BeatRoute Magazine BC Edition - February 2020

Green Day
Destroyer
Ralph
Odario
& More
BC • FEBRUARY 2020 • FREE

SHOES AS
UNIQUE AS A
QUIET VEGAN
(THESE ARE FOR LOUDISH VEGANS BTW)
JOHNFLUEVOGSHOESGRANVILLEST··WATERST··FLUEVOGCOM

Contents
Music
5n UP FRONT
Canadian musician, broadcaster,
and the host of the evening
program Afterdark on CBC
Music, Odario Williams makes
our hearts skip a beat with his
Valentine’s Day playlist.
6n Artist Features
Green Day, Destroyer, The
Beaches, Non La, Andy Shauf
and more.
13n STYLE
Toronto’s rising pop star RALPH
shows BeatRoute her bedroom
closet and shines a light on her
uncompromising career that’s
taken her from opening for Carly
Rae Jepsen to dazzling new
heights.
17n Monthly Playlist
All the singles we can’t stop
listening to this month.
25nAlbum Reviews
Grimes, Mac Miller, Halsey, Tennis,
Cindy Lee, Soccer Mommy,
and more.
BC
Cover Story
Green Day
Destroyer
Ralph
Odario
& More
20 Tame Impala
The unassailable empathy of
Australian psych-everything
mastermind, Kevin Parker.
BC • FEBRUARY 2020 • FREE
LifeStyle
28nPhoto Essay
Photographer Annie
Forrest goes on the road
with Orville Peck and gets
an intimate inside scoop on
today’s hottest stars from
behind the lens.
30nTravel
Mexico City: Explore the
sprawling metropolis where
tradition and cutting edge
converge
33nScreen
The next playlist of couldbe
timeless classics, we
shine a light on 2020 Academy
Awards’ Best Song
Nominees.
YVR
35nJFLNW Comedy
Festival
From Maria Bamford to
Hannah Gadsby and Josh
Thomas, JFL Northwest
comedy festival returns,
bringing top tier talent to
the city for their annual
side-splitting affair.
36nYVR Agenda
David Sedaris jumps off the
page and into our hearts,
contemporary dance meets
hip-hop and martial arts in
Ghost, while Lil Fest brings
hip-hop to the masses for
an all ages spectacular featuring
the likes of Lil Tracy,
Shoreline Mafia, and more.
38nThe Cheat Sheet
BeatRoute’s Essential List
— the must-see shows this
month in Vancouver.
Khruangbin & Leon Bridges’
collaborative EP Texas Sun,
read our review on page 29.
Photographer Annie Forrest goes on
the road with psychedelic country
crooner Orville Peck. Page 28.
ANNIE FORREST
POONEH GHANA
FEBRUARY 2020 BEATROUTE 3

NHL and the NHL Shield are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. © NHL 2020. All Rights Reserved.

READ OUR FULL PROFILE WITH ODARIO WILLIAMS
UpFront
Publisher
Julia Rambeau Smith
@beatroutemedia
Editor in Chief
Glenn Alderson
Layout/Production Manager
Rachel Teresa Park
Managing Editors
Josephine Cruz
Melissa Vincent
Contributing Editors
Sebastian Buzzalino
Dayna Mahannah
Contributors
Ben Boddez • Corinna Burford
Reeghan Carroll • Jaime Eisen
Fraser Hamilton • Natalie Harmsen
Chayne Japal • Kate Killet
Brendan Lee • Katherine McFarlane
Maggie McPhee • Isaac Nikolai Fox
Luke Ottenhof • Shania Perera
Michael Rancic • Drew Yorke
Aurora Zboch
Contributing Photographers
Lindsey Blane • Sebastian Buzzalino
Harry Chan • Jason Cipparrone
Nathan Denette • George Fok
Annie Forrest • Toni Hafkenscheid
Megan Hill-Carroll • Neil Krug
Pamela Littky • Kira Locke
Colin Medley • Nabeel Pervaiz
Angela Ricciardi • Kelly Schovanek
Jason Tipton • Felice Trinidad
Hector Vasquez
Coordinator (Live Music)
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FEBRUARY
ODARIO WILLIAMS'
VALENTINE'S DAY
PLAYLIST
M
usic plays a central part in
everything Odario Williams
does. This modern day
Renaissance man is an actor, songwriter,
producer, journalist, poet, and rapper,
and is the current host of “Afterdark”
on CBC Music. He’s put together an
unconventional Valentine’s Day playlist full
of classic bangers and underrated gems.
VISIT
BEATROUTE.CA
Etta James - "I'd Rather Go Blind"
A perfect blues song to soundtrack a
bruised heart. Kills me every time. I love
this tune.
D'Angelo - "Send It On"
Voodoo is one of my favourite albums of
all time. It's a sexy record, and “Send It
On” is the sexiest track on that record.
Dionne Warwick - "You're Gonna Need Me"
Dionne's vocal delivery is simply dirty, with
extra sass. I didn't know sweet Dionne
had it in her.
George Michael - "Kissing A Fool"
This is one of the best jazz-pop songs
ever written. This song solidified George
Michael as a fantastic songwriter.
Prince - "Adore"
Make sure you listen to the extended
6-minute version; you'll hear Prince
practically make love to his own song.
By CHAYNE JAPAL
Erykah Badu - "Green Eyes"
I love this song. It's so long (10 minutes),
but it ain't long enough!
Sade - "Nothing Can Come Between Us"
My playlists about love will always have
Sade involved. Sade IS love.
Jennifer Lara - "I Am In Love"
I tend to keep a few reggae tunes in my
playlists because reggae is in my DNA.
This song is perfect for hot sticky summer
nights.
Marvin Gaye - "After The Dance"
This song is basically four and a half
minutes of foreplay.
Eric B & Rakim - "What's On Your Mind"
At a time when rap songs were not
allowed to be romantic, Rakim penned a
perfect scenario of meeting his soulmate
one day in Brooklyn.
FEBRUARY 2020 BEATROUTE 5
JASON CIPPARRONE

MUSiC ARTIST INTERVIEW
SAY HELLO TO A
NEW, OLDER, AND
LESS MATURE
GREEN DAY
THE POP PUNK FOREBEARS
COME OF AGE, AGAIN.
PAMELA LITTKY
It’s mid-January, and Tre Cool is looking forward to
the National Hockey League’s All-Star Weekend
in St. Louis, Missouri. The Green Day drummer is
hoping to drive a zamboni at some point during the
weekend. “It’s like a fancy lawnmower that squirts
water, and I’m driving the motherfucker,” he says.
I ask if he needs a special license to drive one. “Just a
license to fuck shit up,” he fires back.
Cool and his long-time Green Day bandmates—
hyper, pointy-haired frontman Billie Joe Armstrong
and stoic, always-sleeveless bassist Mike Dirnt—are
prepping for a whirlwind year. They’re co-headlining
with Weezer and Fall Out Boy on this summer’s highprofile
Hella Mega Tour, but first they’ll release their
13th studio album, Father Of All Motherfuckers. Gone
are Green Day’s early-oughts days of nine-minute
medley epics, hour-plus album runtimes, and sobering
sociopolitical narratives.
With 10 tracks that run just over 26 minutes, Father
is a frantic coke binge, a glammed-up garage-rock
record that’s committed more to revelry than revolution.
I wonder if, at this stage in their career, it’s hard to tap
into that shithead-teenager mindset. “We’re still in our
high school band,” laughs Cool. “What you’re hearing is
a new, older, less mature Green Day.”
Father marks the first record for which the band
worked with producer Butch Walker, who scaled back
their tendencies for the grandiose and nudged them
towards something that felt more intuitive. “It was very
freeing,” says Cool. “[Walker] is no-nonsense. You lock
in a sound and go. You don’t chase your tail looking for
that perfect sound.”
The approach is somewhat surprising. Walker’s work
with acts like Fall Out Boy, P!nk, and Avril Lavigne has
carved space for their records in the sweet spot between
pop and punk. He helmed Taylor Swift’s prescient
country-to-pop shift with 2012’s Red and catapulted
English rock band The Struts to international fame with
their dancey rock jam “Body Talks.” Father borrows
sonically from that 2018 Struts single, especially on the
titular opening track with Armstrong’s overdriven falsetto
vocals and dirty-sleek guitars.
Green Day have zig-zagged from basement punks
to acoustic balladeers to pop punk trend-setters, but
pressed for a high-water mark, there are two obvious
answers: 1994’s slacker-hymnal Dookie and 2004’s anti-
American treatise American Idiot. The latter remains
their most influential and memorable, not least of all for
its accompanying red-white-and-black aesthetic. It was
clear, scathing, and distinctly repulsed by George Bush’s
jingoism and American imperialism.
But while the band has repeatedly shared their disdain
for the current American president, Father doesn’t
waste breath on him.
There are two frames of mind on art post-Trump: it
either absolutely should, or absolutely shouldn’t, be
informed by his presidency. Green Day circa-2004
6 BEATROUTE FEBRUARY 2020

