
MAT WILKINS
A common (and perhaps slightly ill informed)
opinion about Canada’ s musical output and its
effect on the hearts and minds of people around
the globe typically seems to go a little like this:
“ Rah rah! Hear Ye! Smash hit artists like Bieber,
Drake, Avril Lavigne, and Nickleback are the backbone
upon which this great nation’ s rich musical
history thrives and is maintained!” But do not be
confused, dear readers, this opinion is an erroneous
one, but it has absolutely nothing at all to do
with the ability of these artists —who, as we know,
have all generated remarkable amounts of cultural
impact in Canada and abroad. No. The reason
the above assumption is misleading is primarily because
of the above list’ s pitiful length and tragic
lack of breadth. But even after we consider artists
like The Weeknd, Arcade Fire, Neil Young, Joni
Mitchell, Bryan Adams, The Tragically Hip, Alanis
Morissette, The Guess Who, Leonard Cohen, The
Band, Sum 41, Simple Plan, Rush, Michael Buble,
Celine Dion, and so on, we have only just skimmed
the surface of this country’ s musical past. To
elaborate: Canadians typically seem to know a
Platinum Era (’96-’09)
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lot about those homegrown heroes that are most
memorable to us, our parents, or even our grandparents,
but memory is a funny thing that way;
when we look at any kind of cultural anything that
has existed in the past we’ re often limited to the
small histories of our friends, loved ones, and whoever
else we turn to for information, trend reports,
whatever. The whole truth, however, is that Canada
has been churning out talented and influential
musicians since —and before— The British North
America Act was signed in 1867 unifying Ontario,
Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick under
the crown. Happy Sesquicentennial!To properly
broach the considerably gigantic subject of origins
and influences in Canadian music, let’ s first go all
the way back to before and around our nation’ s
first birthday. Since colonization in the 17th century,
music (like people) was forcefully imported
despite a largely inhospitable climate and geography.
Settlements were spread far and wide, with
prohibitively expensive opera houses and theatres
spread even farther and wider, if at all. Unlike today,
building-code-breaking bars or vile, unventilated
venues simply couldn’ t suffice. And without any
stable or immediate form of communication with
the old world or with one another, composers and
performers who were intent on preserving their
traditional styles were at a loss. With the stock
market crash of The Great Depression and the advent
of new radio and recording technologies, Canada’
s domestic music had taken a considerable
hit; Canadian musicians no longer had the money
to buy instruments, while others from around the
world were now outperforming them in the living
rooms and watering holes of their former audience.
But some fragmented flashes of hope remained
far off in the red light districts of Montreal city
(which apparently snuck into the dominion while
we weren’ t looking). As vaudeville and orches-
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tral musics’ popularity waned considerably, jazz
was slowly becoming the frontrunner of the North
American avant garde. The genre was developed by
African American musicians in the United States at
the beginning of the 20th century, but segregated
clubs had put a significant damper on performance
opportunities. Montreal and its integrated
clubs quickly became a hotspot for jazz musicians,
attracting a myriad of artists including Dizzy Gillespie,
Johnny Hodges, and Duke Ellington. Occasionally
frequenting these venues and performing at
some not-quite-as-fabulous spots was local jazz pianist
Oscar Peterson, who was later given the (kind
of peculiar) nickname “ Maharaja of the keyboard”
by Duke Ellington himself. Peterson went on to
perform in thousands of concerts, release over
200 songs, and win eight grammys. Montreal even
remains a hub for all things jazz today, hosting Le
Festival International de Jazz de Montréal annually,
with an average turnout of around 400 000 people.
But one last thing! Arguably the most underrated
of all musicians in Canada are the great many First
Nations cultures and communities that lived before
the ‘ founding’ of the nation and continue
to live today. As most settlers in Canada took no
interest in recording or describing First Nations
music (don’ t forget banning cultural practices
too), most of the remaining evidence we have of
the songs of particular bygone cultures’ is in the
preserved instruments found in museums and private
collections. Most First Nations peoples of the
past used drums and noisemakers made of wood,
animal hides, and horns to create complicated
rhythms that were played in the background over
powerful and poetic vocal melodies. As for contemporary
First Nations artists, there are plenty!
Light In the Attic Record’ s “ Native North America,
Vol I” is a compilation album of Indigenous
pop, rock, folk, and country artists from around
the country performing between 1966 and 1985.
Artists recording and performing now include pop
vocalist Iskwé, throat singer Tanya Tagaq, or singer
songwriter duo Digging Roots, to name but a small
few. So as you can see, Canada’ s musical history
is in many ways like a great song: beautiful, necessary,
and important at all points in time. And without
a strong beginning, songs, poems, paintings,
sculptures and histories would simply fall apart or
cease existing entirely. Were it not for the countless
Canadian musicians that set the stage for contemporary
artists through their innumerable amounts
of diligence, creativity, and talent, there is a good
to fair chance that we would be a world without
Shawn Mendes. Let that sink in.
HOUSE JAMS FOR THE YOUNG,
RESTLESS & BORED
CAN I LIVE + GUESTS
EVERY SATURDAY NIGHT
10:30pm - 19+
TACOFINO
Michelin-starred chef Stefan Hartmann joins taco team
Chef Stefan Hartmann brings his global expertise to Tacofino.
WILLEM THOMAS
Tacofino, the propulsive little taco empire, has a made a forward-thinking
move with the recent hiring of Stefan Hartmann. Originally from
Germany, Hartmann is a decorated chef who's worked in notable
kitchens across the globe. Having earned a prestigious Michelin-star
for his own namesake restaurant in Berlin, Hartmann brings 25 years
of wide-ranging culinary expertise to British Columbia to assist Tacofino
in it's taco-takeover. Fine dining tacos? Possibly.
BeatRoute: Why Tacofino and how did this come together?
Stefan Hartmann: I was working next door as the executive chef at
SKY HARVEST
pedal-powered urban sustainability
WILLEM THOMAS
photo by Jeff Vinnick
Imagine, if you will, a metropolis in which forward-thinking, sustainability-focused
agricultural businesses are given not only the opportunity
but also the encouragement to thrive and expand without
following a restrictive path set by a generally disinterested municipal
government. Sounds like commercial science fiction, right? Sky Harvest,
located in an East Vancouver warehouse, is one of a few local
companies working on making that idealistic narrative a much more
common reality, all while staying committed to delivering their products
via bicycle.
Founded in 2011 by Aaron Quesnel, Sky Harvest's progressive business
model is unique and a likely inspiration for future urban greens
growers. As the first Certified Organic urban farm in Canada, they're
a microgreens and specialty greens producer that covers growing,
teaching clients about the product, and delivery — all by bicycle — of
the delicate edible goods to around 80 different grocers and restaurants
across the city, year-round.
The initial concept for Sky Harvest came from Quesnel’s thesis while
doing his masters on sustainability in Sweden, which he describes as
a country doing quite a few things right in terms of environmental
policy. “I looked at using rooftop agriculture to help cities become
more sustainable and I brought some of the concepts to Vancouver.
We're not on rooftops here, for a number of reasons (prohibitive costs,
tough building codes), but it still follows the core idea of urban agriculture
in under-utilized spaces.” Achieving the aforementioned organic
certification was a no-brainer for Quesnel. “We were basically growing
organic already,” he says. “We needed another way to tell our story
— the certification enabled us to more easily connect with consumers
and show the product meets certain high standards and is grown
right.”
Bauhaus and I became friends with [Tacofino Managing Partner] Gino
[Di Domenico]. That's where it started, just me and him talking about
it. I was ready for a change in my life. I already knew it was a great company,
it's more like a family where every restaurant is it's own brand.
That’s much more interesting than working for a regular corporate
chain. It gives you way more room as well, to develop new items and
ideas. It's much more fun.
BR: How does Vancouver's dining scene compare to some European
cities you've worked in?
SH: I actually think food trends everywhere are starting to go in the
same direction. A food trend in many cities such as Paris is just having
a really developed brand identity and product. That’s what Tacofino
is doing right now. They have an established product, but they're still
working on advancing it. Also, people on both sides of the ocean are
more aware than ever of what they're eating; where it's sourced from
and having an awareness of how much labour goes into making it.
BR: As a longtime chef, what interests you most about working with
Tacofino?
SH: I now have the room to focus on bigger, more important things
for Tacofino. I was a head chef at the age of 25, which was a little too
young when I look back now. It wasn't until or was 32 or 33 years old
I was really doing original things I thought, “Hey, maybe no one else
has ever done this before.” I'm going to work with the minds behind
Tacofino to advance it, but we're not going to reinvent it — they have
a product that's great already. First I'll be looking within the company;
how everything is going, and who are the people I'll be working with.
And then we'll be bringing ideas from everyone together. A group of
chefs talking together, brainstorming, is where little wonders are born.
Visit the Tacofino Hastings location every Tuesday for New
Music Tuesdays presented by BeatRoute.
Aaron Quesnel is fuelled by micogreens and organic dreams.
Some of Vancouver's top restaurants rely on Quesnel and his growing
brand (Sky Harvest aims to set down roots in a new 4,000 squarefoot
space sometime in the near future, almost doubling their current,
at capacity, 2,300 square-foot warehouse) for the freshest microgreens
and herbs possible, and he's passionate about the work they do. “We
put so much effort into making sure the plants are perfect, and the
demand is there for the products. More and more businesses want to
go local, whether it’s for the quality or the transparency.”
Sky Harvest wasn't a straightforward undertaking and Quesnel
seems to have enjoyed the challenge. “We've got staff who love to bike
and love plants, but farming is a tough business to start anywhere,” he
says. “It's not for the faint of heart.”
Learn more about Sky Harvest at skyharvest.ca.
The Museum of Anthropology is hosting new exhibition, Traces
of Words: Art and Calligraphy from Asia, curated by socio-cultural
anthropologist, Dr. Fuyubi Nakamura. Produced in various
materials and styles — from calligraphy and painting to digital
and mixed media — the words presented in the exhibition are
physical traces of time and space, embodying what is ephemeral
and what is eternal in our life.
“We leave traces of ourselves throughout life, be they visible
or invisible,” says Dr. Nakamura. “Words, whether spoken, written,
imagined, or visualized, are traces unique to humans. Some
words disappear while others remain only in memory or leave
physical traces as writing or text. These traces are the theme of
the exhibition.”
Dr. Nakamura has worked with the Vancouver Asian Heritage
Month Society on other events and wanted to showcase
the large collection of Asian works at the MOA, which makes up
about 40% of the museum’s total holdings. Although Vancouver
is home to a large population of Asian heritages, Dr. Nakamura
says that she does not think Asian arts and cultures receive the
level of attention they deserve. “Even among Asian communities,
they organize things mostly independently (for example,
Chinese culture centres), rather than doing something more collectively
or professionally. This exhibition is a way to enhance the
understanding of the diversity of Asian arts and cultures from
different periods and places.”
