The goodness of Calgary's best radio station now on the interweb!
Friday, May 02, 2008
Fairy Tales X Film Festival Launch
The launch of the 10th annual Fairy Tales International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival took place on May 1st as part of First Thursdays events at Art Central in downtown Calgary.
With candy kabobs and fruit loops as appetizers, guests were invited to take a peek at a couple of films that will be showcased from May 27th to June 5th.
Here is a brief description:
Were The World Mine (2008) Director: Tom Gustafson
Shot on 16 mm film, this is a high school musical starring all-American boy Timothy as Puck in A Midsummer’s Night Dream. With his friends Max and Frankie, he tries to endure life in a close-minded small town until something magic happens.
Mulligans (2008) Director: Chip Hales
Mulligans is a family drama about the relationship one man has with his best friend’s father and the impact it has on other family members. It delves into the reasons for some families to form and the emotional highs and lows that arise from it.
Tune in to CJSW 90.9 FM or access live-streaming on this website in the coming weeks for updates and interviews with festival organizers and filmmakers.
Who needs to fly to another city to participate in a cool music festival... unless you aren't from Calgary and you want to fly to our pretty city and see some amazing bands this summer. Sincerely, Calgary is at her finest during the summer months. The weather is perfect, the lush city parks are bustling with paddle boats and fun activities, the evening thunderstorms are some of the most dramatic and there are tons of amazing restaurants popping up everywhere. We're home to the world's finest chocolatier -- don't worry, his stores are everywhere, you'll be able to find one. Hidden away in the charming community of Inglewood lies one of the most incredible record stores with a jaw-dropping vinyl collection. Our city receives more hours of sunshine than nearly any other Canadian city. We're a short road trip away from beautiful Banff (plan a quick trip to see the mountains and visit a few outrageously fun candy and souvenir shops) and scenic Drumheller (go visit the Royal Tyrrell Museum, the world's best dinosaur museum). Last year, Calgary was ranked as the world's cleanest city in a survey published in Forbes magazine. We have an intense rodeo in July when nearly the entire city embraces our western culture, wears old western shirts and hangs out in saloons for 10 days straight. So book your flight and come say hello, okay?
Reason #503 to pay us a visit this summer: the Sled Island Festival (June 25th-28th). The rest of the line-up was revealed today. Joining the likes of Wire, Jonathan Richman, Mogwai, The Gutter Twins, Deerhunter, Of Montreal, No Age and others are the equally amazing bands:
Yo La Tengo, Okkervil River, Blitzen Trapper, Broken Social Scene, Tegan and Sara, Grizzly Bear, Fucked Up, Secret Machines, Chixdiggit, Dan Deacon, The Unwanted, BBQ, The Cops, Enablers, Qui.
Virgin Festival Calgary's line-up is announced... and The Flaming Lips are finally coming to town.
We at CJSW love a funny spectacle and the folks at Virgin Mobile gladly delivered. At a press conference this morning, the Calgary Police escorted a procession of Mini Coopers into Fort Calgary. The little red and white cars emptied cheerleaders and British bobbies onto a red carpet where the 'bobbies' unlocked a briefcase containing the line-up for the inaugural Virgin Festival Calgary.
Scheduled to perform Vfest Calgary (June 21st-22nd) are the Flaming Lips, Stone Temple Pilots (headlining day one), Tragically Hip (headlining day two), Three Days Grace, Corb Lund, Face to Face, The Dudes, Pride Tiger, Crash Parallel, Matthew Good, City & Colour, Stars, Constantines, The New Pornographers, Attack in Black, Ten Second Epic, The Spades, The Whitsundays and Said the Whale. A one-day pass is priced at $75.50 and a two-day pass is priced at $125. A limited amount of advance tickets will be available at the Future Shop on April 9th at 10am. General ticket sales commence April 12th at 10am through Future Shop and Ticketmaster.
Andrew Bridge, Director of Virgin Festivals, described how the acts were selected from random suggestions in thousands of e-mails sent to Virgin upon the announcement of the Calgary festival. Bridge said that the main headliners are included in this announced roster, but there may be some smaller additions. Let's hope so. Aside from the Flaming Lips, Calgary has already had the pleasure of seeing these musicians a few times over.
The Virgin Fest is a carbon neutral event and Bridge pledged that Virgin will leave Fort Calgary in a better condition than they found it. For more information, head to http://www.virginfestival.ca/.
