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4 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT OCTOBER 19 – 26 / 2017
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OCTOBER 19 – 26 / 2017 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT 5
CONTENTS
175 tables of fun, fabulous finds for you and your eclectic abode! Retro glam accessories, pop culture classics, mid-century Modernist décor, memorabilia, vintage and estate jewelry, holiday ornaments, textiles and linens, primitives, and much more... Plus Drop-In Appraisals All Day! Info on Website.
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Stanley Park Seawall. Katherine Scrimshaw photo.
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RENTERS OF VANCOUVER
One tenant describes her experience of how landlords are able to make unorthodox requests in the city’s tight rental market, including inspecting your current apartment before you move into theirs. > BY K ATE WILSON
13
COVER
In this healthy-living issue, read stories on recovery houses, plant-based diets, massage therapy, flu prevention, healthy fats, and the impact of dispensary cannabis on seizures,
21
ARTS
Happy Place brings together a diverse and talented cast for a wrenching dark comedy about women dealing with trauma together. > BY ANDRE A WARNER
31
The Florida Project achieves magnificence; an American icon waves goodbye in Lucky; Loving Vincent puts van Gogh in the frame; A.A. Milne says Goodbye Christopher Robin.
36
6 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT OCTOBER 19 – 26 / 2017
The Bottle Confessions Food Green Living I Saw You Music Savage Love Straight Stars Theatre
TIME OUT 30 Arts 36 Music
36 Careers 9 Real Estate
MUSIC
At a time when the deplorables seem to be running the world, Tegan and Sara aren’t about to start giving up the good fight. > BY MIKE USINGER
Vancouver 24/7 #GeorgiaStraight
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OCTOBER 19 – 26 / 2017 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT 7
The Wave 150 -
Re-imagining the Constitution 28 Oct 2017 | 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema, Goldcorp Centre for the Arts | 149 W Hastings St
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HOUSING
Renters of Vancouver: “I wasn’t sure how to respond” > BY KATE WILSON
Renters of Vancouver takes an intimate look at how the city’s residents are dealing with the housing crisis. Tenants choose to remain nameless when sharing their stories.
“I
’ve lived in Vancouver nearly all my life. Over that time, I’ve seen the housing market transform. “I’m 28 years old, and I didn’t move out until two years ago because it just wasn’t feasible for me to do so. When I finally was able to get my own place, the only apartment I could afford was this two-bedroom piece of junk in Hastings-Sunrise that I shared with a friend. I loved the neighbourhood—don’t get me wrong, it’s an awesome location—but the suite was terrible. “It had chunks of carpet missing. It had this really horrible colour on the walls. I found mouse droppings on more than one occasion. The wiring in the bathroom was strange, too. I had an electric tooth- This tenant says that when she expressed interest in renting a laneway house, brush and I noticed that it wouldn’t the landlord wanted to inspect the suite that she was vacating. Kate Wilson photo. charge. Eventually, we figured out “My roommate and I weren’t it look pretty cute—but it was still that when we turned the bathroom light off, it turned off all the elec- making too much money, though, gross. We didn’t really talk to the so we made the best of it. We made tricity in there. see next page
That’s what people say. The only problem with Blundstone boots is that they never seem to wear out. Oh, people try. But after a few years of kicking the bejeez out of them, they’re more comfortable than ever and still going strong. Expensive? Nope, they get cheaper by the day.
The Georgia Straight | Vancouver’s News and Entertainment Weekly | Volume 51 Number 2598 1635 West Broadway, Vancouver, B.C. V6J 1W9 www.straight.com Phone: 604-730-7000 / Fax: 604-730-7010 / e-mail: gs.info@straight.com Display Advertising: 604-730-7020 / Fax: 604-730-7012 / e-mail: sales@straight.com Classifieds: 604-730-7060 / e-mail: classads@straight.com Subscriptions: 604-730-7000 Distribution: 604-730-7087 EDITOR + PUBLISHER Dan McLeod ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Yolanda Stepien GENERAL MANAGER Matt McLeod EDITOR Charlie Smith SECTION EDITORS
Janet Smith (Arts/Fashion) Mike Usinger (Music) Steve Newton (Time Out) Adrian Mack (Movies) Brian Lynch (Books) Amanda Siebert (Cannabis) EDITORIAL ADMINISTRATOR Doug Sarti ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Gail Johnson, John Lucas, Alexander Varty STAFF WRITERS
Tammy Kwan, Lucy Lau, Travis Lupick, Carlito Pablo, Craig Takeuchi, Kate Wilson SENIOR EDITOR Martin Dunphy EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Jennie Ramstad PROOFREADER Pat Ryffranck CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Gregory Adams, Nathan Caddell, David Chau, Jack Christie, Jennifer Croll, Ken Eisner (Movies), George Fetherling, Tara Henley, Michael Hingston, Ng Weng Hoong, Alex Hudson, Kurtis Kolt,
Robin Laurence (Visual Arts), Mark Leiren-Young, John Lekich, Amy Lu, Bob Mackin, Michael Mann, Rose Marcus, Beth McArthur, Verne McDonald, Allan MacInnis, Guy MacPherson, Tony Montague, Kathleen Oliver, Ben Parfitt, Vivian Pencz, Bill Richardson, Gurpreet Singh, Jacqueline Turner, Andrea Warner, Jessica Werb, Stephen Wong, Alan Woo CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS
Alfonso Arnold, Rebecca Blissett, Trevor Brady, Louise Christie, Emily Cooper, Randall Cosco, Krystian Guevara, Evaan Kheraj, Kris Krug, Tracey Kusiewicz, Kevin Langdale, Shayne Letain, Matt Mignanelli, Mark “Atomos” Pilon, Carlo Ricci, William Ting, Alex Waterhouse-Hayward DIGITAL PRODUCT MANAGER
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#587 The Leather Lined in Rustic Black $219.95
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The Georgia Straight is published every Thursday by the Vancouver Free Press Publishing SUBMISSIONS The Straight accepts no responsibility for, and will not Corp. Copies are distributed free every week throughout Vancouver, Burnaby, North necessarily respond to, any submitted materials. All submissions should be and West Vancouver, New Westminster, and Richmond. International Standard Serial addressed to contact@straight.com. Number ISSN 0709-8995. Subscription rates in Canada $182.00/52 issues (includes GST), $92.00/26 issues (includes GST); United States $379.00/52 issues, $205.00/ 26 issues; foreign $715.00/52 issues, $365.00/26 issues. Contact 604-730-7087 if you wish to distribute free copies of the Georgia Straight at your place of business. Entire contents copyright © 2017 Vancouver Free Press, Best Of Vancouver, BOV And Golden Plates Are Trade-Marks Of Vancouver Free Press Publishing Corp.
OCTOBER 19 – 26 / 2017 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT 9
Renters of Vancouver
from previous page
AN N UAL
SA LE
40%
OFF
EYEGLASS
landlord about getting things fixed; we just kind of thought, ‘That’s how it is,’ and accepted it for what it was. Then the bedbugs happened. “We were like, ‘Hey, this is horrible; can you do something about this?’ The landlord was very accommodating, so I don’t have any qualms about how he handled it. He let us break our lease, and in the meantime I had to get all my furniture heat-treated and everything was bug-bombed. “I did absolutely everything in my power to make sure that I got rid of them and didn’t take them with me to a new place. “We still wanted to find a new spot to live, though, so I looked on Craigslist. I saw an ad for a really cute two-bedroom laneway house in the South Vancouver area. It was totally ideal—there’s a reason laneway houses are so in-demand. I emailed them to make an appointment to look round and they called me back. “They rattled off a few house rules that didn’t seem out of the ordinary until they got to the end. They said, ‘We’d like to come in and take a look at your current place—the apartment that you’re in right now—so we can judge whether you’ll be a clean tenant.’ “I was a little dumbfounded, so I wasn’t sure how to respond. I said, ‘Oh, okay, sure—let me talk to my roommate and get back to you with a time.’ I hung up, asked her what she thought, and she said it was the most bizarre thing she’d ever heard. I knew of a lot of strange things that landlords had asked my friends before, but I’d never heard
of a landlord coming in to inspect a person’s current suite. “I contacted the Residential Tenancy Branch because I was unsure if what she was asking me was legal or not. I knew I was fairly green to the rental market, and I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t the one who was off base. They told me that what she was asking was very strange but not illegal, because I was within my rights to refuse. “I was worried when the request came through. I didn’t want the prospective landlord to see our apartment: firstly, because it had bedbugs in it; and, secondly, because the treatments had meant that it had been turned upside down and we were in the process of packing up to move. I didn’t want the landlord to think that I would be bringing bedbugs with me to the new place, because I had taken so many steps to make sure that wasn’t going to happen. Plus, I’m usually a pretty clean person, and I didn’t want them to get the wrong idea. “We ended up deciding not to let the new landlord view our suite, and we moved out to Burnaby instead. We got a great suite out there and a nice landlord. It was sad that we couldn’t find a place in Vancouver that was within our budget, but Burnaby was fine for a little bit until I found a job that paid better. “It ended up working out in the end, but it was a rocky two-year period while I entered the housing market. I’ve discovered that if you’re not willing to sign a cheque the day that you view a place, you will definitely lose out to someone who will. People do it because they have to. There’s a sense of desperation with the rental market in Vancouver.”-
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Canadian Red Cross / Croix-Rouge Canadienne 10 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT OCTOBER 19 – 26 / 2017
RED CROSS
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straight stars > B Y ROSE MA RC U S
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October 19 to 25, 2017
hursday’s new moon in Libra could feel more like a full moon. That’s because it is hot-wired by Uranus in Aries, the “Great Awakener�. This planet is always good for keeping the action on a lively track, often by tossing something unexpected into the mix. The past year has been a big one for relationship growth. Mind you, it has drawn extra attention to the imbalances, polarizations, and extremes. The new moon in Libra launches the next interactive phase regarding social politics and key relationships, one-on-one and one-to-the-many. Jupiter, a recent visitor to Scorpio, and the sun in Scorpio, starting Saturday, punch up the intensity on all matters to do with sex, money, power, and power plays. (The day Jupiter entered Scorpio, the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke.) Feel like you are going nowhere fast? Not anymore. The new moon offers the opportunity for a breakthrough or advance of significance. It aims to shatter the sound barrier that continues to allow you/us to overcompensate, overrationalize, and accept rather than to make haste. As a positive contribution to the new moon, look for the cut-tothe-chase influence of Uranus to get the action going where it adds up the most. Jupiter and the sun in Scorpio call for a deeper commitment to that which you desire and deserve. On Saturday, Mars leaves Virgo for Libra, providing yet more opportunity to experience a new way of being in a relationship: with another, with the world, with yourself. Each day through this next week holds lucrative potential. May it set you on a positive upswing.
LEO
THE
P E T E R WA L L D OW N TOW N L E C T U R E S E R I E S
July 22–August 23
Quick thinking/quick response makes all the difference Thursday. Uranus blended into the new-moon mix brings greater clarity and/or helps you cut to the chase. Don’t hesitate to eliminate or take on as you see fit. Mars in Libra and the sun in Scorpio set up good timing for a location move or for starting a renovation project (home, personal, or professional).
VIRGO
LIBRA
EXCHANGE
August 23–September 23
Not a minute to spare, and Thursday piles it up on you. Can you get through it all? You can; you will. Trust yourself more; you’ll pull it out of somewhere! Uranus and Mars supply you with enough steam to go the distance. Friday/Saturday, you’ll have it under good control. The week ahead should prove smooth. Potentials are good/better than average, especially next Wednesday/Thursday. September 23–October 23
If your birthday falls on Thursday, you’re set up for a dynamic year ahead. For everyone, it is an auspicious time to dive into something new, even if the new moon thrust it on you unexpectedly. You’ll feel another energy surge on Saturday as Mars hits Go in Libra. For the next seven weeks, Mars keeps the momentum and your dynamo self going strong.
SCORPIO
October 23–November 22
There’s more than enough to keep you occupied! Thursday’s full moon could help you see your way clear or cut to the chase, perhaps unexpectedly. Mars enters Libra and the sun enters Scorpio on Saturday. Together, they place you at an advantage regarding present ARIES circumstances. They also set you up March 20–April 20 for making the most of it with folks, Thursday’s new moon perhaps with a special someone. can produce high stress or added SAGITTARIUS excitement. Inspired, provoked, or November 22–December 21 on the hustle, the days that follow Onto a next level, pronto, place you at your enterprising best on Saturday. Mars in Libra revs up you are about to make faster progress your social profile and hits Go on and inroads. Beyond a special event contract matters (actual, romantic, or social night out, Thursday’s new karmic). Scorpio month keeps you moon sets up an especially fulfilling swamped, consumed, ambitious, or profitable week or two. A key and/or fixated. Finances, projects, someone could be a major catalyst or a key relationship is slated for of change. A hello or goodbye could be in the mix. Friday/Saturday, feel it major advance. out. Sunday onward, get it going. TAURUS April 20–May 21 CAPRICORN See it for what it’s worth December 21–January 20 It’s renewal time. That can on Thursday. An add-on or switched track could cost time or expense, mean a sit-down or cash-in with the but overall you stand to gain. If it bank, another, or yourself. Thursisn’t what you signed up for, scrap day’s new moon sets a lucrative backit. Friday/Saturday, watch for clues; drop for a new goal/contract to begin go by feel. Want more; need more; (karmic or actual). It also sparks a sense more? As of Saturday, Mars new appreciation for what it takes and the sun on the move give you an and a recommitment to getting yourself there. Self-created is the best kind extra push. of reward. GEMINI May 21–June 21 AQUARIUS Spontaneity hits the mark January 20–February 18 Now is not the time to well on Thursday. Friday and Saturday keep you well occupied—per- hesitate or question but to go for it haps preoccupied, too. Time is for with the best you can give. In addiputting to good use. Study, research, tion to something special to attend or or a feel-it-out conversation can be enjoy, Thursday’s new moon favours productive. Mars enters Libra on all new adventures, especially those Saturday while the sun takes an that speak through/to the heart, exexit. Want more? Feel you deserve pand the mind, move the body, or more? First, aim to raise your game. add bulk to the wallet. Sunday through Thursday, you’re a PISCES natural at it.
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June 21–July 22
February 18–March 20
A relationship upgrade, financial or intimate, is favoured by Thursday’s fast-track new moon. Whether sudden or already in the works, that could mean a parting of ways to make way for the new. Either way, you stand to gain. Whether in pursuit of a prize or facing a battle, Mars in Libra provides your call to action. -
Thursday is hot-wired. To the plus, you could run across something useful, helpful, profitable, or timely. Play it smart and a game-for-it/go-for-it impulse could set you up for gain. Mars in Libra calls for you to consider options, but don’t second-guess. It’s yes or no, off or on. Speak up; ask for Book a reading or sign up for Rose’s a favour when opportunity pre- free monthly newsletter at www.rose marcus.com/. sents itself.
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m i d l a n d a p p l i a n c e.c o m OCTOBER 19 – 26 / 2017 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT 11
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healthy > BY A M A NDA SIEBE R T
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hen John De Villa experienced his first grand mal seizure at age 44, doctors couldn’t tell him what had caused it. The otherwise healthy software technician wasn’t born with epilepsy, didn’t drink or smoke, and hadn’t taken as much as a Tylenol in decades. During the course of the next eight months, he would suffer a total of 12 grand mal seizures. Doctors would later tell him the effects on his brain were equivalent to what one would experience after a series of back-toback concussions. “The way to describe 2015? Hell,” De Villa tells the Straight one afternoon in his Burnaby apartment. Seated next to his wife, Maxine, he explains the severity of his seizures. “At seven minutes you’re risking death, because there’s no oxygen to the brain,” De Villa says. “I was seizing for 15 minutes.” Without undergoing a single test, De Villa says, he was assured by doctors that his best course of action would be to start taking a regular dose of prescription drugs. De Villa searched for a second opinion, then another. He says each doctor had the same solution: “All they wanted to do was shove pills down my throat.” Maxine says the seizures rendered her husband practically immobile. “He was crawling on the f loor. He couldn’t pour a glass of water. He could barely sleep,” she says. “I couldn’t even have a face-toface conversation, much less formulate or articulate a sentence,” De Villa adds. “We finally said, ‘Either we go and find a really good doctor or we start these prescriptions.’ ” The couple chose to spend thousands of dollars at a private clinic, where De Villa underwent rounds of nutritional-supplement treatment and costly neurofeedback training, a process that uses electrodes to train the brain to control abnormal activity. The two eventually took out a second mortgage to cover the costs. “I had every test known to man,” De Villa says. “Everything came back clean.” By now, De Villa had begun scouring the Internet for alternative treatments. One day, the letters CBD popped up in a search. He learned that was an acronym for a compound in cannabis, called cannabidiol.
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John De Villa and his wife, Maxine, are afraid he’ll lose access to the cannabis products that keep him seizure-free.
Pot shop cannabis rejuvenates a life “I brought it up with my neurologist and he said at this point there was no harm in trying,” De Villa remembers. He went home with an authorization for medical marijuana. He placed an order with a licensed producer, but after he failed to feel relief from the products and suffered yet another seizure, his neurologist said he had no choice but to put De Villa on a high dose of benzodiazepines, a class of tranquillizer drugs that have anticonvulsant properties—an option, though, that De Villa feared would make him reliant on the drug. “I was a complete zombie, on top of already being a zombie, so it made things much worse for me,” he says of the pill’s adverse side effects. Then De Villa realized that Health Canada’s pot wasn’t his only option. “I thought, ‘Why would I order from a place not in B.C. when I can walk a few blocks to a dispensary?’ ” De Villa visited 15 different shops before he found one where budtenders had the knowledge to assist him. With guidance from staff at the Village and local cannabis educator Adolfo Gonzalez, De Villa decided
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prescription-free. He says cannabis is the only reason he was able to survive the painful withdrawal from the drug he was prescribed. But De Villa says the fear that he might again face the “hell” he experienced back in 2015 is all too real. As Canada’s legalization deadline approaches, he’s afraid that he’ll no longer have access to the products that helped him get his life back. The Liberal promise to eliminate the black market means it is almost certain that Vancouver’s licensed pot shops will be required to sell cannabis from Health Canada’s approved producers. This means the products used by De Villa and other patients will no longer be (legally) accessible. De Villa says he has nothing against licensed producers, and he has tried products from two different firms with no relief. He’s currently waiting for his first delivery from a third. “I want to give them a chance,” he says, “but it’s taken over three weeks just to process my application. That’s crucial for someone living with a lifethreatening illness.” Affordability, he says, also plays a
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the only way to determine which products worked best for him would be to embrace the role of human guinea pig. After two months, he says, he started to feel a change. “When I finally figured out how to use cannabis as medicine, I started going back to the gym; I was cleaning the house again and I was behaving like a normal person,” he recalls. “I decided, ‘This is it. This is the solution to my health problems.’ ” Today, the 46-year-old has been seizure-free for more than a year and is an active member of Vancouver’s cannabis community, working as a consultant alongside Gonzalez. He is also about to launch B.C. Wellness Centre, an online resource created for patients and by patients. As De Villa’s caregiver, Maxine microdoses cannabis to help with sleep and anxiety. When their vet diagnosed their dog, Prince, with pancreatitis, De Villa says, he used a CBD tincture to clear symptoms. He did the same when their second dog, Kobe, had kidney stones. (Their vet now uses it in her practice, he says.) As of September, De Villa is also
role: where a tincture at a dispensary might cost $40, a similar product at a licensed producer is three to four times the price. Lindsey Gorman, a friend and business associate of De Villa’s, also suffers from a seizure condition and has found relief with cannabis. She shares De Villa’s fear. These days, Gorman might have a seizure once or twice a year, but at the height of her condition, she was having five to six seizures a week—even when she was taking a prescription drug. “During that time, I doubled my body weight and I lost my hair,” she recalls. “I was barely a person.” Because Gorman’s condition requires high doses of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), she prefers to use suppositories, which don’t cause the psychoactivity associated with THC. Unfortunately, not a single licensed producer offers cannabis in this form. “Until they can offer the full range of products that I can fi nd in a dispensary, I don’t want to have to go through that experimentation again,” she says. “If anyone knows what it’s like to try and switch up a medication, there’s a lot of anxiety associated with finding what works best.” Lawyer Robert Laurie has represented clients in the cannabis industry for five years and says that if patients like De Villa and Gorman no longer have access to their desired medication, they could have an opportunity for legal recourse. “Dispensaries and companies do have standing to bring charter challenges forward, especially if they’re shut down,” Laurie says. “The entity can bring the action, and its members can also bring the action on behalf of the entity.” He says dispensaries are currently providing a service that governments at all levels are unable to. “Dispensaries are at the heart of cannabis access,” Laurie says, quoting a 2013 Supreme Court of Canada ruling by Justice Michael Phelan, “and the government is acting contrary to that.” For De Villa, becoming a human guinea pig again isn’t an option. “As I’ve learned, if you find something that works for you, you stick with it,” he says. “If those options are taken away from me, my health will deteriorate, and if that happens I will rally against the government’s policy, because it is getting in the way of my recovery and my health.” -
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OCTOBER 19 – 26 / 2017 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT 13
HEALTHY LIVING
The path to recovery can take many forms > BY C HA RL IE SM I TH
T
he executive director of the Orchard Recovery Center, Lorinda Strang, understands addiction in a very personal way. She cofounded the internationally accredited addiction-treatment facility on Bowen Island in 2002, more than a decade after she went into recovery. Fifteen years later, it continues helping clients through residential programs usually lasting six weeks in a former four-star resort, which includes a swimming pool, a gym, a fitness centre, first-class meals, and a nearby forest. “In my own personal life, I’ve seen recovery work, including with my grandmother,” Strang told the Georgia Straight over the phone, “and I’ve lost my brother to addiction. I’ve seen it on both sides.” So what advice does Strang have for family members wanting to encourage a loved one to go into treatment? First of all, she said, they must realize that addicts are almost always fearful about entering an addiction program. And while family members often focus on whether there are qualified medical staff and clinical teams, she said, those in the throes of addiction are often more interested in the facility. This includes the quality of the meals, the comfort level, and whether or not there’s a gym. “When you look at our website, it’s designed to answer the questions for both,” Strang said. According to the Toronto-based Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, one in five Canadians experiences “a mental health or addiction problem” in any given year. At the Orchard and other B.C. treatment facilities, a prime objective is to remove the stigma surrounding addiction, which, like other
The Orchard Recovery Center’s Lorinda Strang says good addiction-treatment programs include an alumni component that helps clients see a brighter future.