By LUKE OTTENHOF
might have opted for the former. In 2020, they’re opting
for the latter. “The last thing we wanted to do was make a
record about that idiot,” says Cool. “Just because we have a
tyrant, fascist asshole in the White House doesn’t mean that
we have to sacrifice our art.”
He admits, though, that things are bad. Really bad. “The
pendulum swings, and it swings a little higher,” he says. “I
think it goes back and forth, and right now, it’s at the height
of the bad side of history. Right now, the racist rhetoric and
all that stuff that was hiding under the rocks, now they’re
emboldened and they’re out there. They feel like it’s their
moment. But the pendulum’s gotta swing back the other way.
Hopefully it’ll swing a little bit harder, and people will be even
more aware and more conscious of their environment, their
society, and the place where they live.”
For Cool, it’s important in the meantime to focus on
amplifying the things that make us feel good, even for a
moment. The drummer rhymes off his strategies: listening to
records, time with his family, being around water. “Oh, and
hard, hard drugs,” he chuckles. “There’s certain drugs I think
should be mandatory. Everybody should drop acid at least
once, and take mushrooms a couple times.
“When things are this bad, you want to just party. It’s like
dancing through the apocalypse. This might just be it for this
planet, so who knows. Let’s go out with a bang.”
This approach is understandable. If you committed your
band’s entire existence to very visibly raging against the
American machine and 16 years later, things had gotten
worse, you too might be resigned to defeat. But Cool
caveats that this isn’t a total withdrawal; Nazis still need to
be punched. But they can’t steal away our records and our
families and the ocean and drugs.
“They can’t take those away from us,” Cool says. “They
cannot take away your joy. They cannot take away your heart,
as long as you just wear it on your sleeve. As a wise man, Bill S.
Preston once said, ‘Be excellent to each other.’”
STAR
Green Day’s thirteenth studio album Father Of All
Motherfuckers… will be released February 7th 2020.
FEBRUARY 2020 BEATROUTE 7

MUSiC ARTIST INTERVIEW
DESTROYER
TAKES THE MIC
DAN BEJAR
EMBRACES HIS
ROLE AS A SINGER
CRAFTING AN
ALBUM FROM HIS
KITCHEN
MEGAN HILL-CARROLL
By GLENN ALDERSON
8 BEATROUTE FEBRUARY 2020

Dan Bejar steps out of the rain
into Vancouver’s Pat’s Pub on
a typically dreary winter day
wearing an old brown jacket
and a grey toque with side
flaps. When he walks up to the
table he takes off his hat, unleashing his
large frazzled mane.
Pat’s Pub is somewhat of an historic
musical landmark in the city’s Downtown
Eastside, a jazz club in the 1920s once
home to famous American jazz pianist
Jelly Roll Morten who lived and played in
the building for a stint of time. The pub is
a few blocks away from JC/DC Studios,
run by producers John Collins of the New
Pornographers and Dave Carswell, where
the majority of Bejar’s life’s work has
been set to tape.
He looks down at the original wooden
flooring etched with decades of memories
and pauses for a moment before he
speaks. “I knew a lot of the old big band
bands would come through but I didn’t
realize this was one of those places.”
His pensive and calculated demeanor
is comforting. It’s the same demeanor
he’s carried with him throughout his
compelling career as Destroyer. Even
his facial expression on the cover of
his new album, Have We Met, seems
purposefully detached, but his apathy
is overshadowed by the magnificent
microphone he’s posing with: the
Sennheiser 441 — the same retro mic
Stevie Nicks used on Tusk.
True to the signature wit and cynicism
that he exudes both in life and his
songwriting, the mic is both an accessory
and extension of himself.
“I wanted the record to be like an
action shot. And an action shot of my
world means me singing. That’s what I do.
It’s literally the only thing I ever do now,”
Bejar says, taking a sip from his pint.
“I wanted it to be kind of generic
as well but in a visually nice way,” he
continues. “Just like, ‘There’s Neil
Diamond, holding a microphone and
singing his songs.’ Which is kind of my
world at this point — like Neil Diamond
but in bars instead of stadiums.”
For more than 20 years, the 47-yearold
Bejar has worn multiple hats as both
the patron saint of lo-fi indie folk, building
rock and roll spectacles out of ballads
recorded on a four-track; and as the
modest on-again-off-again member of
pop rock outfit, the New Pornographers.
With 13 Destroyer albums now under
his belt, 2011’s smooth, suave and
undeniably sophisticated Kaputt signaled
a creative breakthrough for Bejar, who
morphed into an elegant lounge singer,
which garnered international acclaim and
helped set the pace for indie music in the
decade to come.
It was around then Bejar set his career
on a new path by putting down his guitar.
“I think that’s the biggest thing that ever
happened to me, when I decided to put the
guitar down forever, in the band at least,
and focus on being a singer,” he says.
Bejar opted instead for whatever
midi keyboard he could get his hands
on. This is what brought the world the
brash and bold Poison Season (2015),
the dark and brooding ken (2017) and
now, Have We Met, an ominous album
that he recorded on a laptop from the
kitchen of his Strathcona home in the late
hours of the night and from hotel rooms
while on the road performing a string of
solo dates supporting his former New
Pornographers bandmate, Neko Case.
“Technically they’re really poor
recordings, done in my kitchen, singing
really quiet because it’s late and I don’t
want to wake anyone up. I thought for
sure once we had a better idea of how
the music would go I would redo them,
but there’s kind of an alone sounding but
also very comfortable sounding quality
to them for me that I haven’t been able
to get on other records and it became
something to really anchor the songs. I
thought we could make the music as wild
as we wanted once that was in place.”
When asked how he’s going to bring
Have We Met to life when he takes it on the
road, he cracks a rare but welcomed grin.
“With a seven-piece band playing
loud rock music,” he says, pausing for
a moment, as if to imply there’s simply
no other way. “That’s one thing about
Vancouver: I’m pretty attached to my
band. I feel like musicians here are kind of
smarter than other places. They’re also
kind of negative, which I like. When you
play in Vancouver your back is against
the wall and I like that. It’s not the most
positive but it’s creative. Music here is not
congratulatory. It’s more like, ‘oh... fuck…’”
Bejar trails off and stops again to
collect his thoughts.
“No slight to Toronto or Montreal or
places like that, but it feels like in Toronto
you could just get by being a band in
Toronto and have a Toronto based career,
but here that’s just like an insane idea or
fantasy. You pretty much need to be Jelly
Roll Morton to make that work.” STAR
SECRET LOCATION
Feb 04–Mar 01, 2020
100 people,
100 puppets,
a secret location,
and the one and
only Ronnie Burkett!
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THECULTCH.COM
FEBRUARY 2020 BEATROUTE 9

FELICE TRINIDAD
THE BEACHES
ARE PAVING THEIR
OWN PATH
Guitarist Kylie Miller
breaks down their plan
for world domination.
n a cold January night, Kylie
Miller, The Beaches’ esteemed
Oguitarist, calls after a tiresome
rehearsal ahead of her band’s debut
Canadian headlining tour. For anyone
accustomed to a traditional 9-5, it’s the
stuff of rock folklore.
Named after the neighborhood in
Toronto’s east end, the band channels
both the warm languidness of 70s
rock, with the earnest, bold and biting
attention to detail of PJ Harvey and Kim
Gordon. On their most recent EP, The
Professional (2019), Miller utters a retort
that feels built for the age of internet
dating: “Stop sending me all your dick
pics/ they are boring me to pieces.”
Miller is candid about what it felt
like to navigate the industry at a young
age: “At the beginning it was a bit of an
unknown territory. We didn’t exactly
know what we were getting into, but
luckily we had each other.”
She notes the type of microaggressions
she and her fellow
band members encountered in the
early stages of their career, like
concertgoers assuming they were fans
when they’d appear at a gig. “Obviously
the music industry, especially the rock
industry, is very male-dominated,” she
says, “I think being a force in the rise of
female rock artists is really cool. I think
we’ve been able to grow and help be
a part of this movement that hopefully
By SHANIA PERERA
becomes way more accessible.”
And now in a position to bring up
a new generation of rock stars, The
Beaches are excited to put on rising
bands in Toronto’s rock scene. Miller
name-drops the teen folk duo Moscow
Apartment, who attend her former high
school: “They are so tight, they are so
badass. They’re literally as tight as we
are, and much younger.”
Now, The Beaches are driven by
their devoted fanbase. “We love
performing. As long as we continue
to do that, and it also inspires other
women to get involved, that’s really
awesome for us.”
STAR
The Beaches will embark on their first
national tour on February 6th, starting in
Victoria, British Columbia.
FEBRUARY 2020 BEATROUTE 11

ARTIST INTERVIEW MUSiC
THE WORLD
By JAIME EISEN
Photography by
NABEEL PERVAIZ
Clothing provided by
HAYLEY ELSAESSE
ACCORDING
TO RALPH
THE CANADIAN
DISCO-POP PRINCESS
TALKS VULNERABILITY
IN POP MUSIC, LETTING GO,
AND KEEPING IT REAL.
FEBRUARY 2020 BEATROUTE 13

