BeatRoute Magazine BC Edition November 2018

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November‘18
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HI, HOW ARE YOU?
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Bohemian Rhapsody - Page 25
November 2018 3

WITH ART D’ECCO
Written by Glenn Alderson
Art d’Ecco is an enigmatic presence
in the west coast music scene. The
cryptic personality hiding behind
the wig and apoca-lipstck chooses
to remain anonymous; keeping his
real-life shrouded in a bit of mystery
to ensure the emphasis doesn’t stray
from the music. For his debut album,
he locked himself up in a cabin on
one of the Gulf Islands (although
he won’t say which one!) to put his
ideas to tape. Then he put it all on
the line, risking everything he had
by shelling out the dough needed
to bring his songs to life. The new
album is called Trespasser and d’Ecco
was kind enough to let us in to get
a conservative glimpse of the man
behind the glam that is his on-stage
persona. We caught him on the 401
heading towards Toronto and this is
what he had to say.
You wrote a good chunk of
Trespasser in a remote cabin
on one of the Gulf Islands.
Are you still living sans
mainland?
Yes indeed I do live on an island. It’s
a very anonymous existence. I like
to blend into my surroundings, it
provides me a sense of normalcy, a
stark contrast to the evening ego I put
on for stage.
Can you please tell us a bit
about what attracts you to
island life?
I do my best work sans distractions.
Creating in a vacuum allows me to
be distraction-free. I’m not sure I
can live/work from the Gulf Islands
in perpetuity but for Trespasser it
worked out well.
Would you describe yourself
as an actual recluse now
or is isolation a part-time
hobby?
When I wrote and demo’d Trespasser I
would spend two-three week periods
holed up at a time. It was a very cold
winter and there were lots of power
outages. So I relied on my record
collection and my wood stove to
provide me with the warm comforts
needed to survive and push through.
My daily routines involved writing
and learning music production. It was
obsessive and intense. I’d spend hours
listening to songs and specific albums
that inspired me, studying how things
were captured, and the various gear
that was used etc. “Trespasser” is the
sum total of these experiences. It’s
pure introspection and fantasy put
through a record collector’s lens.
You grew up in the
Vancouver music scene can
you describe some of the
bands you were surrounded
by at a younger age that left
an impression on you?
I moved to Vancouver in 2004. I was
barely 20 years old and indie rock
was all I wanted to do. DJs were
spinning vinyl. Haircuts were angular
and asymmetrical. Electroclash was
considered dance music. It was very
“Meet Me In The Bathroom” (by
Lizzy Goodman). But the cute little
Vancouver version. All my friends
played in bands, were actors and
worked in bars. What a glorious time
to be alive.
What does an average day
for Art d’Ecco look like
these days (when not on the
road)?
I wake up, fall out of bed. Drag a
comb across my head, find my way
downstairs and drink a cup... wait.
Those are Beatles lyrics.
No Art d’Ecco performance
is complete without a wig
Photo by Mandy Lyn
and lipstick. Can you please
talk about the origins of
your onstage persona?
I played my first show spring 2016.
It felt so pedestrian and... bland.
It made me incredibly sad and
uninspired. “Hey! Here I am! Another
white dude in a guitar rock band!”
So I put together a collage of some
artists — Annie Lennox, Carole Pope,
Gary Numan, Bowie, Peter Murphy
etc. And the one common thread
among them was that they were all
very hyper-stylistic with their image.
Everything started to inform me from
that point on. Next show I surprised
my band with a bit of a hotel room
reveal they weren’t expecting. I
emerged from the washroom in full
make-up and glammy attire just
before we were to hit the stage. They
were a bit shocked, but dug it.
What’s an example of
something on-stage Art
d’ecco would do that you
otherwise wouldn’t dream
of?
All of it.
We read that you would
play “Bohemian Rhapsody”
for your Grandma to help
relax her.
Alzheimer’s is a brutal disease. With
my grandmother it was routine bouts
of sun downing (evening anxiety) that
would trigger me to play for her. She
could sit for hours listening to me
noodle on the piano. Eventually I’d
run out of shit to play and just cycle
the first part of Bohemian Rhapsody
over and over. She always knew it
wasn’t Beethoven though. Funny how
the brain remembers melody.
What are your thoughts on
the new Queen biopic that’s
coming out this month?
That I wish it was made the way Sacha
Baron Cohen wanted it to be made.
Wham, glam, thank you ma’am. Art d’Ecco has just released Trespasser and he’s ready to share it with the world.
What’s next for Camp
d’Ecco?
Lots of touring! I still feel like nobody’s
heard this album yet. So I’ll be
pounding the pavement until end of
next year, and beyond.
4
November 2018

CITY BRIEFS!
Beatrix Potter Hunnybee Bruncheonette Soul Samurai This Duet That We’ve Already Done Vancouver Podcast Festival
Beatrix Potter: Illustrations
of this world
November 10 at VanDusen Botanical
Garden
Part of the Yosef Wosk Library &
Resource Centre at VanDusen Garden’s
2018 Speaker Series, lecturer Spencer
W. Stuart explores beloved children’s
novelist Beatrix Potter’s lesser-known
study of fungi through scientific
illustration, as well as her conservation
efforts of England’s Lake District.
Hunnybee Bruncheonette
789 Gore Avenue
Created by the same folks behind
The Birds & The Beets, this all-daycafe
turns into a bar called Soap
after 5 pm — taking a similar cue
from its Gastown sibling. Come in
for wholesome breakfast and brunch
items made from scratch, like ricotta
pancakes with crumble, jam, and curd.
Soul Samurai
November 22 - December at Studio
1398
Presented by Affair of Honor – a new
independent theatre company that
creates movement-based works with
female leads – Soul Samurai is a badass
combination of revenge epic, hip-hop
spectacular, and queer vampire love
story. A Vancouver Fringe Festival
favourite.
We For She
November 16 at Vancouver
Convention Centre
Now in its fifth iteration, this annual
event unites current and emerging
leaders and change makers who
champion gender equality in business.
Some of the speakers this year include
teenage transgender advocate Tru
Wilson and Jake Sitka, co-founder of
Next Gen Men, an organization that
educates and empowers men and boys
in conversations around gender.
Spartacus DIY Workshop
Series
November 12-December 10 at
Spartacus Books
Held at Spartacus Books, this workshop
series is aimed at those interested in
activism, art, and social justice. Themes
range from embroidering patches and
making posters to editing Wikipedia
pages.
Vancouver Podcast Festival
November 10-12 at various locations
With live recordings at the Rio Theatre
and CBC Studio 700, as well as a variety
of shows and panels to take in, this
event celebrates local podcasters,
as well as national and international
ones. Guests include Mike Browne of
the Dark Poutine Podcast, and Sean
Cranbury and Carleigh Baker.
Weekly Stories
Every Wednesday at the Drive Coffee
Bar
East Vancouver’s newest storytelling
show runs for an hour every week on
Commercial Drive. With a mission to
provide a diverse narrative ranging
from gender and age to origin, this
inclusive series offers a stage to anyone
who has a story to share. Hosted by
Jo Dworschak (Coop Radio’s Out and
About in Canada), admission is by
donation.
Vancouver Synthesizer
Festival
November 23 at Historic Theatre
An immersive evening of experience
awaits at this unique festival that
brings together local electronic,
ambient, and visual artists. The lineup
includes Merlyn Chipman, who works
with analog video feedback, and the
Dynalectric Orchestra.
What a Fish Knows
November 16 at the Vancity Culture
Lab
Jonathan Balcombe will be speaking,
based on his popular book of the
same name, about the intelligence
and emotional complexity of an
extraordinary (and underestimated)
animal species: fish.
This Duet That We’ve Already
Done (So Many Times)
November 27-December 1 at Historic
Theatre
Montréal’s Frédérick Gravel joins
Brianna Lombardo in this intimate and
passionate examination of everyday life
in love.
November 2018 5

CITY
EAST SIDE CULTURE CRAWL
LOOKING INSIDE THE SOULS OF OUR LOCAL ARTISTS
KARINA ESPINOSA
Usually, viewers can only see the work that
comes out of an artist’s studio. Stripped of
their context, these objects can seem nebulous
and inaccessible to the casual onlooker. But
the Eastside Culture Crawl opens up those
intimate workspaces and invites people to take
a look inside.
The Eastside Culture Crawl is an annual,
HOPSCOTCH FESTIVAL
A GUIDE FOR THE HOPSCOTCH NOVICE
GRAEME WIGGINS
Vancouver, over the years, has seen a lot of
alcohol-related festivals come and go. At 23
years and running, the Hopscotch Festival
remains stalwart. It’s a multi-day festival that
showcases the best whiskey, spirits and beer
through tasting events and workshops that
culminate in a three-day event at the PNE
Forum featuring live music, an onsite liquor
store and food.
Photo by Desireé Patterson
The annual Eastside Culture Crawl allows participants to glimpse into artists’ studios.
four-day visual arts festival that aims to
encourage active engagement with artists and
their work in East Vancouver. Now in its 22nd
year, the Crawl is expected to draw 35,000
art buffs, patrons, and novices to experience
the variety of arts that the community has to
offer. Esther Rausenberg, this year’s Executive
Director and one of the founders of the Crawl,
With such a lengthy and storied history,
Hopscotch has taken feedback and improved
the festival year after year. Last year there was a
big overhaul to help separate the beers from the
spirits so as to make things clearer for guests.
Executive producer of the festival, Adam Bloch,
details the biggest change this year: “This year
we’re bringing in some amazing restaurants to
improve our food quality and food showcase.
Photo by Devin Araujo
ruminates on the progress that the Crawl has
made since it first launched.
“The growth has been pretty exceptional,
both in terms of artists participating and
public attendance,” she says. “But most of all
I’m always amazed and impressed with the
different directions these artists are going.”
Rausenberg is quick to note that a majority
of the art presented for this edition is brand
new work from the artists. The artists are
constantly innovating, which is what makes
the Crawl worth visiting each year. She adds:
“We’ve included a lot of workshops and
demonstrations to further entice the public
to get a better understanding of how the art
is created, because that’s what this is about
– the exploration and curiosity of the artist’s
process.”
An established photo-based artist herself,
Rausenberg is familiar with the necessity of
art in people’s lives, and she fondly recalls
instances from past Crawls when viewers
responded emotionally to the artwork.
“When you’re opening up your own space,
you’re really exposing yourself and saying to
the public, ‘Here’s who I am and here’s what
I do.’ People really respond to that level of
vulnerability – I think that they need and want
that,” Rausenberg affirms. “In a way, it’s what
they’re looking for and that’s why they keep
connecting to this event time and time again.”
The Eastside Culture Crawl will run from
November 14-18.
We always listen to feedback and it’s become
very obvious that people are eating dinner.
Everything at this thing has to be amazing, so
if dinner in the conscious or subconscious of
the guest is an integral part of completing an
awesome night we really want to focus on that.”
Bloch has some important advice for those
new to the festival, to make sure they maximize
their enjoyment. “First and foremost, it is based
around alcohol so safety is always a number one
priority,” he says. “Don’t drive, make sure you
take a taxi home or public transportation.”
Another piece of advice he has is perhaps less
obvious, but is also safety related: “There’s no
rush. People have four hours to taste. Eat. Drink
water, which will be onsite. Have a snack.
There’s no reason to just pound. Our whole
thing about this festival is that it’s not a reason
to get drunk. We don’t want anyone who’s just
looking to get hammered. There are lots of
liquor stores – buy a bottle and stay home.”
MODULUS FESTIVAL
NOT YOUR AVERAGE CLASSICAL MUSIC FEST
MATHEW WILKINS
Post-classical, neoclassical, neoromantic, electroacoustic…
these are just a few words to describe types of music even
our most seasoned concert-going readership may have
a hard time defining. Yet they are also the sonic bread
and butter of Music on Main’s annual Modulus Festival, a
five-day showcase of the world’s best in contemporary
classical music. Aimed at providing diverse and accessible
programming to the city, this festival is the perfect
opportunity for those of us looking to expand our sonic
palate.
“Modulus is full of opportunities to get in a room with
people from around the world and hear things that you
don’t normally get to hear in your own community,” says
Dave Pay, founder of Music on Main and Artistic Director
for the festival.
According to Pay, Modulus’ programming is absolutely
brimming with the unconventional; composers,
conductors, and performers from far and wide have been
specially selected for this year’s festival to show Vancouver
citizens how “composers are seeing and hearing the
world.” Included in the programming are artists like British
composer and vocalist Laura Bowler, whose piece explores
online political activism through lyricism, composition,
and mixed media. Others, like French composer Thierry
Pécou, have written works for the show that, through
their music, provide refuge from rapid and invasive
technological progress.
“These artists are of the world,” explains Pay of this
year’s selections. “And they’re creating works that are of
the world and relevant to all of us. And that’s something
that I think people don’t expect with new music, or
contemporary classical, or whatever they’re calling it.”
This year’s music, as a result, is highly varied. Some
pieces explore what Pay calls “the fallibility of technology.”
Other performances focus on the audience’s visceral
reaction to sound. Yet words obviously fail when trying
to describe the myriad compositions that will be at this
year’s Modulus. The best option, dear readers, is obviously
to attend... and with ticket prices sitting at a comfortable
maximum of $29, this opportunity is a hard one for the
sonically curious to pass up. Not convinced? Try checking
out some of the free Modulus events to whet your aural
appetite.
”We want all the shows to be accessible because we
know that sharing art and experiencing art together
builds a stronger community,” explains Pay, before artfully
capping off the interview with something we can all agree
on:
“We all end up caring more for each other when we
listen together.”
Modulus Festival runs from November 2-6 at the
Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre, CBC
Studio 700, and The Post at 750.
For 23 years, the Hopscotch Festival has been educating guests about all things liquor.
6
Hopscotch Festival runs from November 23-24 at
the PNE Forum.
Thierry Pécou riffs on classical music at Modulus 2018.
November 2018

AMPLIFY BC
GRANTS NOW
AVAILABLE FOR BC’S
MUSIC INDUSTRY
CAREER
DEVELOPMENT
Supporting sound
recording, marketing +
music videos for BC Artists
Deadline:
December 12, 2018
LIVE
MUSIC
Supporting BC-based
live music events
Deadline:
November 14, 2018
MUSIC INDUSTRY
INITIATIVES
Grants to grow BC’s
music industry
Rolling intake until
March 1, 2019
AmplifyBC
APPLY + LEARN MORE AT creativebc.com creativebcs
ALSO ON VIEW THIS SEASON
A CURATOR’S VIEW: IAN THOM SELECTS
Through March 17, 2019
GUO PEI: COUTURE BEYOND
Through January 20, 2019
THE METAMORPHOSIS
November 24, 2018 - March 17, 2019
THROUGH
FEB 3, 2019
Dana Claxton: Fringing The Cube is organized by the Vancouver Art Gallery and curated by Grant Arnold, Audain
Curator of British Columbia Art
Visionary Partners for Photography Exhibitions:
Miles, Maureen and Larry Lunn
Supporting Sponsor:
Major support provided by:
Cathy Zuo
Dana Claxton, Headdress, 2015, LED Firebox with transmounted chromogenic transparency, Collection of the Vancouver
Art Gallery, Purchased with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts Acquisition Grants program and the
Vancouver Art Gallery Acquisition Fund

Glenn Brown Anaesthesia, (2001) oil on panel | 41 9/16 x 31 11/16 x 15/16 in (105.5 x 83 x 2 cm)
Rennie Museum | 51 East Pender St | Vancouver