chronic diseases, can be managed. The website for Maryland’s National Institute on Drug Abuse points out that treatment “enables people to counteract addiction’s powerful disruptive effects” on the brain and a person’s behaviour, enabling them “to regain control over their lives”. However, just as with other chronic diseases, it’s possible for symptoms to recur. And relapse can be perilous for those emerging from a recovery centre. That’s because if their bodies have been free of opiates, their usual dose can have a more powerful and potentially deadly impact. This message is reinforced at the Orchard by
counsellors and the medical team. Strang also emphasized that any good addiction-treatment program will have an alumni component so those in recovery can interact with grads who’ve stayed clean over a longer term. “Every Thursday, our clients are welcome to come back, and they have a dinner,” she says. “Then they go to the alumni meeting and they’ll often be asked to be a guest speaker.” A recently retired Orchard counsellor, David Berner, cofounded Canada’s first therapeutic residential treatment centre, X-Kalay, on Vancouver’s West Side in the 1960s. It later expanded to 125 beds. In an
interview in a South Granville–area coffee shop, Berner told the Straight that anyone considering going to a recovery house must realize that there are both private for-profit clinics and government-financed beds operated by nonprofit societies. He cited the Orchard, the Edgewood Treatment Centre in Nanaimo, and Cedars at Cobble Hill as three private operations that know what they’re doing, have “tons of programming” in upscale facilities, and provide reliable aftercare. “They are all similar but very different,” Berner said. “Edgewood has a reputation for being tougher, more hard-nosed, a little bit more by the book.” He noted that nonprofit organizations—such as Turning Point Recovery Society, Last Door Recovery Society, and Pacifica Treatment Centre Society—also have “serious, dedicated staff” committed to helping addicts recover. Although their residential facilities are not akin to first-class hotels, the accommodation is “comfortable”, according to Berner. “They’re clean,” he said. “The food is good.” He also warned that there are disreputable “recovery houses”, sometimes run by sketchy characters, in Surrey and other parts of the Fraser Valley. “They exist solely to do under-the-table deals with pharmacists,” Berner alleged. “Pharmacists give them methadone and they give the pharmacist a kickback.” Finally, he said, there’s the John Volken Academy, which was founded by multimillionaire John Volken in 2001. After selling United Furniture Warehouse more than a decade ago, Volken transferred most of his fortune into a foundation, which funds long-term residential treatment centres in Surrey, Seattle, and Phoenix. At the King George Highway site, students learn job skills in a
45,000-square-foot supermarket onsite, which also includes a furniture department. Volken told the Straight by phone that because it takes time for drug users’ brains to recover and adapt from addiction, he developed a two-year treatment program. “During that time, they learn life skills, job skills, social skills, and leadership skills on their way to become the best that they can be,” Volken said. Meanwhile, Brenda Plant, executive director of Turning Point Recovery Society, told the Straight by phone that clients stay 90 to 120 days in her organization’s abstinence-based residential treatment centres to give them time to stabilize, develop a support network in the community, and complete a transition plan. “They have short-term goals that they have to achieve,” she said. “They get increased independence as they complete phases of our program.” The society also operates a drop-in centre and has opened second-stage housing units for some of those who graduate from treatment, providing a continuum of care. With more than 1,000 British Columbians having died from illicit-drug overdoses in the first eight months of 2017, Plant acknowledged that it’s easy to get pessimistic over what’s being reported in the media. But despite these bleak numbers, she said that recovery is possible, emphasizing that more people are getting clean and sober than are dying in the streets of Vancouver. “What sustains me is that I come to work every day filled with hope that we’re going to keep saving lives and that lives are being saved in the midst of this opioid crisis,” Plant declared. “We have served over 5,000 people in 35 years at Turning Point. That’s 5,000 people who have been given the tools to live a productive and healthy and clean life.” -
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GREEN LIVING
A dietitian dissects plant-based trends > BY L UC Y LA U
things like wood or coal down until they’re little more than carbon”, says hether it’s for eth- Nielsen. You’ve probably seen charical, environmental, coal in face masks and scrubs, but or personal reasons, some savvy locals have incorporated it seems that more it into foods like ice cream, sourdough people are adopting veggie-forward bread, and lemonade. The claim: The lifestyles today than ever before. high temperature required to produce And with good reason: a recent arti- activated charcoal “turns the carbon cle published by Canada’s Institute into little sponges”, explains Nielsen, for Research on which bind drugs Green Living Public Policy and toxins in the states plainly body and prePresented by that plant-based vent them from diets are “better being absorbed for the environin the digestive ment and for tract. As a result, public health” and boast difficult-to- charcoal has been dubbed a “detoxifidispute benefits like disease preven- er” that prevents poisons from affecttion and climate-change mitigation. ing our bodily systems. The hitch: “It’s an insanely healthy way to While charcoal does bond toxins— live,” local registered dietitian Desiree and is even employed to treat drug Nielsen tells the Straight by phone. overdoses—the ingredient “doesn’t “Research shows that people who eat really discriminate”, says Nielsen, more plant-based foods are healthier and can bind medications, supplethan people who have a more pro- ments, and beneficial compounds cessed or animal-based diet. So the like vitamin C. This stops our bodmore people shift in that direction, the ies from absorbing these nutrients. healthier they will be.” The verdict: “It looks cool and if you As vegetarianism and vegan- enjoy playing with it from a culinary ism enter the mainstream, however, perspective, that’s fine,” says Nielsen. so too do a number of plant-based “But it’s not a good detoxifier and fads—from charcoal-spiked carbs to could end up causing you harm if it’s matcha everything—that look (and limiting the amount of vitamins and taste) appealing enough for even supplements you’re consuming from omnivores to gobble up. But do their your food.” detoxifying, nutritional, and immune-boosting claims live up to the OAT MILK A vegan alternative to hype? In light of October being Vege- dairy milks, oat milk is made from tarian Awareness Month (yes, it’s blended and strained oats. Accorda thing), we asked Nielsen to break ing to Nielsen, the food has long been down some of the biggest plant- popular in Scandinavia but has only based food crazes—and their pros recently picked up steam in Canada. and cons—that you may have spotted The claim: Oat milk is a source of protein and essential nutrients like trending in Vancouver of late. calcium and vitamin D. It also has CHARCOAL Typically referred to as a leg up over almond milk because, activated charcoal, this is “essentially unlike water-thirsty almonds, oats a black powder made by burning are grown almost exclusively with Offers valid until October 31, 2017. See toyota.ca for complete details. In the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency between Toyota prices, rates and/or other information contained on www.getyourtoyota.ca and that contained on toyota.ca, the latter shall prevail. Errors and omissions excepted. Lease example: 2018 Prius c Automatic KDTA3P-A, MSRP is $23,830 and includes $1,840 freight/PDI and fees leased at 2.99% over 60 months with $2,250 down payment, equals 260 weekly payments of $58 with a total lease obligation of $17,307. Applicable taxes are extra. Lease 60 mos. based on 100,000 km, excess km charge is $.07. Weekly lease offers available through Toyota Financial Services (TFS) on approved credit to qualified retail lease customers of new and demonstrator Toyota vehicles. Down payment and first weekly payment due at lease inception and next weekly payment due approximately 7 days later and weekly thereafter throughout the term. Visit your Toyota Dealer or www.getyourtoyota.ca for more details. Some conditions apply; offers are time limited and may change without notice. Dealer may lease/sell for less. Each specific model may not be available at each dealer at all times; factory order or dealer trade may be necessary.
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Activated charcoal may look cool in food, but it does little to detoxify the body, says registered dietitian Desiree Nielsen.
rain. “It’s a great eco-friendly choice,” notes Nielsen. The hitch: Some storebought oat milks contain added sugar, which may negate the health benefits. “Try to look for something that’s totally unsweetened,” says Nielsen, who lists SoFresh’s made-inCanada oat beverage as one of her favourites. The verdict: “I think it’s an awesome choice,” says Nielsen. “Between oat milk and soy milk, it’s my new go-to. It tastes delicious.”
and D. It’s also very versatile in the kitchen. “Because it’s so neutral, as long as you marinate it well, it really kind of takes on whatever flavour you give it,” Nielsen adds. “It’s sort of like tofu: a really great blank canvas.” The hitch: While jackfruit may make a great stand-in for pork, the food is not a significant source of protein. In addition, if you’re purchasing canned versions, it’s best to opt for water-packed jackfruit rather than the packaged kind in syrup. The verdict: “It’s amazing,” says Nielsen. “But if you’re plant-based, know it doesn’t have protein, so you can compensate somewhere else in your diet.”
JACKFRUIT A tropical fruit indigen-
ous to India and popular throughout South and Southeast Asia, jackfruit has an “ultraneutral” flavour, says Nielsen, and a starchy, fibrous texture comparable to that of pork. You’ve probably seen it masquerading as vegan “pulled pork” on steamed buns and pizzas served by a number of plant-based eateries around town. The claim: Jackfruit is high in potassium, calcium, and magnesium and is a good source of vitamins C
ADAPTOGENIC HERBS With roots
in Chinese and Indian Ayurvedic medicine, adaptogenic herbs are plants that work with your adrenal system to “help your body adapt and find a new balance in times of stress”, explains Nielsen. They often come in powder form and may be incorporated
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into lattes, chocolates, and smoothies. (Vancouver’s Nectar Juicery makes a tasty almond-milk latte that uses an adaptogen called ashwagandha.) The claim: There are many adaptogenic herbs, such as matcha, moringa, and rhodiola, that are said to offer a myriad of benefits, including lowering cortisol, the hormone that’s triggered in chronic- and high-stress situations; serving as an excellent source of iron; and reducing stress-induced suppression of the body’s immune system. The hitch: While some users report positive effects from the consumption of adaptogenic herbs, the literature does not always support them. Some adaptogens may also interfere with the function of medications. The verdict: “It’s important to do your research because some [adaptogenic herbs] have great history, but not a lot of great science,” states Nielsen. “Speak with a health professional so you know which one is right for you based on your needs.” -
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HEALTHY LIVING
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he executive director of the Registered Massage Therapists’ Association of B.C., Brenda Locke, wants to correct some misconceptions about the profession that she represents. First of all, RMTs, as registered massage therapists are often called, are part of a provincially regulated profession. Secondly, she told the Georgia Straight by phone, B.C.–licensed RMTs are among the best-trained in the world. “People make the assumption that it’s this ‘spa world’ that we deal with,” Locke said. “In fact, less than eight percent of our members work in spas. We don’t advocate for spas. We are about health care.” October is Massage Therapy Month in Canada, and Locke is marking this by elevating the public’s understanding. “Some RMTs go and do home visits, and that’s necessary—especially with severe musculoskeletal challenges when people can’t get up,” she said. “But for the most part, they’re working in clinical environments, probably more than 90 percent.” In recent years, a great deal of research on the efficacy of massage therapy has been published in the International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork. Papers explore such topics as whether massage therapy can alleviate stress among night-shift workers or reduce musculoskeletal pain. Locke said this helps address the expectations of insurers, including ICBC, that want to see evidence of the value of treatments. But sometimes the public will visit unlicensed bodyworkers rather than RMTs only to later discover that their insurer won’t cover the cost of their treatments. Voula Soursos, an RMT at White Oaks Massage & Wellness in White Rock, told the Straight by phone that this can occur when a physician instructs someone who’s been in a motor-vehicle accident to undergo massage therapy. But this person might not know the difference between an RMT and an unlicensed practitioner, let alone that an insurer will only pay for an RMT’s massage therapy. “They get all these treatments and they realize they’re not even covered by ICBC or by their extended health,” Soursos said. “They’ve wasted all this time and money.” There are other risks, too. Anyone who wants to become an RMT must graduate from a recognized massagetherapy program and pass a licensing exam administered by the College of Massage Therapists of B.C. Plus, they must undergo a criminal-record check. None of these requirements apply to unlicensed practitioners. “I’ve had car-accident patients where I’ve said, ‘I’m pretty sure your wrist is broken. You need to go to emergency,’ ” Soursos said. “Bodyworkers don’t know how to do that
RMT Voula Soursos says insurers get skittish over unlicensed practitioners.
kind of front-line assessment.” Soursos listed a multitude of health conditions that she treats as an RMT, including musculoskeletal disorders, orthopedic conditions, chronic pain, back pain, headaches, insomnia, sports-related injuries, whiplash, muscle strains, sprains, carpal tunnel syndrome, and chronic fatigue syndrome. She also sees patients undergoing postsurgical rehabilitation from orthopedic surgery and offers pre- and postnatal care. “We follow a treatment protocol, depending on what condition you come in with,” she said. “There are contraindications to massage therapy, and we go through an assessment process.” In 2015, the International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork published a paper pointing out that massage therapy is “increasingly offered” in medical facilities in the United States. Yet in B.C., RMTs are not working in public hospitals. Locke said that this is despite massage therapy being “very effective” in helping new mothers deal with health challenges and bond with their infants. She also said that research has demonstrated that massage therapy can, in some cases, be as effective as surgery in treating osteoarthritis of the knee. And this is one reason why she believes that there’s a role for RMTs in long-term–care homes. “We know that the Mayo Clinic in Rochester [Minnesota] has massage therapists on staff,” Locke added. “We have a lot of massage therapists in B.C., and they’re all busy. So it’s not like we’re looking for more avenues, but we know that we could do a very good job in hospitals.” -
HEALTHY LIVING
Flu shots can save lives > B Y C A R LITO PA B LO
F
lu season is around the corner, and when Dr. Danuta Skowronski is asked what she would tell people who do not want to get the vaccine, she says it depends on who she’s talking to. Skowronski, who is often sought out by the media regarding the contagious respiratory illness, is the lead epidemiologist for inf luenza and emerging respiratory pathogens with the B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC). “For people who have high-risk conditions for serious influenza complications—by that I mean the elderly and people with heart and lung conditions of any age, specially—those individuals should understand that the influenza vaccine can be lifesaving for them,” Skowronski told the Georgia Straight in a phone interview. Family members and caregivers of these individuals should also get the flu shot, she added. “The vaccine can help prevent direct transmission to them, and you don’t want to be the one to have transmitted that virus to your vulnerable loved one or the person in your care,” Skowronski said. The physician also said that even though the vaccine doesn’t render someone invincible, “for individuals at high risk of hospitalization or death, you know, even a small amount of protection can be very meaningful.” In the case of healthy individuals, Skowronski said that the flu shot is “still a valuable option”. “It is an individual choice whether or not to get the vaccine, and you may have particular reasons or a particular context for getting it,” she said. “Perhaps you do want to avoid a miserable illness. And influenza is a miserable illness. You know, a week of extreme fatigue, ache, cough… It’s quite nasty. And the vaccine
Dr. Danuta Skowronski describes influenza as a miserable illness.
will help reduce that risk.” Skowronski has been working on flu with the BCCDC for almost 20 years. According to her, the flu shot is different from other “excellent vaccines”, like the one for measles, which, she said, people need in order to stop outbreaks from occurring. “Influenza is very complex,” Skowronski explained. “Influenza is not like our other vaccine-preventable diseases. It’s the only vaccine that changes every year, that we have to readminister every year to keep pace with the evolving virus.” The flu season usually starts in the fall and lasts until spring. “We are currently already picking up some lowlevel influenza activity, but sustained transmission in the community typically occurs sometime between November and April,” Skowronski noted. In its first surveillance bulletin for the 2017-18 season, the BCCDC reports that the influenza A virus subtype H3N2 was dominant in the sporadic activity observed in the province during the week of October 1 to 7. “What we don’t like are epidemics that are due to H3N2, because
those are typically associated with more hospitalizations, more deaths, more care-facility outbreaks, and the elderly are particularly affected by H3N2,” Skowronski said. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization, which provides recommendations to the Public Health Agency of Canada, suggests that people six months of age and older get vaccinated against the flu every year. A 2015 study by Statistics Canada showed that about a third of the population aged 12 years and older across the country received a flu vaccination in 2013-14, a slight increase compared to 2003. The study also looked at immunization rates for people aged 12 to 64 with one or more chronic conditions. These include asthma, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, effects of stroke, obesity, bronchitis, emphysema, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In B.C., the rate of f lu immunization for people with chronic conditions rose from 31 percent in 2003 to 35 percent in 2013-14. For those with no chronic conditions, the rate increased from 19 percent in 2003 to 24 percent in 2013-14. “Where I would like to see it [rate of immunization] higher is within those at-risk groups, because I truly believe that it’s a double tragedy when someone who has an underlying condition succumbs due to inf luenza and could have been protected against it,” Skowronski said. In addition to getting a shot, one can greatly reduce the risk of getting or spreading influenza through some simple steps: wash hands regularly; cough and sneeze into shirtsleeves inside the elbow rather than on one’s hands; and when sick, stay at home, drink a lot of fluids, and get plenty of rest. -
OCTOBER 19 – 26 / 2017 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT 17
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HEALTHY LIVING
THE OPEN
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Naam Restaurant
Golden Plate Awards Best Vegetarian 20 years running Winner Winner Winner Winner Tractor serves dishes—like grilled albacore tuna (left) and the Grains & Greens salad—with heart-healthy fats.