Stepping into RALPH’s bedroom feels
like gaining access to her brain.
Sitting on a bed made with hotel
corners, RALPH looks perfectly at
home. “When I’m in my room, I feel
a sense of peace and joy,” she says.
“It’s chaotic, but in my own way it’s organized.”
This comfort extends to RALPH’s unique
live shows, where she punctuates colourful
costume changes with special guests like altrock
girl band The Beaches and supermodel
drag performer Tynomi Banks. RALPH’s
shows are light, fun, and seemingly carefree.
But “nothing happens without me creating it,
or being a huge part of it,” she says. “I work
fucking hard.”
Since the debut of her self-titled EP in
2017, RALPH has cultivated a loyal following
hungry for more fresh, disco-infused synthpop.
She has honed her nostalgic pop sound
on earworm tracks like the Electric Circusinspired
“Gravity” and 80s throwback “Tease,”
while claiming her spot on charts, streaming
playlists, and fashion “best” lists.
Now, following the release of her latest EP
Flashbacks and Fantasies, and fresh off a tour
with Canadian pop icon Carly Rae Jepsen,
RALPH is ready to try something new.
“The beauty of being an artist is that you
get to evolve,” she says. Referencing Billie
Eilish, Normani, Maggie Rogers, and Lizzo,
she feels this moment in pop music should be
viewed through a kaleidoscope—as a hybrid
genre with endless possibilities.
For RALPH, impact comes with taking risks
and maintaining authenticity. “I think people
appreciate me creating moments that are
real and honest and interesting. I’d prefer to
do that than just be someone contrived that
people can’t access.”
Born into a large, tight-knit family of
creatives, RALPH knows that swimming
against the tide can sometimes feel futile,
but has “learned there’s no harm in
continuing to grab everything by the horns
and building a community.” She admires
artists like Orville Peck and Jessie Reyez
who are carving out unique spaces for
Canadian pop on their own terms.
RALPH’s own music community is built on
specific values: “If each show is a place that
I’ve created, then I want to make sure that
everyone here feels safe and welcomed and
loved and celebrated.”
Despite the care she puts into every detail,
it’s clear that RALPH is not a traditional
perfectionist. She has learned to let go and
embrace the (organized) chaos: “You know
when you’re baking cookies with someone?
There are people whose icing tends to be
perfect and stunning. My cookie is fine. It’s
okay. That doesn’t mean that I don’t work
fucking hard and put a lot of thought into
things. But I also can accept when something
isn’t perfect and I don’t beat myself up about
it forever.”
She smiles: “I always just want to eat the
fucking cookie.”
STAR
14 BEATROUTE FEBRUARY 2020

Photography by
NABEEL PERVAIZ
FEBRUARY 2020 BEATROUTE 15

Artist to Watch
THIS IS NOT A LOVE SONG
NON LA: INDIE ARTIST DJ ON RECLAIMS MIXED
HERITAGE AND RISES UP WITH NOT IN LOVE
By MAGGIE MCPHEE
EMMA ARKELL
V
ancouver DIY scene mainstay
DJ On will release his solo
project’s debut LP, Not In
Love, after nearly a decade performing
in a half-dozen local bands. Under the
moniker Non La (the vietnamese word
for a traditional hat style), On hopes to
reclaim his identiy as a queer Chinese-
Vietnamese Canadian through blownout,
gritty pop.
“A lot of the time our [QPOC] art
has to be sad and kind of like torture
porn for white audiences,” Non La tells
Beatroute at a Mount Pleasant cafe.
”I didn’t want to take that angle. I just
wrote pop songs that I want people to
dance to.”
Not In Love oscillates from personal
to political, propelled by every dramatic
drumbeat and glittery guitar solo. The
album’s brightness irriadiates queer
love stories while heavy rhythms root
the themes to something universal. On’s
idiosyncratic vocals capture this backand-forth
between levity and depth,
a near-staccato approach that has
On singing multiple notes across
single syllables.
The multi-instrumentalist spent
eight years playing bass and drums
in various Vancouver pop and punk
groups — amongst them, Thee Ahs, TV
Ugly, Maneater and Megamall — while
completing a degree in English and
Gender Studies at SFU. Jaded and
tired of prejudiced barriers in the music
industry, On boarded a plane to Taiwan
without even attending his graduation
ceremony. There, Non La crystalized.
With ample alone time to write songs
and reflect, On discovered the impetus
for finally venturing out as a solo artist.
“Growing up and listening to indie
rock I never saw and still don’t see gay
asian men fronting popular bands and
that’s the reason I never wanted to
focus on [a solo project],” he explains.
With Non La and Not In Love, “I’m trying
to be what fourteen-year-old me needed
to see reflected in the indie rock scene.”
Not feeling represented in media
damaged On’s sense of identity. “It’s
caused me to internalize racism and
homophobia,” to the point where he
rejected his maternal and paternal
languages. Now he feels ready to
reclaim all aspects of himself. “That’s
why there’s both Vietnamese and
Chinese on the album art.”
These personal ties lend a sense
of honesty to the album’s more
political notes. On sings about the
corporatization of pride and the
fetishization of asian people with wit
and candor. With the release of Not
In Love, On adds his voice to a crucial
dialogue gaining momentum every
day. Hopefully it’s only a matter of time
before this chorus of indignant artists
washes out the noise.
STAR
Non La performs at Red Gate on Feb. 15
Destroyer
Have We Met
16 BEATROUTE FEBRUARY 2020

The Playlist
BEATROUTE
RIGHT
BEATROUTE
BEAT
ROUTE
BR
BRLIVE
BRYYZ
10 SONGS IN
HEAVY ROTATION
AT THE BR OFFICES
NOW
CHECK OUT
BEATROUTE.CA
FOR MORE HOT
TRACKS ON
OUR ROTATING
PLAYLIST
+ VIDEOS,
ARTIST
INTERVIEWS
AND MORE!
Porches
Do You Wanna
Porches new
track sounds
like an all-out
celebration on
the surface
but there’s
something
unsettling
lurking
underneath.
Synth-pop
mastermind
Aaron Maine
plays a repetitive
and jubilant ode
to the joys of
losing yourself
to dance.
U.S. Girls
Overtime
(Ft. James Baley &
Jake Clemons)
An update of a
track from their
2013 EP that
adds some more
funk flavour and
a sax solo from
Jake Clemons
of the legendary
E Street Band,
U.S. Girls turn
the discovery of
a partner’s lies
into a soulful
and cathartic
call-andresponse
jam
session that
only grows more
chaotic as it
progresses.
Jessie Reyez
LOVE IN THE DARK
Released
alongside an
announcement
that her debut
album is finally
on its way, one
of Canada’s
most promising
songwriters
drops a lovelorn
and cinematic
orchestral
ballad. Reyez
emphasizes the
astral power
of her love
through a variety
of galactic
metaphors,
heavily layering
her vocals
for the most
grandiose effect.
Megan Thee
Stallion
Diamonds
(Ft. Normani)
From the
soundtrack of
the upcoming
Birds of
Prey movie,
one of rap’s
biggest new
personalities
recruits the
effortlessly cool
Normani for a
confident and
bass-heavy trap
banger. Normani
tries out some
raps of her own
on the hook, but
this is Megan’s
comfort zone
to excel as
she steps into
the unhinged
persona of
Harley Quinn.
Kehlani
All Me
(Ft. Keyshia Cole)
R&B star Kehlani
drops a smooth
track where
she dials up
the harmonies
as she thanks
her partner
for embracing
her flaws, but
it’s Keyshia
Cole making
her grand
return from
somewhere
deep in the
mid-2000s that
really elevates
things. Taking
over the second
verse, her vocal
range is still as
impressive as
ever.
TOPS
I Feel Alive
The Montreal
retro-pop
quartet kick off
a new era with
an upbeat and
cheerful track
destined to be
played over the
swaying arms
and floating
beach balls
of a summer
music festival.
Driven by a
catchy rhythmic
guitar hook, the
track captures
the overjoyed
feeling of new
love. To add
to that, the
video sees the
band playing
with adorable
bunnies. What
else do you
need?
Peach Pit
Shampoo Bottles
Peach Pit
frontman Neil
Smith believes
“coping with a
loss can make
you do weird
things.” The
empty shampoo
bottles that
once belonged
to his exgirlfriend
pile up
in the corners
of Smith’s
bathroom as he
runs through
a list of all
the items she
left behind in
a mournful
falsetto.
The 1975
Me & You Together
Song
The English rock
band drop the
artsy surrealism
of their last few
projects and
return to their
old pop-rock
sound complete
with the bouncy
percussion and
wall-of-sound
guitars that
characterized
their breakout
hit singles.
Frontman Matty
Healy tries
to convince
a friend to
take the next
step in their
relationship.
Joel Plaskett
Head Over Heels
Into Heaven
The Haligonian
indie-rock hero
unleashes the
first taste of
his upcoming
QUADRUPLE
album 44
with a driving
acoustic track
accompanied by
a big band-style
horn section
hook. The track
will belong to
the first stage
of the project
documenting
his life’s journey
of the past four
years, and sees
him getting
ready to follow
someone to
the ends of the
earth.
Alec
Benjamin
Demons
Rising singersongwriter
Alec Benjamin
continues to
exorcise his
own personal
demons
through his
highly personal
songwriting
depicting the
darkest, most
anxiety-riddled
corners of his
mind. In a more
hopeful turn
than usual,
Benjamin
instead thanks
his sister for
being there for
him and keeping
him alive in his
trademark airy
falsetto.
FEBRUARY 2020 BEATROUTE 17

