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This article was published 04/05/2017 (3365 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Stomp

The Burton Cummings Theatre is 110 years old, but the venerable downtown venue is apparently of sufficiently sound structure that it can withstand the impact of a Stomp show.

Stomp, which originated as a street performance unit in the U.K., has itself sustained for two decades of unconventional dance and percussion, in which the cast employs everything from Zippo lighters to shopping carts to create its driving rhythmic backbone.

Performers are called “body percussionists” and “make a rhythm out of anything we can get our hands on that makes a sound,” says cofounder-director Luke Cresswell.

From its humble origins, the show boasts more awards than you can shake a pushbroom (another favoured instrument) at, including an Olivier Award for Best Choreography, a New York Obie Award, a Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatre Experience, and an Emmy Award for their HBO special Stomp Out Loud.

Stomp has tickets still available for all three scheduled shows this weekend at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday May 6, and 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 7. Tickets range from $29.50 to $79.50 (plus fees) at Ticketmaster.

— Randall King

 

Ghost Twin

Local electronic duo Ghost Twin are just over two weeks away from dropping their debut full-length, Plastic Heart, but Winnipeggers will get the chance to hear the record before that at an early release show tomorrow night at the Good Will.

Ghost Twin is made up of longtime collaborators and husband-and-wife of 12 years, Karen and Jaimz Asmundson, who first worked together on the dark comedy short film, Goths! On the Bus!, which played at international film festivals, including Cannes.

From there, they developed the concept of Ghost Twin, a dance music project that would include edited video which provides both percussion and visuals.

“Ghost Twin is dark synth-pop that combines roaring synth lines, dirty pulsing bass, dreamy guitar, and a haunting vocal dichotomy where Baroque meets Industrial, with live video percussion that feeds cinema through a cut-up technique imbued with occult aesthetics. Their audio/visual performance creates a full sensory evocative narrative of shadowy haunted rooms occupied by astral phantasms and electronic voices from beyond the aether,” states the band’s Facebook page.

Tickets for the show are $12 at Ticketfly. The show kicks off at 10 p.m. and also includes Poemss, innocentgun and Pity Party DJs on the bill.

— Erin Lebar

 

 

 

Manitoba, Mon Amour

The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra want to put a song in your heart and un chanson dans le coeur. The symphony is collaborating with Le 100 NONS, a non-profit organization working to support the province’s French-language music industry, to present Manitoba, Mon Amour, an evening of songs en français at the concert hall.

The 10 performers on the bill represent a current cross-section of Franco-Manitoban artists, including: Luxembourg-born rapper Alpha Toshineza; soul/R&B singer Kelly Bado, who hails from Cote D’Ivoire; folk-rock performer Justin Lacroix; electro-pop siren Rayannah; and singer-songwriter Ariane Jean, who has been part of vocal groups Chic Gamine and Madigaïa, and who’s the programming co-ordinator for Le 100 NONS.

Each artist will present two of his or her works, one solo and one backed by the full WSO, under the baton of resident conductor Julian Pellicano.

Manitoba, Mon Amour takes place Saturday, May 6, at 8 p.m. at the Centennial Concert Hall. Tickets start at $25 at www.wso.ca; VIP tickets including post-concert reception with the artists are available for $95.

— Jill Wilson

 

Cory Doctorow

Cory Doctorow always seems to be thinking and writing about the future.

The Toronto-born, L.A. based Doctorow is well-known for his award-winning science-fiction writing, both for adults and young adults. Walkaway, his most recent novel, is his first adult fiction in eight years, and is no exception to the trend.

The novel begins in a dystopian Toronto of the future, where technology has, among other things, made scarcity of food — or anything — obsolete. Walkaway follows a trio of characters in their early 20s who live outside of the wealthy state- and corporate-controlled areas. They decide to abandon their jobs — to become “walkaways,” as they’re dubbed in the book — and go live off the grid in the countryside.

But the effects of climate change has altered rural landscapes, and the trio of walkaways struggle to adapt before falling in with others like them. And when a way to cheat death, in a manner of speaking, is discovered, dystopia shows the potential to transform into utopia.

In addition to his many sci-fi titles Doctorow — also the co-editor of popular website BoingBoing — is a prolific writer and activist when it comes to creative commons licensing and intellectual property. Prior to Walkaway, his most recent full-length book was 2014’s Information Doesn’t Want to be Free: Laws for the Internet Age. He has long been an advocate of liberalizing copyright laws and file sharing, as well as a critic of digital-rights management (DRM); he and the Electronic Frontier Foundation recently launched a lawsuit against the U.S. government with the hopes of removing DRM software from all manner of connected devices.

Doctorow will launch Walkaway, his new novel, at McNally Robinson on Monday at 7 p.m. as part of his 20-plus city book tour that takes him to venues and bookstores throughout North America.

—Ben MacPhee-Sigurdson