KITTY NIGHTS
THE LAST MEOW MARKS THE END OF AN ERA
MIA GLANZ
Photo by TD Images
CITY
FEATURED CONCERTS
VICTORIA, BC
HEADSTONES
PLUS THE MATCHSTICK SKELETONS
CAPITAL BALLROOM // WEDNESDAY NOV 21
DELHI 2 DUBLIN
PLUS KHANVICT
CAPITAL BALLROOM // SATURDAY NOV 24
Burgundy Brixx and the Purrfessor celebrate a 10 year legacy of Kitty Nights in Vancouver with one last meow.
Like many good things in life, the reigning
burlesque night in Vancouver, Kitty Nights, began
as an implant from New York City. It was 2007 and
Burgundy Brixx and the Purrfessor had had enough
of George Bush, so they made the decision to seek
refuge north of the border.
“Seems quaint now,” the Purrfessor laughs.
In New York, Burgundy had been a long time
performer, loving the “mishmash” of the burlesque
scene: elegant, dedicated clubs, as well as dive bars
where you never knew who you would see. It was “a
really wild, crazy place,” she says.
Suddenly: a rustle of chiffon, a gasp, a scream.
“Oh my god, dirty martinis here!”
For Burgundy, the beauty of New York burlesque
was the spontaneous nature of booking and
performing. “Some of the top names in burlesque
would be in this little hole in the wall and you paid
five dollars to get in.”
This was the attitude Kitty Nights brought to
the Canadian scene. At the time, burlesque in
Vancouver was members only. You belonged to a
troupe and performed with the troupe. Burgundy
transplanted the name of the night that she ran
in New York as well as its ethos when she founded
Kitty Nights in Vancouver.
“You don’t have to be in a troupe. If you do
burlesque let us know, we’ll see if we can put you
on our stage.”
According to Burgundy, burlesque has always
been an anti-establishment art form. The tradition
began in the 1800s in Britain. “They were femalerun,
femal- cast productions that were satires of
operas and of Shakespeare and of classical highbrow
theatre,” says Burgundy. Male parts were
played by women. At the time women weren’t on
stage, and they weren’t revealing a lick of skin in
society. It was all about poking fun at the upper
classes, an act of political activism to say “this is me
and my body and it’s hilarious.”
But of course, in the 1800s, showing the body
meant maybe an ankle was revealed under the
hem of the toga of the woman playing the part
of a Roman. What defined burlesque then was
the comedy, the irreverent tone, and the gender
of the performer rather than nakedness. It wasn’t
until Gypsy Rose Lee in the 1930s that strip tease
became part of burlesque. Legend has it that after
Lee, the Godmother of Burlesque, had finished
singing a bawdy song on stage, thinking the
curtains were up, she began to take off the cuff and
collar from her costume. These accoutrements were
white and between acts were removed to keep
clean. This particular night, the curtains did not go
down, and the audience thought Gypsy was taking
her clothes off, and began hooting and hollering
wildly.
“Her boss said, ‘Whatever you did, do that every
night.’ So she started making it into a tease,” adds
Burgundy.
“[It’s about] trying to get a rise out of your
audience,” quips Burgundy. “Gypsy Rose Lee would
talk about current events while she was taking her
clothes off. Everyone knows that you’re going to be
naked by the end of the show – it’s the story you
tell, how you get from here to there.”
According to Burgundy, the 1970s were “when
the patriarchy completely took over, and they
didn’t want any of the stories. They just wanted the
nakedness… that’s when burlesque died.”
Which brings us to New York City in the 1990s,
when the club kids and the comedians got together
to revive this forgotten art. Soon after, Kitty Nights
was born and made its way to Canada. It has been
a weekly fixture of Vancouver nightlife for 10
years, winning numerous accolades, including four
golden plates, and even helping Burgundy and the
Purrfessor win the fight for Canadian residency.
This November, the infamous event will have its
“Last Meow” at the Rio Theatre to mark its tenth
anniversary, as well as the exit of Burgundy Brixx
and the Purrfessor from the burlesque stage.
The details of the performance will be a surprise.
In true New York style, the
“top secret super celebrity international guests”
won’t be revealed beforehand, making it a huge
thrill for the audience when they emerge from
backstage on the big night. Maybe Burgundy Brixx
will pull out one or two of her signature numbers:
“The Brickhouse,” because she sure loves funk, or
“Cinnamon Buns” with the assless dress.
“The subtle art of fuckery” – exactly what Kitty
Nights is all about.
FUNK THE HALLS: THE
FUNK HUNTERS
PLUS GUESTS
CAPITAL BALLROOM // FRI NOV 30 & SAT DEC 1
YUKON BLONDE & THE ZOLAS
PLUS GUESTS
CAPITAL BALLROOM • THURSDAY DEC 6
FOR FULL CONCERT LISTINGS & TO PURCHASE
TICKETS, PLEASE VISIT:
WWW.ATOMIQUEPRODUCTIONS.COM
FACEBOOK /ATOMIQUEPRODUCTIONS TWITTER @ATOMIQUEEVENTS
November 2018 9

A holiday treat for the whole family!
Written by Marcus Youssef | Directed by Stephen Drover
Music by Veda Hille
Nov 28, 2018–
Jan 06, 2019
THEATRE
PLACES, PLEASE
YOUR MONTHLY THEATRE GUIDE
LEAH SIEGEL
As we put away our sexy Halloween costumes and
shift our attention to the inevitable cold embrace of
winter, let’s talk theatre. Sure, that older stuff
has its time and place. Arthur Miller’s Crucible? We’ll
take it. Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya? Love it. The
Bard himself, Willy Shakes? *Kisses fingertips* Classic.
But there’s another reason to go to see live
theatre. Below is a selection of local playwrights and
companies doing some awesome stuff this month,
from creatively incorporating multimedia in new
ways, to gender bending older stories. Avengers 27
(or whatever’s playing now — it’s hard to keep track)
can wait. It’s time for something different.
Monsterkill 5: Remonsterkilled (Or, We
Were the Empty Set) at Havana Theatre,
Oct. 30-Nov. 3
With the world so divided right now, it’s nice to take
a break from people bashing each other up to watch
other people bash each other up. In an homage
to the whack-em-up video game à la Super Smash
Bros., we follow the exploits of a group of avatars
in a video game where they are manipulated into
senselessly fighting each other by a couple of unseen
voices. This isn’t just Ready Player One nostalgic
whimsy, though. In his play, writer-director Matt
Horrigan alludes to the uglier sides of video gaming,
specifically the excessive violence of “militainment,”
and the right-wing subcultures that are thriving
online.
Ultimately, the players in Monsterkill “don’t
struggle to escape the game,” Horrigan says. “They
struggle with why they’re there.” Eventually, they
reach a point where “they’re no longer able to answer
that question.”
Empire of the Son at Gateway Theatre
Nov. 8-17
When Tetsuro Shigematsu first debuted his one-man
show at The Cultch a few years back, Vancouver took
notice. In it, he fiddled with toys, played recorded
conversations between himself and his father, and
employed the use of a camera to paint an intimate
portrait of his father, who had only just passed
before the first performance. Colin Thomas, still at
The Georgia Straight, called it “exquisite.”
Since then, Shigematsu has taken Empire all over
Canada. Time, nevertheless, has not made the piece
stale. “Because the text is so much in my body, I’m
at a point where when I’m onstage, if I take a breath,
I genuinely do not know what I’m about to say until
I begin to talk,” he says. “It’s as if the lines of the play
are occurring to me for the first time. Sometimes this
show just hits me and I’m knocked over.”
See this one while you can, folks. Once it wraps
here, Shigematsu takes “=Empire abroad. It ain’t
coming back.
The Enemy at Firehall Arts Centre, Nov.
10-Dec. 1
In case you didn’t hear, the United Nations came out
with a climate report in October essentially saying
that humanity is screwed. (We’re not panicking,
you’re panicking.)
As if on cue, Firehall is mounting a production of
Henrik Ibsen’s “Enemy of the People” this month. The
play, written over one hundred years ago, depicts
the timeless-yet-quite-timely battle between the
environment and the economy. In it, we follow Dr.
Stockmann, a scientist who raises concerns over the
safety of a community’s water. The townspeople,
whose income is dependent upon the local baths,
don’t take too kindly to their livelihoods being
threatened. For this contemporary take, Firehall has
added another dimension by making Dr. Stockmann
a woman. We can only assume that her gender will
make everything easier for her, right?
If any of this is giving you existential angst,
there’s always the option to binge watch cat videos.
Honestly, we might just go do that.
Photo by Pedro Meza
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THECULTCH.COM
Jenn Griffin and Paul Herbert star in The Enemy, an interpretation of Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People.
10
November 2018

Pretty little birds harass diners
on the Vancouver Art Gallery’s
cafe patio. They’re starlings. Perched
on empty chairs, they tilt their heads,
begging for food. They’re here because
in the 1890s a group of Shakespeare
enthusiasts released starlings in
New York’s Central Park. The North
American landscape agreed with
them, and they eventually spread to
B.C. They compete with several native
species for nesting space and food.
By Lauren Donnelly
Since they moved in, woodpecker,
martin and bluebird populations have
declined. They’re an invasive alien
species, and true to eurocentric form,
they’re now invading the art gallery
patio. One aggressive starling flaps its
wings, interrupting artist Dana Claxton
mid-sentence. She acknowledges the
imported bird. “They’re bossy things,
although they’re pretty,” she says.
“You could say the same thing about
colonialism, right?”
From the mid-1990s to today,
Hunkpapa Lakota artist Dana Claxton’s
work has examined and challenged
colonialism. Its footprint is wide and
deep in Canada, and Claxton is skilled
at recognizing its impacts. Using
performance art, video installations,
text-based work and photography, she
explores the intersections of colonial
ideology, indigeneity, beauty, identity,
history, culture and spirituality. A survey
exhibition of the Vancouver-based
artist’s work from the last 28 years is
now on display at the Vancouver Art
Gallery.
The exhibition is called Fringing
the Cube. “The cube” is artist Brian
O’Doherty’s theoretical analysis of the
gallery space as a white cube. The fringe,
Claxton explains, is a foundational
part of Sioux plains aesthetics. It’s
like a living thing. “A lot of the plains
dances are based on the relationship
with the natural world,” she says. “The
grass dances emulate the wild prairie
grass, the wild chicken dance, the crow
hop, they all have those relationships
and so there’s certain ways that you
move your fringe for certain reasons.”
Through Indigenous aesthetics, the
sterile, intimidating, western gallery
space aesthetic comes alive with the
landscape it’s built on.
Landscapes have had a formative role
in Claxton’s work. At five-years-old she
longed to be a filmmaker, and growing
up in Moose Jaw, the sky might have
had something to do with it. “That sky,”
she says. “It’s like the largest screen in
the world.” Living in Vancouver she
misses the thunder, and the wind of
the prairies. The marriage of sound,
image and music intrigues her. She’s
collaborated with local musicians
including Lil’wat Nation composer
Russell Wallace and Coast Salish hiphop
artist Ostwelve (Ronnie Dean
Harris). Most recently, she’s worked
with her nephew Mitchell Claxton,
he’s a DJ and EDM producer based in
Alberta. She says as a first generation
MuchMusic viewer, the aesthetics
of music videos have influenced her
work. When she’s working, music helps
her conjure things up. Her playlist
includes a range of genres from peyote
to rap, hip-hop to Chopin –– whose
compositions can make her cry –– to
EDM. She’s not a hundred per cent sure
of where the music genre boundaries
begin and end, but on the weekend she
saw Diplo perform. Her review? He was
incredible.
When she moved to Vancouver
in the early ’80s the punk scene was
still exploding. Her boyfriend was a
drummer in a punk band, and going
to his gigs introduced her to a whole
different world. “I got thrust into the art
scene and observed it for a long time,”
she says. “Because art has a relationship
to class and privilege, it’s mysterious.”
Then she took a job working at the
Helen Pitt Gallery. And that changed
everything.
The Pitt was an artist-run centre.
Artist-run centres first cropped up
in the ’60s as a response to the lack
of works by local artists in public
art galleries. “That was how I started
out,” says Claxton. She calls herself a
late-bloomer in Vancouver’s art scene,
“wanting to think about how to have
Photo by Zee Khan
Dana Claxton Flips the Colonial Script
different voices within art and not just
the west. ‘Cause the west doesn’t just
own art.”
Ownership is a powerful theme in
Claxton’s work. For too long, Indigenous
representation has been co-opted by
colonialism. Just watch an episode of
APTN’s series First Contact and you’ll
hear the sort of ugly stereotypes that
the mainstream media has used to
represent Indigenous cultures. The
docu-series challenges perceptions of
mostly-caucasian Canadians by bringing
them to Indigenous communities.
Claxton says that any kind of
conversation is good if it brings people
together. Colonialism has caused a
cultural distancing with systems like
residential schools and reservations that
kept people apart. “Put people on a
plot of land and build a barrier around
it and then they become scary,” she
says. That fear is part of our beautiful
country’s ugly, brutal history.
“I heard someone say the other day,
post-reconciliation,” she says. “And I
thought post-reconciliation already?
People don’t know. They just don’t
know, and education is implicated in
that not knowing.” As an educator at
the University of British Columbia’s
Visual Arts program, Claxton recognizes
that reconciliation is a fraught process
that many people still don’t understand.
Through teaching, she’s realized that
many of her students don’t know
about Canadian realities. Not knowing
means there’s a risk of history repeating
itself. For years her art has unpacked,
demystified and debunked Indigenous
representation in art and pop culture,
and offered another perspective. She
doesn’t create to educate, but her art
is intuitive, and Canada’s racist history
has impacted her and her family. “It
impacted my own psyche and who I
am as a Lakota Canadian woman,” she
says. “That interests me.” Pursuing that
interest spurs her creativity.
Her photographic work is bold and
impactful. In Headdress-Jeneen (2018),
artist Jeneen Frei Njootli sits dressed in
black, bedecked in beadwork –– from
bracelets, to a pink beaded ball cap, to
a moccasin pressed against her chest.
Her face is obscured. We can’t see her
and we can’t quite tell if she can see
us. It’s part of a series inspired by the
phenomenon of Indigenous women
wearing their beadwork only to receive
unwanted touch. “I hear that story over
and over,” Claxton says. “Why people
think they can reach out and touch
Indigenous things on somebody’s body
is remarkable. There’s something up
there in terms of privilege, I think.”
Headdress, the first piece in the series,
shows a woman whose face is hidden
by beadwork from Claxton’s own
personal collection. After that she asked
others to bring in their collections to be
photographed. Claxton said she knew
Jeneen’s image would be powerful.
“Even to shoot that photo, it became
this heightened experience,” Claxton
says. “Those things have their own
energy, their own manna, and they’re
made by people in her community
and her family so that whole thing was
vibrating, it was alive.”
Far from frivolous, aesthetics are
powerful. The Canadian government
recognized that power when it created
the Indian Act. The Act forbade
Indigenous people from wearing their
regalia, practicing their traditions,
and speaking their own languages.
Claxton is still floored when she
thinks about how Indigenous cultures
were criminalized. She works with
Indigenous aesthetics because they’re
beautiful. She finds beauty, like art, is
everywhere. But she insists it needs
to be reframed outside of judgement,
class, and privilege. “You just have to
reclaim all this stuff and own it yourself
and have your own interpretation,” she
says. “There’s not just one definition or
analysis of beauty. That’d be crazy!”
Canada’s beauty belies an ugly
past. A country of peace and liberty
that has developed at the expense of
suppressing Indigenous people and
extracting their land. It’s a dynamic
contrast symbolized by the beautiful
sleek starlings on the Art Gallery patio.
Claxton’s conscious awareness makes
her art so powerful. She observes
everything, really sees things, and then
turns those observations into art. Art
that has the potential to open people’s
hearts and minds.
“First of all the image is in your mind,
then you create it in the studio, then
it goes into the public,” she says. “Into
the cube –– the gallery –– and then
the life that it has after that becomes
a shared experience. The viewer has an
experience with it and they take that
experience and tell somebody at work.
That’s the spirit of art, of how it exists.
It’s really generous.”
When you think of it that way
you can see why imperialists found
Indigenous art so threatening, and why
the artist’s autonomy is so important.
As her first survey exhibition
approaches, Claxton is understandably
reflective. Surveying what she’s been up
to all these years has been a remarkable
experience for her. “At the end it’s a
relief,” she says. “But at the moment
it’s scary, daunting and uplifting.”
She laughs. “So I think those are all
good things.” As for Canada’s odds of
reconciliation, Claxton’s optimistic
that it can happen with a shift of
consciousness.
“It will all work itself clean,” she says.
“It’ll all work itself clean, but it’s going
to take awhile yet.”
Dana Claxton: Fringing the Cube is
on view at the Vancouver Art Gallery
October 27, 2018 to February 3, 2019. A
catalogue of her work co-published by
Figure 1 Publishing & The Vancouver Art
Gallery is available for purchase online
and at the Gallery Gift Shop.
November 2018 11