Fuel yourself with good fats
W
hen people set out on dates, hemp seeds, sunflower and a path toward healthy pumpkin seeds, and toasted coconut. eating, it’s no wonder so many give up: TURF (2041 West 4th Avenue) “The there’s a ton of conflicting informa- kitchen team designs menu items to tion out there, and nutrition is a highly be complete with proteins, healthy complex field. A new approach to fats, and lots of plants and greens,” optimal health through a specific diet says Warren Springer, an instructor may not be easy to grasp at first, but it’s and event coordinator at the fitness gaining traction even as it turns con- studio/shop/café. “We want people to be fulfilled and keep them going for ventional wisdom on its head. It calls for little consumption of their active day.” carbohydrates and high amounts of For a dish that would get an MMT healthy fats. Those “good” fats are in stamp of approval, consider the Baked coconut oil, avocados, olives and olive Oats and Groats. It consists of buckoil, seafood, eggs, nuts and seeds like wheat groats, oats, apples, pears, pealmonds and chia cans, house-made seeds, and more. hemp milk, appleHere are just a sauce, coconut few places around sugar, cinnamon, Gail Johnson Vancouver that nutmeg, and cocomanage to serve healthy fats in tan- nut oil, all topped with a chia jam. talizing ways. “The Baked Oats and Groats are a new take on boring oatmeal,” Springer TRACTOR (various locations) “We says, noting that it’s also vegan and are all about everyday healthy foods, gluten-free. “It’s a sweet-tasting comand that includes healthy fats,” says fort food, great for cold weather and Meghan Clarke, who runs the res- perfect to have after a morning worktaurant with her husband, Steve. out and to get you through the day.” “Our approach is simply to eat everything healthy in moderation. FIELD AND SOCIAL (415 Dunsmuir Everyday healthy foods represent a Street) “Field and Social creates carebalance of veggies, lean meats and fully crafted salads using only the fish, whole intact grains, and heart- freshest ingredients; we cut our greens fresh every morning,” says managing healthy nuts and fats. “Our grilled avocado has been on partner Barbora Samieian. “Our team our menu since the day we launched aims to create seasonally inspired salin Kitsilano in June 2013, and it ads that are balanced in flavour, nutricontinues to be one of our biggest- tion, and texture.” The team recently collaborated selling menu items,” she says. “We season them with extra-virgin olive with a local registered dietitian, Lindoil, salt, pepper, and lemon. We also say Pleskot, on its Macro Bowl X. It encourage customers to add a grilled features wheat berries, kale, and roprotein to their salads…like grilled maine topped with pickled red cabalbacore tuna and grilled salmon— bage, feta, avocado, and watermelon radish, with a choice of roasted chickboth a source of healthy fat.” The Tractor Grains & Greens salad en or organic tempeh, all with a basil is another healthy-fat extravaganza: and white balsamic drizzle. “Fat is essential to help us absorb besides arugula, baby kale, shaved carrots, snap peas, apple, dried cran- certain vitamins—A, D, E, and K— berries, farro, quinoa, lentils, and so including them helps our bodies millet, it includes hemp seeds, hazel- maximize on the fuel and nutritional nuts, and feta cheese. Then there’s benefits of some of the other ingredithe Tractor Power Cookie, with oats, ents in the bowl,” Samieian says. “We
Best Eats
know that fat plays a role in keeping us not only full longer after eating but also more satisfied, which leads to more stable energy and the ability to listen to our bodies’ fuel and nutrient needs. “Fat carries flavour…making these nutrient-packed meals even more appealing as a healthy and delicious lunch or dinner for busy people,” she adds. SMAK (1139 West Pender Street and 545 Granville Street) “To happily nourish as many people as possible: that’s what gets us up every morning,” says SMAK founder Brendan Ladner. “Eating better, having sustained energy for the rest of the day: this is what fuels us to make the world a better place, and healthy oils are the base of it all. “We are so committed to healthy fats that we base most of our hot foods, like our popular Green Curry Chicken Bowl, on camelina oil, an omega 3-6-9 superstar,” he adds. The Salmon SMAK Box, various versions of which have been on the menu since the restaurant launched more than four years ago, was designed with the intention of packing as much nutrition into a dish as possible. Among many other ingredients, it contains house-roasted salmon, avocado, spicy houseroasted pumpkin seeds, edamame, chia seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, roasted yams, red pepper, red and green cabbage, basil, and mint. “As our SMAK boxes are one of our signature items, we’ve made it dense and nourishing, not forgetting that SMAK means taste,” Ladner says. “The Salmon SMAK Box tastes amazing.…Plus, one of the reasons we all enjoy eating out is that the dishes, like this one, can feature so many more ingredients than makes sense at home. The best time to eat a Salmon SMAK Box is at lunch, because once you are done eating a box like this, you can have the sustained energy to do anything.” -
AFGHAN HORSEMEN RESTAURANT SINCE 1974
9 Year Anniversary th
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NEW ORLEANS INSPIRED CUISINE
FAT TUESDAY!
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Authentic Greek Food Extensive Wine & Bar List
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Stay Connected @GeorgiaStraight OCTOBER 19 – 26 / 2017 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT 19
FOOD
The epitome of Italian wine
I
t was a recent rainy day when mandarin orange, fresh lemonade, I found myself among many and hints of nougat on the palate. members of the local wine trade A light salinity is carried by fresh and media cloistered in one acidity; going seafood for food-pairof the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver’s ing is automatic. From takeout sushi banquet rooms for a seminar pro- to homemade linguini and clams, duced by the Institute of Fine Italian this wine will come up a treat! Wines—Premium Brands. For the record, the moniker of this high-quality MARCHESI ANTINORI TIGNANcollective of producers from all over ELLO TOSCANA IGT 2014 (TusItaly sounds way more romantic in its cany; $92.99, B.C. Liquor Stores) The native tongue: Istituto del Vino Ital- Antinori family is synonymous with Italian wine, and no wonder: they’ve iano di Qualità Grandi Marchi. Although this consortium of big been at it for 26 generations. Honestly, names is known for producing excel- that’s not a typo. Tignanello is a global success story, a style lent wine for generoften referred to ations, moderator as a Super Tuscan. (and European Sangiovese, Cabcategory manager Kurtis Kolt ernet Franc, and for B.C. Liquor Stores) Barbara Philip brought up a Cabernet Sauvignon grown in calcarvery good point: the members of this eous soil are aged for 12 months in bargroup are important not only because rel, then another year in bottle before of their wines but also for being great release. Pulling the cork and giving it a champions of their respective regions solid decanting unfurls plenty of dusty and being integral in putting them on cocoa, violets, black berry fruit, roasted the map. In many cases, their wines Italian plums, a gentle earthy characare the epitome of the classic styles of ter, and a fresh levity throughout. where they are grown. RADICI This week, a half-dozen of my fa- MASTROBERARDINO vourite wines are presented. If you TAURASI DOCG 2013 (Campaare having trouble tracking some of nia; $75.99, Liberty Wine Merthem down or are looking to save chants, Commercial Drive) There’s yourself a few bucks (in many cases, a decent diurnal temperature swing what follows is each winery’s top-tier from day to evening in these vinebottling), you can have faith that each yards, allowing this 100-percent producer is a solid steward of the land Aglianico to maintain bright, juicy and faithful interpreter of its terroir. acidity from your first to last sip. On You can confidently purchase any the nose, there are forest-floor notes available wine from each producer’s of dried berries, herbs, and spices, lineup knowing it will be an authentic but then waves of crunchy red berry fruit, like cranberries and raspberrepresentation of its place. ries, wash upon the palate, with ARGIOLAS COSTAMOLINO VER- some lightly grippy tannins holding MENTINO DI SARDEGNA DOC everything together. Further sips 2016 (Sardinia; $18.49, B.C. Liquor bring a mix of ripe heirloom tomaStores) Fermented in stainless steel toes, a hint of cedar, and a crack of with a little bit of time spent on the peppermint on the finish. Hot tip: lees postfermentation, this vibrant the 2008 vintage is currently on Libwhite blooms with orange blos- erty Wine Merchant’s shelves, and som and jasmine, leading to juicy it’s totally hitting its stride.
The Bottle
S E A N M C KE NZ IE
D A VE M A T T HE W
S
SAVE 2 $
00
Available at and PARTICIPATING RETAILERS
*Pricing in effect to October 28, 2017 and subject to change without notice. Please drink responsibly.
20 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT OCTOBER 19 – 26 / 2017
*
RIVERA IL FALCONE CASTEL DEL MONTE ROSSO RISERVA DOCG 2011 (Puglia; availability TBD) We’re
a few weeks away from this wine arriving in stores like Firefly Fine Wines and Ales on Cambie Street, so consider this advance notice. (It’s gonna go quick; you’ve been warned.) Made from two indigenous grape varieties, Nero di Troia and Montepulciano, there are waves of minty black fruit up front, then umami notes of freshcarved roast beef and sun-dried tomatoes toward the very long finish. It’s juicy and opulent, with just enough toasty French oak to provide that fruit a sturdy pedestal. Before opening the bottle, I’d ensure your lamb chops are already on the grill.
MICHELE CHIARLO CEREQUIO BAROLO DOCG 2013 (Piedmont;
$117.99, B.C. Liquor Stores) A true family effort begun in 1956. Michele Chiarlo is the patriarch, with his sons Stefano and Alberto now at the helm and specializing in the big-four indigenous varieties of the region: Nebbiolo, Barbera, Cortese, and Moscato. This Nebbiolo is all plums, leather, cherries, and anise, swirled together and wonderfully perfumed. Elegant and ready to drink, though giving it a few years of age will come back to you in spades.
PIO CESARE BAROLO DOCG 2013
(Piedmont; $121.65, Marquis Wine Cellars) Five generations in, this producer offers a Barolo with textbook tar and roses in its aromatics, then peppery plums, black currants, and a splash of balsamic reduction. Limestone and clay soils bring crisp minerality, but 30 months in oak also bring a good dose of tannin. Lay this one down a few years. To l e a r n m o re a b o u t t h e i n s t i tute and its producers, visit www. istitutograndimarchi.it/.
ARTS
To fully appreciate the journey of Pamela B Y ANDR EA WARN ER
Mala Sinha’s play Happy Place, we have to go back to 2012 and Sinha’s Dora Award–winning playwriting debut, her one-woman show, Crash. Though not strictly memoir, Crash was inspired by Sinha’s own experiences and her heartbeat pulses under the words. She was brutally raped by a stranger when she moved to Montreal to begin theatre school, and experienced a breakdown and hospitalization several years later, suffering from PTSD and becoming increasingly suicidal. Her traumas are the bones upon which Crash is built, and the way she turns her harrowing experiences into art is cathartic, of course, but it’s more than that. Crash is an act of generosity, and the narrative Sinha maps so beautifully in its pages informs the basis of her follow-up, the emotionally wrenching and darkly funny Happy Place, which premiered in Toronto in 2015. “One of Pamela’s lines in Crash refers to the facility where she went: ‘Broken women determined to die helping each other live,’ and that’s what this play is,” director Roy Surette tells the Straight during a visit to the Post at 750, where rehearsals are under way. “She said there were so many extraordinary stories there, so she took what her experience was and decided to shine a light on a bunch of different women from very diverse backgrounds.”
Mental illness gets a human face
Diane Brown, Nicola Cavendish, Sereana Malani, Adele Noronha, Laara Sadiq, Colleen Wheeler, and Donna Yamamoto join for Happy Place. Riun Garner photo.
writing on the page is secretive—until you get into the depth of it that Roy Surette and the cast have helped to open up,” Cavendish In Happy Place, a diverse dream team of female actors explains. “It’s quite a takes on trauma and stigma, with laughs along the way different game now.” Surette is surrounded by a cast that manifests Cavendish’s character, Mildred, is older than Sinha’s vision. An ensemble of up-and-comers and the others and “she’s got a mouth on her.” She’s award-winning veterans populates Happy Place’s also deeply traumatized, and it’s this subject, the inpatient facility: Diane Brown, Nicola Cavendish, painfulness of it, that Cavendish resisted at fi rst. Sereana Malani, Adele Noronha, Laara Sadiq, Col- Happy Place, she says, requires her and her castleen Wheeler, and Donna Yamamoto are seated mates to delve into unknown reserves, dig deep, around their director in a loose circle. It’s been and pull up whatever is there. almost 20 years since Surette left both Vancouver “It’s such an esoteric and inarticulable thing,” she and Touchstone Theatre. Not only is he directing says. “It’s not a very healthy play to be in. Literally, it’s the Vancouver premiere of Happy Place, the first not, if you commit entirely—and acting is not about show of Touchstone’s 2017-18 season, he’s resum- pretending, acting is about real response to real iming his role as the company’s artistic director, a pulse. I don’t like being in it, but I’m so proud to be position he occupied from 1984 until 1997, when in it. It’s so vitally important that this voice come out he departed for Victoria’s Belfry Theatre. into the public. I’m thrilled that my stupidity has had Laara Sadiq, a friend and colleague of Sinha’s, an about-face, and I’m honoured to be in it.” originally brought Happy Place to Surette’s attenNegotiating the play’s themes has been difficult tion. He loved the sprawling, darkly funny, emo- for everybody involved. Many of the actors have tionally wrenching play about a diverse group of worked together before, but they are now bonded women, linked only by their therapist and a his- as a group. Throughout the interview, they offer tory of attempted suicide. When Diane Brown, ac- each other subtle gestures of comfort, strength, and tor and artistic director of Ruby Slippers Theatre, solidarity: leaning into each other, squeezing each approached him about a coproduction with her other’s hands, smiling understanding, touching a company, Surette suggested Happy Place. knee gently when one tears up. “When I read this play and I saw these incredDonna Yamamoto, who plays Louise, the counible roles for women, I jumped onboard right sellor, has been acting for decades, and is also a diraway,” Brown says. “We discussed having a multi- ector and theatre producer. She didn’t expect Happy cultural cast, and it’s clearly multigenerational. Place to affect her the way it has. All these things are a beautiful and poignant way “Because these women are such incredible acto redefi ne ‘normal’ on Canadian stages, which tors and bringing these truths out, I find it hard we both know needs to happen.” to go home sometimes,” Yamamoto says. “I think Diwali in B.C. came on as Happy Place’s third about this stuff when I go home, and I didn’t think presenter around the time the cast came togeth- I would do that. But there’s been some nights where er. Some of the actors credit Surette as their I—I actually was at Superstore on Thanksgiving and motivation for signing on, while others were I was just going over my lines, I had some quiet time already fans of the play itself. Cavendish is the before going over to my brother’s, and I just started only one who said no, initially. crying. I was very surprised.” “When I first read it, I didn’t want to do it, Sadiq’s character, Nina, is “a woman who has primarily because the material is tough and the craved and yearned for connection all her life,
THINGS TO DO
and has never really had it”. Sadiq mentions that in Happy Place’s acknowledgments, Sinha talks about the value of her family. “She says, ‘Your love propels me forward,’ ” Sadiq says, choking up. “I’m sorry, that just really gets me. There’s something about that, about love propelling you forward, that resonates in this play, that really gets me on a human level.” “The thing that struck me fi rst about this play is the incredible amount of humanity she [Pamela] brings to all of these characters,” says Brown, whose character, Joyce, is a woman deeply in denial about her problems. “She’s putting a really human, nuanced face to mental illness.” Human is a word that comes up again to describe the power of Sinha’s writing, and it echoes with the cast’s youngest members as well. Sereana Malani and Adele Noronha play Celine and Samira, respectively. Malani’s character has been triggered by trauma that her four-year-old son has gone through. “It’s been interesting finding the similarities and the parallels [to Celine],” Malani says. “She has huge resistance to a lot of the counselling and a lot of the work, a lot of digging that is required of her to move forward, to heal, and I can really relate to that.” Noronha’s Samira is essentially an extension of the primary character in Crash, inspired by Sinha herself. Noronha recalls how years ago someone told her that one day she should aim to be able to do Crash. “I remember going to it when it came to the Gateway and going, ‘Holy crap, no,’ ” she says with a laugh. “I mean, it’s an astounding play, but it’s so raw and so big.” Since then, Noronha and Sinha have talked occasionally by phone sharing their experiences of playing some of the same characters. Then Happy Place came along. “You never know what someone’s going through, and you don’t know what they have to keep going with,” Noronha says. Wheeler, who plays the wealthy, troubled Rosemary, also responds to the script’s empathy for its characters. “The brilliance of what Pamela has done in this see next page
ARTS High five
Five events you just can’t miss this week
Guest pick
TURANDOT (October 19 and 21 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre) A culture-mashing new spectacle gives this epic work fresh life.
Editor’s choice PIANO POWERHOUSE You may remember wunderkind George Li from when he appeared in the Vancouver Recital Society’s Next Generation Series in 2011—the same year the then 10th-grader performed for President Barack Obama at the White House. Now, at 22, the powerful pianist has only gotten better, scoring everything from a silver medal at the 2015 International Tchaikovsky Competition to the 2017 Arthur Waser Prize. You’ll get a chance to catch up with this talent, praised as much for his technical skills as his expressive abilities, when he comes back to the VRS, showcasing a piano lover’s feast of Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin, and, of course, Sergei Rachmaninoff. Opening it all? A Joseph Haydn sonata; Grammophone called Li’s performance of it on his recent Live at the Marinsky album “dextrous, bubbling, life-affirming”. George Li is at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts on Sunday (October 22).
ANGELA CHENG (October 20 and 21 at the Orpheum and October 23 at the Centennial Theatre) The Canadian piano star tackles Maurice Ravel’s showstopping concerto. HONOUR: CONFESSIONS OF A MUMBAI COURTESAN (October 20 to November 4 at the Vancity Culture Lab) Mumbai’s red-light district comes to life in this searing solo show. CITY ON EDGE (To February 18, 2018, at the Museum of Vancouver) A thrilling, immersive look at our long history of shit-disturbing. PHIL HANLEY (October 26 to 28 at the Comedy MIX) The former Vancouverite makes a brief return from standup success in the Big Apple.
CARVING OUT MORE SPACE The Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art is planning a major renovation and expansion for its 10th anniversary next year. The facility will undergo a $1.5-million overhaul to repurpose its space at 639 Hornby Street, adding a new 640-square-foot exhibition gallery and a 650-square-foot program space where offices now sit on its mezzanine level. The work is scheduled to begin in December, in time for completion in April 2018, followed by a formal opening on June 14, when the gallery hosts a 10th-anniversary gala. Other planned improvements include a redesign of the lobby and a covering for the facility’s 250-square-foot terrace. There will also be upgrades to the gallery’s lighting, heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems. OCTOBER 19 – 26 / 2017 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT 21
ARTS
PRESENTS
TERO SAARINEN COMPANY (FINLAND) MORPHED
Dancer James Gnam wears Animal Triste’s central costuming device: strings of pearls that capture both the civilized and the tribal. Matthieu Doyon photo.
Draped in pearls, dancers track human evolution > B Y JAN ET SMITH
W
hen choreographer Mélanie Demers finally makes her Vancouver debut from the vanguard of Montreal’s dance scene, she’ll be taking on nothing less than the evolution of our species. “We started the piece and I thought, ‘Maybe I’m being a little too ambitious,’ ” she says over the phone from Montreal with a self-effacing laugh, speaking to the Straight before heading out here to present the show Animal Triste with her own company, Mayday, and Vancouver’s plastic orchid factory. “I realized I’m trying to tell a short history of humankind! But dance has the power to go to the heart of those great existential questions.” Demers has never been one to shy away from challenges. After dancing for Montreal’s pummelling O Vertigo company for a decade, the artist says she longed to create work that would express more politics and meaning. “Dance artists are sometimes too silent, I felt,” explains Demers, who launched her own company in 2007. Her search sent her on a journey through Africa to Haiti and South America, teaching and working in dance. Sobered by the poverty she witnessed, she came back emboldened, ready to create choreography that was vocal, socially conscious, and politically charged. Her works are edgy and darkly humorous, and in the past, theatrical with spoken text. Animal Triste marks a slight departure, created as it was, last year, after the birth of her first baby. “I had a new perspective on art, love, life,” she says. “I really wanted to feel what dance is, to really give it its evocative power.” Demers assembled a diverse dream team of four dancers: Marc Boivin, MIKKI KUNT TU, PHOTO
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SPEAKING OF DANCE CONVERSATIONS Cultural Policies in a Global World: A Comparison Moderated by Janet Smith, Arts Editor, The Georgia Straight
Tuesday, October 24, 2017 • 7pm • FREE Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, SFU Woodward’s 22 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT OCTOBER 19 – 26 / 2017
S E A S O N PA R T N E R S
Happy Place
from previous page
play is she’s put these women together in one place, and being with these other people helps them heal in some way,” she says. But rehearsals haven’t been easy, Wheeler acknowledges, crediting Surette with making the space a safe one in which to tackle the darkness and draw out the laughter. “Roy calls us his princess-warriors,” she says with a smile as everybody laughs. Surette and the cast are quick to reassert that there’s plenty of comedy in Happy Place, despite, or maybe because of, the subject matter. “There’s humour in tragedy, so there are laughs in this play. A lot of laughs,” Brown promises. “I keep asking Roy, ‘Roy, am I smiling too much to be depressed?’ ” Noronha says. She turns to Malani. “I think you have that line, it’s brilliant.” “ ‘Because when you laugh here, no one thinks you’re feeling better,’ ” Malani says. “Yes!” Everybody involved has certain hopes about the potential impact of Happy Place on its audiences. Brown wants women to be empowered to talk about mental illness, and help end the stigma and
Brianna Lombardo, Riley Sims, and plastic orchid’s own James Gnam. Together, they started exploring that “sad animal” (as the title translates) known as the human, a creature they follow from its primal beginnings to its search for beauty and family connection, and finally to spirituality. “We tried to approach the physicality in a really animalistic way, but at the same time we tried to avoid clichés around that,” Demers explains, adding she and her cast all read Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens, the book that tracks human progress from near-ape society to civilization. “It’s really sexual, really instinctive.” Among the most striking images in the piece are the strings of pearls draped around the performers’ necks, a costuming concept they explored early on and then adopted as an integral symbol in Animal Triste. “The pearls convey the civilized aspect of us humans, but also the parallel to tribal jewellery,” Demers explains. “They’re really something very oppressive to the dancers, having something around their necks.” Expect intense, raw, theatrical movement, and watch Demers build, as she often does, a kind of society in her work—even if it’s a society of pearl-wrapped “sad animals”. “The ages go from Riley in his early 20s to Marc, who’s 50,” she says. “I’m kind of known for having diversity in terms of the body, language, skin colour, culture. That’s part of the microcosm I like to create on-stage. How can we be together if we’re not the same? We’re trying to invent a kind of unison on-stage.” Mayday and plastic orchid factory present Animal Triste at the Scotiabank Dance Centre from Thursday to Saturday (October 19 to 21).
shame around mental-health issues. Sadiq’s hopes circle back to Sinha’s original inspiration: Happy Place as a testament to the real diversity of women struggling with mental health and trauma. This production is diversity in practice, and it’s about time. “When we talk about diversity, all those fucking conversations that we’ve been wrestling with for so long, so, so long, here is Touchstone doing it. And Ruby Slippers and Diwali in B.C. Not sitting around talking about it, not spouting statistics, or having academic discussions or doing fucking surveys or hosting yet another panel,” Sadiq says. “It’s happening and it’s being done and no one asked, ‘Can we do this? Should we do this? How do we do this? How do we do it properly, who are we going to offend?’ Fuck it. Here it is. So to anyone who is asking those questions about how do we do this and is it possible and what’s going on, it’s right here, motherfuckers. Come see the show.” Happy Place, presented by Touchstone Theatre in association with Ruby Slippers Theatre and Diwali in B.C., runs from Thursday (October 19) to October 29 at the Firehall Arts Centre.