Traces of Words includes palm leaf manuscripts from Southeast
Asia, graffiti art from Afghanistan, Chinese calligraphy, and
Qu’ranic manuscripts. The MOA also worked with teamLab to
create multimedia components so that viewers can experience
and sense (rather than read and translate) script in new ways,
and gain an appreciation for the cultural significance of Asian
writing beyond legibility and comprehension.
“Artwork transforms writing — a form of communication
that is often looked through rather than looked at — into visualized
and materialized words,” adds Dr. Nakamura. “Viewing and
feeling these works is like listening to songs in a foreign language
we may not understand — we can still appreciate the lyrics because
there is more to them than the meaning of the words.”
This unique presentation is experiential, incorporating the
viewer’s individual senses and interpretations to generate conceptual
understanding of the exhibition as a whole. It’s the first
of its kind for the MOA and not to be missed.
Traces of Words: Art and Calligraphy from Asia runs
at the Museum of Anthropology until October 9.
photo by Pace Gallery
CITY
TRACES OF WORDS
finding the imprint of time and experience within living text
CHARLOTTE KARP
Dr. Nakamura shows the power of written expression in Asian Culture.
20 June 2017
June 2017 CITY
21

PMS: 2925 PMS: 3005
IAN WALLACE
choosing life, choosing art
YASMINE SHEMESH
The gallery space on the Rennie Museum’s floor level is bright, with
sunshine streaming through the windows. Mounted on the wall are
eight silk-screens depicting various scenes of scarcity. The photographs
— framed by monochromatic backdrops — are an iteration
of "Poverty”: Ian Wallace’s 1980 – 1984 multimedia installation that
comments on transience. This 1982 variation is presented as part of
Collected Works, a solo exhibition of the esteemed Vancouver artist's
rare and historic work.
Wallace, himself, is engrossed in the piece. Standing with his jacket
slung over one shoulder, he grows passionate describing the thought
process for a project he created over 30 years ago. This is the first time
he’s seen it since 1988. How does that feel? “Well, it’s nice to see,” he
smiles.
It began as a short film. He wanted to explore homelessness — a
growing issue in the city following the closing of Essondale Hospital
— but felt uncomfortable pushing his camera in disadvantaged people’s
faces. So, he created a fictional illusion with friends and family
acting the parts. His son, Cameron, stars in one scene. An image taken
at the railway yard on Drake Street mimics slums of industrial 19th
century Glasgow.
"I felt it was more authentic or genuine to construct my own interpretation
of this as the images, rather than using real people,” Wallace
explains. "I didn’t want to profit artistically or financially from other
people’s suffering, so I had to create a simulation of this subject so
we can think about the subject, but without it necessarily exploiting
people’s reality.”
In 1980, when he started “Poverty,” Wallace was 37 years old.
Though his name was already known for his juxtaposition of painting
and photography, he was living modestly, creating out of his studio
June 10th
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on Abbott and Cordova. He would soon be renowned for his role in
Vancouver’s photo-conceptualism movement through the next decade,
alongside Jeff Wall and Rodney Graham. In 2012, he would be
named an Officer of the Order of Canada for his contributions to art
and his thoughtful exploration of social issues and spaces.
Wallace also taught art history at Emily Carr and UBC — the latter,
a place he found much inspiration as both student and teacher. The
campus was the site of 1990’s “Idea of the University” — a sprawling
panorama of 16 images showing instances of academic life.
"I was thinking about the question of learning and art, and where
art fits into the university system and what that involves and everything,”
Wallace says. "But I was a conceptual artist. I was more
academically inclined than a lot of other artists. I was more about
research and writing and that kind of presentation. So I decided to
do a piece of work that kind of recognized that in other people’s activities.”
For Wallace, the idea was something both independent and
intellectual, rather than defined by students sitting in rows.
A history buff, Wallace is interested how things come to be. This is
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demonstrated in his fascination with building and his photographic
work of construction sites. “Construction Site (The Barcelona Series
I-V),” shot in Barcelona in 1991, depicts the housing developments for
the Olympic athletes of 1992 summer games. Steel frames and shirtless
workers are accented by bars of monoprint texture — a method
where Wallace nailed a sheet of plywood to the floor, inked it, laid
canvas on top, then danced on the back. Grooves and knots in the
wood balance with the textures of the site.
As Wallace descends back down to the Rennie Museum’s main
floor, he walks amongst his ideas. His canvases, like open windows,
invite a consideration of a different perspective. Wallace has always
got his eyes open, searching for new things to see.
Art, he says, keeps him awake. "I’m getting on in age and I think
it’s important to keep your mind alive. I’m not going to drift off into
nowhere land very quickly. I’m still alive. Still alert."
Ian Wallace: Collected Works runs at the Rennie Museum
until September 30.
BRINGING YOU THE AMAZING MUSIC OF YOUR WORLD FOR 40 YEARS!
Info and tickets : thefestival.bc.ca
photo by Blaine Campbell
The Ian Wallace solo exhibition at the Rennie Museum highlights the artist’s perspective and personal experiences behind his photos.
JULY 13.14.15.16
JERICHO BEACH PARK
Billy Bragg & Joe Henry • Shawn Colvin • Barenaked Ladies • Bahamas
The Revivalists • John K. Samson & The Winter Wheat • Blind Pilot
Rhiannon Giddens • Ferron & her All Star Band • Andy Shauf • Kathleen Edwards
RURA • Mbongwana Star • Blick Bassy • Marlon Williams & The Yarra Benders • ILAM
Sidestepper • Native North America • Archie Roach • Eilen Jewell • Roy Forbes
La Santa Cecilia • Jim Bryson • Leif Vollebekk • Jim Byrnes • The Sojourners
Belle Game • Cold Specks • Tift Merritt • True Blues w/ Corey Harris & Alvin Youngblood Hart
C.R. Avery • Jim Kweskin & Meredith Axelrod • Cris Derksen • Noah Gundersen • Ganga Giri
Ramy Essam • Korrontzi • Aoife O’Donovan & Noam Pikelny • Grace Petrie • The Slocan Ramblers
Katie Moore & Andrew Horton • Hillsburn • Choir! Choir! Choir! • Chouk Bwa Libète • and more!
TD VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL
JAZZ FESTIVAL
innovative programming fosters inclusive atmosphere
In an economic landscape that’s taken a noticeable toll on BC music this
year, the TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival is one of the few festivals
that have remained a rock-solid summer highlight.
Sitting down with endlessly passionate co-founder John Orysik, it is
clear to see that he more than recognizes his responsibility to the city.
“Over the past 32 years, we’ve been instrumental in making Vancouver
a hub for adventurous creation,” explains Orysik, “and a festival like ours
is key to changing people’s attitudes [about jazz] and creating community.”
Covering 300 unique shows, almost half of which will be free, the Jazz
Festival truly has something to offer for everyone. Headliners include
internationally acclaimed acts like Ziggy Marley, Jacob Collier, Branford
Marsalis, and Snarky Puppy bandleader Michael League’s new project,
Bokanté. In addition, local Canadian icons Royal Canoe and Brad Turner
will be performing. Free concerts will be held at David Lam Park, by the
Vancouver Art Gallery, at Granville Island, and around Robson Square.
Paid evening shows will be at the Orpheum, Vogue, and the Ironworks.
“The music doesn’t end in the evening,” adds Orysik. “Starting at
11:00[p.m.], we have nightly jams at Frankie’s Jazz Club, where we encourage
all musicians that are performing in the festival to come and
jam.” So, for virtually no cost, you could possibly see Jacob Collier jam
with Branford Marsalis and Michael League. “For the demographic that
BeatRoute has, the Marquee Series really stands out,” Orysik continues.
“You’ve got Thievery Corporation, Post Modern Jukebox, and a Seu Jorge
tribute to David Bowie in Portuguese.”
In addition, the entire program will be available online, making scheduling
easier than ever before.
A two day candy store for axe wielders everywhere.
Meredith Coloma is a luthier. She meticulously handcrafts her instruments,
shaping British Columbian wood into magnificent stringed boxes
of expression. Side-by-side with students, Coloma teaches her fine skills
and shares her experiences. It was in one of her building classes where
she met Shaw Saltzberg. He asked Coloma what was next on the young
and experienced luthier’s list of aspirations.“It was kind of one of those
“That’s what we wanted to do from the very beginning — be inclusive,”
Orysik says. “Rather than drawing artificial barriers to the genre, we
chose to house the worlds of jazz, mainstream, and avant-garde equally.”
The TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival runs from June
22 – July 2 at various locations.
Three decades have not dampened the passion of Coastal Jazz organizers.
‘be careful what you wish for’ moments,” recollects Coloma. Saltzberg’s
connections in the music community helped put Coloma’s vision in motion
quickly. Her desire was bringing to life a guitar festival. It would be a
festival that celebrated the craft and the tone quest, with programming
that would provide a link to the TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival.
It would be an association that fostered community and fellowship
between the musically minded attendees. Coloma’s concept would fill a
void in Canada — a country that is home to a fair number of renowned
guitar makers.
Glissando to the present — working together as producers, Coloma
and Saltzberg are preparing the final touches for the inaugural Vancouver
International Guitar Festival. Held from June 23 to 25 at the Chinese
Cultural Centre Event Hall, the festival celebrates “the art and craft of
contemporary guitar making, both acoustic and electric.”
Among the exhibitors will be Canadian master luthier Linda Manzer,
the builder of the 42-string Pikasso guitar. Manzer will also be on hand
for an interactive seminar where attendees can meet the guitar makers,
drawing knowledge and inspiration for their own musical path. Many of
the builders exhibiting at the festival have been apprentices to one of
the most important forces in the luthier world: Jean Larrivée. Larrivée, a
Canadian master luthier, will be on hand to receive the Industry Builder
Award in recognition of his contribution to guitar building in Canada.
The influence of Larrivée, Manzer, and other legendary makers has guided
many of Canada’s current crop of guitar builders. “We wouldn’t have a
career if it wasn’t for these guitar makers,” Coloma acknowledges.
The Vancouver International Guitar Festival takes place from
June 23 - 25 at the Chinese Cultural Centre Event Hall.
Since Bard on the Beach first graced the stage — or, should
we say, sand — in 1990, a plethora of Shakes-philiacs
have witnessed the sweeping drama, petty jealously, and
heart-wrenching tragedy that is core to William Shakespeare’s
masterpieces.
For its 28th anniversary, Bard will showcase the Two Gentlemen
of Verona, Much Ado About Nothing, the Winter’s
Tale, and the Merchant of Venice, once again utilizing stunning
Vanier Park as its backdrop.