COMEDY
BRIAN POSEHN
CUTTING BOTH A FEARSOME AND FEARLESS PERSONA
JOSH SHEPPARD
Photo by Seth Olenick
Brian Posehn has written a comedic memoir detailing the memorable moments of his life.
ED THE SOCK
RETURNING TO WAGE WAR ON STUPID
JOHNNY PAPAN
Very few of us can resoundingly say we’ve followed
our hobbies and had them turn into a successful
career. Brian Posehn is one of those lucky people
who has done so while also staying true to his
innate sensibilities. The comedian is doing a stand
up tour as well as promoting his new book, a
memoir full of heartfelt anecdotes regarding his
formative years and experiences with his heroes.
In the flurry of changing and shifting landscapes,
the comedian, actor, and writer has been able
to have a consistent output of projects that feel
true to his sensibilities as an artist. Despite being
involved in basically every sitcom from the ‘90s,
Posehn is still able to recollect the best moments of
being in a good writers’ room.
“Being a 20-something and getting the chance to
work with Bob Odenkirk and David Cross was one
of the most rewarding experiences of my career,”
says Posehn. “Bob was the true show runner of ‘Mr.
Show’ – he is one of the only people I would call a
comic genius. He would see the potential in all of
our ideas, whether they worked or didn’t, and this
helped me learn about the process. ‘Mr. Show’ is
still one of my favourite projects that I’ve worked
on.”
Having an unabashed interest in the “nerdy,”
Posehn doesn’t care what you think – he’s going to
do projects that interest him.
“I have been involved in a huge number of
differing subjects. I’d say I’ve had a dream life in
regards to the people I’ve met and had the pleasure
of working with. Just to name a few, I’ve worked on
the Deadpool comics as well as working with Rob
Zombie in The Devil’s Rejects where I got brutally
murdered. I’ve worked with Spielberg and even had
the late great Ronnie James Dio come to my house.”
Fantasies are sometimes best defined by the
hobbies we choose to live through. Dungeons &
Dragons is one of the most creative and immersive
activities, brimming with unlimited potential. Stand
up likewise retains similarities as a storytelling
outlet. The individuals involved must create their
own narrative with a certain dynamism that always
contains different variables at play.
“The unlimited potential and imagination of it all
is very enriching to create what could be described
as pure fantasy. The storytelling aspect really does
have a connection with stand-up in that you can go
anywhere with it.”
Having your niche hobbies directly tied to your
showbiz persona for many could be seen as a
pitfall, potentially too alienating for a mainstream
audience. But Posehn’s ability to continue to work
on mainstream sitcoms while still being able to
reach a dedicated alternative audience shows that
you must be fearless in what you enjoy.
Catch Brian Posehn November 15-17 at Comedy Mix.
Ed the Sock is much more than a mere sock
puppet. He’s also kind of an asshole. But he’s an
educated asshole with strong statements and a
charming knack for calling out stupidity when
he sees it. The gruff-voiced, green-haired, cigar
chomping personality is a key figure in historical
Canadian pop-culture and entertainment. Now,
he is set to embark on his coast-to-coast “War on
Stupid Tour” which will see him unapologetically
comment on modern day societal bullshit such as
fake news, culture wars, outrage warriors, the altright,
the radical left, and much more.
“I have had so many people over the past few
years asking me to come back and speak truth
to morons. I could no longer say no,” Ed explains.
“People are aggravated and frustrated that nobody
is out there expressing the views of the average
intelligent Canadian, because reasonable voices
get drowned out. But nobody drowns me out. I
look forward to pressing the flesh during the tour.
In a figurative sense, not like Weinstein or Cosby. I
can be an asshole, but I am an asshole in service of
non-assholes. Someone needs to be your voice.”
Ed is known for hosting a slew of shows from
the mid-‘90s to 2000s including Ed’s Night Party,
Ed’s Nite In, I Hate Hollywood, This Movie Sucks!,
and the list goes on. He is best known for his work
with MuchMusic during the channel’s golden
years. Ed, upset with MuchMusic’s change in
character over the last several years, made a video
12
entitled “Who Murdered MuchMusic?” which was
ordered to be taken down by the channel’s current
owners, Bell Media.
“MuchMusic is dead. They dropped the ‘music’
from their name a few years back, so now it’s just
called ‘Much,’ which is ironic because they are
clearly ‘Less,’” Ed says. “It was a revolution in how
TV looked, felt, and sounded, a rejection of the
norms of the TV industry. Then management
stopped valuing the channel’s uniqueness and
started trying to emulate traditional television. It
isn’t Bell that killed it – they inherited a channel
that had already shit the bed. They just changed
the sheets.”
Now, Ed the Sock, alongside creator Steven
Kerzner, hopes to restore and revitalize the energy
of MuchMusic through their own web-based
platform: the FU Network, which will feature a
plethora of brand new shows like Hey Ladies,
Shooting the Shit, and other comedic programs.
Old school Ed the Sock fans will be excited to hear
that one of his most popular showcases, Fromage,
will be returning as Fromage: The Cheesy History
of Music Videos, a weekly show that will comically
cover music videos from the 1950s to modern
times.
Ed concludes: “People can now customize what
news biases they immerse themselves in, what kind
of opinions or information they get. They try to
edit out the outside world and get outraged when
the outside world pokes through. We’ve made
ourselves stupid. Someone has to shatter the shell
people have built around themselves, and so far, I
don’t see anyone stepping up. So here I am.”
Ed the Sock performs at the Upstairs Cabaret
(Victoria) on November 28 and the Biltmore
Cabaret (Vancouver) on November 29.
The web-based FU Network aims to restore the energy of the classic MuchMusic era with Ed The Sock.
November 2018

KNIFENERD
THE STUDENT BECOMES THE MASTER
JEEVIN JOHAL
Owner Kevin Kent is dedicated to the knife life.
GOODWILL LAGER
A BEER BREWED FOR THE KIDS
JORDAN YEAGER
The holiday season is about spending quality
time with those closest to us – gathering for
family dinners, drinking hot chocolate, and
expressing our gratitude for what we have. It’s
a time for reflection and generosity. But when
you’re a kid, it doesn’t hurt to also receive a
gift or two to show off to your friends come
the new school year.
For some families, providing gifts for their
children doesn’t come easy, and it can fall
to the wayside in favour of more necessary
expenditures. Enter Goodwill Lager, a beer
brewed and designed in collaboration
between Red Truck Beer Company and
Donnelly Group. They’ve brewed 10,000 cans,
and one dollar from each can purchased at
any Donnelly location will go towards a toy
drive held on December 3.
“It started as a bunch of managers just
grabbing toys and donating them to kids,”
says Donnelly Group Director of Marketing
Damon Holowchak. “Now, it’s evolved to
include each member of our staff, which
is over 1,000 people. We give them $50
Toys ‘R’ Us gift cards and they purchase an
unwrapped toy that becomes their entrance
to our Christmas party. The Salvation
Army comes and picks them up, they fill
wish lists the best they can, and those toys
A Samurai without his sword is no different
from a chef without his knife. The relationship
forged between steel and the one who wields
it is a natural romance, and although both
individuals are intelligent and adaptable in the
face of adversity, an extreme vulnerability exists
without the possession of a sharp blade.
Owner and President of Knifewear, a
Japanese knife shop in Vancouver, Kevin Kent
knows this well and has devoted his life to
showing both chefs and home cooks alike
what power lies in a handmade Japanese knife,
despite initially being a skeptic himself.
“In 1999, I was working in London, England
and I found a booth with this guy selling a
bunch of Japanese knives, and I said to the
man with confidence: ‘Look, I’m a chef. I keep
my knives razor sharp,’” explains a slightly
embarrassed Kent. “I grabbed his knife and gave
it a big windup to slice through a tomato and it
blazed through and stuck in the cutting board!
I fell in love.”
Kent quickly developed an insatiable lust
for all things metallic, collecting knives and
selling them to friends when he returned back
to Canada.
“I used to be like that weed dealer in college
who sold weed to [smoke it],” admits Kent.
“My idea was to sell a few knives to buy more
are distributed to children that might not
normally have toys at all. We’re over a million
bucks in toys given away.”
Though the toy drive has been held for 18
years now, Donnelly Group has never quite
figured out a way to engage the public in
their initiative. That all changes this year with
the introduction of Goodwill Lager. At each
of their venues on both the east and west
coasts, tall cans of the beer will be added to
menus from November 1 until December 3.
“We didn’t ever include the public as well
as we could in what we thought was a really
good initiative, because it was mostly an
internal party for staff,” says Holowchak. “We
always wanted to get our guests involved,
and this year we found a way that we can all
talk about the toy drive and allow them to
get involved in a pretty simple way. We’re
encouraging all of our customers to come in
and drink a beer – which they’re probably
going to do anyway with us – but this way,
you can give some money for toys for kids.
Hopefully, with a buck each, at least $10,000
will be donated in addition [to the $50 per
staff member] for more toys.”
You can find Goodwill Lager at any Donnelly
Group venue from November 1 to December 3.
so I could open a restaurant and it got out of
control.”
The restaurant idea was quickly abandoned
once Kent saw how lucrative his business
model was becoming, and now with four stores
across Canada, Kent has decided to chronicle
the teachings bestowed upon him through his
frequent journeys to Japan in an aptly titled
new book, The Knifenerd Guide to Japanese
Knives.
“Other books focus either on how to sharpen
knives or the real nuts and bolts of how to use a
knife,” says Kent. “Cool, but we wanted to focus
on the blacksmiths and the craftsmen who
make them.”
It takes much time, strength, and discipline
to become a Samurai or a chef, and as
comfortable as Kent is with a knife in his hands,
he openly admits he’s only just begun his
training in the ways of the almighty pen.
“I’m a burnt out chef. I don’t fancy myself a
writer, and I wasn’t optimistic or particularly
confident when I started,” he confesses. “But I
think what we’ve turned out is a book I really
love.”
The book launch for A Knifenerd Guide to
Japanese Knives takes place at Knifewear (Main
St. location) on November 7.
RIO
THEATRE
1660 EAST BROADWAY
NOVEMBER
COMPLETE LISTINGS AT WWW.RIOTHEATRE.CA
November 2018 13
NOVEMBER
1
NOVEMBER
2
NOVEMBER
3
NOVEMBER
4-5
NOVEMBER
7
NOVEMBER
9
12
15
16
22
TO
25
28
PAUL ANTHONY’S
TALENT TIME!
First Thursday of Every Month!
Blues Legends
SUE FOLEY & JIM BYRNES
THE ROCKY HORROR
PICTURE SHOW
Friday Late Night Movie
THE BIG BAD FOX
& OTHER TALES
CHILLY GONZALES:
SHUT UP AND PLAY THE PIANO
SWEET SOUL BURLESQUE:
15 Years of Ferocity
BEST F(R)IENDS
VOLUME 1 & 2
+ THE ROOM
Hosted by Greg Sestero!
BIRDS OF CHICAGO
with Daniel Rodriguez
Vancouver Premiere!
THE ORCHARD
Cast & Crew in Attendance
BATMAN:
MASK OF THE PHANTOM
Friday Late Night Movie
NOVEMBER The Fictionals Comedy Co. Presents
IMPROV AGAINST HUMANITY
#IAHATRIO
30
BACK TO THE FUTURE
Friday Late Night Movie
DUNKIRK
NOVEMBER
KITTY NIGHTS BURLESQUE:
THE LAST MEOW
11
Their FINAL Burlesque Show
NOVEMBER
NOVEMBER
NOVEMBER
NOVEMBER
18
21
NOVEMBER
Hard Rubber Orchestra
Presents:
A TRIBUTE TO KING CRIMSON
SEINFELD BURLESQUE
MARIA BY CALLAS:
IN HER OWN WORDS
THE RIO GRIND
FILM FESTIVAL!
VANCOUVER’S FAVORITE
GENRE FILM FESTIVAL!
Details at www.riotheatre.ca
NOVEMBER THE CRITICAL HIT SHOW!
NOVEMBER
A #DNDLIVE IMPROVISED
EPIC FANTASY!
#DNDLive
The Geekenders Present
DISNEY “Big Band”
BURLESQUE
CITY

JAMILA POMEROY
Grassifieds
CANNABIS
LEGALIZATION
IN BRITISH
COLUMBIA:
WHAT YOU
SHOULD KNOW
On October 17, Canada became the second
country in the world to fully legalize cannabis,
second to Uruguay. During the first 24 hours
of legalization, B.C’s online legal government
cannabis sales came in at around 10,000
individual sales, and about 100,000 individual
sales at the Ontario online legal government
cannabis store. While the province is roughly
three-times the size of B.C. in population, our
sales are still significantly lower than Ontario,
when broken down to a population size more
comparable to B.C.; if Ontario were to have a
similar population as us, their average online
sales would have come in at around at over
30,000, three-times more than B.C. The online
sales have since dropped to about 8,700 a
week and have been projected to continue to
drop. It’s hard to say at this point whether the
low sales are due to the province’s allegiance
to the grey-zone cannabis infrastructure that
was in place prior to legalization, or to the
talked about inferior government cannabis:
perhaps British Columbians have been spoiled
living in Canada’s Amsterdam.
Regardless of low sales there seems to be a
slightly more noticeable essence of the green
stuff in the Vancouver air, with dispensary
line-ups larger than usual. The government
of Canada is clearly putting light on the
recreational use of cannabis, steering from
touching on the medicinal side of the plant,
hopefully just for the time being. When
calling into the government’s online store
call centre with questions about cannabis, in
regards to health and ailments, you will most
likely be given vague information that steers
clear of offering health advice, and lacks the
resources to direct you to said health advice.
The Health Canada born Medicinal Cannabis
program still remains, but it appears the
legalization and sudden social acceptance of
cannabis has further embedded medicinal
programing: making light of British
Columbian stoner culture, while leaving
medicinal patients in the dark.
Despite the newfound acceptance of the
plant, there seems to be much confusion over
the laws and regulations surrounding. Here
are some crucial things you should know
about cannabis legalization in Canada:
Who is eligible?
You must be 19 years or older to buy, use,
possess, and grow non-medical cannabis.
Exemptions are made to those with medical
cannabis permits.
Where is cannabis sold, and
how do I know the cannabis I am
purchasing is legal?
Cannabis will be sold exclusively at
government-run stores, licensed private
retailers, and the B.C. government’s online
store. While prior to legalization, dispensaries
were monitored by their respective police
and municipal forces, licensed private retailers
will now be both monitored and licenced
by the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation
Branch. Non-medical cannabis is to carry an
excise stand on its packaging, similar to the
stamp found on tobacco: the excise stamp
acts as verification that the product is from
both a licenced grower and retailer, while
assuring the correct tax has been paid. All
cannabis products without this excise stamp
are not legal. Medical cannabis purchasers
will continue to purchase through the
government.
How much can I carry and grow?
Adults 19+ are permitted to carry up to 1,000
grams of dried cannabis in a public place, or
your own home. Connective, you may not
grow more than the allotted 1,000 grams;
projections should be based on the expected
yield from four cannabis plants (limmit four
plants per-household). Exemptions are made
for medical cannabis permit holders.
Where can I use cannabis?
Public use laws follow suit of tobacco
smoking laws, excluding smoking in
communal spaces such as playgrounds and
sports fields. Cannabis users are prohibited
from smoking within six metres of air intakes,
windows, and doors. While smoking tobacco
is illegal in most indoor facilities, smoking
Photo by Ryan Walter Wagner
cannabis in hotel rooms for example, is legal,
should the hotel permit it. Exemptions are
made for medical cannabis permit holders.
Like alcohol and other impairing substances,
it is illegal to drive while high; there has been
no differentiation yet made, in regards to
whether the consumption of isolated CBD
based cannabis products can be legally
consumed prior to driving. Consumption in
or on private property is fully legal, however,
renters must abide by landlords, strata
council rules.
While it is clear that the focus of
legalization and cannabis legislation has
been on non-medical cannabis, medical
cannabis, and the medical cannabis program
is still available to those with the proper
corresponding ailments. Carriers of medical
cannabis permits will still be governed
by many of the prospective laws set prior
to legalization; there are exemptions for
use of Health Canada authorized medical
cannabis on school property and on intercity
busses, trains, and boats as long as specific
requirements are met. Specific details of
Health Canada authorized medical cannabis
law can be found in the updated Order in
Council No. 542, updated this October;
although they are not written in layman’s
terms, providing as information inaccessible
to the general public, without the presence
of a law professional, or persons familiar with
reading legislative amendments.
If the first few weeks of cannabis
legalization have told us anything, it’s
that British Columbians appear to have a
greater trust or allegiance to the existing
ecosystem of cannabis; a system that has
been built on grassroots and not a glass
ceiling, encompassing both the recreational
and medicinal attributes of cannabis. We
can only hope the government will follow
suit, providing accessible information to
Canadians, and products that serve a wide
range of consumers.
For more information on cannabis legislation,
law, and the corresponding amendments, visit
cannabis.gov.bc.ca
STRAIN-OF-THE-MONTH
Black Tuna
Black Tuna is a hybrid strain developed in British Columbia
by 5 Star Organic. The strain was bred specifically to help
offer fast relief to those dealing with chronic pain. It has
gained widespread fame as a cross between parent plants
Herijuana and Lamb’s Bread. The high THC strain is known
for its strong narcotic effects and whimsical marketing
from back-in-the-day; prepackaged flowers were sold in
sealed tuna cans. While the strain may have a strong smell,
it is in fact quite earthy, rather than the assumed contents
of a tuna can. Due to the strains high potency, it may not
be best suited for moderate or novice users.
Written by Jamila Pomeroy
14
November 2018

STREET/ROUTE
By Chris Dzaka | Photos by Timothy Nguyen
BeatRoute hits the pavement in
Vancouver and asks…
“
What do you waste your
money on the most?
Cyndi Dallow, shopper
“Eating in restaurants. It’s a lot more expensive than
grocery shopping and cooking at home. Especially
with not eating breakfast or bringing a lunch to work.
Before the afternoon even hits I’ve had something I’ve
picked up along the way for breakfast and something
I have to buy for lunch. It’s the snooze button tax.
Jesse Smith, barber at Uptown
“Shoes. I don’t wear them a lot. I don’t wear the ones I buy a lot. I
pack them away and save them for a rainy day, then I don’t end up
wearing them for months and months. I’m a sneakerhead!
Kayla Robins, pizza restaurant employee
“Food and clothing. Nobody needs to go out
every single night and buy a $54 steak.
Aundre Cade, construction worker
“My son, who’s 17 and has to eat and plays
football for New West. He’s 6’2’’ and 245 lbs.
And he should have a job at 17.
Dejan Stanic, Cartem Donuts
“Maybe adult vinyl toys. Like the art toys. I spent like $200 on
a dissection, it’s like an art piece but at the same time, why
did I spend that much money on a toy? That’s when I get
buyer’s remorse. I’m an adult man, why do I have toys?!
Riley Dickson,
Harley Davidson mechanic
“I’d probably say it’s an even tie between
rent in the city and the activities
available to do in the city. I do think
rent is pretty crazy around here. That’s
a big part of people’s costs. But also the
culture, the night life, and the activities
available. It’s super expensive to be here
but you get what you pay for.
Anthony Tse, restaurant manager
“Alcohol. I get value out of it – it’s like buying a car.
Once you get the car off the lot, it’s like you lose 30 per
cent. I could eat beans and rice all day, but where’s the
enjoyment?
Jessica Blaquiere,
barber at Uptown
“Graphic novels and books. It’s
not really a waste. I guess it’s a
waste because it’s not completely
needed. Sometimes they sit
there a while until I actually get
to them.
Holly Figueroa, stay-at-home mom
“I don’t know if it’s a waste, but coffee. It adds up
over time when you’re getting one every morning or
sometimes twice a day. On average I spend $3.50 to
$4.50 a day, if not more. Then I usually buy a bag of
coffee once every two weeks.
November 2018 15