Sled Island Press Conference. Beth Gignac (City of Calgary), Zak Pashak (Sled Island Festival Director), Wayne Baerwaldt (Sled Island 2008 Visual Art Curator), Scott Kannberg (Sled Island 2008 Music Curator, Preston School of Industry, Pavement).
It looks like another banner year for Sled Island, one of western Canada's brightest music festivals. SI '08 will be taking place between June 25th-28th at some of Calgary's finest venues.
At a press conference this afternoon, festival director Zak Pashak, guest music curator Scott Kannberg (Preston School of Industry, Pavement) and other festival participants revealed a glimpse at the initial line-up. It's going to be a white hot June, gang.
Confirmed acts include seminal British punk rockers Wire, Jonathan Richman, The Gutter Twins, Of Montreal, American Music Club, Jose Gonzales, RZA (Bobby Digital), Mogwai, Scott Kannberg a.k.a. Spiral Stairs, No Age, Deerhunter, The Dodos, Drive By Truckers, Extra Golden, Miss Murgatroid & Petra Haden, Woodpigeon, Beans, Hot Little Rocket, The Broken West, Cave Singers, Wet Secrets, Pride Tiger, Portastatic, Headlights, Ramblin' Ambassadors, Bison, Mother Mother, Elizabeth, Modern Man, Luther Wright, The Whitsundays, Elliott Brood and Carolyn Mark.
The full line-up will be announced on May 1st.
Sled Island's 2008 visual art curator, Wayne Baerwaldt (IKG) spoke about a few exciting exhibitions which will be unveiled to Calgarians during the festival. Works include Peaches' Pit (an installation featuring a walk-through cave lined with hundreds of items that have been thrown to the singer onstage), a series by Wil Murray (featuring works by former Calgarians) and a narrative but abstract series by surf aficionado and Brazilian artist Paulo Whitaker.
Early bird festival passes will soon be available at SledIsland.com. Stay tuned to CJSW for insider information on all things Sled Island 2008!
Postcards from Austin: South by Southwest 2008 Photos & words by Aubrey McInnis
J. MASCIS There's something totally enchanting about warm southern air and getting caught in an enormous sea of people whose hearts beat in time to the exact same thing - good music. For a week in Austin, crunchy noise beckons audiences from every corner of the downtown core. Like going to any amusement park, the biggest thrills accumulate the longest line-ups.
The occasion was South by Southwest (SXSW) 2008. Each year, the interactive, film and music festival and conference takes over downtown Austin, Texas. Austin is a cosy city populated by over 700,000 impeccably mannered residents who call the live music capital of the world home. For four days, the music industry lovingly burned out their ears and feet to bring home to our respective corners of the world the inside scoop on all the best music to watch out for this year.
The SXSW experience is divided into two parts. First, the official SXSW experience which consists of the meticulously organized interactive, film and music conference and festival. The SXSW conference headquarters are located in the Austin Convention Center, where the trade show occurs and where a handful of live performances are broadcast on satellite TV. The big draw to the ACC is the annual Flatstock (poster art) exhibition featuring folks like Calgary's Clay Hayes of GigPosters.com. Official band showcases begin each night at 8pm and last until 2am.
The second part of the SXSW experience includes unofficial day parties which usually start at noon and go until 6pm. Dependably a spectacle with plenty of annoying party photographers, day parties are highly sponsored affairs consisting of six to a dozen bands, free food, drinks and swag. Since bands usually have quick 30 minute sets, it's a good time to revisit bands or scout out acts you're curious about, but don't want to see during longer evening showcases.
This year, one emerging trend included aggressive experimental music set to steady, tribal percussion. The more melodic trend was white hot duos led by a gal and a guy. Titans of indie rock making official appearances included J. Mascis, Thurston Moore, Lou Reed, Yo La Tengo and X. Talented acts representing Team Calgary included Lorrie Matheson, the Smalltown DJs, Hot Little Rocket and Woodpigeon.
Alright, gang. Four days, 49 acts. Here are the highlights.
