The Sound | February 2020

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FEBRUARY 2020, ISSUE 55 • EMOTIONAL MOTION SICKNESS SINCE JUNE 2015 • FREE!!!

ThE SOUND



ThE SOUND FEBRUARY 2020, ISSUE 55 • EMOTIONAL MOTION SICKNESS SINCE JUNE 2015 • FREE!!!

ThE SOUND

FEBRUARY 2020, VOl 5, ISSUE 9

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For Press Releases, Inquiries, Ad Sales, Listings or any sort of anything and whatever please email Chris Illich at: thesoundstc@gmail.com

THIS MONTH'S CONTRIBUTORS Thank you, we love you!

Jenny Arndt Patrick Crummey Karissa Fast Bart Gazzola Matt Harley Lindsay Hatch Chris Illich Marinko Jareb Melissa Morlacchetti Sheldon Rooney Celeste Turner Bob Vandervalk Adam White Joan Wiley Cover Image: And So On (2019) by Cynthia Chapman, as part of Modern Masters at the Gallery at 13th Street Winery

Most major cities in Canada and around the world have an alternative paper that covers the culture of their city or region, but few have the thriving arts scene, vibrant entrepeneurs and paper-worthy stories that our region has to offer. In addition to our monthly paper, thesound.rocks posts fresh and exclusive content on our website. If you like what you see on these pages, write to us, write for us, join the conversation online, tell your friends, tell your parents, tell your boss, tell anyone. C’mon. The Sound STC a locally owned city magazine. It was was founded in April 2015 by Chris Illich. The Sound is published monthly and 4,500 copies are distributed free of charge through more than 200 locations in the Niagara region. The contents in The Sound STC are those of the writer, and do not reflect the views of The Sound STC.

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Special thanks goes to: • Art is Hell Studios • Mel Monaco • Jordan Bryson • Greg Janssen • Road Waves • Jason Michael


WILL THE SENATE BREAK DEMOCRACY? BY PATRICK CRUMMEY

Writing in 1954, Walter Lippmann, speaking about liberal democracies stated: '[T]hey are faced with popular movements, aided and abetted by unfriendly foreign powers, and employing the machinery of democratic governments to capture it and abolish it.' Reading this, just days before the opening of Donald Trump's impeachment trial in the Senate, caused me to sit back in my chair and wonder if Lippmann had been in possession of a crystal ball. Since Trump's election in 2016, both citizens and scholars of liberal democracy have beat their hands bloody in an attempt to understand just how such a man could find himself the President of the United States. The last few years have felt like an anomaly. Book after book, documentaries, blogs – all of them trying to provide answers to explain the dumpster fire that is Donald J. Trump. Given this, it is somewhat comforting to read Lippmann, and find that such concerns are nothing new to liberal democracy. Indeed, the liberal democratic order has survived turmoil before, and can again. No one is expecting the Senate trial to be pretty. At the time of writing, it is still uncertain whether or not Republicans will even allow witnesses – a trial without witnesses, although abhorrent, it does seem fitting for the times. And, let's make no mistake about it, the impeachment and trial of Donald Trump is not just about Trump, but will stand as an indictment of this period in our history. I fear in this case, history will be a harsh judge. In their opening salvo, Trump's legal team chose to attack the process, not the case. They accuse the Democrats of rushing the impeachment through Congress, and using it as a 'political tool'. Of course it's a political tool. An election is also a political tool. The Constitution itself, is in essence, a political tool. Political tools are intended to provide a way for plural societies to function and govern themselves. The political tool of impeachment is being used in an attempt to oust one of the most dangerous Presidents in U.S history before he can have a chance to be re-elected. In other words, it's being used exactly as the Founding Fathers had intended it to be used. Although not the first impeachment, Donald Trump's is the first impeachment to involve a foreign government. Andrew Jackson was impeached in 1868 because he fired his Secretary of War without Congressional approval. In 1998, Bill Clinton was impeached for lying to Congress regarding the nature of his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Trump invited a foreign power (the Ukraine) into the domestic affairs of the United States for his own political gain – withholding aid and potentially derailing US foreign policy in Eastern Europe. In other words, Trump makes both Jackson and Clinton look like Boy Scouts.

A level of certainty is another distinguishing feature of the Trump impeachment. In Jackson's case, the jurisprudence surrounding the President's ability to dismiss a member of his executive was still unclear. In fact, Jackson's impeachment and subsequent trial would lead to the 25th Amendment being added to the Constitution, as both Congress and the Executive branch sought clarity. Clinton's impeachment could be characterized as perhaps the greatest, 'he said, she said' of the late 20th century. In Trump's case, we have a telephone transcript, a timeline of when the aid was released, and to top it all off – Trump's own tweets. If the Senate acquits, it will be as the result of a technicality, and not the evidence. To me, the far more dangerous character in this macabre play is Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell. Trump himself is a populist stooge, relying solely on the anger of Middle America. McConnell on the other hand, has lurked the halls of power for decades, and is a prudent political operator. Right now, he's trying to derail, obscure, and fast-track the trial.

Whether or not he will be allowed to steamroll the proceedings will very much rely on whether or not his fellow Republicans, like Mitt Romney and others, have the backbone to see the trial not simply as a partisan act, but as a defining moment in the due process of American democracy. In Lippmann's assessment, the only saving grace for liberal democracy is for democratic societies to cling to what he terms, 'the public philosophy' – a set of governing rules defined by truths that are found only through reason. In an age of 'fake news' and Russian bots, this is a tall order. Donald Trump was able to seize on popular movements. He was aided and abetted by foreign governments unfriendly to the U.S, and used the machinery of democracy to ascend to the Oval Office. The question that remains is not whether Donald Trump abused his position for personal political gain. The question is whether one hundred senators will fulfill their oaths, uphold the public philosophy, and place America back on a path of reason.


FINDING THE NEW LOCALES IN NIAGARA FALLS

BY CHRIS ILLICH There’s a lot to love and hate about Niagara Falls. On one side it’s a fun little tourist destination. It could be a playground for the family, a romantic getaway, or a night on the town all encompassed by a pair of casinos, some expensive restaurants and some natural wonder. On another, an area that offers valuable and significant wetlands that are full of ‘Paradise’ and other prospective developments. For those that live here, Niagara Falls has always been everything away from ‘the strip’ – a tough working class city, a border city, full of urban decay, dive-y establishments and sports bars. But lately, things have been taking a different turn for the locals. While the city has their fair their fair share of gems — an excellent fine dining scene, a couple of great breweries, a caring library system, a hip History Museum and farmers market, and some of the best burritos and wonton soup money can buy on this side of Ontario — over the past few months, three new bars/restaurants have opened up and have made people excited about going out to these downtown hotspots. Over at 5984 Main St., local., opened by Nathan Warriner, Steve Kellerman and Kevin Kelly in late November, replaced an old book store named Page One Books with ‘Niagara’s newest local pub.’ “The gentleman who ran the store passed away, so a friend of mine who runs the building asked me to list the place, as I’m a realtor as well,” explained Warriner. “It needed a lot of love and work and I wasn't getting any luck. It was around the time that marijuana was about to become legal, so, Steve and I decided to try and create a retail marijuana store. Around that time, my phone started blowing up with people wanting the space to do the same thing. Kevin was actually one of the guys who called me, we actually didn’t even know each other before we started this place.” After realizing that they were never going to be one of 25-in-17,000 applications they decided

to turn the space into a bar. After pulling some favours from friends along the way, they were able to transform an old book store into a comfortable bar/lounge and kitchen. “It took us a full year. We started in November of 2018, and our liquor license was issued on November 28, 2019 and we opened up the next day,” laughed Kellerman. “There were literally table saws all over the restaurant an hour before we opened. We were able to do a soft opening and invite a bunch of our friends.” The restaurant boasts an all-Niagara craft beer and wine roster that are coupled with a variety of salads and sandwich options. There’s no screens (aside from an arcade machine), just a nice comfortable room. local. offers a simple but intimate experience for people to just relax and wind down, have some drinks and some conversation. Although generally neglected, Main St. offers a wealth of untapped potential with the Niagara Falls History Museum and Farmer’s Market just around the corner, with a $12.3 million Cultural Hub coming somet time in the future. Plus, the area is less than a kilometre from the Fallsview Casino and the new entertainment facility that's nearly finished. “You need to lead by example and let people think ‘Hey, these guys were crazy enough to give this spot a shot, let’s see what we can do too.’ The spot needs it,” said Kelly. “Change is slow and we’re thinking longview and what this could all be in five or ten years. We can see that there are things happening here, it’s just a work in progress.” On the other side of Stanley, Camp Cataract, at the old Capitol Q at 4317 Queen St., around the corner from the Niagara Falls Bus Terminal, opened their doors in October, 2019. Best explained: Camp Cataract is a “hats off to the nostalgia of Niagara Falls bygone places, while capturing that catch-all place that you would find in any cabin town up north.”

Adam Buller and Katie Webb of Brainkite Co. Artistic Solutions, much like Kellerman and Warriner, never intended to create a bar. Their initial idea was to open a pinball museum, aptly tiled the Niagara Falls Pinball Museum. After collecting the pinball machines, things didn't quite pan out for them because of a few "operational variances". “A bright idea lightbulb just popped out of nowhere, and a little voice in my head said ‘make a northern catch-all space called Camp Cataract’. All the ideas came together in one hour,” explained Buller. “I was feeling a lot of anxiety, and a lot of push from the landlord, and this place was ready to bypass all of the city’s regulation problems as a bar, but not a pinball museum.” The Camp offers two items on their menu: pizza and nachos. “And I think we do them pretty damn well,” said Buller. “I never thought I’d be thinking about pizza dough as much as I do now,” laughed Webb. Upon walking into the space, retro arcade and pinball machines look to the right, and a tuck shop greets you on the left. Facing the bar on the right, camp tables, crokinole boards and a canoe adorn the left side facing the bar. Further back into the bar, sit a ping pong table and a table top hockey machine before you reach the stage that hosts music, theatre and comedy shows. The whole space conjures feelings of play and immediately immerses you into the space. It just feels like a modern and adult take on the camp counsellor's hangout. “For a long time, we've just worked on art projects and blitzed them for a few days or weeks and then walked away to the next project,” explained Buller. “This is the first project that we’ve never been able to do that with. Making it was great fun, and now we get to work on a living breathing art installation that has a chance to provide perpetual income for us artists. Thankfully, old school main streets and mom and pop places are becoming cool again..”

Further down the street, a newly renovated restaurant just opened up at their brand new location this past January. Jeffros BBQ, now home at 4555 Queen St., finally made the move across the street. Jeff Freimanis and his wife Jenny started their restaurant six years ago, born out of a love for backyard barbecues, owner Jeff Freimanis explained. “We had this pool party and people were just going nuts for the BBQ, saying I should open a restaurant. At that time, I owned a couple of vac trucks doing hydrovac excavation and I had never though of opening a restaurant ever. Then Jenny just said ‘Let’s try it out’, and hell ensued,” he laughed. The Freimanis then worked towards creating a downtown BBQ destination that offered great food and drinks for a modest price, that also hosted live music and a variety of events that ranged from shrimp boils to whole hog barbecues. When they started turning people away due to lack of space during peak times, they knew they had to expand their business. “I’m really excited about this new space. The vibe over there is the same, just on a bigger scale. It just has more opportunities for more people,” said Freimanis "It’s going to be a kick-ass venue for live music.” Freimanis, a musician himself, explained how excited he was for the potential for the restaurant to become another venue for live music in Niagara Falls. The space is spacious and hosts a stage larger than the majority of restaurants in the Niagara Region. “I know a ton of local bands that can’t wait to play on the stage, and I can’t wait either,” he said. Much like the previously mentioned restaurants, Jeffros BBQ was anticipated to open in September / October and things didn’t work out that way. But then again, “Good things take time,” said Freimanis, a message passed on from one of his neighbours. “We’re really proud to be a part of Queen St., It’s really nice to have people come out to a local spot that they can call their local spot.”

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PAINTING MODERNITY Kazio Nakamura, Reflection (1983) Courtesy of the Gallery at 13th Street Winery.

BY BART GAZZOLA

“[Jasper] Johns recognized that one's knowledge of reality is at best fragmented, impure and incomplete. He may incorporate attributes associated with the traditions of abstract art, still life, portraiture and trompe l'oeil realism but in the final analysis his art belongs to none of these traditions because he refuses to subscribe to the ideologies and belief systems inherent in each of them.” John Yau, The United States of Jasper Johns

among us) couldn't even agree on what that term meant. Schwabsky (an interesting critic out of the U.K.) had a Eurocentric focus, feeling the need to offer a history of the term. I countered this with Slavoj Žižek's idea that 'we' in the 'West' are like the character in the film Memento, who know something important happened but can't exactly remember what, though it casts a shadow over our amnesiatic efforts).