MUSIC
WE ARE THE CITY
LOOKING BACK AND BREAKING FREE
SAFIYA HOPFE
With two new albums under their belt, We Are The City are an unstoppable musical force.
If there’s anything Cayne McKenzie, Andrew
Huculiak and David Menzel have mastered
in their decade spent playing music together
as We Are The City, it’s tapping into the
hearts of listeners with raw energy and
vulnerability. Tracks like “Time, Wasted” and
“Astronomers” captured the Vancouverbased
trio’s capacity to blend deeply melodic
melancholy with sharp intensity back in 2009.
Since then, albums High School (EP, 2011)
and Violent (2013) have hooked fans with
percussive variability, blunt lyrical awareness
and authentic emotion. Above Club (2015)
shattered any delusions that they might
CHINA SYNDROME
VANCOUVER POWER POP BAND HIDES IN PLAIN SIGHT
COLE YOUNG
It’s far from China Syndrome’s first rodeo.
Having just released their fourth studio
album, Hide In Plain Sight, they’ve designed
their own melodic sound fitting best under
the title of power pop. The local four-piece
have been working with producer David
Carswell (New Pornographers, Destroyer)
since the beginning, making sure to give their
records that polished touch, and their latest
offering is no exception.
This time, however, the band
experimented more with mixing up the
16
become predictable and now, three years
later, they are returning, with two albums —
RIP and At Night — prompted by a return
to their roots as individual artists and as an
unstoppable collective force.
Drummer Andy Huculiak describes the
experience of working on the first of the two
albums – RIP– from Cayne’s childhood home,
triggering nostalgia and a layered search for
creative freedom. “It was really potent. We’ve
been a band for over ten years now and that’s
a long time, a lot of things happen and things
change. I would say that a lot of the music
we make is influenced by where we make it,
China Syndrome’s latest, Hide In Plain Site, is a collective power pop rock offering.
Photo by Kristen Huculiak
and we were kind of hitting a wall at a studio
here in Vancouver, and were like, ‘Okay, how
do we get out of this? How do we change
things?’ And so we decided it would be a
good choice to kind of go back to where it all
started and that just proved to be the ticket.”
The second of the two albums, At Night,
is an emotionally-charged palette of hazy,
dirty etherealism. At once erratic and still,
quiet and hectic, it proves the band’s self
awareness, and capacity to balance full
creative freedom with mastery of all they
have come to be renowned for. “WHEN
I DREAM, I DREAM OF YOU” strikes a
balance between simple, almost corny lyrical
content and a truly idiosyncratic sense of
rhythm and progression. “CHOICE IS UNLIKE
ANYTHING” is under two minutes long and
as chaotic as anything else on the album,
but through its punchy asymmetry manages
a fully formed and poignant narrative arc.
Self-engineered, self-produced, and selfmastered,
At Night truly epitomizes the
freedom the trio aspired to in making it.
It also demonstrates the focus required to
produce a well-rounded masterpiece in such
a pressureless environment.
We Are The City perform November 8 at Lucky
Bar (Victoria).
songwriting responsibilities. Prior to this
album, vocalist and guitarist Tim Chan
was the primary composer but for this
offering, the rest of the guys : Vern Beamish
(guitar), Mike Chang (bass) and Kevin
Dubois (drums) hopped on the writing train,
bringing out interesting new layers to their
sound. Together the band moves in step
from the Red Hot Chili Peppers-esque funky
sounding track “State of Mind” to “Nowhere
To Go,” a tale of the regular guy being worn
down by the repetitiveness of the nine-tofive
lifestyle, to the sorrowful track “Empty,”
which is about coming home and realizing
a loved one has mysteriously disappeared.
The effect of multiple contributors gives you
something new to chew on the whole way
through the album.
When asked about the pros and cons of
self releasing albums, Chan expresses that
it’s always nice to have complete control.
“You know we’d love to have some help for
sure. We’ve talked about doing a Go-Fund-
Me sort of thing, but we then feel like we’re
putting the onus on other people. We don’t
like obligating other people.” A humble way
to go about making art, most of the band
makes their income by artistic means on
the side as well. Through visual art, film and
teaching music, these guys stay busy being
creative.
Looking forward, China Syndrome plan
to continue to play as many local and out of
town shows as possible while having a great
time making new music.
“The most important goal is to have fun,”
Chan says.
Hide In Plain Sight is out now on LP, CD and
all the streaming services.
WOODEN HORSEMAN
GO SOUTH WITH PAST LIVES
JEEVIN JOHAL
The mystic of the American South has long been a source
of musical inspiration for decades of songwriters. Grab any
legendary rockstar’s autobiography and there will likely be a
chapter on the artist’s affinity with the kaleidoscope of sounds
and blue collar, working class stories that came from this region.
On their latest record Past Lives, Vancouver outfit Wooden
Horsemen romanticize their own version of Americana. “It’s
the most passionate music ever recorded,” declares singer
Steven Beddall. Fellow singer, Missy Cross adds, “There’s
something deeply mysterious about some of the themes that I
love.” Together the two vocalists intertwine personal spiritual
reflections and stitch soulful, gospel harmonies to their signature
gritty, rhythm and blues rompers. But don’t let these lyrical
meditations on divinity fool you, Wooden Horsemen ain’t no
Sunday School band.
“I grew up in the Church, but I’m not a religious person now,”
confesses Cross. “But it shaped me and gave me the tools to ask
the questions of, ‘What is spirituality? What do I believe in?’”
Beddall, also once a childhood patron of religion, bears the same
feelings.“[Past Lives] is not necessarily a Christian record, I’m not
trying to espouse a strictly Christian outlook in the music,” he
says. “It’s largely an acknowledgement of the past.”
This allusion to days gone by is carefully crafted through the
narrative of Past Lives. From the opening declaration in “Lies,” to
the final, delicate harmonies of “I’ve Been Changed,” Bedall and
Cross guide us on an emotional journey through their deepest
inspirations, while never allowing the instrumentation to get
too messy or convoluted with so many moving parts. Having
originally been conceived as a three piece, Beddall explains,
“Stylistically I have to keep in mind that the sound is going to
be much larger and more intense. Its changed my approach to
[songwriting] in a positive way. It’s a challenge for me.”
At the core of the record, Past Lives once again capitalizes
on the band’s ability to get the people shakin’. “I feel a little self
conscious or self aware when it’s too quiet and I’m sitting down,”
reveals Beddall. Cross, never short on infectious dance moves,
laughs, “I always call myself the hype girl because I look over and
make sure everyone is having fun.” As the Wooden Horsemen’s
sound grows, so too does their congregation.
Wooden Horsemen perform at the Wise Hall (Vancouver) on
November 3.
Photo by Scott Little
Wooden Horsemen question beliefs and spirituality on Past Lives.
November 2018

FRANKIE COSMOS
GETTING LOUD AND SHOOTING FOR THE STARS
JUDAH SCHULTE
THE GARDEN
THE JESTERS OF ORANGE COUNTY
MARYAM AZIZLI
MUSIC
Vessels is Frankie Cosmos’ largest and loudest release and it demands to be heard.
Before Frankie Cosmos became one of the
most notable indie-rock quartets out of New
York, it was Ingrid Superstar, a pseudonym
for frontperson and songwriter, Greta Kline.
Sincere and full of thoughtful observation,
Kline’s songwriting has been gaining attention
since she began releasing music at age 15. The
earliest of the 50+ releases on her Bandcamp
page are rough demos that seem to embrace
imperfection, their lyrics sung at a level just
above whispers. Though the Greta Kline of today,
with the support of her bandmates and the help
of Sub Pop Records, has raised her voice, in every
Frankie Cosmos song there is a whisper of Ingrid
Superstar, a young woman who is watching,
feeling and demanding to be heard.
Vessel, the groups third full length studiorecorded
LP, is their largest and loudest release
to date. The record is one of dimension, each
instrument exploring the reaches of each song,
playing in and around Klines lyrics like kids on
a playground. Dynamic drum parts drive the
album at steady trot while bright synth tones
invite the listener to stop and enjoy the view.
Although the glitter of tight production is what
sets Vessel apart from their back catalog, at no
point does the record lose the intimacy that is so
characteristic to Frankie Cosmos.
Considering the 10 years of consistent releases
and the 18 tracks on Vessel, one might assume
that Greta Kline’s songwriting well is everflowing,
and they would be correct.
“I think writer’s block is mostly just a fear of
failing,” says Kline. “So I just write bad stuff a lot
and that’s how I don’t get writer’s block. I think
for me, I’d rather write something bad than not
write at all.”
Photo by Angel Ceballos
It’s this imperfectionistic approach to
songwriting that makes Frankie Cosmos’ songs
feel so candid. The compulsive process behind
Klines music could be equally responsible for it’s
recurring themes or figures, perhaps the most
frequently recurring figure being JoeJoe the
dog, Greta Kline’s late, great furry companion.
Throughout Kline’s songs, which are wrought
with emotion, with love and the loss of it,
sometimes JoeJoe’s memory acts as a sort of
allegory for heartbreak, at others a symbol of
purity.
“He was always around, hanging in my room
with me while I wrote songs, and just was kind of
my confidante,” says Kline. “I was out on a walk
with him when I met my first love. JoeJoe was
basically just by my side through a lot of my life,
and I love him a lot.”
Though our poet has lost a dear friend,
she has made others. Having met the half the
members of her band at shows, Frankie Cosmos
is built like a form of indie-supergroup. On
drums we have Luke Pyenson of Krill, with Alex
Bailey from Warehouse playing bass, and on
the keyboard is Kline’s childhood friend, Lauren
Martin.
Greta Kline writes songs for those bussing
home alone, or the ones who’s clothes never
seem to fit quite right. She writes for the people
at the party who spend the whole night petting
the dog, and with her band turning up both the
volume and the tempo, Frankie Cosmos has a
better chance of catching their attention before
it returns, again, to the puppy.
Frankie Cosmos perform November 9 at the
Biltmore Cabaret.
Born and raised in Orange County California, twins
Wyatt and Fletcher Shears formed the Garden
in 2011 at the age of 17. According to them, the
“origin story” of the Garden is considerably less
exciting than what came after. Despite the brothers
having walked the runways for Yves Saint Laurent,
Hugo Boss and Balenciaga — no big deal — music
is the beginning and end for the duo.
The Garden hardly belongs to any one
genre, and are ever-morphing. The permanent
instrumental installments are (frequently dense)
drums and bass, played by Fletcher and Wyatt,
respectively. Inspiration is drawn from the likes of
M.I.A., with experimental roots and surreal lyrics
fleshing electro punk skeletons. Ballistic vocals,
stylistic versatility and bold fashion choices conjure
up the trademark sound and presence of the duo.
This genre ambiguity allowed room for a niche
of their own. Portraying themselves as modern
day court jesters, here to trick and entertain, this
paradigm fits most organically with their tone,
look and essence. The brothers live by the selfmade
words of Vada Vada, meaning total freedom
of expression without boundaries or guidelines of
any sort. As for the internal workings of the group,
thinking is put aside to facilitate creation.
“When I’m making music I try not to think,
cause when I think I start thinking about all these
other things that are in my head all the time, and
then I get distracted, and then I make something
I don’t really like cause my full self wasn’t in it.
So I try not to think about anything, so I can just
put my full self into whatever I’m making,” says
Fletcher.
The OC natives claim that it’s as easy to stand
out as it is to blend in where they’re from. Growing
up, the clean-cut, conservative surroundings
conflicted with their interests, views and
aspirations. After being signed to Epitaph Records
in 2015, tensions were quick to arise, caused by the
Garden’s androgynous sound and its misalignment
with Epitaph’s otherwise heavy music roster.
This antagonism with their environment was
quintessential to their growth as individuals and
musicians, and only served to further internalize
the duo. Still living in the same room they grew
up in, the twins have always been very private and
have never been apart for long.
Their musical longevity can be attributed to
their attached-at-the-hip dynamic and artistic
integrity in making music that resonates with
them, that they enjoy. From the outside, there is
confusion surrounding the lyrical themes of the
band, often interpreted as nonsensical, but with
a band like the Garden (is there a band like the
Garden?), looks are often deceiving.
“When we write music, we don’t really put it
all out there, like ‘hey I love you, you love me,
let’s get married,’ we keep it more to ourselves,”
says Fletcher. “We’re not really trying to convey
anything 100 per cent understandable to our
audience. We appreciate our audience, but we
make music for ourselves, it makes sense to us.”
The Garden’s fresh approach to lyricism,
self-expression and the creative process throws
monotony under the bus and gives EDM a
welcomed facelift.
The Garden perform at the Vogue Theatre
(Vancouver) on November 16.
Wyatt and Fletcher Shears are turning EDM on its head with their own unique tricks and antics.
Photo by Cara Robbins
November 2018 17

CLOUD NOTHINGS
SETTING THE SUBURBS ON FIRE
EMILY CORLEY
J. MASCIS
BRIGHTENING THE TONE WITH A SOLO RELEASE
GRAEME WIGGINS
MUSIC
On the cusp of the release of their fifth full studio
album, Cloud Nothings’ Dylan Baldi is pretty
confident that this latest offering is an auspicious
encapsulation of their experience as one of North
America’s best loved post-hardcore noise punk
bands. “The process has gotten a lot cleaner,” he
says. “We know what we’re doing. But not in a way
that seems boring yet.” The years of shared wisdom
and experience that have gone into Last Building
Burning are clear – Cloud Nothings have finally
nailed that sweet spot between the sharp, angsty
vehemence that defines 2012’s Attack on Memory
and the more thoughtful and melodic venture of
2017’s Life Without Sound.
Baldi acknowledges the revival of the bands’
earlier intensity for this new album. “I really wanted
to make something that felt fun to play. I feel like
the last record (2017’s Life Without Sound) was
just a little overwrought in some ways, and maybe
that came across on the recording even. When we
played the songs, I would feel differently. It didn’t
have the same kind of energy I guess, as some of
the old stuff. And I missed that, so I wanted to
find a different, new way to bring that vibe back.”
The band are confident about this rejuvenation
translating well for their upcoming tour. “it’s gonna
be a kind of brutal show. There’s no letting up,
basically. I’m looking forward to that because when
you only work for an hour of every day, it might as
well be intense.”
Cloud Nothings are a band with a closer bond
than most – aside from bassist TJ Duke, they all
live together in Cleveland, Ohio. “That’s always
come easily for us. I do see bands that seem like
they don’t like each other, and I always think
Photo by Daniel Topete
Cloud Nothings are keeping the indie tour circuit warm with the release of their latest, Last Building Burning.
why are they doing it? Is the pay-off really that
cool? I’d rather just sit at home or do something
else if I hated the people I was with. It’s nice
that they’re just my friends.” They all grew up in
suburbs around Cleveland, and met shortly after
Baldi finished high school and started playing
shows in and around the city. Baldi explains that
their shared local history is important to the
background of the latest album.
“I thought Last Building Burning was striking as
a theme. The image captured what I feel like the
record sounds like in a way; some of the songs are
about the erasure of certain parts of cities’ histories
and things that are being destroyed. Entire
neighbourhoods are being turned into condos
and stuff and that bugs me. It is kind of nice to be
in a place and see it change. But sometimes I feel
like the changes aren’t in the best interests of the
residents of the city.”
Despite being on the road with Cloud Nothings
pretty much consistently since 2010, Baldi remains
down-to-earth and genuinely grateful for the travel
opportunities that the band’s success has afforded
him. “We suddenly had the opportunity to go to
Europe - none of us would have ever been able to
do that unless this band got offered a tour there. I
used to take all sorts of photos and stuff. I would
wander round, even in the freezing cold, and take
artsy pictures of all this European shit. Going to
Asia also blew my mind. If I wasn’t in this band,
there would be absolutely no way I’d get to go that
far away from where I’m from.”
Cloud Nothings perform at The Imperial on
November 6.
Catching an interview subject at the right time
of a press cycle can sometimes make or break
the interview. If you catch them towards the
middle or near the end of a cycle, they’ve likely
heard the questions a million times, are sick of
answering questions in general and will generally
be a little trickier to get talking. This is especially
true when handling someone as notoriously
quiet in interviews as legendary indie guitarist
J. Mascis. Famous for fronting alt rock stalwarts
Dinosaur Jr., he’s about to go on tour in support
of his new solo LP Elastic Days. Thankfully,
it’s still early in the press cycle and he was as
forthcoming as one could hope for.
It’s not so much that Mascis is unfriendly –
he’s just not into talking for talking’s sake.
“I just don’t respond well to bad interviews,”
says Mascis. “I just get annoyed by stupid
questions. I can’t talk about nothing. A lot
of people can take a stupid question and
pontificate about something else and just start
babbling and I don’t have that ability.”
Mascis’ solo albums tend to turn down the
volume compared his work with Dinosaur Jr. His
last album, Tied To A Star, was inspired by older
English folk music and the like. His new album
comes from a very particular place as well.
“I was kind of inspired by this Terry Reid video
where he’s playing acoustic and the drummer
was playing rim shots and that sounded cool, so
maybe I should play rim shots and acoustic. A
little bit of inspiration but whatever, just writing
songs and trying to keep with an acoustic vibe.”
The acoustic bent of his solo work stems from
how he performs live: “I’m thinking I’m going to
go play by myself, acoustic guitar, so that’s the
vibe.”
He’s released three singles for the album so
far, “Web So Dense,” “See You at the Movies,”
and “Everything She Said,” which definitely fit
the mold of what he’s described.
“The first song is probably my favourite, and
the last song I wasn’t sure about whether it was
going to make it on the album but some people
convinced me to put it on. And they picked that
as the song to put out.”
The singles so far have demonstrated the
consistency he’s displayed for his entire career.
In his work, both with Dinosaur Jr. and solo,
there is very little in the way of weak links. To
maintain this kind of consistency is a marvel
when you’ve been making music for over 30
years. He attributes this to his own singular
vision:
“I haven’t tried to do weird, different things
that aren’t my style. I’m just trying to make
music that I like. I won’t put it out if I don’t like
it. I like some stuff more than others but they
are all representations of where I was at, at the
time. Like a photo album.”
If the past is any indication, the current
representation of where he is should be worth
checking out.
J. Mascis plays the Imperial (Vancouver) on
November 7.
Photo by Cara Totman
Dinosaur Jr. frontman J Mascis keeps building his elastic wall of sound, one solo release at a time.
November 2018 19