RIO
THEATRE
1660 EAST BROADWAY
FEBRUARY
FEBRUARY
6
FEBRUARY
7
FEBRUARY
8
FEBRUARY
9
FEBRUARY
10
FEBRUARY
11
FEBRUARY
15
FEBRUARY
16
FEBRUARY
23
MARCH
3
Paul Anthony’s Talent Time
GAME SHOW NIGHT!
First Thursday of Every Month
Must-see Doc
FANTASTIC FUNGI
*Additional dates www.riotheatre.ca
Elijah Wood
COME TO DADDY
Friday Late Night Movie
An Evening of
TOM PETTY & STEVIE NICKS
Anime!
PERFECT BLUE
THE OSCARS
LIVE Screening & Party
CATS
*Additional dates www.riotheatre.ca
THE PRINCESS BRIDE
Baz Luhrmann’s
CASABLANCA
WILD AT HEART
FEBRUARY The Rio Theatre’s Dating Game
LET’S MAKE A DATE
Hosted by Patrick Maliha
12
FEBRUARY
JFL NORTHWEST
Live at The Rio February 13 - 21
www.jflnorthwest.com for lineup & tickets
13
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF
THE SPOTLESS MIND
Happy Valentine’s Day!
FEBRUARY
April O’Peel Productions’
14
FEBRUARY
22
ROMEO + JULIET
BURLESQUE DUOS
THE NOTEBOOK
WEATHERING WITH YOU
*Additional dates www.riotheatre.ca
NATURAL BORN KILLERS
PRINCESS MONONOKE
*Additional dates www.riotheatre.ca
Anime!
GHOST IN THE SHELL
Must-see Documentary
DOSED
With Filmmaker Q & A!
Phoebe Waller-Bridge
FLEABAG
FEBRUARY
THE CRITICAL HIT SHOW
27
A #DNDLive Epic Fantasy Adventure
We Can Abide!
THE BIG LEBOWSKI
THE JESUS ROLLS
Double Bill!
MARCH
The Gentlemen Hecklers Present
4 A VIEW TO A KILL
COMPLETE LISTINGS AT WWW.RIOTHEATRE.CA
S
THE NEON
SKYLINE
IS ANDY
SHAUF'S
SMALL
WORLD
AFTERALL
The Canadian singer-songwriter's
sixth album is an homage to small
moments.
"
I
like to keep my world
small,” Andy Shauf
laughs. Why? “Maybe I
don’t have the capacity
for a lot.”
In this case, he’s
referring to the couple
block radius of the city
that helped inspire his
new album, The Neon
Skyline, a romantic
homage to a beloved
diner in a rapidly
gentrifying Parkdale. It makes sense that Shauf likes
to keep his focus on the micro: Small moments are
the singer-songwriter’s specialty as his lyrics often
find magnificence in the mundane, focusing on tiny
memorable moments versus broader themes.
“The Skyline reopened right when I moved to Toronto
and I ended up going there a lot,” Shauf says of the
inspiration. It’s close to his home in Parkdale and he quickly
became a regular, making friends with the owners and staff
and falling for the diner’s little community.
The Neon Skyline indeed reflects the inner narratives
we project and how the characters we portray intermingle
within our community. For Shauf, these exchanges act as
lyrical inspiration. Relationships with acquaintances—and the
outcome of those relationships—has always been something
that Shauf’s found intriguing: "I think it’s interesting in that sort
of scenario when you are getting to know someone just by
the small little pieces of themselves that they’ll give up every
once in a while. There’s no real reason why you know them,
but you can get a little glimpse into their life.
Compared to Shauf’s Polaris Prize short-listed
record The Party, the mood of The Neon Skyline is
slightly more subdued and vulnerable, with the record’s
narrator remarking, “Sometimes I feel like I should never
speak again.”
With the release of this very personal piece of work,
Shauf hopes that his small world stays small—despite
letting everyone in on a section of it. “I’m a little scared,” he
admits. “That’s my quiet bar. I hope that people go there
but I also hope that I can still go there.”
The Neon Skyline out now via Arts & Crafts.
By KATE KILLETT
STAR
COLIN MEDLEY
18 BEATROUTE FEBRUARY 2020

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Photo of Daniel Caesar: Darrole Palmer
FEBRUARY 2020 BEATROUTE 19

MUSiC ARTIST INTERVIEW
NEIL KRUG
20 BEATROUTE FEBRUARY 2020

THE UNASSAILABLE EMPATHY
OF KEVIN PARKER
By MELISSA VINCENT
A
year and a half ago,
I made the trip from
Toronto to Moreno
Beach, Lake Perris
in Ontario, California
for Desert Daze, the
always impressive psychedelic rock
festival. It marked the festival’s first
year in a new home after previously
being held at the mythical Joshua
Tree Park. Tame Impala were the
festival’s opening night headliner,
followed by King Gizzard and the
Lizard Wizard, and My Bloody
Valentine. It was supposed to be a
slam dunk.
But the festival grounds,
stationed deep in the mountains of
a region experiencing a multi-year
drought, was overcome by an
extreme electric storm with near
torrential downpour to match. Less
than half an hour into Tame Impala’s
set, the show was cut off citing
safety concerns. Piling onto the
gargantuan task of attempting to
evacuate thousands of people was
the added challenge of relieving
an equally gargantuan traffic jam,
estimated at six hours, that caused
a particular logistical nightmare for
the festival.
Groups of teenagers resorted
to huddling under trees, blasting
“Let It Happen” out of muddy
phone speakers and singing along
desperately. It was extremely corny,
and just as beautiful, because for
legions of kids, this was their band,
and the show will always go on.
It’s a cheesy example, but a vivid
one—a single case, and one of
many, that illustrates exactly how
popular the Australian psycheverything
band from Perth had
actually become. Because since
releasing a string of singles to
MySpace in 2007, Kevin Parker’s
solo project has become big.
Not popular, but properly big: As
in, Rihanna-sampling; top tier-
Coachella headlining; Grammy
Award-nominating; platinum
record-selling; Lady Gaga and
Kanye West-collaborating; GQ
Magazine cover star-featuring big.
And at the core of Tame Impala’s
success is an ongoing question:
why now, does this music resonate
so broadly? Somehow—everyone
from purists of genre and taste,
and expats from the hyperprecious
era of audio exclusivity
and microblogging; to a newer
generation of fans who are frequent
participants of Big Experiential
Music Moments®, raised on a diet
of precisely-formed algorithms
capable of generating endless
Tik Tok memes—have all been
indoctrinated into the ecosystem
that Parker has built around himself.
For the better part of the last
decade, Parker has been on the
frontlines of psychdelia’s most
recent elevation to the top of the
cultural forefront, which, historically,
has been a reoccurring and resilient
salve during eras of aggregate
social and political uncertainty.
And often superficially pegged as
music made for private people and
introverts searching for like-minded
flock, Parker’s music has always
gotten at something slightly more
complicated and arresting.
Instead, he’s remained invested
in exploring the limits of emotional
intelligence, directed at the self
and then utilized as a tool to
understand an ever-confusing
outside world. Starved for
answers, Parker generously offers
a reminder that answering big
questions starts with addressing
smaller, human-sized ones. By
design, his music casts a wide net.
“I wouldn't write a song that I feel
is only applicable to me,” he muses
over a Skype call from Australia.
Resisting the urge to speak
superfluously, but undertaking
a comprehensive analysis of
legitimate facts, Tame Impala are
an unusual success story in a genre
that’s long battled an identity crisis.
Though bona fide “rock star” might
not have been in the initial blueprint,
it’s Parker’s reality now. After years
spent gracing festival stages with
his eyes fixed on the ground, now
he looks up and out.
“I used to have a massive
imposter complex and it's funny,
I didn't really cure my imposter
complex until I realized it was a
‘thing.’ I heard this word ‘imposter
complex’ and I was like ‘holy shit. I
have that.’”
“It was a real turning point for
me. I still see a tour poster, or see a
festival poster, and it's like: “Tame
Impala headlining” with a picture
of my face, and I'm like, ‘What are
you doing? Why are you getting
this fucking idiot to headline your
festival, that doesn’t make sense.’
I still think that, but I’m trying to
outsmart it—I’m trying to push back
equally as hard and counsel myself
into believing that I do deserve it,
you know?”
Over the phone Parker is warmly
conversational and comfortably
adept at catching a question
that’s morphed into a sprawling
FEBRUARY 2020 BEATROUTE 21

MUSiC ARTIST INTERVIEW
statement, then releasing an answer that
goes even further, capable of really going
there. It’s a useful skill, evidence of an
understated confidence necessary for
trusting the outcome of one’s curiosity
that’s become foundational to his music.
Innerspeaker, the band’s 2010 critical
breakthrough, utilized the weight of
climactic, soaring riffs to sympathize with
the rigors of merely slogging your way
through ordinary life. His sophomore effort,
Lonerism (2012), saw Parker nudging his
aspirations larger, exhuming the textures of
70s synths to take a stab at pop splendor.
And 2015’s Currents refined his interest in
sanding down any lingering, discernable grit
from the project to produce a near-pristine,
airtight container of hyper-lush psych-pop.
Parker’s newest album, The Slow Rush,
is a sprawling inquisition into a sonic
environment Parker has been hinting
at for years, and has now finally given
himself the license to execute. “When I
actually felt like I wanted to make another
Tame Impala album, I had gotten so many
new perspectives on music that I realized
how much more I could be doing with
Tame Impala.”
“Everything I did was eyeopening,
so the goal
was to
kind of blow it open and embody a lot of
the qualities of people that I've worked
with in myself,” he remembers. “[Working
with] Travis Scott, I learned not to sweat
the small stuff, which helped me realize
that self-doubt doesn't get you anywhere,
[and] doesn't help anything or anyone.”
As a result, The Slow Rush is largely
ambitious—weirder, compelling, and frayed
at the edges. And still, specially crafted
for both the airwaves and the dancefloor.
Album opener “One More Year” finds
Parker gripping a mic stand with both
hands while dealing in a heady Baleric
melody—Parker’s own decadent take on
Screademelcia-era Madchester—that, inch
by inch, superimposes a metallic, galactic
melody towards an unhurried revelation,
declaring a short-term strategy for longlasting
love.
“Breathe Deeper” is a bouncy support
anthem, drenched in the, now, nostalgic,
spirit of peak chillwave, before collapsing
into an industrial, IDM-adjacent breakdown;
“Tomorrow’s Dust” plants a deliberately
disordered rhythm over a propulsive Latin
guitar riff; “It Is True” grinds its hips into
both a slice of dancehall and an identifiable
homage to 80s funk that even Prince might
appreciate; and “Glimmer” wraps itself
around the irresistibly pulsating panache
of shiny 90s euro-house, complete with a
spoken word intro.
Throughout all of it, Parker sounds welltravelled
because he is. Yet, still capable
of remembering to drop his anchor on the
shores of the clearly defined vista he’s built
around himself. But, as always, the album
reaches a little further.
Responding to a world that often feels
consumed by micro and macro fires, too
insurmountable to easily locate a site of
relief, there’s a new urgency to Parker’s
lyricism. It’s almost as if he’s working
double time, and against mounting
external forces, to validate the fact that
the seemingly mundane parts of life—bitesized
aspirations that often feel not only
unreachable, but unimportant; like trying
to atone with your parents (“Posthumous
Forgiveness”), or really and truly believing in
yourself (“Breathe Deeper”)—are worthy of
the time necessary to figure out.
It’s possible to imagine that when these
songs are heard under spindly, neon strobe
lights, or under a sea of confetti cannons
rivalling Beyoncé, that they might exist as
an affirmation that investigating the root of
the small stuff is mutually exclusive with all
the big stuff; that you can concurrently try
to save the world, while figuring out how to
save yourself in the process.
Speaking slowly and thinking carefully, he
pinpoints the foundation of this ethos with
a clear-headed self-description: “I’d like to
think that I’m one of the most empathetic
people I know. But I’m pretty sure that
there are people I know that think I have no
empathy. Which is kind of weird.”
He continues, acutely observant of his
own limitations. “I think to some people I can
come across quite cold because I've always
been quite a withdrawn person. Music is the
thing that I channel my emotions into the
world with, because I've never really been
good at doing it personally.”
“I enjoy the idea of seeing things from
other people's perspective because there’s
no more valuable trait than to see that the
way that you see things isn’t objective.”
Perhaps purposefully, the lines of his
protagonists are almost always undefined,
capable of taking on a character profile
selected solely by the listener. It’s possible
that this is the root of his empathy: In the
face of unrestricted and unusual levels of
success, removing yourself from the center
of your own party feels like an enduringly
selfless act.
“I want the best for Tame Impala.
It's bigger than me now. I just...feel
a sense of responsibility; not to
make it as big as it can be, but
to make it as whole as I can.
That's kind of my job.”
STAR
22 BEATROUTE FEBRUARY 2020