In the Two Gentlemen of Verona, two best friends find
themselves in a complicated love triangle — or square. Keen
festivalgoers will remember the casting call director Scott Bellis
put out a few months ago, looking for the perfect pooch
to play the role of Crab the dog; six-year-old basset hound,
Gertie, won the coveted title.
Director John Murphy has reimagined Much Ado About
Nothing, written in the late 16th century and traditionally set
on the island of Sicily, for the 1950s. “We decided that it was
time to do Much Ado About Nothing,” says artistic director
and Bard founder Christopher Gaze. “It’s a wonderful celebratory
play and one of Shakespeare’s most popular.” This iteration
of the story revolves around a group of actors and filmmakers
celebrating the wrap of their movie. The production
promises to remain true to form, combining comedy with
meditations on honor, shame, and societal politics.
The Winter’s Tale is led by director Dean Paul Gibson. The
plot is, at first, characterized by fierce jealousy and then accumulates
into a love story — a magical conclusion that inspires
redemption and the mending of broken bonds. “It’s one of
those glorious plays,” Gaze continues. “It manages to capture
everything in one work: drama, tragedy, humour, and comedy.”
Director Nigel Shawn Williams has put a modern-day twist
on the Merchant of Venice — a timeless story of how love can
be challenged by prejudice and a craving for revenge. The play
promises to contemplate how we treat ‘the other.’
“When this play was chosen, we could all sense the rockiness
of the world, the madness which was unfolding,” says
Gaze. “Nigel Shawn Williams approached me with the idea to
set it in a contemporary context. I agreed. After all, you can’t
hide behind another time. One can easily do a Shakespeare
play in a modern-day way and make it resonate like never before.”
Bard on the Beach runs from June 1 – June 30 at
Vanier Park.
photo by David Cooper and Emily Cooper
The Bard reimagined for the west coast masses.
22 CITY
June 2017
June 2017 CITY
23
SEPEHR RASHIDI
VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL
GUITAR FESTIVAL
finding inspiration from the shadowy places within
MARK BUDD
photo by Coastal Jazz
BARD ON THE
BEACH
come for the culture, stay for the sunset
KATHRYN HELMORE
CITY

COMEDY
JANE STANTON
perfecting the art of making strangers laugh
GRAEME WIGGINS
SONS OF VANCOUVER CHILI VODKA
meek palates need not apply
JENNIE ORTON
BOOZE
BACK AND FORTH
bar brings the good times back to basics
GRAEME WIGGINS
“I didn’t want to be that drunk older loser at the
party trying to be funny so why not try to, and I
know this sounds weird, make strangers laugh?”
Vancouver comic Jane Stanton has taken that goal
and run with it, making local and national strangers
alike laugh in rooms across the nation. She’s
parlayed that ability into appearances on CBC’s the
Debaters, multiple web series, and performances at
festivals like Bumbershoot in Seattle and Just For
Laughs in Montreal.
The process of heading towards that goal started
straightforwardly but escalated quickly. She explains,
“I did it when I was at acting school the first
time and it was super supportive, and then I did a
show at Laugh Lines, an open mic type of things and
then I didn’t do it for a long time.” Soon afterwards
is when things really took off, in a most intimidating
way: “Someone phoned me up and asked me to
do this Apollo style show and I was like, ‘I should
say yes’. Then I realized ‘that means they can boo
you off…why did I say yes to that?’ But I tied in that
and then my fourth show was for like a thousand
or fifteen hundred people, and it’s been downhill
ever since.”
A long-time veteran of the scene, she keeps
things pretty simple when it comes to mining her
life for material. “I don’t know what I tackle anymore,”
she relates, “in January I had, not quite an
epiphany, but I’m trying to lose weight and I want
JACOB SAMUEL
booking comedy shows and showing comedy books
Jacob Samuel looks at the humor of life on the stage and on the page.
Stanton is finding that practice makes perfect and that everyone loves a good diet joke.
GRAEME WIGGINS
If there’s one thing about Vancouver
comedy, it’s the diversity of talents it’s
comedians seem to possess. Fresh off
recording his first TV appearance for
CBC at the Winnipeg Comedy festival,
local stand up Jacob Samuel is
set to release his second book, Slinky
Hell; a collection of humour cartoons
that showcase his unique take on the
world and modern living.
Samuel got his start in comedy by
writing comics. He wanted an avenue
to write jokes, and despite never
having been much of an artist, he felt
cartoons could be a good outlet. “I
got pretty good advice from a family
friend who was an editorial cartoonist
for the National Post named Gary
Clement. He said ‘you don’t have to
draw well for this kind of cartooning
as long as people can understand
what they’re seeing and it’s funny’. If
writing’s more important than this is
doable.”
From there, stand-up came soon
afterwards, a way to force himself to
be more social and try new things. He
recounts, “I had been cartooning for
about a year and a half. I got a better
handle on writing jokes. I wanted to
try stand up and I moved to Vancouver
and didn’t know many people so
to talk about that. And just where I am in my life. I
grew up listening to Richard Pryor and all of that,
and that’s just what I thought stand up was.”
It’s a devotion to perfectionism that seems to
drive her forward, a lesson learned from comic Phil
Hanley. That is what keeps her motivated. “Well it’s
not the money! I love like doing a set of new stuff
and it takes a long time to get it right… but he was
one who was all about doing a five-minute set everywhere
in the city; the exact same set but tweak
the crap out of it and do it for six weeks. That’s what
you should be doing. It might end up completely
different from where you started. That’s fun. It
might not sound like fun, but that’s it.”
Catch Jane Stanton live @ Yukyuks on June
16 and 17
it forces you into doing things that
you might otherwise not do. Branch
out and meet people.”
Putting the two skills together and
making them work has been fruitful
for Samuel, “I think they complement
each other because some things don’t
work in stand up but are still pretty
funny ideas. Stand up is ruthless. if
something doesn’t work, it’s gone.
Something could be an interesting
idea but if it doesn’t fit in the box you
can’t much with it. It’s more visual.
It’s hard to visual in stand-up; if a joke
bombs and you have a prop it’s terrible.
But the ruthlessness of stand-up
forces you to be a better writer because
you see what people laugh at.
Supporting comedy in Vancouver’s
diverse and sprawling scene can be
more than just going to see some local
stand up or improv shows (though
you should be doing that too). It can
be checking out the local comedians’
other avenues of comedy-making.
Checking out Samuel’s book might be
a good start.
Order Samuel’s book online
at Slinkyhell.com or on Amazon.
THE WOODS SPIRIT CO.
amaro carefully foraged by mad scientist wood nymphs for your pleasure
An Amaro that fills a hole in the market.
When you think of what could have possibly
started the first craft distilled Amaro in the
Vancouver market, you wouldn’t automatically
reach for: “We were foraging for mushrooms
one day.” But that is exactly what Fabio Martini
and Joel Myers were doing when they turned
to each other, after years of being enthusiasts
of beer and spirits, and said “let’s start a distillery.”
The two men have been friends since high
school in Chatham, Ontario, and have remained
close. When the time came to turn a
passion project into a living breathing business,
the decision to work together was an easy
one. And the name was a no brainer.
“I always like to say the idea for the distillery
is literally born out of the woods,” laments
Martini.
The friends, who still actively forage for botanicals
for their recipes in the local forests of
the west coast, decided on Amaro after discovering
a notable hole in the local market for
spirits of that type.
“We were doing our research and drinking
a lot of Negronis at the time and there was a
Campari shortage. Bartenders were starting
to experiment with traditional cocktails more
and were calling for a local product that they
could support,” recalls Martini.
The process began, and the men had a very
distinct idea for how they wanted this spirit to
taste. Alas, normal distilling practices did not
allow for the subtle flavor extraction they were
hoping for. Now this — this is the cool part.
Myers’ wife, Dr. Jennifer Gardy, a PhD in
bioformatics, read an article about a distiller
in London using a vacuum distiller to extract
intense flavors from macerations for his gin.
Martini and Myers knew they had to try it, to
innovate the distilling process to create something
unique.
The wood nymphs had become mad scientists.
The contraption is something directly out of
science class and the results are overwhelming.
Sons’ spicy vodka clocks in just below lawsuit level.
photo by Katie Huisman
Like a viper hiding in tall grass, Sons of Vancouver’s chili vodka hides
within the Spicy Moscow Mule they serve in their tasting lounge. At
first it is the same delicious and refreshing cocktail you know and love,
and then: zap!
Made by macerating pounds of Thai dragon peppers for the distilling
process, the chili vodka is what co-founder James Lester describes as
their most polarizing product.
“30% of people love it, they write us emails; 70% of people hate it, they
write us emails,” he laughs.
The macerated pepper output, which amounts to a dark red mixture
that looks a lot like the mood slime from Ghostbusters 2 and could easily
burn a hole right through your esophagus, then gets proofed down to
40% and blended with more vodka to bring the spice down outside of
“lawsuit territory” as they call it. The result is a nuclear orange concoction
served behind a very fitting label of a woman on a motocross bike.
It is loud, it is dangerous, it is not for the faint of heart.
“We got guys coming in from Coquitlam and Chilliwack with like hot
sauce on their belt loop, and they just identify with chili vodka and they
love it,” Lester says.
But it wasn’t always palatable.
“We saw craft beer come a long way, but cocktails are the same as
they were, like, 20 years ago. We wanted to do our own thing.”
Bartenders were all for it but bar managers would hard pass, fearing
drinks would be returned and that “white people won’t drink this.”
One day while commiserating in the tasting lounge about what to do
with their most misunderstood baby, a gentleman came in off the street
and greeted them.
“’Hey guys, my name is Cornelius’ — and his name really was Cornelius
— and he’s like, ‘I just want to tell you that I love your chili vodka,
and I don’t know if you’re getting any opposition but I just want to tell
you that it’s great. Don’t tone it down at all.’ And we were like, ‘Ah! Cornelius!’”
Lester laughs.
And as quickly as he had appeared, he left. Like an employee of the
universe, to ensure we got the chili vodka we deserved.
“So we stuck with it and we’re calling it like the cult thing,” Lester
laments.
Where can you get your own personal bottle of liquid Vesuvius? Head
to Sons of Vancouver Distillery and grab some. And while you are there,
order a Spicy Caesar and drink to Cornelius: man of the people, God of
Fire.
Sons of Vancouver is located at 1431 Crown Street in North
Vancouver. The tasting room is open Fridays 5 p.m. – 9 p.m.,
Saturdays 1 p.m. - 9 p.m., Sundays 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Using a sort of organic chemistry method of
distilling in a vacuum under cooler but constant
temperatures, like a botanical sous vide,
they could pinpoint the exact essence they
wanted out of his chosen botanicals, in this
case grand fir needles.
