Artists tell rain to suck it; we’re not going anywhere
Now, I don’t want to be the one to SAY IT, because if I’m wrong I’ll get blamed – but it seems like the rain is finally starting to ease off. This is good news for lots of people, particularly Edmonton artisans who are lining the sidewalks down on Whyte Avenue for this weekend’s ArtWalk.
I must confess, I didn’t know you creative folks were so hearty. As I wandered around in the rain like a drowned rat, I was surprised/impressed to see how hardcore the people selling their wares were. Two ladies I met were stoically battling the elements, and were still in surprisingly good spirits.
This is Mandy Hauer and this is her first ArtWalk (are you kidding, Mother Nature? C’MON!). She specializes in oil paintings, particularly scenes of Africa - she says she was really inspired by a recent trip there.
You don’t see her artwork in this picture, because what are you crazy?! It was like the rainpocalypse out there! But she graciously uncovered some of the pieces she had for sale and they were really remarkable; you can see her portfolio online here, be her facebook fan, or find her sitting (hopefully in the sun by the time you get there) on the North side of Whyte, in front of MODEcor.
Mandy’s neighbour just to the East is Karen Loranger of Loranger Originals - who is also enjoying her first ArtWalk, despite the terrible weather.
Karen is a dental hygienist who describes painting as her passion. She paints mostly from her own photos, and many of her works are portraits and landscapes. She was prepared for both the elements (she has set up a sweet and surprisingly effective makeshift plastic tent around her work, which she graciously let me hang out in) and the ArtWalk.
“I brought like 35 paintings,” she laughed.
She also brought a very cool set of business cards featuring her work on the back – be sure to ask her for one if you stop by. And if you like the work you see here – in my stunning cellphone photograph – you can talk to Karen about her work via email.
See, Edmonton? I know the weather sucks, but Mandy and Karen are still out there having a good time – and we should too! Now I’m putting on my umbrella hat, garbage bag poncho and my duckies. I’ll see you guys out there.
Big Rockin’ Wednesday
Today’s event of note highlights the fact Edmonton’s got a wide range of places you’ll find live music, outside of the obvious and usual suspects.
Tonight, The Malibu Knights play The Billiard Club.
I know, The Billiard Club! Doesn’t strike me as a spot you’d first think of when talking about live music, but there it is.
It may or may not have something to do with the fact Whyte Avenue is trying to market itself as a live music hub. The strip does have a few spots that you’ll often find live music (like Blues on Whyte, mentioned yesterday).
There are now serious attempts to highlight the fact there are plenty of bands and artists taking to 82 Avenue microphones, mixed with attempts to convince other bar owners it’s something they should consider. If only because music-going audiences probably vomit a lot less than Jagr bomb-seeking partygoers.
So tonight I present to you The Malibu Knights, a Kelowna band that’s been earning their stripes by criss-crossing Western Canada.
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Oh, and I promise these daily events won’t all be music and/or on Whyte Avenue.
For example…even though I’ll talk about Turkey Shoot tomorrow (Because it’s a new showing of The Room!!) the Turkey Shooters will be skewering a film classic this Wednesday evening.
They’ll be doing their thing, which is sitting down in front with microphones making hilarious observations and comments about terrible cheese-filled movies, at 9pm. Tonight is Zardoz, a great sci-fi masterpiece starring Sean Connery.
Here’s one of the Turkey Shoot guys in his Zardoz costume. It may be too difficult to stay away from the screening after witnessing this:
Metro Cinema. 9pm. You'll be there.
A step above “everyday foods”
As much as we love burgers and pizza (and we do) we know that a good diet is rounded out. Even when dining out.
For that reason, and for the simple fact we had yet to eat at Sabzy, Sally and I jumped into a tasty lunch recently.
As I mentioned, we’ve been there before, but for coffee and tea. Not for a meal.
Sabzy is a Persian-themed restaurant on Whyte Avenue. It’s also a hookah joint and that patio will be smokin’ soon.
Their menu is fresh, healthy items with middle eastern flair.
And, you’re going to want to have coffee since they do a fine job with that sweet elixir.
Sally went for the grilled chicken sandwich, which comes with corn chips. Actually, a couple of their dishes come with the crispy chips.
With the house hummus and bell peppers the sandwich is a great option to having another burger in another casual dining place.
(I see that Flavours is going to re-open as the Pour House and I fear the same old.)
I chose the Kabob Platter, which gave me one chicken kabob and one beef and lamb. I opted to pay the extra $2 and have saffron rice. That was right move. The rice was totally moist and great and was as good or better than the kabobs.
Oh, and saffron is a spice you’ll see a lot of in Sabzy.
