In 1980, when Dr. Hy Goldman first brought Boston’s Klezmer Conservatory Band to Montreal, not many people believed that the near-forgotten musical tradition of Klezmer could be revived. Roughly defined as the music of Eastern European Jewry, Klezmer had all but disappeared after the Second World War.
Arts & Entertainment
Keep up to date on local art, new albums, and everything entertainment-related.
CD REVIEWS: Plants and Animals: La La Land
Montreal-based Plants and Animals’ newest release La La Land is a fun, upbeat record that showcases why the band has been gaining recognition in the indie music scene for a few years now. Their first full-length album, Parc Avenue, was nominated for two JUNO awards in 2009 and was short-listed for the Polaris Music Prize in 2008.
MUSIC: Where’s the Schulich at?
Members of the music community are positing Montreal as the next Seattle or Greenwich Village. While Toronto is well known for its festivals lined with big-name artists, such as the Virgin Music Festival, which hosted both Gnarles Barkley and The Strokes this year, the sounds that are challenging and changing the face of North America’s oversaturated music industry are being produced in our own backyard.
CD REVIEWS: Seabear: We Built a Fire
Björk and Sigur Rós may have put Iceland on the musical map. But Seabear – the seven-person collective that just released their sophomore album and made their North American debut at South by Southwest – have proved themselves to be the most promising new Icelandic indie export.
POP RHETORIC: The movie is, like, always better than the book
I was making small talk with a co-worker this summer when my eyes latched on to the title on the spine of the book she was reading, Pride and Prejudice. “Oh yeah,” she explained, “it’s this movie with Keira Knightley, and it was pretty romantic so when I saw the book version I thought I’d check it out for summer.
CD REVIEWS: The Fugitives: Eccentrically We Love
After their EP In Streetlight Communion was nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award in 2007, it’s no wonder that The Fugitives’ first full-length album Eccentrically We Love pushes the boundaries once again with their storytelling and instrumental fusing talents.
COULD BE GOOD
October 30- November 1 For those too old to trick-or-treat Thursday: Comedy. Hellavator. New comedy by award-winning playwright Ned Cox about getting stuck in an elevator in which there’s no way to go but down. Plan to be amused and afraid at the same time.
CD REVIEWS: Mobile, The Creepshow, Oasis
Mobile. Tales From the City. Local 514-ers Mobile have just released Tales From the City, their second full-length album. Formally known as Moonraker, Mobile has risen to critical success in the past couple of years with their first album, Tomorrow Starts Today, which helped the band win a Juno Award for New Group of the Year.
McGill Drama Festival produces a lively selection of student plays
Presenting student productions for over 10 years, McGill Drama Festival continues the tradition with seven new plays this year. Set in Players’ Theatre, the Festival’s second week of plays runs from March 23 to the 27th. Each night offers a different collection of two to three short plays written, directed, and produced by McGill students – a perfect sample platter of McGill’s theatrical offerings.
CD REVIEWS: Jimi Hendrix: Valleys of Neptune
Where would Jimi Hendrix fit into today’s music scene? Seasoned but pushing into the mainstream like Eric Clapton? Playing Super Bowl halftime shows like Pete Townsend and The Who? The release of Valleys of Neptune, a posthumous follow up to 1968’s Electric Ladyland, may convince you that Hendrix was simply too much of a psychedelic, blues-thumping, break-through-the-boundaries-of-your-brain invention to ever escape the “27 Club.