The result is a multi-faceted and intoxicatingly
layered digestif. A first burst of citrus rind,
pulled with expert timing from the fir needles
in their 40-degree bath, then a syrupy sweetness
courtesy of the apricot syrup, followed
by the signature bitterness that Amaros are
known and loved for.
“I still take the first sip and am like, ‘damn
that…is bitter,’ it kind of slaps your palate
around,” admits Martini.
The Amaro Woods has created is a triple
threat: excellent in traditional Campari cocktails
like the Negroni, holds its own alongside
oak barrel aged spirits like bourbon in a good
Boulevardier, and this writer’s favorite: on the
rocks as a digestif.
“Sometimes I think when you have the right
idea and the right approach, the serendipitous
things just kind of show themselves,” Myers
says.
The Woods Spirit Co. is currently constructing
its tasting lounge, but you
can enjoy their Amaro at bars around
the city and follow their adventures @
woodsspiritco on Twitter and Instagram.
As any Vancouverite who’s spent any time in other cities can
attest, Vancouver’s nightlife is pretty limited. Sure, you’ve got
ample amounts of perfectly acceptable tap houses and pubs.
There’s a good selection of places to go for fancy cocktails or
if you want to go dancing. What it’s lacking, though, is variety.
With Back and Forth Bar, Vancouver’s first Ping-Pong bar,
owner Regan Truong plans on changing that.
Having spent the bulk of last year in Toronto opening the
Donnelly Group’s eastern foray, Belfast Love, he came back to
Vancouver and, inspired by the diversity of the Toronto nightlife,
went to work bringing something new to the Vancouver
scene. As he explains, “It’s a different scene out there. It’s got
a lot going on, arts- and culture-wise. The bar scene is a bit
different. And I came across this Ping-Pong bar called Spin. We
all went there, played Ping-Pong and had beers, and thought
it was the coolest thing ever. Susan Sarandon started it up.”
That inspiration led to Back and Forth, which initially was
just planned as purely a Ping-Pong bar, but slowly expanded to
include some vintage video games and a host of board games,
all playable in the cafeteria-style communal seating area. “It
evolved over time. I initially wanted to just do a Ping-Pong bar
and then my friends were like, ‘Why don’t you do games,’ so I
bought some board games. Then one of my friends mentioned
videogames. There’s a popular video-game bar in Toronto and
they play Mario Kart there. So it’s just an unpretentious place
to drink beer and play games.”
Part of his efforts of keeping things casual involves keeping
the prices affordable. “All the highballs are five bucks and under
plus tax; all my beer sleeves are five bucks plus tax, $5.75
with tax. I’m trying to make it affordable and fun.” And while
he has a good selection of beer on tap (Twin Sales, Parkside,
Phillips, Parallel 49, Fuggles, Strathcona) don’t expect much in
the way of food, as he hasn’t rented the kitchen as of yet, so
offerings are limited to Chef Boyardee, noodles in a cup, chips,
and Pizza Pops.
Unpretentious is really the key word. With decor seemingly
inspired by your family rec room, and a playlist of nostalgic
rap hits on the system, it’s catering to a crowd that seems underserved
in Vancouver at the moment – those who want to
go out but don’t want to deal with the usual nightlife stress.
As he puts it, “No crazy DJs, cover charge or dancing. It’s hang
out, drink beers, play games.”
Back and Forth Bar is located at 303 Columbia
Street and is open Sunday – Thursday from 4 p.m –
2 a.m., and Friday – Saturday from 4 p.m. – 3 a.m.
Back and Forth bar is the place you dreamed about as a kid.
24 COMEDY
June 2017
June 2017 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
BOOZE
25
JENNIE ORTON

QUEER
KENDALL GENDER
a candid talk
QUEER ARTS FESTIVAL
a conversation with artistic director SD Holman
FROM THE DESK OF
CARLOTTA GURL
CARLOTTA GURL
DAVID CUTTING
Kendall Gender’s involvement in the
drag community is massive. She can be
seen at most shows, she is a personality
that people love primarily due to
her kind and compassionate behaviour.
Her performances have left audiences
breathless, and she herself has a story to
tall about this journey. Sometimes we
get wrapped up in these drag persona’s
that we forget that sometimes they are
a catalyst for great healing and strength
within ourselves and sometimes that
is what we resonate with them even
though we may not know it. Please enjoy
this candid conversation.
BR: Can you Tell us about your drag
journey?
KG: My Drag Journey! Well I’ve been
doing drag since 2014, I was one of the
alumni from Jane Smokers show “Cherry
Pop” where she took community members
and put them into drag for the first
time. I remember going to cherry pop
and seeing Jane on stage ( in red lingerie
of course) and being SO inspired,
for the first time I remember thinking,
aaaah this is it. Shortly after that I entered
VNDS for the first time, completely
unprepared, with zero makeup and
literally two wigs, i obviously thought
i was amazing , and i was NOT. I got
eliminated pretty quickly after tripping
on stage and almost gauging my eye out
with scissors ( true story )
That same year I also entered the Mr/
miss Cobalt competition, same storydifferent
audience, less scissors.
After Cobalt, I was approached by my
beloved Drag Mother Jane, to be a part
of a little show she was putting on at the
Odyssey called BRATPACK, there was
going to be a few other queens involved.
I said yes, and boom the first season of
BRATPACK was born.
If I can get candid, that season of
BRATPACK, although fun and exciting
and new, was also one of the darkest periods
of my life, I began partying like crazy
and being on a weekly show basically
gave me an excuse to put a mask over
my bad behaviour. No one could really
tell how fucked up I was because hey, I
was in a wig, and had dark lipstick on. It
spiraled out of control really quick and
before I knew it i was a full blown drug
addict. Drag sometimes is hard for people,
because it’s so easily associated with
partying and nightlife, and everything
you could desire is so easily accessibly.
Kendall became this horrible extension
of myself, someone who I could blame
all my insecurities and bad behaviour
on, and almost make a mockery of her.
Around Halloween during the first
season of BRATPACK I chose to get sober.
I quit the show, quit drag, took time
off work and basically became a man. I
grew out my beard went to the gym 5x
a week and wore adidas. In that time off
I needed to find myself, I needed to find
out what I wanted from my own life,
and I am so grateful to have found that
peace and serenity, something I can only
wish for every single person out there.
After 7 months, Jane asked me if I
was interested in coming back to BRAT-
PACK for a two week stint. At first I was
so reluctant and honestly didn’t want
to, I thought drag was a closed chapter
in my life and not something I needed
anymore. But I said yes, I got my custom
Evan Clayton lewk (outfit for those of
you out of the slang loop) made, two
backup dancers and as soon as Beyonce
came blaring through those speakers, I
felt a strength that I have never felt before.
It was almost like getting reborn
in a sense. Emerging from the darkest
place of my life into this new world filled
with light and opportunity and a community
who embraced me so lovingly.
After that I did the Legends calendar
contest as Rihanna, and started to explore
a more soft side of my drag , who
knew I enjoyed ballads so fucking much.
BR: Tell us about the sisterhood you
have with Bratpack?
KG: Bratpack is always my favourite
gig. We’re all friends outside of the
show as well so it never feels like work.
We all get each other and know exactly
how to maneuver around each other
if that makes sense. We know how to
love and be there for each other, and
also we know what not do to to avoid
explosions.
At the end of the day we are all there
to be the best group for everyones entertainment.
and the future of BRAT-
PACK is looking so bright its literally
giving me anxiety.
BR: What does Kendall’s future look like?
QUEERVIEW MIRROR: UNAPOLOGETIC
KG: Kendall’s future looks very blessed.
Im so lucky right now to be at a place
where I can choose and layout my art
the way i see fit. Lately I’ve been doing
alot of hosting/judging and more public
speaking stuff which I love. Also every
time I put on my own shows I always
donate a portion of my fee to charity,
so thats always in the forefront of my
mind, and usually don’t bother putting
photo by Chase Hansen
on a show of my own if there is no charitable
aspect to it.
BR: What is something people don’t
know about you, or something that they
get wrong?
KG: No one believes that I’m half black,
but I swear to god I am.
KENDALL YAN
SD Holman has been a participating artist with Pride
in Art (PiA) since its inception in 1998 as a volunteer-run
community visual art show. In 2010, PiA
rebranded as the Queer Arts Festival (QAF) and has
since obtained charitable status, being regarded as
one of the top five festivals of its kind worldwide.
Holman works with artists through QAF as the artistic
director to promote visibility and respect for
all who transgress sexual and gender norms with the
transformative power of the arts.
Holman started working with QAF in an effort to
create more spaces for queer art. "Queer art is relentlessly
discredited as too emotional or obsessed
with sexuality," he explains. "Even in retrospectives
or obituaries of prominent queer artists today, their
work is seldom contextualized as queer." The erasure
of queer identities from the art world at large
is made more blatant and critical when considering
the intersectionality of indigenous and Two-Spirit
artists.
This year, the QAF will be running a Two-Spirit
multimedia arts festival, UnSettled, which will run
the entire length of the QAF, from June 17 to 29, and
is curated by Two-Spirit Blackfoot visual arts curator
Adrian Stimson.
"Two-Spirit" is a term used by many Indigenous
people to reclaim and reinforce Indigenous concepts
of non-binary gender, sexual and spiritual identity.
"Two-thirds of the 200 languages indigenous to this
continent conceive of gender norms as having between
three to six categories," Holman explains.
"These non-binary genders, and the people who
identified with them, were brutally suppressed by
colonial heteronormativity, especially through the
residential school system." The best way for the QAF
to ensure a better world for future queers is through
the amplification of the voices of Two-Spirit artists.
"It feels not quite right, in the context of promoting
UnSettled, to be publicizing my own work," he
says. "There's a strong tendency, in looking at collaborations
between Indigenous and non-Indigenous
artists or arts organizations, to focus the lens on the
non-Indigenous collaborators." Instead, SD invites
you to UnSettled and other works by Cris Derksen,
Kinnie Starr, Full Circle First Nations Performance,
and Vancouver Indigenous Media Arts Festival.
The Queer Arts Festival runs from June 17
to 29.
Hello, my delicious dahlings; come journey into
my narcissistic world where beauty is everywhere
and everything is about me. I find myself
feeling happy and blessed with my life decisions
and my choices this month. A big part of that is,
of course, the people I choose to surround myself
with. Friends and family are so important in
our daily lives. The world can be a scary place
sometimes with so many obstacles and hurdles
to overcome that I can't imagine walking
through life handling these things on our own.
All of us, no matter how strong or self sufficient,
need a support system of people we can count
on and look to for advice, care, and comfort.