The kabobs didn’t come stuck on a stick. Which could be good or bad, depending on how much you like eating things off sticks.
The meat was cooked really well, and it was spiced to make me want more, more, more.
We finished with americanos and super-sweet desserts. I mean the squares were sweet as in delicious but also really sweet in flavour.
They’re also vegan-friendly if you like that kind of thing, Gregg Beever.
Sabzy gets 8.73 Saffrons out of 10. Check them out.
We got taken to Funkytown
I knew I was in good hands.
Warning: I will likely make so many jokes about being funky, or just use the term funky, that it will become annoying.
Picture it…Edmonton, 1982-ish…disco was dead, punk was a thing, and clubs didn’t know which way the wind was blowing just yet.
That was one of my first thoughts upon entering Funky Town, a new bar on Whyte Avenue, in the old “Attic” space above Savoy, at Calgary Trail.
When I first saw the re-branded bar, I didn’t know what to think. I expected it was going to be the same old club music but with this “Funky Town” name. A name that harkens to a different era, and of course that song.
We were going to go there, at first as a joke, since we’re old and look more like chaperones than people who would frequent such a place. But when Sally mentioned that it might actually be a bar that tried to evoke the disco era I was truly excited to go.
They certainly try to catch that vibe.
Self-explanatory.
You know you’re cool when you walk into a place as soon as it opens. The music’s pumping but the place is empty. Perfect for snapping photos of plastic hand chairs, disco balls, and reflective bubbles.
The guys running the place quickly changed over half of the four television sets from the Canucks game to some kind of awesome retro music channel. It was to be on these screens we’d watch videos of the songs we’d hear.
Stuff like “Love Shack,” “Addicted to Love,” “My Sharona,” and “Everybody Dance Now.”
Yes, that mix of music doesn’t quite make sense for a true Funkytown experience, but it was good enough. Plus, the DJ booth had a cover that looked like a giant ghetto blaster and that scores you points, in my books.
The drinks weren’t any cheaper than your average place, a vodka and a beer ran us $12. But sipping our cocktails in what appeared (or was made to appear like) some kind of reptile skin-covered seats made up for that. I think.
We left before the sky was dark, so I don’t know if they keep playing the retro tunes all night. The crowd was mostly under 30, with a few faces that would have been just that in the days of the music we heard.
I’d go back.
Of course we took along our discerning friend Gregg Beever. The guy’s got taste, and we needed someone with that to help get a clear idea of what Funky Town is all about.
I asked him for his thoughts on Edmonton’s hottest new club:
It sure is a bar on Whyte Avenue.
I dunno, I really didn’t get a retro vibe. Did you? A name like Funky Town suggests a sound track of 60′s and 70′s music to me, and most of what I heard was 80′s. Where were the Go-go dancers? The bell bottom jeans? The plush couches and chairs? The closest thing we got was a disco ball! Lame.
I was prepared to have my socks funked off. It didn’t happen.
Won't you take me to Funkytown?
I’ll agree, there wasn’t a huge 70s vibe. You might be able to convince me of really late 70s, but the music takes you into the 80s and 90s and kind of throws it all off.
Sally says:
You guys are way too literal. Do you go to Supercuts expecting a trim from a dude in a cape? I think not! Case rested! Meeting adjourned! You are the weakest link!(?)
The most important thing to remember is that if you like going dancing, or if you’re the type of person whose idea of a good time is an 80s or 90s night, you will flipping LOVE Funky Town. The staff uniform is a tuxedo t-shirt. They have giant plastic hand chairs and faux-snakeskin booths. I heard Young MC, Robert Palmer and Aerosmith all in under an hour.
As for the not “disco enough” complaint, let’s not forget that we are very, very, tragically old. What was “retro” when we were young is now probably considered “oldies.” So our penchant for disco is trumped by the youngsters’ ironic love of music from the 90s (read: my actual CD collection). And it also bears mentioning that we were there at 8:10 p.m., ten minutes after it opened. They weren’t going to blow their real dance gold on the only three douchebags who roll in immediately after opening and run around fondling the plastic hand chairs and taking pictures of everything with their cameraphones (this would be why all the pictures are completely devoid of other people).
I would go back, but probably only between 8 and 10 (because I hate people, loud music and dancing, pretty much making this the worst place for me to be). I guess I ultimately choose to experience Funky Town as a loud, empty, ironically decorated pub.
Perhaps that’s a market they can tap…?
I give Funky Town 3 1/2 Cafe Mosaics of 5.
I'm in a bubble, surrounded by giant hands. And not even tripping on acid.
Scrambled #yeg
Totally random and with nothing to do with this post (outside of name); I had scrambled eggs in my breakfast burrito this morning. It was delicious.
