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Ali Milner ~ In the True Spirit of Jazz on the Mountain at Whistler

September 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Devoting Being Emme & Roamancing to one of mine and my Dad’s great loves this Labour Day Weekend ~ Jazz!  Why?  Well, you see Whistler Blackcomb are hosting their first Jazz Festival ~ Jazz on the Mountain at Whistler.  Now, while I can’t be there in body, I will be in spirit dancing away with my Dad.  A sight, I am sorry you won’t see, as Dad and I use to have groupies at the TerriVic Jazz Party in Victoria for our dancing on the stage.

Speaking of spirit.  Here is a gal that truly embodies the spirit of a mountain jazz festival, especially one in Whistler … Whistler native, Ali Milner …

You can catch Ali, as a part of the Mountain Top BBQ Jazz Series at the Roundhouse Lodge on Whistler Blackcomb from 5 – 8 pm on Friday September 2nd, 2011.

Filed Under: All the Gossip, BC, Canada, Events, Jammin', Music Scene, Perfect Dates, The Tube, Travel Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Hot Flushes from the Brott 2011 Music Festival

August 24, 2011 By 2 Comments

A have been very fortunate in life in that I have had the opportunity to enjoy much of the beauty in this world, having had a love for the Arts fostered in me from quite a young age, thanks to my parents and grandparents.   One area of the Arts that I haven’t appreciated and thus haven’t attended as much has been the Symphony.  It is for this reason that when the opportunity to attend the Brott 2011 Music Festival in Hamilton, Ontario presented itself, I jumped at it. It was time to discover what I’d been missing.

‘Missing’ is very much the right word, because I had no idea how intoxicatingly sensual and sexual the Symphony could be.  Had I known, this would have been one of my Date Picks and I may have found two very different dates for the evening, although I must say their beautiful curves added to those of the Strings.

 

 

Now I can only imagine what must happen at Band Camp.  Clearly my youth on the Sports Pitch was sorely misspent.

For more on the actual performance and less on my newly found hot flashes for men playing the Strings (hmmm … that probably means that they are exquisitely skilled with their hands too … and I haven’t even got to my new found fantasties for conductors … the poise … the passion), check out ‘Discovering Carmina Burana at the Brott 2011 Music Festival‘ on Roamancing.

Kisses,

Emme xoxo

 

Filed Under: All the Gossip, Canada, Events, Music Scene, Ontario, Perfect Dates, relationships, Travel Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival 2011

August 11, 2011 By 2 Comments

One of the most fascinating things about the blues is that no one really knows how old it is. It is a mysterious, sexy beast.

This sense of mystery is true of all folk music, handed down from generation to generation, and not by means of historic documentation. No. By its very nature, blues and folk music, and all of the popular music that they inspire, is kept alive by listening to it, playing it, adapting it, and sharing it with a live audience. It illuminates our lives when we see it and hear it on stage.

So, with all of that in mind, I am pleased as punch that our Emme Rogers has asked me to be her correspondent at the Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival, 2011. The festival this year inspires audiences on several levels, as usual. And with the promise of what awaits me on Saturday, August 13 in Deer Lake Park, Burnaby this year,  I am reminded of how far-reaching the music really is.

For instance, a HUGE BLUES LEGEND John Mayall (!!!) will grace us with over 50 years worth of live and recorded blues behind him. A ’60s British blues-boom hero, this is the guy who apprenticed Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Jack Bruce, Mick Taylor, and a bunch of other guys who went on to blues, blues-rock, and rock/pop greatness themselves. I mean, you wanna talk about reach, and influence? And really that’s only one strain of vital music Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival audiences will soak up along with the sun this Saturday.

Blues Legend John Mayall (Photo: Per Ole Hagen)

Speaking of Eric Clapton, Irish singer Imelda May has shared a stage with him, too, not to mention David Gilmour, Shane MacGowan, and fellow countryman Van Morrison. Her music is an amalgam of rockabilly and ’60s surf rock styles that I’m really looking forward to hearing live.

For that earthy, early ’70s Cosmic American Music, Ben Rogers and the Black Oats brings the goods, with not just a little bit of Steve Earle in there for good measure. They will be playing tunes off of their new EP, Brigands.

Hailing from the Deep South, the cradle of American popular music, come the Secret Sisters.  This is a duo of actual sisters, Laura and Lydia Rogers, singing close-harmony country music that hearkens back to an earlier age.

Matt Anderson ties together various strains of roots music, including hard-hitting blues-rock that is meant for open air festival crowds. Originally from New Brunswick, Matt’s word-of-mouth following has led him all over the country and beyond. For soulful vocals, and guitar hero showmanship, Matt’s on-stage experience opening for the likes of blues legends Buddy Guy, David “Honeyboy” Edwards, and Bo Diddley is ripe for the Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival.

Victorians Current Swell demonstrate that the creation of roots music is not just an exercise in celebrating the past. Theirs is a vital sonic avenue into the future, allowing them to share stages with acts ranging from Bedouin Soundclash to the Beach Boys. Find out where they fit in between that spectrum, kids!