Loving
“..a mix of pop, folk and
lo-fi with a hint of nostalgia
that Paul McCartney
in his heyday wouldn’t
have refused.”
“Mellow, folky indie rock
with a twist of psychedelica.”
“They strive when it comes
to making beautiful,
indie rock lullabies.”
“Reminiscent of a
slightly darker Whitney.
Nostalgic and lovely”
C 2020 L AST GANG RECORDS INC.
If I am only
my thoughts
THE DEBUT ALBUM FROM VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA GROUP LOVING
AVAIL ABLE NOW ON ALL STREAMING SERVICES, AND IN RECORD SHOPS.
EXCLUSIVELY FROM L AST GANG RECORDS, WORLD WIDE.

“One of our generation’s definitive
jazz masters, a vocal stylist of
extraordinary skill and vivacity”
–The Huffington Post
SUN MAR 8 2020 / 7PM
Dianne
Reeves
Beleza Brazil
chancentre.com
24 BEATROUTE FEBRUARY 2020

Reviews
ALBUM
GRIMES
Miss Anthropocene
Grimes Creative Corporation under
exclusive license to Crystal Math Music
Climate change may just kill us all, so
Claire Elise Boucher, famously known
as Grimes, wanted to make an album
dedicated to a fictional goddess who
personifies the disaster. Thus, Miss
Anthropocene was born.
After many delays, false starts and
lack of information, Grimes’ first album
in almost five years is finally here.
Overall, it was well worth the wait.
Melding the poppy and accessible
sounds of 2015’s Art Angels alongside
the more experimental tunes of
Visions, Miss Anthropocene tackles
a more villainous mindset, with songs
about Boucher’s dissatisfaction and
weariness with humanity.
Some of the high points of the
album involve sides to the artist we’ve
never seen before. “Delete Forever”
is a beautiful elven ballad about loss
backed up by an acoustic guitar, an
instrument that seems alien in Grimes’
world. On “My Name Is Dark,” Grimes
goes full rock god, vengeful and cynical
in the best way possible.
Miss Anthropocene is a chaotic
album, revelling in its messiness and
reminding us that Grimes is still here
making music unlike anybody else.
It’s best to just sit back and enjoy the
show.
Best Track: Delete Forever
Fraser Hamilton
FEBRUARY 2020 BEATROUTE 25

MUSiC ALBUM REVIEWS
CHRISTIAN WEBER
CINDY LEE
What’s Tonight
to Eternity
W.25TH/Superior Viaduct
Cindy Lee’s journey to the
deepest depths of beauty
continues on What’s Tonight
to Eternity.
Eclipsed only by 2015’s
shattering Act of Tenderness,
What’s Tonight continues to
refine songwriter Patrick Flegel’s
explorations in harsh noise,
oldies pop, guitar witchery and
recording experimentation.
The album’s most breathtaking
moments can be found on
“I Want You to Suffer”. In seven
and a half minutes, the song
exquisitely encapsulates all that
Cindy Lee has shown us since
2012’s Tatlashea and solidifies
the fact that Flegel is one of
this generation’s most gifted,
smartest and exciting artists.
Best Track: I Want You To Suffer
John Divney
MAC MILLER
Circles
Warner
Quite a few recent posthumous releases
have been handled haphazardly,
often forgoing artistic integrity
in favour of name recognition.
Mac Miller’s final album Circles
is far from one of those releases.
Nearly finished by the time of his
passing and lovingly completed by
legendary producer Jon Brion, it’s
clear just how much Circles was
meant to be a companion piece
- “swimming in circles” being the
ultimate takeaway.
Circles mostly touches on the
same topics of isolation, heartbreak,
depression and unhealthy
coping mechanisms, but this time
with a much-needed injection of
hope that he could beat it and
come out thriving on the other side
– which only makes it all the more
heartbreaking.
Miller was one to push himself
further out of his musical comfort
zone with every release - he barely
raps on this project. Instead, his
jazzy, mumbling singing voice is
applied to soft and dreamy reverberating
tones that verge on 70s
psychedelic rock. He even covers
a 1972 hit from Arthur Lee, which,
chillingly, centers on accepting
one’s eventual death and living in
the moment.
Miller notes that he spends a lot
of time in his head on the lead single,
“Good News,” and most of this
plays out like Miller acknowledging
the critical inner monologues we
all have, wondering if we’re on the
right path. It’s a shame we never
got to see where he was going.
Best Track: Blue World
Ben Boddez
SARAH HARMER
Are You Gone
Arts & Crafts
If it took a decade for anger to
morph into the exquisite, love to
become a roar, and evocation
to magnify, then Sarah Harmer’s
new album, Are You Gone, has
been worth the wait.
Exploring climate change,
loss, and love through folksy
indie rock ballads, Harmer
wields her intricately dynamic
voice with restraint, such as
on “St. Peter’s Bay” and “The
Lookout,” while “New Low”
and “Take Me Out” punch up the
pace.
Harmer guides us with
grace and a gentle kick in the
gut. Are You Gone is a tender
warning that we aren’t—yet—and
reminds us that the pursuit of art
remedies nihilism.
Best Track: Wildlife
Dayna Mahannah
TENNIS
Swimmer
Mutually Detrimental
The husband-and-wife duo Tennis’
Swimmer is an ode to their pictureperfect
relationship and standing
strong together in the face of tragedy.
Full of starry-eyed declarations
of admiration for her husband,
frontwoman Alaina Moore sings of how
she’d be completely lost if not for his
support. She even jokes that they’re
so eternally intertwined that she’ll likely
end up haunting him as a ghost.
Tennis has always sounded directly
out of another time with their replication
of the glossy sheen of 70s pop, but they
play around with experimental rhythmic
switch-ups and modern percussion
quirks more than ever before.
The album’s title draws reference to
a feeling of uncomfortable suspension,
fighting to keep yourself upright. It’s a
good thing Moore has someone to hold
onto, keeping her afloat.
Best Track: Need Your Love
Ben Boddez
SOCCER MOMMY
color theory
Loma Vista Recordings
Coming off her successful debut,
Clean (2018), Soccer Mommy aka
Sophie Allison dives into deeper and
darker material with color theory,
playing with the concept of nostalgia
and how it warps our perception
of memories, all while assisted by a
throwback alt rock sound similar to
the likes of Liz Phair or Sheryl Crow.
The gorgeous track, “night swimming,”
features Allison’s wavering
vocals about a lost relationship,
weaving through distorted sounds
of a chattering crowd. Many of
color theory’s songs melt into a
somewhat sunny disposition, while
revealing a much darker undercurrent
within its lyrics that’s not
completely explained. It’s a deep
and engrossing album that pushes
the artist known as Soccer Mommy
into fascinating territory.
Best Track: night swimming
Fraser Hamilton
26 BEATROUTE FEBRUARY 2020

