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This article was published 25/2/2016 (1627 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Library Voices

Regina-based seven-piece pop-rock act Library Voices will be kicking off a handful of North American tour dates at the West End Cultural Centre on Thursday, Feb. 25.

The group of childhood friends released their long-awaited third full-length, Lovish, this past November, though a string of unfortunate events nearly kiboshed the album altogether.

After touring their second release, Summer of Lust, non-stop for months in 2011 and 2012, it all "came to a boil" in a hostel in Amsterdam. The next day, their tour van was infested with hundreds of rats in Paris, and things continued to get worse from there. Once they returned to Canada, the band members decided to take some time apart.

Two years later, they regrouped, but shortly after making that decision, lead singer/guitarist Carl Johnson was "jumped, beaten and left unconscious in the street in a random act of violence," according to the band’s news release. The attack had some lasting effects that necessitated a long recovery, but Johnson was still able to contribute seven of the 11 songs on the album.

Lovish was self-produced by Library Voices, and was recorded in an old funeral home (this is not the first time they have chosen the unconventional locale for recording, though). The pop sounds of their past albums still come through loud and clear, though there is a gritty bubble around Lovish that echoes the rough road travelled by the band during the last few years.

Opening the show at the WECC is Slow Leaves, the solo project of local singer-songwriter Grant Davidson.

Davidson recently won the inaugural Allan Slaight Juno Master Class, an award that’s meant to provide the tools necessary for emerging artists to become "Juno-ready," through industry education and financial help.

Tickets for the show are $12 in advance, $16 at the door and are available at WECC, Music Trader, Into the Music and Ticketfly.

— Erin Lebar

 

Manitoba Music Charity Bonspiel

Manitoba musicians and those working in the music industry will be hurrying hard this Saturday at the Granite Curling Club Saturday, Feb. 27, for the Manitoba Music Rocks Charity Bonspiel.

The sixth iteration of the bonspiel will feature 36 teams hitting the ice for a rapid-fire, day-long tournament that brings together artists from all genres and with all levels of curling savvy.

"We try to make it about being an event for the music community to get together and hang out. We have some great curlers in this scene, and some are doing it for the first time," explains Manitoba Music executive director Sean McManus.

In addition to trophies for the top-scoring teams, organizers dole out awards for best team name and best "performance" (not related to skills on the ice) at a banquet event after the bonspiel.

Funds raised from the bonspiel (and silent auction and bar sales, for those interested in popping in and watching) benefit the Kevin Walters Memorial Fund, a fund created by Walters’ friends and family that supports up-and-coming, promising artists and organizations in Manitoba. Walters, a lifelong advocate for Manitoba artists in all disciplines, died in 2014.

"Kevin was a huge supporter and hugely involved in Manitoba Music, and set the stage and the tone of what we do now in terms of representing Manitoba outside of the province," McManus explains. "But he was also known to so many of the artists for the work he did inside the province promoting shows and creating special events."

McManus sees the bonspiel as more than just a day of curling and a fundraiser for musicians. "This city and the community has been embracing that we’re a winter city over the last couple of years. Certainly the music community understands what it’s like to live in a winter city, to be creative in a winter city," says McManus.

"We don’t run a softball tournament — although we’ve talked about it. We run a curling bonspiel because it’s part of our identity."

— Ben MacPhee-Sigurdson

 

The Rhythm

The latest production from NAfro Dance — the only African contemporary dance company in Western Canada — is a musical collaboration with Latin band Papa Mambo, another local troupe dedicated to bringing exotic rhythms to Winnipeg stages.

Both outfits are led by immigrants to the city who have made a mark on the arts scene. Dancer/choreographer Casimiro Nhussi came to Winnipeg from Mozambique in 1997 and founded NAfro in 2002. Chilean-born classical guitarist Rodrigo Muñoz formed Papa Mambo in 1998; the band is now 10 members strong and has two albums of Latin jazz and Afro-Cuban music.

The Rhythm allows the two groups to bring the beats to bring down the house. Featuring choreography by Nhussi and longtime NAfro company member Paula Blair, the work focuses on the pulse of the natural world that fills our lives, "the leaps of the impala, the swaying of the trees."

It runs at the Gas Station Arts Centre, Friday, Feb. 26, and Saturday, Feb. 27, at 8 p.m., with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Feb. 28. Tickets are $12 to $25, available online at nafrodance.com or at the door (cash only).

— Jill Wilson

 

Windy Awards

What’s the problem with contemporary culture?

Not enough awards.

Ok, that’s not true. But it is true that the achievements of local filmmakers often get lost in the shuffle when it comes to getting a little love.

