Monthly Archive for May, 2010

Jesse Dangerously and BRZOWSK at Zaphod

You’ve probably missed Jesse Dangerously, haven’t you? Halifax’s most legendary - and surely their humblest - export finally returns at the end of a sweaty tour, bringing with him two other coastal catches from the east. These ones are from the exotic nation of UNITED STATES, though!

The line-up is:

Jesse Dangerously (Halifax/Ottawa)
Backburner Recordings

BRZOWSKI (Portland, ME)
H.W. (Boston, MA)
Milled Pavement Recordings

It is going to be super ridiculous. You can’t even know about how to wear clothes after this - you will forget.

H.W. writes sad raps about girls and self-loathing. BRZOWSKI is part dirt-road rustic rap about bad feelings and part beard. Jesse D lives in Ottawa, and will be launching a minicomic that retells his early years in the struggle.

Date: Thursday, 03 June 2010

Time: 20:00 - 23:30

Location: Zaphod Beeblebrox

Street: 27 York Street

Town/City: Ottawa, ON1000-crooked-miles-ottawa

Weekly News Review: Fast and “naked” ladies and Canada’s safest city!

Photo courtesy of Justinvl on the Apt613 flickr pool

Photo courtesy of Justinvl on the Apt613 flickr pool

This one’s for the ladies…  Dire Tune of Ethiopia became the first woman to cross the finish line ahead of a man at the Ottawa Race Weekend, winning the 10k race with a time of 32:11. As part of the race’s Gender Challenge, the women start the race 4:07 minutes ahead of the men, but are usually overtaken by the time they reach the finish line. Tune wins $5,000 for winning the Gender Challenge, plus another $5,000 for taking first place in the women’s race. This year’s Ottawa race weekend was the largest ever with almost 40,000 participants.

Speaking of ladies, there will be some bare naked ones parading around Parliament Hill this Canada day. Everyone’s favorite alternative soft rock group will be playing for her majesty at traditional noon day show this July 1st. As usual there will be a little something for everyone at the show: Hey Rosetta for the hipsters, Wayne Lavallee for the hippies, Cadence Weapon for urbanites and Dione Taylor for the sophisticates.

The police will release a report today showing that Ottawa is one of the safest cities in Canada. The 2009 Crime, Police, and Traffic Statistics Report by ward reports that the most serious of violent crimes fell in 2009. Homicides were down 9%, attempted murder charges dropped by 14% and abductions decreased by 27%. You can access the rest of the report here on Monday evening.

The city is canceling a 260-million project to expand two water treatment plants due to decreased demand. The city’s planning and environment committee passed a motion on Tuesday to cancel the expansion of the Britannia and Robert O. Pickard plants. Consumption is down because of more low-flow toilets and due to residents refraining from watering their lawns (go Ottawa!) The City’s planning and environmental committee is recommending that the focus of conservation plans be shifted to high consumers like apartment buildings and the cancellation of the city’s low-flow toilet rebate program for homeowners.

DJ Dom Servini - Wah Wah 45s - UK

Start Time: Friday, June 25, 2010 at 10:00pm
Location: Mercury Lounge
Street: 56 Byward Street
City/Town: Ottawa, ON

Jazztronic with resident Lance Baptiste presents

Guest DJ Dom Servini - Wah Wah 45s- UK
Friday June 25th
10pm

Playing an open-minded selection of music from the last 50 years, alongside music that sounds like it comes from the next 50! From Ella to Fela to Dilla!

$9 at the door

Full Bio:
Dom Servini is one of the main players and a stalwart of the eclectic music scene in London. Having started DJing in the early ‘90s in Brighton with the legendary Snowboy, he then moved back to London and took it by storm, starting a Sunday afternoon session at the Jazz Cafe, a residency at the Blue Note, and then his own club venture, Mouseorgan, which ran for 8 years. Dom then joined the Wah Wah DJ crew at The Jazz Café, and went on to become part of their record label project in 2001. Releases on Wah Wah 45s have since included artists such as Alison Crockett, Part-Time Heroes, Hardkandy and Stac.

Dom is also a respected music journalist, and was singles editor for jazz bible Straight No Chaser from 2003, and now writes features and reviews for both Shook and Echoes magazines - having his own monthly double-page spread in the latter.

As a radio jock, Dom hosts a weekly Monday night live DAB radio show on Colourful Radio as well as regular on-line shows including samurai.fm, play.fm and milkaudio.com, and has also featured on XFM, BBC London and on Gilles Peterson’s radio shows.

Over the past decade Dom has DJ’d across the globe, from touring Japan, the USA, Canada and Australia, to regular gigs in central and Eastern Europe, as well as Scandinavia, and even Ibiza. UK gigs include his famous weekly residency with Gilles Peterson, ‘Goin’ Downstairs’, and regular gigs at The Jazz Café, Favela Chic, Hayward Gallery, Cargo, The Vibe Bar, Luminaire, Queen Of Hoxton, Big Chill venues and much more!! Last year Dom debuted at The Big Chill Festival and Brick Lane Festival too, and hosted Wah Wah’s 10th Birthday Session at The Scala in London which saw 1000 people attend. His energetic and open-minded mix of anything soulful, be it afro, jazz, house or hip hop, make him a club favourite.