I choose to call these individuals our Tribe, or
Chosen Family.
When I first came to town many years ago I
found it difficult to make friends or connect
with people on a social level. It wasn't until I
started delving into my passions with performing
and entertaining around town that I started
meeting like-minded individuals with whom I
could share ideas and discover similar interests.
Chosen family are the people who ground us
while still pushing us to fly.
I'm sure we're all too familiar with the term
“drag moms”; and if not, well let me shed a little
light on the subject for you. Traditionally your
drag mom would be the first person who did
your makeup and put you in drag for the very
first time. Over the years that definition has
evolved and become more about full-on drag
houses and families. Now a drag queen will take
a newcomer or fledgling under their arm and
ease them into the scene with their guidance
and tutelage. With drag families, more than
one person can be inducted into that house
and they can enjoy using the house name in certain
shows and events. It's a bonding concept of
bringing people together with like minded interests
and ideas. These days if you are a new
queen it's a good thing to introduce yourself to
a seasoned or more well known performer in
the community, especially if it's one you indeed
look up to and are inspired by. That queen may
just make you their drag daughter or introduce
photo by Chase Hansen
you to more opportunities to showcase your
talents in the drag scene. There are currently
many well known and respected drag houses
in operation today; The House Tyme created,
The House of Bitches, and of course the Haus
of Gurl to name a few.All of these different
forms of chosen family are integral in shaping
us as individuals and preparing us for a thrilling
life in society. My wish is that all of us find that
chosen family that fulfills us in our lives. Until
next time, my Gurl Family, make sure you love
life, love each other, and most importantly...
love me.
“But you are not really black, you are basically white”
KEANEN SCHNOOR
At the early age of one I was adopted from Jamaica
and moved to Lethbridge, Alberta. This was the
start of a whole bunch of brand new experiences
for me. One of these experiences was being the
only person of color in my family. Even though
there was nothing but love and support from my
family, I felt held back by my skin color. This article
is discussing my interactions with my white friends,
who just so happen to be the majority where I grew
up, and how I did not fit certain black stereotypes
by being raised by a white family. In school, I was
not the only visible minority. This made me feel
even more separated from my fellow students.
I was a minority in the minority population. This
made it difficult to really connect with who I was as
a young black man. There were little to no opportunities
for me to make black friends. I did not get
many POC (people of color) influences until later
in my life.
My lack of blackness became the topic of conversation
with many of my “friends” during my
school days. The fact that I did not act like the
black people that my friends were exposed to on
their televisions or through music left them feeling
confused with my racial identity. I looked like
I should enjoy rap music; I looked like I should
understand all the jokes from black comedians; I
looked like I should enjoy grape soda but the truth
is, I don’t. I did not fit these stereotypical ideas of
what my friends thought it meant to be a black.
My friends would comment, “But you are not really
black, you are basically white because you have
white parents”. If you are not black the truth of the
matter is, you will never know what it is like to be
black. Because of my skin color I could lose my life
in the States whether I did anything wrong/Illegal
or not. Since my parents are white that does not
give me a free pass. This sentiment has stuck with
me for quite some time and it has made me really
want to discover who I am as a person and that is
dynamic and unique. I am proudly black, gay, and I
am the prideful son of an amazing adoptive family.
I am unapologetically me.
26 QUEER
June 2017
June 2017 QUEER
27

FILM
CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS
a slightly cynical take on fart jokes
THIS MONTH IN FILM
PARIS SPENCE-LANG
GRAEME WIGGINS AND JULIAN
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie is the perfect
premise for a grade-school hit. When a ruthless
principal is hypnotized by pranksters George Beard
and Harold Hutchins, he turns into the silliest superhero
of all time, Captain Underpants, and fights
toilet-based crime.
From my adult perspective, Captain Underpants:
The First Epic Movie is surprisingly entertaining.
There’s great voice work, and Dav Pilkey’s slightly
cynical take on adulthood and education provided
a nice respite from fairly constant fart jokes.
For his part, my son Julian was slightly disappointed
in the lack of jokes. “It wasn’t as funny as
I expected it to be… a little surprising because it’s
based off a comic!” But the existing gags—such as
the toilet paper-shooting toilet—were enough for
him to recommend it to his friends at school. Sometimes
a good TPing is all it takes.
Captain Underpants opens in theaters June
1st.
LAND OF MINE
triggers a depth of emotion
Land of Mine
PARIS SPENCE-LANG
Captain Underpants
When WWII ended, the Germans left Denmark. But
they left behind millions of mines littering the coast.
In Land of Mine, Danish sergeant Carl Rasmussen is
given control of a dozen German teenagers to clear
45,000 mines from a beach. With nothing but hate
for the Germans, the sergeant suffers little as the boys
begin their sweep: they crawl up the beach, stabbing
the sand with metal poles and defusing any mines
they find by hand. But as the beach clears, Rasmussen
finds himself sympathetic with their plight despite
conflicting orders from his superiors.
With tense moments blanketed in near-silence,
viewers are apt to be clutching their armrests, waiting
for a seemingly inevitable bang and shifting their
sympathies between the sergeant, the Germans, and
anyone drawn into the tragedies of the era. Director
Martin Zandvliet has a masterpiece on his hands.
Land of Mine opens at Vancity Theater June
2nd.
Music Mondays with VIFF
every other Monday at Vancity Theater
These ain’t musicals. For the serious sound
fans out there, VIFF’s popular Music Mondays
series is back with a new suite of biopics, documentaries,
and concert films. Showcasing
the best in music, the films feature everything
from brazen bandleaders to the legendary
music magazine Melody Maker. June is for
jazz lovers, with Lee Morgan doc I Called Him
Morgan showing June 5th and guitarist portrait
Bill Frisell showing June 19th.
Upcoming Releases
Band Aid
When a musical couple can’t stop fighting,
their counsellor inspires them to channel their
anger in a band and turn their arguments into
songs. With a killer performance from Zoe
Lister-Jones, the film might just inspire a new
generation of weepy open-mic duos.
In theaters June 2nd
Score: A Film Music Documentary
Whether the score is magically present like Star
Wars or subliminally forceful like Inception, it’s
an essential piece of cinema. Score gives us an
unprecedented look at the composers and
musicians in the virtual orchestra pit, featuring
Come Together
Gather with your fellow art lovers for the film
premiere of Come Together. In the film, 10
artists do their damndest to start an art festival
in Bogota, Columbia, where street art begins
to cover the bullet holes. Local Vancouver
duo HUMANS score the film and will be
hosting the premiere, with three screenings,
art, and live music all night long.
Come Together premieres June 30th.
Visit www.cometogether.cc for more
information.
historical footage and talking heads of Randy
Newman, Hans Zimmer, James Cameron, and
many more.
In theaters June 16th
Cars 3
For the 2nd time, this franchise is poised to pull
off the impossible: make Nascar exciting, and
make Owen Wilson relevant. Hell, the poster
is better than most movies. With a dud sequel
behind us, Disney-Pixar brings stunning new
animation and a genuinely dramatic storyline
that will make this the whole-family watch-onrepeat
of the summer.
In theaters June 16th
I Called Him Morgan
Fleet Foxes
Crack-Up
Nonesuch
A six year absence in any genre, especially
one that’s become as verbose and commercialized
as turn-of-the-decade indie-folk, is
generally a dangerous endeavor.
No group may know this better than
Fleet Foxes, pioneers of the last wave of that
very hybrid, who unfortunately had to witness
their distinct style of harmonious and
densely packed choral indie be curdled by
near-endless imitators.
But Crack-Up, their latest release, shrugs
off the notion that indie-folk is nothing but
a repetitive drumbeat and insipid sing-along
turn-of-phrase, instead offering an album
that revisits the lush acoustic soundscapes
and brimming vocal style that has always
put Fleet Foxes a cut above.
Ditching any conventional radio-ready
joints, album opener and first single “I Am
All That I Need / Arroyo Seco / Thumbprint
Scar” offers a brimming compilation
of orchestral swoons and guitar-driven
urgency. From there, the album leads into
sister-tracks “Cassius, -“ and “- Naiads,
Cassadies.” The former showcases the archetypal
rising swell of Fleet Foxes’ vocal
harmonies and the latter descends into an
almost-bluesy hymnal of keys and guitar.
While neither of these tracks reinvent the
Fleet Foxes formula, they are brimming with
life as though shuddering off the years away
down to minute intricacies that aren’t immediately
apparent.
They act as a build-up, almost, for “Kept
Woman,” the album’s first non-single standout.
It finds vocalist Robin Pecknold ruminating
against a simple and hypnotic turn of
piano keys.
“Anna, you're lost in a shadow there/ Cinder
and smoke hanging in the air/ Oh, and I
know you'll be bolder than me/ I was high, I
was unaware,” Pecknold croons in the chorus.
It’s a simple and familiar story, but the
minor inflection on the words “cinder and
smoke” represent the subtleties in which
Fleet Foxes thrive.
Perhaps the strongest aspect of Crack-
Up is how each track is rhythmically and
melodically dense, but is never once gaudy
or overwrought in the way that betrays the
telltale sheen of overproduction.
“Third of May / Ōdaigahara” is another
such example of how Fleet Foxes have
stepped up to reclaim the crown. At almost
nine minutes, the album’s centrepiece and
longest track interpolates a masterful use
of violins, winding vocal acrobatics, and
start-stop rhythm before tailing off into a
flurry of fluttering strings. It carries with it a
brief shade of the works of Joanna Newsom,
though not nearly as complex.
“If You Need to, Keep Time on Me” is
another album standout, simple and brief
with it’s title serving as the chorus plaintively
proclaimed by Pecknold. It’s shuddering,
but it also marks perhaps the turning point
for Crack-Up, an album that’s undoubtedly
front-heavy.
“Mearcstapa,” “On Another Ocean (January/June)”
and “Fool’s Errand,” for all their
orchestral worth, never quite reach the
highs of the album’s first few tracks and
while they share the same spirit, they aren’t
necessarily attention-grasping.
The same can be said for the downtempo
and echoing “I Should See Memphis,” a
track that can unfortunately be construed
as Crack-Up’s nadir to the rest of the albums
lustful and jubilant zenith.
Amidst wistful guitar strums, Pecknold’s
voice reverberates dismally, and while it
keeps with the formula of minor instrumental
inflections contributing to the overall
oeuvre of Crack-Up it sadly feels out of place
in an album that revels in its subtle density.
The placement of the penultimate “I
Should See Memphis” may also be considered
a misstep for the album, with even the
last-hurrah atmosphere of closer and title
track “Crack-Up” being unable to bring the
piece back to the heights of its beginnings.
