Category: Features

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Dec/Jan Issue Preview: Diamond Rings

Hey folks! It’s the first Thursday of the month, which means there’s a shiny new issue of Stylus out on stands, and it’s a big one. In addition to our regular slew of reviews, we’ve got a whackload of features on folks from Jason Collett to John Waters. AND our annual rundown of the year’s best albums and shows.

To get you even more excited, here’s a preview of Stylus editor Taylor Burgess’s interview with the glam-tastic Diamond Rings. (Think a of a synthier, Canadian Patrick Wolf ,with occasional rapping.)

“I had this batch of songs written that I was performing, acoustically, for friends, at little hole-in-the-walls around town, just as something to do. You know, so [my make-up artist] was aware of the material, Colin Medley [my video director] was familiar with a lot of the work – just people who were really close to me, you know, they’d come and see the shows, and we just decided that we wanted to take it a step further. I had never done anything like that before – I remember the first time trying to put on mascara, I almost, like, passed out.”

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Live Bait: Wintersleep win, Ra Ra Riot ra

Wintersleep & Ra Ra Riot
@ the Garrick
Saturday, November 20
By Victoria King

No matter what part of the country you are from, so long as you were born under the Maple Leaf sun you are instantly claimed as Canadian. As a musician, whatever success you encounter and however many Junos you win, you can bet that your hometown will honour you with a ceremonial street inauguration or concert venue to stand in your honour. As it stands, I would be willing to bet that the guys from Wintersleep may go through this in 20 years or so. Following the great Canadian music stigma of ‘WTF, they’re Canadian,’ Wintersleep recently released their fourth album New Inheritors, and made a stop in Winnipeg along with Ra Ra Riot on November 22.

For starters, I will be honest in admitting that I had never listened to Ra Ra Riot before that evening. I expected something loud and rowdy, as hinted to by their name, yet I was hesitant when I saw the band take the stage. Although they looked more like the type of kids that would be chilling outside the Garrick rather than playing onstage, this was definitely a giant “I told you so” moment. RRR kicked off the night with “Boy.” If you haven’t heard it, take it from me,  I don’t suggest you listen to it in public. Trying to contain my bobbing head and bouncing knees at a socially acceptable pace was a difficult task, but I was thankful to see that I wasn’t the only one in the crowd who was totally down for RRR.  They played a solid opening, and for those in the crowd who resisted the urge to dance; fail.

The stage for the night was minimal, excluding the stuffed dog sporting a wrestling belt, which was left as the one big question mark of the night. “Drunk on Aluminum” was the first track of the evening. Seriously, it was so good. The set included “Astronaut,” “Dead Letter and the Infinite Yes,” “Black Camera,” “Preservation,” “Weighty Ghost” and “Echo Location.” To be frank, I was actually quite surprised how much hard these guys rocked live. I went in expecting a balanced mix of an indie rock/folk sound, but definitely got more than I expected in terms of an indie rock influence. The guitar came through so strong while the vocals maintained the same raw quality that makes their music so recognizable. On a side note, their was a pretty great ’Peg city moment when lead vocalist Paul Murphy asserted, “Pretty cold in Winnipeg” only to be replied by “This ain’t nothin’!” by some dude in the audience. To whoever did so, major cool points. “Oblivion”, “Laser Beams” and “Breath Normal, Nerves Normal” made up the encore, along with Murphy’s “Thank you Winnipeg, this was fucking awesome!”

The one gripe I do need make about the night is in regards to whoever was in charge of the sound system. For at least the first seven songs, the sound at front stage was pretty shitty, with the guitar seeming to drown out nearly everything else. I refused to accept the possibility that the band may not be as awesome live as on recording, so I checked out the middle of the venue. Turns out it was just the front of the stage, as the middle sounded great. Kinda craptastic on my part, but still a solid show.
With that said, it is my prediction that Wintersleep will end up being one of those awesome bands that will forever be clumped in with all other eclectic Canadian groups; and while they may play in your cities and perform for your award shows, at the end of the day they’re still from our east coast.

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((( send + receive ))) takeover

Starting today, send + receive is hosting a number of experimental and “out there” film screenings, art installations, and musical performances throughout the week.
To kick it off, Winnipeg’s favourite circut-bender Clint Enns has a video playing at Gallery 1C03 at the University of Winnipeg. It’s titled Prepare to Qualify, named after the banner that flies across the screen in Pole Position, the Atari game which Enns bent to make rhythmic pulses, nauseating squelches, and cathartic drones.

We asked him to choose a video that’s inspired him and why. Here’s what he said>>>

Chapters 1-12 of R. Kelly’s Trapped In The Closet Synced and Played Simultaneously (2006) by Michael Bell-Smith.  A playful reinterpretation of a pop culture classic.

Chapters 1-12 of R. Kelly’s Trapped In The Closet Synced and Played Simultaneously (2006) by Michael Bell-Smith. Courtesy EAI. from Why + Wherefore on Vimeo.