Musical journeymen Luke Doucet and The White Falcon joins this year’s Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival, with a classic-era anthemic roots-rock sound that has earned them a 2011 Polaris Prize nomination alongside Ron Sexsmith, the Dears, and Black Mountain, among others.  A charismatic frontman, and seasoned guitarist, Doucet and his band create a sound that supports tunes that you swear have been around forever.

And who is the headliner this year?

k.d lang

k.d lang (Photo: jbach)

What about k.d lang?

A giant among Canadian artists, sure. But, also deemed “the best singer of her generation” by Tony Bennett, a guy who knows a thing or two about singing, folks. An uncannily gifted interpreter of music that ranges from Roy Orbison’s “Crying”, to Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You”, to her celebrated version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” as performed at the 2010 Olympic Games, k.d lang is a national musical treasure.

Her roots as a cowpunk and alt-country pioneer is matched only by her work as a revivalist torch song stylist. And of course, she writes her own songs, too, like the radio hit “Constant Craving”, her signature tune. Country, pop, tin pan alley; she’s mastered them all, and all of those styles feed into all manner of pop music as we know it today. That’s why they call it roots, after all. And who better to deliver it than k.d lang?

Music is best when it’s enjoyed live, and (in my humble opinion) in the open air. With a scenic setting like Deer Lake Park, I’m looking forward to falling in with a jubilant festival crowd at the Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival for the third year in a row for me.

This is becoming a habit, and one that’s becoming an indespensible part of summertime in the Lower Mainland.

The Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival takes place this Saturday, August 13 at Deer Lake Park. Gates open at 1:00PM, and the show starts at 2:00PM.

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: All the Gossip, BC, Buds, Canada, Events, Jammin', Music Scene, Rob Jones, Travel, Vancouver Events Tagged With: , , ,

Bringing a Tear to my Eyes

August 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There’s something about the smokey, traditional jazz look of Imelda May that reminds me of Dad.

Listening to these lyrics broke my heart, as they are exactly how Dad feels about Mom.  He will forever be falling in love with her again.  Love you Dad!

Now if only I could stumble upon the man that love me like Dad loves Mom.

Kisses,

Emme xoxo

PS Imelda May is live this Saturday at the 2011 Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival.

Filed Under: All the Gossip, BC, Canada, Events, Jammin', Meeting Mr. / Ms. Right (or Right Now), Music Scene, The Tube, Travel, Vancouver Events Tagged With: , , , , ,

Bare at Waterfront Theatre – The Latest from Fighting Chance Productions

August 9, 2011 By 1 Comment

The opening night of Bare: A Pop Opera was my first experience at a Fighting Chance Production. I’m not a die-hard fan of musical theatre for its own sake, which may be because my experience of it is pretty much limited to classics like The Producers, Don Giovanni, and Singin’ in the Rain. Though I enjoyed them, I would occasionally sigh and wonder why oh why do they have to have another song there, when it does little or nothing to deepen or further the story. (To be fair, hypoglycemia or whether or not I knew the language may have contributed to said annoyance, but nevertheless, en route to an evening of musical theatre, I usually have a whisper of worry that it might be overwhelmingly, redundantly — well, musical.)

That said, I’ve been wanting to watch a Fighting Chance Production for some time now, and having heard such good things about their musicals, that any such pre-emptive worry while riding the bus to the Waterfront Theatre on Friday was at a minimum. Also, I was looking forward to Bare, John Hartmere Jr. and David Intrabartolo’s play, as it’s subject matter was of special interest to me, having spent high school in a setting similar to St. Cecelia’s Catholic boarding school where the play unfolds.

 

L-R Lena Dabrusin, Stephanie Liatopoulos, Lucas Blaney, Arlene Worthing as photographed for Fighting Chance Productions' Bare: A Pop Opera.

I could really empathize with many of the play’s senior-year protagonists, who struggle to reconcile themselves and their sexuallity with the categorical “rights and wrongs” handed to them in their religion, and who are left ashamed, confused and unsettled by the advice they are given to purge themselves of wickedness with self-denial and discipline. Bare addresses the students’ dilemmas in a highly entertaining, emotive way  – I especially loved the the surprise appearance of spunky, soul-singing Virgin Mary, with her backup-singer angels in attendance.

Though the play deals with serious, even tragic issues, the story is wrapped in the infectious exuberance of the youth, who push boundaries despite any fears of punishment, mortal and divine. Even while mulling over the larger concerns of the play, you gotta love them for their never-day-die spirit — secret rendezvous, pot brownies, ‘borrowed’ cars and all.

Finally, about the music I was so wary of: I loved it. Though there was pretty much music and lyrics instead of dialogue, I loved every minute of it. At no point did I ever feel it was tiresome, or over-the-top — on the contrary, I could only admire the amazing singing talent of the actors, and marvel at how they do both so well, and at once (perhaps I’m just learning to appreciate musical theatre, now). The story being told in song really deepened the emotive aspect of the play, and gave the effect of the characters really laying out their souls in song — bare. And their honesty is touching.

Thank you Ryan Mooney and Caitlin Hayes for directing a great performance!

You can see Fighting Chance Productions’ Bare: A Pop Opera by Hartmere and Intrabartolo until August 13 at the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island. Shows run between Tuesday and Sunday and start at 8 p.m.

Filed Under: All the Gossip, Alyzee, Buds, Events, Music Scene, Theatre, Vancouver Events Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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