I once told a #karaokemodernist, when he whinged that I 'hate painting' that, I, in fact, just hated his 'painting' (I did make air quotes, as I spoke to him). This came to mind recently when I encountered, like stepping in leavings on a sidewalk, the slosh from someone who jabbered about 'moderns' and had — perhaps, being charitable — read one or two things about the highly contested (and very engaging within that arguing) dialogue of Modernism. Years ago, I was also a panellist for a fine show titled Rewilding Modernity, and two of the strongest voices from that exhibition —both female curators — spoke of their 'pugilistic approach' to Modernism. The panel I sat on was an interesting mix wherein the participants (Barry Schwabsky

When I visited an exhibition at 13 th Street Winery in this new year, with the straightforward title of Modern Masters, these (of course) contested narratives were in my mind. The list — and the breadth — of the artists on display are challenging, not just to the visitor, but also to each other. I often consider Ad Reinhardt, a fine painter and art historian, who joked that his works were often installed separately from other artists working in abstraction, as his aesthetic asked hard questions of the other paintings. I see this as a good thing, as conversations — or again, arguments — happen within the gallery space, and the viewer is 'caught' between and within them. This — as many of the paintings

6 | February 2020

are visually arresting and enticing — is a wonderful thing. The works exist within a few loose frameworks. There are pieces by Riopelle or Joyce Weiland (her work, March, is as playful as much of her paintings), that date back decades, and some that are as recent as 2019. There's a Karl Appel (who co-founded Cobra, and his Two Heads has splashes of yellow on white) and a Nichole Katsuras (Decision Before Dawn has chunky blues, looking like they've burst out of the black). Cynthia Chapman's And So On also offers flickers of colour on a darkened field, whereas Jean McEwen and Kazio Nakamura are more frenetic in their application of colour. There's also discourse between the artists / artworks: Henry Saxe does it most directly, with his Homage a Riopelle (and Homage a Borduas, as both are argualy among the first rank of painters of their generation, not just Canadian). The time span of the works also offers potential to see how some of the artists here directly, or more ephemerally, influenced those who came after them. The quantity and power, in the larger sizes of works on display, make it an experience that can be overwhelming, and the viewer should give themselves over to, letting the colour and forms wash over them, almost. Julian Bell in the book What is Painting? Representation and Modern Art offers an idea, from the (in) famous action painter Jackson Pollock: “I think they should look not for, but look passively...it

should be enjoyed just as music as enjoyed.” Bell elaborates on this: “In other words, there was no prior context to the painting itself. The viewer's eyes would submit, and the painting would act.” Most is abstracted, and very large. The space is something of an 'art barn' (I say without prejudice) so its a massive space that allows the pieces to 'breathe', if you will. Some names will be familiar to you, others may not. As well, though primarily two dimensional, several very solid metal works break into the physical space (and can, perhaps, be seen as emissaries of the outdoor art collection 'straying' into the gallery space proper). Doug Bentham is the most prolific representation of this (his works are less impressive, however, than Ball #20 2nd Variation or Le Loup Garou by Doug Saxe, who also has some vivid painted works on display). Some of the work was passable, some was puerile and some was pulchritudinous. The press release describes this as a 'blue chip' collection but its too uneven for that (though I saw an Otto Rogers I enjoyed, Tall Tree On Cliff Edge, which despite having seen much of his work on the prairies, was never the case before Modern Masters). Clearly, it is all work that has sold for a fine price, but even though a work like Michael Adamson's The Sun, The Sun may be expensive, it's still mimicry of Hans Hoffman. With the heavy weight given to abstraction, I'm tempted to bastardize a line from Clement Greenberg's comments that photography is hard because it is so easy: he meant that because the process was predetermined, in 'taking' images, that the artist had to push themselves towards more criticality. Abstraction, in eschewing story telling, stands solely on a formal ground: if it fails to interest visually, it fails. More John Yau, about American master Jasper Johns, but relevant here: “The desire for immediacy is overwhelming...One of the issues painters must face is how to locate this desire in a medium which cannot overcome its own physical presence; they must grapple with what that presence could mean in a secular world where no belief or ideology is central. For while painting is no longer a way to show the viewer that the earthly world is connected to the heavens, so we can believe that we can be released from what we are and become what we dream, the desire for release remains unabated.” This is not to say that there aren't artists here who offer landscapes translated and transformed, but the strongest works exemplify that “..painting...is based on the fact that only what can be seen there is there. It really is an object...What you see is what you see.' (Frank Stella, who defined hard edged abstraction in the last century). David Bolduc's Wing Chun is very 'there', in this sense. Don't stand in front of it expecting, but just experience it. Modern Masters is on display at the Gallery at 13th Street Winery until the middle of March: go see it, and go see it often, as I've barely offered a taste of what's on display, and the show is as diverse as the space is tall and wide and full of works. The gallery hours are 10 AM to 5 PM, Tuesday to Saturday. As well as the gallery space, the outdoor artworks are worth a visit, as they sometimes work within, or challenge, the landscape.


Teresa Carlesimo with Michael DiRisio: more light than heat, 2019, installation view at Rodman Hall Art Centre/Brock University. Courtesy of the artists. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.

OPAQUE AND OBTUSE: more light than heat BY BART GAZZOLA

The exhibition more light than heat (Teresa Carlesimo with Michael DiRisio, curated by Carina Magazzeni) is an opaque exhibition. On numerous visits, a sentiment has become more formed in my mind. Essentially, that the necessary context for a full appreciation of this exhibition is unavailable to the visitor, and that even upon numerous visits, has not become more transparent or accessible. Anyone who's suffered through my writings on art over the past few years knows I'm a fan of a phrase by Alice Gregory, as it so perfectly encapsulates what is so often a problem in contemporary art – especially Canadian, with its intense academic flavour. Or perhaps taint, if you will, is a better phrase. Gregory asserts that "...contemporary art...for the past century has often been the product of speech acts. I am an artist because I say I am an artist. This is art because I say it is." This is dually appropriate for more light than heat as the statement on the wall for the show is evocatively well written and erudite: the artworks in the gallery, though sometimes well executed, are not. Allow me to invoke the curator's aforementioned words: more light than heat invokes an uneasiness with space. The exhibition features common construction materials manipulated into sculptural forms, participatory installations and fictional spaces, and video works that push recognizable forms to their formless

limits. [The] Hamilton-based artists...present an exhibition that exposes their behind-the-scenes inquiries into the built environment through a series of works that play with the authenticity of building materials and inexpensive “fast construction.” Through this, the exhibition gestures towards the ways by which our everyday spaces cannot be separated from capitalism, nor our world’s current environmental shift. more light than heat is a discussion that doesn’t necessarily provide the answers or illuminate a solidified thesis – rather, the exhibition exists as an agitation with materiality, the built environment, and natural resources to pose questions about our everyday spaces. Acting as an extension of their recent presentation of a form of formlessness presented at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, this exhibition at Rodman Hall Art Centre can be understood as an elongated exposure of artistic process and labour. It's an amusing slur to assume that most art writers will use the term 'derivative' to slag off art works: here, however, with uninspired appropriations of ideas and formal tenets from artists like Dan Flavin (with his use of fluorescent lighting) or Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Mirrors, it is true. Frankly, Marinko Jareb's mirror installation in the washroom at NAC does more to destabilize the visitor than the 'mirror' work in more light than heat, named Untitled (clouds). This is not to say that the exhibition fails completely in terms of

visual seduction. A video loop by Carlesimo, Montebello 01, which sits on the landing before you enter the larger back gallery space is somewhat engaging, and the fragmented video projection of the depth we wanted, needed, so we compressed it all has its moments of success. But the proliferation of 'marble' makes no clear or accessible correlation to the 'history' of Rodman Hall (with its marble fireplaces), and the random objects in a form of assembly are mute as to any relevance or interaction with the visitor. There is an unfinished, and unresolved, quality to this show: in speaking of it as a 'gesture', it is an incomplete one, and in doing so falters more so than suggest contested possibilities. It's like incomplete student work; no offence to some of the fine student work I've experienced lately, especially in the photo show Translations at the MIWSFPA. Years ago, when I interacted with a series of works by Jane Ash Poitras, her paintings were accompanied by several page statements: the viewer had no interest to read these, as the artworks themselves seemed almost to be afterthoughts — an inconvenience — to the words. Similar to the situation at Rodman Hall, Danny Custodio's exhibition Flower Carpets/Tapetes Floridos on display concurrent to more light than heat is very beautiful, and offers a great deal to the viewer that invites you to mine the larger ideas behind the photographs. Returning to the Poitras show, Rebecca Belmore's blood on the snow was also on display, and with almost no accompanying statement or didactic, the sculpture was far more evocative and interesting. I'm also reminded of a curatorial venture from Corrina Ghaznavi which I visited nearly a decade ago, where the positioning of the artists, and their interrelation, was so specific to her yet was not communicated to anyone else. In that respect, the gallery goer was left cold. The text on the wall for more light than heat is well written. The artworks are not well executed, nor achieve what art must be: a well made, and meaningful — to the visitors, not just the artists — object. I offer this having experienced more light than heat on nearly a dozen occasions, and despite my 'reputation', I don't enjoy having to point out that a show fails. This is doubly problematic as the artists are alumni of Brock, and could have offered an interesting rejoinder to some of the facile dismissal of Rodman's relevance to the MIWSFPA coming from Brock administration. If this is the last exhibition to experience at Rodman, before its closure, it is a disappointing one. This is neither a strong show visually, nor alluring conceptually: it mimics what might be the forms of art without the self criticality and consideration of the viewer necessary to speak more strongly, and more clearly. I wanted more — require more, bluntly — and that was not on display here. more light than heat, an exhibition by Teresa Carlesimo with Michael DiRisio an curated by Carina Magazzeni, is on display at Rodman Hall Art Centre until the March 15, 2020.

IN GALLERIES NOW WELLAND: TIMES PRESENT TIMES PAST Sandy Fairbairn has been taking

photographs of Niagara for over forty years, focusing on the people and places around him. His images of Niagara stretch back to the 1970s, and some of the scenes presented in Welland: Time Present Time Past will be shown in the Rose City for the very first time. Opening reception will be on Saturday, February 15 from 2-5pm. • ART IS HELL STUDIOS (Feb. 15 - Mar. 15)

15th ANNUAL HERITAGE ART COMPETITION The winners of the Annual

Heritage Art Competition will have their work on display for the month of February and for Heritage Week. An Award Celebration is being held Sunday Feb. 23rd 2-4pm in the GPAG Community Exhibition Space.

• GRIMSBY PUBLIC ART GALLERY

FANTASY FLEUR COLLECTION & WHAT SHE SEES Lauren Regier (Fantasy

Fleur Collection) and Erica Sherwood (What She Sees) display their visual works at Mahtay Cafe for the month of February. Opening reception will be on Friday, February 7 at 6pm. • MAHTAY CAFE (Feb. 1 - Mar. 1)

SACRED SPACES: KAITLYN ROBERTS & CHARDON TRIMBLE-KIRK An exhibition into understanding emotional vulnerability and self reflection, while unpacking the human need for comfort. Each work offers a juxtaposition between the covering and uncovering realities of mental illness. The uncovering comes from personal texts written across these spaces, as well as the exposure of the body, and curiously the covering of the eyes in each figurative work. Opening reception will be on Wednesday, February 12 from 5-8pm.

• VISA GALLERY AT MARILYN I. WALKER SCHOOL OF FINE AND PERFORMING ARTS (Feb. 6-29)

ARTATHON: 50 YEARS OF KEEPING ON! Among the first artist-run-centres in Canada, Niagara Artists Centre is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2019. Over the years, the centre has supported and exhibited experimental work and fostered an intergenerational community of local artists. This exhibition includes selected works from NAC archives. • RIVERBRINK ART MUSEUM (Feb. 1-22)

IMAGINED

URBAN

GARDENS

Responding to the explorations of urban architecture and its materials in Teresa Carlesimo and Michael DiRisio: more light than heat, Imagined Urban Gardens also reflects on today's global warming and how we could live in the future. We dream of green spaces and pleasantly warm cities. Brock University students in Visual Arts and Studies in Arts and Culture envision in text and image what could be in a livable world. • RODMAN HALL ART CENTRE (Feb. 1 - Mar. 1)

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Genevieve Jones on the stage at Camp Cataract.

THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES The 1996 play still remains as vital as ever.