Vancouver Moving Theatre with the Carnegie Community Centre and the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians with a host of community partners presents
I4th Annual DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE
HEART CITY FESTIVAL OF THE
October 25 to November 5 SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS WOMEN IN THE ROUND Dalannah Gail Bowen, Sarah Cadeau, Renae Morriseau Wed Oct 25, 7:30pm. Carnegie Theatre, 401 Main Free SUMMONING (NO WORDS) in response to violence against women Interactive installation w/sound recordings by Girvan, Macatumpag, Menard, Scofield, Tagaq, Vishwas, Wapp Opening Oct 26, 7:30pm, KW Production Studio, 111 W. Hastings By donation SAWAGI TAIKO & TZO’KAM Japanese taiko, First Nation singers/drummers Fri Oct 27, 7pm, World Art Centre, SFU Woodwards, 149 W. Hastings Free CROW’S NEST AND OTHER PLACES SHE’S GONE Weaving choreography and storytelling Olivia C. Davies, Rosemary Georgeson, Emily Long Fri Oct 27, Sat Oct 28, 7:45pm (pre-event Summoning 7pm). KW Production Studio, 111 W. Hastings $10 Suggested donation $10 SOUNDS GLOBAL ENSEMBLE Jonathan Bernard, Moshe Denburg, Bic, Hoang, Lan Tung Sun Oct 29, 3pm. Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden, 578 Carrall By donation TRUE VOICE THEATRE PROJECT Exploring community, diversity, homelessness Creativa International: Luisa Jojic, Ulla Laidlaw, Ariel Martz-Oberlander Mon Oct 30, 7:30pm. Firehall Arts Centre, 280 E. Cordova Pay what you can MISSING Marie Clements (libretto), Brian Current (composer) City Opera Vancouver/Pacific Opera Victoria Public performances Nov 3, 7, 9, 11, 8pm; Nov 5, 2pm York Theatre, 639 Commercial Dr. Tickets: thecultch.com ILLICIT: STORIES FROM A HARM REDUCTION MOVEMENT Thurs Nov 2, 6:30pm. KW Production Studio, 111 W. Hastings By donation BREATH-AHHH Theatre Terrific explores breath: something we all share Fri Nov 3, 6pm; Sat Nov 4, 2pm. KW Atrium Studio, 111 W. Hastings Free JAZZ CONFLUENCE Carnegie Jazz Band & Brad Muirhead Quartet Fri Nov 3, 7pm. Carnegie Theatre, 401 Main. Free
UKRAINIAN HALL CONCERT & SUPPER Barvinok Choir, Dovbush Dancers, Sawagi Taiko, Raven Spirit Dance Sun Nov 5, 3pm. Ukrainian Hall, 805 E. Pender Tickets $25, 604.254.3436
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$10. For start locations and further details visit website. WOMEN AT WORK: CHINATOWN/STRATHCONA – HOME & NEIGHBOURHOOD 1917-1960 Marcia Toms. Sun Oct 29, 11am SNEAK PEEK OF CHINATOWN Judy Lam Maxwell, Steven Wong. Sat Nov 4, 11am
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OCTOBER 19 – 26 / 2017 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT 23
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SATURDAY & MONDAY, OCTOBER 28 & 30 8PM, ORPHEUM SUNDAY, OCTOBER 29 2PM, ORPHEUM Bramwell Tovey conductor Dame Evelyn Glennie percussion* JENNIFER HIGDON Percussion Concerto* SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 10 in E minor Dame Evelyn Glennie is the world’s foremost solo percussionist, an extraordinary artist whose performances thrill audiences worldwide. And Maestro Tovey conducts one of the great symphonies of the 20th century, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10. PRE-CONCERT TALK: OCTOBER 28 & 30, 7:05PM, FREE TO TICKETHOLDERS MASTERWORKS GOLD SERIES SPONSOR
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24 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT OCTOBER 19 – 26 / 2017
In Morphed, seven men struggle toward a new sensitivty, surrounded by long, metaphorical ropes. Heikki Tuuli photo.
Morphing masculinity on-stage Finnish dance dynamo Tero Saarinen draws on his homeland, the globe, and society > B Y JA NE T S M ITH
T
hanks to its bright midnight-sun lighting, sleek set design, and angular orchestral soundtrack by Esa-Pekka Salonen, the dance work Morphed has a definite Nordic feel. Just how Finland has influenced the work of choreographer Tero Saarinen is an apt subject these days: the northern European country is celebrating its centennial this year. Still, what makes Morphed so fascinating is that it also carries with it so much of what the dance artist has discovered outside of his home country. His quest for inspiration once took the former classical-ballet star as far afield as Nepal and Japan—but he admits the remote country lovingly called Suomi by its inhabitants still holds its power. “Those ingredients we are growing up with, all those f lavours mould us,” the articulate choreographer tells the Straight from Williamstown, New York, amid a North American tour that DanceHouse soon brings here. “Even if I don’t think I present ‘Finnish contemporary dance’, I’m carrying that mental landscape. Finland is a particular kind of country because of all the isolation and those geographical clichés, the long dark period and then this overexposure of light. That does affect us. And also, it’s a big country, but we are only 5.5 million people, and everybody has space around them.” Saarinen grew up in a small westcoast city called Pori, immersed in gymnastics, hockey, and soccer. “My parents were sports freaks,” he says, “so my body was ready for the extremities in the ballet world and all those rules that style incorporates.”
Though he didn’t start studying classical ballet until he was 18, he was soon a star at the Finnish National Ballet, featuring as a soloist from 1988 to 1992. But in the latter year, he left the company, feeling limited by men’s roles in that classical world and looking for new inspiration. “I felt I wanted to explore something else and also challenge the dancing man in me. And I turned to look at older traditions,” he explains. “It was interesting because Finland had a young dance history and I was intrigued by older dance cultures.” Saarinen’s quest took him to study Nepalese traditional dance in Kathmandu, and then kabuki theatre, aikido, and—especially— butoh in Japan (where he studied under the master Kazuo Ohno). When he came back to his home country, he started unpacking all this research, establishing Tero Saarinen Company in 1996. When Vancouver audiences see its Morphed, a work for seven male dancers, they’ll notice the f luidly eclectic mix of inf luences he still draws upon—the grotesque contortions of butoh, the grace of ballet, and the athleticism of martial arts. But they’ll see a lot more too, helped in part by the deliberate diversity of the dancers he’s chosen to perform—ones with backgrounds as far-f lung as breakdance and ballet, and ranging in age, skin colour, and body type. In Morphed, Saarinen explores masculinity in the most authentic way possible. He calls it “finding other frequencies of manhood”. “We were talking about ‘How could we be better human beings, with more sensitivities and sensuality?’ ” Saarinen explains. “I
think we have too many angry men around the world. We need to reevaluate ourselves and offer something new.” The sensitivity here comes with a bit of early aggression and struggle—sort of like rough guys who eventually find their fragility. The ideas and movement, as always with Saarinen, are as important as the design and the sound. As he puts it: “The stage is always a three-dimensional canvas for me.” The most dazzling elements here are the thick swinging ropes that his collaborator, set designer Mikki Kunttu, has used to line the perimeter of the performance area. “When combined with light, it has a severity—almost looking like the bars of a prison for the guys, or it can look like hay or a forest,” Saarinen says. In that ever-morphing imagery, you will probably see a bit of Saarinen’s homeland—be it the thick stands of trees or the rippling sea he grew up by. But what’s important is that Saarinen—perhaps, he admits, because he comes from such an isolated, sparsely populated place—looks ever outward. Dance, for this Finn, is an urgent global act. “We as dancemakers and choreographers have an important role in society, at a time when people are getting further and further away from their corporeal selves,” he says. “We are fooled to think we are connected by the digital world, when we are more disconnected than ever before—even from ourselves.” DanceHouse presents Tero Saarinen Company’s Morphed at the Vancouver Playhouse next Friday and Saturday (October 27 and 28).
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In Kurios—Cabinet of Curiosities, the Seeker’s (left) experiments open up a dream world that looks part Jules Verne, part Industrial Age. Martin Girard photo.
Kurios serves up thrills both large and small From a giant steampunk set to scaled-down yo-yo tricks, Cirque du Soleil’s latest delights in details > BY JA NET SM IT H
C
Whether the physical feats are big or small, percussionist and vocalist Lana Cenčić insists that watching them never becomes run-of-themill, no matter how many times she performs Kurios. The musicians who play the style- and culture-melding score have to keep an eye on the artists for their cues, but sometimes, she admits, she loses herself in the sense of danger. Referring to one of the show’s most buzzed-about acts—the so-called Rolla Bolla, in which an artist balances on top of a precarious, ever-taller stack of tubes—she says: “Sometimes if I’m watching it, I don’t know if he is about to fall. I still say ‘Whaaa!’ ” she explains, wearing the high-collared, corseted gown that’s her Kurios costume. “I sing in ‘Straps’,” she continues, referring to an aerial faux-conjoinedtwin routine that unfolds high above the audience, “and sometimes I forget to come in if I am watching the acrobat! And to think when I got this job I was a little bit concerned how I would be able to do this every day, eight or 10 times a week, without getting sick of it. But the audience reaction is different every night; so far I’ve never had that feeling.” Rénald Laurin concurs. He holds the entire show together as the central Seeker—a sort of inventor-scientistdreamer who is attempting to discover electricity but opens an entire fantasy world of contraptions instead. (“I’m the mayonnaise,” he says with a laugh.) He balances his own background of acting, acrobatics, and clowning to create as authentic a character as possible at the centre of the striped Grand Chapiteau tent. And that requires him, like Cenčić and Tuan, to be constantly awed by what he experiences around him on-stage. “That’s the danger: you can’t go on automatic pilot,” he tells the Straight. “The audience immediately perceives it. You look false and you feel false. “Yes, every day is different, and you have to communicate the here and now with the audience,” he continues. “In the big top you really see the baby crying or the lady leaving for popcorn. It keeps you always on your toes.” And constantly curious. -
irque du Soleil’s Kurios— Cabinet of Curiosities feels different than the Montreal company’s other shows, for reasons both big and small. On the outsized side, you have, for instance, the world’s largest trampoline; a giant, 750-pound moving mechanical hand; and a colossal steampunk-meets-JulesVerne set with two towers made out of old gramophones and typewriters. But in this Cirque show in particular, the delights also come in the details. There’s the beautifully simple theatre of hands, projected onto a hot-air balloon. There’s Mini Lili, the three-foot-tall Rima Hadchiti, who lives inside the overcoat of the show’s host. And then there’s the yo-yo. Or, to be more exact, the yo-yos. When Chih-Min Tuan appears on-stage after a stream of other acrobats, he says, it takes audiences a moment to even process what exactly he’s performing tricks with. “Everybody has played with one, but it’s totally different when they see it on-stage,” says the artist, visiting Vancouver with a couple of castmates before Kurios opens here, and wearing the sleek, Edwardian-style blue vest, bow tie, and dress shirt that he sports in the show. “Sometimes they’re a little bit confused. They say, ‘Is that really a yo-yo?’ ” When the recognition sets in, he says, they can instantly relate to his more elaborate versions of Rock the Baby and the Elevator—and then appreciate the mad skills that go into his double–yoyo tricks. “Sometimes I make people scream in their seats,” he says. It’s a fun new experience for the Taiwanese performer, who could never have imagined he’d end up running away with the circus. He’s a secondplace world champion who started playing with the toy as a kid, just like anyone else. “I just learned a lot of skills on my own; I watched videos on YouTube,” says Tuan, who’s now a YouTube yo-yo sensation in his own right. “After I finished school, I became a street performer, and I went to a lot of world contests.” The difference now, under the spotlights and amid the elaborate sets of Cirque? “I need to use more speed and I have to match the Cirque du Soleil presents Kurios— tempo of the music,” says Tuan, who Cabinet of Curiosities at Concord Pacific Place to December 31. joined the show in 2015. OCTOBER 19 – 26 / 2017 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT 25
“A ROYALLY ENTERTAINING DRAMA FOR OUR TIME”
BUY NOW
DIANE BROWN
NICOLA CAVENDISH
SEREANA MALANI
ADELE NORONHA
—The Daily Telegraph
LAARA SADIQ
COLLEEN WHEELER
DONNA YAMAMOTO
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
TED COLE. PHOTO BY DAVID COOPER
PRESENTS
NOW PLAYING TILL NOV 19!
KING CHARLES III By Mike Bartlett
playing at stanley industrial alliance stage
granville island stage
goldcorp stage at the bmo theatre centre
Directed by
ROY SURETTE
PAM JOHNSON Costume Design by CHRISTINE REIMER ADRIAN MUIR Original Music & Sound Design by DOROTHY DITTRICH
Set Design by Lighting Design by
OCTOBER 19-29, 2017 | FIREHALL ARTS CENTRE 604.689.0926 or tickets.firehallartscentre.ca
#HappyPlace
touchstonetheatre.com
Photo of Happy Place cast by Riun Garner
26 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT OCTOBER 19 – 26 / 2017
ARTS
Be grateful for Thanks for Giving’s vivid portrait TH E AT RE THANKS FOR GIVING Written and directed by Kevin Loring. An Arts Club Theatre Company production. At the Granville Island Stage on Wednesday, October 11. Continues until November 4
Tickets and info at chancentre.com
Exploring new musical terrain at the intersection of jazz and Indian music with a stellar band including New York jazz saxophonist Chris Potter, award-winning Bollywood vocalist Shankar Mahadevan, and others.
“It’s the 21st century. Get your
> ANDREA WARNER
A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by Hugh Wheeler. Directed by Peter Jorgensen. Produced by Patrick Street Productions. At Gateway Theatre on Saturday, October 14. Continues until October 21
The summer night in Sweden
2 smiles three times: once on the
young, then on the foolish, and finally on the old. We’re told this in the first moments of A Little Night Music, and this evocation of a Scandinavian twilight presages the musical’s plot.
Zakir Hussain and Dave Holland: Crosscurrents C H A N C E N T R E AT U B C
2 head out of your ass!”
If you haven’t said this to someone in your family, chances are you’ve thought it, or maybe even been on the receiving end of it. It perfectly captures modern dinner tables all over the world as families come together to mark major holidays with the maximum amounts of muss, fuss, and emotional labour. Thanks for Giving is an exquisite portrait of a contemporary family, and one that is immediately and wholly familiar thanks to Governor General’s Award–winning playwright and director Kevin Loring’s gifted work in establishing fully realized characters with just a few lines. Nan (Margo Kane), the matriarch, presides over her brood, which includes second husband Clifford (Tom McBeath), a gruff hunter and settler Canadian whose casual racism extends toward the Indigenous family he married into and helped raise; daughter Sue (Andrea Menard), a lifelong addict teetering on the edge; her twins, John (čaačumhi—Aaron M. Wells) and Marie (Tai Amy Grauman), returning home from university for Thanksgiving; their cousin Clayton (Deneh’Cho Thompson), and Marie’s secret girlfriend, Sam (Leslie Dos Remedios). There are other secrets, too, that spill out through Act 1, as the family eventually gathers around the table and fights, eats, laughs, and fights some more. When Nan discovers that Clifford illegally shot and killed a grizzly bear and her two cubs, she storms off, hurt and betrayed that her husband would disregard her wishes and her lineage so flagrantly. (The legend of Nan’s family is that they are descended from the grizzly bear.) Act 2 tackles three years rather than just one day, and as such, it feels rushed. We’re so immersed in this family, we want to spend time with them and we want to savour it. The actors are wonderfully believable, particularly the great Margo Kane, whose Nan is the heart and soul of the page and the stage. Loring’s direction is seamless. He gives small scenes a few extra beats just so we can breathe with the characters, and he integrates the Bear Dancer (Shyama-Priya) beautifully in a variety of ways. Ted Roberts’s set design is gorgeous and effective, from the tall, wooded backdrop to the slowly turning circular inlay on which the dinner sequence is set. Thanks for Giving tackles vitally important realities of colonialism, intergenerational trauma in Indigenous communities, mixed families and racism, culture, legacy, and belonging, LGBTQ issues, and so much more, and it does so with humour and heart and deep compassion. They’re family, you’re stuck with them, you might as well love them, Nan says at one point, and honestly, with writing and performances this vivid, it’s impossible not to.
SAT OCT 28 2017 / 8PM
Margo Kane and Tom McBeath star in Thanks for Giving. David Cooper photo.
