A heart for AGC

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Local artist Elle Virago stealthily left one of her Guerrilla Hearts on the doors of the Art Gallery of Calgary, locking the front doors with a chain and combination lock that held the heart in place. 

Virago has placed hearts around the city, including on the old King Eddy, a small pixelated heart in front of Caffe Beano and downtown in the Bow Valley Square Plus-15.

This particular heart was made of cleaning implements — gloves, sponges and scrubbing pads — symbolizing the hopes of many in the arts community that the gallery can clean up its act and get back on track. This comes after former president and CEO of the AGC, Valerie Cooper, was let go and is currently being sued by the gallery for $500,000 and is facing six counts of fraud … Read More

Comments (3)      more in Arts     |     posted May 23rd, 2012 at 3:47pm

Screen Grabs May 23

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This week’s post-Cannes film column is slightly more of a mixed bag. On top of the titles and trailers that made a big splash at the fest, this week saw the unveiling of some long-awaited follow-ups, a pair of well-cast period pieces and more updates on the world’s most unexpected remake. Check it out below!

The Master

It’s been five years since There Will Be Blood, and for any P.T. Anderson junkies jonesing for a fix, the writer-director has finally offered the first taste of his next film, The Master. Philip Seymour Hoffman stars as the charismatic founder of a new religion in the 1950s (*cough* Scientology *cough*), with Joaquin Phoenix as his troubled sidekick. This trailer focuses almost entirely on the latter’s half-crazed face for … Read More

Add comment      more in Screen     |     posted May 23rd, 2012 at 9:48am

Weekly Leaks May 18

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In celebration of our annual beer issue, I’ve only really been listening to Mean Jeans’ still-perfect party record On Mars. Having said that, there was still some amazing new content to hit the world wide web this week. Here’s a little taste of what’s new.

JEFF the Brotherhood “Sixpack”
In theory, I should hate this. In addition to having a truly embarrassing name, JEFF the Brotherhood enlisted the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach to produce their upcoming Hypnotic Knights EP, and you should all know how I feel about the Black Keys by now. As a producer, though, Auerbach brings out the best in this fuzzy two-piece, further exemplifying just how great they are at Weezer-meets-Ramones summer anthems.

Nü Sensae “Swim”
Speaking of two-pieces… well … Read More

Add comment      more in Music     |     posted May 18th, 2012 at 6am

Week in Headlines goes for a beer

Keeping in the spirit of our annual Beer Issue (on stands this week), we wandered over to one of the finer places in town to drink a beer. Thanks to Bri and Loy at the Ironwood.

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Add comment      more in About Us     |     posted May 17th, 2012 at 12:07pm

Screen Grabs May 16

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As the cinematic world converges on the Cannes film fest this weekend, trailers have begun popping up from all around the globe. This edition of Screen Grabs includes a few of the Cannes standouts, but don’t worry, there’s also space for sci-fi Canadiana, Norwegian sex comedy and, last but not least, claymation cats.

Cosmopolis
One of the big stories about Cannes this year is that David Cronenberg will be joined by his chip-off-the-ol’-block son Brandon, who is showcasing his own directorial debut, Antiviral. That creepy tale of a medic who sells celebrity viruses to fans sounds super cool, but what’s even more exciting is Cronenberg Sr. adapting the Don DeLillo novel, Cosmopolis. Yes, it stars Robert “Twilight” Pattinson as the … Read More

Comments (3)      more in Screen     |     posted May 16th, 2012 at 12:08pm

Dethklok and Lamb of God and Gojira - Oh my!

Did you miss them the last time they were in town? Don't miss them this time! Metalocalypse's Dethklock and Lamb of God will be hitting the Big Four Building with Gojira on August 4. Tickets for this all-ages show go on sale May 19 at 10am at TM. 

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Add comment      more in Music Previews     |     posted May 14th, 2012 at 2:32pm

The Black Keys in review

Following last Friday’s Black Keys’ show, a concert that blew away my rather low expectations — I really only wanted to hear the song that goes “la-la-la la/la-la-la la” and the one with the “oh whoa uh-oh” chorus — my first thought was “I’m going to stick it to Josiah Hughes and his rather low estimation of this band.

Re-reading his comments in this week’s “Goings On” column, I’m not as sure I have as strong a leg to stand on as I did Friday night.

Hughes is right: The Black Keys have been mining the same aesthetic territory for their whole career. Sure, they occasionally flush things out with expanded instrumentation — keyboards, strings, the odd tambourine — but at its core it’s a very tried and true variation of the same old blues rock shuffle that’s … Read More

Comments (1)      more in Music     |     posted May 14th, 2012 at 11:49am

Review of B.B. King at Century Casino, May 9

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Photo by Chelsey Parker

When I first heard that B.B. King was coming to Calgary, I was excited for two reasons: 1. He’s an absolute legend and is arguably the most famous bluesman in the history of music and 2. I thought he was already dead. I wondered if this was perhaps a Tupac-esce hologram type thing (I got the low-def blues?), but nope, at 86 years old B.B. is still alive (and kickin’).

We showed up a little late so there were no seats with a good eye line to the center of the stage but we managed to weasel a standing spot in front of sound deck against the rail. The great thing about the venue was that, even at the back of the room, you’re still close to the stage. The show started with a two-song intro from the B.B. King Band, which consisted of keys, drums … Read More

Add comment      more in Music     |     posted May 12th, 2012 at 12pm

Weekly Leaks May 11

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Illustration by Tom Bagley

I hope you like doom-laden crust, wildly popular experimental indie, outsider electronica and mainstream rap, because that's what I've served up for you in this edition of Weekly Leaks.

Tragedy “Close at Hand”
Without much warning, legendary d-beat monsters Tragedy have returned with a brand new album called Darker Days Ahead. Cookie Monster vocals, gigantic buzzing guitars and bleak-as-fuck imagery are all present, as evidenced on the track “Close at Hand.” Have a listen, and make sure you stick around for the crushing slow parts at the end.


Animal Collective “Honeycomb” / “Gotham”
The biggest experimental indie band in the world has returned: last week Animal Collective dropped a surprise batch of … Read More

Add comment      more in Music     |     posted May 11th, 2012 at 12:07pm

Week in Headlines hits the street

The Week in Headlines! Every week, I'm a little surprised that people actually agree to do this.

 

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Add comment      more in About Us     |     posted May 10th, 2012 at 1:06pm

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