Hence the inaugural Windy Awards, a pilot project sponsored by William F. White International, the National Screen Institute and IATSE 856 and created to honour Manitoba’s local filmmaking community. Cheekily scheduled to be handed out Saturday, Feb 27 at 6 p.m. at Cinematheque, the night before the Oscars, the nominees were selected by jury chair film programmer and producer Joy Loewen, and filmmakers Noam Gonick and Shelagh Carter.

And unlike the Oscars, tickets are still available.

The awards will fill the gap left by the Blizzard Awards, which ceased operation in 2003, says Winnipeg Film Group’s executive director Cecilia Araneda.

"We’ve received a lot of feedback over many years from independent film directors that they really missed the Blizzards — as both a resumé-building achievement and an opportunity to celebrate success in the field right here at home," she says..

"I know first-hand that local awards can have a real impact in helping advance your career," she says. "It really is quite easy to miss some great work simply because the filmmaker might be someone relatively new to the field.

"These awards focus on excellence in the field, regardless of what the filmmaker might have achieved in the past."

The nominees are:

Director: Feature Length Film

• After the Show (Steven K. Johnson)

• The Editor (Adam Brooks)

• H & G (Danishka Esterhazy)

 

Director: First Feature Length Film

• FM Youth (Stéphane Oystryk)

• A Good Madness (Danielle Sturk)

• On the Trail of the Far Fur Country (Kevin Nikkel)

• This is Why We Fight (Madison Thomas)

 

Director: Short Fiction

• Loss of Contact (BJ Verot, Brad Crawford)

• Mark (Justina Neepin)

• Period Piece (James McLellan)

• Push Parade (Kayla Jeanson)

• Spectre (Ian Bawa, Markus Henkel, Milos Mitrovic, Fabian Velasco)

 

Director: Short Documentary

• Andrew Milne Dreams of Machines (Patrick Lowe)

• Daphne Korol: The Drama Queen (Rebecca Gibson)

• The Healing of Heather Garden (Judith Morrow)

• The League (Jenna Neepin)

 

Screenplay

• The Editor (Adam Brooks, Matthew Kennedy, Conor Sweeney)

• Loss of Contact (BJ Verot, Brad Crawford, Ian Bawa, Markus Henkel, Symon Ptashnick, Jeff A. Ward, Ryan Hanson)

• Period Piece (James McLellan)

• This Is Why We Fight (Madison Thomas)

 

Cinematography

• The Editor (Adam Brooks, Matthew Kennedy)

• A Good Madness (Oscar Fenoglio)

• H & G (Andrew Luczenczyn)

• Period Piece (Andrew Forbes)

 

Production Design

• The Editor (Adam Brooks, Matthew Kennedy)

• Period Piece (James McLellan)

 

Picture Editing

• Andrew Milne Dreams of Machines (Patrick Lowe)

• Dark Forest (Craig Guiboche)

• The Editor (Adam Brooks)

• Period Piece (James McLellan)

 

Overall Sound

• Andrew Milne Dreams of Machines (Greg Lowe)

• H & G (Danny Chodirker)

 

Tickets can be purchased online at winnipegcinematheque.com.

 

The Girls Can’t Help It! The Women of Rock 1950-1970

At the recent Grammy Awards telecast, viewers got to see and hear how big a role women are playing in popular music in the 21st century.

There was Alabama Shakes’ frontwoman Brittany Howard laying down the funk. Ellie Goulding performed a duet with Andra Day. Lady Gaga channelled David Bowie’s ability to sing and to command your attention with her tribute. Adele continues to make headlines after a microphone glitch soured her performance of All I Ask.

And, oh yeah, Taylor Swift took home most of the important trophies.

Eight days earlier, Beyoncé saved the Super Bowl — her halftime performance has proven to be far more memorable than the actual football game — by doing what artists have been doing for centuries: making a statement about our society.

Those female artists didn’t just appear from thin air. There’s a foundation of musical performers in pop and rock that paved the way. Rock historian John Einarson will shine a light on those pioneering artists with a new course offered through the Manitoba Conservatory of Music & Arts called The Girls Can’t Help It! The Women of Rock 1950-1970. The four-night course begins Thursday, Feb. 25, at 7 p.m. at Bryce Hall at the University of Winnipeg and continues every Thursday until March 17. The cost is $75.

Expect the works of Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin and Tina Turner to be discussed, among many others. Perhaps that final session will end early so students can head to the MTS Centre and see Joan Jett and Heart, who are teaming up for a concert that night.

— Alan Small