The story line is full of horny Swedes. It’s the turn of the 20th century, and the middle-aged Fredrik (Warren Kimmel) has taken a second wife, the 18-year-old Anne (Arenia Hermans). Henrik (Caleb Di Pomponio) is Fredrik’s sad-sack seminarian of a son, but he’s also in love with his young stepmother. Fredrik reconnects with a former lover, the exotic Desiree (Katey Wright). Her current paramour is Count Carl-Magnus (Nick Fontaine), a buffoonish dragoon who carefully divides his amorous hours between Desiree and his long-suffering wife (Lindsay Warnock). These liaisons are blithely observed by Desiree’s daughter Fredrika (Elizabeth Irving) and her mother (Patti Allan), herself a veteran breaker of hearts and loins across the Continent. If this reminds you of Woody Allen’s A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy, that’s because they both draw from the same source material, the classic Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night. A Little Night Music is a Sondheim musical, so the singing is as complicated as the romantic dalliances. It’s a score filled with pitch changes, complex metres, and contrapuntal group numbers where performers sing different songs simultaneously. The cast does admirably, mastering the challenging music. Hermans and Rose McNeil as the maidservant Petra stand out among the singers. Warnock is also a sardonic delight with great comic timing between songs. The musical is most famous for “Send in the Clowns”, a maudlin little number made famous in recordings by Frank Sinatra and Judy Collins, among many others. Sung by the veteran actor Desiree, the song bears a title that comes from vaudeville, where, if the show wasn’t going well, they sent in clowns to distract the audience. Unlike many musicals, though, this show does not leave you waiting around for a familiar tune. The whole production is full of wry, jaunty songs that make for a very entertaining evening. It’s a sex comedy written in the ’70s and set 70 years earlier, so the gender politics leave a lot to be desired. In the vaguely rapey song “Now”, Fredrik contemplates how he might deflower his young wife: “The option that follows, of course: A, the deployment of charm, or B, the adoption of physical force.” Director Peter Jorgensen tries to update the show by starting it with the cast in modern clothing, and by having Petra sing about marrying “the miller’s son” while putting clothes back on a female lover. Unusually, I reserve my main criticism for the audience at Saturday night’s show. They were slow to warm, missed all the best jokes, and didn’t appreciate the production’s quality. During the closing bows, a couple of rude audience members actually stood not to applaud, but to leave prematurely. A Little Night Music is a great musical in its bones, and this rendition made it look gauzy and effortless, like an enchanted summer evening. > DARREN BAREFOOT
OCTOBER 19 – 26 / 2017 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT 27
ARTS WED NOV 8 2017 / 8PM
Texas Troubadours featuring
Ruthie Foster, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and Carrie Rodriguez C H A N C E N T R E AT U B C Tickets and info at chancentre.com
Dazzling visuals and voices revive Turandot M U S IC TURANDOT By Giacomo Puccini. A Vancouver Opera production. At the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Friday, October 13. Continues on October 19 and 21
Vancouver Opera’s clever new of Turandot offers up such stylized spectacle that you could almost enjoy it with earplugs in. You wouldn’t want to do that, though, because the lush orchestrations and powerful leads make equal magic. By creating a mythical, pastichehappy version of “legendary Peking”, the Montreal creative team of director Renaud Doucet and set and costume designer André Barbe avoid the pitfalls of the kitschy, dated “Orientalism” of composer Giacomo Puccini’s time. Instead, they embrace the mashedup, multicultural roots of Turandot, a Persian folk tale translated into French and German before it was adapted by an Italian librettist with a penchant for commedia dell’arte. In this mounting, royal advisers Ping, Pang, and Pong circumvent racial stereotype by becoming fantastical, culture-crossing clowns: they wear gondolier and top hats, with long johns under their neon-hued silk robes and martini shakers hidden in their attendants’ backpacks. The stage plays with circles upon circles (symbols of the cycle of life and death), the focal point a dramatic raked crescent of lustrous bronze topped by an ornately carved red arch. Blood drips down the steps, and expressionistic reliefs of chopped-off heads loom large on poles. Characters wear exaggerated headdresses, the emperor lording it over everyone in a colossal antlerlike contraption. The stage gradually opens into ever more elaborate portals and cells, making it a giant puzzle box for the chorus of 52. In the opening scene, the reddressed support cast writhes up from a central pit, looking like Dante’s Inferno reimagined by German expressionist filmmaker Robert Wiene. This is the first time VO has staged Turandot in 12 years and it’s worth the wait. Doucet and Barbe have used these sets before—they’re jointly owned by opera companies from Minnesota to Philadelphia. You can see the depth of thought that has gone into their interpretation of a work that stretches credibility, especially in its sudden, romantic happy ending. (For the first time, VO is also using Chinese surtitles alongside its English ones.)
2 production
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28 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT OCTOBER 19 – 26 / 2017
Joseph Hu (Pong) and Marcelo Puente (Calaf) in Turandot. Tim Matheson photo.
The duo’s innovation goes beyond the striking visuals. They’ve striven to humanize the often impenetrable characters. Turandot is a princess who beheads opponents, including any suitors who can’t answer her three riddles. Calaf falls hard for her—during an execution, of all things—and submits himself to the riddle session. What he can’t see right in front of him is that his father’s devoted servant, Liù, loves him. Doucet brings some memorable new touches to the story. The princess appears to hesitate before ordering a beheading, and she throws herself into Calaf’s arms instead of waiting for him to force himself upon her in the final act. The prolonged silence as the chorus leaves the stage after Liù’s demise is epically moving. All the leads were debuting in their roles on opening night, and all excelled. Rising Argentine tenor Marcelo Puente brought passion and poetry to his physically expressive Calaf, eliciting cheers with a clarion “Nessun dorma”. As Liù, Marianne Fiset added just the right amount of sweetness to her mesmerizing pianissimo moments, yet you could feel her pain during a torture scene. And Amber Wagner’s Turandot was formidable, adding the psychological depth of another Wagner—Richard, of course—to her arias. You’ll marvel at the showstopping volume and warmth she musters in the third act of her marathon. Under the baton of Jacques Lacombe, the Vancouver Opera Orchestra embraces the complex score, highlighting the almost cinematic touches of a composer who was exploring expressionism in his final work. The chorus resounds, as it should, and Doucet animates the tableaux with plenty of dance. The extended opening-night standing O said it all. This is a Turandot to please the eyes, brain, and ears—a bold vision that helps this old warhorse speak to new audiences. > JANET SMITH
NEW WORKS presents
DANCE ALLSORTS
SOUTH ASIAN ARTS BHANGRA & BOLLYWOOD
Sunday, October 29, 2017 Roundhouse Community Arts Centre 181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver
Victoria
Dulcinea Langfelder based on an original idea and texts by Charles Fariala a production of Dulcinea Langfelder & Co
Performance 2:00pm Free Workshop: 3:15pm Pay what you can at the door Suggested $15 adults, $5 children under 12 Advance tickets for guaranteed seating & workshop registration at newworks.ca
“Acclaimed
Wheelchair accessible venue ASL interpretation provided
actor, dancer, mime & storyteller” Oct 27 7:30pm Oct 28 2:00pm
BUY TICKETS NOW!
ticketsnw.ca 604.521.5050
NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE ORCHESTRA
PRESENTS:
LIFE REFLECTED
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 7:30PM , THE CENTRE, 777 HOMER STREET, VANCOUVER Alexander Shelley conductor Erin Wall soprano Monique Mojica actor Donna Feore creative producer and director ZOSHA DI CASTRI Dear Life* JOCELYN MORLOCK My Name is Amanda Todd NICOLE LIZÉE Bondarsphere JOHN ESTACIO I Lost My Talk** *Words and lyrics adapted from the story by Alice Munro. Adaptation by Merilyn Simonds
Four Canadian composers have created compelling musical portraits of four exceptional Canadian women. Roberta Bondar, Rita Joe, Alice Munro, and Amanda Todd are the inspiration behind Life Reflected, a unique symphonic and multi-media celebration of youth, promise, and courage. The National Arts Centre Orchestra commissioned four works by Zosha Di Castri, Jocelyn Morlock, Nicole Lizée, and John Estacio to create its largest production ever. The staging includes stunning projections, which immerse the audience in sound, motion picture, photography, and graphic design. Opening Concert of ISCM World New Music Days 2017.
**Commissioned for the NationaL Arts Centre Orchestra to commemorate the 75th birthday of the Right Honourable Joe Clark, P.C., C.C., A.O.E by his family
The National Arts Centre Orchestra Canada 150 Tour is made possible with leadership support from Tour Patrons Gail and David O’Brien, Presenting Supporters Alice and Grant Burton, Supporting Partners Peng Lin and Yu Gu, Education Partner Dasha Shenkman, OBE, Hon RCM and Digital Partner Facebook MEDIA SPONSOR
@VSOrchestra
TICKETS: vancouversymphony.ca
604.876.3434
OCTOBER 19 – 26 / 2017 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT 29
Queen Elizabeth II dies and her son Charles ascends the throne. Oct 19â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Nov 19, Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage (2750 Granville). Info www.artsclub.com/.
HAPPY PLACE Touchstone Theatre presents playwright Pamela Mala Sinhaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s story about seven woman in an in-patient care facility. Oct 20-29, Firehall Arts Centre (280 E. Cordova). Tix $17-33, info www.fire hallartscentre.ca/onstage/happy-place/.
ar ts/ timeout THEATRE DANCE MUSIC COMEDY LITERARY EVENTS ET CETERA
HONOUR: CONFESSIONS OF A MUMBAI COURTESAN In association with Dipti Mehta, the Cultch presents a testament to the humanity and lives of sex workers. Oct 20â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Nov 4, 8 pm, Vancity Culture Lab (the Cultch, 1895 Venables). Tix from $35, info www.thecultch.com/ events/honour-confessions-mumbaicourtesan/.
< < < 2ONGOING < HOMEWARD BOUND Western Gold < Theatre presents director William B. < Davisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s version of Elliott Hayesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s play
THEATRE 2OPENINGS KING CHARLES III The Arts Club Theatre Company presents Mike Bartlettâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s political satire about what happens when
about one familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sunday dinner. To Oct 29, PAL Theatre (8th floor, 581 Cardero). Tix $32/27, info homeward.bpt.me.
A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC Gateway Theatre presents Stephen Sondheimâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Broadway-style musical about mismatched couples. To Oct 21, 8 pm,
Gateway Theatre (Richmond). Info www. gatewaytheatre.com/. UNITE MODELE Théâtre la Seizième presents Guillaume Corbeilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s play that takes an objective and unsettling look at gentrification and our relationship with image through a game of mirrors that constantly alters reality. To Oct 28, 8 pm, Studio 16 (1555 W. 7th). Info www.seizieme.ca/.
1660 EAST BROADWAY @ COMMERCIAL
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SEE WWW.RIOTHEATRE.CA FOR COMPLETE LISTINGS & UPDATED CALENDAR
30 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT OCTOBER 19 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 26 / 2017
VANCOUVER WRITERS FEST Participating writers include Margaret Atwood, Andrew Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hagan, Ann Cleeves, Nicole Krauss, Barbara Gowdy, Lorna Crozier, Ken Dryden, and Doug Saunders. To Oct 22, various Vancouver venues. Info www.writersfest.bc.ca/.
2THIS WEEK ENCOUNTER In association with SINDHOOR/NATYAVEDAâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;Navarasa Dance Theater, the Cultch presents a production that delves into the struggles and challenges of the Indigenous communities of India. To Oct 22, 8 pm, York Theatre (639 Commercial). Tix from $22, info www.thecultch.com/events/encounter/. ANIMAL TRISTE Vancouver dance ensemble plastic orchid factory and Montrealâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s MAYDAY/Mélanie Demers present a dance that comments on the nature and posture of man. Oct 19-21, 8-9 pm, Scotiabank Dance Centre (677 Davie). Tix $18-28, info www.plasticorchidfactory. com/animal-triste/.
MUSIC TURANDOT Vancouver Opera presents Giacomo Pucciniâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s opera about an icy princess who is emotionally imprisoned by her own vengeful cruelty. To Oct 21, Queen Elizabeth Theatre (650 Hamilton). Info www.vancouveropera.ca/turandot/. ANGELA CHENG PLAYS RAVEL Cristian MaË&#x2DC;celaru conducts pianist Angela Cheng and the VSO in a program of works by Enescu, Ravel, and Dvorak. Oct 20-21, 8 pm, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts (UBC). The concert also runs Oct 23, 8 pm, at the Centennial Theatre, info www.van couversymphony.ca/. SHANGHAI QUARTET The Friends of Chamber Music presents the classical ensemble in a performance of works by Mendelssohn, Penderecki, and Beethoven. Oct 22, 3 pm, Vancouver Playhouse Recital Hall (601 Cambie). Info www.friendsofchambermusic.ca/. GEORGE LI The Vancouver Recital Society presents the Chinese American concert pianist in a performance of work by Haydn, Chopin, Rachmaninov, and Liszt. Oct 22, 3 pm, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts (6265 Crescent Rd., UBC). Tix from $25, info www.vanrecital.com/.
LITERARY EVENTS 2THIS WEEK
DANCE
2THIS WEEK
MEDIA ED DIIA S SP SPONSOR P
straight choices
pm; Fri and Sat, 9:30 pm). Oct 18-25, The Improv Centre (1502 Duranleau, Granville Island). Info www.vtsl.com/.
ET CETERA 2JUST ANNOUNCED RISING VOICES The Heart of the City Festivalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s theme this year is Honouring Women of the Downtown Eastsideâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;so itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fitting the annual fete kicks off Wednesday (October 25) with a flurry of female voices. The free concert Women in the Round, at the Carnegie Theatre, features songstress Dalannah Gail Bowen, a long-time figure in the community, alongside Renae Morriseau and Sara Cadeau, all accompanied by Grammy-nominated pianist Michael Creber. Watch for more shows in a variety of genres, spread across 50 venues in the neighbourhood, until November 5.
COMEDY 2ONGOING THE COMEDY MIX 1015 Burrard, www. thecomedymix.com/. Comedy club with pro-am night Tue at 8:30 pm, showcase Wed at 8:30 pm, and featured headliners Thu at 8:30 pm and Fri-Sat at 8 and 10:30 pm. 2LACHLAN PATTERSON Oct 19-21 2PHIL HANLEY Oct 26-28 YUK YUKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S COMEDY CLUB 2837 Cambie, www.yukyuks.com/vancouver/. Comedy club with Top Talent Tue at 8 pm, amateur night Wed at 8 pm, and professional headliners Thu-Fri at 8 pm and Sat at 7 and 9:30 pm. 2ERIK GRIFFIN Oct 19-21 2DAMONDE TSCHRITTER Oct 26-28 VANCOUVER THEATRESPORTS LEAGUE Improv Wars: The Laugh Jedi (Thu, Fri, and Sat, 7:30 pm); #NoFilter (Thu, 9:15 pm); Ok Tinder (Fri and Sat, 11:15 pm); Rookie Night (Sun, 7:30 pm); TheatreSports (Wed, 7:30 pm; Wed, 9:15
ELEMENTAL TRENDS FALL HARVEST MARKET 30+ local independent artisans & creatives are featured. Meet the faces behind the brand, find beautiful things for the home, treat yourself to some sweets & be one of the first 25 attendees to receive our SWAG ($200+ value). Oct 28, 10 amâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;5 pm, Croatian Cultural Centre (3250 Commercial). Tix $3 at the door/$2 online, info www.eventbrite.ca/.
2THIS WEEK FIGHT FOR BEAUTY Exhibition features public art projects undertaken with worldclass creatives, architecture from architects who are artists in their own right, and fashion by some of the greatest designers in recent history. To Dec 17, Fairmont Pacific Rim (1038 Canada Place). Free admission, info www.fightforbeauty.ca/. KURIOS: CABINET OF CURIOSITIES Cirque du Soleil presents a new production that takes you into the curio cabinet of an ambitious inventor who defies the laws of time, space, and dimension. Oct 19â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Dec 31, Concord Pacific Place. Info www.cirquedusoleil.com/kurios/.
2UPCOMING HIGHLIGHTS SEASONS: A MAGICAL MUSICAL Prepare to be immersed in this inspirational and heart-warming epic production that includes choreographed contemporary dance, stunning magic and illusion, and a spectacular original score performed by the Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra. Nov 25, 8 pm, The Centre (777 Homer St) Tix from $38 www.magicalmusical.ca
TIME OUT ARTS LISTINGS are a public service provided free of charge, Submit listings online using the event-submission form at straight.com/AddEvent. Events that donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make it into the paper due to space constraints will appear on the website.
MOVIES
No Magic Kingdom in sight The Florida Project finds America’s underclass in a bleached-out Orlando RE VIEW S THE FLORIDA PROJECT Starring Willem Dafoe. Rated 14A
In the mid-1960s, as the Viet-
2 nam War was heating up and
prosperity boomed for white folks at home, “the Florida Project” is what Walt Disney and his Disneyland “imagineers” called their secret Orlando outpost. After Disney died, the team came up with “Disney World”, which managed to sound both mundane and imperial at the same time. Fifty years later, central Florida— and by extension the US of A—is not exactly the Happiest Place on Earth. The black-and-white iconography of Mickey Mouse still stands beside red-white-and-blue flags on stripmall highways, but everything looks bleached and hollow in the Orlando sun. Everything, that is, except the Magic Castle, a fourth-rate motel painted such a garish purple, only the most desperate people can tolerate staying there. On the ground floor is single mom Halley (Bria Vinaite), whose tats are bigger than small daughter Moonee (Brooklynn Prince). It’s July 4th weekend, and Moonee spends her free-range days with other kindergarten-aged kids, including Scooty (Christopher Rivera), who lives upstairs with his single mom. (Can someone really be named Mela Murder?) The latter hangs out with Halley and cadges free food for everybody at the waffle house where she works. Halley has a bad attitude instead of a job or a personality, but she’s hardly more grown-up than those kids. And her profanity-laden rants mask sadness that must come from lifelong abuse. When not smoking and watching trash TV, she’s doing shady stuff to make ends meet. Fortunately for her, the motel, and the movie, there is an Uncle Walt on the scene: an impossibly patient manager called Bobby, played by Willem Dafoe, in his most kindhearted role. Bobby himself has likely fallen out of the middle-class Magic Kingdom, judging from the inexplicably quick visits by his resentful grown son (Get Out’s Caleb Landry Jones). Dafoe and Jones are virtually the only professional actors in a truly magnificent effort from director Sean Baker and cowriter Chris Bergoch. Their last was the rightly lauded Tangerine, shot entirely on iPhones. The focus here is still on marginalized people, but Baker and Bergoch have graduated to 35mm film, which perfectly suits the empty-candy-wrapper aesthetics of the place, and also recalls the dreamlike weirdness of Beasts of the Southern Wild—minus soundtrack music, except for one of the most riveting finishes you’ll encounter this or any other year. The movie’s end, like its start, focuses on its little Prince, and she’s a real find. It’s impossible to know how much of this girl’s ecstatic performance was directed and how much she invented on the spot. Kingdoms come and go, but sometimes you can tell from a child’s face that she’ll wind up a kind of princess, whatever else happens. > KEN EISNER
LUCKY Starring Harry Dean Stanton. Rated PG
The opening credits tell us
2 that “Harry Dean Stanton is
Lucky,” the yellow typeface recalling an old western, the star’s thin grey face framed inside a blazing blue sky. Here’s our first cue that actor and character will converge over the course of this film’s 90 minutes, in the second-to-last movie Stanton shot before dying on September 15, and one of only a handful of starring roles the inveterate scene-stealer was given in a 60-year career.
Bria Vinaite is a single mom with her back to the wall in The Florida Project.
Many of those largely plot-free minutes are spent observing, à la Paris, Texas, this bowlegged, 90-something relic simply walking through the desert. There are other callbacks: muttered “bullshits” flown in from Repo Man; Stanton and his Nostromo captain, Tom Skerritt, trading Second World War stories. Here and elsewhere, the allusions point to the impending death of a very old man, which Lucky reckons with in any number of sometimes bullish, sometimes achingly vulnerable ways. His doctor (Ed Begley Jr.) crankily admits that the three-packs-a-day Lucky is better off smoking than not, before delivering the kind of speech about mortality you don’t tend to hear in movies these days, if you ever did. And so death hangs over this thing like one of the threadbare awnings you might find in Lucky’s dry gulch of a town, as it did in the Twin Peaks reboot that similarly employed Stanton’s sheer embodiment of human life pacing through its final days with a kind of unshrinking, if fragile, grace. Speaking of: David Lynch shows up as Lucky’s best friend Howard, mourning the loss of his pet tortoise, President Roosevelt. It’s one of the film’s heavy (and funnier) contrivances that works partly because we’re willing it to, and partly because director John Carroll Lynch (no slouch as a character actor himself in films like Fargo and Zodiac) is careful not to intrude. Among a supporting cast committed to giving Stanton/Lucky a gallery of warily affectionate foils, Beth Grant steals a few of her own scenes as the local bar owner. Less showily, Bertila Damas is a storekeeper who invites the old coot to a Mexican birthday party, where Stanton—having earlier denounced the very idea of a “soul”— breaks into an indescribably moving version of “Volver Volver”. We should consider ourselves Lucky too. > ADRIAN MACK
TAKE EVERY WAVE: THE LIFE OF LAIRD HAMILTON A documentary by Rory Kennedy. Rated PG
The subject of this mesmeriz-
2 ing surf documentary isn’t the
most ingratiating dude around. But one of the most enduring features of relentless innovator Laird Hamilton is how few fucks he gives about what we think of him. That turns out to be central to his reality, which consists of the biggest, baddest waves that humans have ever tackled. Hamilton grew up in Hawaii with his free-spirit mother (who’s no longer with us) and adoptive father, surfing star Bill Hamilton (who is). He started riding swells in utero, he claims, and is famous within the surfing ionosphere for his almost insane courage. Laird says he has a “fear defect” that keeps him on the edge of danger without always noticing it, but he’s not better known to the general public because he has never competed professionally. He’s in competition
with himself, it seems, and with a few close friends. Even these squarejawed guys, captured on camera, don’t attest to a deep knowledge of Hamilton outside of his talent. But what if there isn’t more to him than his preternatural aquatic skills? Certainly, filmmaker Rory Kennedy—the last child of Robert and Ethel Kennedy, and better known for political docs, like The Last Days in Vietnam—can be accused of mild hagiography here. But there’s a sense that no amount of probing would have revealed more about a man who dropped out of school early and never developed any interests apart from surfing. In fact, his refusal to follow through on any other kind of success, include early stabs at acting and modelling—for Bruce Weber, no less—constitutes a kind of integrity. Now 53, the perennially blond man-child has a battered body and a young family (he’s now with former pro volleyballer Gabrielle Reece, but an earlier marriage isn’t mentioned), and has turned increasingly to new technology, including a hydrofoil design that finds him floating above 80-footers that shouldn’t really tolerate interaction with bipeds. The music-laden photography here is phenomenal, especially in a drone-footage finish so spectacular no one even tries to narrate, let alone explain it.
