GAYE RAGE!!! Final Show Review

Gaye Rage Final Show
@ Broken City
August 7, 2008
BY KAIT KUCY

Mariachis, tight pants, and a masculine flip of a scarf are all essentials to be a member of Gaye Rage. A band worthy of being written up in MOJO or SHINDIG!, is a rare find in this country-engulfed city. Before parting ways forever, this garage rock 5-piece played one last show at Broken City on a warm August evening. Craig Fahner, frontman for Gaye Rage and an absolute musical chameleon, took the stage full force with his eccentric 1960’s inspired movements complete with an all-white outfit and red scarf. Their stylized rock tunes meld both the garage rock and mod rock movements into a sound that any listener could enjoy. The whole crowd was getting into it and Fahner only upped the antics, such as singing into the mariachi why shaking the microphone. Any new fans of Gaye Rage were probably heartbroken by the end of the set – lets hope for a reunion show!

That’s All Folks!
Artstar Matt Luckhurst says goodbye to Calgary
@ Artlife Gallery
August 6, 2008
BY KAIT KUCY


If anyone has met Matt Luckhurst before, they know he is one enterprising high flier. With countless solo and group shows in Calgary, his own line of clothing, vinyl toys, animation, and even wine labels, Luckhurst has developed a brand for himself -- and it works. His imaginative colourful characters have been seen large-scale on the walls of the HIFI Club, and now as he prepares for grad school in NYC he presents one last solo show in Calgary. That’s All Folks!, is a collection of new works and prints of older works. The celebratory piece “Keep Your Feet in the Clouds” includes a small caption, “I did it!” would make even your mother proud. While many of his themes are fun and child-like some have a hidden entendre or are in-your-face-crude. “Nuts”, a nude portrait of a man with an, ahem, abnormal genital area is an example of one of these hilariously PG-13 works. While many are sad to see Luckhurst leave, the fact that one of our own is going on to big and better things in the art capital of North America is exciting in itself.

The artist, Matt Luckhurst poses with a recent work.

Bridge Over Coloured Waters

BRIDGE OVER COLOURED WATERS

Altruistic Artist, Kiarra Albina shows her true colours
Story and Photos by KAIT KUCY

Beatroute 4-Year Anniversary Party Art Show

Featuring Kiarra Albina
Artlife Gallery July 23, 2008

Kiarra Albina is easily one of the most prolific underground artists in Calgary right now. With a month-long residency at The Arbour Lake Sghool under her belt and numerous group shows, the former ACAD student is completely dedicated to her art. Constantly created, re-created and cleverly coloured, her work reads like beautifully illustrated diary pages along with all of the honest emotions and feelings that many artists choose to leave out. Love and hate are common things in her work, and she has inevitably created her own art language with her hand-drawn typography. Personal slogans such as “True Thing”, “Magic For Yr Love”, and “Dream Kill” are used repetitively throughout her work, linking one piece to the next. Never using Photoshop or Illustrator to edit her artwork, Albina painstakingly re-draws pieces she or clients are not satisfied with. This noble and patient trait of a long-lost age of graphic artists and illustrators, is found within this effervescent artist.

When I found out Albina was having a solo show at Artlife in conjunction with Beatroute’s 4th Anniversary Party, I knew something amazing would come out of this evening. Walking into the sparse and simple Artlife, your eyes are immediately drawn to the explosions of colour that inhabit the intense illustrations pinned to the wall. Each piece is individually eye-catching with the bright pinks, reds, and aquas and the powerful subject matter that invokes the viewer to step up a little closer to the image to inspect every tiny detail. Albina uses varied materials for each piece: pen and ink, think illustration papers, watercolours, coloured pencils, markers, pastel, and more. Her collection of work featured at Artlife has strong characteristics of warmth and calmness contrasting with a sly undercurrent of tension not only through the use of colour but the texts that unite each piece. Her style is quite feminine and womanly but not overly feminist. This work could be quite challenging for men to relate to on first inspection, by means of the immediate subject matter. Once one realizes that the emphasis on relationships and twenty-something-angst is a common thread linking the collection, personal recognition become apparent.

Anne Mry Skips Rope (2008) is the first piece that I was im

mediately drawn to. The colourful surrealist landscapes meld with the tense, toothy faces that appear throughout the drawing. The beautiful hand-drawn type, Anne Mry Skips Rope wraps around the top of the piece and brings forth a question regarding the Canadian pseudo-icon. Albina counters, “This one’s called “Anne Mry Skips Rope”, bridge over troubled water style. I’m not a fan, trust me.” Albina’s illustrations always appear to float beautifully above the carefully selected papers; the compositions perfect. Anne Mry Skips Rope features a single red line seemingly dripping from a pinky red eye allowing the viewer to leave the page, as if a map leading the viewer to the next piece of the show. The imagery of Albina’s often comes across as light-hearted and fun, yet some after closer inspection are darker than you think.