STIFF LITTLE FINGERS
FU MANCHU
40 YEARS OF GUTSY, BRASH IRISH PUNK EXPLORING SPACE AND TIME
TREVOR MORELLI
JOHNNY PAPAN
Stiff Little Fingers are celebrating 40 years of Inflammable Material with a small Canadian tour.
“If you talked to the record label and the
management back in the day, they all wanted
you to be as big as like U2, or whatever. I’m not
sure we ever wanted to do that,” laughs Stiff
Little Fingers frontman Jake Burns.
“I’m not sure we ever wanted to do that. I’m
actually astonished that I’m still playing in Stiff
Little Fingers and think any of the guys would say
the same thing after 40 years.”
Since 1977, the Belfast, Nortern Ireland
quartet – rounded out by Ian McCallum (guitar),
Al McMordie (bass), and Steve Grantley (drums)
– has been bringing their brand of unfiltered
Irish punk rock to fans all over the globe.
Burns says they wouldn’t be hitting Canada
If it wasn’t for the passionate and faithful fans
that came out and supported them on their
last Canadian jaunt two years ago.
“We all had so much fun the last time. I mean,
not every show was a huge success. Saskatoon
on a wet Sunday night was not terribly well
promoted,” he remarks. “But in general we
were pleasantly surprised by the turnout and
the reaction of the people that were there;
they seemed to really enjoy it. We had a really
great time, so when the chance came up to go
back, we jumped at it.”
Next year marks the 40th anniversary
of the band’s debut LP Inflammable
Material (1979, Rough Trade Records), which
went on to sell more than 100,000 copies and
reached #14 on the UK Albums Chart.
It’s an impressive milestone considering
the album was almost left in the dust. After
their deal with Island Records fell through, Stiff
Little Fingers were left to release the record
20
independently through Rough Trade records, a
small indie label at the time. The result is a raw,
unpolished effort recorded in just 10 days and
earning the band a cult following in punk circles
around the world.
Although Burns is proud of Stiff Little Fingers’
body of work, he goes back and forth on
whether or not there’s anything he would have
done differently on Inflammable Material.
“Even by the time we got into making the
second album, there were things on the first
album I wanted to change,” he recalls. “I would’ve
liked to have had a bit more time to record it.
You might think, ‘Yes, we could have played it
better, we could have done this better, we could
have done that better.’ But then it wouldn’t have
been the album that it is.”
Burns believes the raw, reckless sound
of Inflammable Material is what many of Stiff
Little Fingers’ devoted followers love about it.
“A lot of its charm is the fact that we were
young and brash and angry and loud, and that I
think is its main sort of feature,” he says. “I love
the first Clash album, but you could hear by the
time they got around to making London Calling,
they had gotten so much better at what they
were doing. I still enjoy London Calling; for my
money, it’s not a tenth of the album that the first
one is.”
Mix something Irish into your life –
besides the whisky in your coffee, of course –
and check out Stiff Little Fingers on tour across
Canada this month.
Stiff Little Fingers perform November 29 at the
Rickshaw Theatre (Vancouver).
“Ever since I was a kid, I always thought there
was another world exactly like Earth with
the same people and things, but with slightly
different things going on at the same time.
Doesn’t really make sense to me now, but back
then it did.”
These are the words of Scott Hill, vocalist and
guitarist of California stoner-rock powerhouse
Fu Manchu. Hill is explaining the meaning
behind the band’s most recent record, Clone
of the Universe, which packs seven out-of-thisworld
tracks into one tight, hard-hitting record.
Though seven songs seems short, the album still
runs at nearly 40 minutes due to the album’s
final track “Il Monstro Atomico,” an 18-minute
epic that takes up the LP’s entire flipside. The
song also features legendary guitarist Alex
Lifeson from Rush.
“We had written about 15 or 16 songs, but
we wanted to keep the entire record kind of
short,” Hill explains. “We kept coming up with
riffs and songs. Instead of recording them on our
four-track machine and putting them away, we
decided to take the best riffs and parts and do a
long song with different tempos, shifting parts,
quiet, loud. We got Alex Lifeson to play guitar
on the song due to our wonderful manager,
Brian Frank, who is friends with Alex’s manager.
We had the song on a very rough sounding
four-track demo. We didn’t think anything
would happen but we sent him the song, he dug
it and said he would play on it. We thought our
manager was fucking with us when he told us.
We sometimes still can’t believe that he played
on our record, he is a legend!”
Preceding “Il Monstro Atomico” are the
classic, in-your-face stoner rock stylings Fu
Manchu is known for. The album opens with
the very bouncy “Intelligent Worship” and is
followed by the aggressive single “(I’ve Been)
Hexed.” The loudness continues with “Don’t
Panic” before installing the slow and psychedelic
tunes “Slower Than Light” and “Nowhere Left
to Hide.” The album’s title track, “Clone of the
Universe,” encapsulates the stylistic entirety of
the album in one piece.
Over the last few years, space has been a
consistent trend in their album artwork and
themes, and it’s especially apparent on this
album. On the songwriting for Clone of the
Universe, Hill explains:
“There’s a lot of isolation and being alone
type themes. Some outer spacey things. General
paranoia. I have had outer body experiences and
I’ve seen things.”
Fu Manchu play the Rickshaw Theatre
(Vancouver) on November 11.
Taking stoner rock to new heights, Fu Manchu enlist the help of Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson.
November 2018

BEHEMOTH
COMMERCIALIZING AS A WAY TO SAY “FUCK YOU”
ANA KRUNIC
Setting yourself apart in the world of extreme
metal is an arduous task nowadays. To achieve
success on a mainstream level, you have to deal
with the fact that, to the conventional crowd, all
metal sounds mostly the same. To the uninitiated,
it may as well be all the same dudes growling
about Satan over double kicks and down-tuned
guitars. Few bands have achieved visibility in that
realm, and while they have been criticized for it
in recent years, Poland’s Behemoth has brought
themselves to unparalleled levels of commercial
success in the extreme music world.
Adam Darski, otherwise known as Nergal, is
the main reason that Behemoth’s work has a
Photo by Grzegorz Gołębiowski
I Loved You at Your Darkest sees Behemoth expand their horizons and experiment with commercial ideologies.
wider conceptual lens. As their main songwriter
and frontman, he’s brought focus to the visual
side of Behemoth, which has become a huge
part of their brand. Their imagery and music has
always been iconoclastic and stems from Nergal’s
personal philosophies as a man who was raised
Catholic but is now a strong proponent for
modern Satanism. I Loved You at Your Darkest,
their new release, is not an exception, but strays
from their usually relentless blackened death
metal. It explores orchestral and choral elements,
augmenting the sacrilegious motifs their work
usually follows.
“When I started writing the lyrics, I wasn’t really
ready for it,” says Nergal. “I had a lot of ideas in
my notebook but I was missing a main thought. I
was struggling. When the title finally appeared to
me, it immediately opened the doors and made
it obvious that the album was going to have a
very strong sacral approach. From there I took it
further with the photography and gave myself the
green light to go biblical on this record, full on. I
mean, the bible has always been one of our main
references, but I think this is the pinnacle.”
Despite legal troubles such as nearly being
charged with blasphemy in Poland for tearing up a
bible onstage, and his battle with and victory over
leukemia, Behemoth has stayed fairly consistent
in releasing music and touring. They also maintain
their brand with products like jewelry and coffee.
“I wouldn’t say there is a strict formula to how
Nergal works or does things,” he says. “I really like
my artistic anarchy and I really worship it because
it gives me so much freedom. If you ask me ‘How
do you write songs,’ I don’t really know. I just open
my eyes, spread my arms, and ask the cosmos to
grant me amazing ideas.”
Their foray into becoming more of a brand
has been met with some backlash, seen as too
commercial for a band with roots such as theirs.
They recently released a video on YouTube titled
“God = Dog Food” (a play on one of their newest
singles, “God = Dog”) depicting a dog eating
their newly released dog treats in the shape of
little black crosses. It’s pretty on the nose, but it’s
an effective and lighthearted fuck you to their
religious detractors in Poland, who have been
hounding Behemoth for years.
“We were just brainstorming with our
management and I brought up the idea. I’m just
thinking about how my local Polish adversaries
are going to take it,” he laughs. “Because they
obviously would love to see me crucified or
stoned, and they can’t physically drag me in the
street and do it like they did 2000 years ago. These
days they need to bring me to court. So I’m just
waiting patiently, or impatiently, to see what their
arguments are going to be. I love how they can’t
fucking handle it.”
Despite the negative feedback from people who
would probably rather see Behemoth go back to
their black metal roots, whatever they’re doing
is evidently working for them. At the end of the
day, Nergal says he’s still using his art as a personal
conduit.
“I’ve always seen Behemoth as a kind of artistic
entity. An artistic being that can explore its vision
in more ways than just sonically. I always underline
that the music is our priority – we live the music,
we breathe the music, we shit the music. But
why should we limit ourselves as artists? Just to
play guitar, get drunk and get laid. That’s such a
stereotype. There’s nothing wrong with getting
laid and getting wasted, I’m a hedonist. But there’s
so many different channels that can be adopted
to express our vision, and I’m eager to see what
else is out there because I don’t know. Let’s take it
from here. Let’s take it further, let’s try to elevate
ourselves as much as we can.”
Behemoth plays Vancouver at the Commodore
Ballroom on November 19.
EROSION
BAPTISM BY BLOOD AND VOLUME
ARI ROSENSCHEIN
It’s a dark winter night and a few hundred black-clad
Vancouverites are watching Erosion annihilate the
Astoria, supporting local heavyweights Bison. Like their
debut album, Maximum Suffering (2018 Hydra Head),
Erosion’s performance is grim and efficient. No banter
or instrumental breaks—just punishing songs played at
absurd velocity with vitriolic lyrics of uncommon depth
screamed by bespectacled frontperson Jamie Hooper.
The band describes the album as a “cathartic audio
expulsion of our collective contempt for humanity,” and
it certainly is. Comprised of members of Baptists and
Three Inches of Blood, Erosion deal in short diatribes with
crusty authenticity. It’s aural rancor of the lowest order.
Hooper is sledgehammer direct about the band’s
central message. “Erosion refers to the political, social,
and moral decay around us. Worldwide politics
are terrifying and there’s so much xenophobic-fear
mongering.” He gives a hometown example. “Take a walk
through the DTES and it’s tragically obvious how our
systems are failing marginalized people every day.”
Though based in the province, Hooper doesn’t
consider Erosion a BC—or even a particularly Canadian—
band. “If we had to identify regionally, I think “Pacific
Northwest” fits better. The issues we yell about are global
and our sound takes as much influence from Sweden as it
does from Toronto.”
Speaking of influence, besides drumming in Baptists,
Erosion’s Nick Yacyshyn plays in SUMAC with Hydra
Head-honcho and metal guru Aaron Turner. Hooper
jokes that Erosion “operates on a lot of nepotism and
favours from both the Baptists and SUMAC camps.”
Considering the gap between 2013’s Kill Us All cassette
EP and Maximum Suffering, one might imagine a wait
for new music. Maybe not. “Nick’s a prolific guy,” says
Hooper. “He’s got material waiting for us to contribute
our filth to.” So it’s down to scheduling? “The trick is
getting everyone in a room. Once we’re together, things
happen pretty quick.”
Maximum Suffering is available now via Hydra Head.
Erosion are reflecting on the political, social and moral decay around us.
Photo by Walter Wagner
November 2018 21

UNDEROATH
FORMER CHRISTIAN-METAL BAND FLIPS THE BIRD TO THEIR OLD STYLE
SLONE FOX
Underoath embody an overarching sense of honesty with their new direction on Erase Me.
Consisting of drummer and clean vocalist Aaron
Gillespie, guitarist James Smith, guitarist Timothy
McTague, bassist Grant Brendell, vocalist Spencer
Chamberlain, and keyboardist Christopher Dudley,
Underoath has continually thrived in the face of
diversity. Have you ever thought about what it
would feel like to prepare for a cross-country tour
spanning over 30 tour dates?
“It’s not un-fun,” laughs Dudley between the
Photo by Nick Fancher
rustling noises of general multitasking and the
occasional thunk of packing instruments.
During his time in the band, Dudley has seen
the band rise, fall, and rise again. Holding strong
through member changes and a complete stylistic
overhaul, the band has undoubtedly evolved since
their last time in Western Canada more than six
years ago.
“I think it’d be easier to point out the things
that haven’t changed, rather than what has
changed,” says Dudley. “I hate using the term
‘more mature,’ but I look at our band back then
and just the way in which we dealt with each
other. In hindsight, there was a lot of toxic stuff
there. Not really knowing how to communicate
and all that stuff eventually lead to us breaking up
a few years back.”
While the personal dynamic of the band
has shifted, the changes are also very apparent
musically. Having officially opted to drop their title
as a Christian band earlier this year, Underoath’s
eighth album Erase Me hosts a slew of expletives
for the first time in the band’s career. While this
was an unwelcome shock to some fans initially,
others felt as if it made the band more appealing.
For Dudley, though, it’s really no big deal.
“I remember specifically having a conversation
with Spencer before we started writing this album,
and the sentiment was him saying: ‘If we’re going
to do a record, I need it to be a thing where if this
is the last piece of art I ever create, it is 100 per
cent honest. I can’t think about what people are
going to think about it or how it’s going to be
perceived.’ And obviously I was like, ‘Dude, that’s
the way it should be.’”
This lyrical honesty has apparently paid off,
connecting Underoath to new fans in a way that
transcends simply dropping the f-bomb.
“I think that overall it’s been a really good thing,
breaking down barriers between us and people
in general,” Dudley explains. “I don’t even think
that it has anything to do with specific words that
are said, I think it just has to do with the overall
honesty of the record and that’s super important.”
With 20 years of experience as a band, it’s not
surprising that everything to do with music would
be complete muscle memory by now. According
to Dudley, this level of mastery even extends to
include live performances.
With a newfound momentum fuelled by their
overhauled musical style, it’s likely that Underoath
has a whole future of riser-rolling daydreams
ahead of them, and a slew of new musical avenues
to explore.
Underoath performs at the Vogue Theatre
(Vancouver) on November 19.
22
November 2018