BY CHRIS ILLICH

On February 28, 15 women from Niagara are coming together to raise money and awareness in an effort to end violence against women through their production of the important piece of theatre, The Vagina Monologues. Originally written by Eve Ensler and developed and premiered Off-Off-Broadway in 1996, The Vagina Monologues consists of nine monologues that explore ideas of ‘consensual and nonconsensual sexual experiences, body image, genital mutilation, direct and indirect encounters with birth, vaginal care, menstrual periods, sex work, and several other topics through the eyes of

women with various ages, races, sexualities, and other differences.’ In 1998, Ensler launched the V-Day campaign, a global non-profit movement that has raised over $100 million for groups to end violence against women through the profits raised from different productions of The Vagina Monologues. “It transforms women’s lives every year I do it. I find myself compelled to continue to put life into this play because it’s a very special experience,” said six-time Director Genevieve Jones, who originally began directing the production in Halifax in 2013.

Collen McTigue, Assisstant Director and transgender woman, resonated with Jones’ statement: “I’m actually one of the women who’s life has been transformed because of this play. The first time I was a member of the cast, I was still not very sure of myself as a woman. I wasn’t very comfortable with myself, and by being part of the cast, going through the rehearsals and finding the acceptance of the other cast members, it really helped me find my footing and helped me feel connected to other women. It really was a transformative experience for me.” For others, it’s a chance to hone their acting skills. Erica Sherwood, who performed duties as lighting designer in the 2018 production of Jones’ The Vagina Monologues at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, enjoyed the production so much that she offered to act in this year’s production. “For me, as an actor, I think it’s really great practice to do a monologue specifically. It’s one thing to act and to have lines with another person and to act and react. But, when you have nothing to react to, it’s a different beast as an actor,” Sherwood said. The production also features Emily Andrews, Jenny Arndt, Jules Bartley, Jillian Dowling, Catherine Parker, Kristina Ojaperv, Darcie Drake, Erica Sherwood, Cat Skinner and Brie Watson who act alongside Stage Manager Amanda McDonnell and Music Directors Laurel Minnes and Katey Gatta who bookend the performance with music composed by Minnes. “I knew I wanted to have music in this year’s production, and then I saw a video of Laurel

ON THE STAGE FALSETTOS A seamless pairing of March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland, acclaimed Off Broadway musicals written nearly a decade apart, Falsettos is the tale of Marvin, who leaves his wife and young son to live with another man. His exwife marries his psychiatrist, and Marvin ends up alone. Two years later, Marvin is reunited with his lover on the eve of his son’s bar mitzvah, just as AIDS is beginning its insidious spread. • THE FIREHALL THEATRE (Feb. 21 Mar. 8) THE ARCHIVIST Shaista Latif is a storyteller who has been invited to tell a story and her time is limited. So, she will be justifying her existence and building a live archive to mark her eventual disappearance. • FIRSTONTARIO PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE (Feb. 27-29) PORT COLBOURNE OPERATIC SOCIETY PRESENTS: MAMMA MIA

Travel with us to an island paradise in Greece for the smash hit musical that made ABBA’s songs famous again. This spirited show invites us to reflect on how the most unexpected events can bring out the best in us and in our relationships. It is a celebration of love, family and friendship which features tunes that will bring back many

performing with Minuscule and she really inspired me to ask her to bring some music to the play,” said Jones. One of Jones’ main objectives of directing a play so widely renowned and performed was to find a way to make the production different from their last. While there are a ‘certain amount of director’s notes that you have to follow’, Jones explained that she wanted to scale the production down, and return it to it’s essence: a group of women in a bar with a microphone sharing their stories. Something the venue itself lends it’s hand to. “I went to the grand opening of Camp Cataract and fell in love with the space and the stage. I knew in that moment that I wanted to do it there. The venue itself has really played a huge part in how I’m going to make it different, as the functions of the space are so intimate,” she said. “I think in today’s world, The Vagina Monologues is a very relevant piece of theatre, and it’s very topical because the statistics that are happening with women are there. So, no matter which way you spin it – you can criticize the play, which I encourage – but it’s relevant no matter what. That’s the beauty of it. It transforms people’s lives or it entertains people for a night. At the end of the day, it does something pretty awesome." The Vagina Monologues will take place at Camp Cataract in Niagara Falls on February 28-29, and all proceeds will be donated to Gillian’s Place in St. Catharines, one of Ontario’s first shelters for abused women and children. memories. Be sure to join us – you’ll probably be dancing in the aisles before the final curtain!

• LAKESHORE CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL (Feb 22 - Mar. 8) PERDITA OR, THE WINTER'S TALE

Perdita, or The Winter’s Tale, views through the eyes of a child the chaos set in motion by a father’s paranoid jealousy. King Leontes’ psychosis is terrifying as he plots to kill his best friend Polixenes on suspicion of adultery with Queen Hermione. But when he threatens the lives of the Queen and her newborn daughter, Leontes succeeds only in killing his heir, the ailing prince Maximillius. In the storm of recrimination that follows, Max steps out of Time to save his baby sister, manipulating the Winter’s Tale by imagining reality anew.

• THE THEATRE AT THE MARILYN I. SCHOOL OF FINE AND PERFORMING ARTS (Feb. 28 - Mar. 7) ALL NIGHT LONG - HITZ OF THE 80s It's time to rock your funkiest fluorescents, because the 80s are totally back! Don't miss this high-energy, jam-packed party of a musical as we invite you to the 80s prom of your dreams! Come dressed in your 80s best ready to celebrate the decade's gnarliest songs, artists and fashion trends. Each night the students of “Richmond High” will battle for the title of prom king and queen. So, "put on your red shoes", be "simply irresistible", and let’s have "the time of our lives!" • OH CANADA EH THEATRE (Feb 6 Apr. 11)


IDEAS & ABILITIES: THE ARCHIVIST

BY CHRIS ILLICH

Neat and tidy bows aren’t Shaista Latif’s forte when it comes to storytelling. She’s the kind of person who prefers effective engagement over happy endings and a nicely packaged presentation. At the barebones of her one-woman show, The Archivist, is a narrative of "endurance

and of resilience", a narrative that has been transforming over the past three years, continually changing as Latif changes as a person and as an artist herself. The plot reads: “To mark her position and her eventual disappearance, Shaista creates a live archive of found objects, music, photos and film

to boldly question who has the right to document a history of war.” but Latif asserted that the show can't be so easily described. “When people think of solo shows, they think of one person on stage, telling you the story of their life,” Latif said. “But the whole point of this show is to illustrate that it’s impossible for one kind of representation to be shown, one kind of way of telling a story. That’s the difficulty in it all. In the end of it all, I think part of the resistance shown in the show is that I refuse to describe who I am as a person.” The exploration of the different facets of self, herself and everyone else are core to the experience of The Archivist, produced in association with Why Not Theatre. Through both dramatic and humourous storytelling, Latif examines her own relationship to her identity, to our own identities, while discussing the way we understand stories with a sense of play, humility and curiosity. Latif, a queer woman of colour living in Toronto, who is more akin to a performance artist than a traditional theatre playwright, began her artistic career when she graduated from stand up comedy classes in 2007 when she was 19. After performing in comedy productions for several years, she decided she wanted to move into theatre and in 2016 performed her first solo show, Graceful Rebellions, which told the story of three Afghan women. It was around this time that she began workshopping The Archivist. In order to garner a different variety of responses to the production, Latif encouraged

people of colour to come and write reviews of the show in exchange for complementary tickets, something she still does to this date. “It’s all about critical engagement. Usually people are so wanting to be able to share their stories, so there’s a value in doing this. I think people also see themselves in this story because its becoming more and more of a common story. It’s a story of displacement. It’s a story of migrants, refugees and immigrants coming to this country while having to contend with new realities of having to choose what they take with them. Our new identities are all hybrid ones." “So the show just really questions what our relationship is to power, to culture, and to our identity. But don’t worry. It’s so funny, trust me. There’s no way you can be as depressed as I am without having a great sense of humour," she laughed. For me, it’s not about giving a show, it’s a way of engaging. I wanted to experience how many ways I can tell a story, and how many times in telling that story, do I become it?” Performances of The Archivist take place at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre from Feb. 27-29. Ticket information can be found at firstontariopac. ca. Shaista Latif would like to continue the conversation, by inviting responses and reviews from audience members of colour. Complimentary tickets are available, if you are interested in participating in this initiative please email awilson@stcatharines.com

You’ve been touring this work for over two years now, how has the show developed over time and what can audiences expect from the production? I would say that the show has become

more refined. Sometimes we find little details that we change a little bit, but the production has matured a lot in two years. Audiences are going to see something that will hopefully move them, because above all, BJM has a reputation for being very entertaining. We are a cerebral and visceral company, and our goal is to make people forget about their problems for the time of the performance. With Mr. Leonard Cohen as the highlight of the evening, you can imagine that we are diving deep into everyone's emotions.

LEONARD COHEN'S DANCE ME

An Interview with Ballets Jazz Montreal's Artistic Director Louis Robitaille

BY CHRIS ILLICH

In 1972 Ballets Jazz Montreal was founded, and has been creating high caliber, contemporary dance pieces for over 48 years. In 1973, now Artistic Director of the company, Louis Robataille, received a scholarship to take part in Ballets Jazz Montreal’s summer training program. After dancing with the company and many others for 25 years, in 1998, Robataille accepted the honour of being named Ballets Jazz Montreal Artistic Director, where he redefined the company itself, creating a contemporary identity for the dance company. In 2017, the company premiered Leonard Cohen’s Dance Me and are touring the now iconic performance, stopping at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre for two shows on February 23.

You’ve spent your whole life in dance, starting early in high school and travelling the world, and now you’ve been Artistic Director for Ballets Jazz Montreal [BJM] for over twenty years. How would you describe your ascent in your career and how have you seen the world of dance change? Very shortly, my life is kind of ordinary. I’ve been in this business for more than 45 years. I started very young. I came to dance kind of late, and did most of my career here in Montreal. I was one of the first students to receive a grant from BJM. Then one day, when I was almost 40-years-old, I received a call one day offering the

responsibility of artistic activities of BJM. During that time, I’ve seen the evolution of dance, and it has changed tremendously. BJM used to be a jazz dance company, but now we’re definitely a contemporary or fusion dance company. We are always working to involve different art disciplines into dance creation.

What was it like to create Dance Me? It was the most ambitious project in the history of the company. It was quite a headache sometimes. We’ve been through many challenges with this production, but we wanted that. We wanted to see how far we could go with the creation of this. We mixed the choreography between three choreographers, but there’s also a lot of theatre transitions and dramatic lines. There were many collaborators that gave their input, so it was, for myself, quite difficult to keep my vision for the production. It was very difficult and tough, but it was also a great experience.

Finally, what was your relationship with Mr. Cohen? Not personal, unfortunately. This

project was accepted and supported by Mr. Leonard Cohen himself, but we had most of the conversations through his lawyer, his agent, and his son Adam Cohen. I never had the chance to talk to him directly, we were always communicating through email. I almost believe that this project wouldn’t have happened without his support. Getting the rights to his music was a nightmare until the moment Mr. Cohen accepted it. He sent us a wish list and we made it our goal to stay honest to Mr. Cohen and to highlight his life work. Suddenly, one morning before we even started working in the studio, we received the news that he had passed away. It was a really sad moment because we though he would live forever and see the creation, but it didn’t happen. But, we’ve felt like he’s been with us ever since. Visit firstontariopac.ca for more information.