If you can handle that, or better yet, if you dig it, you’d best check out Prepare to Qualify which runs until this Friday. send + receive is running all week long, and again, it is not to be missed. Mind alterations await you!

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Live Bait: Stars lay golden eggs of love, etc.

Stars and Young Galaxy
@Burton Cummings Theatre
October 29, 2010

The Burton Cummings Theatre has played host to a huge number of exceptional artists over the years. October 29’s show was no different, with indie acts Young Galaxy and Stars gracing the stage for two stellar performances that stand up with some of the best the theatre has seen in recent years.
Young Galaxy was charged with getting the night started, serenading the crowd with their dreamy brand of pop.  The Montreal four-piece is a Canadian band that is sounding more and more like a U.K. band, something not lost on the group as they focused their brief-but-powerful set around some of the more danceable numbers in their catalog. Stephen Ramsay and Catherine McCandless swapped vocal duties on the thundering opener, “Destroyer,” rousing the crowd to the front of the stage and making it clear that this is a band best experienced live.
“The Buzz In My Flesh” and “Outside The City” hooked the crowd with pulsing rhythms and McCandless’s icy vocals echoing out across the hall at all the right moments. She was never better than when clawing her way across the stage during “Queen Drum,” though her voice managed to bring the entire theatre to a hush with a crashing rendition “Firestruck.”
Ramsay gave his thanks to the headlining Stars, describing them as “golden eagles coming to drop golden eggs of love” into the audiences’ hearts. Joking aside, the bands’ huge crescendos coupled with McCandless’s mesmerizing stage presence made for the perfect lead up to the act to come.
Stars quickly took to the stage to deliver a tightly packed 100-minute set, launching into a haunting performance of “He Dreams He Is Awake” and calling the audience to their feet. Torquil Campbell illuminated the room from the stage with a handheld floodlight, announcing, “There’s a lot of beautiful ghosts in the building.” The band moved effortlessly between older pop numbers like “Elevator Love Letter” and newer electro cuts off this year’s The Five Ghosts LP, endlessly captivating the audience the whole way through.
Though much of the set was filled with swirling layers of synthesizers and electronic percussion, the best songs were those when the band took a reprieve from their posts to deliver an “unplugged” performance. Amy Millan and bassist Evan Cranley took presented and delicate acoustic rendition of “Ageless Beauty” while sitting centre stage upon a white bench. Shortly after, Campbell and Millan shared the mic on “The Woods,” flanked by Cranley and keyboardist Chris Seligmanon trombone and French horn, respectively. The crowd was silent during these two stunning numbers, lending even more intimacy to the moment.
Stars’ encore once again brought the audience to their feet, swaying and clapping along to “I Died So I Could Haunt You” and “Reunion” while Campbell and Millan danced across the stage, stomping their feet recklessly in time. The night was brought to a close with the softer “Changes,” and before the band bounded off the stage, Campbell was sure to graciously thank his audience, calling them the best Winnipeg audience he’s seen.
– Kevan Hannah

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Story Time w/Rob Vilar: The Sadies

The Sadies
Darker Circles


While driving under and through a Roman aqueduct on the city’s main scenic strip, I ride shotgun with my main contact guy Tito behind the wheel.
“I’m really glad you’re able to take this job, Vilar,” says Tito as he cruises his Opel through the afternoon traffic. “I know when you get this done, it’s gonna be a beautiful thing.”
“Well, thank you for getting me here,” I reply to him. I take out a USB drive, hold it out towards the stereo and ask, “You don’t mind, do you?”
“You go ahead, Vilar. The road is all yours,” he answers.
I plug my USB drive into the car’s stereo and load the Sadies’ new long-player Darker Circles onto it. The swirling reverberation of opener “Another Year Again” blasts into this furnace afternoon with its tubular amp rattle. The sizzling heat from passing palm trees and national monuments assimilates itself onto the song and the narrative. I tap my foot on the car’s floor. I know this is good. I take a glance out my side window and notice a legless man pull his belongings up the street on a kiddie sleigh. I close my eyes. Not all sights are pretty.
“Do you think scoundrels like us ever make it to heaven, Vilar?” Tito asks.
“I think scoundrels like us only make it to the gates… to eventually set it all on fire,” I respond.
“Yeah bro, I hear you. You speak the truth,” Tito confides.
Continue reading “Story Time w/Rob Vilar: The Sadies”

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Live Bait: Emailed reviews of things I never went to…

Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine
Oct 11 2010
Pyramid Cabaret