BPM
KWEKU COLLINS
YOUNG RAPPER FINDS THE FOREST FOR THE TREES
GRAEME WIGGINS
CLUBLAND
YOUR MONTH MEASURED IN BPMS
ALAN RANTA
It could be argued that rap music right now is at a creative
zenith. The availability of a storied history of music at creators’
fingertips have found an audience which seems open to
concepts and feelings once less common in the rap game.
Illinois rapper Kweku Collins is a perfect example of the result
of these situations.
In the song “Aya” from last year’s Grey EP, Collins sings about
an “Evergreen type affinity” and in his videos, forests figure
prominently. This stems from his youth more than from his
hometown of Evanston, Illinois. He explains, “Evanston is called
the city of trees. They have it on signs and stuff, but when I was
a kid I was born in upstate New York so when I was growing
up, to get from one town to another, you had to drive down
the highway with trees and hills. And the further north you
get there are mountains. We’d go camping in the Adirondack
Mountains in the summer. That’s where my celebration of the
forest comes from.”
His most recent video, for single “Sisko + Kasidy” takes this
forest interest and adds a dose of post-apocalyptic sci-fi. “I
can’t remember if the concept for the video came before I
made the song or not. Sisko and Kassidy being a reference to
Star Trek Deep SpaceNine. Captain Sisko and Kasidy Yates. I’ve
always been really into sci-fi. Since I was a kid I’ve been into Star
Wars and Star Trek. I’m a really big Firefly fan too. I’ve always
wanted to incorporate that into the world I’m creating with
my heart. So we sat down and came up with the idea of like a
post-apocalyptic world kind of like Wall-E, where humans have
abandoned the earth to seek refuge elsewhere and still come
back to find out what happened. Also I just wanted to be a
spaceman.”
The poster used to promote the upcoming tour emphasizes
this energy, featuring him leg up on a monitor in an iconic
rock star pose. The poster was inspired from an unlikely source
for a young rapper, Thin Lizzy, which he discovered from a
record store band shirt and researched who they were. ”What
I connected with was that the lead singer [Phil Lynott] was
biracial (black and white). And growing up, whenever I find
someone who really looks like me, and when he talks about
growing up in Ireland, not fitting in and struggling to find his
way, I connected with that; it resonated with me.”
While he’s been to Canada before, performing as an opener,
this is his first time headlining and it will feature something
new to him: performing with a live band rather than just a DJ.
“This is the first time since high school that I’m performing
with a live band. So I will say up until now it’s been me and a DJ
and my live performances have been energetic. My favourite
performers are performers that are electrifying to watch.
Performers that give their all.” Collins is interested to see how it
goes, it being a bit of a trial by fire: “With the live band, this will
be the first time we perform on stage together. I’m so stoked.
In rehearsal I’m usually laying down so I don’t know what to
expect from myself.” With his “evergreen type affinity” being
energized by the lush Pacific Northwest backdrop, we can
probably set our expectations pretty high.
Kweku Collins performs November 30 at the Biltmore Cabaret
Still waiting for your pot to arrive in the mail? It’s probably gonna be
a while. The gov’t only had, oh, eighty years to figure it out, so it’s no
surprise they weren’t prepared. Well, you can’t just sit there and grow
a beard for butt cancer all month. Might as well distract yourself by
cramming your body onto a dance floor.
The Mole
November 10 @ Copper Owl (Victoria)
Colin de la Plante (a.k.a The Mole) has quietly been one of the most
interesting figures in electronic music to have ever called Canada home.
Spending most of his time in Berlin these days, Victoria is sure to give
him the hero’s welcome he deserves, as he spins every genre under the
sun into a house-like form.
Rezz
November 17 @ PNE Forum
If you don’t know Rezz yet, you better get on it. She’s one of the biggest
and best upcoming stars in Canadian electronic music. Only in her early
twenties, she has already proved her complete mastery of diverse bass
music with Certain Kind of Magic, her second album on Deadmau5’s
personal label, and if she plays anything off it, the PNE Forum won’t have
to undergo any earthquake testing for the next decade.
Sequential Circus 23
November 17 @ Open Studios
If live PA is your thing, you probably already have tickets to the 23rd
installment of Sequential Circus. This one is gonna feature cerebral
knobbing from AVR, BIG ZEN, lazy d, RiDylan, Sara Gold and tokiomi,
with visual performances from Collizhn Visuals, Dermot Glennon,
Vjettlike, and Yasushi Harada, and acrobatics by AcroYoga Vancouver.
Top notch stuff.
Justin Martin
November 24 @ Open Studios
You can hardly go to an EDM festival in B.C. without seeing Justin Martin
beat that bird with a bat on its main stage, and there’s good reason for it.
He’s the shit.
MURS
November 26 @ Fox Cabaret
Nicholas Carter (a.k.a. MURS) has a long history of hip-hop badassery,
considering his work with crews such as Living Legends and Felt, his
output on El-P’s Definitive Jux and Tech N9ne’s Strange Music, and the
thousand other things he’s done. Carter actually set the Guinness World
Record for rapping, when he dropped knowledge for 24 consecutive
hours in 2016. Expect insanity.
Rezz
November 2018 23

BPM
IVORY TOWERS
SYNTH POP AND SELF CARE
ANDREA NAZARIAN
Quinne Rodgers finds a delicate balance of optimism and anger in her work as Ivory Towers.
Listening to Ivory Towers feels like experiencing
a beautiful, haunting dream sequence.
Quinne Rodgers’ delicate vocals oscillate over
experimental synths, heavily distorted melodies
and ominous percussion, giving the listener an
almost out-of-body pop music experience.
For Rodgers, music is all about surviving. The
Vancouver-based artist uses the artform as a
way to cope with the volatile political climate
and environmental destruction we witness daily.
Music is a kind of a security blanket for her, one
that cares for and nurtures her through difficult
times.
Queller is the third and latest offering from
Rodgers as Ivory Towers. She was formerly a
member of feminist electronic duo MYTHS,
deciding to pursue music as a solo artist in 2014.
OLD MAN CANYON
LIFTING THE VEIL OF THE FACADE AND FACING REALITY
QUINN THOMAS
24
The production on the eight-track EP gives off
a dual sense of aggression and softness, layering
growling, apocalyptic sounds with ethereal
sonics and effervescent vocals. The result is
highly evocative tracks that feel both brutal and
soothing; hostile and dainty.
“I feel a lot of anger at what’s going on
politically and environmentally around the
world,” Rodgers says. “But at the same time,
I have so much love for nature and beautiful
things, so I want to make music that’s beautiful.
For me, it’s impossible not to have that
juxtaposition of optimism and anger in my
work.”
There’s a deep sense of nurturing in
Rodgers’ lyrics, but also a fierce, warrior-like
protectiveness. “I’d pluck all the feathers outside
Jett Pace took his latest visions out to Joshua Tree to bring them to life on A Grand Facade.
A lot has changed in the past four years. New
Prime Minister, new cannabis laws and a new
album from Vancouver’s own Old Man Canyon.
Last Interviewed by BeatRoute in November 2014
they hadn’t yet recorded their debut, Delirium
(released January, 2016). This was an album
featuring swirling synths and singing/songwriting
reminiscent of a post-Beatles John Lennon.
On Delirium, frontman and multi
instrumentalist Jett Pace sonically departed from
his debut EP, Phantoms and Friends, that gained
him notoriety through being featured in shows
like Suits, Shameless and Sons of Anarchy. This
shift displayed a bold step forward for the band
displaying much potential to follow trends and to
refine sharply written songs.
Hitting the road, Old Man Canyon toured for
Photo by Cody Briggs
a year then went through some serious changes
involving management. Since coming back, Pace
hunkered down and started writing material that
would find its way onto the upcoming album, A
Grand Facade.
Inspired by the likes of Tame Impala and
Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Pace recorded the
majority of A Grand Facade in his basement.
When it came time to polish the record they took
it out to Joshua Tree. Pace explains, “I rented an
Airbnb in the middle of the desert where there
was no one for 10 miles around us, we could
make any sort of noise at any time. So we had a
week-long listening party. We had instruments,
we were tweaking little things, and the final
touches were completed there with my two
buds.”
my chest / To build us a warm and safe little
nest,” she chirps on Sand Witches. “I saw some
men marching down the road, two by two
singing / I’m gonna bring some heads today,”—
a metaphorical battle cry on Maenad Gore
Competition.
Rodgers samples Mother Nature herself in
Queller, warping animal and environmental
noises to create beautiful sounds. Using
advanced production software, she’s able to
record the flutter of butterfly wings, the crunch
of gravel or the humming of a wasp, playing
with the raw recordings and turning them into
intricate melodies.
With Queller, Rodgers wanted to create a
body of work that was more accessible to a
broader audience than her previous releases,
using beat-driven synth pop as a medium to
contribute meaningfully to the political and
cultural landscape.
“I think all art is political, especially right
now,” explains Rodgers. “Everybody is getting
despondent and too much angry music can wear
down your soul. I wanted to write at least some
tracks on this EP that made people feel safe, like
they could go home and listen and feel protected
from the outside world.”
Ivory Towers’ EP Queller releases on all platforms
November 16.
Pace seems to be a cut above the average
songwriter, drawing more from satire of situations
rather than just straight storytelling of the tragic
artist. Through intense imagery Pace encourages
the listener to examine our societal place and
how we can shift that. “I’m trying to bring
attention to the ignorance we all turn to world
issues, but also our ability to shift ourselves and
how we really create our own realities,” he says.
Conceptually this shows up on the first track,
and leading single for the album, “Good While
It Lasted.” In the song the narrator, filled with
indignation, gets high as they watch the world
end. An idea that appears clichéd but when
told with Pace’s great lyricism it invokes deeper
thought about how (regardless of the listener’s
emotional reaction of the song) we could change
ourselves to be better, and to not grow resentful
of current events. All of this is done in a tonguein-cheek
style where implicit introspection
proves to be much more powerful than explicit
simplicity.
Old Man Canyon continues to mature as a
band with pure motives. Everyone should be
marking down November 16 as a day to sit down
and dive into the rest of A Grand Facade.
A Grand Facade is available through all streaming
platforms on November 16.
DOUNPOUR
THE ACCESSIBLE AVANT-GARDE
MAT WILKINS
”I’ve always wanted to make music that’s…” there’s a
pause on the other end of the line. You can hear cars
whizzing by on a busy street through the receiver as
Zane Coppard, the mind behind Dounpour, looks for
the word to aptly describe his latest project. “Fun.”
Coppard is on the road during the call, acting
as the interim drummer for Belle Game’s latest
North American tour. The fact that he scheduled
our interview just after the band played a show is
certainly evidence enough that he’s a decidedly busy
musician – but things don’t end there. Just four
months ago he released the Doubtless EP under his
experimental electronic project 1000 Petal Lotus, and
is currently sitting on the next release.
“I was getting a little bogged down with what I was
creating,” Coppard says of the latest 1000 Petal Lotus
record. Not only that, but “administrative work” for
Smash Boom Pow (an indie rock band Coppard plays
in with his brother Ulysses) had been mounting. “I
kind of started thinking: is this what music really is?
This serious and administrative sort of realm?”
And so, on a particularly rainy Vancouver
night, the idea for Dounpour was born. The tracks
that make up Coppard’s debut album Brod are a
diverse collection of vertigo-inducing, lo-fi sonic
experimentations that at once charm and disarm
listeners. The album, chalk full of unintelligible
sounds and strange sonic textures, is oddly anchored
and made accessible through a constant (though
sometimes jagged) rhythm.
“It kinda just went where it went,” he says. “I don’t
really listen to a lot of [experimental] music – I think
it’s just my approach that does that.”
An approach that Coppard describes as one
marked by urgency and improvisation, with many
of the songs on the record having been written
at the same time they were recorded. Even some
of the musical equipment used on the record is
equipment that Coppard is learning to use while
he uses it. What results is music that teeters on the
precipice between the accessible and the avant-garde
– music that is both a product of Coppard’s creative
escapism and his prolific artistic output. Dounpour’s
debut collection of music is thoughtful, complex,
compelling, and peculiar, but above all else… fun.
Photo by Japhy
Dounpour is Zane Coppard at his most experimental.
November 2018

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
BIOPIC CELEBRATES THE PROWESS OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL’S MOST ENIGMATIC FRONTMAN
GLENN ALDERSON
FILM
Queen on the big screen. As far as biopics go, Bohemian Rhapsody sticks to the formula but Rami Malek shines under pressure as Freddie Mercury.
The legacy of Queen and Freddie Mercury is
one that’s been relatively undocumented on the
silver screen up until now. It seems strange that
it’s taken so long, given the band’s impressive
footprint and history of success but the proper
2018 biopic that we now know as Bohemian
Rhapsody has been a long time in the making for
many reasons.
From its initial announcement in 2010
(remember when Sacha Baron Cohen was
announced to be playing the part of Mercury?) to
now, the film has seen so many line-up changes
you’d think 20th Century Fox was actually a band
trying to find their place on the rocky road to
success. With the initial firing of director Bryan
Singer and rumors that even Daniel Radcliffe
would be taking the lead at one point; all of the
unprecedented rumors and casting changes only
added to the excitement. All the drama aside, the
final lineup starring an impressive Rami Malek
(Mr. Robot) as Mercury finds a way to channel a
greatest hits celebration while touching on the life
and times of the band who collectively helped the
enigmatic frontman shine.
At times the film’s restrained portrayal of
Mercury’s sexuality does seem unnervingly
conservative and even homophobic at times, with
the only real “villain” painted in their story being
his queer manager, Paul Prenter (Allen Leech).
The amount of pandering done to make the film
accessible to a conservative audience is palpable
yet Bohemian Rhapsody still manages to retain
heart and doesn’t get too lost in the “in between
moments” as Mercury refers to them at one point
in the film.
Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara) was as
enigmatic as he was misunderstood and the story
this biopic tells is as much of a tragedy as it is a
heroic rock ‘n’ roll tale of emotional fury. While it
does take on the darker dramatic elements with
its portrayal of Mercury’s battle with HIV, for
the most part the film sticks to a cookie cutter
formula of a rah-rah biopic and cuts straight to
the goods, which is fine since the actual lives of
Queen outside of Queen really weren’t all that
exciting.
Bohemian Rhapsody starts and ends with the
band’s most iconic performance of their career,
1985 Live Aid at Wembley Stadium, arguably the
biggest concert in rock ‘n’ roll history. Queen took
the stage and changed music with their 20-minute
set so it’s exciting to see the fan-fare recreated so
fantastically.
While the band members (Gwilym Lee as
Brian May, Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor and
Joseph Mazzello as John Deacon) are properly
represented and given the respect they deserve,
the crowning moments of the film are ultimately
focused on Mercury, which really wouldn’t have
shined nearly as bright without the talent of
Malik’s goofy yet accurate portrayal.
The brightest moments of the film shine in the
performances and they are shot exceptionally
well. And with the band’s Live Aid performance
bookending the movie, it makes the final scene
play out like the ultimate encore. Recreating the
magic of such a monumental event makes the
movie worth watching, even if your knowledge
of Queen only extends to Wayne’s World or
foot-stomping and hand-clapping along to “We
Are The Champions” at hockey games. In the end,
Bohemian Rhapsody is a fun rock ‘n’ roll drama
complete with all the hits and even a surprising
and totally unexpected cameo from Mike Myers
(look closely!). It’s probably best that Sacha Baron
Cohen left things be in Queen-land as well so he
could move on to trolling conservative America
while Malik stood under the bright spotlight to
pay homage to one of the greatest performers and
vocal artists who ever lived.
November 2018 25

FILM
THE VISUAL LANGUAGE OF DOCUMENTARY
IN CONVERSATION WITH FILMMAKER JENNIFER BAICHWAL
PAT MULLEN
THIS MONTH IN FILM
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL CINEMA
BRENDAN LEE
Prospect – November 2
Set amidst the toxic forest of a distant moon, a teenage girl and
her father search for an untapped deposit of gems that could
reap riches. The only problem is they’re not alone. This sci-fi
thriller won the Adam Yauch Hörnblowér Award at the 2018
SXSW Film Festival.
Widows – November 16
When four women’s husbands are murdered in the line of
criminal activity, instead of crumbling in defeat, they pry back
fate from cold dead hands. This icy thriller simply cannot fail, with
legendary director Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave) and awardwinning
author Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl) orchestrating every turn.
At Eternity’s Gate – November 16
The story of near-mythical painter Vincent Van Gogh and his
struggle for recognition within a world that neither respects
nor understands the beauty in his work. Willem Dafoe shines
as Gogh, and director Julian Schnabel paints a painfully elegant
picture.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs – November 16
The wild and wacky Coen brothers return to the world of the
Western, and do so with a sardonic splash. Told in six separate
parts, prepare for the untamed wilderness of the Oregonian
frontier days, and the violently hilarious people that lived them.
Canadian filmmaking trio Jennifer
Baichwal, Nick de Pencier and Edward
Burtynski recently completed a trilogy
of films that chronicle human impact
upon the planet. Their most recent
film, Anthropocene: The Human Epoch,
identifies a new era in which human
influence is the most dominate factor
determining the Earth’s form. The three
travelled the world to document some of
Earth’s largest sites of industrial resource
extraction. Baichwal spoke with BeatRoute
about some of the challenges and
paradoxes of documentary filmmaking in
our current social context.
I’ve been noticing that there seems to
be a formal shift in documentary film away
from an emphasis on spoken language.
Cinematic images are starting to take
precedence, while narration becomes
deliberate, minimal, or absent altogether.
I emphasize spoken language because
I think that cinematic images might be
starting to function as their own language
in these works.
JB: I’m not sure… I would say that there’s
as much of a trend in the direction of
straightforward, dense, narrative storylines
that are character driven. In that genre
of documentary, the visual language is
almost always subordinate in a way that
I’ve always found puzzling because film is a
visual medium. One of the most important
things for me from the very beginning as a
filmmaker is that visual language was not
subordinate to text.
I’ve been thinking about why it is so
meaningful to emphasize visual language
over text. I have a notion that we often
have our most influential realizations when
we’re out in the world, observing. Perhaps
the closest you can get to simulating
that experience cinematically is to place
someone in front of a powerful image and
allow them to experience it quietly.
JB: Absolutely. Especially in the work
that we have done with Ed Burtynsky in
Manufactured Landscapes, Watermark,
and Anthropocene, the idea was always
to create an experiential understanding
of where you were. I believe that the
possibility for a kind of transformation
of self or a shift in consciousness is much
more likely to happen when you’re not told
what to think about something. There is a
very deliberate absence of the didactic or
the polemic in these films in order to allow
viewers to come into these places they’re
responsible for or connected to, but would
never normally see. To actually feel what
those places are like.
When I was watching Anthropocene I
had a reaction on two levels: I was amazed
at how beautiful so many of the images
of these locations were, but I was also
disturbed at my aesthetic reaction to
these places that were the sites of so much
human destruction. It was like looking at
art—
JB: I would say around the aesthetic
argument that compelling is a better word
than beautiful, in the sense that you are
drawn into an experience because it’s
intriguing or compelling. It’s the aesthetic
engagement that creates that extended
reflection. Burtynsky has gotten that
critique throughout his whole career, of
making the ugly beautiful. I would argue
that the ambiguity, the paradox at the
heart of that, is what makes his work so
powerful. It’s something we really try to
explore in the film. Not every story is just
about rapacious destruction, it’s about the
complexity of existence and the way that
we, as a species, engage with and use up all
of these elements in the natural world that
in themselves are kind of astonishing.
Anthropocene: The Human Epoch
is now screening in select Canadian
theatres. A travelling museum exhibition
has also premiered at the Art Gallery
of Ontario, and will travel to MAST
in Bolonga in Spring 2019. For more
information on Jennifer Baichwal’s work
and the Anthropocene Project visit
theanthropocene.org.
Green Book – November 21
This is the true story of a world class black pianist on tour and the
rough and tumble Italian-American who drives him through the
south. They must follow their titular green book to know which
establishments will serve black people. This is a two-worldscollide-to-make-each-other-better
kind of affair from one half of
the Farrelly brothers, who usually bring us comedies like Dumb
and Dumber. This one grabbed the Grolsch People’s Choice
Award at TIFF… which is a big deal.
At Eternity’s Gate
26
November 2018