DIZ JAMES MOVES PAST THE LIGHT

BY CHRIS ILLICH

“This album for me is about two or three years old. moments of darkness, but hopefully we never lose It took me two attempts, recording it all on an eight sense that there’s a light surrounding it. It really channel Tascam recorder with manual faders and no helped me dig into my negative spaces and not lose editing capabilities,” explained Nicholas Braun, who touch of something good.” released six records under the moniker of Diz James. Braun, who is in his third year as a student in the For the past five years, Braun has been making Music Performance program at Brock University as these somber bedroom pop records, by himself with a percussionist, also performs in local acts Fat Moth only three microphones, “none of which were all and Moonfox. His previous resume include Fourth that good.” But the music is. Knowing the tools that Way, Senegal Astroturf and Kaptur. Recently, he were used to create Diz James has started his own live band for latest, The Light, you’ll be even Diz James, consisting of drummer more surprised. Joe Mahony, bassist Graeme Hales, “I’ve written a lot of music over guitarist Scott Lavalle and Danielle the past few years and within Mattachini who performs vocals the time of 2016-20 I’ve taught alongside Braun while he plays his myself how to record from the guitar and keyboard. very basis of knowing nothing,” “So, we have this five piece, he explained. “There was a large and together we’ve been learning learning curve learning how to music as I write and record turn these recordings onto the it,” Braun explained, while machine into something. For mentioning that he was moving The Light (2020) The Light, everything happened towards digital recording for his logistically and in order. I arrived at what I thought next record. “We’re writing together and really was the best sounds I could suck out of all this shitty honing in on a sound, trying to move away from recording equipment.” more melancholy sounds and moving towards The Light, mastered by Joe Lapinski, released on music with a bit more energy.” February 1. The record was written during a time of With The Light casting a shadow behind him, reflection, after Braun dropped out of school and had Braun mentioned that he already looking forward, to spend some time in the hospital due to psychosis. ready for the year ahead. He was broken, and used music to make sense of it all. “It’s been done for a while, and it was time to share “These songs all kind of deal with the difficulties it and be ready to move on right away. I wanted to in life. Whether it be mental illness, issues with get this album out early this year and follow it up spirituality or global situations. They take you with more new music throughout the year. I really through some of these situations in a variety of want it to be a busy year,” he said. “I’ve just been musical ways,” explained Braun. through some negative experiences and am excited “The title track that closes the album really talks to create something more energetic and positive for about how we all deal with perpetual struggles and an audience. ”


one. Dboy remains committed to spreading love across borders, and stays true to the thirteen point program to end sonic austerity. Above all, Dboy remains committed to their own sonic and existential aestheticism, and will continue to exist for its sake, for as long as the gears of the International Performance and Recreation Council keep spinning.

New Records is a 12 song, 19 minute album. Do you feel you need to get your message and missions across quickly and tightly because of people’s shortened attention spans, or is there another reason to it? I think that's a big

part of it. People don't want to sit through a five minute song. Who could blame them? There's no reason to take up five minutes, when one minute will do. It doesn't make sense to write ten pages, when a paragraph will cover everything with clarity, force, and precision. Damn the build-up. Dboy is only concerned with the climax. In 2020, it's senseless to be wasteful with food, words, or time.

DBOY: THE GREATEST BAND EVER AND FOREVER – PART TWO

BY CHRIS ILLICH

Two years ago, we had the opportunity to get the first glance of the Welland power rock trio known as Dboy. Our last encounter was rather rough, with us being blindfolded and brought into their subterranean hideout. But now, after two years of proving my love to the boy, the timing was right. Their new record New Records in Human Power is set to release and I figured this would be my time to try and infiltrate Dboy and learn more of their secrets. I think it worked. Dboy released Prove Your Love: Live in Belem back in 2018, and it became an instant classic – an album stacked with euphoric rock ‘n’ roll bangers. How did you go about creating a follow up to such a magnificent and life altering record in New Records in Human Power? Was there a decision in releasing both albums on Feb. 14? Y'know... Valentines Day? New Records in Human Power is an expression of free will and another finger on

the hand of the aesthetic existentialism that is at the centre of everything we do. There is no better day to release it than February 14. It's always been shit. Lupercalia was a pathetic Roman expression of masochism, which turned into a strange, quasireligious celebration of those who have found their partners, regardless of whether or not they even really like one another. We have taken it over and made it less about the couple and more about the collective. Instead of buying flowers or candy, present and prospective scouts can buy a record for themselves. Instead of giving your hard earned money to a corporation, you can open your mind, heart, and wallets to the boy.

How did the 'Dboy for President' campaign go last February? Is it still underway with the release of New Records? Or are we on to a new phase of Dboy with this release? After Prove Your Love (Live! in Belem) ran its course, and the presidential campaign touched down on either side of the Atlantic, it became apparent that the movement towards Dboy as global president is a perpetual

Has there been any backlash to Dboy that would be notable and worth speaking of? Have people been unwilling to don the mask and prove their love? I think it's safe to

say that anyone of any sense endorses the Dboy campaign, as the alternatives are fairly grim.

Have you managed to maintain a good relationship with your ‘gimps’? Do they have personal lives anymore? Or are they treated with the highest honor of being able to harness their full creative power?

Al Right, Theo Bare, and King Boy maintain the highest quality of life, and adhere to the thirteen point program with diamond precision. Dboy is a collective that exists and pays social currency to the International Performance and Recreation Council. In that sense, there's no separation between any of the three predominant members, who are connected by the sinews and cartilage that is the Order of Dboy Scouts. It's all a very fine balance, and we are expert gymnasts. It's not about friendship. It's about productivity.

Do you have a personal life anymore or has the title of ‘the Boy’ taken over? Was there anyone other than ‘the Boy’ – as in, are you the first ‘Boy’? Also, I think one question that I’ve failed to ask you was – where did ‘theBoy’ come from? What’s the backstory

behind Dboy, ‘the Boy’ and his gimps? Sorry if this seems like a lot of questions, you just don't give us many answers. As such a notable

collective, there isn't much sense of discussing the personal. While the three wolves might be the symbols and standards that most stand out, the entire order are on a level playing field. In that sense, there's no real point of talking about 'first', so long as there's no point of talking about 'last'. It makes much more sense to talk about the constantly changing whole, where each pillar of fortitude is one of thousands of papillae and receptacles that makes up the whole of the tongue.

When will Dboy declare themselves a religion for tax exempt status? Should we be looking forward to the First Demonination of Dboy? So long as there are transistors of hate and satellites of fake love, every day is Dboy day.

Why would you say Dboy has been such a triumph? Obviously, a great live show goes a long way. Have the three missions of Dboy that you stated to me two years ago been well though out and received – You’ve sounded cool, you’ve looked cool, but how has your mission to end sonic and creative austerity gone so far? At the end of every set,

there is a moment where no one knows if what they've just witnessed is done. The boy leaves the stage. The feedback continues until someone decides they have had enough, and the curtain comes down. The crowd decides whether it will last one, two, or ten minutes. In that sense, the mission to end sonic and creative austerity has been a complete success. Dboy empowers the passive cultural contrarian to take control over what they want in a 20 minute explosion. However, it's ongoing. In a time and place where nothing is cool and everything is cool simultaneously, Dboy strikes back.

Now that I’ve proved my love each and everyday as a Dboy Scout, why haven’t the chains of creative oppression been released from me? Is there a new message, and new form of thinking that I should be addressing now in 2020? Haven’t we proved our love enough? As long as the wankers of rock rule the roost, there will be bones to pick and some to break. Now, is proof of love meant to give or take? Dboy perform with Ancient Shapes and Blue at the Warehouse on February 14.


THE FILM HOUSE FEBRUARY 2020 SUNDAY 26 JAN

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MONDAY 7p NR 27 JAN

ONTARIO FILM AUTHORITY RATING

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General (suitable for all) Parental Guidance Advised NR Not Rated B Brock University Film Society 2 FEB

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JOIN A COMMUNITY OF FILM LOVERS Film House Memberships are only $30 +HST and are valid for one year from date of purchase. Perks of membership include: A A A A A A A

$7 entry to all films (2 tickets limit per membership) 2 for 1 tickets to the premiere screening of select feature film 15% discount off concession products, excluding alcohol Invitations to post-screening Q+As and panel discussions Exchange tickets, as needed Bi-weekly e-newsletter Direct-to-home mailing of your Film+Dining Guide THE FILM HOUSE FIRSTONTARIOPAC.CA Box Office: 905-688-0722 250 St. Paul St. / St. Catharines

Sat 15 Feb 4PM

TRANSFINITE

USA, UK, India, 2019. Directed by Neelu Bhuman. 70 mins. NR Presented in English, Spanish, Swahili, and Navajo with English subtitles. Transfinite is a somewhat dark and funny, visually and musically expressive sci-fi feature length film made up of seven standalone stories that are connected by the common thread of power–power to protect, power to love, power to teach, fight, and thrive. All the seven stories, NAJMA, ASURA, SHAYLA, BAHARI, NOVA, MAYA, VIVA, written by seven trans and queer writers with myriad backgrounds reflect this singular vision and the cohesive sensibility is designed by the filmmaker using exquisite poetry, subtle VFX, sublime animation, and enveloping music. Presented by OPIRG Brock, Brock Student Justice Centre, and Niagara Artist Centre.


KNIVES OUT

HONEY BOY

Acclaimed writer and director Rian Johnson (Brick, Looper, Star Wars: The Last Jedi) pays tribute to mystery mastermind Agatha Christie in Knives Out, a fresh, modern-day murder mystery where everyone is a suspect. When renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, the inquisitive and debonair Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is mysteriously enlisted to investigate.

From a screenplay by Shia LaBeouf, based on his own experiences, award-winning filmmaker Alma Har’el brings to life a young actor’s stormy childhood and early adult years as he struggles to reconcile with his father through cinema and dreams. Fictionalizing his childhood’s ascent to stardom, and subsequent adult crash-landing into rehab and recovery, Har’el casts Noah Jupe and Lucas Hedges as Otis Lort, navigating different stages in a frenetic career. LaBeouf takes on the daring and therapeutic challenge of playing a version of his own father, an exrodeo clown and a felon.

USA, 2019. Directed by Rian Johnson. 130 min. 14A

NR

Sat 1 Feb 4PM / Sun 2 Feb 7PM / Tue 4 Feb 7PM / Fri 7 Feb 9PM / Fri 14 Feb 9PM

With an all-star ensemble cast including Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, LaKeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, and Jaeden Martell, Knives Out is a fun, witty, and stylish whodunit.

THE CAVE

Sat 1 Feb 9PM / Thu 6 Feb 7PM / Sun 9 Feb 7PM

USA, 2019. Directed by Chinonye Chukwu. 103 min. R Years of carrying out death row executions have taken a toll on prison warden Bernadine Williams (Alfre Woodard). As she prepares to execute another inmate, Bernadine must confront the psychological and emotional demons her job creates, ultimately connecting her to the man she is sanctioned to kill.

Oscar nominee Feras Fayyad (Last Men in Aleppo) delivers an unflinching story of the Syrian war with his powerful new documentary. For besieged civilians, hope and safety lie underground inside the subterranean hospital known as the Cave, where pediatrician and managing physician Dr. Amani Ballour and her colleagues Samaher and Dr. Alaa have claimed their right to work as equals alongside their male counterparts, doing their jobs in a way that would be unthinkable in the oppressively patriarchal culture that exists above.

“This is screen acting of a very rare sort, and Clemency is a vital emotional powerhouse sorely deserving of being seen.” - Matt Fagerholm, RogerEbert.com

Sun 2 Feb 4PM / Wed 5 Feb 7PM / Sat 8 Feb 4PM

“Austere and resonant, this drama about the horrors of the death penalty roots itself in a vivid, pain-wracked, soul-tired main character and still manages to get its message across without preaching.” - Jeffrey M. Anderson, Common Sense Media

Czech Republic, New Zealand, USA, 2019. Directed by Taika Waititi. 108 min. PG

Canada, 2019. Directed by Mathew Rankin. 90 min. 14A Presented in English and French with English subtitles.

Writer director Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok, Hunt for the Wilderpeople), brings his signature style of humor and pathos to his latest film, Jojo Rabbit, a World War II satire that follows a lonely German boy (Roman Griffin Davis as JoJo) whose world view is turned upside down when he discovers his single mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a young Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in their attic. Aided only by his idiotic imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi), Jojo must confront his blind nationalism. “There’s real hope, humanity, and nobones-about-it Nazi-bashing at a time when that’s depressingly necessary.” - Ben Travis, Empire

Fri 7 Feb 6:30PM / Sat 8 Feb 6:30PM / Sun 9 Feb 4PM / Tue 11 Feb 7PM

THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

JOJO RABBIT

Thu 13 Feb 7PM / Sat 15 Feb 9PM / Sun 16 Feb 7PM / Tue 18 Feb 7PM / Fri 21 Feb 9PM

“Honey Boy is a fluent, heartfelt, tightly structured, and well acted personal story.” - Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

CLEMENCY

Syria, Denmark, Germany, USA, Qatar, 2019. Directed by Feras Fayyad. 95 min. R Presented in Arabic with English subtitles.