MR. V - Sole Channel Music at the Mercury Lounge

Start Time: Friday, June 4, 2010 at 10:00pm
Location: Mercury Lounge
Street: 56 Byward Street
City/Town: Ottawa, ON

Jazztronic with Resident Lance Baptiste presents

Special guest DJ

MR. V

Friday, June 4th
10pm

NOT TO BE MISSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HIP HOP / SOUL / HOUSE

Experiencing Mr. V’s DJ sets, original productions, or remixes is like taking a trip back in time to dance music’s golden age. Before superstar DJs took over the spotlight, dance music was a cultural phenomenon that did what no other form of music could do – bring people together. It didn’t matter what race or sexual orientation you came from because dance music was all about embracing our differences and creating a homogeneous vibe. The music was built heavily on traditional song structures and lots of heart and soul. DJs played whatever it took to get the party going and the music was never predictable. It is with this classic spirit and enthusiasm that New York City’s Mr. V targets today’s dance music world. Mr. V is a throwback in the purest sense.

Growing up in the 1980’s the open-minded Mr. V was heavily influenced by House, Hip-Hop, Latin, Garage and Disco classics, Rhythm & Blues and Jazz. Mr. V was enamored by the role a DJ commanded over a crowd and was taken by the talents of his friend Lord G., who had a weekly Thursday night party in New York City. Despite wanting to be a professional DJ, it wasn’t until he met the legendary Louie Vega that he found his calling. “Louie used to have his party called “Underground Network,” and that’s where I discovered a deeper taste for house music. I always wanted to be a DJ, but Louie’s type of music – that whole soulful sound – is what I wanted to play,” says Mr. V. Louie Vega saw the drive and potential in Mr. V and hired the young Nuyorican DJ / producer as his assistant at the world famous Masters At Work label. In this position Mr. V was given a rare glimpse into the global dance scene and before long was taking to the decks alongside his mentor.

Stylistically, Mr. V has a wildly eclectic sound that brings spontaneity back to the art of DJing. “Sometimes I just pull stuff [out of the DJ bag] out of the blue. I like to keep people guessing. I play things that I don’t think other people are playing – I’ll play a house-rock record or some classic stuff. It’s always different and depends on the vibe,” he says.

In 2001, along with partner Alix Alvarez, Mr. V launched his own label Sole Channel Music as a way to release music with complete control and artistic freedom. 2006 was a breakout year for Mr. V as we saw the release of his much anticipated debut album, Welcome Home. Combining his multifaceted skills as a Dj / producer / remixer, and with an ear towards dance music’s roots, Mr. V is a name to watch out for!

Early bird tickets at $10 at PC
Confirmed Guests

Press Pay! VHSundays stats this month at the Mayfair

Not on film. Not on TV. Not on DVD. Some movies only exist on videotape, so the last Sunday of every month, we’re reaching into our VHS collections and putting lost, forgotten and overlooked films back where they belong: on our screen. So what’s in the VCR? You’ll have to show up June 27 to find out, because VHShhhhhh – it’s a secret. (Keep watching this site for hints.)

June 27 @9:00pm.

Ottawa International Writers Festival: Aayan Hirsi Ali

OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL WRITERS FESTIVAL Continues June 10!

Book some time to spend some time with books, because the Writers Festival has a new home: the Mayfair Theatre!

Thursday, June 10

7:00 PM: BESTSELLER: Author of Infidel and the new memoir Nomad Aayan Hirsi Ali (hosted by Lucy van Oldenbarneveld).

Sunday Night Geek Night at the Mayfair

This month, our geek-gasmic grab-bag of pictures for poindexters is all about animation. We’ve got the grown-ups-only Heavy Metal, the better-than-Bay’s-Transformers GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords, and huh, huh, Beavis and Butt-Head Do America. Plus, prizes every night!

June 20 at 9:00pm.

Silent Films with a Live Score at the Mayfair

Silent films. Live music. Nowhere else but at the Mayfair!

This month, we anticipate Canada Day with a screening of the earliest surviving Canadian feature film, 1919’s Back to God’s Country, with an original score composed and performed by the Mayfair’s own Mike Dubue!

This special, tinted 35 mm print is brought you by our friends at the Canadian Cult Revue!

$10 members, seniors and students | $15 general

Filmmaker in Attendance Screenings at the Mayfair

The Mayfair isn’t just a place for people who love movies, it’s a place for people who make them, too.

This month, we welcome:

Brett Kelly, director of Bret Kelly’s Iron Soldier (June 24 @ 7pm)

Maude Barlow, subject of Water on the Table (June 20 @7pm)

Josh Dolgin, subject of The Socalled Movie (June 18 @ 9:30)

James R. Hohl, executive producer of The Thank You Girls (June 7 @9:30pm)

Shout Out! Media Canadian Tour Comes to Ottawa!

Courtesy of Shoutout Media

Courtesy of Shoutout Media

Growing up sucks. Growing up as a girl in the information age comes with its own unique brand of suckiness. Pre-teen and teenage girls  are bombarded with messages on the value of fame, body image, sexuality and self-esteem. Sometimes girls need help from peers and mentors to navigate this cacophony and avoid the pitfalls of buying into someone else’s idea of how to be a woman.

Shout Out! Media is an interdisciplinary group of Toronto graduate students who are working in partnership with the Girls Action Foundation. The group has created a cross-Canada media literacy and video production workshop series for girls aged 12-17. Beginning in Victoria in May 2010 and ending in Halifax this July, each two-day session will help the girls to analyze media messaging and inspire them to go out and create their own works of art. The tour arrives in Ottawa on June 12th and 13th and will be held at SAW Video, an artist-run centre for the media arts (67 Nicholas St).

Each session will be held free of charge to insure inclusion of all interested participants.

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