DRIVE-BY
TRUCKERS
The Unraveling
ATO Records
KHRUANGBIN &
LEON BRIDGES
Texas Sun EP
Dead Oceans
Perhaps no other rock band can
write so frankly and so accurately
about the American tragedy than
the Drive-by Truckers. After a
three-year absence where lead
songwriters Mike Cooley and
Patterson Hood suffered from
a severe case of writer’s block,
the DBT’s lock, stock and two
smoking barrels are back taking
aim at the good ol’ US of A and its
perilous journey.
Cooley and Patterson simply
do not mince words. In the
sludgy, funk-grunge driven
“Heroin Again” they pose
the question, “why?” and try
slapping some sense into a new
generation of users condemned
to their brain orgasms.
“21st Century USA” recounts
a drive though any beat-up
town filled with fast food joints
and crappy retail outlets where
salvation is finally found in a
“good-time bar to get your bad
swerve on.” But this isn’t a game
of pitching us against them,
it’s a cultural demise that has
everyone trapped in its dead-soul,
commercialized landslide.
Although sometimes the line is
clearly drawn and blame comes
tumbling through. “Thoughts
and Prayers” echoes politicians’
overused expression after another
senseless outburst of domestic
gun violence takes its lethal toll. In
protest with that empty do-nothing
rhetoric comes the chorus, “You
can stick it up your ass, with your
useless thoughts and prayers.”
The Unraveling is the Drive-by
Truckers’ rebel yell — angry, fierce
and all too real.
Best Track: Awaiting
Resurrection
Brad Simm
Khruangbin & Leon Bridges’
collaborative EP Texas Sun
marks the first time the exotic
funk band has written with
a vocalist. The collaboration
finds their colourful rhythm
section masterfully crowned
with Bridges’ bright and soulful
melodies that transport the
listener to the dry heat of the
title track. Tasty basslines and
perfectly pocketed drumming
provide Khruangbin’s classic
hypnotic effect, allowing
listeners to float in and out
for hours on end, catching a
different fruitful lick with
each listen.
A sense of déjà vu from this
collaboration is owed to a joint
North American tour where
their paths converged for the
first time. The EP is an ode to
the “big sky country” of Texas.
Although the artists ride in very
different stylistic lanes, their
origins embody a common
musical vanguard. Speer and
Johnson met at St. John’s United
Methodist Church in Houston –
more commonly referenced as
the house of worship Beyoncé
grew up singing in. Bridges, who
discovered his sound listening
to Texas blues, gospel and R&B,
was a natural detour from their
instrumental norm.
Although this creative side-trip
confirms depth from the trio,
Khruangbin fans still eagerly
await a third album, showcasing
unrestrained flamenco-style
strums, bass-lead melodies,
and dialled in drumming without
accommodations.
Best Track: Texas Sun
Reeghan Carroll
SELENA GOMEZ
Rare
Interscope
Going through trauma can’t be
easy when you’re one of the most
followed people on Instagram.
After some highly-publicized health
struggles – both physical and mental
– and a lengthy breakup with a
certain Canadian pop heartthrob,
Selena Gomez uses her new album
as an opportunity to move past
the pain with upbeat dance-pop
production from the industry’s
most reliable hitmakers and lyrics
centered around self-love.
With her trademark whispery, vulnerable
vocal delivery, she casually
drops references to her medication
in the context of fun pop songs.
There are more than a few less-thansubtle
shots at The Biebs.
Linking up with a kindred spirit in
Kid Cudi, who has had his own fair
share of mental health problems,
on the album’s closing track is
another very powerful moment.
Rare, at its core, is about finally
being able to go out and have fun
once again without everything
weighing on her. Gomez is back,
and “Look At Her Now.”
Best Track: Vulnerable
Ben Boddez
HALSEY
Manic
Capitol Records
The pop landscape can be disorientating,
but on Manic, Halsey’s
third studio album, she works effortlessly
to control that pressure
from within.
The title is a reflection of her
feelings about the loneliness
and euphoria fame brings, while
also accurately representing the
album’s overall sound, which, according
to a recent interview she
did with Rolling Stone, is “literally
just, like, whatever the fuck I felt
like making.”
Manic is far from cohesive, but
that’s likely the point. It still brings
whiplash when you go from a
bitter, country-tinged bop about a
toxic relationship (“You should be
sad”), to angsty pop-rock (the undeniably
fun “3am”), followed by
a smooth hip-hop track featuring
Korean rapper SUGA of boyband
BTS (“SUGA’s Interlude”).
Halsey deserves credit for her
ability to jump in and adapt to
multiple genres within the pop
spectrum. Pop music may be in
a state of disarray, but it’s nice to
Halsey is out there working hard
to evolve, adapt and bare it all.
Best Track: You should be sad
Fraser Hamilton
FEBRUARY 2020 BEATROUTE 27

ON THE ROAD
WITH PHOTOGRAPHER ANNIE FORREST
By CORINNA BURFORD
Ever wanted to go on tour with a band and
see what really goes on behind the scenes?
Vancouver born-and-raised photographer
Annie Forrest jumped at the chance to get
on the bus with rising star Orville Peck this
year and through her latest project, Giddyup,
you can get an inside glimpse at life on the road.
Forrest has a keen eye – and ear – for rising
music talent, having captured images of artists
including Peck, along with avant-garde electronic
musician and performer Arca and the soulful
singer Zsela before they gained global recognition.
Now based in New York, Forrest’s work has also
appeared in publications including Vogue, Paper,
Subbacultcha, and Vice.
With a knack for highlighting the theatrical and the
absurd, her subjects span a diverse range of genres,
but have a certain spirit or aesthetic in common.
“I’m interested in exploring how we tell our own
stories and construct our own identities,” she says.
“I gravitate towards bold characters and storytellers
who have a strong point of view — whether it’s
a musician or a regular person who questions
standards of beauty, fashion, gender or sexuality.”
Forrest began her career in music and events,
working for companies including South By
Southwest in Austin and Reading Festival in the UK.
Always taking photos, she started creating intimate,
behind-the-scenes portraits of musicians that
crossed her path, including ASAP Rocky, Mish Way
of White Lung, and now Orville Peck.
Peck was the subject of Forrest’s most recent
project, a solo exhibition titled Giddyup, which
debuted at the prestigious Leslie-Lohman Museum’s
Project Space, a fixture of NYC’s LGBTQ+ art scene,
in the fall of 2019. The show gave a never before seen
view of Peck’s early 2019 tour and was accompanied
by an 80-page photo book of the same name.
“Orville is a fascinating subject,” she says. “He
has created a truly authentic character that people
connect with, all while wearing a mask and being
relatively anonymous – which is not an easy feat.”
In 2019, Forrest also began working closely with
Arca, the Venezuelan producer, electronic musician
and performance artist recently named “Artist of the
Decade” by Vice. Forrest has photographed her on
multiple occasions, including at the premiere of the
DAU institute in Paris, at her home in Barcelona and
at several live performances.
“Working with Arca is unlike anything else. Her
capacity for experimentation and improvisation
is genius level, spilling out and touching everyone
around her,” Forrest says. “I would love to continue
shooting her as she evolves, and who knows? maybe
it will be the material for another exhibition.”
This year Forrest plans to continue exploring
this intersection of music, style and identity during
a three-month residency in Mexico City. She is
showing new work next at Leap Year 2020, a group
show at 22 Ludlow Gallery in New York, and hopes to
bring Giddyup to a city near you.
STAR
1 Orville Peck’s mask, on the cover of Annie
Forrest’s book, Giddyup.
2 Zsela for BeatRoute Magazine
3 Duncan Hay Jennings (left) and Kris
Bowering, Giddyup Exhibition
4 A$AP Rocky, 2017 me Convention
5 Arca at DAU Institute 2019
6 A$AP Rocky, 2017 me Convention
7 Orville Peck, Giddyup Exhibition
8 Giddyup Exhibition
1
2
28 BEATROUTE FEBRUARY 2020

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7
4
5 6
8
FEBRUARY 2020 BEATROUTE 29

TRAVEL
MEXICO CITY
EXPLORE THE
SPRAWLING METROPOLIS
WHERE TRADITION AND
CUTTING EDGE CONVERGE
By KATHERINE MCFARLANE
Mexico City, the seventh largest city in the
world, is almost impossible to get to know
in one lifetime. A city deserving of multiple
visits, its rich cultural history permeates every
aspect of life; the cuisine, the architecture,
and the sounds; all distinctively Mexican, yet
welcoming to anyone open to discovery.
The city has evolved into a vibrant cultural travel
destination thanks in large part to its dedication to urbanism
and an abundance of thoughtful public spaces, an inventive
and modern culinary scene and a long tradition of influential
contemporary art that will satisfy travelers looking for
something beyond a typical resort vacation.
Music is an ever-present part of daily life in the city.
Traditional Mariachi music is ubiquitous in any tourist area and
you will hear modern Latin pop and rock on the radio, spilling
into the streets from every car, store and bus you pass.
The city is a major touring market for artists and has
become home to a number or large-scale music festivals
such as The Corona Capital and the newest addition of
Ceremonia Festival, last year, drawing top tier international
artists such as Rosalia, Kaytranada, and Massive Attack
alongside local talent. Toronto label Arts & Crafts, ahead of
the curve, even set up an outpost in the city in 2008.
DESTINATIONS
Frida Kahlo Museum
The Blue House
Calle Londres 247,
Colonia Del Carmen
The house where the world’s most
famous Mexican artist was born
and died is an essential experience
for any fan of contemporary
culture and anyone who ever
went to art school. Located in the
historic Coyoacán neighbourhood
and close to the amazing artisanal
Mercado de Coyoacan (Ignacio
Allende, between Malintzin and
Xicoténcatl), the museum is one
most popular places to visit in the
city. Book your tickets in advance
online, you’ll still have to wait, just
not as long!
Canals of Xochimilco
Calle del Mercado 133, San Jerónimo
Xochimilco, the Venice of Mexico,
is a truly unique experience. Rent a
boat by the hour, be serenaded by
live Mariachi bands and order freshmade
food and drinks from boats
floating right beside you. Equal parts
relaxing and floating party!
Parque Mexico
Av. Mexico, Cuauhtemoc,
Colonia Hipódromo
Speaking of thoughtful public
spaces, this park is one of the most
beautiful and relaxing refuges from
the hustle and bustle of the city.
Situated in La Condesa, a charming
and walkable neighborhood with
many Art Deco buildings. Take a loop
around lush Amsterdam Avenue and
imagine your potential new life as a
resident of Mexico City!
Casa Luis Barragan
Calle General Francisco Ramirez 14
It’s impossible not to be moved
by this masterpiece of modernist
architect and pioneer of emotional
architecture, Luis Barragan’s
house and studio. A UNESCO
World Heritage Site, it’s extremely
popular and limited spots are available
for the English tour, so book
online ahead of time.
Museo Jumex
Avenida Miguel de Cervantes
Saavedra 303, Miguel Hidalgo
One of the largest private collections
of contemporary art in Latin
America, Museo Jumex features
some of the heaviest hitters in the
contemporary art world. Housed
in a striking building designed by
British architect David Chipperfield,
it is a work of art itself.
30 BEATROUTE FEBRUARY 2020