“A moving, beautifully humanistic story whose inevitable hardships are laced with real hope and levity. “ - Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly

USA, 2019. Directed by Alma Har’el. 94 min. 14A

The Twentieth Century transports us to Toronto, in 1899. A young politician in training, W.L. Mackenzie King hesitates in love between a Quebec nurse and a British soldier, while maintaining a secret link with a shoe. “A killer ensemble featuring Sean Cullen, Sarianne Cormier, and Louis Negin rounds out this bizarrely beautiful biopic for a history lesson you’ll never forget.” - Chandler Levack, The Globe and Mail Fri 28 Feb 9PM / Sat 29 Feb 9PM / Fri 6 Mar 9PM


THE JUST RIPE: PEARL MORISSETTE'S SPUTINK BY LINDSAY HATCH

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Riesling is easily one of the signature grapes of flavour of oak into the wine. They will however, Niagara, and it comes in many styles from dry to allow for oxygen to slowly seep into the wine during sweet and great to unfortunately bad... just like all fermentation, encouraging a rounder richer mouth wines produced all over the world. Having spent feel. The wine fermented with natural yeasts from the last two Vintages 2018/2019 in Alsace, France the vineyard — think similar to sourdough bread — focusing a large part of the harvests on high end and is then left to rest on said yeast after fermentation single vineyard Cru Rieslings. The grape has found a for eight months. The Sputnik is made without the home in my heart and takes up the better part of two addition of chemicals and is bottled unfined and levels of my wine rack. unfiltered. This wine is unique and delicious, I Unfortunately, Riesling has received the short end recommend that you serve it slightly chilled but not of the stick. Over the past few years the shelves at too cold... or you might miss the texture. Smells like the LCBO have been flooded with sweet, clunky and lemons and apricots come to the forefront and leave unbalanced rieslings – leaving Riesling to receive a a zesty quality that makes your mouth water just from bit of a bad wrap. Because of this, they are dismissed the aroma. There is a big floral aspect to the boquet of quickly for being too sweet and too basic. However, the wine that reminds me of white orange blossoms Rieslings in my eyes, when well farmed and well dusted in some sort of winter spice and notes that made, have the ability to present such an exciting remind me of a dry hay bales. The palate is filled with flavour profile, and a structure that keeps you ripe stony and citrus fruit. It is rich with a silky thick wanting more. texture and has an awesome backbone of acidity. A My current favorite Niagara Riesling is the 2017 finish that lingers for several minutes and leaves you Sputnik from Pearl Morissette. Pearl Morissette is with a tart and vibrant salinity. The Pearl Morissette a winery who release wines that sell out before you Sputnik is a wine to drink today, tomorrow or many can even blink. Luckily, for those in Ontario, they still years to come. have some of this wine available online. The fruit is Wine: 2017 Sputnik Riesling from Butlers Grant Vineyard which is in the 20 Winery: Pearl Morissette Mile Bench sub-appellation – an area that stretches Price: $30 east to west from Fifteen Mile Creek to just passed Where to buy: pearlmorissette.com ANSFOR Cherry Avenue. All of the fruit was hand-harvested TR M RANSFORM T and put into the press in whole cluster form. After Fun Fact: There are over 100 wineries in pressing, all of the juice from the skins are transferred Niagara making some sort of expression of Riesling into large old oak Foudres (which are large oval oak and Riesling is used in %17 of Ontarios’ total annual barrels) that are so old they do not actually add the production of wine! (from VQA wines of Ontario)

WITH ANGELA

ARTS THERAPY WITH ANGELA

ARTS THERAPY WITH ANGELA

My name is Marcus Miller. 22 years old. I work as a parking lot attendant in Laval, a suburb of Montreal, in the year of our lord, 1999. This is not the story of some English guy in his new and strange French surroundings. No. I write because it is how I got here that is important: one year ago my old boss, Will Warbutton, was involved in a brutal accident that changed my life. The second and final time he would change it. Will was the owner of The Magic Writer Pen Company and I was one of his pen salesmen that had it all... I’m getting ahead of myself... In my second year of N-college I began sabotaging everything. My studies and passion was in business advertisement; a career in the corporate world would be my destiny. I would be the inventor of slogans, logos, entire commercials for big business. I would wake up every morning put on an expensive suit, and give presentations of my own imagination to sell to the highest bidder and make my millions. I found out fast but not fast enough that the first steps toward my dream were the wrong ones; school wasn’t panning out as I had planned. Anxious with classes that I thought were too slow, a tedium and snails pace of a curriculum killing any hands on creative action I felt as I was ready for. The alternate slogans, logos, and jingles I made in my spare time filled me with delusions that I could skip the formal training and show up to any boardroom in the country with but the ideas in my head. The depressing, sick-inducing truth was a degree and post-secondary references were my one and only ticket to the show.

There I was, second year of college and miserable. A low outlook I seemed to share with a majority of my classmates; they didn’t even know if business advertisement was the right choice for them: so they partied. First semester of our second year we were thick as drunken, slovenly, sub-human thieves. For me, the flailing fellowship novelty soon wore off and, turning my back on them, I opted to beat up my brain cells in private. I’d thrown in the towel while picking up some nasty habits along the way. I figured I’d squeak out a passing grade and try to enjoy the torture in the meantime. However, flashes of my old self continued to pop up: unique ideas, under intoxicating circumstances, would grip me in a product stranglehold. Big money still ran my thoughts. One blurry, three-tylenol-for-breakfast kind of morning the college newsletter I’d left on the kitchen floor caught my eye. Leafing through it I came across an ad that stuck out like a beet-red thumb. It read: “WANT THE BIG BUCKS? I AM A PEN SALESMAN WHO MADE IT BIG AND I WANT YOU!” A pen salesman who’d made it big?! Who ever thought of that? Was it for real? How the hell does a pen salesman make it big?! The ad was for The Magic Writer Pen Company and it’s owner, Will Warbutton, was holding a seminar near the college the following night. I decided to go. What did I have to lose? At the end of my rope and nerves like Swiss cheese I knew I needed something! If nothing else, I wanted to meet the man responsible for the ad.

Continued next month in The Sound...


BEST READS OF 2019

BY KARISSA FAST

There’s something magical about being truly gripped by a good book – the plot tugging at the back of your mind, the characters bouncing around in your subconscious. As a kid I loved to check out huge piles of Redwall novels and see how many I could finish before the due date. Now, as a librarian, part of my job is to keep a little database in my mind of great books and why they might appeal to someone. 2019 was an incredible year for books, and one of the best reading years of my life. I polished off 30,502 pages across 110 books and read a wide variety of non-fiction, literary fiction, suspense, fantasy, graphic novels, teen fiction, and children’s novels. Here’s a look at 3 of my favourite Canadian novels published in 2019:

Kings, Queens, and In-betweens by Tanya Boteju – YA Fiction I would give this book five out of five stars just for how deeply I enjoyed the magical dive into drag culture. Nima is a 17 year old bi-racial lesbian. She’s a little awkward, and a lot in love with a straight girl. It seems like she’s doomed to pine away in silence forever until she stumbles across the drag tent at the

local fair. Almost immediately she meets the fabulous Deidre and is swept up into the glittery, exhilarating world of drag. Many queer books focus on devastating moments – rejection, abuse, fear. Those moments are real and important and I’m glad readers can experience them through YA novels. But it’s less common to find

Oculum by Philippa Dowding – Middle Grade (age 8 – 12) Dystopia This remarkably original story takes place long after an apocalyptic environmental collapse wiped out most of humanity. Some humans survived and now live a life of farming and scavenging amongst the piles of garbage left by humanity. Bees and fruit have become extinct. In the middle of a rundown city is a giant pearly globe. 1000

children live inside, raised by robots called Mothers. They have no knowledge of the outside world. But they do have a seed library, and real fruit trees. What will happen when the two oldest children discover a door to the outside? Similar to The Giver in quality, content, appeal, and originality, Oculum really is children's literature. It's

Albatross by Terry Fallis – Adult Comedy Fiction Delightful is the word that comes to mind. Terry Fallis books always have a strong comedic premise – but they also have depth. They have a clear moral without being cheesy. And this is my favourite of them all. Adam is a teenager who wants to be the next great Canadian novelist. When his gym teacher finds out he has the proportions of the ideal golf player — closer to perfect than has ever been

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR:

discovered — he takes a different path. Golf comes so easily to him that his first ever swing rivals the skill of the top professionals. So begins the most apathetic professional athletic career in the history of sports. Oh, and there is a lovely romance, a deep platonic friendship, a backcountry camping trip, a kidnapping, and lots of obscure references to writing implements. Surprisingly I enjoyed learning about golf, and getting a

a queer book that centers on joy. Kings, Queens, and InBetweens is about the joy of being yourself, the joy of finding your people, and the joy of trying new things. Canadian author Tanya Boteju has given us a gripping coming-of-age story rich with diversity, and full to the brim with love.

written beautifully, simply, and thoughtfully, and covers subject matter that is not common enough in Middle Grade. Every scene can be pictured in vivid detail, and readers of any age will be desperate to learn more about this strange world. Cover Image courtesy of Cormorant Books.

behind the scenes look at the glamour of professional sports. Early in the book Adam becomes richer than he ever dreamed possible, and I love what he chose to spend his money on. It's fun to imagine a responsible, literary-minded Canadian having millions of dollars to spend. This is a rare book that will appeal to almost anyone: including people who don't generally think of themselves as "readers."

My favourite librarian perk is getting access to books before they are published. Imagine the thrill of reading a book before anyone else can. Luckily for you, one of the perks of knowing a librarian is getting to hear sneak peeks about all the best upcoming books! Here are two to look out for in March 2020.

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel – Adult Literary Fiction Ever since her smash debut Station Eleven in 2014, the literary world has been waiting for Mandel’s next novel. While The Glass Hotel isn’t a tale of the end of the world like Station Eleven was, it is every bit as imaginative and exciting. Told from the perspectives of multiple interconnected characters, we are thrown

into the midst of a Ponzi scheme gone wrong. Part of the appeal is the vastness of settings in the novel; we travel from grungy Toronto dance clubs to a magnificent isolated hotel. From the kingdom of money to the monotonous daily life of prison. From hallucinations to ghost stories. Our characters are as

Be Not Far From Me by Mindy McGinnis – YA Suspense

Most of McGinnis’ YA novels read like a detailed fever dream. This one is no exception. You’ll at once be racing to finish, savoring every word, and scared to turn the page. Ashley was raised by a single father in poverty, and spent a lot of time playing outside. Wilderness survival is her hobby.

Cross country running is her sport. When a camping trip with her boyfriend and her friends goes terribly wrong, Ashley runs drunkenly into the dark woods and falls. When she wakes up she's all alone, the bones of her foot are exposed, and she doesn't know which way the campsite is.

vibrant as they were in Station Eleven. Vincent, a bright bartender turned trophy wife turned sailor on the run. Paul, a tortured soul and wannabe composer. A Saudi prince. An aging artist. A grieving criminal. The Glass Hotel will sweep you up and leave you wanting more. Publication coming March 2020.

It's a quick read, under 250 pages, but the journey feels so much longer. Ashley's character develops immensely over the course of the story, and you can't help but feel a little changed as the reader too. Publication coming March 2020.

Karissa Fast is a librarian at St. Catharines Public Library. Visit us online or at your closest branch to place a hold on any of the reviewed books.

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OUT AND abOUT: NFCHC INITIATIVES SUPPORT QUEER/TRANS YOUTH BY CELESTE TURNER

A community health centre in Niagara Falls is one of several Niagara agencies that found a gap in the support of underserved queer/trans youth and filled it. Queer Youth Collective is part of the youth programming provided by the Youth Outreach Program at Niagara Falls Community Health Centre (NFCHC). The team is currently operating on a $649,000 three-year Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) Grow Grant and actively working to secure permanent funding to continue programs and services. (For details about the grant, go to.stcatharinesstandard. ca/news-story/9608100-niagara-falls-healthcentre-to-recognize-649k-grant-at-communityblock-party/) The Youth Outreach Team consists of three staff— Youth Program Lead (Nicole Soble), Youth Outreach Worker (Celeste Turner) and Youth Engagement Worker (Tom Andersen). The team provides life skills and health promotion-based programming for youth ages 10-24. Programming focuses on recreation therapy, skill building and positive mental health strategies. Programs take place at the centre and also in partnership with other community members. Some of the programs offered include: • Queer Youth Collective • Art Journaling

music of the knights

• Prep to Plate and You’re the Chef (Cooking programs) • Rent Smart • Anger Solutions • Mindfulness without Borders • Day Camps/Sports Camp • Road to Empowerment • Youth Hot Topics (One-day specialty events) The Youth Outreach Team seeks to improve opportunities for children, youth (10-24 years) and their families facing barriers to health and wellness, at no cost to clients. Services include life skills programs as well as one-onone outreach appointments that help connect clients to community resources, advocate for needs, assist in the completion of forms and applications (including identification), and support children, youth and family members experiencing life challenges. In the past two years, the team has served more than 900 youth.

