Archive for March, 2011

Every day we share a single photo from our Flickr Pool shot by one of our faithful and talented readers (that’s you!).

Just have enough time to post a quick little post here tonight, where does the day go? Its fairly late in the evening for me to file my assignment, but as my mother might say, better late than never. And you know what? She’s right.

So without further ado, a nice slice of geometric goodness from downtown, courtesy of 00nikolas00, who appears to have the ability to hover between two buildings to capture a shot like his untitled photograph below.

Gary

Two super great things came out of the Gerogia Straight’s web machine today! One is THIS feature on the Rain City Chronicles. Buy your ticket for this Wednesday’s show HERE!

Two is the announcement of the winners in their 14th annual Golden Plate Awards, showcasing the city’s best places to eat and drink in 138 categories! Below is a screen capture of the interactive map they’ve made with all of the winners which you can peruse HERE and then decide where you’re going for dinner tonight.

The Bassment is a weekly article bringing you coverage of the best in Hip Hop and Electronic music from around Vancouver. Weekly interviews, event coverage, album and concert reviews that show how awesome our city’s electronic and hip hop scene really is. If you think there is someone or something that needs coverage in this city in regards to the Hip Hop / Electronic community then get in touch with us.

The Boombox Saints have been on the local grind for some time: working on rhymes and beats, opening for acts like Kid Cudi and Far East Movement to Talib Kweli and Souls of Mischief, documenting their day in the life’s on their youtube channel and now have recently released not one but 2 EPs free for download independently:  the Boombox EP and Bringing the Boom Back EP as well as a single (via Nettwerk records) and video for She Got (off the latter EP). We caught up with Huggy Fresh, Freeky P and Adlib between the two releases for some of their thoughts about getting their work out there, their local collaborators and influences and what’s going in the Vancouver hip hop scene in general.

Read the interview below.
…READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

I was away last November when I think I missed both Dam Funk (LA) and Onra (Paris) in town. It’s rare for me to go for a DJ set as a show these days but both artists have produced some of my favourite tracks of the last bit (like Hood Pass Intact, Galactic Fun from Dam, My Comet, High Hopes from Onra) so be able to see both of them on the same bill was pretty sick. Funny enough, the night was free as sponsored by Jameson Whiskey which I was recently introduced to by an Irishman a few weeks before. My Crown Royal days then seemed possibly numbered thereafter and were all but confirmed as I had my share during this show at the Lamplighter on Mar. 15.

But back to the music: With local talents, Hedspin with his homey Pump from Calgary and Nina Mendoza setting things off in the right fashion as I continued to confirm my last days a Crowner with every sip of the Irish brand, I was so stoked to see both Onra and Dam, not just to hear their sets but also to see how they would expand on it with their live input. Both guys’ sound is based a lot on 80s R&B/hip hop so I was also curious to see how their sounds would mesh… (see pics and video below the cut)

…READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

This new series had its genesis when I began photographing Vancouver area location shoots last summer to get over a long post-Olympics funk. Film and TV productions like This Means War, Mission Impossible 4, Fringe and the new AMC series The Killing showcase our city in similar fashion and sometimes put a celebrity actor or two in the frame.

I do try to photograph at least part of each TV series filming in Vancouver but some are more difficult than others. The CW’s Smallville, whose cast and crew celebrated ten seasons here at a big wrap party at the Vancouver Club last Saturday, filmed on permanent private sets and rarely went on location in their final season. And the incredibly fit young stars of the CW’s Hellcats, who instantly topped the local paparazzi list of saleable celebrity shots in their first season, attract a pack of paps and autograph hounds to each location shoot, as well as their daily workouts.

At its core, Hellcats is the story of friendship between pre-law-student-turned-cheerleader -for-scholarship-money Marti, played by Aly Milchalka, and her roommate and fellow cheerleader the very-religious-and-sheltered Savannah, played by Ashley Tisdale, at the fictional Lancer University in Memphis, Tennessee. Throw in dance numbers in skimpy cheerleader uniforms and lots of hook-ups among the main characters and you get a demographic hit. CW executives gave an early full season order, announcing  they were “thrilled that [it] paid off for us.”

But critical reaction to the series is a mixed bag with some calling it “soft porn” and others pronouncing it “not trashy enough”.  The only consensus: that the series has restored Ashley Tisdale to something approaching  the same level of stardom she experienced with High School Musical, with photos of her coming and going from her daily workout out a fitness club near the Shangri-la Hotel appearing almost daily in celebrity blogs.  She had to hire a security assistant to accompany her in public.

After filming its pilot here in Vancouver last April, Hellcats returned to shoot the series from mid-summer to late winter, favouring locations at several local campuses, including BCIT, Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia. I first caught up with them filming an exterior scene on the UBC campus at the end of November with cameras forced to shoot with snow on the ground.  It proved to be a rare occasion when Hellcats didn’t have much of a problem with crowd control since no one wanted to linger during the cold snap. Pity the poor extras dressed for a Memphis fall.

