Tom Waits Tribute Night! A Mad Dash for the Down & Out.

The enchanting Jess Hill says, “Each artist will draw melodies from the sky and underbelly of the wide, wonderful, sometimes woe filled world of Tom Waits and bring them to life under the two suns at Commercial and 5th. The last time we threw this kind of party the joint was crammed to the rafters with a SOLD OUT sign by 9pm. Don’t hesitate to commit this date to memory dearies, the venue is a tight squeeze and if you’re late you’ll be outside watching the windows steam up.

Dust off your bowler hat, and garter belt, and hurry down, the bourbon won’t last forever!
See you at sea, in the alley and below the moon on October 16th at Cafe Deux Soleils”

Particularly exciting are Jess, Tarren, and Maria in the Shower. They rock more than socks. They rock EVERYTHING.

this weekend tis of geek

  • 50 years of cyborgs: I have not the words.
  • First footage of this year’s Dr. Who christmas special.

    I had the excellent luck of sharing the train back to Vancouver from Seattle with Cherie yesterday morning, as she happens to be the Guest of Honor at Vcon this weekend. It was a delightful treat to see her again, it’s been wretchedly long since we’ve cut up a dance floor. She’s been too busy promoting her steampunk novel, Boneshaker, and being nominated for the Hugo to be social. Luckily, with such delightful reasons for absence, the heart can only grow fonder. The sequel, her latest book, Dreadnought, just dropped this week, and I’d recommend snagging as soon as you can. I brought Boneshaker to Burning Man and read it three times just on the ride there.

    I’m also going to be attending Vcon this year for the first time. So many friends are involved that it’s more than a little silly that I’ve never been. (For example, Micheal, the fellow that picked Cherie and I up from the train station, brought us to my place, interviewed her, then took us for lunch, turned out to be Pauline’s father, because Vancouver is small and the sci-fi geek population even smaller than that.) It starts this afternoon and goes until Sunday, with a Steampunk themed dance on Saturday night.

  • “When life gives you mascara, make masquerade”

    365:2010/07/07 - preparing

    Tony and I have decided to go forward with our trip to Burning Man!!

    Even though we’ve been planning on going together practically since our first kiss, we were a hair’s breadth away from cutting Lung free to try it alone this year as my injuries cascaded, stranding me immobile on the chilly shores of chronic pain and disability. Tony wavered, delighted to take me on my greatest adventure, yet terrified of the idea of abetting further or possibly permanent damage to my body. It was last week’s miraculous physio appointment, (where my dislocated ankle was put back into alignment), that finally tipped the balance, as well as this: my arm is no longer in a sling, in one week my broken toe should be fully healed, in two weeks my strained wrists should be better, and in three weeks my previously dislocated ankle should be almost fully functional. My right shoulder’s still an internal ruin and my recovering ankle will be tender and tire easily, but by the time we get to Black Rock City, I should be recovered enough that it won’t be actively dangerous for me to attend. Not any more than for other people, at least, what with all the DIY fire throwers and all.

    So far we’ve booked a minivan rental, bought warm vintage fur coats for the cold playa nights, and Tony’s hooked me up with a truly sweet pair of dust goggles, as seen in the inset picture.

    This week’s plan is to find a truly fabulous wide brim hat, three cheap-as-pity bikes with fat tires and good brakes, and acquire at least one Lawrence of Arabia outfit, the better to survive a week of searing desert sun, that which I am most afraid of. (Some people merely flush a bittersweet bloom of pink, but my flesh reduces to crispy ashes in under twenty minutes. My thin skin, pale like paper, burns as such, and the last thing I want to do is spend my trip hallucinating from pain with a back like peeling, bleeding bacon.)

    Does anyone know a good source for such things? Local, (Seattle/Vancouver), or on-line.

    June 26th was a good night out for art

    365:2010/06/26: after dinner on our way to galleries
    After dinner, on our way to galleries.

    Save On Art

    Save On Art, a gallery show at the Hastings Space presenting some of Vancouver’s street art scene.

    jerm ix

    Local street artist Jerm IX showing his chest tatoo designed by illustrator and street artist, Basco5.

    cheaper show

    The Cheaper Show no. 9, 200 artists, 400 pieces of art for $200 each, hosted at the W2 Storyeum space on Cordova.

    confident

    Tony examining a wall of some of the more interesting and colorful art.

    out of the house for summer

    rubus strigosus

    Mushrooms and bok choy simmering in butter and black pepper, the windows all open, sentences running through my mind, practiced words falling off my tongue like dry, pressed flower petals, to divide fractions, invert the second fraction and multiply, to multiply fractions, multiply the numerators, then multiply the denominators, reduce all to their lowest terms, attempting a memorization of everything I can before my tests this weekend. A gift, but terrifying. I am more hopeful than I was a week ago, but I can’t stop feeling doomed. According to the website, the five tests take seven hours and twenty-five minutes to complete. Doomed.