QUEER YOUTH COLLECTIVE

The NFCHC Youth Team noticed they were encountering many Queer and Trans youth in the community, who were facing hardships and struggles that weren’t being specifically addressed in other programs. Serving the 2SLGBTQ+

community is something Youth Outreach Worker Celeste Turner has always been very passionate about, and with the support and approval of Youth Program Lead Nicole Soble, the first "LGBTQ+ Youth Group" was held in May 2018. The group was for ages 14-19, which continued to take place every Monday evening. Anywhere from four to 12 participants participated each week. Over time, the team felt it was missing pockets of youth outside of this age range, both younger and older. This past September, the group was rebranded to "Queer Youth Collective" and introduced a rotating age range: each month, the first and third Mondays are for youth ages 13-18, and the second and fourth Mondays are for youth ages 19-29. (If there is a fifth Monday, there is no group). To date, more than 40 unique individuals have attended the group. Queer Youth Collective is a group for 2SLGBTQ+ individuals and their allies to meet, socialize, gain support, participate in activities, and receive education on various topics. Activities vary from cooking, games, art projects, yoga, workshops, presentations, and more. Community partners are sometimes asked to present on a topic to the youth—Positive Living Niagara recently presented on sexually

transmitted blood-borne infections (STBBIs) and naloxone. The team also occasionally hosts larger events for the Queer/Trans community, such as Open Mic Nights and Movie Matinees. Youth have said that this group has helped them by allowing them to have social, face-to-face interactions with other queer/trans youth and by educating them on important topics such as STBBIs. This group has also been the starting point for some youth to then be connected to NFCHC for primary care (doctor or nurse practitioner) as well as accessing our one-on-one outreach services for tasks such as accompaniment to appointments, changing sex designation on ID, legal name change, educating parents/families of youth, and more. For more information about NFCHC, please go to the website at nfchc.ca/about OUTniagara thanks everyone who braved the cold winter night on Monday, Jan. 20 to attend the OUT of the Blue meet-and-greet event for 2SLGBTQ partners and supporters. It was a wonderful night of information sharing, networking, and celebrating. We particularly thank Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey and Niagara Falls MP Tony Baldinelli for taking time out of their busy schedules to attend. Niagara-on-the-Lake Library served as the outstanding venue, and staff accommodated our every need and request.

MAISON DE L’ART : CONVERSATIONS EN FRANÇAIS ET VISITE D’EXPOSITION Samedi 29 février 2020, de 14 à 15 heures Visite gratuite ouverte au public. Bienvenue ! Rejoignez le tour en français de nos expositions avec Catherine Parayre, Langues modernes, littératures et cultures / Etudes en arts et culture, Université Brock.

109 St. Paul Crescent, St. Catharines, ON brocku.ca/rodmanhall Danny Custodio, Flower Carpets/Tapetes Floridos (installation view). Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.


flowing beautifully. Things are popping. You are figuring shit out. But then there are other things, important ones, that have you turned inside out. Be patient with yourself. You are about to break a lifelong pattern and it has everything to do with worthiness. It is hard to feel that worthiness when others have not tended to you with care – when you have dealt with sloppy people. The trick is to find it for yourself, independent of other’s opinions or behaviours. Then you will become a magnet to people who respect and love you for you are. And that, my friend, feels like home.

Leo: The game right now is readjusting how

Aries: You could be super magnetic right now if you focussed in a certain way. There has been a major readjustment in your energy and it has been facilitated by you. Keep doing that, it is going to continue to work for you. You are preparing for your next circle around the sun. The more you shift your perspective the more you will magnetize all of the things that can take you to the next level. It’s really about taking the wheel into your hands and driving like you know where you are going (even if you don’t). Impaired driving is highly discouraged at this time. Take your observation skills into a deeper space. A bit quieter, a bit more curious. Lean back a bit, you will see so much more. Taurus: Find all the ways in which you can express yourself as truthfully as possible. That might require you take some time to find out what your truth is. I promise it has changed this year. Alot. You have been undergoing an internal transformation like no other. You know exactly what I am talking about. How do you want to interact with the world around you? Find that freedom. It exists for you. You have a bit of a clean slate situation going on right now. Close your eyes and imagine what that looks like. If failure was not possible and safety was guaranteed what would you do? It is possible you are hiding some very beautiful important aspects of yourself. It feels like a bit of a mining expedition. This isn’t something that will come easily, you have to go looking for it. Gemini: How is your mind working for you these days? You might not be utilizing it in a way that supports your growth and expansion. It might make sense to just get out of your head altogether. Get super pragmatic, practical... make a plan. It isn’t a time for big sky thinking. More like tiny steps. Your gifts want to be brought out into the world but it has to happen in a way that makes sense and will be simple to execute. If you get your feet firmly on the ground you might even have a sudden awakening. You might notice something you didn’t notice before. Get physical this month, get out of your head, put one foot in front of the other and they will take you exactly where you want to go. Cancer: You are stuck somewhere. You keep going backwards and sideways but not forward. There are certain things that are really

you take pleasure in your life. Things can be light right now, they should be. It isn’t necessary to lean into the serious, heavy stuff. Not now. Maybe you have forgotten that you are funny and gregarious. The world needs that part of you right now. The way to pull it out is to fall in love with your life. Generate a generous amount of gratitude. Ignore the things that make you feel a sense of scarcity and lack. Notice where all of the good stuff comes from and keep moving in that direction. You have the potential right now to make a quantum leap. It is time to uplevel. But you are not going to get there in the way you originally thought. Ignore the hustle and just do things that make you feel really, really good.

Virgo: It’s all about the unseen these days,

which is a bit of a shift for you. Nothing is currently tangible. You are being pushed to dip into a quieter space. Get curious about it and see what you find. There is beauty and innovations and solutions hiding for you. It is a time for you to regather your inner resources, recharge and rest. It seems like you are solving some kind of mystery, one that makes sense only to you. When you re-emerge from this period of introspection you will feel a sense of a clean sweep, fresh air, wide open spaces to create something new. This is a highly creative time for you if you use it properly. Don’t waste your energy running around town and putting yourself out there. Go inside for a little while.

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leave yourself regardless of what others want from you. How people are with you almost always has to do with where they are at with themselves. You could certainly use a dose of not taking things personally and, more importantly, minding your own business.

Libra: It would serve you well to get really granular with your life. Get your little tweezers and begin to remove all of the teeny tiny things that are blocking you from feeling free. You are here to lift and inspire people. You hold the ability to bring peace to any situation, that is your gift. But not if everything is cluttered and stuck. A lot of this has to do with creating new daily rhythms. What are your rituals? The flow of your day, what you do on the regular, who you spend time with, how you move through your world. This is where you need to look. Get in close. Use a microscope and those little tweezers and get to work. This game of hide and seek will change everything for you.

Sagittarius: Get it done. There is no time to kick back and observe. Sink your teeth into whatever it is that is wanting you. You want it too. There is a lot of energy available to you right now to complete projects that are important to you and your growth. Use it. Don’t get lost in dreaming about the future at this time. Be present with what is right in front of you and tend to that. If you use this energy efficiently it will bring you to a breakthrough. Something will shift and everything will become easier. But it is really important that you get your feet on the ground and your head straight. Do everything consciously. Pay attention. You will free yourself up for more creativity and less structure. But for now put some time into erecting the scaffolding so you have a solid framework.

Aquarius: What is it you want to create in your world? Think about this in a deeper way than you are used to. This isn’t a time to skim the surface, there are things underneath that want to be brought to the top. Maybe something you have always wanted but never thought possible, you may have even forgotten about it. It is most likely not of material value or success. It has something to do with how you feel about yourself and how you express that outwardly. If you can generate a solid sense of self-awareness and authenticity, you will find the world responds to you differently.

Scorpio: Something is trying to get your attention. It is important. It has to do with what and how you share yourself with the world. You have a gift or gifts that are needed right now. You are procrastinating. Why? Is there self-doubt, are you too busy, do you not know what it is? Cultivate a new way of listening to what your life is trying to tell you. It will come in the form of the feelings that show up for you. And in your body.

Capricorn: Come back to something that needs to be tended to. Reassess who you surround yourself with, it is impacting your energy. You have become very skilled at staying in your own center. The next step is not allowing others to impact you as much as you do. Even though you are tough and rational, you are also a highly sensitive person. Think of it as though you are building a muscle. Exercising your ability to not

Pisces: Sometimes we put on an act to protect ourselves. We don’t want to show what is really in there. You have been working on this behind the scene. Sorting out who it is you are and why it is you do the things you do. It has been a bit of a metamorphosis situation. The cocoon phase is almost complete. You will be ready to show your truth very soon, you just need to get your footing with it. Knowing thyself is the most important information you can gather right now. Because when you are solid in yourself you become solid in the world. Decisive, clear-thinking, confident, calm, steady … but none of that comes without putting the work in first. theSOUND.rocks | 17


SATURDAY 1

231 St. Paul St. W. St. Catharines | 289-362-5522

— Your Destination for ALL SPORTS EVERYTHING —

DAILY FOOD & DRINK SPECIALS Tapas Mondays Over 40 to choose from $4.50 Domestic Bottles

$7 Big Burger Tuesdays $6 Domestic Tall Boys

$13.95 Create Your Own Pasta Wednesday $6 6oz Glass of Wine

Wings Day Thursday $0.79/each

Domestic Pitchers on Sale

$21.95 Chef’s Take on Steak

$6 Domestic & Premium Pints

3/$8.95 Tacos

$4.50 Bar Mix Drinks

2 Can Dine Sundays Starting at $29.95 $6 Caesars

* Plus applicable taxes

Where Everyone Is A Regular @joblosbarandgrill

· Rock of 80's - Cat's Caboose · Madmen - Cat's Kitchen · Daylight Burners - Club 55 · Abe Bergsma- Cool Hand Lukes · Ear Candy - Doc Magilligan's · Brant Parker Blues Band w/Spencer MacKenzie*Matinee 2:30pm* - Donnelly's Pub · Brock University Dept. of Music presents: Guitar Extravaganza 2020 - Recital Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · Ophellans Boys - The Irish Harp · The Mighty Duck Blues Band w/Joel Johnson *Matinee 2:30pm*- Jo Blos Rock & Wok · Patsy and the Muscle - Kilt & Clover · David Dino White w/Nathan Olmstead Mahtay Cafe · Marty Allen - Merchant Ale House · 2 Man Group - Mick & Angelo's Kitchen + Bar · Blues Etc w/Chuckee Zehr & Cheryl Lescom *Matinee 3:30pm* - Monty's Gastropub · Niagara Rhythm Section w/Serena Pryne & Nick Lesyk - The Old Winery · Whiskey Rattlers - Olde Angel Inn · Brooke Lyn - Olee's Ale House · Roger Wyatt*Matinee 2pm*- Peter Piper's Pubhouse · Soul Street - Puddy's Bar & Grill · The Chimps - Romby's Tavern & Smokehouse · Jersey Nights - The History of Rock & Soul - Seneca Queen Theatre · Elliott Brood & Mattie Leon - Silversmith Brewing Company · Dr. P - Taps Brewhouse

SUNDAY 2

· Big Dave Trio - Club 55 · Niagara Symphony Orchestra present: Masterworks 4 - Patridge Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · Fiddlin' Around *Matinee 2pm*- The Irish Harp · Old Plank Road- Jo Blos Rock & Wok · Twilight Jazz Series: This is not the Super Bowl - Red Light Sessions - Mahtay Cafe

MONDAY 3

· Sound Sound - Mahtay Cafe · Kareoke w/Christie Hails - Taps Brewhouse · Perpetual Jam Night - Third Space Cafe

TUESDAY 4

· Brock University presents: Music @ Noon feat. Voice, Guitar & Piano Students - Recital Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre

WEDNESDAY 5

· Jazz & Blues Jam - Cat's Kitchen · Open Mic w/Amanda Lyn Parker - Club 55 · Open Mic w/Sil Simone - Donnelly's Pub · Classic Albums Live presents: Tom Petty's Damn The Torpedoes - Patridge Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · Open Mic w/Abe Bergsma- Rombys Smokehouse & Tavern · Roman Clarke w/Katey Gatta & Ola Kiermacz - Warehouse

THURSDAY 6

· Chris Jason - Avalon Ballroom · Rock of 80's Duo - Cat's Kitchen · John Claus - Club 55 · LMT Connection - Doc Magilligan's

THURSDAY 6 (cont'd)

· Open Mic - Mahtay Cafe · Wilson Hadfield - Silversmith Brewing Company · Electric Wildlife w/Jessica Wilson & Ron Whitman - Vegan Hippy Chick