However, apart from a meandering second
half, the only real gripe with Crack-Up
stems from a problem within the structure
of the new indie/folk movement itself, being
that many have the formula down so well
that there never seems a need for more than
a little variation.
While Fleet Foxes have undoubtedly
done something to remedy this, adding vibrant
orchestrals to their well-known vocal
filigree, the issue with albums like Crack-Up
is that they’re great pieces in a genre that is
suffering from exhaustion.
Arguably peaking at around the time Fleet
Foxes released their last acclaimed album
Helplessness Blues in 2011, the movement
unfortunately and regretfully umbrella’d as
“indie” is now as commonplace as anything,
the ruminating and contemplative nature of
its forebearers wilfully forgotten.
Call it a bitter irony that the inspiration
drawn from groups like Fleet Foxes on imitators
would result in an oversaturation of
a subculture of music that seemed oh-sobright
and refreshing not even a decade ago.
Either way, Crack-Up bristles with the
same subtle grandiosity found in most
of Fleet Foxes work, and as if preserved in
amber for these six long years, their sound
remains perfectly preserved and contented
to live amongst the nuances that indie-folk
used to encompass.
•Alec Warkentin
•illustration by Julia Iredale
28 FILM
June 2017
June 2017 REVIEWS
29

FEATURED CONCERTS
VICTORIA, BC
Beach Fossils - Somersault
Betrayers - 12 Songs to Haunt You
Benjamin Booker - Witness
Big Thief - Capacity
Crack Cloud - Anchorin Point
DJ Orange Julius - The Grove
Dave Depper - Emotional Freedom Technique
The Drums - Abysmal Thoughts
Hooded Fang - Dynasty House
Beach Fossils
Somersault
Bayonet
IIt takes all of one second into Somersault,
the first album from Beach Fossils
since 2013’s Clash The Truth, to realize
that this is a totally different band than
the one we once knew. Obviously, that
statement isn’t entirely true, Beach Fossils
are actually the exact same band that
made the hazy, lo-fi guitar pop on Clash
The Truth, but listening to “This Year,”
the lead-off track on Somersault, makes
it somewhat hard to tell. This is a record
made with supreme confidence and a
studio sheen that gives Beach Fossils
trademark sound a new life. There are
flourishes of orchestral strings, woodwinds,
and horns layered throughout
Somersault’s expertly-crafted pop song
structures that would’ve sound out of
place in their old work. Here, they seem
at home beside listless acoustic guitars
and buoyant basslines that would feel at
home in Brooklyn or the Laurel Canyon.
Appearances from Slowdive’s Rachel
Goswell, and spoken word from rapper
Cities Aviv send Beach Fossils in new
directions that never feel out of their
reach. The three-piece band makes assured
choices and bold left-turns that
make their return after four years something
of a celebration. It doesn’t hurt
that songs like “Down the Line” and “Be
Nothing” are some of the best songs
Beach Fossils have ever made. Somersault
isn’t a revolutionary album, but it’s
made with a confidence that proves it
doesn’t need to be revolutionary to be
one of the best albums of the year.
•Jamie McNamara
BETRAYERS
12 Songs To Haunt You
Independent
Edmonton’s BETRAYERS make a point
of being concise in composition. Their
latest release, 12 Songs To Haunt You,
clocks in quick, each cut bursting with
danceable pop energy. Sirens ablaze tight
to "THEME FROM SILKY BOYS;” a wicked
speedy driver on a Peter Gunn riff does
the twist to carnival lines of organ and
tight finishes into a classic upbeat pop of
"ONE OF YOUR FOOLS.” The song features
a cool vocal harmony between Travis
Sargent's long and low phrasing and
the cheerful, higher-end voice of Scarlet
Welling-Yiannakoulias. Justin Zawada's
bass is a constant energetic forward
groove, with the pace of the Misfits, and
that dark and suspenseful movie action.
Whether it’s the swaying "Les Étoiles”
en Francais, with tremolo guitars and a
swell of organ coming around, or the primal
drum groove and drone of “Belong
Here Ragga,” every song on 12 Songs
To Haunt You is uptempo rock n' roll in
some cool classic forms. The album follows
a fairly simple formula with a lot of
energy and short songs filled with bass
lines that propel the band towards tight
and defined endings. BETRAYERS can
make a crowd dance and their melodies
and harmonies glide over the fast moving
current underneath.
•Mike Dunn
Benjamin Booker
Witness
ATO Records
When Benjamin Booker released his first
album in 2014 to life-altering success,
he wrote about how his personal lyrics
should be left to him at live shows. He felt
that his shows are about having fun and
forgetting troubles; “Who cares what I’m
saying,” he wrote on Facebook. His debut
full-length is comparable to the raw and
explosive nature of The White Stripes,
mixed with the soulfulness of blues
greats such as Jimmy Reed. In a world of
synths and claustrophobia, the purity of
the guitar-driven instrumentation is refreshing,
especially when coupled with
dynamic song structures designed to
build atmosphere. He was right about his
lyrics back then.
With Witness, Booker’s lyrics are at
the forefront of the album. The record
is about being a witness, making a statement
on certain aspects of apathy, racism,
and self-worth. We are all witnesses
in some shape or form, but this record
calls for change, a beacon of light for
both artist and listener. Songs like the
title track and “Motivation,” deal with
dark themes lyrically, yet Booker finds a
way to inspire with his honest delivery
and mastery over song structure. Musically,
it’s as excellent as his debut, but
sounds cleaner due to the addition of
orchestral elements, crisp production
and the desire for his message to get
across. When the music is this good,
it makes the short length of Witness
slightly disappointing, but it’s the perfect
sophomore release for an artist
that may be on his way to sit with the
legends.
•Paul McAleer
Crack Cloud
Anchoring Point
Independent
Anchoring Point, the new EP from
Calgary post-punk collective Crack
Cloud, is the latest release in a long
line of ferocious Calgarian post-punk
that combines artistic tendencies
with dystopic, dreary atmospheres.
Yet where other Calgarian bands like
Preoccupations use monotony to
drive their point home, Crack Cloud
indulge in rhythmic art and afro punk
not too far removed from the Talking
Heads. The five-track EP effectively
captures a band that has earned considerable
buzz with their first EP and
frenetic live performances, but it also
solidifies Crack Cloud’s reputation as
one of the brightest talents in Calgary’s
flourishing music scene.
It’s clear when listening to the bouncing,
dub-indebted bass lines and
skronking guitars peppered throughout
Anchoring Point that Crack
Cloud subscribe to the Gang of Four,
neo-Marxist school of post-punk.
On “Empty Cell” and the standout
track “Image Craft,” the band uses
pop-leaning afro-punk polyrhythms
to push a political agenda that antagonizes
Albertan power structures
from a philosophical standpoint that
is all too rare in local music these
days. Drummer/vocalist Zach Choy
anchors the band with his acidic yelps
and brainy, self-aware lyrics that avoid
pretension while still flashing some
much-needed fang.
Final track “Swish Swash,” may be the
most impressive song in Crack Cloud’s
catalog, using droning atmospheres
and a relentless motorik beat to push
the band in a new direction. It’s not a
new beginning, but it feels like a new
look for a band with a long career
ahead of them.
•Jamie McNamara
Dave Depper
Emotional Freedom Technique
Tender Loving Empire
Dave Depper can usually be found
playing guitar as a part of Death Cab
for Cutie, a gig he landed after a storied
dance through a string of instruments
and positions in numerous
Pacific Northwest bands. On Emotional
Freedom Technique, Depper
steps into the spotlight on his own.
Opening with an epic synth-pop ballad,
“Do You Want Love,” Depper’s
debut solo LP is all at once a self-expression
of deepest longing exposed
through the lens of loneliness’ stark
self-reflection and a demonstration
of the incredible, self-assured creation
that isolation can bring. Depper’s
multi-instrumentalist musical
ability must be noted, having personally
written and played every part
of the album in his Portland home
studio, with the only exception being
Laura Gibson’s guest vocals on “Your
Voice on the Radio;” a pure personal
expression album, close to heart and
therefore completely self-controlled.
The record has a classic and cohesive
meandering quality to it, lending
itself well to contemplative walks,
or for quiet reflection over a pot of
tea. Depper’s compositions weave
together undulating musical textures
into a singular tapestry for the
exhibition of his vocal poetry—the
true highlight of the record—full of
gentle honesty and a purity found in
demonstrative restraint.
•Andrew R. Mott
The Drums
Abysmal Thoughts
Anti-
It’s hard to imagine that The Drums
breakout song, the effervescent
“Let’s Go Surfing,” came out seven
years ago. It’s no fault of their own,
but after two albums and the death
of just about every trend the Jonny
Pierce-led band once fell under, that
first single feels like an artifact of a
twee era gone by.
Hints of that bobbing, C86-influenced
band pop up throughout
Abysmal Thoughts, The Drums first
album in three years, but they’ve
been recontextualised by Pierce, who
once again has found himself as the
sole member of the band. The move
by Pierce to take back the creative
reigns pays off on a mature record
filled to the brim with pop-leaning
introspection.
On songs like “Mirror” and “I’ll Fight
For Your Life,” Pierce sounds like a
synth-toting, new wave version of
The Smiths, combining Morrissey-esque
melancholy with bright, summer-ready
melodies that shimmer
overtop restless baselines that Pierce
has perfected after four albums.
Lyrically, Abysmal Thoughts is filled
with a self-aware character assessments
and relationship miscalculations
inspired by Pierce’s decision to
leave New York behind for LA. The
result is a record that is at once insular
and expansive, and a joy to listen
to throughout.
•Jamie McNamara
Hooded Fang
Dynasty House
Daps Records
Hooded Fang are back with a sixtrack
album that’s both maddeningly
brief and addictive in its haste. Shy of
30 minutes in length, Dynasty House
would feel more like an EP were it not
for the album’s gripping, narrative
pacing and endless replayability. Further
weaponizing the instrumental
interplay of figureheads April Aliermo
(bass) and Daniel Lee (guitar, vocals),
Dynasty House uses brevity and
immediacy to lure you into paying attention
to the stories of western immigration
that influence their lives.
If you haven’t checked in with Hooded
Fang since their last album, Venus
on Edge, you might be expecting a
quite different band. That record
was their re-introduction, a fulfilled
promise on the strengths they’d
shown intermittently on Graves and
Tosta Mista. Those releases were fun
but exploratory, and not entirely focused.
Few would say that of Venus,
even fewer would dare when it comes
to Dynasty House. These albums are
taught post-punk that only relents
from its razorwire, extraterrestrial
guitar riffs and tidal-while-frantic
bass lines to nod at the drawn-out
paranoia of a bad trip found in the
most realistic psych-rock.
But what makes Dynasty House so
vital is how its themes are so personally
explicit—everything about
the album’s lyrics and rollout scream
at you to pay attention. It would be
hard not to comply.
