Performing Arts preview

A thousand humble apologies for disappearing like that. I signed on to produce a month's worth of events elsewhere, overextending my schedule and falling out of the info-loop with little to promote save my own wretched concerts. Rather than subjecting you to a sad spectacle of self-promotion, I took a brief hiatus. We now return you to your regularly-scheduled entirely different variety of sad spectacle: a man on a soapbox with some ideas about what you might like to do on your evenings out.

Monday, November 7th

-- Tonight is the first Monday of the month which means that it's Poetry Slam night over at Cafe Deux Soleils (2096 Commercial Drive); in addition to a solid evening's entertainment (including featured performer Matt Gano from Seattle), this is your chance to let your opinions be known and judge the performances of the competitors (no critical reviews -- they use diving score cards). Conversely, the truly stalwart among us may feel that they can top what Vancouver's slam poets have to offer: sign-up is at 8 pm (competition at 9), with prizes not only of filthy, filthy lucre but also a chance to qualify to be sent to represent Vancouver this coming February at the Individual World Poetry Slam Championships in exotic Charlotte, North Carolina. If you'd like to share but can't stand the vulgar notion of being judged in crass numerical notation, there's a noncompeting open mic for you at 8:30; in any case, admission is $5.

Tuesday, November 8th

-- Despite having had the lights turned out on his inaugural performance there, guerrilla comedian Hugh Phukovsky is mounting a triumphant return to Yuk Yuks!, the king of comedy clubs, courtesy of a CHUM television crew recording his set and the perhaps misguided notion that there's no such thing as bad press -- just make sure they spell my name right. Will he be the bigger man and let bygones by bygones or will he take the opportunity the recorded immunity offers him to tear the comedy establishment a new larf-hole? The only way to find out the thrilling conclusion is to turn up tomorrow night at 8:30 and put down your $5. (Yuk Yuks! can be located at 1015 Burrard Street inside the Century Plaza Hotel.)

Wednesday, November 9th

-- The second Wednesday of every month offers a literary double-header at the Our Town Cafe, located at 245 East Broadway and Kingsway at the south-east corner of the peculiar triangular block known throughout legend as DYSFUNCTION JUNCTION. (Boogety-boogety. Oh, wait, Hallowe'en was last week. Never mind, then.) Pandora's Collective and Bolts of Fiction offer up, respectively, the Word Whips group of shared timed creative writing exercises at 7 pm followed by the Story Slam at 9 pm, running very similarly to the Poetry Slam that spawned it described above (... except you substitute "story" for "poem" and "fiction" for "poetry", y'dig?)

Thursday, November 10th

-- There are so many worthwhile events going on this quiet weeknight evening it demonstrates again what an embarrassment of cultural riches Vancouver enjoys. In the spirit of fair play, I'll start with the one I'm least demonstrating conflict-of-interest by plugging: the Pacific Cinematheque (1131 Howe Street) presents this year's festival of videopoems, See the Voice: Visible Verse. (What's a videopoem? Think of a music video without the music.) From 7:30 pm on videopoem pioneer Heather Haley will be presenting choice selections from artists and writers including bill bissett, George Bowering and Adeena Karasick interspersed with live verbal performances from Montreal's Ian Ferrier and Vancouver's own Kedrick James (AWOL Love Vibe, Verbomotorhead, Church of Pointless Hysteria). Admission should run an adult around $8.50 (plus the mandatory $3 Cinematheque membership, if you don't already have one for this year... well worth picking up to be eligible to catch a screening there of the local Made in Secret: The Story of the East Van Porn Collective the following two nights.)

-- If you prefer your movies without poetry in them (too much work!), you can instead mosey on down to the Van East Theatre (2290 Commercial Drive at 7th) at 8 pm to catch the world debut of Alarm Clocks Kill Dreams, a documentary on this past provincial campaign of the Work Less Party. Come see the director, Ben West, tell you about his past experience running for provincial office in West Vancouver -- and his current experience running for mayor of Vancouver! Admission by sliding scale $5-10, no one turned away.

-- Want nothing to do with movies at all? How do still images grab you? (Between panels, I suppose.) The Butchershop Floor (195 E. 26th at Main) presents the monthly Do_Ink comic jam from 7 pm to midnight, where visual artists and scribblers of all degrees of proficiency get together under one roof to counter the stifled muse of their solo projects with an even greater force -- the urge to doodle on other peoples' work. In the end, this produces entire comic strips, albeit bizarrely stream-of-consciousness ones. Still, it gives sketchers an opportunity to compare pencils.

-- Last but certainly not least, bringing us full circle back to poetry, literary superstar Shane Koyczan comes home to locally launch his new book of poems, Visiting Hours, from 8 pm on at the Anza Club (3 West 8th Avenue at Quebec.) Listening to a man read from his book may not sound like big fun to you, but that just goes to show you don't know "the Shane". It's free until you factor in that the sheer quality of the writing will compel you irresistibly to purchase a copy of the book on your way out. May as well get two -- Christmas is coming up and someone will need a gift.

Friday, November 11th

-- Remember. Also, tonight is the Behind the Scenes open mic I told you so much about last month.

Saturday, November 12th

-- I don't know how these things end up in my e-mail box, but someone in the loop figured that I'd want to know about the "Pink Pussycat Party". (Those in the know would chalk me up more as the Purple Sloth Session type, methinks.) Live music (rumour has it by Po'Girl incognito), DJs (Timothy Wisdom, Mark Brennan), burlesque performances by Babalicious and Little Woo and even an exhibition of hand-cut erotic art by Sharpie all culminate in the very definition of ... pink pussycatness. 9 pm 'til late, at Babalong (91 Powell). Admission in costume (think pink! and, of course, pussycat!) runs you $10, otherwise $15.

Sunday, November 13th

-- From 4 pm on the WISE Hall (1882 Adanac at Victoria) will be hosting Trans Fest 2005, a day of workshops and performances from the likes of Rae Spoon, Ivan E. Coyote, and the Svelte Ms. Spelt... plus which you get to find out all about the trans cycling odyssey of the Flying Trannys. Admission by sliding scale $5-10.

That brings us to next Monday, when I should be seeing you again. Cheers!