“THE PERFORMANCE OF A LIFETIME.” -
HARRY DEAN STANTON is
DAVID LYNCH RON LIVINGSTON ED BEGLEY JR. TOM SKERRIT DIRECTED BY JOHN CARROLL LYNCH
STARTS FRIDAY! INTERNATIONAL VILLAGE CINEPLEX.COM ¿OPVweOLNH CINEPLEX ENTERTAINMENT 88 W PENDER ST • VANCOUVER
Tickets + Showtimes
See the trailer • filmswelike.com
> KEN EISNER
LOVING VINCENT Starring Douglas Booth. Rated PG
Lovingly is for sure the way Lov-
2 ing Vincent was created. It took
seven years to complete this look at Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh’s final days, and their aftermath, in a rural Paris suburb. Making their feature-directing debut together, Poland’s Dorota Kobiela and the U.K.’s Hugh Welchman started by filming live actors against green screens, and then had hundreds of animators and technicians in several countries add layers of oil-paint colour and texture to the footage, creating the impression of the artist’s famously thick brush strokes. They use many of his best-known paintings as starting points, and as backgrounds or transitions, for their own story, which is much less inspiring than the art. For some reason, they focus on the mildly nebulous circumstances of van Gogh’s suicide at age 37, in 1890. Douglas Booth (currently seen in The Limehouse Golem) plays Armand Roulin, a hard-drinking dandy in a yellow jacket who is tasked with delivering a posthumous letter by his dad, the muttonchop-whiskered postmaster (Chris O’Dowd) of Arles, in southern France, where the painter found his swirly, postimpressionist style. Van Gogh painted father and son, who probably didn’t have accents quite as divergent as Booth’s Cockney twang and O’Dowd’s Irish brogue. Among latter-day friends and antagonists of the red-bearded artist, there’s no effort to coordinate the speaking or acting styles of, say, Brooklyn’s Saoirse Ronan and The Hobbit’s Aidan Turner—both from Ireland—and those of Brits Helen McCrory (Penny Dreadful) and Jerome Flynn (Game of Thrones). Flynn plays Dr. Gachet, a father figure with an ambiguous role in the manic ups and downs of the painter and his sickly younger brother, Theo. Both van Goghs are seen, played by Polish actors, in black-and-white flashbacks that are more realistically treated than the colourful “present”. The mystery Armand pursues never fully engages, and the clunky script sometimes takes you out of the period. But a visual approach that sounds, on paper, like a thin gimmick is consistently compelling on-screen—sometimes breathtakingly so. Be sure to stay for the credits, to catch photos and sketches of the real-life characters, and to
October 20 - 26 at the Vancity Theatre. Discover viff.org Halloween
Boo! The Hallowe’en Movie Show with Michael van den Bos
Suspiria PG
2017, 110 MIN.
OCT 30, SUN - 3:45PM Monsters and skeletons and ghosts, oh my! There’s a scare in the air at the Vancity Theatre this Hallowe’en season as film scholar Michael van den Bos resurrects haunted Hollywood’s ghastly ghouls. Michael has curated a creepy collection of chilling clips from classic horror and monster movies, including freaky fun moments from musicals and comedies. This all-ages spine-tingling spook-o-rama will have you shivering and smiling in devilish delight. Under 18 tickets only $7.50
Ex Libris - The New York Public Library FREDERICK WISEMAN, USA, 2017, 197 MIN.
FRI 6:15PM | SAT 6:00PM | SUN 7:00PM TUES 2:30PM | WED 6:30PM | THU 7:00PM If you are looking for a film to restore your faith in society, this epic immersion in the multifaceted work of the New York Public Library by master documentarian Fred Wiseman will do the trick. Like Wiseman’s National Gallery and La Danse, Ex Libris explores an institution dedicated to sustaining culture beyond the commercial model; it’s a film flowing with ideas about art, science, education, access and empowerment - as such it may be the most subtly political movie of the year. In Ex Libris, democracy is alive and in the hands of a forceful advocate and brilliant filmmaker, which helps make this one of the greatest movies of Mr. Wiseman’s extraordinary career and one of his most thrilling.” Manohla Dargis, The New York Times 97% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic (92%)
DARIO ARGENTO, ITALY, 1977, 92 MIN.
OCT 30, MON 8:50PM | OCT 31, TUE 6:30PM
The Nutty Professor (1963)
G
JERRY LEWIS, USA, 1963, 107 MIN.
OCT 30, MON, 4:30PM | OCT 31, TUE 4:20PM
Lucifer Rising: The Films of Kenneth Anger KENNETH ANGER, USA, 2017, 120 MIN.
OCT 31, TUE 8:20PM
Cinema Salon
The Housemaid KIM KI-YOUNG, SOUTH KOREA, 1960, 111 MIN.
TUE - 7:30PM Vancity Theatre’s longest running series, Cinema Salon, is produced and presented by Melanie Friesen. The evening includes introductory commentary and contextualization from Melanie, an appreciation by the guest, and an audience Q&A session with light refreshments after the screening. Vancouver-born artist Ken Lum presents one of the masterpieces of Korean film, Kim Ki-young’s shocking 1960 pyschosexual melodrama about a married music teacher whose new housemaid ensnares him in sexual blackmail and soon has the run of the household. You can chart much of today’s provocatively lurid and daringly transgressive Korean cinema back to this film. “Marvellous…utterly unpredictable.” Cahiers du cinema 35mm print courtesy of cineteca.bologna. Restoration by KOFA and The Film Foundation
1181 Seymour St | 604-683-FILM | viff.org
see next page
OCTOBER 19 – 26 / 2017 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT 31
Loving Vincent
from previous page
hear Lianne La Havas’s take on “Starry, Starry Night”. Like the movie, it’s less smarmy than you might expect.
> KEN EISNER
EX LIBRIS: NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY A documentary by Frederick Wiseman. Rating unavailable
Documentary pioneer Frederick
2 Wiseman is not for everyone.
But he is for all time. This unobtrusive New Englander has made almost 50 films in as many years, usually as his own lensman, capturing the fly-on-
the-wall stuff of ordinary—and sometimes extraordinary—life. Unnarrated vérité movies like 1969’s High School and 1997’s Public Housing may have helped influence the rise of reality TV. Still going strong at nearly 88, Wiseman would be unlikely to recognize his interests coinciding with those of any commercial producers. He finds a worthy subject in the New York Public Library, one that merits this film’s three-and-a-quarter-hour length. Aside from its massive main building, with those famous stone lions, at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, the NYPL employs thousands of people at 87 branches, displaying more than 50 million books, documents, photographs, and other artifacts (including
the real-life toys of Winnie-the-Pooh’s Christopher Robin). Its geography is as dense and welltrafficked as that of any major airport, although most travel is done by mind, and feet. Wiseman certainly wore out his shoe leather at various outposts, especially those in poorer boroughs, where recent infusions of cash (the library functions with a roughly even mix of private and public funding) have enabled the institution to engage with families previously deprived of resources. There’s considerable time spent at the lively Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, an extension in Harlem. Still, much of the film is taken up within the marble halls of the main
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branch, with its massive reading rooms, changing displays, and vast archives. There are public visits with well-known figures, generally discussing their new books, and these include Ta-Nehisi Coates, Patti Smith, and Elvis Costello—with the last-named sharing rare footage of his jazz-singing dad attempting to rock out in the early ’60s on British TV. We visit rooms devoted to recording audiobooks for the blind, and there is also training in using Braille machines and sign-language performance at theatrical events. And, of course, meetings for the tedious but necessary efforts of administrators to guide such a gigantic ship. Through it all, there’s the awareness that such institutions operate at the mercy of the elite; they generally began as noblesse oblige gestures by robber barons, after all. But this only underlines the precious, and increasingly tenuous, nature of knowledge itself.
> KEN EISNER
GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN Starring Domhnall Gleeson. Rated PG
Goodbye
Christopher
Robin
2 seems to be at odds with itself.
On one hand, it’s just as Masterpiece Theatre twee as you’d expect from a British-made period piece about famous people. On the other, it has a darkly subversive streak regarding unpleasant human behaviours—the kind that haven’t exactly disappeared over the last hundred years. The story, if not the movie structure itself, begins that long ago, with the twentysomething A.A. Milne (played superbly throughout by Domhnall Gleeson) caught in the terrifying trench combat of what was then called the War to End All Wars. Good branding; horrible lie. He returns to upper-crust London life, in which PTSD–suffering veterans can just about allow themselves quick nods to that “bad show” in the blood-soaked fields of France. Milne was already an established writer of
light plays and Punch magazine satire. Postwar life didn’t call for such frivolity, but you can imagine how eager English publishers were to spend money on angry tracts about arms merchants and corrupt aristocrats. Keeping the coffers full was very important to his fashion-plate wife, Daphne. (She actually looked more like Flora Robson than Margot Robbie, but only the latter was available.) So Milne, nicknamed Blue, attempted to rediscover his writing voice by moving out to the quiet countryside of East Sussex, from where Daphne frequently decamped back to the flapper-mad capital, leaving small son Christopher Robin (mostly played by engaging eight-year-old Will Tilston) with a caring nanny (Kelly Macdonald) and an initially indifferent dad. Of course, ol’ Blue eventually became entranced by the fantasy world created by the boy, called Billy at home, based on stuffed animals his mother brought him from town. These included, oh, let’s see: a tiger, a piglet, a donkey, and a brown bear named after a regal creature sent to the London Zoo from Winnipeg. Directed by Simon Curtis, responsible for such middlebrow, reality-based affairs as The Woman in Gold and My Summer With Marilyn, the new movie compresses years of Winnie-the-Pooh bestsellers into a kind of golden summer of father-son rapprochement. Christopher Milne’s memoirs suggest that the upper lips stayed pretty stiff for the rest of their lives. Certainly, there’s some perfectly horrid parenting on display here from the beginning. The first hour is filmed with light so honeyed (or hunnyed, for Pooh fans) and enough Disney-esque effects that it comes as quite a gut punch when Winnie’s worldwide success plunges the boy with the Buster Brown bowl cut into a more or less permanent nightmare. Family fare it ain’t, but if you’re open to its mood swings, this Goodbye has something complicated to say to the hurt children we used to be. > KEN EISNER
Getting Lucky with Harry Dean Stanton > B Y A DRIAN MACK
Y
ou can’t send Harry Dean Stanton into the desert, as John Carroll Lynch well knows, and not think of the role that made an icon out of the veteran character actor. “Oh yeah,” the filmmaker allows, during a call to the Straight from Toronto. “You’re gonna be walking straight into Paris, Texas.” Stanton spends a lot of time walking through the desert (Arizona, actually) in Lucky, opening Friday (October 20). Along with a few other nods scattered throughout the film, it’s a deliberate reference to Stanton’s storied past, inside a movie that was written by screenwriters Logan Sparks and Drago Sumonja with the man himself very much in mind. Elaborates Lynch: “It’s a movie inspired by Harry Dean Stanton but it’s not Harry Dean Stanton. He’s a fictional character. But we were able to land the actual person it was inspired by.” As he wryly notes, this relieved the first-time director of any concerns about performance quality. But this was no ordinary role for a man who almost never received top billing during six decades of steady work. Lucky is a hard-bitten and determinedly nonspiritual loner facing the end of his life. In September, a month before the film started making its way into theatres, Stanton passed away, leaving us with an unflinching performance from the very threshold of death’s door, and an extraordinary epitaph to a singular American life. “The challenge of playing a character inspired by yourself, to reveal your own stories in a different context than the ones that you lived, and to make an arc of a character that lands the way this one needed to, in order for it to be a movie about something other than simply Harry and his friends— that was the challenge that Harry sought to embrace,” Lynch says. “And 32 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT OCTOBER 19 – 26 / 2017
Director John Carroll Lynch really got the best guy possible to star in Lucky.
there were a couple of times in the movie that it was so raw for him, he really didn’t want to do it.” The director points to a scene in which Lucky recalls accidentally killing a mockingbird in his youth—a tale that ends on a yawning note of high sadness, and that Stanton had to be cajoled into doing. “And at the end of the day he went home and he turned to Drago, who was driving him, and he said, ‘I’m really glad we did that. I’m glad that’s in the movie.’” It’s probably important to clarify here that Lucky is anything but a downer. Quite the opposite: the humour’s as dry and pervasive as the landscape, relieved by sparkling cameos from the likes of Beth Grant and David Lynch (as Lucky’s best friend), with Stanton deadpanning his way around a cantankerous character who survives on nothing but cigarettes, milk, and Bloody Marys. Its most memorable image—and it’s a wonderful way to remember Stanton—is that of the then 90-something actor doing yoga in his underwear. That vision, one presumes, was a gift in itself to the man behind the camera. “I personally have never seen a man’s body at that age revealed on film,” says Lynch. “And he is so utterly vulnerable, so fragile—and at the same time so vital and filled with light. And that’s what the movie is about. The metaphor of his body is the movie itself.” -
MUSIC
With the deplorables not BY MIKE US IN G ER
only controlling the most powerful nation on earth, but setting the tone for a world that’s increasingly intolerant, these aren’t the best of times for the more enlightened among us. Seeing as there’s no point sugarcoating things, Tegan Quinn doesn’t bother when she’s reached in Los Angeles. Along with her sister and bandmate Sara, she’s rehearsing for a fall tour to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Tegan and Sara’s breakthrough release, The Con. That’s not the only thing going on with the twins, who both call Vancouver home. Determined to make the planet a better place, they’ve launched the Tegan and Sara Foundation, a charity devoted to improving the lives of the more vulnerable in the LGBTQ community. They’re also ramping up promotion for The Con X, a tribute album that sees artists ranging from Ryan Adams to Cyndi Lauper to Mykki Blanco cover songs from The Con, which arguably remains Tegan and Sara’s most beloved release. And then there’s getting their live show perfected for the tour, which will have the duo turning the wonderfully weird electro-indie songs on The Con into stripped-down versions designed for maximum intimacy. But despite everything on the Quinns’ plate, Tegan has had plenty of time to think about the state of things in 2017. Tegan and Sara spent the past year touring for 2016’s Love You to Death, a record that received strong reviews everywhere
Tegan and Sara take a stand
It’s been 10 years since Tegan and Sara released The Con, an album that helped the duo progress from indie-rock darlings to mainstream pop stars.
self-promoting at this stories, look at these universal themes. And look point, although I have at us all coming together and, I hope, feeling good to,” Tegan says. “But about coming out and supporting each other.’ ” While the musical twins are marking an important it’s also been great in see next page that we’ve launched our anniversary, their focus is very much on the present foundation, so there’s a Tegan Quinn sounds off on the from the Guardian and Spin to Consequence way for us to tie in something good even in the things that enquiring minds of Sound. On many days, Tegan found herself midst of so much that’s bad.” want to know. wondering what she was doing talking about For The Con X—proceeds from which will pop music when the world seemed headed to benefit the foundation—that meant approachOn online gangsterism: hell in a f laming handcart. ing artists to reinterpret songs on The Con in “It doesn’t matter who you “Look, it’s terrible times that feels like the whatever fashion they pleased. As a result, we are—everyone feels hated and end of times,” the fantastically quotable singer get everything from a golden-era-of-lounge attacked, even all the awfulness and extremsays between sips of coffee from a sunny L.A. “I reading of “I Was Married” from Ruth B to a ists on the right side. I feel like we should turn feel like, at this point in humanity, we deserve buzz-saw strafing of “Back in Your Head”, the Internet off now. It’s not helping anyone. But an asteroid—we’ve literally used up all of our courtesy of former alt-country bad boy Ryan even though it’s been tough, as artists it’s been lives. It’s been a really tough record cycle for us Adams. City and Colour’s Dallas Green turns cathartic to be able to write. And it’s cathartic because it’s hard to self-promote when all I’ve “Hop a Plane” into a plaintive rainy-day balto be able to stand up on-stage. I feel like the wanted to do is talk about what the fuck is going lad, while golden-throated wunderkind Shamir biggest gift of our existence is that we someon in the world.” gives “Like O, Like H” an experimental alt-pop how managed to trick everyone into having this But there has been an upside, in that when makeover that would wow the Flaming Lips. career.” things get really ugly, good people realize they When Tegan and Sara began thinking about need to stand up and step forward. Count who they wanted to contribute to The Con X, On The Con X guidelines: “When we came the Quinns among them. At the age of 37 the they went to those they admired not just for up with the idea of the Con covers record, we proudly gay siblings are now established music their work. threw a lot of different scenarios out there. We veterans. Over the course of nearly a quarter“We tapped 17 artists, and we went out of drew up language and then sent it out to all century together on-stage they’ve gone from a our way to approach artists who are very dark the artists, who agreed with us. We didn’t want quirky Calgary-spawned indie-folk duo to legit- and sad themselves,” Tegan says with a laugh. to have any influence on what they did, other imate pop stars, graduating from intimate club “All of them had to be open LGBTQ allies, or than to say they should interpret a song and the shows to soft-seaters and arenas. There have LGBTQ themselves. All the proceeds go to our production in any way—even the lyrics and the been gold records, radio hits, and a 2015 Oscar foundation, and a dollar from every ticket sold themes—they heard them. The coolest part of nomination for “Everything Is Awesome”. goes to the foundation. The foundation is gothis record is how different all the takes are.” Now that they’re swimming in the main- ing to redistribute that money to organizations stream, Tegan and Sara Quinn have plenty to that centre on women and girls, specifically On pop music: “We made a pop record lose by letting a hopelessly divided world know trans women and women of colour in the LG[Heartthrob] five years ago because we were which side they’re on. That’s not stopping them BTQ community. It feels like we’ve covered all tired of only seeing straight people in the mainfor a second, their activism including the Tegan the bases so that we can go out on tour and feel stream. We wanted to see queer voices reflected and Sara Foundation, which couldn’t be more really good.” in the mainstream. We made our point, and timely, considering the way President Donald If Tegan and Sara are extra stoked, it’s partly now I want to run away from the mainstream Trump and his supporters have been openly because the tour transcends the music. because it’s totally gross.” hostile to America’s LGBTQ community. “It won’t just be ‘Look at us,’ ” Tegan says. “It “Not to make it all about us, but I feel gross will also be ‘Look at our community, look at these
in + out
☞
BELLE GAME PROBES INN E R CO NTRADICTIO NS >>> Few bands can boast a stellar from Pitchfork and an interview in Rolling Stone after putting out their debut album. Even fewer can say those tracks were not their best work. After such a strong reception for its freshman LP, 2013’s Ritual Tradition Habit, Vancouver fourpiece Belle Game found itself at a crossroads. Initially eager to drop its sophomore offering—Fear/Nothing—the band was held back for four years because, as singer Andrea Lo suggests, “life got in the way.” Unable to marry up schedules, and finding it hard to write tracks that felt up to snuff, the band watched the years tick by. Rather than seeing the break as a negative, however, Lo says that the delay was vital. “We all grew as people,” the frontwoman tells the Straight on the line from a Saskatoon tour stop. “Looking back at the album, that growing-
2 review
Vancouver’s Belle Game embraced a darker sound and a more honest approach to songwriting for its sophomore album, Fear/Nothing .
up was a lot about what it was written about. I liken it to the caterpillar entering the chrysalis, and then dissolving its entire body to emerge as a butterfly. I think a lot of the themes
on the album are about exploring the huge contradictions inside us. We’re humans, and we have extremes in our personalities. The four-year break allowed us to ex-
plore those dynamics.” According to Lo, Ritual Tradition Habit, which came after two EPs, was written from a place that felt inauthentic. She held back on singing about the darker aspects of her psyche, and was scared to put her vulnerabilities down on tape. Four years on, with new producer Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene behind the wheel, she’s finally ready to bare her soul in her music. “A big catalyst was when we spent some time at the Banff Centre back in 2014, when we first met Kevin,” she says. “You see him up on-stage, and you think, ‘Holy fuck, that guy is raw.’ As a producer, he really challenged us to create with feeling. We learned that we had to undress. You can hear it in the album. It goes from one end of the pendulum to the other, and it contains all our extremities—all our contradictions.”