FRIDAY 7

· Lincoln County - Big Texas · SoulJam - Cat's Kitchen · Avenue Inn - Club 55 · Madmen - Doc Magilligan's · Abe Bergsma- Docks Pub · Brock University Dept. of Music presents: The Pat LaBarbera Quartet - Partridge Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · Kaumakaiwa Kanaka'ole - Recital Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · Josh Edwards - Forty Public House · Danny Boys- The Irish Harp · The Distraction- Jo Blos Rock & Wok · Forlorn Hope - Jordan House Tavern · Feverish Lemons - Kilt & Clover · Zuffalo w/Gravely James - Mansion House · Blue Rodeo - Meridian Centre · Nick & Serena - Mick & Angelo's Kitchen + Bar · Charles J Hunk - Niagara Oast House Brewers · The Old Winos Album Release Party - The Old Winery · Madhatters - Olde Angel Inn · Tonight's Office - Olee's Ale House · Jimmy's Juke Joint- Peter Piper's Pubhouse · Big Dave Trio - Puddy's Bar & Grill · Texas King w/Jackie - The Sanctuary · Youth Gone Wild presented by The Music Depot - Seneca Queen Theatre · Los Chukos - Sessions on the River · Martin Murray - Taps Brewhouse · Girlfriend Material w/Pony & Lazy on the Weekend - Warehouse

SATURDAY 8

· Gunpowder & Grace - Big Texas · XPrime - Club 55 · Pub Jugs - Doc Magilligan's · Brant Parker Blues Band w/Kevin Reid *Matinee 2:30pm* - Donnelly's Pub · VanderHill- The Irish Harp · The Mighty Duck Blues Band w/Andre Bisson *Matinee 2:30pm*- Jo Blos Rock & Wok · BJ Frid - Kilt & Clover · JIN - Merchant Ale House · Over Easy - Mick & Angelo's Kitchen + Bar · Blues Etc w/Jerome Godboo *Matinee 3:30pm* - Monty's Gastropub · Jesse Steward w/Mike Desj - Moose & Goose · Niagara Rhythm Section w/Dwayne Laforme - The Old Winery · Hard Rock Hooligans - Olde Angel Inn · Daryl Gray - Olee's Ale House · Barb Mantini*Matinee 2pm*- Peter Piper's Pubhouse · Rob Repous- Peter Piper's Pubhouse · Black Hat - Puddy's Bar & Grill · Chorus Niagara presents: Singathon 2020 Seaway Mall · The Stevie Ray Vaughan Experience Seneca Queen Theatre · Alfred Atley - Taps Brewhouse · 90s Y2K Dance Party w/DJ Tanner Warehouse


SUNDAY 9

· Groove Revue - Club 55 · Africville Stories w/Joe Sealy - Partridge Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · JP Shalala- The Irish Harp · Starship Experience w/The Midwife Crisis & Zack Tiessen - Mahtay Cafe · A Night for Australia - The Office Tap & Grill · Gallery Players of Niagara present: Kristen Hoff w/Caitlin Boyle, Timothy Phelan & Antoine Joubert - Silver Spire Church

MONDAY 10

· Choir Nation - Mahtay Cafe · Kareoke w/Christie Hails - Taps Brewhouse · Perpetual Jam Night - Third Space Cafe

TUESDAY 11

· Josh Groban - Avalon Ballroom · Dog Man: The Musical - Partridge Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · Brock University presents: Music @ Noon feat. International Students - Recital Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · 5x2 Image Maker Discussions - Mahtay Cafe

WEDNESDAY 12

· Josh Groban - Avalon Ballroom · Jazz & Blues Jam - Cat's Kitchen · Dan Serre - Club 55 · Open Mic w/Marty Allen - Donnelly's Pub · XPrime - Olde Angel Inn · Open Mic w/Abe Bergsma- Rombys Smokehouse & Tavern

THURSDAY 13

· Lifehouse - Avalon Ballroom · MoJo 2.0 - Cat's Kitchen · Roger Habel - Club 55 · LMT Connection - Doc Magilligan's · Open Mic - Mahtay Cafe · Morgan Rider - Silversmith Brewing Company · Samantha-Ava w/Probable Fog - Vegan Hippy Chick

FRIDAY 14

· Greg Rider - Big Texas · Slider- Cat's Caboose · Vinyl Flux - Cat's Kitchen · Laurel & Hulley w/JIN - Club 55 · Hard Rock Hooligans - Doc Magilligan's · Bravo Niagara! presents: Kurt Elling Partridge Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · Andrew Hill - Forty Public House · Patsy and the Muscle- The Irish Harp · Scurvy Dogz- Jo Blos Rock & Wok · Marty Allen - Jordan House Tavern · Feverish Lemons - Kilt & Clover · 2 Man Group - Mick & Angelo's Kitchen + Bar · Rock of 80s - Monty's Gastropub · Suitcase in Point present: Swipe Right feat. DJ Brize & DJ Dave Stiles - Oddfellow's Temple · The Old Winos w/Shane & Stacey Guse The Old Winery · Ear Candy - Olde Angel Inn · Gavin & Matt - Olee's Ale House · Jimmy's Juke Joint- Peter Piper's Pubhouse · Schoen - Puddy's Bar & Grill · Crystal Journey - The Sanctuary · One Ugly Cowboy - Seneca Queen Theatre · Open Mic - Sessions on the River · Chris Saylor - Taps Brewhouse · Dboy w/Ancient Shapes & Blue - Warehouse

SATURDAY 15

· Richard Marx - Avalon Ballroom · Back to the 80's - Cat's Kitchen · Triple Crowns - Club 55 · XPrime - Doc Magilligan's · Brant Parker Blues Band w/Jenie Thai *Matinee 2:30pm* - Donnelly's Pub · Niagara Symphony Orchestra presents: Pops! 3 Music of the Knights - Partridge Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · Pub Jugs- The Irish Harp · The Mighty Duck Blues Band w/John Dickie & Ray Harrison *Matinee 2:30pm*- Jo Blos Rock & Wok · Uno Duo - Kilt & Clover · Madhatters Duo - Mick & Angelo's Kitchen + Bar · Blues Etc w/Tyler Yarema *Matinee 3:30pm* - Monty's Gastropub · Niagara Rhythm Section w/Laurel Minnes & Taylor Hulley - The Old Winery · Vinyl Flux - Olde Angel Inn · The Uncle Jesses - Olee's Ale House · George T Jazz Duo*Matinee 2pm*- Peter Piper's Pubhouse · Generation Train- Peter Piper's Pubhouse · Marty Allen - Puddy's Bar & Grill · Queen Flash: The Ultimate Queen Tribute - Seneca Queen Theatre · Eklectik - Taps Brewhouse · Ryland James w/Robert Alfieri Warehouse

SUNDAY 16

· Riley Michaels - Club 55 · Niagara Symphony Orchestra presents: Pops! 3 Music of the Knights *Matinee 2:30pm* Partridge Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · An Evening of Puppetry *4 & 8pm* - Robertson Theatre, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · The Ste'ens *Matinee 2pm*- The Irish Harp · The O-Deadlys- The Irish Harp · Old Plank Road- Jo Blos Rock & Wok · Bryce Moore - Mick & Angelo's Kitchen + Bar · Ryan Thomas *Matinee 1pm* - Olde Angel Inn

MONDAY 17

· Toopy & Binoo Live!!! & The Very Hungry Caterpillar *9:30-2pm*- Robertson Theatre, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · Celena Amore *Matinee 2pm*- The Irish Harp · Choir Nation - Mahtay Cafe · Kareoke w/Christie Hails - Taps Brewhouse · Perpetual Jam Night - Third Space Cafe

TUESDAY 18

National Drink Wine Day *In America

WEDNESDAY 19

· Jazz & Blues Jam - Cat's Kitchen · Bryce K Moore - Club 55 · Open Mic w/Lisa Klassen - Donnelly's Pub · Open Mic w/Abe Bergsma- Rombys Smokehouse & Tavern

THURSDAY 20

· Razorbax Duo - Cat's Kitchen · Dealerz Choice Duo - Club 55 · LMT Connection - Doc Magilligan's · Open Mic - Mahtay Cafe · Echo Theory Project w/Diz James - Vegan Hippy Chick · Long Range Hustle w/Allo - Warehouse

FRIDAY 21

· Brad James - Big Texas · Taylor Brown - Cat's Kitchen · Funk Projekt - Club 55 · Bryan Sorensen Groove Trio - Doc Magilligan's · New Orleans Jazz Orchestra - Partridge Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · Chris Saylor - Forty Public House · Barley Brae- The Irish Harp · The Uncle Jesses- Jeffros BBQ · Rock of 80's- Jo Blos Rock & Wok · Schoen - Jordan House Tavern · Moonlight Co. - Kilt & Clover · Street Pharmacy - Mansion House · Nicole Cerminara - Mick & Angelo's Kitchen + Bar · Whatzername w/Dirty Rick, Gravely James & Lack or Luck - Moose & Goose · Brook Lyn - Niagara Oast House Brewers · The Old Winos w/Andy Griffiths & Andrew Aldridge - The Old Winery · Feverish Lemons - Olde Angel Inn · Rusty Jacob - Olee's Ale House · Jimmy's Juke Joint- Peter Piper's Pubhouse · Usual Suspects - Puddy's Bar & Grill · Danny Michel - Redstone Winery · No One Goes Hungry Fundrasier feat: Jonesy w/Figure Four & Too Much of Jon Taps Brewhouse · Samantha-Ava - Vegan Hippy Chick · The Anti-Queens w/The Holdouts & Foolproof - Warehouse · Mel Monaco- White Oaks

SATURDAY 22

· Fitz And The Tantrums - Avalon Ballroom · JIN - Cat's Kitchen · Country Junkies - Club 55 · Taylor Brown - Doc Magilligan's · Brant Parker Blues Band w/Tyler Yarema *Matinee 2:30pm* - Donnelly's Pub · Jack & Ginger- The Irish Harp · The Mighty Duck Blues Band w/Johnny Max *Matinee 2:30pm*- Jo Blos Rock & Wok · Feverish Lemons - Kilt & Clover · Mel Monaco - Merchant Ale House · Rosevelt - Mick & Angelo's Kitchen + Bar · Blues Etc w/Lance Anderson *Matinee 3:30pm* - Monty's Gastropub · Niagara Rhythm Section w/Lance Anderson & Jim Gay - The Old Winery · Cottage Brew - Olde Angel Inn · Clockwork - Olee's Ale House · Mug Bay- Peter Piper's Pubhouse · Tonight's Office - Puddy's Bar & Grill · The Uncle Jesses- Scorecard Harry's · The Genesis Experience - Seneca Queen Theatre · Jessica Wilson - Taps Brewhouse · Jeremie Albino w/Dave Monks - Warehouse

SUNDAY 23

· Groove Revue - Club 55 · Leonard Cohen's DANCE ME *2:30 & 7:30pm* - Partridge Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre · Fiddlin' Around *Matinee 2pm*- The Irish Harp

MONDAY 24

· Kareoke w/Christie Hails - Taps Brewhouse · Perpetual Jam Night - Third Space Cafe

TUESDAY 25

· Brock University presents: Music @ Noon feat. Gorden Cleland w/Karin Di Bella Recital Hall, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre

MARIKNO'S MONTHLY MIX: THE LOVE BUG

There is a ton of love out there, you just need to find it. Out of that love, some great things are happening in my life. First, I will begin work with SRC Vinyl and Limited Distillery as their "curator of vintage vinyl" and "events coordinator". Short story: SRC started as a record shop and moved to Niagara On The Lake about four years ago, they just got the paperwork stamped to start making liquor, so it's a place you can go for music and moonshine. They're located at 14 Henegan Road in Virgil and are open every day, so come say "Hi" sometime soon. Another change is, my mixes will now be hosted on Dub Plate FM, an awesome collective of DJs and musical creators who have put together a platform for common good and musical vibes. From now on, you'll be able to check out my mixes atdubplate.fm/marinko. This month's mix is dedicated to and inspired by Neil Peart, drummer and lyricist for the Canadian rock band, Rush, who passed away on January 7th, 2020. Neil grew up in Port Dalhousie but touched the world with his music. The first part of the mix is dedicated to Neil The Eternal Triangle : LSD FOREVER! To book me for your event, Google "DJ Marinko" or go to my website, directly to my website, do not pass GO!, do not collect $200 - popcommedia.com

DAILY FEATURES HAPPY HOUR

Everyday 2pm-5:30pm Domestic pints (20oz) $5.00 Red or White house wine (6oz) $5.00 Well Drinks (1oz) $4.00

SUNDAY

Caesars $5.50

DATE NIGHT (after 3pm) CHOICE OF ONE: Bottle of Red or White House wine Or Pitcher of Domestic beer

