What’s up: Jade Yumang, Bicycle Face, O.D. Beresford and Shotgun Jimmie, Ram Motorsports Spectacular, Agrarian After Dark and WSO

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This article was published 30/01/2025 (262 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jade Yumang: Next Door, Around the Corner, Inside the Bathhouse, By the Sea and Back

• School of Art Gallery, 180 Dafoe Rd.
• University of Manitoba
• To Saturday, Feb. 1, gallery hours 9 a.m. to 5 p.m Monday to Friday, or by appointment

Chicago-based artist Jade Yumang explores diasporic identity, cultural evolution and queerness by connecting threads — literal and figurative — between two seemingly disparate cultural moments in this exhibition, curated by Blair Fornwald.

Yumang, who was born in Quezon City, Philippines, weaves together the evolution of filet lace in the Philippines — a technique brought to the country by Spanish colonists in the 16th century and then later coveted by Americans during the American occupation — and that of ’90s gay porn star Brandon Lee (the stage name of Jon Enriquez) and his Asian-American “boy-next-door” persona. The result are sculptural pieces that wrestle with the idea of constraint — and what cannot be constrained.

This is your last chance to see Next Door, Around the Corner, Inside the Bathhouse, By the Sea and Back, which is on view until Saturday. Visit umanitoba.ca/art for more information.

— Jen Zoratti

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Bicycle Face, O.D. Beresford and Shotgun Jimmie

• Public Domain, 633 Portage Ave.
• Saturday, Feb. 1
• Tickets: $18 at reallovewpg.com

As Bicycle Face, Ava Glendinning and Theresa Thor are never afraid to sound refreshingly like themselves. The Winnipeg baroque-synth-folk duo has been writing about whatever tickles their fancy since forming in 2013, including joyful alien visitation, stubborn yuletide obligations and astronomical destinations. With clever lyrics that playfully subvert expectations, the second cousins (once removed) are an infectiously whimsical listen.

On Saturday night, the duo becomes a trio, joined on drums by Kelsey Nicholson at Public Domain for a set that includes BF standards, some new cuts and a few covers of their favourite band, the early 2000s Montreal group the Unicorns. Bicycle Face is currently preparing for its first album since 2022’s Bicycle Space, a new collection that Glendinning — the author of the indie music novel Bukowski’s Broken Family Band — says touches lightly on AI and the state of the music industry.

Bicycle Face is joined on the bill by up-and-coming indie songwriter O.D. Beresford as they open up for Shotgun Jimmie, the fun-loving You’ve Changed Records stalwart whose most recent output was Hardly Working, a scrappy, hilarious collaboration released last year with Ariel Sharratt and Mathias Kom of the Burning Hell that works like a charm.

— Ben Waldman

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Ram Motorsports Spectacular revs into high gear

• Canada Life Centre, 300 Portage Ave.
• Friday, 7 p.m., and Saturday, 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.
• Tickets from $25 plus fees (kids 12 and under $15) via Ticketmaster

Start your engines, grab your best pair of earplugs and hit the Canada Life Centre this weekend for the return of the Ram Motorsports Spectacular.

Seven mammoth monster trucks will rip around the arena on Friday and Saturday as drivers show off their skills behind these big-wheeled mean machines. Trucks slated to appear at this year’s Ram Motorsports Spectacular are Rockstar, Identity Theft, Power Up, Spitfire, California Kid and, new this year, Roughneck and Crude Behavior.

In between monster truck head-to-head battles, motocross riders will perform high-flying acrobatics, launching themselves from giant ramps as they spin and flip through the air as part of the Radical Jump Contest. This year’s Ram Motorsports Spectacular also features the introduction of mini monster trucks.

Ticket holders can come early for a free preshow pit party, which will feature appearances by some of the drivers and the chance to see the monster trucks up close.

And seriously — don’t forget those earplugs.

— Ben Sigurdson

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Agrarian After Dark

• West End Cultural Centre, 586 Ellice Ave.
• Saturday, 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.
• Tickets: $15 from harvestmoonsociety.org

Hosted by Harvest Moon Society, Young Agrarians, Fireweed Food Co-op and the Dogs Run Farm, this evening event offers city dwellers a chance to engage and connect with rural producers in the local food and fibre community.

Speakers Troy Stozek from Fresh Roots Farm, Melissa Atchison of Poplarview Stock Farm, Alex Boersch of Mill Creek Organics, Amy Nikkel of Adagio Acres, Christel Lanthier from Ferme Fiola, and Marilyn Firth and Bruce Berry from Almost Urban Vegetables will share their farming expertise and experience.

Discover how farming methods have evolved with environmentally responsible growing practices, be inspired by innovative solutions as producers seek to reduce chemical pesticides and fertilizers, and learn about the challenges facing modern farmers as they juggle ecological responsibilities with running viable businesses.

Presentations will be moderated by Michael Thiele of Ducks Unlimited and Understanding AG.

The event kicks off at 6 p.m. with drinks and food — ticket price includes pizza from Wall Street Slice and salads from Tall Grass Prairie Bread Company — before presentations start at 7 p.m.

— AV Kitching

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WSO’s From the Inside Out

• Centennial Concert Hall
• Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
• Tickets: wso.ca

Tonight’s the last night of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s From the Inside Out series this season, a “360-degree onstage experience” that invites audience members to see and hear a concert literally from inside the orchestra.

“What we try to do is we try to let everyone have a good peek into our kitchen. What happens before we actually serve the dish?” asks WSO music director and conductor Daniel Raiskin. “What is it that we do and how does it feel to sit practically in front of the full blasting brass section?””

Tonight’s show features two particularly iconic pieces: Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake suite and John Williams’ The Cowboys overture. Concert-goers can choose from onstage seats in five different sections of the orchestra, including the conductor stage. Raisken seems biased, for obvious reasons, in favour of seats in that section.

“I think the whole idea (for the series) comes from the perspective of a conductor,” he says. “I call it the best seat in the house.”

— Conrad Sweatman

 

Groundhog Day IRL

• Gas Station Arts Centre
  Saturday, 7 p.m.
  Tickets: $15 at 3common.com

In Bill Murray’s 1993 classic Groundhog Day, everything is as it was the day before. There’s no ad-libbing, no spontaneity for the beleaguered weatherman stuck in a Punxsutawney time loop.

This Saturday, a group of Winnipeg improvisers are tackling a live rendering of the predetermined plot during an improv show at the Gas Station Arts Centre.

The first half of An Improvised Groundhog Day will be an improv jam with performers from ImproVision, Club Soda Improv, Tectonic Improv and Cactus Makes Perfect.

The second half will see Stephen Sim, Jesse Bergen, Kerri Woloszyn and Caity Curtis stuck in a Murray-inspired loop. Audience members will also get a sneak preview of this year’s Winnipeg Groundhog Day weather prediction.

— Eva Wasney

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