More than anything, Fear/Nothing embraces a darker aesthetic. Album standout “Bring Me” channels Lo’s powerhouse vocals into lyrics she describes as “so damn personal”—“Bring me shame/ Bring me pain/Fuck me the same/ And see what I can do,” she sings on the track. “Low” opens with synth swells and programmed drums that chime with Lo’s searching words “Remind me I’m hateful so I won’t forget to pinch,” while counterpoint “High” swings in the other direction, with reverbed pads and ethereal keyboards underpinning a happier message: “I don’t care what people say.” “Music is cathartic for me,” she says. “I have a history of depression, and I have a history of being in therapy for years. If we become conscious enough of our ways and our faults, and all our good parts as well, we get see next page
OCTOBER 19 – 26 / 2017 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT 33
OCT O
22 2
T H IS HUSKER DU, & SUGAR LEGEND SUN!
BOB MOULD (SOLO/ELECTRIC) FIRST VANCOUVER SHOW
IN OVER 9 YEARS
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NOV N
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COUSIN HARLEY (BRAND NEW ALBUM LAUNCH)
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ELGRINDERS AND THE WHE , ZULU, NEPTOON & RICKSHAWTHEATRE.COM
TICKETS: RED CAT, HIGHLIFE
NOV N
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E FLESH EATERS TH (JOHN DOE & DJ BONEBRAKE OF X, DAVE ALVIN & BILL BATEMAN OF THE BLASTERS, STEVE BERLIN OF LOS LOBOS, AND POET CHRIS D.) WITH GUESTS
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254 East Hastings | liveatrickshaw.com UPCOMING SHOWS OCT 25 WASTED YOUTH SNOWBOARD FILM PREMIERE OCT 26 SECONDHAND SERANADE 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY TOUR OCT 27 GENITORTURERS WITH BB ALLIN & THE STABBERS OCT 28 BLING OUT THE DEAD TOUR WITH ILL PILL & AVERAGE GYPSY HALLOWEEN: BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, SUFFOCATION AND MORE
The Georgia Straight Confessions, an outlet for submitting revelations about your private lives—or for the voyeurs among us who want to read what other people have disclosed.
Scan to confess There should be a music dating site. Be nice to find a woman whose music tastes are as varied as mine and like going to concerts on a regular basis in her 30’s or 40’s.
I love the rain Sad. But true. I do love the rain. You should too.
Help! I have some doubts about the person I’m supposed to marry. Is this normal? healthy? I know so many people who say that marriage and children has made their lives incredibly stressful... Well, we fight when things get stressful. And he hurts my feelings. He’s the only person I’ve ever thought seriously about marrying. I don’t know what to do
to the point where we can coexist with it. Anything that’s extreme just wants to be heard. It wants to be expressed. “I think there’s so much strength and connectedness to be gained through vulnerability,” she continues. “It’s like having a conversation with someone, and they drop their guard, and all of a sudden you feel safe to drop your guard because they’ve been so transparent with you. I’m happy I’ve got to that point with my writing.”
> KATE WILSON
Belle Game plays the Commodore Ballroom on Friday and Saturday (October 20 and 21).
Jesse Cook is woke as fuck. Six words that were never meant to inhabit the same sentence, perhaps, but times are strange—as the Toronto-based guitarist found out when he questioned the results of the 2016 U.S. election on his Facebook page. “I was amazed to see the pushback from my own crowd,” he reports from his Ontario home. “I mean, my concerts are pretty much a big globalmusic party, right? And if people come to a concert, I’m assuming that they’re open to that, and they’re people who think of themselves as world citizens, or that they think there’s good in all cultures—and I realized that’s simply not the case. Some of my fans in the States are in fact Republicans and voted for Donald Trump, and I started getting all kinds of comments that I found really pretty scary.” One of Cook’s fans posted pictures of former KKK leader David Duke on the guitarist’s wall. Others went off on anti-Muslim tirades, clearly oblivious to the Arabic and Middle Eastern elements that have been part of Cook’s music since the beginning. Nearly a year later, Cook is still rattled, and he makes finding Republicans in his fanbase sound about as enjoyable as discovering cockroaches in the kitchen. But, as a maker of instrumental chill-out music, it’s not like he was going to write a protest song. Instead, he’s made a protest album in the form of Beyond Borders, which stands as a subtle rebuke to the Great Divider. “Mostly, when people interview me, they’re interpreting the title to mean musical borders—that I’m moving beyond musical borders, and perhaps cultural borders,” he says. “And my career has always been about that— moving beyond cultural borders. But in this day and age, this is a political title, and intentionally so. I want to put it right out there, because we live in a time when people are talking about building walls again, you know? When I was young, we were tearing walls down. Europe was becoming united, and North America was becoming one big free-trade zone. And now, suddenly, we’re building walls, and England is separating from Europe, and Europe is not sure that it’s going to be around, and you’ve got Donald Trump saying a lot of pretty nasty things about a lot of groups—all of which are represented in my music. “I mean, think about it,” Cook
2
Tegan and Sara
Hopeless alcoholic 2 weeks sober. Not a huge accomplishment but I’m finally going in the right direction so it feels good.
I love trees, too What’s not to love? So green, so good. On the long walk home, they always lift my mood.
Chemistry We often have the most intense and exhilarating chemistry with the wrong people, which could be the reason many of us are attracted to the “bad boy” or “bad girl.”
Visit
from previous page
Cook conveys a message in his instrumental tunes
GANG SIGNS EY’S ROBE N & AND DOPHIGHLIF E, ZULU, NEPTOO
JJAN
Belle Game
to post a Confession
34 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT OCTOBER 19 – 26 / 2017
Guitarist Jesse Cook was dismayed to find Republicans in his fan base.
continues. “At the foundation, it’s rumba flamenca, which is Gypsy music. Then you add Arabic elements—and obviously we know what Trump thinks about Arabic people. There are Persian elements from Iran and Iraq, and we know what he feels about those places. And there have always been Latin elements— salsa, merengue, cumbia, Colombian music, elements of Cuban music— and we know how he feels about Mexicans. All of those elements are in my music, and here we’ve got this guy who’s the most powerful person on the planet, and he’s pointedly attacking these groups of people.” It’s not that Cook’s music is suddenly aimed at energizing the left: it remains more of a balm for a troubled world than a bomb pointed at the current inhabitants of the White House. It’s just that the guitarist can’t remain silent in the face of injustice. “I know I’m not doing myself any favours by taking this position, because immediately I’m splitting my audience,” he says, “and I’m probably going to have people picketing my concerts in the U.S. But that’s fine.… At this time, I think everybody has to take a position.” > ALEXANDER VARTY
Jesse Cook plays the Queen Elizabeth Theatre next Thursday (October 26).
Mitchell brings physicality to heady compositions
the Western Front—reduces things to their essentials. “Oh God, he’s the best,” the saxophonist reports from his home. And that’s a good thing, as one of Mitchell’s current projects is playing Berne’s music for solo piano, which is what he’ll be doing when he comes back to the Front next week. With førage, recently released on Berne’s own Screwgun label, Mitchell has aced the difficult job of retaining Berne’s unique voice on the saxophone while translating it to a polyphonic instrument, simultaneously revealing some of the music’s antecedents and suggesting where it might go. It’s a beautiful conversation, with one participant being Mitchell’s piano, and the other the terse guidelines Berne has set down on staff paper. “For each of the tracks on the record, there’s about two to four pages of composed material—or sometimes just one,” Mitchell explains on the line from Paris, where he’s performing with saxophonist and composer Steve Coleman. “But, you know, if I was to play the charts as notated, each would be done in about 30 seconds to a minute. So you could say the music is about 85 percent improvised—but all the improvising I’m doing is in some way informed by the environment of the piece that I’m playing at the time. “Maybe I’m extracting a harmonic framework from one of the tunes, and I’m just going through it like one would do with a jazz tune,” he explains. “Or maybe I’ll extract a few bars that appeal to me, and I’ll play that as a vamp, or I’ll just play something else that’s a conscious reaction to avoid whatever else is there—like a negative-space kind of thing. But the DNA of Tim’s pieces heavily informs whatever I’m doing, so it’s not as clear-cut as ‘This is the composition, and now this is improvised.’ ” It sounds heady, but part of Mitchell’s musical excellence is his way of bringing a visceral physicality to everything he plays, whether it’s with his own mind-boggling jazz-and-electronica constructions—check out his just-released album A Pouting Grimace for evidence of that—or Berne’s sinuous and wide-ranging forms. “Tim just likes a lot of different kinds of music,” Mitchell says. “He has a very advanced harmonic concept that comes from an appraisal of the modern aspects of jazz harmony, and also from contemporary classical music, possibly. But it has a heavy dose of blues feeling to it, also, and there’s a very lyrical side to him which I think is not often talked about. People always talk about how crazy the stuff is when his bands really get going, and that’s true; it definitely gets ecstatic. But there’s a lot of lyricism in what he writes, and groove feeling, too.” Berne couldn’t be happier about what Mitchell has found in his scores, so perhaps we’ll let him have the last word. With førage, the saxophonist says, “Matt ended up doing exactly what was the best-case scenario for me. So it’s just going to be one superlative after another when it comes to his interpretive ability. Really, the guy is phenomenal.”
Who is Matt Mitchell? To B.C.–born Anna Webber, whose trio with Mitchell and drummer John Hollenbeck opened the 2017 Vancouver International Jazz Festival, he’s “a brilliant musician”. “Matt is the kind of guy,” she says, reached at her New York City home, “for whom you’ll write a piano part so difficult that you are worried it might be impossible to play, and after sight-reading it perfectly at rehearsal he’ll say, ‘Actually, it’s a little tricky.’ ” Local guitarist and oud player Gordon Grdina, who’s joined by Mitchell and drummer Jim Black in the improvisational group MGB, feels much the same. “Matt is an incredibly inspiring individual,” he says, checking in with the Straight from an Arcata, California, tour stop. “He manages to make things you thought were impossible effortless.” > ALEXANDER VARTY Meanwhile, Tim Berne—Mitchell’s fellow Brooklyn resident, as well as his bandleader in Snakeoil, which Matt Mitchell plays the Western Front recently played to a packed house at on Wednesday (October 25).
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band, a critically acclaimed indie-rock duo’. In a twoyear period, we were suddenly loved.” What Tegan and Sara took away from The Con— which followed 2004’s well-received So Jealous—was that anything was doable. That speaks volumes today about how they are determined to make a difference at a time when, increasingly, the battle seems like a futile one. “We sold hundreds of thousands of copies of So Jealous and established ourselves on radio and then we made an antiestablishment record,” Tegan remembers. “We didn’t make a commercial record—we did the opposite. We rejected the traditional studio route—we went in and recorded ourselves first, and then went in and added drums and bass. We made it dense and at times unlistenable. We disregarded all conventional routes. And we couldn’t have picked a better time to go out and do that again.” -
The Con remains extra special to them, and not just because it was where they finally entrenched themselves in the mainstream. When the record was released, the siblings found themselves on Warner Bros. after the indie label they’d been signed to, Sanctuary, got into financial trouble. Initial reviews were sporadic and, Tegan says, peppered with statements such as “I guess they can play their instruments”—snipes, she notes, that were sexist and sometimes even homophobic. “We’ve talked a lot about how Pitchfork and Alternative Press and NME were complimenting us, but how the language was coded in a way that felt really reductive,” she says. “But then something happened, and there was this groundswell. All of a sudden we started selling a lot of records, and thousands of people were showing up every night to see us play. It was a very strange twist in the plot. The language Tegan and Sara play the Queen Elizabeth Theatre next changed. All of a sudden we were ‘a beloved indie-rock Saturday (October 28).
MUSIC
Indie life is treating the Boom Booms well > BY JOHN L UC AS
H
ow much do you love the Boom Booms? If you’re reading this (which you are), the answer is probably “A whole lot.” That’s a safe bet, given that, in our annual Best of Vancouver poll, Georgia Straight readers have named the Boom Booms their favourite local unsigned band an impressive four times in the past five years. If you suspect that the “unsigned” part makes that a somewhat bittersweet honour, well, don’t feel too bad for the Boom Booms. “At this point, independent life is good,” says singer Aaron Ross, sitting down for an interview at a South Granville coffee shop along with his brother and bandmate, keyboardist Sean Ross. How good? It bears mentioning that the Boom Booms have managed to put out three excellent and well-received albums without the backing of a major record company, and they have logged an impressive number of miles touring. (More on that last point later.) “If it was the right label, to put us in touch with certain artists, to put us on tour opening for a certain artist, that specifically would be something that would be a terrific asset,” Aaron says. “Like, put us on tour with a great band, opening. Or make it easier for us to get to Europe and potentially the States—those areas I think a label could help us with.” But would an A&R team even know what to do with an act as eclectic as the Boom Booms? Sean suspects not. “People have a hard time putting us into a category—which can be a good thing but, from some of the people I’ve talked to, makes it tougher to find a lane with a label,” the keyboardist notes. “A lot of times they do things that are very specific.” If it can be a challenge to categorize the Boom Booms, that’s because the group draws upon a wide array of
After embracing Latin-American rhythms and old-school soul, the Boom Booms are shaping their own unique sound.
influences. The band’s first LP, 2011’s ¡Hot Rum!, was spiked with liberal doses of Latin-American and Caribbean rhythms, whereas 2014’s Love Is Overdue saw the Boom Booms pushing old-school R&B and Motown soul to the foreground. For A Million Miles, released just weeks ago, Aaron envisioned a worldgroove-oriented outing, but as the songs began to take shape, it became clear to all concerned that, rather than leaning too heavily on the sounds that inspired them, the Boom Booms were feeling inclined to sound like, well, the Boom Booms. “I think it all got synthesized a lot more on this one, and we went in a lot more open-ended,” says Sean. “The songs that Aaron had, we kind of just played them and then listened to it, and the direction wasn’t pushed as hard, and so I think we ended up with something that was more honest to what we like, or just honest to where we’re at right now. I really like listening back to it, because it just kind of is what it is, which I really dig.” “That’s always been the challenge— how you synthesize all the influences and make it into one distinct sound,”
Friday, Nov. 3, 2017 River Rock Casino Resort,
Aaron adds. “When you listen to Arcade Fire or U2 or Coldplay or whoever it is, when you hear that band you get that feeling, and it’s one thing that’s consistent throughout the record. I think we’re definitely closer to there after this record. This record is still very eclectic. It still dips into a lot of styles, but I feel like we’re one step closer to whatever our thing is.” A Million Miles is indeed wide-ranging sonically, kicking off in spartan fashion with the raw unplugged lament “Song for Noni” before rolling through (among other delights) the smooth modern pop of “All Day All Night”, the sweaty funk of “Masterpiece”, and the downtempo-jazz vibe of the instrumental “Pandora”. Lyrically, Aaron tackles some tough subjects. The album-closing gut-punch “I Am” is a real-life-inspired cautionary tale about a deadly drunk-driving incident. “Otherside” is less easy to parse, but its opening verse suggests it’s a streamof-consciousness response to life in the age of U.S. president Donald J. Trump: “Are you selling God or merchandise?/Are you working for the man?/He’s got snipers all
THU OCT 19
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some 500,000 miles to date—didn’t square with his vision for his life. According to Sean, “We had been touring for so long, so I think that year he had kind of been weighing whether or not he wanted to stick with the band. We took about a month break after the Commodore show we did [in October of 2015] and he just called and said ‘Hey, guys, I’m ready to pack it in.’ And he moved back to Ontario, and he’s got a little family and he’s living with his dad and he seems really, really happy.” “Yeah, he really wanted to lay down roots,” Aaron adds. “He felt bad about it. He felt like he was letting us down, and we said, ‘Nah, man, you’ve done your service here.’ ” As for the Boom Booms as a whole, they’re not going anywhere. Actually, let’s amend that to say that they have no intention of quitting, but they are definitely going somewhere. The title of their latest record ought to give you a clue as to exactly how ambitious these guys are when it comes to touring, which they are planning to do next spring. In the meantime, Vancouver fans—including all of those who dutifully vote for the Boom Booms in the Best of Vancouver survey every year—can catch them at a soft-seater this week. Sean promises it will be a hell of a show. “I think we sound better now than we ever have,” the keyboardist says. “We’ve been rehearsing like crazy for the Vogue show next Friday and I’m really getting impressed by us. It just sounds really good. It’s been a lot of work. We’ve worked really, really hard this year, so it’s nice to see things bearing fruit. Like, people enjoying the record obviously feels great, and being able to do the thing we’re doing musically live is just really satisfying. It’s just nice to see the work pay off.” -
around/The White House lawn’s as washed as your pocket.” “The lyrics are quite vague and open-ended and kind of float around from thing to thing,” the singer admits. “I wanted it to feel like someone’s psyche in 2017, where you’re a bit overloaded by information and you’re trying to process all the things that are going on, including Trump, including climate change, or bad news that you’re getting—just that inundated feeling. I want it to feel like a cathartic kind of thing, where you’re chanting all these things off your chest, in a way. That was kind of the vibe I was going for.” Throughout A Million Miles, the group only ever truly sounds like itself, which is a testament to the considerable chops of the Ross brothers and their bandmates—bassist Geordie Hart, guitarist Tom Van Deursen, and drummer-percussionist Theo Vincent. Long-time fans will notice one name missing from that list. The Boom Booms’ other percussion man, Richie Brinkman, has taken his leave of the band. It was an amicable departure; Brinkman decided that the group’s hard-touring ways—the Ross- The Boom Booms play the Vogue es estimate that they have covered Theatre on Friday (October 20).
Boogie Nights presents
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saturday sessions the original jam session 9pm-late
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Oct 26 Boogie Nights Halloween w. MUD FUNK Oct 27 Eggplant Halloween DOPEY’S ROBE & INTELLIGENCE SERVICE Oct 28 A Halloween Special w. BRIAN O’BRIEN
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OCTOBER 19 – 26 / 2017 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT 35
FROM NEW YORK: ERIC ALEXANDER Saxophonist Alexander is known for his high-octane energy and bravura technique. With Miles Black piano, Paul Rushka bass, and Jesse Cahill drums. Presented by Coastal Jazz. Oct 27-28, 8 pm, Frankie’s Jazz Club (765 Beatty). Tix $20, info | www.coastaljazz.ca.
music/ timeout
CONVERGE American metal band tours in support of upcoming release The Dusk in Us, with guests Sumac and Cult Leader. Jan 19, doors 8 pm, show 9 pm, Rickshaw Theatre. Tix $22.50 (plus service charges and fees) at www.ticketweb.ca/.
CONCERTS < CLUBS & VENUES <
CONCERTS 2JUST ANNOUNCED MARIA SCHNEIDER The multiple Grammy-winning jazz composer and conductor brings her genre-bending invention to collaborate with CapU’s “A” Band & NiteCap for a night of breathtaking artistry. Oct 27, BlueShore Financial Centre for the Performing Arts (2055 Purcell Way). Tix $45, info www.capilanou.ca/centre.
WAFIA Brisbane-based pop singer, with guest Jaira Burns. Jan 22, doors 8 pm, show 9 pm, Cobalt (917 Main). Tix on sale Oct 20, 10 am, $15 (plus service charges and fees) at www.ticketweb.ca/. MAJID JORDAN Canadian R&B duo performs on its Space Between World Tour. Feb 13, doors 8 pm, show 9 pm, Orpheum Theatre (601 Smithe). Tix on sale Oct 20, 10 am, $59.50/43/36 (plus service charges and fees) at www.livenation.com/. ROSTAM American art-pop musician and and former Vampire Weekend member. Feb 20, doors 8 pm, show 9 pm, Venue (881 Granville). Tix on sale Oct 20, 10 am, $20 (plus service charges and fees) at www.livenation.com/.
