Friday Night Hootenanny

This is what February is looking like in Montreal.
I was really pleased with the last few weeks of snowlessness (I.LOVE.WINTER- not really.) Alas, my ideal winter couldn't last that long...
But onward we go! It is Friday night after all!

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word Hootenanny as "a gathering at which folksingers entertain often with the audience joining in." Therefore the last Friday of every month at MainLine Theatre, is a gathering of musical folk and bluegrass-ness at the appropriately named Friday Night Hootenanny.

Above are images from last month's Hootenanny. To your left is the lovely Sarah Jane Scouten and to your right is Brad and Mike (ex-Holy Moly/Lake of Stew), and an audience member on her knees holding up lyrics to the very funny vocalist whose name escapes me at the moment.

See how much fun you can have? You can be the one holding up the lyrics spontaneously! This all goes down at 22h30 tonight!

But before then I will be checking out INNI at Les Rendez-vous du cinéma québecois for some moving images.  Aaaand then maybe after that check out an art exhibit at the Fresh Paint Gallery....
While it snows....

Sunday Stroll

Today was a lazy Sunday afternoon stroll kind of day around the train tracks and discovering spaces not too far from home.

 A view of the tracks.

 Awesome facade, I really wish they still made windows like this.

 A new grey (residential?) building next to a minty green bungalow.

A sculptural concrete object of unidentifiable function on a concrete building.

The building above looked like it had its own elevated road/ramp leading inside.  But some of the windows were broken, leading us to fabricate a story of what really went on inside, conspiracy-styles!  But alas, a sign revealed it was a Ville de Montréal building and probably houses maintenance trucks.  So much for the mystery.  But this building led us to discover an Écocentre mere minutes from where we live-NICE!

Les Rendez-Vous Du Cinéma Québecois

Les rendez-vous du cinéma québecois is upon us!
It's no secret I'm a huge fan of the movie making side of life and les rendez-vous is a nice showcase of homegrown films of the past year.
In no particular order I will throw down some of my picks from the festival.

In the category of "I can't believe I haven't seen these films yet-what am I waiting for?"

Clockwise from top left:
1. Monsieur Lazhar, fiction feature film, director: Philippe Falardeau
2. Surviving Progress, documentary, feature, directors: Mathieu Roy, Harold Crooks
3. Marécages, fiction, feature film, director: Guy Édoin
4. Café de Flore,  fiction, feature film, director: Jean-Marc Vallée
5. Inside Lara Roxx, documentary feature, director: Mia Donovan
6. Inni, feature documentary on Sigur Ros! director: Vincent Morisset

In the category of "Shorts I've already seen but love all these directors so I have to give them shout outs"

Clockwise from top left:
1. Sanctuaire, director: Andreas Mendritzki
2. Washed in Blue, director: Tom Fennario
3. Surveillant, directior Yan Giroux (and ps. I did the wardrobe on this short. It's a great film that just had a screening at Sundance. High five!)
4.  A Film Portrait on Reconstructing 12 Possibilities that Preceded the Disappearance of Zoe Dean Drum, director Eduardo Menz
5. Drat, director Farzin Farzaneh
6. Vent Solaire, director Ian Lagarde

And last but not least in the category of "It will probably be difficult to see these films outside of a film festival setting (unlike films by Denis Coté-whose Bestiaire is supposed to be awesome!) "

Alejandro Jodorowsky Grand Rectum de L'UdFOU 
feature doc directed by François Gourd
Ummm...Jodorowsky is a mad genius. What else is there to say? Have you seen El Topo?!

Un 14 Juillet å Marseille
feature doc directed by Yan Giroux (again!)
An experimental hand is given to this doc with lots of long takes. Sign me up!

Décover #15

This past weekend was Décover magazine's issue 15 launch party, in the stunning Église Sainte-Brigide.
Inspiration for live painting was provided by the scantily clad ladies of Monde Osé.  The paintings were then auctioned off to an eager crowd.

Above is a collaborative piece by the some of the fine folk from En Masse.

The happy bunch after the completed sale.

Cardboard Trees

I accidentally popped out on the fifth floor of the Eaton Centre and lo and behold what do I see?
Why a magical forest of cardboard trees!
Are those paper cup leaves?
I did not look into the origin of this project, (I'm sorry I was running through-but if anyone knows let me know!) but I'm going to wager a guess that it is some recycling meets art project which certainly makes you think about how much we consume and dispose of everyday!





Kitschy cool? That space through the trees in the above image used to be a movie theatre! Now just empty real estate...

 The bigger leaves are cut out of thin cardboard and held together with plastic clip hangers.

Why there they are up close!
There was also an assemblage of plastic water bottles to add to the landscape further down the hall.  I certainly hope though that when this is taken down that everything is not chucked into the garbage; that would kind of defeat the purpose....
OH! Side note: The Eaton Centre food court COMPOSTS! WHAT?!!
Ok, I had to eat on the run and had some crappy mall food but that's besides the point-there are garbage can sized bins where diners can put their uneaten food to be composted.
Oh I feel a Compost Montreal post in the works....

Flowers For Mom

Other than being a professional gift wrapper, when I was younger, being a florist was also something I thought I could be, as I thought inventive floral arrangements and presentations were creative avenues.  But considering the botany involved, I never went that way.

It was my mom's birthday this past weekend, so I assembled this bouquet for her.  The only thing I can identify is the decorative cabbage, the pink "flower."  If anyone can identify the rest of the bouquet please feel free to share your knowledge!

Pina

Dance film, dance on film, dance theatre, documentary, Pina Bausch... and all of it in 3D!

Wim Wenders' Pina (2011) is a stunning film that allows the audience to get up close-really close- with the dancers of Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, where Bausch was the artistic director.

The above still (by Donata Wenders taken from this site) shows us the rig used to capture the dancers' performing Bausch's Rite of Spring (1975).  I was really pleased to see this movie before it left the theatres, as a 2D rental wouldn't have cut it.  While the film is considered a documentary, Bausch died before shooting began and Wim Wenders restructured the concept of the film which now contains very little dialog.  By doing so, my movie date and I enthusiastically concluded that the potential for future 3D feature length dance film is FRIGGING MIND BLOWING!

That's how excited I was.  

Here is another awesome still from the film, a bit Roy Andersson-ish.

Other films that pop to mind: La La La Human Steps' Amelia (2002) is stage to screen adaptation that was smartly redesigned to suit the medium (film), I have too much to say about that in this space, but don't be shy if you're curious.  Of course there's the (art) films of Matthew Barney. Do I need to elaborate?  Basically I'd like more of this in my theatres.  Please and thank you.

I must mention the awesomely stunning and intriguing short film that preceded Pina called ORA, choreographed by José Navas.  The film is shot using 3D thermal imaging. What?! Je capote.