    Tests aside, this upcoming weekend looks fun. Not only is there going to be a steampunk minicon at Barclay Manor on Saturday, World Cup is wrapping up this weekend, which means my neighborhood, Commercial Drive, will be closed to cars and open to PARTY!! Flags, shouting, free food, noise-makers, facepaint, dancing, music, and thousands of people gleefully losing their minds from how utterly freaking awesome it is that some guys in ridiculous socks kicked a ball around some other guys in ridiculous socks and between some posts. Wahoo! Seriously, though, it’s epic. EPIC. People travel from as far away as Portland to celebrate here. I came out of the last celebration with a frighteningly scarlet sunburn because my trusty SPF 75 was washed off by an intensely enthusiastic restaurateur shouting ITALIA! ITALY! ITALIA! and spraying the crowd with shaken bottles of champagne. Fwish. No more sunscreen. And rainbows everywhere. Did you know champagne makes especially pretty rainbows when misted through the air? Me neither, not until that party.

    Also coming up: The Vancouver Folk Festival from July 16-18th, the Celebration of Light nee The Symphony of Fire, (USA July 21st, Spain July 24th, Mexico July 28th, and China July 31st), and a castrated Illuminares Lantern Procession on July 24th for those who want to try and cram thousands of people into a small building after parading their children through Crackton.

    Dine-Out Vancouver, the yearly blurb

    Dine-Out Vancouver started this week, an annual food festival that involves wickedly-worth-it expensive restaurants offering three course menus for either $18, $28, or $38* per person. (This doesn’t include drinks, tips, or taxes). Running from April 26 – May 6, it’s a wonderful opportunity – delicious, cheap, and super fun. There’s around 200 restaurants involved, which can make it seem a little overwhelming, but they all have searchable on-line menus posted, and easy to find phone numbers for reservations. (The trick is to always call them in. The place you pick might claim on-line that they’re full up, but anyone with experience with this knows better.) They’re sorted alphabetically, by price, or by the type of cuisine they offer. Scroll down to the middle of the page to find the Search Box.

    So now you’re all properly In The Know, where are you planning on going?

    *I admit I loved it more when it was $15/25/35.

    tulle, fire-spinning, and poetry

    Apartment To-Do List

  • Sell giant mirror.
  • Paint my room white.
  • Paint the livingroom white. Update: purchased one pail of white paint
  • Paint the mirror frames.
  • Obtain cat-resistant curtains.
  • Obtain new bed sheets.
  • Obtain new underwire underwear. Breakout Bras had Harlequins on sale!
  • Reorganize hall closet.
  • Frame the posters/art. Framed: one portrait of my mother.
  • Find my bloody tutu. Found! Apparently I crammed over 26 meters of tulle into a tiny shoebox under my bed.

    Heading down to Seattle again this weekend, this time to catch my friend’s 14-piece rock circus band, The Mutaytor, as they take the stage at Neumos on Sunday. They’re actually playing Whistler’s snowboarding festival tomorrow night, but trying to trek after them is a task out of my league. Better to just stay put and let them come to me!

    Also upcoming, the Vancouver Poetry Slam Finals on Monday. Even if you’re like me and mostly skip every single other slam for the entire year, (poetry slam drama bingo anyone?), this is the Big Show, the one not to miss, where the best of the best of this year’s contentants duke it out literary style to make it onto the next Van Slam Poetry Team and onward to the International Finals!

  • HIVE3 is coming up soon! Volunteer for free admission.

    Tickets available through: vancouvertix.com. $25 Adults, $20 Students/Seniors.

    Pricy, but oh, so deliciously worthwhile. Tony and I are going for his birthday on the 19th. I can’t express how glad I am of that particular coincidence. Along with the Eastside Culture Crawl, HIVE is one of my very favourite Vancouver events. (We don’t have too many here, no Nuit Blanche for us yet, not with the harsh reality of our arts funding cut.) Luckily, for those without monies, HIVE is still looking for volunteers to fill some positions throughout the run but in particular, Thursday March 11 and Thursday March 18. Volunteers are asked to commit to one or two shifts totaling 4 hours or more. In return you get an invitation to a HIVE3 dress rehearsal, to see the HIVE shows on the same evening you volunteer, and free entrance to the live music portion after the HIVE shows.

    Volunteer Positions include:

    Bar Ticket Seller or Busser (6pm-10pm, 10pm-2am)
    Box Office / Main Door (6pm-10pm, 9pm-2am)
    Door / Security (6pm-10:30pm, 9pm-1am, 10pm-2am)
    Clean Up (12am-3am)
    *Please note that times and positions may vary depending on need.*

    If you’re interested in volunteering, please contact Kenji Maeda at associate@bocadellupo.com.
    Please indicate your full name, email, phone numbers, availability (dates & times), and preferred position.

    EDIT: My friends at Felix Culpa are also looking for volunteers! And if you (meaning anybody reading this) are looking to volunteer on the 12th or the 20th, contact him at david at felixculpa.bc.ca.

    Concert with the Now Orchestra Monday Night Workshop Band‏

    This just in from my mother, Vicki:

    Hi All,

    I am sending out this e-mail to invite you to the Western Front next Monday evening on Dec 7th at 8:00pm.

