Well...after much debate (Ald. Rick McIver) and much money (24.5 million) plans for the Peace Bridge construction have been finalized and designs have been released. World renowned and prize winning architect Santiago Calatrava has designed an incredible pedestrian bridge that bypasses the use of supports, a concept relatively new to both the designer and bridge engineering. Calatrava has been known for his innovative use of support towers and cables, twisting and curving to bridge (no pun intended) the gap between form and function. Calgary officials asked Calatrava to eliminate any structure in the river and the result is a design similar to a footbridge he designed in Venice. Taking into account the ever drastic seasons here in Calgary, the bridge is covered and lit at night, making it a pleasant transfer for pedestrians and bicyclists in the winter. It aint cheap, but Calgary officials are obviously dipping their toe into the innovative architecture pool. First the Bow, designed by Pritzker prize winner Norman Foster...now a Calatrava bridge...what's next? My vote...get me some Gehry!
Your average Folk Festival is usually an excuse for pseudo hippy types to feel justified walking around mostly naked and completely stoned in public. Mind you, this is Vancouver, and the sun rising in the east is usually enough of an excuse for such public displays of behavior. But still, first task prior to attending Folk Fest was to check with Google on a plan to get the patchouli stink out of my clothes after the show. Despite expecting to be confronted in excess with The Dirty Hippy, what I found at Folk Fest was a surprisingly laid back crowd of happy concert goers and nary a waft of hippy deodorant in the air. Even the smell of ganja was surprisingly rare. Sure, there was the odd grey haired stoner dancing to the beat of some song that only he could hear and, yes, henna tattoos were spotted, but the high cost of living in Vancouver may have displaced the iconic barefooted, pot smoking, peace and love activists to other parts of the coast. It was soothing to see the clichés that usually define such an event generally absent. More importantly, the music was excellent. It’s impossible to absorb all of what goes on at Folk Fest on any given day with 7 stages, two bazaars, a broad selection of foods, and for the first time ever in Vancouver’s 30 year festival history, a beer garden. So we picked our battles which consisted of catching random bands in between trips to the aforementioned new beer garden. When it was all over there were quite a few highlights worth noting but the short list includes a stellar performance put on by Toronto’s Rock Plaza Central on a stage tucked into the back corner of the Jericho Beach park that hosts Folk Fest each year. Quebec’s Labess, known for singing alternately in Arabic and French, played a surprise and impressive unscheduled set on Sunday as well. But the highlight of the night was Sunday’s headliner, Chicago’s Mavis Staples, who at 70 years of age still belts out the Soul like nobody’s business. • Craig Sinclair
It might not be set for release until May of next year, but Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland is already generating pretty big buzz. Understandable considering Burton has recruited his usual duo of Johnny Depp playing the Mad Hatter and Helena Bonham Carter playing the Red Queen. The rest of the cast 'aint too shabby either! Crispin Glover is playing the Knave of Hearts, Anne Hathaway the White Queen and semi-unknown Mia Wasikowska will be playing Alice. A few photos were released a month or two ago and, in true Burton fashion, the hair, makeup and costumes are completely over the top and absolutely stunning. Check the end of the post for the photos. Here is a recently released teaser trailer sure to induce mass hysteria in die-hard Burton fans.
Update: Apparently the video has been taken down due to copyright infringement. Disney has released the official trailer but disabled embedding. Click here to see it!
Everyone with access to a computer has already posted their own Sled Island wrap-up stories (I am far too late for this, but time passes at hitherto unknown speeds these days), so this will be a post in the form of a picture book. Following are some of the best pictures that never got published.
Andrew WK - The Legion Down - Sarah Kitteringham
Final Fantasy - Central United - Sarah Kitteringham
King Khan - The Legion Up - Sarah Kitteringham
The Coathangers - The Distillery - Derek Neumeier
Outside the Monotonix - Tubby Dog - Derek Neumeier
Sure, sure...it's got some of the more popular radio tunes like "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" and "Rock The Casbah" but Combat Rock is home to arguably the best B-side of the early 80's. I might just be biased because this was the first vinyl I ever purchased (purchased being the operative word here as I'm excluding records I got for free). I bought it in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco about 6 years ago while on a trip with my mother. We were wandering up and down Haight, ducking into record stores, cafes and antique shops when I came upon a box of records being sold for 5 bucks. I picked up Combat Rock and have listened to it nearly every morning since then. It's the last album The Clash made with the original lineup and some critics pen it as "the beginning of the end" - fair enough. But...oh my god...SIDE TWO!
Side two has one of my favourite jams of all time - "Overpowered by Funk." It's got a freestyle outro by a New York City graffiti artist by the name of Futura 2000 (on right) and the second this song kicks in it's nearly impossible to ignore its beat. It's on the more "experimental" side of the Clash's catalog, straying slightly away from their punk roots, but is nonetheless worthwhile and memorable.
Another notable track on Combat Rock's side two is "Ghetto Defendant" which features Allen Ginsberg alongside Joe Strummer. Ginsberg reads a beautiful poem in flawless rhythm and, backed by a more free-flowing and relaxed beat, this song is a perfect interlude.
Last but not least...you can't talk about Combat Rock without mentioning "Sean Flynn" - the story of an American actor and photojournalist who disappeared in Cambodia in 1970. Flynn and Dana Stone were on assignment with Time Magazine in Cambodia when they were captured by Vietnamese communist guerillas at a roadblock and were never heard from again. Their remains have never been found and Flynn's mother had him declared legally dead in 1984. The song, which is three minutes longer on the Rat Patrol mix, has a distinct "jungle" vibe to it and echo-pedally vocals by Strummer.
Side one isn't too shabby either, really. It ends with "Straight to Hell" which is a quintessential Clash track brought back into the mainstream recently thanks (or no thanks...) to MIA.
All in all, Combat Rock is historical in the span of the Clash's career and is sometimes overshadowed by it's "less punk" vibe throughout. Whatever that means.