> Go on-line to read hundreds of I Saw You posts or to respond to a message < SAW YOU AT WINKING JUDGE FRIDAY THE 13TH
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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: OCTOBER 13, 2017 WHERE: Winking Judge I wanted to talk to you but it was too hard with my friend chatting. You were tall and cute with lots of tattoos. We kept looking at each other. I regret not speaking to you :)
A FANTASTIC WOMAN
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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: OCTOBER 5, 2017 WHERE: In the Line for the Film at the Centre We chatted while waiting for our respective groups of friends to join us in the line for the film at the Centre. You moved here from Alberta because of your sister and family (who has since moved to Winnipeg). I’d said that I’d wished I had some caffeine too and you’d replied that you should have sent something out to the universe to tell you to bring some for others. Our friends joined us before I’d the chance to ask if you’d like to meet for some caffeine or something... Hope that you read this and say “yes”! Would love to continue our chat...
LOCKED EYES AT THE GAS STATION
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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: OCTOBER 12, 2017 WHERE: Exit 7 Gas Station by Cypress I have pink hair, was wearing your average dark red MEC garb. Standing, leaning onto the door of a silver car. You, brown hair, jeans, pumping your average combustible fuel into a white Volkswagen. I thought I noticed you looking at me. I looked back. The next few minutes were a mental balancing act for me trying to figure out If I was being justifiably flirty or strangely creepy by trying to make eye contact. As you drove off I was pretty sure it wasn’t just in my mind. You were looking at me. Maybe respond and if it turns out we’re both justifiably flirty and not strangely creepy we can ride off together.
VANCOUVER AQUARIUM
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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: OCTOBER 15, 2017 WHERE: Vancouver Aquarium This may be totally inappropriate but I saw you a few times throughout your visit at the aquarium today. We talked a couple times and it seemed like you were interested the way you were looking at me when your family wasn't... just before you left you turned around one last time and we waved goodbye to each other. I really don't want that to be the last time we see each other. I really hope you see this.
ANDINA BREWERY FRIDAY OCT 13
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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: OCTOBER 13, 2017 WHERE: Andina I walked in by myself around 10-10:15 with the orange leather coat and ended up sitting at the table right behind you. You were sitting at the bar with your friend, both had bike helmets and were speaking spanish(?). You have long-ish dark hair and were wearing black leggings. Your friend has longer brown hair and a furry brown jacket. We made eye contact once or twice but I didn’t get to say hi to you before you both left. Would love to see you again and have a chat. Wanna meet there for a drink sometime?
ANGELA. MET YOU SUNDAY AFTERNOON OCT. 1
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CUTE BRUNETTE IN HASTINGS TRAFFIC.
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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: OCTOBER 14, 2017 WHERE: Hastings Near Commercial I was heading downtown on Hastings and you were heading east. You hard dark hair and it was pulled back. You had glasses. You drove a black car. I'm blonde. Scruff. Wore a grey sweater. Drove a blue car. We smiled at each other and you haven't left my mind since.
99 WITH A HOCKEY BAG
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MARY TIMONY American indie-rock musician performs the songs of Helium, with guest Allison Crutchfield. Feb 21, doors 8 pm, show 9 pm, Cobalt (917 Main). Tix on sale Oct 20, 10 am, $20 (plus service charges and fees) at Red Cat, Zulu Records, and www.ticketweb.ca/. CLEAN BANDIT British electronica band, composed of Jack Patterson, Luke Patterson, and Grace Chatto. Mar 26, doors 8 pm, show 9 pm, Commodore Ballroom (868 Granville). Tix on sale Oct 20, 10 am, $29.50 (plus service charges and fees) at www.livenation.com/.
2THIS WEEK HARRY MANX AND THE YALETOWN STRINGS Salt Spring Island blues/worldfusion singer-songwriter performs with the Yaletown String Quartet. Oct 21, 8 pm, Vogue Theatre (918 Granville). Tix $40 (plus service charges and fees) at www.ticketfly.com/. DAVID FOSTER FOUNDATION 30TH ANNIVERSARY MIRACLE CONCERT David Foster shares the stage with Steven Tyler, Robin Thicke, Jay Leno, the Tenors, Matteo Bocelli, and Laura Bretan in a fundraising concert for the David Foster Foundation. Oct 21, 9-11:30 pm, Rogers Arena (800 Griffiths Way). Tix $49-119 , info www.davidfostermiracleconcert.com/. BRAD MEHLDAU Cap Jazz’s season opener is widely recognized as the most influential jazz pianist of his era. Mehldau’s prolific original works, jazz standards, and inspired modern covers mesmerize with invention. Oct 24, 8 pm, BlueShore Financial Centre for the Performing Arts (2055 Purcell Way). Tix $48, info www.capilanou.ca/centre.
Theatre (601 Smithe). Tix $56.50/52/42 (plus service charges and fees) at www.ticketmaster.ca/. DEPECHE MODE English electronica band performs on its Global Spirit Tour. Oct 25, doors 6:30 pm, show 7:30 pm, Rogers Arena (800 Griffiths Way). Tix $125/95/75/49 (plus service charges and fees) at www.livenation.com/.
2UPCOMING HIGHLIGHTS JESSE COOK Canadian world-fusion guitarist tours in support of new album Beyond Borders. Oct 26, 7:30 pm, Queen Elizabeth Theatre (650 Hamilton). Tix $65160 (plus service charges and fees) at www.ticketmaster.ca/.
don’t miss out! For up-to-the-minute, searchable Music Time Out listings, visit
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ROGER WATERS Prog-rock legend and former Pink Floyd member performs on his Us + Them Tour. Oct 28-29, 8 pm, Rogers Arena (800 Griffiths Way). Tix from $52 to $247 (plus service charge and fees) at www.ticketmaster.ca/.
CLUBS & VENUES BACKSTAGE LOUNGE Arts Club Theatre, 1585 Johnston, 604-687-1354. Hot Jazz Jam night Tue. 2THE PHONIX Oct 19 2FIESTA AFRICANA Oct 21 BILTMORE CABARET 2755 Prince Edward, 604-676-0541. 2SINGLE MOTHERS Oct 19 2NASTY WOMEN COMEDY: FREAKY Oct 23 2SONGHOY BLUES Oct 27
DEADMAU5 Canadian electronica artist, BLUE MARTINI JAZZ CAFE 1516 DJ, and record producer performs on Yew, 604-428-2691. Live jazz, soul, and his lots of shows in a row: pt 2 tour, with blues. Closed on Mondays. 2TOQUE guests Kill the Noise. Oct 24, doors 8 pm, show 9 pm, Pacific Coliseum (Hastings Park, FLAMENCO Oct 19 100 N. Renfrew). Tix $80/45.85 (plus service COBALT 917 Main, 778-918-3671. 2WAND charges and fees) at www.livenation.com/. Oct 21 2THE BABE RAINBOW Oct 25 2HOCKEY DAD Oct 28 MASTODON American heavy-metal band tours in support of latest release COMMODORE BALLROOM 868 Granville, Emperor of Sand, with guests Eagles of 604-739-4550. 2STRIKE A CHORD GALA Death Metal and Russian Circles. Oct 25, Oct 19 2BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE doors 6:30 pm, show 7:30 pm, Orpheum Oct 20 2THE BLACK ANGELS Oct 22
2SLOWDIVE Oct 23 2MILKY CHANCE Oct 24 2TASH SULTANA Oct 25
FRANKIE’S JAZZ CLUB 765 Beatty, 778-727-0337. 2JOHN STETCH AND VULNERAVILLE Oct 19 2MARQUIS HILL BLACKTET Oct 21 FUNKY WINKER BEANS 37 W. Hastings. Evil Bastard Karaoke Experience seven days a week. THE IMPERIAL 319 Main, 604-868-0494. 2NOTHING BUT THIEVES Oct 19 2THE PAPERBOYS Oct 20 2BOOBYBALL Oct 21 2YELLE Oct 23 IVANHOE PUB 1038 Main, 604-608-1444. Pub with bands on weekends and jam night Sun. 2HARPDOG BROWN Oct 19 2BEATEN PATH Oct 20 2BLIND PIGEON Oct 21 2SONS OF THE HOE Oct 22 RAILWAY STAGE AND BEER CAFÉ 579 Dunsmuir, 604-564-1430. 24 taps of local craft beer. Comedy Tue, darts Wed, live music Wed, Thu, Fri, and all day/night Sat. 2BOOGIE NIGHTS Oct 19 2TODDCAST PODCAST FRIDAY NIGHTS VOL. 3 Oct 20 2COASTLINE PILOT Oct 21 RICKSHAW THEATRE 254 E. Hastings, 604-681-8915. 2CATTLE DECAPITATION Oct 18 2BOB MOULD Oct 22 2SECONDHAND SERENADE Oct 26 2GENITORTURERS Oct 27 2BLING OUT THE DEAD TOUR Oct 28 2THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER Oct 31 VENUE 881 Granville, 604-646-0064. 2ARIEL PINK Oct 20 2ZOLA JESUS Oct 21 VOGUE THEATRE 918 Granville, 604-5691144. 2HANSON Oct 18 2WHITEHORSE Oct 19 2THE BOOM BOOMS Oct 20 2HARRY MANX AND THE YALETOWN STRINGS Oct 21 2YELAWOLF Oct 24 2YELAWOLF Oct 24 2HOODIE ALLEN Oct 25
TIME OUT MUSIC LISTINGS are a public service provided free of charge, based on available space and editorial discretion. Submit listings online using the event-submission form at straight.com/AddEvent. Events that don’t make it into the paper due to space constraints will appear on the website.
I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: OCTOBER 13, 2017 WHERE: 99 B line from Main to Arbutus I got on at Main - had a terrible night. We made eye contact a couple times and you made me blush. You were maybe coming from a late practice? I had a big scarf, jean jacket. Thanks. I’d look at you again.
YOU TOLD ME WHAT BUS I WAS ON
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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: OCTOBER 15, 2017 WHERE: Eastbound 16 Bus I asked you if you knew what bus we were on, I had been running for the bus and got on the wrong one. I said I’d get off at Victoria and switch. I thanked you as I was getting off and stole a glance or two of you. Would love to meet you.
ON THE BUSES
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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: OCTOBER 1, 2017 WHERE: Outside of IGA on Broadway and Arbutus
I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: OCTOBER 5, 2017 WHERE: #240 Marine Drive, North Vancouver
Angela. Had noticed you a couple times in the past. Got the nerve to stop and chat with you outside of IGA around 5:30 pm Oct. 1. We spoke of the film biz. I asked if you worked in the Industry, I was sure I had seen you before. I said I was a fishing guide who occasionally worked as Marine Film support. Kicked myself for not asking you if you would have a glass of wine with me sometime. If you wished. Jason
We boarded the #240 together at Pemberton and Marine Drive in North Vancouver. You were going to meet a friend for lunch and I was off to a business meeting downtown. We chatted about the weather, bus etiquette and your Irish heritage. You left the bus at Burrard and I travelled onwards. Your classic styling and elegance just blew me away. Meet me for a coffee sometime ?
Visit straight.com to post your FREE I Saw You _
EMPLOYMENT
HELP WANTED WANTED: TILE SETTERS
for RNR Tile & Stone Ltd located at #115-4268 Lozells Ave in Burnaby . Duties include:prepare, measure and mark surfaces, mix, apply and spread mortar, cement or other adhesives. Set,straighten, and install tiles for various projects in Lower Mainland, B.C. Some High School plus 3 years or more experience in tile setting and basic English required.Rate: $25.00 to $28.00 per hour, 40 hours per week, Full time, 10 days paid vacation. Apply through FAX: 604-415-9181 or EMAIL: rnrtileandstone@telus.net
www.straight.com 36 THE GEORGIA GEORGIA STRAIGHT STRAIGHT OCTOBER OCTOBER19 19––26 26//2017 2017
DOMESTIC/HOME SUPPORT
CAREGIVER NEEDED
Qualified caregiver required immediately to take care of an older lady with dementia. Will be requiring about 5 hours per day, between Sat. & Mon. and Wed. & Fri.Hours and wage negotiable. Please email neilsnothot@gmail.com
HOME & GARDEN SERVICES
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ALTERNATIVE HEALTH Post Trauma Self Recovery How? Info_PTSR@shaw.ca
SUPPORT GROUPS Nar-Anon North Van 12-step program for families and friends of addicts, meets Tuesdays from 7:30 to 9 pm 176 2nd Street East in North Van.
Info: nar-anonbcregion.org RECOVERY International FEAR? DEPRESSION? PANIC ATTACKS? Feelings that keep you from really living your life? A way out is where we come in. Weekly meetings. Call for info: 9am - 5pm Kathy 778-554-1026 www.recoverycanada.org
Sex Addicts Anonymous 12-step fellowship of men & women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other, that they may solve their common problem and help others recover from their sexual addiction. Membership is open to all who desire to stop addictive sexual behaviour. For a meeting list as well as email & phone contacts go to our website at
www.saavancouver.org Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous (SLAA) Do you have a problem with sex and love relationships. You are not alone. SLAA is a 12 Step 12 Tradition oriented fellowship for those who suffer from sex and love addiction. Leave a message on our phone line and somebody will call you back for meeting time and locations. 604 515-5423 SEXAHOLICS ANONYMOUS - Vancouver, BC For those desiring their own sexual sobriety, please go to www.sa.org for meetings times and places. We are here to help you from being overwhelmed. Newcomers are gratefully welcomed. Support, Education & Action Group for Women that have experienced male violence. Call Vancouver Rape Relief 604-872-8212 The Compassionate Friends (TCF) Burnaby TCF is a grief support group for parents who have experienced the loss of a child, at any age. Meet the last Wednesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. For location call Grace: 778-222-0446 "We Need Not Walk Alone" compassionatecircle@hotmail.com Burnaby@TCFCanada.net www.tcfcanada.net Is your life affected by someone else's drug use? Nar-Anon Family Group Meeting Every Friday 7:30-9:00 pm at Barclay Manor, 1447 Barclay
Nar-Anon 604 878-8844
MUSIC
RECORDING STUDIOS M R & D Studios Vancouver's most comfortable 2"-24 track, ADAT & ProTools HD. Mastering $55/hr eng, prod. & arranger incl. 604-421-2988
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savage love My only child is 16 years old.
He was curious about sex from a very young age and very open with me, so his interest in sexual matters gave me ample opportunity to talk with him about safety and consent. He went through a cross-dressing phase when he was small—mostly wanting to wear nail polish and try on mascara—and I felt like I navigated those waters pretty well, but his father made attempts to squelch those impulses. (He and I are divorced. He has since remarried and is less involved.) That’s the background. I’ve always accepted that he is who he is and done my best to help guide and educate him. Then last year I caught him trying to shoplift a pair of panties. I’m not the sort of mom who freaks out, but I made him put them back and talked to him about his actions. When I asked him why he stole them, he refused to tell me. I asked: “Did you want them to masturbate with? Did you want to wear them?” He said he wanted to try them on. I told him that if he wanted to explore, he needed to do that with a legal purchase and in the privacy of his own room. Today I found a girl’s bra in the laundry. He says he doesn’t know whose it is or how it got there, but this isn’t my fi rst rodeo. What on earth do I do? If I send him to a therapist and this is about being trans or cross-dressing tendencies, I’m afraid that will shame him. However, this is now something of a criminal/ethical concern, and I want to nip that in the bud. He is in every way a wonderful human: kind, smart, funny, athletic, no drugs. Is this just the
same kid who has always been curious about sex? Or are these warning signs of some sort of sexual deviance? Please help. > MOM IN SLEEPY SOUTH CAROLINA LOVINGLY EDUCATES OFFSPRING
Take a deep breath, MISSCLEO, or take two—take however many you need until you’re back in touch with your inner mom, the one who doesn’t freak out. Your son may be a cross-dresser or he may be trans or he may find bras and panties titillating because women wear them and he wants to sleep with women (not be one). (Lots of gay boys are titillated by jockstraps—but a closeted gay boy can collect ’em all without freaking out his mom.) We can’t know whether your son is a cross-dresser, trans, or merely titillated, MISSCLEO, but he’s clearly exploring and wants to do so privately. So while he could go to his mom and ask for a pair of panties and let her know exactly how he intends to use them, he doesn’t want to ask his mom for a pair of panties or share his uses for them with his mom. He knows you’ve always accepted him for who he is (but a reminder never hurts), so if this is about his gender identity, well, you’ll have to trust that he’ll share that with you when he’s ready. But if this is about a kink, he may never share that info with you, because why on earth would he? Kinks are for sharing with lovers, not mothers. Give your son some space, including the space to make his own mistakes. As teenage misbehaviour goes,
> BY DAN SAVAGE swiping a single pair of panties isn’t exactly a crime spree. If you suspect he snuck into the girls’ locker room and made off with a bra (there has to be an easier way for a guy to get his hands on a bra!), you’ll want to address that with him—not the “Why do you want a bra?” part but the risk of getting caught, suspended, expelled, or worse. There are too many prosecutors out there looking for excuses to slap the “sex offender” label on teenagers—especially in the Bible Belt. My hunch is you don’t have a sex offender on your hands or a kid drifting into organized crime. You have a slightly pervy teenage boy who’s curious about sex and who may, like millions of other men, have a thing for women’s undergarments. You should emphasize the Not Okay–ness of shoplifting panties from stores or stealing bras from classmates (or the siblings of friends or Laundromats or thrift stores) and the possible consequences should he get caught—theft charges, suspension/expulsion, losing friends, coming into the sights of a sex-negative prosecutor. (Seriously: A man like Harvey Weinstein gets away with allegedly assaulting women for decades but prosecutors across the country are throwing the book at teenagers who got caught sharing pics they took of themselves with their BFs/GFs/NBFs.) But otherwise, MISSCLEO, I’m going to advise you to back the fuck off. Your son knows you love him; he knows he can talk to you about anything; and he’ll confide in you if and when he’s ready—if, again, this is something he needs to discuss with you at all.
My father passed away sud-
denly. I had a very idyllic childhood and was close to my father and my mother (who is also deceased). Upon sorting through my father’s stuff after his death, I stumbled upon his erotica collection. If it were just a stack of Playboys, I would have thought nothing of it—that’s just men being men. However, his collection contained material that was quite disturbing to me, including photos depicting violent sexual acts and fictional erotica books and magazines with themes of incest. Additionally, there were letters from people with whom he was obviously having extramarital affairs, including during the time that I was a child and believed that we were a “normal” family. Since discovering this, it has been hard for me to come to terms with it and think of my father in the way that I used to. I can barely stand to look at a photograph of him. I consider myself to be a sex-positive person, and I realize that even parents are entitled to be kinky, but I simply can’t get over this. Any suggestions for how to deal with what I’m feeling and how to try to get past it? > PARENT’S AROUSAL REALLY ENDED NICE THOUGHTS
Sex-positive, huh? Could’ve fooled me. Your dad was a kinky motherfucker—you know that now—and if you’ve been reading Savage Love for a while, you’ll know that lots of people are kinky and, distressingly, lots of people out there “enjoy” incest porn. “Of the top hundred searches by men on Pornhub,” Seth
Stephens-Davidowitz writes in his book Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are, “16 are looking for incest-themed videos.” And it’s not just men: “Nine of the top hundred searches on Pornhub by women are for incest-themed videos.” Th at’s cold comfort, I realize, and it doesn’t make it any less squicky, but your dad’s tastes weren’t as freakish as you thought and/or hoped. As for his affairs, your happy childhood, and your suddenly conflicted feelings… Your mother isn’t with us, PARENT, so you can’t ask her what her arrangement was with your father. But it’s unlikely you would have had such an idyllic childhood if your parents’ marriage was contentious and your mom was miserable about your dad’s cheating and his kinks. It seems likely that your mom didn’t have a problem with your dad’s sexual interests or she tolerated them or—and I hope you’re sitting down—she was an active and happy participant. (Kinky women weren’t invented in a lab in San Francisco in 2008.) If your mom didn’t have a problem with your dad’s kinks (which she had to have known about) or his affairs (which she might not have known about), I don’t see why they should be a problem for you. On the Lovecast, Dan chats with the creator of a naughty, naughty game: savagelovecast.com . Email: mail@ savagelove.net. Follow Dan on Twitter @fakedansavage. ITMFA.org.
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