What’s up: Master class in guitar solos, beer fest and tattoo convention

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/08/2023 (810 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A rock guitarist’s guitarist ready to crank it up at the Burt

Steve Vai
Thursday, Aug. 10, 8 p.m.
Tickets: $66.25-$109.50 at ticketmaster.ca

Steve Vai, who set a Guinness World Record in 2011 for leading the largest online guitar lesson, will provide a master class in guitar solos Thursday when he plays the Burton Cummings Theatre.

Vai, who has recorded with a who’s-who of rock ‘n’ roll during his 45-year career — Frank Zappa, Motorhead and Mary J. Blige are part of the lengthy list — will focus on his solo career, most notably his 2022 album Inviolate.

The all-instrumental album wasn’t just a new collection of songs that combine the shredding of heavy metal, blues boogie and the complexities of jazz fusion, it also was the debut of the Hydra, a two-bodied, three-necked axe that combines a seven-string, a 12-string and a bass guitar that figures prominently in the album’s opener, Teeth of the Hydra.

He told the website MusicRadar he let the Hydra sit in his studio for almost a year before he built up his courage to tackle the wild-looking instrument. It took six weeks for the guitar legend get the hang of it.

“I’ll be intimate here — and I don’t apologize for this, and I don’t feel guilty — there came a point when I was working on the Hydra, and I was working on a section, and all of a sudden it clicked. And I saw myself doing it, I started to weep,” he told MusicRadar.

— Alan Small

Hop on down to Southman

Aug. 10 to 13, various times
St-Pierre-Jolys, Man.
Visit frogfollies.com for more information

Round up your most athletic amphibians and take a road trip down to St-Pierre-Jolys for the village’s annual Frog Follies and Agricultural Fair this weekend.

The three-day event — which takes place at various venues across the town located 50 kilometres south of Winnipeg — features food, family-friendly activities, live music and oddball contests of all kinds.

Friday kicks off with a community supper hosted by the St-Pierre-Jolys Chamber, hoop dancing, a fire show and a cake-eating competition.

Saturday opens with a pancake breakfast, parade, petting zoo, bubble soccer, laser tag, an agility dog show and onstage entertainment. Don’t forget to sign up for the watermelon-eating contest and cornhole tournament.

Closing out the fun on Sunday is the 53-year-old festival’s pièce de résistance: the National Frog Jumping Championships — a friendly competition celebrating the area’s ubiquitous northern leopard frog population.

Check out agricultural programming, equipment and workshops throughout the weekend curated by the St-Pierre Agricultural Society, a partnership that has seen Frog Follies grow in size and mission since 2009.

— Eva Wasney

Beer fest serving up summer fun in St. B

Winnipeg Beer Festival
Saturday, Aug. 12, 5-7 p.m. and 7:30-9:30 p.m.
Le Patio 340, 340 Provencher Blvd.
Tickets from $50 plus fees at wfp.to/Nag

Buying booze at local Liquor Marts may be hit and miss right now, but Manitoba producers of beer, cider, wine and spirits will be out in full force pouring lagers, ales and more at the sixth annual Winnipeg Beer Festival.

This year’s festivities have been moved from Fort Gibraltar to Le Patio 340 at the Franco-Manitoban Cultural Centre, and will feature two dozen producers and over 75 products to sample, some of which will be festival exclusives.

Tickets are $50 plus fees for admission to the early time slot, (5-7 p.m.) or $55 for the late time slot (7:30-9:30 p.m.) and include all drinks samples. The Winnipeg Beer Festival will also feature a DJ spinning music, voyageur games/activities and more. Mama B’s Jamaican Patties will be serving up food as well; patties can be ordered in advance online when purchasing tickets here.

— Ben Sigurdson

Think ink at Winnipeg Tattoo Convention

Friday, Aug. 11 to Sunday, Aug. 13
Red River Exhibition Park
3977 Portage Ave.
Day passes $30, weekend passes $60

Over 275 tattoo artists will converge at the Red River Exhibition Park this weekend for the Winnipeg Tattoo Convention, a three-day celebration of ink. Artists from around the world will be ready and willing to tattoo patrons at the show, so bring photos or reference materials. Or, leave it up to fate and creativity. With tattoo enthusiasts all around, you’ll be guaranteed to find some inspiration. A full list of tattoo artists — from Winnipeg’s Aarom Hemmersbach all the way to Sao Paulo’s Zoio — is available here.

As part of the convention, sponsored by Kapala Tattoo, a shop on St. Anne’s Road, there will be a market filled with vendors (Flora & Farmer, Belvidere Soap Company, Eikon Tattoo Equipment and Supplies) and food (Za Pizza Bistro, The Churro Stop, Raph’s Jamaican Joint).

And in case you’re regretting putting your ex’s name on your arm, Undo Tattoo Laser Tattoo Removal will have an information kiosk set up, too.

— Ben Waldman