Untitled (2008) Kiarra Albina

The next piece I discover has similar elements to the Anne Mry in the way it effortlessly flows across the off-white paper. Lacking the rainbow of colours of the previous piece, this Untitled work features a rich turquoise mixed with numerous black and brunette heads, some of which appear to be spewing a speckled brown stream into the ether. Once again a thin black line drips from the main composition, creating interest for the viewer off the page. A solitary wolf-like head is among the dark-haired beauties in the left hand corner, perhaps suggesting a relationship to the lone wolf archetype, which many artists are looped in to. This piece is extremely successful in both technical skill and imaginative quality, and the crowd that gathered around it during the opening could easily attest to that.

Albina’s work his fairly comprehensive to anyone without knowing her artistic background or themselves having a history in art. Its pop art colour connotations and hand-drawn design would to appeal and be understood by many, while more time spent with the work leads the viewer drawing conclusions on what the work means to them and how they react to it. Another piece, also Untitled, is apparent typography-practice-page-turned-masterpiece, features several texts of more controversial nature. “ I f***ing hate boys. I love f***ing boys” is stated across the top of the page in an agitated flurried font. Meanwhile a drippy red type declares “Period Eater” at the bottom. At first glance and read, this piece could obviously make an average viewer feel uncomfortable, but when Albina puts the piece into the context of her life, it comes across more as a auto-biographical exercise, “One morning during a snowstorm in Suburbia, I drank a bottle of wine and worked on my fonts. Later at a Shearing Pinx show, I danced my hate away”.

This Beatroute Party also featured three musical acts, including Calgary’s WOMEN and Indiensoci and Los Angeles act, Abe Vigoda. The buzz surrounding this concert was quite anticipated, yet it never overshadowed the art component to the night. While Albina’s show was only a two-day exhibition, I am sure that her work left art lovers and unsuspecting scenesters wanting more and waiting for her next body of work to emerge. +++

Works Cited
Albina, Kiarra. Personal Interview. 23 July 2008.

Abe Vigoda (LA), WOMEN, Indiensoci Review

Abe Vigoda (LA), WOMEN, Indiensoci
@ Beatroute 4th Anniversary Party
Artlife Gallery
July 23, 2008

It’s not too often that you get to see Los Angeles-based musicians in Calgary, unless at large arena venue or sought out nightclub. However, for their 4th Anniversary Party, Beatroute Magazine got the loud and fun Abe Vigoda to hit the stage for eager Calgary hipsters. Taking place at ArtLife Gallery, located on the construction-heavy 1st Street SW, founder Glenn Alderson recruited local favourites Indiensoci and Women to open up for the hyped-up musical guests. While Indiensoci and Women delivered expectedly crowd-pleasing performances, when Abe Vigoda suited up with their fun poppy rock sound they entirely stole the show. With hilarious commentary between songs, the members of this five-piece have a certain charm that warmed the cold hearts of the Calgarians standing before them. +++

CUFF & Crispin Hellion Glover Presents 'What is it?' Review

CUFF & Crispin Hellion Glover Presents ‘What is it?’
The Plaza Theatre
July 22, 2008

Presence. Crispin Glover has it. In any of the countless films you have seen him in, he’s just got something intriguing about him. Getting to see him in person is even more startling. I got the opportunity to see him perform live and present his latest film on tour, What Is It?, an experimental film using only actors with Down Syndrome. He started off the evening with a vaudeville-esque slideshow performance presenting each of his artist books that he has created. After an incredibly long speech (impeccably well –rehearsed) accompanying the slide-show he moved on to showcasing his new film. What Is It?, was a fascinating concept film revolving around the process of killing snails with salt, the idea of double lives, and a strange alternate world. The film was followed by question and answer session where Crispin gratefully answered each and every question. It was an amazing opportunity to get to know an actor/director who has been involved in both the Hollywood and independent film industries. +++