Sonically, it’s much the same as Venus,
but using its six tracks to create
individual portraits of real people
among the Asian Diaspora adds a
thematic heft to Hooded Fang that
their apex as musicians couldn’t have
otherwise been improved upon.
•Colin Gallant
King Gizzard & The Lizard
Wizard
Murder of the Universe
ATO Records
Perhaps the best part about being
a King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
fan is the amount of fun it is to
describe the albums they make to
people who haven’t had the pleasure
of finding them yet. Known as the
Gizz to the ever-expanding fan base
that greets the seven-piece psychedelic
collective at their near-legendary
live shows, the blunt-smoking,
Blundstone-sporting band from Melbourne
have built their reputation
on their ability to make outlandish,
consistently jaw-dropping concept
albums, from just about every subgenre
under the psychedelic rock
umbrella.
Having released nine studio albums
since 2012, and with plans to release
five albums this year alone, the band
has enjoyed a near-constant presence
in the headphones of listeners
who lust for psychedelic, garage
rock expeditions that, as of late, have
sounded like Neu!-indebted Krautrock
from the bush.
Still, after a career of left-turns and
over-the-top album concepts like
2016’s Nonagon Infinity, a rollicking,
garage-rock epic designed as an infinite
loop, or Microtonal Flying 11a
from earlier this year, it seems that
bandleader and vocalist Stu Mackenzie
is still filled with zany ideas
to put to tape. Enter Murder of the
Universe, an epic, 21-track, threepart
musical saga that uses multiple
narrators to tell a story that the band
started back on I’m In Your Mind
Fuzz in 2014.
Opening with the seven-part garage
rock suite “Altered Beast,” Murder
of the Universe is the weirdest, and
often most outlandish, Gizz album
thus far. Impressively, it’s also one of
their most technically proficient.
Even though the story told on the album
is somewhat hard to follow, the
band’s ability to power through the
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30 REVIEWS
June 2017
June 2017 REVIEWS
31

Kevin Morby - City Music
Not you - Misty
Daniel Romano - Modern Pressure
Ruins of Beverast - Exuvia
TOPS - Sugar At the Gate
dense, brain-fried fantasy storytelling
results in a listening experience so blatantly
weird you can’t help but submit
to this world of acrid monster corpses,
vomit coffins, and confused cyborgs
longing to be human.
It’s not a perfect album by any means,
but the highs found on Murder of the
Universe are higher than on any other
album in the band’s vast catalog.
It’s a balls to the wall journey into the
weed-addled brains of one of the most
entertaining bands in modern music.
•Jamie McNamara
Kevin Morby
City Music
Dead Oceans
Kevin Morby's latest release City Music,
a follow up to 2016's Singing Saw, is
meant to invoke the downtown atmosphere,
and does so in its anonymity.
Morby never gets too wild even while
having some fun dance numbers, maintaining
an easy-going attitude and never
getting too excited.
“Come To Me Now” is a cool opener,
a nice blend of synth and a beat that
sounds programmed, but feels human
still. The repeating chord changes are
lulling and Morby’s vocals have a Cohen/Reed
vibe, with simple yet evocative
lyrics. “Crybaby” is a street strutting
number that takes its time getting to
the chorus, but has some slow pogo and
a swirling spaced-out ending. “1234”
is spazzy garage rock with a repeating
blues boogie change that comes down
to the hook line, “I’d walk a mile just
to die, die, die, die.” It’s an unexpected
turn ahead of a verse naming off The Ramones,
as though that mile is a parade
of humans in the “Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee,
Tommy” t-shirt. Morby seems practiced
in his nonchalance, with a vocal tone
that feels like Tom Petty reading the directions
to coffee, and a willingness to
add oddball parts here and there that
help to keep the record nicely off balance.
City Music does well in the early morning,
but it only takes off in fits. Morby’s
chill vibe is recognizable and has its
low-key charm. Some cool garage-rock
moments mixed with a Lou Reed feel
and some cool synth excursions. A lot of
people write about living in New York,
but City Music never goes so far as to
name the place, and that gives Morby
room to find and be whatever he wants.
•Mike Dunn
Daniel Romano
Modern Pressure
New West Records
Daniel Romano has proved himself an
extremely capable musical chameleon,
putting on the turns of old time country
and psychedelic ‘70s songwriter-folk like
a well-worn denim jacket. His appropriation
of mid-20th century musical stylings
is so effective and all-encompassing
it often borders on parody. It’s frankly
astonishing that he is able to produce
material so diverse on such a consistent
basis, while also producing records and
leather working on the side.
His new record, Modern Pressure, is a
riff on late-’70s rock, specifically the
George Harrisons of the world. It’s fun
and colourful, with springing guitars,
melodious organs and present drums.
It’s enormously authentic sounding,
even mimicking the lyrical style of the
period. Tracks like “When I Learned
Your Name” carry an anachronistic air,
with the song’s lyrics observing and
waiting for a girl to come of age, a sentiment
which seems creepy now, but
is strangely in keeping with the lyrical
leanings of artists like the Beatles.
Still, it carries on something very quintessential
about Daniel Romano, his
charming, country-styled vocal affectation
and vibrato, and an acute sense of
self. You’ll even catch Romano singing
about another contemporary songwriter,
Jennifer Castle, on the record.
•Liam Prost
Ruins of Beverast
Exuvia
Vàn Records
Exuvia marks the triumphant return of
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32 REVIEWS
June 2017
June 2017 REVIEWS
33

the evolution of
LA Vida Local
Rene Aussant
Feelin’ Fine
Independent
“You can’t beat the feeling of a Whiskey and Ginger,” Aussant trills in the second track of his
Feelin’ Fine EP. If you could visualize the sound of this sad, yet edgy acoustic album, it would be
a pointy, dull knife. Aussant’s lyrics are well written and would be best listened to ‘round the
fire with a Whiskey and Ginger or on a long thought-provoking solo drive. The track “San Francisco”
best represents Aussant’s scraggly, vocal rumble. This paired with the gentle acoustic
guitar serenades the listener with a taste that is salty-sweet; a delightful combination leaving
you wanting more.
• Michelle Kenny
The Psychic Alliance
Evil Against Evil
Independent
The Psychic Alliance have succeeded in crafting their best release yet. Recorded amidst internal
turmoil and frantic last minute rewrites, the psychedelic/punk collective have produced a
concise yet colourfully diverse collection of tracks running the gamut of rock’s best subgenres.
The proggy overture of “Evil Against Evil” is shattered by the searing punk drive of “No Fixed
Address.” Elsewhere the goofy rag time of “The Octopus is Sad” is followed by “Yesteryear,” a
track best described as garage rock King Crimson.
Reportedly recorded live off the floor with very few overdubs, Evil Against Evil has a suitably
organic sound that is both theatrical and intimate.There is truly something for everyone on
this record, be it the over the top vocal stylings of frontman Shaun Lee to the exceptional
musicality on display throughout. Vancouver’s best kept secret has truly outdone themselves.
• James Olson
Stephanie Ratcliff
Things Above Ground
Independent
If you’re looking for new songs to kickstart your summer, Stephanie Ratcliff has brought you
six. The folk-pop singer’s latest EP, Things Above Ground, is full of her wistful, free and uplifting
sound, bringing everything she’s got to offer to the surface.
The tracks to make you the most nostalgic for better days are easily “We Won’t Find Our
Way Back” and “Home.” Their titles say it all, but as you listen further you can’t help but imagine
these two becoming the soundtrack to new memorable moments. While the lyrics may
take you back in time, the melody and harmonies are sure to keep you in the moment, sending
magnitudes of happiness throughout your bloodstream.
“Lionheart” will also have you climbing over mountains, sailing the seas and manifesting
your own destiny. When fellow Vancouverite Brian Chan chimes in with the cello, the feeling
of being ready to tackle everything is only amplified. Rartcliff has worked hard to ensure there
isn’t one song on this EP that’ll stop you from daydreaming. Whether you are taking that summer
road trip, exploring, or just feel like dancing around the house, Things Above Ground has
got you covered.
• Shania Coombs
Super Pyramid
Devoid
Independent
The contents of the envelope sent to the BeatRoute office last month by Vancouver natives
Super Pyramid were nothing short of mystifying. A demo CD in a small red envelope, accompanied
by a black and white photocopied lyric book covered in collage-style artwork and a
tracklist printed over a picture of a cherry sundae.
Super Pyramid’s sound on their debut EP, Devoid, is one that seems typically reserved for those
seasoned and longstanding bands that are far from fresh on the scene. The record contains a
little of everything, from the anthemic “Road to Tyranny” that touches on the woes of trying
to chase far off dreams, to the spacey yet gracefully rhythmic “Devoid” that speaks beautifully
-- in syllabically starved stanzas-- about falling out of love. Though each tune is unique,
the tracks on this record remain remarkably coherent, due perhaps to the vocals that amble
overtop each mix (reminiscent of Menomena’s Danny Seim), or the clever and understated
instrumentation that plays off itself in a beautifully distinct way.
Playing the part of the Vancouver music scene’s newest dark horse, Super Pyramid has erupted
into the limelight with a thoughtful, provocative and catchy release that’s sure to creep into
living rooms around the city before we even know it.
• Mat Wilkins
Willolux
Thread & Tape
Independent
Maple Ridge native Kristina Emmott’s new album Thread & Tape is quintessential folk pop,
and features nine tracks that are honest, heartfelt and perfect for a summer drive with your
mom. Standout tracks are “Cedar + Fir” and “Sweet Spot”, which are flowery and in their own
world, like the Fraser Valley. Written by Emmott and stitched together at Protection Island
studio, Thread & Tape will have you on the mend and in a paisley print dress by album closer
“Clotho”.
• Emily Blatta
JUNE 22 – JULY 2 | 2017
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#VanJazzFest | COASTALJAZZ.CA
34 June 2017
June 2017
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Ruins of Beverast - Exuvia
German one-man black metal project Ruins of
Beverast, created by mastermind Alexander von
Meilenwald. Four years after the release of Blood
Vaults - The Blazing Gospel of Heinrich Kramer
(2013), Exuvia marks the fifth full-length from the
project. The record more than holds its own next
to the rest of the project’s stellar and acclaimed
discography.
