BeatRoute Magazine BC Edition May 2019

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DARROLE PALMER MUSiC LIVE REVIEWS MAGGIE ROGERS April 17, 2019 The Commodore Ballroom ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” blared through the speakers as Maggie Rogers came bounding from stage right, skipping and clapping, embodying the energy of a young Fiona Apple. She opened her set with “Give A Little” as she released her hair from a top bun, allowing it to dance as freely as she was. Rogers has the ability to take you on an undeniable, unforgettable lyrical journey, as if every song was not just a part of her life, but part of yours. “In different cities I find the space to work through things by dancing,” Rogers said, softly addressing the audience. Integrating nature and calm tones into her set had the audience sitting at her feet, looking up asking for more. From “Falling Water” to “Back In My Body” and “Light On,” she never stopped dancing, sharing and reminding fans why she’s infamously known for once bringing Pharrell Williams to tears. After the audience stopped chanting her name, pleading for more, Rogers stood centre stage, mic in hand, saying, “I’m just going to sing,” and offered a beautiful a capella send off. Clarence Sponagle EARL SWEATSHIRT April 15, 2019 The Commodore Ballroom Rap shows aren’t known for their punctuality, so when Earl Sweatshirt took the stage 20 minutes early it was a little bewildering. This vibe continued into the performance. One doesn’t name an album I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside without being somewhat of an introvert, but there was a calculated distance in the performance that was definitely atypical of a rap show. Even on more high energy tracks like “December 24 (bad acid)” Sweatshirt rarely moved quicker than a lackadaisical stroll. It wasn’t quite low energy, but neither was it notably intense. The crowd ate it up however, screaming words alongside his nonchalant delivery. He moved through songs quickly, playing fragments of about 20 or so, with a slight focus on newer material. The pace blurred it all together. The short songs from Some Rap Songs juxtaposed with the claustrophobic, bass heavy production of his earlier work was disorienting in a good way that captured the essence of his albums. The show ended with about 10 minutes of his DJ playing rap classics and there was no encore; a mystifying finish to a half-baked evening. Graeme Wiggins JOSHUA GRAFSTEIN 36 BEATROUTE MAY 2019
MOViES|T.V. HOAXING AROUND Standing in the shadows of an imaginary persona in JT LeRoy By NOÉMIE ATTIA J T LeRoy was a jaded, vulnerable boy with an endearing Southern accent and two best-selling books in the early 2000s. He was always hiding behind sunglasses and blond wigs – because JT LeRoy was never a real person. He was actually a persona born in writer Laura Albert’s brain and embodied by artist Savannah Knoop for nearly six years. Director Justin Kelly adapted Knoop’s memoir, Girl Boy Girl: How I Became JT LeRoy, into a film called JT LeRoy about the six-year hoax. The film portrays the true story through the eyes of Savannah (Kristen Stewart). We see them discovering their creative legitimacy as a young artist leaving their hometown for San Francisco. Laura (Laura Dern), the experienced writer, fosters that confidence through encouraging Savannah to play the part of LeRoy. “When you’re young, you’ve just gotten out of high school, and you meet someone who’s an amazing artist – I read both books and I loved them,” Knoop tells BeatRoute about Albert. “When she eventually asked me to perform this character, it was sort of like accessing a creative path. It was getting the feeling of what it could be like to be an artist after you’d already made the work, which is a strange process.” The film portrays the genius of Knoop’s impersonation of LeRoy. More importantly, Knoop’s agency glows through Leroy’s dark shades. JT LEROY Friday, May 17 (5:30 pm) • Sunday, May 19 (7:30 pm) • Monday, May 20 (6:00 pm) • Wednesday, May 22 (6:10 pm) Vancity Theatre Tix: $13, viff.org “I think it was just good casting. I was a good person to play that character, because I already had some of those interests.” Becoming Le- Roy also coincided with Knoop’s exploration of their queer identity: it was an outlet for them to learn more about themself. However, one thing is clear for Knoop: “I’m pretty sure I would be where I am now, regardless of playing JT LeRoy. But of course it affected me as a young person, deeply.” Knoop, who co-wrote the film’s screenplay, didn’t become a writer because of LeRoy. “Me playing JT was sort of quixotic,” says Knoop. “It brings up that question of when you play something, you become it. What are the boundaries around that?” Stewart’s interpretation of Knoop’s character is particularly convincing. Knoop was a consultant on set for any emotional and logistical questions. They donated their favourite DIY clothes from that period to Stewart’s wardrobe, which makes the character even more authentic. “It’s very meta,” Knoop says, when asked how it felt to have someone play them playing another character. “There would be moments when I would see Kristen do something I had done as JT. There’s this specific way of clapping at readings. I feel like I didn’t know I was doing it when I was playing JT. I really did get to see how JT LeRoy was a very separate person from me, that I was playing a role to the best of my ability, and that that character was not me. I don’t know why, but I didn’t totally understand that, probably because I didn’t really have any footage of me playing JT and it was very blurry in my memory. So to see the differences was illuminating.” JT LeRoy poses questions on identity and truth when a story is constructed by many perspectives, even fictional ones. “Can you only write on the page, or can you write out in the world?” asks Knoop. “What happens when you write out in the world? What is different than when you write on the page?” Above all, this story seems to be about Knoop’s ability to become what they already had inside them, no matter what physical form it took. , MAY 2019 BEATROUTE 37
Page 1 and 2: MAY 2019 FREE KALI UCHIS: THE NEXT
Page 3 and 4: Contents Up Front 4 7 8 9 10 The Gu
Page 5 and 6: UPCOMING SHOWS REAL ESTATE WITH SPE
Page 7 and 8: MAY The AgendaBy YASMINE SHEMESH 4
Page 9 and 10: That's Dope THIS BIG NAME BACKERS B
Page 11 and 12: Fashion CHILDISH KICKS By KIM JEV L
Page 13: VanCity Places TUNE-UP TIME: ASK TH
Page 16 and 17: JESSIE REYEZ • BAHAMAS • SERENA
Page 18 and 19: MUSiC CONCERT PREVIEWS RUN FOR COVE
Page 20 and 21: MUSiC CONCERT PREVIEWS MAYA FUHR YV
Page 22 and 23: MUSiC CONCERT PREVIEWS JENNY LEWIS:
Page 24 and 25: MUSiC COVER STORY KALI UCHIS LIVES
Page 26 and 27: MUSiC CONCERT PREVIEWS BEN HOUDIJK
Page 29 and 30: MUSiC CONCERT PREVIEWS MARC DE VINC
Page 31 and 32: SPENCER MARSH Reviews MUSiC Mac rid
Page 33 and 34: SCHOOLBOY Q CrasH Talk Interscope R
Page 35: Live MUSiC ALICE IN CHAINS April 10
Page 39 and 40: DAN’S HOMEBREWING SUPPLIES Huge s
Page 41 and 42: LAUGHING ALL THE WAY TO THE MORGUE
Page 43 and 44: ARTs DAVID MONTEITH-HODGE THIS MONT
Page 45 and 46: Yungblud IF YOU GO: Details/line-up
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BeatRoute Magazine BC Edition May 2019

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