I did visit several other Hellcats location shoots throughout the season, including a three-day shoot inside the Vancouver Rowing Club in mid-January, with a police car parked outside on Stanley Park Drive to reserve a spot for cast-dropoffs, but never stuck around if there wasn’t an exterior scene. In mid-February, I did catch a quick scene in Gastown of Aly Milchalka chasing her real-life sister AJ Milchalka (playing her half-sister) out of a record store up the street to the Blarney Stone pub, but with only a month left of filming that seemed to be it for me and Hellcats.

Word of a Hellcats wrap party at the V Lounge in Yaletown on Saturday, March 12th, presented a pap opportunity with the young cast reportedly partying until 4 a.m. Flynet agency photos of a sober Ashley Tisdale tottering in thigh-high Christian Louboutin boots and fellow Hellcat Heather Hemmons wrapping her legs around …READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

CelticFest took Vancouver by storm again last week, and your trusty VIA intern (that’s me!) was there to catch it on film. (Well, memory card, if you want to get technical.)

Friday, I had the pleasure of shooting the AfroCeltic Dance Party at the Edgewater Casino. Performers Alpha Yaya Diallo, Amy Stephen, Stephanie Cadman, Boris Favre, Allan Dionne and N’ato Camera fused Celtic and African music to incredibly danceable results.

On Sunday, I headed out to the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, which, luckily, fell on a gorgeous, sunny Vancouver morning, and the Great Big Session, a kitchen party/céilidh (pron: kay-lee) featuring Jay Knutson (a founding member of Spirit of the West who is now a professor at SFU) and a collection of amateur and professional musicians from around the Lower Mainland. The music was, again, phenomenal.

I hope you enjoy listening as much as I did!

…READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

“Comedy is tragedy plus time.” It’s been said many times by many comedians. I believe the original usage dates back to the great Carol Burnett. It’s a quote I have borrowed from to title this column about the wonderful talent in the comedy community right here in Vancouver.Since I’ve lived in Vancouver, I’ve heard a lot of people say that they had a bad experience at a comedy show and never went back. This is as ridiculous as swearing off restaurants as a whole because of one case of food poisoning. It’s my hope, that the profiles here will bring back those who have turned away or open the door for those who have never seen live comedy.

Finally, for those out there that don’t like to laugh, they might be best served by a quote from another lady of show business, Julia Roberts:
“Show me a person who doesn’t like to laugh and I’ll show you a person with a toe tag.”

When was the last time you laughed until you cried?

I didn’t cry but the first time I saw Simon King do his motivational speaker bit, my ribs were sore. Not because it was so funny but after the joke he kicks every member of the audience in the ribcage. I guess you had to be there.

What is one myth about live comedy you’d like to dispel?

That being funny means you’ll be good at stand-up comedy. All the best comics I know are good writers, performers etc. and have a great work ethic, in addition to being funny. I’m not sure this applies directly to “live comedy” but it’s all I got.

What would be your idea of a perfect venue?

Anywhere where there are no distractions and people are there specifically to see comedy. And on a night when there’s no Canuck game.

What do you think is a comedy premise that needs to be retired?

Anything that a comic doesn’t genuinely find funny but only does for a cheap laugh because it’s proven to work. I’ve done this myself and felt bad about it, mostly because I didn’t even get the cheap laugh I was promised.

What has been the greatest challenge that you’ve faced since starting comedy?

In the beginning I was extremely scared to ask for stage time. I was more afraid of being rejected in that regard than actually being rejected by the audience onstage. Both happened though

How did you know that comedy was something you wanted to be a part of?

When I first came to Vancouver, my father and I stayed at the Holiday Inn on Broadway. Greg Kettner used to run a comedy show at Stages, the hotel lounge. I really enjoyed the show and went back to watch every week. It just made me feel better and helped me deal with some things to the point where I needed more so I sought out other shows and eventually got involved, feeling that would really help me. I was right. Interesting note: you were the headliner of the first show I saw and I approached you after the show to tell you your joke about the guy heckling you for “standing on Granville Street because you’re too good to sit” was so funny.

Why is Vancouver a good place for comedy?

I’m not sure I’m qualified to answer this particular question since I’ve only actually done a handful of shows outside Vancouver (and none outside B.C.)

Based on the comedy I’ve seen, I think Vancouver has a very high concentration of talent. Thus you’re constantly pushing yourself not just to compete for stage time, but also to keep up artistically.

Who is one performer/group of performers you think everyone should see at least once?

Stewart Lee. He seldom performs outside of the U.K. so a lot of people don’t know him but in my opinion he’s the most intelligent comic out there.

What is your favourite joke (street of otherwise)?

Zach Galifianakis has a joke that says, “You know you have a drinking problem, when the bartender knows your name… and you’ve never been to that bar before.” Just the idea of that actually happening makes me laugh every time. I wish I thought of it.

Every article about comedy has to have a pun in the title. What would you like yours to be?

Sean Emeny is your friend.

Hey, David Suzuki! Happy 75th birthday, David Suzuki!

Click the image above to wish the beloved Doctor Suzuki a happy 75th birthday on HappyBirthdayDavidSuzuki.com!