EATS & DRINKS
Hotel Condesa
Avenida Veracruz 102,
Colonia Condesa, Hipódromo
Even if you don’t stay in this luxury boutique
hotel, head up to the rooftop bar for
a relaxing day-time drink (tequila!) and a
fantastic view of the tree-lined streets of
Condesa. Bonus: they have a fantastic
sushi menu!
Tortas Al Fuego
Avenida Sonora 205,
Colonia Condesa,
Hipódromo
Cheap, casual hole in the wall with delicious
tacos, tortas (Mexico's version of
the Italian sandwich) and open all day. A
local spot (so brush up on some Spanish
ordering skills) and definitely try the al
pastor tacos.
Rosetta
Calle Colima 166, Roma
One of the most beautiful restaurants in the
city, Rosetta is located within a renovated
colonial-era townhouse in the Roma neighborhood.
The menu is Italian with a Mexican
sensibility and it changes seasonally. For a
special occasion, or just to live your best life,
give yourself the gift of this magical dining
experience!
NIGHTLIFE
Patrick Miller
Merida 17, Colonia Roma
Hidden behind an unassuming warehouse
façade, every Friday night (the only night
it is open) the space becomes a wild disco
party, complete with dance-off style battles.
Drawing a diverse, mixed crowd, the
dancers who take up the spotlight do not
come to mess around.
El Plaza Condesa
Calle Juan Escutia 4,
Colonia Condesa,
Hipódromo
A 1600-capacity concert venue right in
the heart of Condesa, El Plaza plays host
to buzzy international acts that you likely
wouldn’t get to see in such an intimate
space anywhere else, as well as regional
artists about to hit it big.
Sunday Sunday
facebook.com/sundaysundaymx
Local party collective who throw dance
parties with a rotating lineup of DJs and
special guests, both local and international.
Location and guestlist are somewhat of a
secret, you have to RSVP to the Facebook
page with a message to get in, so don’t
forget to download Google translate!
SHOPPING
Tianguis Cultural del Chopo
Cuauhtemoc Buenavista 06350
Mexico has a well-documented love for
all rock subcultures, up to and including
The Smiths. These aesthetic choices
culminate here at the city’s goth-punkmetal-etc
themed flea market. Only open
on Saturdays, you’ll find some definitively
underground live music, vinyl and band
t-shirts galore.
Retroactivo Records
Jalapa 125, Colonia Roma
A comprehensive and well-priced selection
of used vinyl in every genre, located in Roma.
Be prepared to dig! If the thrill of the hunt
isn’t your thing and you’re already in the
neighborhood, head over to Roma Records
(Álvaro Obregón 200 Bis 1, Col. Roma) for
the latest releases and reissues. STAR
FEBRUARY 2020 BEATROUTE 31

32 BEATROUTE FEBRUARY 2020

Screen Time
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE
2020 ACADEMY AWARDS’
BEST SONG NOMINEES
By BRENDAN LEE
S
omething magical happens
when a musician is asked to
write a song for a movie.
The jumping off point of the film acts
as a perfect catalyst for what ends in
lasting hits, sometimes even eclipsing
the film itself.
A song can only be nominated for the
‘Best Song’ category at the Oscars if
it was written specifically for the film.
Past winners, such as “Raindrops Keep
Falling on My Head” and “I Just Called
to Say I Love You” have been played so
much out of the context from the films
they were written for that it can be a
struggle to remember their exact origin
story. That’s what makes the category
so interesting, and why we’re taking a
closer look at this year’s nominees, the
next set of could-be timeless classics.
Into the Unknown (Frozen II)
Kristian Anderson-Lopez & Robert
Lopez, performed by Idina Menzel
The husband-wife duo, Kristian
Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez,
catapulted themselves to the
international stage with their first ‘Best
Song’ Oscar in 2013 for ‘Let it Go’
(Frozen) and followed that up with a
second win in 2017 for ‘Remember Me’
(Coco). There’s an argument to be made
that ‘Into the Unknown’ might be the
most impressive of all three. While maybe
not an instant hit with the kids like ‘Let it
Go’, the song has a maturity that begins
chilling and timid but grows to a point of
uncontainable energy, utilizing the vast
range of Idina Menzel’s powerful voice.
I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away
(Toy Story 4)
Randy Newman
It’s a bit of a tradition for Randy
Newman and the Toy Story team to get
nominated for the category, and with
this little diddy, the man himself goes
four-for-four. It’s a repetitive yet cheery
piano tune that manages to invoke a
glimmer of what the original film and
soundtrack captured all those years ago.
While nowhere near the level of “You’ve
Got a Friend in Me,” Newman proves his
ever-enduring superpower to at the very
least put a smile on your face.
Stand Up (Harriet)
Joshuah Brian Campbell & Cynthia Erivo,
performed by Cynthia Erivo
This song boasts the heaviest weight
of all five nominees, telling the story of
slavery in America in such a way that
truly shines through the music. Cynthia
Erivo officially arrives, playing the lead
role of Harriet Tubman and is staggering
in this five-minute-long gospel-inspired
ascent to the heavens. It’s less of a song
and more of a movement in the direction
of brighter and better times.
I’m Standing With You (Breakthrough)
Dianne Warren
If there’s one thing that Dianne
Warren knows how to do, it’s get
Academy Award nominations. Eleven
nods deep, Warren’s still searching for
that ever elusive win. “I’m Standing With
You” is performed by actress Chrissy
Metz, who also plays the lead in the
Christian-drama, Breakthrough, about a
boy who tragically plunges into an iced
over lake. It’s the weakest of this year’s
five entries but the simplistic ballad still
pulls a few heart strings here and there.
(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again
(Rocketman)
Elton John & Bernie Taupin, performed
by Elton John and Taron Egerton
When they inevitably perform this one
on the night of the show, Taron Egerton
and Elton John may very well bring down
the house. There’s few more decorated
musicians in the biz than Elton, and
combined with Egerton’s sensational
vocal performance they’ve gifted us
with a jam-packed feel good tune that’s
already won big at the Golden Globes.
Even if this one manages to miss out on
the ultimate prize, we’ll be hearing those
raspy piano-backed vocals on the radio
for years to come.
STAR
FEBRUARY 2020 BEATROUTE 33

HEAR IT. FEEL IT.
VSO ALL-ACCESS PASS
Students & Under 35
Get $15 Tickets
BUY TODAY! myVSO.ca/allaccesspass 604.876.3434
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THE SUNDAY TIMES
Organized by the National Portrait Gallery, London
in collaboration with the Vancouver Art Gallery
Major support provided by
Supporting sponsor
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TICKETS AT VANARTGALLERY.BC.CA
[Left to right] Cindy Sherman, Untitled #588, 2016/2018 (detail), dye sublimation metal print; Untitled #415, 2004 (detail),
chromogenic print; Untitled #602, 2019 (detail), dye sublimation metal print; Untitled #574, 2016 (detail), dye sublimation metal
print. All images: Courtesy of the Artist and Metro Pictures, New York.
Cathy Zuo
Generously supported by
Artworkers Retirement Society
Additional support from
Sheahan and Gerald McGavin

YVR
JUST FOR LAUGHS
NORTHWEST:
RETURNS FOR 5TH ANNUAL
COMEDY FEST WITH
EMPHASIS ON LOCAL TALENT
By YASMINE SHEMESH
02.20
J
ust for Laughs has become an institution
in the comedy world since it was launched
in Montreal in 1983, now standing as
the largest international festival of its
kind. Its Vancouver transplant, the JFL
NorthWest Comedy Festival, continues to
carry the touch forward with its fifth annual
edition, featuring an impressive lineup that
includes world-renowned and up-andcoming
comedians performing stand-up,
sketch, and improv.
Among the festival’s biggest headliners
are Saturday Night Live alum Jay
Pharaoh, trailblazing Korean American
comedian Margaret Cho, and Maria
Bamford, best known for her hilarious
and candid approach to mental health.
Podcasters Todd Barry and Off Book:
The Improvised Musical Podcast will be
on-site, too, hosting their shows live.
One of the most exciting components
of JFLNW, though, is its strong emphasis
on homegrown talent. Their Best of the
West series presents a fantastic crosssection
of B.C.-based performers, like
Little Mountain Improv, Graham Clark’s
Quiz Show, and Hip.Bang!. There will
also be a special short film showcase,
Comedy Short Shorts, that celebrates
the work of Pacific Northwest
moviemakers. A panel of industry
judges will vote for their favourite film,
with the first-place winner taking
home $1,000 and going on to vie
for a coveted slot at the Montreal
festival in July.
February 13-25
@ Various Locations
jflnorthwest.com
VANCOUVER’S ESSENTIAL FEBRUARY HAPPENINGS
FEBRUARY 2020 BEATROUTE 35