The four year gap from the previous album has
enabled Meilenwald to distill a meditative yet
deadly deep cut worthy of the band’s back catalogue,
and it towers head and shoulders over
a majority of the other metal releases 2017 has
offered thus far. Exuvia is a must-listen not only
for metal fanatics of the current year, but also
people who appreciate evocative and progressive
songwriting, heavy in conceptual undercurrents
and burning with vision. Exuvia absolutely exudes
atmosphere – take two thirds through the
eponymous opening track. The listener will find
themself whisked away by the pounding, ritualistic
drums, consumed by Meilenwald’s evocative
vision that lasts for the album’s duration. Exuvia is
full to brimming with thunderous, epic lead lines
and absolutely crushing drumming, but also features
a very unique and subtle atmosphere that
slowly fills the listener with a sense of fear and
wonder. As the ancient war drums slam and the
torrential rains mar the full moon, the listener
is drawn through the dark forests of the album’s
six tracks. It will leave you with an impression of
not only what modern metal has grown into, but
what it has the potential to become.
•Greg Grose
Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dessner,
Nico Muhly, James McAllister
Planetarium
4AD
Easily one of the more ambitious albums of the
year, Planetarium is a result of the combined efforts
of The National’s Bryce Dessner, classical composer
Nico Muhly, critical darling Sufjan Stevens and frequent
collaborator James McAllister, in an effort to
explore the solar system.
Much like Stevens “50 States” series, the 17-track
release features pieces named after various celestial
bodies, each meticulously arranged with credit
to the classical backgrounds of Dessner and Muhly.
However, the similarities between Planetarium and
the collaborators past works, for the most part,
stop there.
Over an hour and fifteen minutes, the sordid crew
traverse the musical sounds of the galaxy in a craft
TOPS - Sugar At the Gate
powered by buzzing ambience, silver-slick orchestration,
and Steven’s own interest with autotune
adding a pitch-modified madness to his usually
placid and ephemeral vocals.
Standout tracks “Jupiter,” “Mars,” and the fifteen-minute-long
epic “Earth,” present perhaps
the best execution of this undoubtedly strong, if
not blissfully experimental and exploratory, album.
The only real gripe about Planetarium could possibly
come about due to it’s length, but for something
inspired by the ever-expanding universe, anything
short and sweet would be an injustice.
A brief example of the scope of Planetarium comes
about on “Saturn,” the first track released from
Planetarium, which finds the group interpolates
Greek mythology and shimmering keys in an electronically-fuelled
expressionistic expanse.
In short, Planetarium forgoes formula for ambition,
classical for the future, and if any would dare
attempt to score the universe, it’s these brave few.
•Alec Warkentin
TOPS
Sugar At The Gate
Arbutus Records
The release of TOPS sophomore album, Picture
You Staring, set a tone for the Montreal band, and
as Sugar at the Gate comes out, it is clear that they
don’t intend to fully stray from that path. Yet that’s
what makes the newest release great - TOPS has
found their niche and they’re playing to it.
While the group has previously been criticized for
their simplicity, which you can still find present in
this album, it doesn’t take away from their sound.
In fact, simple works in their favour, allowing them
to experiment in the boundaries they’ve set for
themselves without trying to tread into territory
too unfamiliar. The dream pop trio have said they
had more space to make music in Sugar at the Gate
than previous work, and it shows.
The album grows better with each listen, as slow
understanding reveals that the often upbeat and
happy tunes are riddled with raw emotion. Most of
the LP caters to TOPS fans, with songs like “Petals”
acting as refreshing, but still familiar tunes.
With dreamy atmosphere, Jane Penny’s outstandingly
strong vocals, and instrumentals that step
slightly outside of their comfort zone, TOPS has
delivered an assured album that shows a band perfecting
their trademark sound and only beginning
to explore new possibilities. Sugar at the Gate is a
testament to TOPS talent, while also presenting a
band who’s skills have grown exponentially, while
still leaving listeners wanting more.
•Amber McLinden
June 2017
Father John Misty/
Entrance
Malkin Bowl
May 26 2017
For an artist with a reputation for being
ornery, the indefatigable Josh Tillman
(AKA Father John Misty) seemed
to be enjoying himself at his Vancouver
stop on the “Pure Comedy” tour.
A sold out show at the Malkin Bowl
saw the crowd in good spirits, young
parents even brought their children to
enjoy the folk rocker’s performance of
questionably age appropriate material.
Father John Misty’s set leant heavily
on tracks from his most recent release,
the expansive and consistently dour
Pure Comedy. The title track and “Total
Entertainment Forever” served as
the opening numbers for Father John
Misty’s set, setting the mood for a performance
that was celebratory in spite
of the caustic nature of his biting lyrics.The
stage show was notably sparse
with the exception of some mood
photo by Darrole Palmer
The Jesus and Mary Chain
lighting. Father John Misty’s backing
band was quite sizeable but absolutely
necessary as they were able to fully
capture the sweeping majesty of cuts
such as “When You’re Smiling and
Astride Me” and “Chateau Lobby #4
(in C for Two Virgins)” in a live setting.
With the exception of a brief pause to
comment on the standing President of
the United States, Father John Misty’s
interaction with the crowd was limited
but it did not detract from his performance
in the slightest. Tillman could
even been seen dancing passionately
to the charged energy of “The Ideal
Husband.”
It almost seems fittingly that the
concluding number was Father John
Misty’s most instrumentally barren
yet emotionally visceral track. “Holy
Shit” garnered a massive sing-along
from the crowd before the night came
to a close. Father John Misty gave everything
fans could have asked for in a
performance.
• James Olson
Father John Misty
The Jesus and Mary Chain
The Vogue Theatre
May 24, 2017
It’s important to note at the outset, that as
a genre, shoegaze is not typically known for
wild performances. It’s right there in the
name. What the performances typically
missed in terms of energy, usually they made
up for in volume; cascading walls of sound
and waves distortion. The Jesus and Mary
Chain of old were known for a bit of that,
with the added possibility of smashed instruments
, crowd thrown projectiles, and fights
between band members often cutting sets
short but providing a dangerous element to
otherwise shoegaze-like show.
But in its thirty plus years of existence, the
Jesus and Mary Chain have matured some,
and the volatility of their live show reflects
that. They’ve turned things down, their new
songs, like set opener “Amputation” and
“Black and Blues” are much less driven by their
photo by Galen
distortion and noise than their earlier work
and even their older songs seem a little less
intense. But what’s left once the noise is taken
down a notch is band that writes solid, power
pop songs that harken back to Phil Spector
and the Beach Boys. The hooks and Jim Reid’s
singular voice are given centre stage.
Even though the songs shine through, it
did feel as though that missing element of
danger, or barring that, noise, did take the
performance down a notch. The moments
that came closest to providing that, like
pre-encore set closer “Reverence” and even
newer song “All Things Must Pass” were the
real highlights. Older songs were the crowd
favourites, including a slightly underwhelming
encore opener “Just Like Honey.” All in
all it was a solid set of material, showcasing a
great selection of good songs, delivered well.
It just felt it could have been a little bit more:
a reason to have wear the earplugs I brought,
maybe?
• Graeme Wiggins

NEW MOON RISING: your monthly horoscope
Month of the Fire Horse: Full Moon June 9, 2017
QUAN YIN DIVINATION
•illustration by Syd Danger
As Fire takes centre stage in a Fire year, this month is ablaze with the
energy of rising heat. It should prove to bring in the warmest weather
we’ve had in years, so lather on that sunblock — skin can burn and be
susceptible to problems under this kind of cosmic flow.
The Horse is a romance star to the Snake, Rooster, and Ox, indicating
a good time for developing partnerships both personally and professionally.
The Fire Horse is the most ambitious sign of the zodiac,
inspiring accomplishments of all kinds. Leadership, self-expression,
spirituality, and fast-paced teamwork thrive under the influence of
this exciting and rewarding month. However, it’s a good time to ego
check — arrogance can sometimes lead to folly, so rein in any bossy
behaviour to move forward successfully.
Rabbit (Pisces): Time to look closely at the friendships and community
you are cultivating. In what ways can your social standing be
improved by choosing environments that resonate with your deeply
peaceful and artistic nature?
Dragon (Aries): Coming up against some resistance and making
compromise is how deals are made or broken. Hold firm in your
position and work on your grace and poise.
Snake (Taurus): How much is too much? Limits are useful for
defining boundaries, but in order for them to be effective, there
must be limits even on our own limits.
Horse (Gemini): If you want to make an omelette, you have
to break some eggs. Weigh out the opportunity costs carefully,
because making a sacrifice could put you in the lead or leave you
choking on someone else’s dust.
Sheep (Cancer): Don’t get overwhelmed. Ask for help from your
community to support you — people are happy to help you now.
Follow along with what others are doing and stay on top of your
to-do list.
Monkey (Leo): It’s not about how much you earn. Curb your
spending and take this month to put something down for future
gain — an investment now will show return in time.
Rooster (Virgo): Love is in the air. Be truthful about the particulars.
Open communication prevents an embarrassing encounter.
Clear the air with someone who is waiting for you to speak up.
Dog (Libra): Hard work can make the difference between success
and failure now. Your rewards are related to the time invested.
Don’t give up — there’s value in just moving through the motions.
Pig (Scorpio): Sometimes you need to do things you don’t want
to do and it helps build your strong character. Defend yourself and
make sure you have met all your responsibilities.
Rat (Sagittarius): Boom. It’s happening! The sun is shining so
get things going in the direction you want to see them go in. Your
empowered optimism guides you through this time of change with
clarity.
Ox (Capricorn): If you’ve been carrying a heavy load, it might be
time to put it down and rest. You can only look after others when
you have found balance within yourself. Diet, exercise, and rest will
support your well-being and that of those near you.
Tiger (Aquarius): Team up to make it work better, faster, and to
have more fun doing it. You’re never alone, Tiger — there’s plenty
of people who share your vision. Find company that supports your
point of view and work together to further your plans to change
the world.
Susan Horning is a Feng Shui Consultant and Bazi Astrologist
living and working in East Vancouver. Find out more
about her at QuanYin.ca.

UPCOMING
SHOWS
SATURDAY JUNE 14 | THE BILTMORE CABARET
JUNE + JULY 2017
SUNDAY JUNE 11
RISK!
Live Podcast
St. James Hall
SATURDAY JUNE 17
CASH’D
OUT
The Biltmore Cabaret
THURSDAY JUNE 22
CHUCK
RAGAN
The Biltmore Cabaret
MONDAY JUNE 26
MEATBODIES
With Milkers Wanted
& Dried Out
The Biltmore Cabaret
THURSDAY JUNE 29
TEEN DAZE
& SAM O.B.
The Biltmore Cabaret
6/30 P-LO
The Biltmore Cabaret
7/28 IN THE VALLEY BELOW
With Flagship
The Biltmore Cabaret
7/29 NORTHLANE & INTERVALS
With Invent Animate
The Vogue Theatre
/MRGCONCERTS @MRGCONCERTS @MRGCONCERTSWEST
FOR MORE INFO & TICKETS
~
GO TO MRGCONCERTS.COM
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