MUSIC REVIEWS
Charles Bradley
Black Velvet
Daptone Records/Dunham Records
Just as early hip hop was built off the beats of both
classic, and underground soul groups from the mid-
60’s into to early 70’s, Charles Bradley’s final album,
Black Velvet, is a compiled retrospective of Bradley’s
recording career, and his decade-spanning work with
producer Tommy ‘TNT’ Brenneck and the players and
crew at Daptone Records in Brooklyn, New York.
Bradley’s soul was the real deal, a vocalist who hit
certain notes that only a few before him could hit
with such conviction. Bradley’s voice was a conduit
to his heart, as much as it was a unique instrument.
His tone split through the mix over grooves that
always had that slow-riding bounce, head bobbing
in a long Impala while the additions of percussion,
and the horns never sounded digital. Considering the
serendipitous nature of living, it’s both to Daptone’s,
and Bradley’s good fortune that they found each
other. The rotating cast of sidemen whose recording
room and techniques have resulted in some of this
era’s most classic-sounding wile forward thinking
soul music found a vocalist who was as warm as the
sound their music created, and Bradley, whose mix
of wailing Bobby Bland, elemental James Brown, and
sincerity of Sam Cooke needed the best elements of
uncluttered mid-60s Memphis soul along with the
cinematic quality of funk in the early 70s.
Among Black Velvet’s ten cuts, there isn’t one spot
where the horns have a manufactured digital warmth,
the kick drum sets the pace while the rest of the kit
has an airy, distant feel so common to old records
where everyone played in one room, quiet enough to
catch the mic bleed of a bit of everything. The bass
is punchy, but dialled back in the midrange, creating
a melodic thump, with lyrical lines throughout but
never upsetting the groove. Some players just have
that feel on bass, how long to sustain a note, and
when to mute another in passing, to give the beat
its lower melodic push. There might not be a better
live room anywhere currently than in Brooklyn at
Daptone records.
“Can’t Fight The Feeling” brings shots on the
downbeats with Bradley hitting those James Brown
moans and oh’s each time, while the horns rise and
fall in between with a guitar hook that sounds just
like jelly moves. The band settles into a vamp with
slight organ backing, with Bradley taking the lead,
his churchy, uplifting lines over a chord run that
gradually leads to the chorus. There’s a rave up break
in the middle with Bradley pleading to his baby,
“Please take a chance on me,” that has a bit of Archie
Bell & The Drells’ “Tighten Up”, though with more
accented push, compared to that cut’s lounge-y flow.
On “Luv Jones”, the mens choir hangs with the horns
though the pre-disco intro, the kind of sound that
defined early 70s pop culture. The verse’s repetitive
lines would make an excellent sample on a hip hop
record, and the groove is a good shaker that blends
in without having to jump out and be the most
distinctive thing.
It’s on “I Feel A Change” that Bradley gets heavy, on
a ballad with dramatic changes in the choruses, the
song accents the attention to detail that Brenneck
put into arranging these cuts, with instruments
maintaining a melodic motif with subtle moves
around those parts, each instrument always in its
place but never feeling shuttered, and invoking an
ever-heightening drama. A lot of records going for
a classic-sounding vibe tend to try these moves, but
can tend to sound a little forced, where the grooves
on Black Velvet leave plenty of room for melodies to
swoop in and out.
The title track is an instrumental, and given
Bradley’s propensity during live performances to
leave the stage and embrace as many people as he
could, sharing his heart and love with everyone he
could find, a cut like “Black Velvet” might make a
great mid-show opportunity for Bradley to commune
with the people. Slow and swaying, One could
imagine Bradley imploring the crowd to love each
other as much as he loved them. “Stay Away” has
some cool fuzz guitar, like Eddie Hazel, or from Burnt
Offering by labelmates The Budos Band, and Bradley’s
cover of Neil Young’s classic country rock standard
“Heart Of Gold” is a cool take on the familiar, Bradley
off-timing the melody just a little, while the horns lay
down Young’s harmonica melody with some jump,
giving an old cut a fresh sound.
Charles Bradley’s story is one of adversity,
persevering through harder conditions than just
about anyone who can afford to go to the record
store might have to, finding strength and love in
music, and letting those things lead his path. He
shared those parts of himself with everyone who
listened to his records and saw him play, and cut
some of the defining soul music of our era, and Black
Velvet being his final, posthumous record makes
excellent contribution to that canon. While young
cats like Leon Bridges and Curtis Harding deftly take
up the sound of classic soul, their time to define
will come. With his producer Tommy Brenneck, his
contemporaries Sharon Jones and Lee Fields, and
the ace crew of musicians rolling tape at Daptone in
Brooklyn, Charles Bradley was able to live a dream
musically, and make music that helped reinvigorate
an essential sound for his time.
• Mike Dunn
• Illustrated by Vince Lin
November 2018 27

Alias & Dose One - Less is Orchestra Daughters - You Won’t Get What You Want Dead Soft - New Emotion Empress Of - Us
Ace Frehley
Spaceman
Entertainment One
Is it possible to discuss Ace Frehley and not
mention his previous band from the ’70s? Isn’t it
time he stood on his own merit? Frehley is now
well and truly entrenched in the third phase of his
+40-year solo career, Spaceman being his fourth
release in less than a decade.
First impression is that there is zero lyrical
progression here. Once again, he’s paradoxically
singing about being from outer space, yet also a
humble boy from the Bronx, just rocking with the
boys.
It’s somewhat remarkable that his voice is holding
up so well after all these years. Musically speaking,
Spaceman is mapped out in a manner that is true
to his signature style — simple and melodic with
roots firmly planted in classic hard rock — and
there’s no denying this old Ace still plays a mean
guitar.
As per his long-standing tradition, he ends his
latest flight of fantasy with the epic, six-and-ahalf
minute instrumental “Quantum Flux,” the
highlight of the entire album for sure. Despite
this grand finale, Frehley’s eighth solo venture
clocks in at an underwhelming 36 minutes, even
less if you exclude the lackadaisical yet painfully
apropos cover of Eddie Money’s “I Wanna Go
Back.” However, it does come with three alternate
versions of the cover for the obsessive collector!
Far out, man!
• Josh Wood
Alias & Dose One
Less is Orchestra
Anticon
Alias used to jokingly call his music goth-hop and
it’s a fitting, if not limited description of the wide
variety of songs here. There’s the spooky art-trap
music of “Top Billing II” and “The Deadener” to the
more lush serene hum of “The Doghawk.” It’s clear
that despite his being forced to work on music
part time (indie hip-hop doesn’t pay the bills
like it used to), that he still managed to hone his
production craft.
For his part, Dose One’s voice has aged like fine
wine. The added rasp gives his vocals a weathered
gravitas that suits his takes on mortality and
workaday life. His lyrics can still get pretty abstract
at times but it’s reigned in a little more than his
earlier work. The recent passing of Alias hangs
heavy over this record. It’s a thoughtful, beautifully
crafted collection of songs made by two people at
very different points in their lives from when they
were the Anticon heavy hitters.
• Graeme Wiggins
Daughters
You Won’t Get What You Want
Ipecac Recordings
I recently read an article in a magazine called “Rock
is Dead, Thank God.” Now to be fair, the author
admits, “the future looks promising on the surface,
but these are but mere glimmers on ocean waves
carrying off a floating corpse.” Knowing Daughters,
they’d probably delight in this and maybe the
title of their brand new LP, You Won’t Get What
You Want, is a nod to that. But maybe they’re
dead wrong. Maybe this is the record, like The
Shape of Punk to Come, that will blow the roof
off the whole thing. It’s a piece of art that, like any
good piece of art, is layered with contradictions,
emotion, time and space. It’s dynamic, fraught
with tension and ferocity and yet willing to
breathe. It’s introspective and incisive, yet flails
around in the expanses of our collective psyche,
unsure and afraid.
From the Liars-esque opening track, “City Song,”
to the shrill insect-like drone of “Long Road, No
Turns,” to the terrifying cinematic sprawl of “Satan
in The Wait,” you are fully immersed in the twisted
narrative concocted by vocalist Alexis Marshall
and you’re only three songs in.
“Less Sex” sounds like it was written by Leonard
Cohen in hell. “The Reason They Hate Me” is
pummeling, like the crushing weight of the day-today
grind. By the time the strings hit on the outro
of “Guest House” it should be clear that Daughters’
experimental anti-melodies are the waves that are
carrying off the floating corpse of Rock. After all,
“there is an ocean beyond the waves.”
• Sean Orr
Empress Of
Us
XL Recordings
The sophomore studio album from Los Angelesbased
artist Empress Of builds upon the critical
success of her 2015 debut and interim dance chart
collaborations. The Latin ballad “Trust Me Baby”
and radio-friendly dance-pop songs “Love For Me”
and “When I’m With Him” led as singles ahead of
the release of Us.
The ten tracks embody a dreamy Caribbean
island vibe, infused with danceable ’80s synth
grooves. Catchy falsetto vocals are reminiscent
of electro-pop contemporaries Banks, FKA
Twigs and Lorde, but an injection of Spanish
lyrics differentiates “Trust Me Baby” and “When
I’m With Him.” The first half of the album rolls
hazily along at a head-bobbing tempo, creating a
perfect pairing with all that legal cannabis, despite
what the track titled “I Don’t Even Smoke Weed”
suggests.
Love and relationships are the main topics
explored, but the lyrics come secondary to
the sickly sweet vocals featured prominently
throughout. The electronic influences and strong
vocal hooks on later tracks seem destined for
important plot crescendos in teen TV dramas.
Us closes softly with the song “Again,” which
brings the energy and tension built over tracks six
through nine to a warm, dreamy denouement.
• Vaughn Turnbull
Georgia Anne Muldrow
Overload
Brainfeeder
For her entire career, Georgia Anne Muldrow
has specialized in the kind of r&b/jazz/hip-hop
fusion that Flying Lotus and labelmates on Lotus’
Brainfeeder imprint have become known for. So
when it was announced that Muldrow had signed
to the independent L.A.-based label, the pairing
made instant sense. On Muldrow’s Brainfeeder
debut, Overload, executively produced by Flying
Lotus, she fails to disappoint, turning in her most
cohesive and exciting effort in years.
Muldrow’s greatest musical tool has always
been her overpowering voice, which she uses in a
multitude of ways to capture the attention of the
listener and keep them on their toes. The intro to
the album, “I.O.T.A (Instrument of the Ancients),”
instantly puts that vocal power on full display,
allowing her to command the track by layering her
vocal parts so as to sound like an angelic chorus.
On the next song, “Play It Up,” trap cymbals crash
over the track, but they can’t usurp Muldrow, who
dances over the song, rarely landing her lines in
classic rhythmic time but flowing so captivatingly
that the rhythm of the beat plays backseat to her
haunting melody.
Rarely does an r&b album primarily about love
sound so out there, and credit is due to Muldrow’s
suite of producers for giving her such interesting
canvases to paint on. At about the halfway point,
Overload switches to a more traditional style of
r&b, which Muldrow has a masterful command
of. Overload is not without faults, particularly in
the lyrics themselves, which border on heavyhanded.
However, nothing is enough to take away
from Muldrow’s luscious voice, the true star of the
album. Just for that, Overload is worth your time.
Add in a variety of Grade A production, and we’re
looking at one of the most interesting albums of
the year.
• Graham King
Colter Wall
Songs of the Plains
Young Mary’s Record Co./Thirty
Tigers
With Songs of the Plains, Colter Wall has created a
timeless tribute to cowboy singers and authentic
country music, while simultaneously cementing
himself as the leader of the pack moving the
tradition forward. Though it’s easy to become lost
in his stirring baritone, a voice that reverberates in
a way that almost negotiates a physical response
with the listener, it’s Wall’s uncanny ability to both
masterfully craft his songs and interpret those of
others, putting a signature stamp on them that
make up the foundation of his second LP. Wall’s
precise guitar picking supports these songs, along
with his finger style similar to Mississippi John
Hurt, while he’s deftly backed by the lonesome
harp of Mickey Raphael — Willie Nelson’s long
time harmonica player — Lloyd Green on pedal
steel, and the rhythm section of Chris Powell and
Jason Simpson.
Opening with a laid back waltz on “Plain to
See Plainsman,” Wall inhabits the road weary
sentiment of a fast-moving traveler, far from
where he started but on his way home. We find
him on more familiar territory in the revenge
seeking ballad, “John Beyers (Camaro Song),”
where Wall growls, ‘’This southside Swift Current
boy is northside bound.” There is a strong sense
of place throughout all of Wall’s songs, as the
title of the album suggests, with nods to people
and stories set in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and
Alberta. He pays homage to Wilf Carter with a
version of “Calgary Round-Up,” and tips his hat
to underground legend Billy Don Burns with a
haunting cover of “Wild Dogs.” The album ends
with the traditional cowboy song, “Tying Knots in
the Devil’s Tail,” featuring Saskatchewan country
artist Blake Berglund and Alberta’s own Corb Lund.
Among all of the pieces combined to create Songs
of the Plains, be it the taste of Grammy awardwinning
producer Dave Cobb, the musicality of
the aforementioned band, or Wall’s stunning vocal
and songwriting ability, it’s his reverence for both
the pioneers and contemporaries of his craft that
allow Wall to cut a distinct path for himself.
• Conway Jankowski
28
November 2018

Georgia Anne Muldrow - Overload Laura Jane Grace and the Devouring Mothers - Bought to Rot Lil Yachty - Nuthin’ 2 Prove
Jeff Tweedy
WARM
dBpm Records
WARM, the latest solo offering from Jeff Tweedy, is a breathing,
thinking, feeling body of personal reflections and existential
wonderings that listens as much as it speaks. The ten-song
album of new material follows Tweedy’s acoustic retrospective
release, Together at Last (2017), and Wilco’s 2016 album, Schmilco.
Produced and recorded by Tweedy at Chicago’s now-legendary
studio, The Loft, WARM radiates with a familiarity that Wilco fans
will notice within the first few strums of Tweedy’s Martin 0-18.
With Tweedy’s unmistakable vocal sincerity at its core, WARM
extends that welcome to existing fans and new listeners alike. The
difference here is in a feeling of proximity. WARM is decidedly more
intimate than a Wilco record, the front door wide open, “Welcome”
emblazoned on the porch mat.
With the rise in anxiety, depression, loneliness and worry among
the psyches of so many, WARM is exactly the kind of album that
needs to be heard. “Could I find a world just right or will I always
look too high?” he muses in the awareness-seeking “From Far Away.”
“Sometimes we all think about dying / Don’t let it kill ya,” he prods
in “Don’t Forget,” reminding us that we are not the only ones. “I
know what it’s like starting over again,” he says from the shadows
of “I Know What it’s Like.” Through poignant perceptions and
meditations, Tweedy invites us to experience introspection without
pretense, honouring the space between the notes. Hinging on a
vulnerability that rewards multiple listens, WARM is the mirror and
Tweedy the reflection saying, “I see you. I hear you. I’m here with you.
F
R
I
D
A
Y
S
You are not alone.”
Laura Jane Grace and the Devouring Mothers
Bought to Rot
Bloodshot Records
277 PRINCE EDWARD ST
BILTMORECABARET.COM
• Alex Vissia
Bought to Rot is Laura Jane Grace’s first LP as a solo artist, but it
retains the angst, energy and familiarity punk fans know and love
about her main squeeze Against Me!
With the guitars dialed down only slightly, Grace continues her
gutsy journey of self-discovery as a transgender artist by firmly
wearing her heart on her sleeve and opening her wounds for us to
hear every honest dialogue, pissed off rant, and lonely lament she has
to offer.
The results are mostly positive. Tunes like “The Airplane Song,”
“Reality Bites,” and “The Acid Test Song” pull off big riffs and catchy
melodies. But there’s also some serious scorching to be done, as
Grace lets loose on the Windy City on “I Hate Chicago,” where she
scorns everything from the Chicago Bulls to Wilco to Lollapalooza.
“China Beach’ carries the same sentiment, with more stream of
consciousness outbursts worth paying attention to.
Lyrically, Bought to Rot is thoughtful but frank; musically, it’s
tight, energetic, and lean while maintaining impact. There’s hardly
any songs on the disc that pass the three-minute mark, yet Grace’s
power, courage, and who-gives-a-fuck attitude sticks with you once
again. In her own words, she’s a “true trans-soul rebel,” even if she’s
one that doesn’t always get the immediate credit she deserves in the
moment. Seriously though, don’t offer her tickets to a Cubs game.
• Trevor Morelli
Mark Sultan
Let Me Out
Modern Sky USA / Dirty Water Records
Lifelong punk addict and garage rock salesman to the stars, Mark
Sultan has been turning out cult rock gems since the mid ‘90s and,
perhaps, he feels he has typecast himself over the years. Seeking
his own flawed identity with his latest release, Let Me Out, he gives
a plaintiff and prominent voice to his inner dialogue. Normally
affiliated with a litany of zany musical acts, a solo Sultan retreated
to his recording facility in the woods outside Berlin, “Sound
Imperfection Studios,” to gather his new vision together. A cascade of
emotions flows forth from the opening track “Coffin Nails,” with its
surging organs and ‘60s shimmer. Eric Burdon would be flattered that
his urgent desire to get out of that place has translated so well to
Let Me Out some five decades later. The man of many aliases (BBQ,
Von Needles, Creepy, Blotrz and Krebs to name a few) has found
his happy place, setting up a sugar shack full of surf-rock shakers
including “The Other Two,” “Heed This Message” and “Black Magic,”
swingers such as “Everybody Knows,” “Wasting Away” and “The
Problem,” and beatnik café wallpaper “Believe Me.” The album shifts
into party mode with “Don’t Bother Me,” which finds Sultan swatting
at fireflies while twisting his hips in Strawberry Alarm Clock time.
Marquee-worthy “Humiliation” and “Tragedy” lend dramatic flair to
Sultan’s highs and lows, making for a jangly joyride to ol’ Make-Out
30
November 2018