Now you must understand that the gig was totally amazing. Guitarist from Victim’s Family, Bassist and Drummer from Rollins band (and the drummer played with Helios Creed ex-Chrome), plus this kid on guitar named Kimo who did all these weird affected sounds like East Bay Ray. They played for almost 2 hours, got two encores, did tons of songs from the album plus a bunch of unrecorded songs and “Cal Uber Alles,” “Lets Lynch the Landlord,” “Holiday in Cambodia” and “Bleed for Me”!!!!!! The only bad thing about the show was the last song – some shitty lollapalooooka-like grunge thing that went on far too long – it is also the last song on the album – sheeesh what a stinker! The five or so fights – including a guy totally knocked out cold by a douche who hit him five times in the head with his fist from behind right in front of Jello who stopped the show temporarily- also sucked ass big time. I took the day totally off, so I didn’t see yer email until now. I called you on the way to the show, but I figured you either had a family thing or would be there, but alas the former was the case. Jello was in a crusty mood – not quite happy with his rider meal – he apparently hates yams and wonders why we celebrate Thanksgiving in Canada. He also wanted to know if any Canadian troops were deployed in Iraq while he was warming up backstage. He asked if his T-Shirt was appropriate. It had a slogan on it that only activists could love. He was amazing on stage. Great show!
-From Anon to Anon

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Live Bait: Luminous Rays of F-L-A-M-M-A-R-I-O-N

We who are in-tuned to the fainter vibrations know of ghosts and ghouls around all the time–but now that all Hallow’s Eve approaches, the supernatural bubbles to the surface of the mire more quickly. But F-L-A-M-M-A-R-I-O-N is a video installation at aceartinc. by Susan MacWilliam that explores the validity of an infamous Winnipeg seance, or lack thereof–and the jump cuts and repetition will either make you feel sickly uncomfortable, or just at home.

Continue reading “Live Bait: Luminous Rays of F-L-A-M-M-A-R-I-O-N”

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Wild Style, Free Style

This week, from September 27 to October 2, the UWSA is holding the fourth annual Freestyle festival; a week-long celebration of hip-hop music and culture highlighted by  K’naan concert on Wednesday, September 29th, the visitation of Wild Style director Charlie Ahearn on Saturday, October 2nd at the Graffiti Gallery, and a free Class of Freestyle IV concert and CD release. To complement the arrival of Charlie Ahearn, this year’s edition features a special free screening of the 25th Anniversary Edition of the original hip-hop movie Wild Style on Wednesday, September 29.
Being the first hip-hop movie released at such an early stage in the genre’s development, Wild Style helped present and popularize the culture to a wide audience in a pre-internet society. I see it as being a snapshot of a very young and almost unrecognizable culture when compared to today’s view of hip hop and the abundance of violence and misogyny represented in its mainstream music. Having been formed in the neighbourhoods with some of the worst living conditions in North America, hip hop always manages to find itself in the middle of controversy.
Those looking to explore these arguments about the negativity surrounding the culture of hip hop may do so at a screening of Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes on Tuesday, September 28th. Following the screening, a discussion addressing the sexism and homophobia in a testosterone fueled hip-hop culture will take place, giving everyone a chance to voice their opinions about what is wrong with the culture.
But the lyrics and the images represented in them are not all that the hip-hop culture has to offer the world. The Freestyle festival has put together a number of workshops concerning the other elements of hip-hop. To kick off the week’s festivities, the Graffiti Gallery is putting together an hour-long graffiti art workshop at Spence Street on Monday from 12:30 PM, an excellent opportunity for anyone enamoured by the almost-indiscernible pieces they see on the streets on a daily basis to learn from Winnipeg’s premier graffiti art gallery.
Some of Winnipeg’s best local talent have signed on this year to lead some of the Freestyle workshops. For anyone interested in the art of beat making or DJing, Kutdown is leading workshop sessions from 12:30 on Tuesday, September 28th and Thursday, September 30th for beat making and DJing respectively, with DJ Co-op accompanying him for the session on Thursday. To finish off the workshops, the “Godfather of Winnipeg B-Boying” B-boy Bob will be hosting a breakdancing workshop in the Bulman MPR on Friday, October 1st from 12:30 to 1:30 PM. From what I’ve heard, the breakdancing workshop has been the most popular so far so be sure to register to be guaranteed a spot in the workshop!
Alas, the life the of a University student is a busy one, and time is limited; if you can’t make it to the workshops you want, you can still join in the celebration of hip-hop culture by tuning in to CKUW 95.9 FM from 1 to 2:00 PM Monday to Friday for a special Freestyle radio series.
Remember, both film screenings, the Charlie Ahearn artist talk, and all of the workshops are free of charge, so be sure to come out for what should be a memorable Freestyle IV!

RB Beniza

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Women Play Tomorrow–Interviewed Today!

So Women are playing tomorrow, September 25, at the Albert, and we have a feature article on them and their kick-ass new album Public Strain coming out in a couple weeks. I know, Stylus is absolutely the worst at timing things out.
But, so everyone can win, check out half of the interview today, see Women slay tomorrow, and then get their album at the show or on Tuesday (official release dates–not so passé!) Aaaannnnnnnnd pick up a copy of Stylus in a couple weeks. Hhh’okay? Hhh’okay.

Stylus: You guys have gotten love up and down of your first record.  That isn’t very common. Are you prepared to keep up the same kind of momentum? Continue reading “Women Play Tomorrow–Interviewed Today!”