Cobras Cobras Cobras/ MT ROYAL/ WOMEN Review

Cobras Cobras Cobras/ MT ROYAL/ WOMEN
No. 1 Royal Canadian Legion
July 14, 2008

Last night I went to the Royal Canadian Legion on 7th Avenue for a rock show. Located next to the questionable St. Regis Hotel and the EnCana pit of doom, people are always surprised that local young talent frequent the World War memorabilia-adorned building on a regular basis. While I have been there on previous occasions I too am always pleasantly surprised at what a great venue it is. Medicine Hat’s Cobras Cobras Cobras, MT ROYAL, and Calgary’s WOMEN were on the bill for the evening. The show was intimate, full of fantastic psychedelic noise rock, and had that paneled-wood-wall-basement-party atmosphere that makes every show at the Legion so much fun. As any music lover should at the end of any memorable show, I walked away with two CD’s and WOMEN’s new vinyl record. +++

Fuck the Stampede

Fuck the Stampede
Rock Show gives out more free stuff than the Stampede Parade
BY KAIT KUCY
July 12, 2008

Fuck the Stampede featuring: Hazard Lights / The Sub-Linguals / The Pine Tarts
@ Broken City JULY 11, 2008


The Calgary Stampede is not what it once was; the celebration of Western culture, cowboy music singalongs, and horseback riding. Now, on the complete flipside it is all about getting completely wasted for 10 days, seeing how short of a denim skirt you can get away with on the midway rides, and getting your wedding ring tan airbrushed away. Since there are many of us in this city who choose not to partake in the free-for-all of the Stampede, Broken City Social Club and Bar decided to run an anti-Stampede evening.
Now in its second year of celebration, what better way to say f*** you to the Stampede, than to skip the fairgrounds and hang out with some of Calgary’s homegrown garage rock bands? Hazard Lights, The Sub-Linguals, and The Pine Tarts all shared the spotlight of this Wrangler-deficient evening.

Hazard Lights, a 3-man garage/punk rock line-up took the stage first. They were anything but cowpokes in their skin-tight red pants and David Cassidy hair. They began their set with some catchy noisy tunes that are over as quick as they started. Hazard Lights plays typically fun punk rock but I think they have a couple years to go before their set becomes technically solid. They are already booked for this summer’s Wild Weekend Garage Rock Festival in Austin, Texas which isn’t too bad for three young guys from Calgary. My only criticism is yes, everyone loves a good punk rock cover but it is original material that sticks with fans. The Hazard Lights, essentially, just need to put out a record quick to sustain this popularity they have reached in Calgary right now.

The Sub-Linguals climbed the stage next; a noisy four piece featuring Calgary’s long past favourite El Camino’s frontman Johnny Torpedo, a.k.a. local outsider artist Kamil Krulis. Revival is what is all about with The Sub-Linguals. A solitary green light bulb hangs from a cord in the middle of the stage, everything else complete darkness. Johnny Torpedo takes to the stage with a black leather cape, smeared red lipstick, and loud and rough vocals. Meanwhile, maniac Ace-Tone organist Ryan Sadler pounds the keys wildly, while the rhythm sectioned backed by drummer Eric Sadler and garage rock-veteran Pete Roe plays bass. They don’t waste anytime delving right into the hard-core rock outs; with the green light swinging and Johnny Torpedo screaming into the mic, the whole crowd gets into it. A mix of 1970’s punk rock, 1960’s garage rock, and a little 1980’s powerpop thrown in there, The Sub-Linguals come up fairly triumphant for doing something new in music in Calgary. They finish their set with the organist lunging into the crowd, Ace-Tone in tow, glasses flying off, only to be rewarded with admirable support of their fans. Each person leans in to help keep the Ace-Tone supported off the ground, as Sadler still pounds away on it, while another reaches for his glasses and tucks them away safely.

Powerpopping sweethearts, The Pine Tarts finished up the evening with the most hype of all. Green tinsel wrapped around mic stands and later thrown to the crowd brought back memories of a previous Pine Tarts show which involved Ring-Pops for the whole bar. Most songs are fronted by Jesse Powell, the perpetually shirtless guitar player, but when keyboardist Laurie Fuhr took over vocals for one song it gave the set a completely different feel. Her sweet-as-pie vocals combined with the mellowness that overcomes both the stage and the audience, prove The Pine Tarts to be truly versatile musicians. Of course, they had to disturb that peaceful moment by tossing an ex-girlfriends old Casio keyboard to the crowd for destruction. After the keys were significantly destroyed to the approval of Powell, they continued their set with several other rock’n’roll melodies. To keep up with the theme of throwing stuff to the audience they also passed out several free copies of their lime-green 7” vinyl record. I left before the end of their set, but heard it went out like a bang.

Looking back on the rockstar-antic-filled evening, one can be wholly satisfied in saying that they did not have to deal with drunk yahoos during the evening, their sandle-d feet were not crushed by any cowboy boots, and their hunger for non-Nashville North tunes was fulfilled.
9/10 Bonus marks for free goods.