CHOICE OF TWO ENTREES: Black and Blue chicken Salad Upper Deck Burger Chicken Supreme One piece fish and chips Fettuccine Primavera Asian Stir-fry - Chicken or shrimp

SHARE A DESSERT

$50.00 / COUPLE

WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY

Any Pint & a shot (Well Brands) $10.00

FRIDAY & SATURDAY

Sangria Pitchers $18.95 Buy one appetizer, get the 2nd half off (equal or lesser Value) from 8-10pm

210 Martindale Rd., St. Catharines 905-682-3325


TRIVIAL TALKS & THE REST PRESENTED BY

FRIDAY 7

· Poetry Slam - Mahtay Cafe · Todd Van Allen w/Mark Matthews Showtime Comedy & Entertainment · Jeff Paul w/Kyle Hickey & Chris Robinson - Yuk Yuk's

SATURDAY 8

SATURDAY 1

· Grey's Anatomy Trivia - Moose & Goose · Ed Hill w/Liam Kelly & Doug Konig Showtime Comedy & Entertainment · Habib Siam w/Andrew Albert & Keith Pedro - Yuk Yuk's

SUNDAY 2

· NWX presents Bad Blood - Warehouse

MONDAY 3

· Niagara's Name that Tune - The Irish Harp

TUESDAY 4

· Taps, Apps & Laughs Comedy Night w/ Levi Mann - Taps Brewhouse

WEDNESDAY 5

· Comedy at Kaz's w/Bonez Poley & Joelle Bolton-South - Kaz's Pub · Music Trivia w/Mel Monaco - Jordan House Tavern

THURSDAY 6

· Poetry Slam - Mahtay Cafe · Trivia Night at the Museum - Niagara Falls History Museum · Todd Van Allen w/Mark Matthews Showtime Comedy & Entertainment · Jeff Paul w/Kyle Hickey & Chris Robinson - Yuk Yuk's

· Cult Canada Screening: Rock N Roll Nightmare - Mahtay Cafe · Todd Van Allen w/Mark Matthews Showtime Comedy & Entertainment · Jeff Paul w/Kyle Hickey & Chris Robinson - Yuk Yuk's

TUESDAY 11

· Pictionary Tuesdays - Camp Cataract · Taps, Apps & Laughs Comedy Night w/ Levi Mann - Taps Brewhouse

WEDNESDAY 12

· ComedyNight w/Joel Van Vliet - Camp Cataract · Music Trivia w/Mel Monaco - Jordan House Tavern · The Office Trivia- Silversmith Brewing Company · Niagara Author Series - Someday Books · Classic Simpsons Trivia - Third Space Cafe

THURSDAY 13

· Mike Wilmot w/Mike Bullard & Dom Pare - Yuk Yuk's

FRIDAY 14

· Comedians in Camp Critiquing Collages (couples event) - Camp Cataract · Monty Scott w/Thomas Calnan & Anjelica Scannara - Showtime Comedy & Entertainment · Mike Wilmot w/Mike Bullard & Dom Pare - Yuk Yuk's

SATURDAY 15

· Monty Scott w/Thomas Calnan & Anjelica Scannara - Showtime Comedy & Entertainment · Sick Kidz for Sick Kids 10 feat. David Green w/Jeffery Stroop, Jen Meyers & Levi Mann - Willie Johns Big Easy · Mike Wilmot w/Mike Bullard & Dom Pare - Yuk Yuk's

SUNDAY 16

· Masters of Magic feat. BenTastic & Alex Kazam - Scotiabank Convention Centre · Paint Night - Taps Brewhouse

TUESDAY 18

· Pictionary Tuesdays - Camp Cataract · Simpsons Trivia - Olde Angel Inn · Moccasin Talk Speaker Series w/Tanya Talaga - Scotiabank Convention Centre · Taps, Apps & Laughs Comedy Night w/ Levi Mann - Taps Brewhouse

WEDNESDAY 19

SUNDAY 23

· JOUVERT FETE 2020 w/Kobo Town Camp Cataract

MONDAY 24

· Niagara's Name that Tune - The Irish Harp

TUESDAY 25

· Pictionary Tuesdays - Camp Cataract · Paint Night - The Exchange Brewery · Seinfeld Trivia - Redstone Winery · Taps, Apps & Laughs Comedy Night w/ Levi Mann - Taps Brewhouse

WEDNESDAY 26

· ComedyNight w/Joel Van Vliet - Camp Cataract · Comedy Night w/David Green - Club 55 · Music Trivia w/Mel Monaco - Jordan House Tavern

THURSDAY 27

· Brett Forte w/Darren Frost w/Garrett Clark - Yuk Yuk's

· Music Trivia - Brimstone Brewing Company · FRIDAY 28 Comedy at Kaz's w/Bonez Poley & Joelle · Improv Niagara presents: Improv Fallout! Bolton-South - Kaz's Pub · Music Trivia w/Mel Monaco - Jordan House Tavern Mahtay Cafe · NAC Trivia Night - Niagara Artists Centre FRIDAY 21 · Casey Corbin w/James Kurdzial & Brenda · Hey, That's Not Paul & Luke: An Improv Lennie - Showtime Comedy & Entertainment Show - Mahtay Cafe · Brett Forte w/Darren Frost w/Garrett · Dylan Rhymer w/Che Durena & Doug Clark - Yuk Yuk's Konig - Showtime Comedy & Entertainment

SATURDAY 22

· Alan Cross - Niagara Conservatory of Music · Art Battle - The Sanctuary · Dylan Rhymer w/Che Durena & Doug Konig - Showtime Comedy & Entertainment

SATURDAY 29

· Casey Corbin w/James Kurdzial & Brenda Lennie - Showtime Comedy & Entertainment · Brett Forte w/Darren Frost w/Garrett Clark - Yuk Yuk's


WEDNESDAY 26

· Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone Avalon Ballroom · Jazz & Blues Jam - Cat's Kitchen · Open Mic w/Chris Chambers - Donnelly's Pub · XPrime - Olde Angel Inn · Open Mic w/Abe Bergsma- Rombys Smokehouse & Tavern

THURSDAY 27

· Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone Avalon Ballroom · Serena & Nick - Cat's Kitchen · Sophie Deluca - Club 55 · LMT Connection - Doc Magilligan's · Open Mic - Mahtay Cafe · Matthew David Klassen - Silversmith Brewing Company · Greg Mashinter w/Brad Battle - Vegan Hippy Chick

FRIDAY 28

· Nick Offerman - Avalon Ballroom · Mackenzie Leigh Meyer - Big Texas · MoJo 4.0 - Cat's Kitchen · Twist of Fate - Doc Magilligan's · BJ Frid - Forty Public House · The O'Deadlys- The Irish Harp · Simply Hip - Jo Blos Rock & Wok · Rusty Jacob Trio - Jordan House Tavern · Uno Duo - Kilt & Clover · LMT Connection - Mick & Angelo's Kitchen + Bar · Mike Lynch - Niagara Oast House Brewers · The Old Winos w/Djino Lefrancois & Big Dave Tufford - The Old Winery · Butlers Backyard - Olde Angel Inn · Just Cause - Olee's Ale House · Run- Peter Piper's Pubhouse · Borderline - Puddy's Bar & Grill · Bif Naked - The Sanctuary · Andrew Collins Trio - Silversmith Brewing Company · Blake Halladay - Taps Brewhouse

SATURDAY 29

· Keegan Jacko - Big Texas · XPrime - Cat's Kitchen · Soul Jam - Club 55 · Breakfast Club - Doc Magilligan's · Brant Parker Blues Band w/Chris Hawley *Matinee 2:30pm* - Donnelly's Pub · Ceol Cara- The Irish Harp · The Mighty Duck Blues Band w/Tim Gibbons *Matinee 2:30pm*- Jo Blos Rock & Wok · Feverish Lemons - Kilt & Clover · DJ Tanner - Merchant Ale House · Avenue Inn - Mick & Angelo's Kitchen + Bar · Blues Etc w/Jack Civiletto *Matinee 3:30pm* - Monty's Gastropub · Niagara Rhythm Section w/David Johannesson - The Old Winery · Undercover - Olde Angel Inn · JIN - Olee's Ale House · Don Cyr *Matinee 2pm*- Peter Piper's Pubhouse · Open Mic- Peter Piper's Pubhouse · Second Heaven - Puddy's Bar & Grill · Huntington Society of Canada Benefit feat. Christee Palace, The Woodshed Orchestra & Chloe Jene - Seneca Queen Theatre · Sandman: Metallica Tribute - Warehouse

Send your listings in to thesoundstc@gmail.com. We'll print 'em!

Keeping tabs on the latest in independent Canadian rock’n’roll, curated by Adam White. Montreal's Red Mass, the "free creative enterprise" lead by Roy Vucino and Hannah Lewis, returned last month with a guest-packed new full-length titled A Hopeless Noise. The 11-song set arrived via the Montreal psych label Mothland, boasting several prominent additions to the collective from the wider punk and indie rock world. You can now stream new Red Mass tunes featuring Minutemen legend Mike Watt, Evan Dando of The Lemonheads, the unmistakable Rick Froberg of Hot Snakes, the enigmatic King Khan, Canadian indie star Mac DeMarco, Hugo Mudie of The Sainte Catherines, and many others. Red Mass last released the full-length Kilrush Drive in March of 2019, followed by the Bored single last summer. Roy Vucino's a musician, actor, and filmmaker based in Montreal. Under the stage name Choyce he played in several seminal early-2000s garage-punk groups, notably CPC Gangbangs and Les Sexareenos. Last month saw new music from a slate of Niagara bands, the elephant in the room of course being St. Catharines post-hardcore superstars Alexisonfire. They released a slow-burning new single titled "Season of the Flood" to coincide with some Western Canadian touring. It's the third track to arrive from the popular group since their reunion, following 2019's "Familiar Drugs" and "Complicit." Our satin-clad Niagara neighbours in Dboy also have new material out. The gimp-masked, Sovietstyle punk trio's sophomore full-length, New Records In Human Power, is available from Dine Alone on Feb. 14. There's a crazy video online for the single "Red Ultra Glide" from local filmmaker Chris Paco. Dboy features the gravelly pipes of guitarist/vocalist Matt Sajn (Northern Primitive), backed by bassist Tony Ventresca and drummer Ricky Pridmore (both of whom played in Welland ska-punk act The Snips). I'm not sure if we're supposed to reveal these facts, so it's just between us. Niagara-on-the-Lake emo heroes Heavy Hearts are also back with a new single titled "Vexed." You can check it out through a slick new video at YouTube. The band recorded at Arc Recording Studios in Hamilton with producers Julius Butty and Cory Bergeron. They're following up their 2018 New Damage single Cut Too Deep with this song, although no word's yet arrived on where it'll end up. Halifax's wry, literate indie-rock quartet Nap Eyes have a new full-length on the way this spring titled Snapshot of a Beginner. The record, which follows-up 2018's I'm Bad Now, arrives March 27 with Royal Mountain, Jagjaguwar, and Paradise of Bachelors carrying it in various territories. It'll be the band's fourth outing. The announcement arrived alongside the jangle-pop lead single "Mark Zuckerberg," replete with a beautifully hypnotic animated video featuring the titular tech mogul as a dead-eyed automaton, which is pretty much true to life.

Got news from a Niagara band? E-mail adam@someparty.ca or visit someparty.ca.


22 | February 2020



SPRING HOT TICKETS

by Paul O’Donnell

THURS 12 MAR

LES BALLET JAZZ DE MONTRÉAL

LEONARD COHEN'S DANCE ME

SUN 23 FEB

THE ARCHIVIST

BY SHAISTA LATIF THURS 27 - SAT 29 FEB

, YET “A WIT TY DY OF O R A P D FON UITOUS Q I B U E TH L.” MUSICA X O B E K JU – QUAYS

LIFE

SYMPHONICALLY HIP

THE ALMOST ENTIRELY IMAGINED

WITH THE STRICTLY HIP & NIAGARA SYMPHONY ORCHESTR FRI 28 FEB

HAWKSLEY WORKMAN & SARAH SLEAN WED 4 MAR

BAY CITY ROLLERS

MON 16 MAR

MATT ANDERSEN

WITH SHAUN KIRK WED 25 MAR

TANYA TAGAQ

SPLIT TOOTH TUE 28 APR

FirstOntarioPAC.ca

THAT “A SHOW OMEDY C S E G D I BR S TER CLAS S A M A & RE.” IN THEAT T – THE LIS

BON JOVI MUSICAL Multi-talented cast? Live orchestra? Opulent set? Decadent costumes? Pyrotechnics? Nope. Too expensive. But an abundance of laughs!


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