02.20YVRAGENDA
DAVID
SEDARIS
February 12
Vogue Theatre
Tix: eventbrite.ca
Musings on an unconventional
upbringing gained David Sedaris
a cult following in the ‘90s, but his
acerbic wit and spot-on observations
of human nature are what have made
his relevance span three decades.
Sedaris will be in Vancouver this month
performing live readings of new stories.
His latest collection, Calypso, was
released in 2018.
JENNIFER ROESSLER
KDOCS FILM
FESTIVAL
February 20-23
Vancity Theatre
Tix: viff.org
With 13 award-winning documentary
films, as well as keynote speakers,
panel discussions, and exhibitors, this
social justice film festival shines a light
on many of the critical issues affecting
our world today. Some of the program’s
highlights are Beyond Climate, which
examines how climate change has
affected B.C. and features a Q&A
with David Suzuki after the screening,
and Toxic Beauty, an investigative
exploration on how the chemical
contents of popular beauty products
can lead to serious health problems.
36 BEATROUTE FEBRUARY 2020

VANESSA FORTIN
TABOO…THE NAUGHTY
BUT NICE SEX SHOW
February 7-9
Vancouver Convention Centre East
Tix: tabooshow.com
Whether you want to expand your
bondage knowledge, learn new techniques
to please your partner, or buy
some toys to enhance your solo sex
life, nothing is off limits at this annual
adult trade show. Long renowned for
its inclusive and sex-positive environment,
Taboo offers a thoughtfully
curated lineup of live entertainment,
exhibitors, and educational seminars.
Don’t miss one of the many wide-ranging
talks by renowned author and
sexologist Dr. Jess.
FORGET ME NOT
February 4-March 1
Secret Location
Tix: thecultch.com
Puppet master Ronnie Burkett gives
the crowd an all-important role in
his mysterious new production:
the navigator. Onstage during the
whole show and each given one
of Burkett’s handmade puppets,
audience members quite literally
hold the story’s fate in their hands
in being responsible for moving the
narrative along as it develops. Set in
a time where the written language
has been phased out, Forget Me
Not is at once absurd, thrilling, and
whimsical.
DAHLIA KAT
By YASMINE SHEMESH
LOCAL
ARTIST
SPOTLIGHT
We Are The City
Largely inspired thematically by the unexpected passing of Kyle
Tubbs, the band’s childhood friend and early collaborator, We
Are The City’s newest effort RIP is an intimate rumination on
mortality in various capacities. With lines on the title track like
“Man, I’m afraid to die—were you?” floating over sharp swells
and a pounding beat, the prog rockers’ fifth full-length draws
their usual wild experimentals into a focused and nuanced place.
They are celebrating the album’s release on tour in Europe.
Trulla
They may only have been playing together for a few months,
but Trulla’s Selina Koop and Heather Ross have the chemistry
of bandmates who have jammed together for years. Omens,
the first EP from the duo, is out now and, well, wow. Think
infectious melodies anchored by soulful vocals and big,
fuzzed out riffs that, together, hit you right in the guts from the
onslaught of opening track “Mama.” We can’t wait to hear what
comes next from these two.
KRISTEN HUCULIAK
GHOST
February 12-15
Historic Theatre
Tix: thecultch.com
Fusing elements of contemporary
dance, hip-hop, and martial arts, Montreal’s
Tentacle Tribe use their bodies
as a means to interpret the life-giving
rhythm of breathing. Ghost has the
street dancers, known for their philosophical
approach to choreography,
rise, fall, and constantly shift in tandem
to the music.
LIL FEST
February 16
PNE Forum
Tix: ticketleader.ca
It may be small, but it sure is mighty.
This festival is both providing
much-needed access to all-ages
shows and presenting some of hiphop’s
most exciting emerging artists.
Alongside international favourites
like Shoreline Mafia and Lil Tracy,
the lineup features local powerhouses
such as Prado—already a star in
her own right here in the city.
lié
You Want It Real, lié’s newest effort, is out this month on
February 28. Produced by Jesse Gander, the eight-track
full-length aims to blur out the punk band’s usual direct lyrical
approach in favour of metaphor and place a larger emphasis
on imagery. Songs like “Digging in the Desert,” achieve that
balance well, with growling guitar and feverish drum patterns
that claw through hazy tones.
FEBRUARY 2020 BEATROUTE 37

02.20YVRMUSIC
The Cheat Sheet BR PICKS THE 5 ESSENTIAL LIVE MUSIC SHOWS
1 BEWHY
Tues, Feb 4 at The Vogue Theatre
Intense, thunderous hip-hop
from Korea’s burgeoning rapper
converges dramatic beats, pomp,
and Christian influence with searing
skill.
2
SUDAN ARCHIVES
Thurs, Feb 20 at Fortune Sound Club
An idiosyncratic hurricane of
electronic production, Sudaneseinspired
fiddle and stunning vocals.
Soul-shifting R&B musings of pure
gold.
3 ATMOSPHERE
Sun, Feb 23 at The Commodore
Slug and Ant continue to twirl
heartfelt lyrics and sweltering rhythm
into thoughtful hip hop that ruminates
on grief, Earth, and life.
4 RAPSODY
Tues, Feb 25 at Fortune Sound Club
This gale force of rhyme and rhythm
commemorates inspiring black
women on her A Black Woman
Created This. tour, in the wake of her
third studio album, Eve.
5 THUNDERCAT
Fri, Feb 28 at The Vogue Theatre
The former Suicidal Tendencies
bassist and long-time musical collab
savant knows how to make a whole
room groove with a fusion of soul,
70s funk, and R&B.
1
THE BEACHES
Fri, Feb 7 at The Commodore
The Torontonian all-girl band are
not to be taken lightly—expect a
sexy, high-energy show and headbanging
glam-rock vibes.
2
WOLF PARADE
Wed, Feb 12 at The Commodore
Their 2020 album, Thin Mind, was
named in reference to the state of
our brains in the tech age. Power
down, rock out, free your mind.
3
TOVE LO
Sun, Feb. 23 at The Vogue Theatre
The self-made indie pop star weaves
electronic, synthy sounds with
confessional lyrics, and the Swedish
musician’s love of grunge gives her a
raw edge.
4
ANDY SHAUF
Wed, Feb 26 at The Commodore
Soft surrealism surrounds the folksy
sounds of the Canadian indie-darling
and The Neon Skyline Tour will be no
different.
5
BLACK BELT
EAGLE SCOUT
Fri, Feb 28 at The Commodore
This musical auto-didact of
Swinomish/Iñupiaq roots has
a grungy, post-rock sway and
seductive vocals that command deep
listening.
1
GALACTIC PEGASUS
Sat, Feb 8 at Red Gate Arts Society
The belligerent thrashing of these
“djent” metalheads will leave your
bones cracking while their wild,
underworldly vocals express dissent
in no uncertain terms.
2
ROSS THE BOSS
Tues, Feb 11 at The Rickshaw
The legendary Manowar and The
Dictators founding member shreds
guitar and tramples the stage in all
the glory of Manowar’s classics.
3 SOULFLY
Wed, Feb 12 at The Rickshaw
An aggressive black spirituality
underlies Brazilian tribal influences
and melodic moments in their latest
album, Ritual, acclaimed as some of
their best groove thrash to date.
4
THE PALMS
Thurs, Feb 13 at Fortune Sound Club
A deviation from conventional metal
constructs, this post-metal group
brings forth an eclectic combo of
psychedelia, breezy alt-rock, and
shoegaze elements.
5
CHURCH OF MISERY
Fri, Feb 28 at Venue
Japan’s legendary doom metal
band hits notes of stoner rock and
screamo—an underground giant
who will make you pray you have
eardrums post-show.
1
THE BLACK HALOS
Fri, Feb 7 at The Rickshaw
The revival of Vancouver’s own punk
luminaries on home soil will inspire
fist-raising and body-thrashing
through a blend of nostalgic riffs and
fresh bangers.
2
BISHOPS GREEN
Sat, Feb 8 at The Rickshaw
They’ve been jamming since 2011
and still play with the same street grit,
blue-collar slant, and middle-fingersin-the-air
revolutionary spirit they
always have.
3
PUNK ROCK
VALENTINE’S
Fri, Feb 14 at CBDBs
NEEDS, Storc, Mess, Mi’ens, and
Pedlar come together to form a
V-Day brigade of punk to fall in love
with even if the commercialism of
romance has burst your bubble.
4
PUSSY RIOT
Wed, Feb 19 at Fortune Sound Club
The famous all-female Russian
protest punk group has been
arrested and charged with
“hooliganism” before. One cannot
afford to miss out.
5
AMERICAN NIGHTMARE
ANNIVERSARY TOUR
Sat, Feb 29 at The Imperial
Celebrating 20 years of rocking out,
the DIY icons unleash a doubledecade
rolodex of hardcore punk for
your earballs.
1 AUTOGRAF
Thurs, Feb 6 at Fortune Sound Club
Their glittery, tropical beats will
move you on the dance floor with a
plethora of futuristic verve and 80s
pop nostalgia.
2 EKALI
Sat, Feb 8 at The Commodore
With a new album under his belt, A
World Away, the Vancouver-bred DJ
continues to make waves with his
production of swirling, bright beats,
breathy vocals, and R&B influence.
3 MONSTERCAT
UNCAGED: ORIGINS
Sat. Feb 15 at The PNE Forum
Immerse yourself in an electric
night of EDM heavyweights: Seven
Lions, Joyryde, Kill The Noise,
Crankdat, Riot, Going Quantum, and
Monstercat.
4 LANE 8
Sat, Feb 22 at The Commodore
The deep house wunderkind dishes
emotionally sublime sentiment,
dreamy build ups, and epic beat
drops from his brand new album,
Brightest Lights.
5
JACQUES GREENE
Fri. Feb 28 at Beaumont Studios
The Canadian DJ’s latest LP, Dawn
Chorus, is a shoegazey electronica
experiment that roves intimately
between the dark and the light.
38 BEATROUTE FEBRUARY 2020