    The event is the culmination of this year’s improvisation workshop series at The Western Front, 303 East 8th Avenue.

    Every Monday, since October, an ad hoc group from 12-20 players has assembled together to make music and next Monday you are invited to join us. There is no admission charge.

    For more information check out: http://www.noworchestra.com/workshops

    I will only be singing as I have parked my motorcycle for the year and I have not been bringing my guitar or computer rig on public transit. There are enough guitarists already and I am sure you will find the show interesting and musical.

    Please e-mail me for more information or check my website later this week for rehearsal soundclips.

    This Weekend’s Excellent Events

    Vancouver:

    Friday

  • Vagabond Opera! AKA I cannot believe I’m missing this! 1920’s European Cabaret! Vintage Americana! Balkan Belly Dance! Neo-Classical Opera! Old World Yiddish Theater! Welcome to the six-piece, Portland, Oregon-based Vagabond Opera. “The Vagabond Opera brings you the best in Balkan, gypsy, cabaret, vaudeville, jazz and opera! Singing in 14 languages, bringing in Bulgarian Accordion, sinfully fast cellos, jazzy drums beats, relentless upright bass and salacious saxophone.” They will be performing at Capilano University at 8pm, as part of the Folk and Roots Series. Tix $28/$25.
  • The Fall gallery presents A Steampunk Symposium Live painting, music, mustaches and more! “Wear your best fancy clothes, this will be a formal event! If you dont have fancy clothing you are welcome to come ofcourse but we wanna get people looking stylish :)” Confirmed artsists so far include: Autumn Skye Morrison, Phresha, Shwa, Nomi Chi, Brianne Tweddle, Paul Hendriks, Tessa Rand, Alison Woodward, Jeff Simpson, Robin Hunt, Ben Worth. Kat + Mause @ Kiss My Flash Photography, (our very own Katherine Duncan), will have a steampunk photo booth set-up.
  • Rio Midnight Double Feature: Pink Floyd’s The Wall & Pink Floyd live at Pompie. (Please note: this a double bill of Pink Floyd MOVIES. The Rio Theatre is also presenting a musical stage play of “THE WALL” that began November 5th). Tix $10, $8 in costume.

    Saturday

  • Harm’s Road play Sin Bin’s grand opening. (Consisting of Erin Puckey, Bob Roxburgh, Mario Avila, and Alex Hawkins.) One night of musical madness at Vancouver’s sexiest new venue, Sin Bin, 295 W 2nd Ave. Live Music, great food, and cheap drinks. Tic $5.

    Monday

  • The Beige play The Biltmore Cabaret (Now this I will be at. Or ELSE.) Also playing are Solarists and Abramson Singers. Doors open 8pm. The Beige will be on around 10pm. Tix are only an unbelievable $5.
  • Poetry Slam Haiku Deathmatch at Cafe Du Soliex For those of you who like your poetry short and sweet refrigerator. Doors at 8. Tix $5.

    Seattle:

    Friday

  • The Tiger Lillies Twentieth Anniversary Rout at the Moore Theater. “With an international reputation for being the foremost avant-garde band in the world, The Tiger Lillies never cease to surprise, shock and entertain with their inimitable musical style, conjuring up the macabre magic of pre-war Berlin and fusing it with the savage edge of punk. The British trio returns to The Moore Theatre to perform songs from their Olivier award-winning smash, Shockheaded Peter, along with a selection of numbers from their Grammy-nominated album The Gorey End and other deranged fan favorites.” Show at 8pm. Tix $20 or $40 for the really nice seats.
  • Also, Tiger Lillies after party: The Bad Things play at the Can Can.
  • Seattle H+ Discussion Group: A Cyberpunk’s Apocalypse. If the structures we rely on disappeared, how would we survive, as cyberpunks/Futurists? General chat with a topic, no presentation. Kaladi Brothers, 511 E Pike St, 6 pm.
  • Danse Perdue & Joy Von Spain perform at Harem. Butoh, most likely. Ritual performance Alex Ruhe, Ariel Denham, Vanessa Skantze of Danse Perdue + others with Joy Von Spain and special guests. (And Alex, let me say, can dance.) 618 Broadway E., 7:30 pm

    Saturday

  • Couch Fest Films Celebrating its second annual year in 2009, Couch Fest Films is a cozy shorts film fest hosted in people’s houses. During Couch Fest Films, lovers of film can sit shoulder to shoulder watching short films while stuffing their faces with the snacks they thought they had to sneak in. 11 am – 8 pm. Tix $10. See the map for films, playtimes, and venues.
  • Seacompression 8! An annual alternative arts festival: a one-night extravaganza featuring music, performance, theme camps and art installations – all set in a 25,000 foot aircraft hangar. Music from DJML, GeminiTrix, Kadeejah Streets, Michael Manahan, and more! Aerial performances by Suspended Animation. Fire performances by Ignition, Furthermore Collective, Spinergy Arts and Womanipura. Live music by Klezterbalm, Big High, and EQLateral String Trio. Magnuson Park, Hangar 30. Tix $30 at the door.