THE RAVEONETTES
The Raveonettes put on the most sonically heady sets of the week chock full of rave-ups and slow ' n' sultry dance numbers mostly taken from their fourth pristine long-player, Lust Lust Lust. Performed live, the songs made a damn fool out of my home stereo (your tinny days are numbered, junior). The endlessly cool duo of guitarists Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo were backed by the fantastic percussionist, Leah Shapiro, who pounded a tom and snare with primal gusto. With dreamy harmonies, whitewash guitar noise and songs befitting full moon gazing, The Raveonettes were understandably in hot demand, making a dozen appearances in four days. We were treated to a similar batch of winsome songs during The Raveonettes' appearance in Calgary last autumn, but not with bass as delectably interactive as during their Vice showcase (my clothes were vibrating). The talented and beautiful Sharin Foo graciously lingered to take pictures with all the star-struck girls and boys after the shows. People were star-struck for a good reason - this band is amazing.
THE KILLS
Another wildly impressive duo was Alison 'VV' Mosshart and Jamie 'Hotel' Hince, who both owned the stage with confrontational sexiness during their smouldering set. Imagine Boss Hog (during the juicy part of their career), but more electrifying and modern. Both playing guitar, Hince kicked his amp with his pointy boot for added noise while Mosshart coolly worked the stage. Together, they put on one of the most compelling and chic rock performances of the week. Gal/guy duos with a cheeky rock swagger was a winning combo at SXSW. The Kills' electric new album, Midnight Boom, is out now.
A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS Brooklyn's A Place to Bury Strangers continued transforming uppity music nerds into rabid fans at SXSW. The trio's SXSW appearances felt like consecutive teasers for the highly anticipated live album due this year. As you can estimate from the live action photograph, Oliver Ackermann nearly strangled his guitar to death on a few occasions last week. He's the master of guitar pedals (see: DeathByAudio.com) and concocted the most enthralling mixture of white noise and sombre vocal melodies while the rhythm section of bassist Jono Mofo and drummer Jay Space held down the fort. This trio is officially unstoppable. Their noise is enough to renew shivers and giddiness to those of us going to bed each night hugging our Jesus & Mary Chain and Cure records.
YO LA TENGO Along with the eternally boyish Thurston Moore, the unchanging look of Yo La Tengo proves that rock'n'roll keeps you young. Barely chatting with the audience, Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley and James McNew put on a calm and serene performance until Kaplan started swingin' his guitar around for a refreshing (albeit too brief) spell of noise. It would have been better to hear a longer and less mellow set, but it was still magic to hear Yo La Tengo pull out the classic "Tom Courtenay" and their rocker "Watch Out for Me Ronnie."
SHE & HIM Merge Records' latest gem includes the talent of actress/singer Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward. Appearing on the same bill as Portastatic (the earnest voiced Mac McCaughan), the Radar Brothers and the Shout Out Louds, She & Him were the warmest of the bunch. All eyes were locked on vocalist/pianist Deschanel, who along with Ward, put on a delightful performance similar to the twang-laced tunes of fellow actress/singer, Jenny Lewis. While Deschanel and Ward seemed to be working out a few kinks during the week, overall, they're a charming addition to the music scene. Extra points awarded for having a cool guitarist/producer/engineer in the band, Mike Coykendall, who donned the brilliant "London, Paris, Rome, Portland" t-shirt. Bang on the money, mister.
HEALTH It's one of the most unsexy band names ever, but Health is the sound of the future and you'll need industrial strength earplugs to retain your hearing while worshipping them. Loud bands with abrasive noise set to a tribal beat sounded off all the right bells to gig-goers this year. Those of us waiting for other gigs to begin eagerly exchanged notes and enthusiastic queries of "have you seen Health yet?" Expectedly, the LA band developed a white hot buzz as did electronic duo Fuck Buttons, No Age and riled-up Toronto punk rockers, Fucked Up. All of it proved to be fascinating, explosive and best suited for ornery tailgaters or anyone craving music they can sink their teeth into.
THE SADIES Since Calgary is lucky to have The Sadies kindly pay us a visit nearly once each year, we're fondly acquainted with their musical dexterity and legendary bag of tricks. Year after year, we keep flocking back for more with friends and family in tow. Our American pals seem to be at the beginning of their courtship with The Sadies and less familiar with the boys' onstage prowess and genius musical aptitude. When brothers Dallas and Travis Good executed their tricky fret board exchange, audience members visibly lost composure. It was fun to watch others experience one of Canada's greatest bands for the first time. The Sadies are nominated for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year By a Group for the 2008 Juno Awards. If they don't win, there'll be a riot and I'll be leading it.