Now, here’s some weird stuff I’ve spotted around this fair city of ours. I like to call this scrambled #yeg to combine one of my favourite foods and Twitter’s Edmonton hashtag. Oh, and I’ve done this before.
I can only imagine the first day of school, and this is your first classroom.
There has to be upwards of $12 on that boat.
The lady is real-size, the door is not. What's up with that door?!
This is over in Old Strathcona's theatre district. I don't know why. But it's cool.
Insert pants joke here.
There is no Alternative
To anyone over the age of 27 this looks like home.
If you could stop downloading movies for just a few minutes, Edmonton, I’d like to tell you about a change to your video rental options.
A classic.
I’ll wait for those of you who didn’t even know you could still rent movies to settle down.
Ok.
If you’ve ever been on Whyte Avenue’s east side (east of Gateway Boulevard) you’ve probably seen Alternative Video Spot in the strip mall between 100 and 101 Streets. If you’ve been by recently you’ve seen a big, empty store. Yes, this long-time movie icon of Old Strathcona is gone.
You could fit a lot of movies in there. Now you can hold a rave.
But fret not, my arty movie-loving friends, for the team that brought you Alternative Video Spot has packed up their favourite flicks and moved ever-so-slightly southwest. You can call them “The Videodrome” now.
In an e-mail exchange, Alternative/Videodrome’s John Hudson explains the move.
“In short, the strip mall we were in had become a very unpleasant place to do business. First we were beside a rough bar and once the smokers were forced out on the street we had a constant stream of men outside the bar, drunk and smoking,” he writes.
“This, of course, attracted other undesirables such as drug dealers and “working” women. Then, after a couple years of that, a liquor store opened on the other side of us which attracted the street people first thing in the morning. So we were trying to run a business that attracted families who the had to run a gauntlet of un-family like people to get to us. Add to this our landlord was completely unsympathetic to our plight and wanted $7000 a month for the “privilege” of being there. We could not come to reasonable terms so we left.” (more…)
Calling all artists
Wouldn't you like your art to grace a cover, like this?
If you’re artsy with a paintbrush, a pencil, camera or even some crayons, you may want to read on.
The Old Strathcona Business Association (OBSA) has an open call to artists for the cover of their yearly guide to the trendy neighbourhood.
They’re looking for something that captures the spirit of Old Strathcona’s culture, creativity, energy and meeting place-vibes.
(What? Nothing alluding to constant weekend binge drinking?)
Anyway, you can send a digital format of your work over to Stephen Liley, Marketing and Events Manager of the OBSA.
I hope to see your art on the cover of the new magazine.
p.s. Your deadline is January 31, 2010.
Earth Day: Take 2
Now, Edmonton weather is not always the best around. But this year has seemed to be a bit harsher on area events. (Think Capital Ex, Heritage Fest and Big Valley…)
And there’s Earth Day. It was supposed to happen (for the 20th year) in Hawrelak Park back in April. A blast of bad weather put that on hold.
But instead of just canceling the event, organizers have moved it to this weekend.
The event is not only rescheduled, it’s changed locations. It will be happening in Old Strathcona, at McIntyre Park and just north of that in Adventure Park (think of the north Fringe grounds, Kids Fringe area). Essentially, head to Whyte Avenue and Calgary Trail, walk north and find yourself smack in the middle of Earth Day (2) from noon-6pm Saturday.
Here’s some of what you’ll find, according to the Earth Day Facebook group:
People can celebrate Alberta Arts Days Festival in McIntyre Park (Gazebo Park). This Earth Day area has mainstage entertainment featuring Wendy Walker, Peter Puffin ( an environmental children’s entertainer ), Hong De Lion Dance Troupe , Bob Jahrig & Marc Ladouceur , Dale Ladouceur and the Broke Ensemble, Incanto and John Spearn. Between sets we will also have Tai Chi demonstrations and Yoga demonstrations.
The majority of the exhibits are in the in the park north of that, including:
the 80′x80′ Big Green Tent. The tent is white, but inside you will find the City of Edmonton Department of the Environment, numerous environmental and advocacy exhibitors; ideas for Eco-Renos and Green Building and The Talking Corner, where you can ask representatives from most of the major political parties, about their positions with regards to the environment.
Outside the tent in “Adventure Park” you will find…the Children’s Eco Adventures Area with Cartoonigans, The Fools Guild, Wonderstuff and more…
The Edmonton Bicycle Commuters are also hosting a free bike lock up.
Oh…and the weather is supposed to be quite nice this time around. (With just a chance of some late day rain.)
If anyone needs a blanket…
…there’s one jammed into a Media Classified stand at 82 ave. and about 106 st.
Seriously, #yeg, why? Somebody explain this. Paint me a word picture.