MØ - Forever Neverland Shad - A Short Story About A War UNMAN - UNMAN
Point. Chilly despite the friction of an intense pace, the diamondforming
pressure of a night out with Sultan could leave a body
suffering from over exposure.
• Christine Leonard
MØ
Forever Neverland
Chess Club / RCA Victor
Danish singer-songwriter MØ, née Karen Marie Ørsted, hasn’t
released an album since 2014’s debut No Mythologies to Follow.
Since then, she has become very familiar to pop listeners through
frequent collaborations with big name producers.
With that in mind, Forever Neverland is a cohesive follow-up. MØ
delves into the thin veneer of California living and pop stardom,
reminiscing about simpler times in her adolescence. It’s well-treaded
ground, but the stellar songwriting makes this through line feel fresh.
The sonic space on Forever Neverland is not wholly unique either,
seeing MØ play with a lot of current trends in today’s pop music.
Generic dancehall beats and overdone Zedd-like vocal modulation
can make what are otherwise great songs feel tired and rehashed.
But MØ ‘s desperate rasp and incredible vocal range cut through
the occasional monotony, providing an immediate emotional
connection to the listener. Forever Neverland, despite its overdone
EDM pedigree, is a great pop album. Genetically engineered to have
you belt it out in traffic, swaying to the beat.
• Cole Parker
Shad
A Short Story About A War
Secret City Records
Give yourself time to truly understand Shad’s sixth album, A Short
Story About A War. It’s a dense record that mixes eclectic jazz bass
lines with distorted guitars, thumping beats, and of course, politically
charged lyrics.
Like many artists in these unstable political times, Shad has a lot
on his mind and his commentaries tackle everything from income
disparity to immigration to the robotic nature of work. It’s Rage
Against the Machine through a hip-hop lens.
Shad’s flow is better than it’s ever been, playing with humor
while maintaining a serious tone. On “The Foot Pt. 1 (Get It Got
It Good),” the album’s standout track, he evokes the spirit of
Childish Gambino’s “This Is America,” with lines about a weapons
manufacturer who ignores his morals in order to provide for his
family. It’s a bit too real to be funny.
The list of guest pals on the album is also impressive. Lido
Pimienta contributes her soulful voice to “Magic,” Kaytranada creates
woozy, shifting soundscapes on “The Fool Pt. 3 (Frame of Mind),” and
Yukon Blonde show up for the bouncy album closer, “All I Need.”
A Short Story About a War is a jarring album containing multiple
messages that will make you think, the kind of record that should
elevate Shad to another level at this point in his career. Perhaps he
sums it up best near the end of the album on “Another Year,” stating:
“The moral of the story is the war continues within us, every day.”
• Trevor Morelli
Lil Yachty
Nuthin’ 2 Prove
Quality Control
The month of October blessed some and cursed others with the
release of Lil Yachty’s third studio album, Nuthin’ 2 Prove. The
Atlanta rapper has shaken the scene in the short time he’s been on it,
first with the celebrated Lil Boat mixtape, and later on the (uh) dark
horses, Teenage Emotions and Lil Boat 2. Showcasing his climb to the
top, this album is yet another monument of lyrical prowess (“I’m da
mac, I’m da mac, skeet”), with Cardi B, Offset and Juice WRLD among
the big name talents aboard.
As underwhelming as the album is on the whole, Yachty owns his
bubblegum trap origins and his pride in his “trash” warrants an odd
kind of respect.
• Maryam Azizli
November 2018 31

MRG CONCERTS &
THE GOLDEN TICKET
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This Month's Showcase of Must-See Music! The Ticket to Your New Favourite Artist.
MR TWIN SISTER
with SATEEN
November 11
The Biltmore Cabaret
STILL CORNERS
with Ruby Haunt
and Booty EP
November 6
Fox Cabaret
LA VIDA LOCAL
HOMEGROWN VANCOUVER MUSIC RELEASES
Gross Misconduct
Equinox
Independent
Remember that time when Mastodon took a bunch of thrash metal pills and
overdosed? Actually, it never happened. But if it ever did happen, Gross Misconduct’s
new album Equinox might be the result. Equinox toes the line beautifully between
thrash and death metal, but also creates a dynamic sound with many progressions.
Snarling razor cut riffs that slice holes into everything. Haunting acoustic passages that
dig deep into the earth. Desperate yells that make you want to run to hell for help. It’s
all here and more, in this magnificent record.
When you start to dig deeper after a few listens you can hear just how busy this band
is. Highlighted by guitarist Dave London’s cut through leads and distinct forays into a
stab worthy attack that is egged on further by intense whipper snapper drumming.
Gross Misconduct are nearly 20 years in to the metal game and it shows. There isn’t a
miscue to be heard here. Songs “Equinox,” “A Place Of Bones” and “Exhaustive Integral”
are a serious 1-2-3 punch right off the top and from there this album deafens you into
bliss.
• Heath Fenton
KOSM
Cosmonaut
Independent
JOHN MAUS
with ACTORS
DECEMBER 2
Rickshaw Theatre
Follow @beatroutebc for a chance to win your way in!
TICKETS AT MRGCONCERTS.COM AND RED CAT RECORDS
ART D’ECCO
with Bored Decor
November 16
The Biltmore Cabaret
Vancouver’s KOSM kick the door in with Cosmonaut, their monstrous full-length debut.
Brace yourself for a satisfying trip through an exciting mountain range of cascading,
meaty riffs, swelling rises and heady drops, all led by the powerful, soaring vocals of the
dynamic Jessie Grace.
While intended to indicate a will to explore the atypical and elaborate the old into
something new, the term “progressive” can be off-putting. Too often does a band
fall prey to its own ambition of pursuing every flight of fancy and pushing things
further, which can quickly turn a forward-thinking album into a confusing grab-bag of
technically proficient tangents awkwardly sewn together. Cosmonaut is not that. Here
is an album where progressive elements are subtly used to colour already solid, groovy
song foundations, which could easily stand by themselves.
Despite the restraint exercised in the progressive department, this album clocks in
at sixty-six minutes without dragging. It chugs along at a steady pace, pounding and
banging, weaving and bobbing its way to the unsettling conclusion that is “Wza-Y’ei,” a
truly disorienting bout of space dementia. Cosmonaut delivers on all fronts.
KOSM will play Pub 340 on Saturday, November 17 for their ‘Cosmonaut’ album
release party, accompanied by OmnisighT, Truent and Opus Arise.
• Daniel Robichaud
UNMAN
UNMAN
Independent
Feast your ears on the debut self-titled EP cascading out of the Vancouver post-grunge
trio UNMAN. The album starts off with singer/guitarist Patrick Kinch narrating our trip
through suspended animation. He leads us to a field of noise, which is where UNMAN
really begins to shine. Kinch’s Nick Cave-inspired vocal delivery sits well juxtaposed over
the band’s mid-90s heavy-hitting shoegaze sound. The album really hits its stride with
“Vacation/After Vacation,” where you get lost in the sonic depths of Bill John Blatt’s
production. A quintessential post-grunge experience, fans of Mogwai, Nothing and
Whirr should feel at home with UNMAN.
• Johnny Kosmos
32
November 2018

LIVE
Photo by Kira Clavell
MC5 - MC50 Tour
Commodore Ballroom
October 17, 2018
The legendary Detroit proto punk band
MC5 delivered an onslaught of energy
exploring the songs off their first and
most celebrated record, 1968’s Kick Out
The Jams, for their 50th anniversary tour.
Original lead guitarist Wayne Kramer has
created what can only be described as a
super group lineup consisting of members
from Fugazi, Soundgarden and Faith No
More. The concert opened up with a
recording of the original lead vocalist, the
late great Rob Tyrner’s iconic politically
charged rally cries off the first record.
This set the mood for a powerhouse
of dynamic and infectious tunes and
riffs that pummeled their way through
the band’s entire set. Even when they
divulged into the free form avant-garde
jazz freak out song, “Starship,” there still
maintained a brilliant sense of tension
and release, which complemented the
more focused areas of their set.
It’s truly great to see older, more
wizened rockers who have so much
youthful fun on a stage in a city you
can tell they truly appreciate playing at;
Kramer even calling Vancouver one of
“the best crowds in the world” and this
most certainly wasn’t polite pleasantry.
Credit to the crowd as well, they fed off
MC5s untamable ethos and were headbanging
with the utmost enthusiasm.
It’s easy to see why MC5 have been
debated against The Stooges as the ones
who most shaped the sound of punk
and its transgressive image. Even in
more contemporary times, the Detroit
sound lives on through bands like the
White Stripes and all of garage punk
rock. Heavily influenced by the raw
stripped down nature of the sound MC5
pioneered.
We would be so lucky to have more
contemporary musicians with this much
kinetic rage, vitriol and passion for the
interesting times we find ourselves in.
• Josh Sheppard
Third Eye Blind
Hard Rock Casino Vancouver
October 19, 2018
Its 2018 and the ’90s are knocking so hard at the
door that we can’t help but open it up and see what’s
behind. That was certainly the vibe at the Third Eye
Blind concert at the Hard Rock Casino. I found myself
pressed against the stage with a row of Third Eye Blind
fans from all over. There was a couple on my left who
were from Chicago and a couple to my right who
were from Seattle. It became obvious why they had
traveled for the show when frontman Stephan Jenkins
informed a rowdy crowd that they weren’t touring at
the moment, that they were in fact in the middle of
writing a record when they flew out to Vancouver for
this one-off show.
Jenkins is a master of making his crowd hang on
every word, playing more than seven songs before he
even addressed the audience, only to launch into a set
that he lovingly called “Stephan gets to do whatever
he wants” where a taunting audience screamed song
titles for him to play for us. He expertly wove his way
through the gnarly “Slow Motion” moving into a
song he shared was the bands only number one hit in
India, proclaiming “Ok, here is my big fat Indian hit!”
launching into an effervescent and emotional “Deep
Inside of you.”
The band came back on stage and closed up the
show with “Semi Charmed Life,” their number one
from the nineties, and it was with this song they
declared the night complete. The band knows that
their strength and relevancy rely on their nostalgic
factor, while also appeasing the fans who follow them
faithfully. We are lucky to still have storytellers like
Jenkins still making music.
• David Cutting
Courtney Barnett
The Vogue
October 10, 2018
The stage was drowned in a sea of red as
Courtney Barnett and her backing band
nonchalantly walked on stage and put their
instruments on. They opened with the
deadpan track “Hopelessness,” the opening
song on Barnett’s new record Tell Me How
You Really Feel, creating an ambiance that
was as sedative as it was seductive. She
followed with the far more upbeat “City
Looks Pretty,” the second track from the
new album before performing an old fanfavourite,
“Avant Gardener.”
Lighting was a pleasant surprise, at times
mixtures of greens and blues instilled feelings
of 70s hippie freedom while, at other points,
deep shades of reds and blues submerged
you in a psychedelic haze. The new record’s
lead single “Nameless, Faceless,” a song about
toxic misogyny, and male violence towards
Photo by Darrole Palmer
women, intricately attacks you musically, as
well as visually with it’s shocking light-flashes.
Barnett appropriately followed this song with
the seemingly In Utero inspired “I’m Not Your
Mother, I’m Not Your Bitch.”
There’s something Cobain-esque about
the way Courtney Barnett performs. I’m not
sure if it’s the unforgiving vocal wails that
layer over her melodramatic pop songs,
or the thrashy, distorted, grunge-laden
guitar solos, or perhaps the way she flails
her body, exhuming her lifetime’s worth of
teenage angst. Playing a left-handed Fender
Jazzmaster ties it all together.
The show showed a lot more aggression
than anticipated. It blended artfully crafted
lighting, and strongly written songs to create
an experience beyond expectation. I must
mention Barnett’s beautifully delivered solo
performance of Gillian Welch’s “Everything is
Free.” The show ended with Barnett’s arguably
first big hit “Pedestrian At Best.”
• Johnny Papan
November 2018 33

NEW MOON RISING
YOUR MONTHLY HOROSCOPE
QUAN YIN DIVINATION
Month of the Water Pig
Compassion, feeling, and good-natured
friendliness are the qualities of the
water pig. They love to befriend others,
share and delight in good company,
and are endlessly generous with their
time and affection. This month is a
sociable one, and you may find that
even strangers are kind or helpful
now if you show even the slightest
receptivity. Giving generously is
favoured under this sign, and this is a
good time to treat a friend to a show,
invite a group for a dinner party, or pick
up the bill for a night out on the town.
Rabbit (Pisces): A time for inspiration.
Think of planting seeds rather than
harvesting fruit. Guilt-free living means
that you can enjoy present moment
satisfaction without compromising
future or past agreements. Look for
ways to optimize stress relief and the
work will do itself.
Dragon (Aries): Congeniality and
sharing tactful yet enthusiastic ideas
with others give those around you the
opportunity to perform at their best.
The wisdom of correct conduct creates
powerful leadership and inspires
excellence.
Snake (Taurus): You’re a keen planner
and strategist, Snake, so keep your eye
on your plan and don’t get distracted.
Whether in love or financial matters,
people are watching you now. Choose
wisely as your reputation needs to be
polished, not tarnished.
Horse (Gemini): Harsh feelings may
be a symptom of an inner conflict that
seeks resolution. Blaming, judging or
condemning will only complicate and
compound the difficulty. Look for the
good and you will find it there.
Sheep (Cancer): Collaborate with
others freely to enjoy the freedom
that comes from following along with
another’s plan. Let go of anything that
causes resistance to a natural flow, and
grow through the experience gracefully.
Monkey (Leo): Physical or emotional
harm teaches us to take care of
ourselves first, before we are able to
offer care to others. It might be time to
take on some self-love assignments.
Rooster (Virgo): Domestic affairs
satisfy. Focus on home and health to
bring great rewards this month. Remain
balanced, fair, and desire-less to lead by
good example.
Dog (Libra): Luxury doesn’t always
bring true happiness, but there’s joy in
it for the moment. Indulge without
overdoing it. Happy days are here for
you.
Pig (Scorpio): You see the best in
others, but don’t allow rose-coloured
glasses to interfere with common
sense. Use your natural intelligence to
evaluate any suspicious situation.
Rat (Sagittarius): Freedom is powerful,
as long as it doesn’t mean that you’re
neglecting those you love. What
actions can you take now to follow
through on your promises? Reject any
ideas that take you further from your
life goals.
Ox (Capricorn): Stillness and
contemplation can help strong
emotions ground and dissipate.
Observe the rise and fall of any feelings
and identify where they reside in your
body. With awareness, all emotion can
be seen as transient, so high or low,
take it slow.
Tiger (Aquarius): Destruction and
creativity often come to you at the
same time, Tiger. Channel your energy
into building a new home, project, or
relationship and simultaneously tear
down the old. New growth comes in
its place.
Susan Horning is a Feng Shui
Consultant and Bazi Astrologist living
and working in East Vancouver. Find
out more about her at QuanYin.ca.
LUCA FOGALE
ON TOUR
FRI. NOV. 23
SAT. NOV. 24
SUN. NOV. 25
THE FOX CABARET VANCOUVER, BC
ST ANDREW’S PRESBYTERIAN VICTORIA, BC
THE ABBEY
CUMBERLAND, BC
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT
WWW.LUCAFOGALE.COM
34
November 2018

CANADA’S LARGEST INDEPENDENT CONCERT PROMOTER
UPCOMING SHOWS
KHRUANGBIN
WITH WILL VAN HORN
November 18
The Vogue Theatre
STILL CORNERS
WITH RUBY HAUNT AND BOOTY EP
November 6 - Fox Cabaret
THE SELECTER
WITH RHODA DAKAR
November 7- Rickshaw Theatre
ODONIS ODONIS
WITH WIRE SPINE AND SIGSALY
November 10 - The Biltmore Cabaret
MR TWIN SISTER
WITH SATEEN
November 11 - The Biltmore Cabaret
ART D’ECCO
WITH BORED DECOR
November 16 - The Biltmore Cabaret
UNDEROATH
W/ GAVIN DANCE DANCE & PLOT IN YOU
November 19 - The Vogue Theatre
SEAN LEON
WITH GUESTS
November 28 - The Biltmore Cabaret
RIA MAE & RALPH
WITH NEON DREAMS
December 1 - The Biltmore Cabaret
JOHN MAUS
WITH ACTORS
December 2 - Rickshaw Theatre
TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE AT MRGCONCERTS.COM