AKRON/FAMILY While I'm not a member of the Akron/Family church, there's no doubt about it, the band puts on sonically interesting performances. The band is devoted to making meaningful connections with their audience... which often included their number one fan and CJSW's music director, Myke Atkinson. Their final SXSW set concluded with the band leading their entire audience from Emo's onto the streets of Austin, where they embraced each other in a circle singing about geometric shapes. Hmm. Everyone was hugging at the end. Hmm. If this was any other band, I probably would have rolled my eyes. Since Akron/Family had already proved their musical sincerity, any gut instinct to mock the geometric shapes sing-along was (reluctantly) abandoned.
THE DONNAS
After The Donnas released their most lascivious love letter to hard rock, Bitchin' (on their new imprint Purple Feather Records, 2007), it was clear that the quartet was reborn with unbridled energy. After seeing them first at CMJ in 1999 and then in years since, I was curious to see how their independence and second wind would translate live. They had just finished a big tour with The Hives and their SXSW showcase was the last gig of the tour. They should have been dog-tired and dragging their butts. Not a chance. Brett Anderson was jumping around and cheekily working the audience like it was the opening night of a fresh tour. Allison Robertson's souped-up guitar moves were actually jaw-dropping. I might have squealed when the two rockers engaged in synchronized hair helicopters, but I also have a hard time keeping Rock Goddess and Girlschool off my turntable. The Donnas put on one hell of a party to end one noisy, insane week.
RACHAEL RAY's FEEDBACK BBQ
File under: Sorta Random. If anyone has ever been a fan of Rachael Ray, you know that the 39 year-old television personality/author loves live music. So fittingly, the queen foodie threw a cool day party at SXSW featuring hot bands and hot food. A catering company dished out the eats so Ray could enjoy all of the bands from the front row. The venue was one of Austin's coolest - the Beauty Bar. Looking like a '60s salon, the Beauty Bar is comprised of a front patio, a mid-sized inside room and a large backyard. Ray's BBQ was set up in the patio (beside a gaggle of Rachael Ray look-alikes), DJs spun in the inside room and bands played in the backyard. The line-up to get into her party was down the block and I had to cough up my media credentials to get in. While I was finishing up at another party and negotiating the crowds, I had missed her lawyer-husband's band, The Cringe, who was joined by ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons (mistakenly called Billy Simmons on her official website... meep). I caught San Francisco's Scissors for Lefty, who put on an infectiously energetic set. Before departing for the next gig, I took a few bites of one of Ray's 7 Layer Sliders (verdict: best little burger ever!) and saw The Stills, who debuted a ton of huge-sounding material from their forthcoming album. Only at SXSW, gang.
For photographs of other gigs attended (Kimya Dawson, Thurston Moore, Film School, Times New Viking, My Morning Jacket and more) head on over to the full SXSW 2008 album at: www.flickr.com/photos/teamrocknroll
For the review of SXSW 2007, click on April 2007 in the Archives menu to your right and please scroll down.
The Vagina Monologues are back to celebrate their 10 Year Anniversary!
Ten years young, the Vagina Monologues return to Calgary for another stellar 3-night long engagement. Marsha Ellen Meidow has been involved in organizing Calgary's Vagina Monologues since the inception. Every year brings a different experience as new volunteers take on the roles of women telling stories about sexuality, violence, embarrassment and discovery related to women and, of course, their vaginas.
This year's edition includes a special addition by a local femme who has prepared her own piece for the night. There will also be an interpretive dance of My Vagina Was My Village and many more surprises and treats for you, your vagina and your friends including three beautiful chair and ottoman sets (donated by Urban Barn) to be auctioned off at the end of each show.
Eve Ensler wrote the play, The Vagina Monologues, in 1996. It is now available in over 45 different languages and has been performed in over 119 countries. The play is both powerful and funny, thought-provoking and motivating. Ensler's recognition includes Obie Award for Best New Play (1996), the Guggenheim Fellowship Award in Playwriting (1999), the Berrilla-Kerr Award for Playwriting, the Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Solo Performance and the Jury Award for Theater at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival. Her play has touched the lives of many in the world and if you haven't seen the Vagina Monologues yet, this weekend brings your chance.
All the money raised supports Calgary's YWCA Safe Haven Program: Getting young girls off the streets and back into their lives.
The Vagina Monologues: March 20th-22nd at EPCOR Centre's Martha Cohen Theatre. Tickets are $25 - available at ticketmaster locations or by calling 777-0000
Subscribe: 