May 20, 2012

Printable PEI Events May21-28 featuring the video for “Yer Spring” by Hey Rosetta!

Monday

Printable Events May21 Page

Printable Events May21 Page

Montgomery Theatre Sears Atlantic Drama Festival (also on Tuesday)

Hunter’s Ale House Open Mic with Ryan ” Wolf Shirt” Merry

Tuesday

Albert & Crown Pub & Eatery, Petunia

Wednesday

http://www.charlottetownfestival.com/en/102-Nitty-Gritty-Dirt-Band

http://www.charlottetownfestival.com/en/102-Nitty-Gritty-Dirt-Band

Confederation Centre: Homburg Theatre 08:00pm  Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Baba’s Lounge Open Mic with Cory Roper

Peake’s Quay Restaurant & Bar DJ Mizz Leiya

Albert & Crown Pub & Eatery 08:00pm Steven Bowers

Thursday

Baba’s Lounge The Wax | Ashley Gormas  

Trailside Café & Inn 08:00pm Steven Bowers | Brian Dunn

Confederation Centre of the Arts 07:00pm PEI Savour Food & Wine Show

Friday

Albert & Crown Pub & Eatery, The Divorcees 

Baba’s Lounge Racoon Bandit | Redwood Fields | Fox and the Hound 

Brothers Two Restaurant Scott and Danny  

Charlottetown Legion No Boundaries  

Hunter’s Ale House The Hartford Wailers

Selkirk Lounge 06:00pm  Dave Wigmore & Friends
Charlottetown Civic Centre 07:00pm - 10:00pm 2012 Festival of WinesThe Guild, 07:00pm - 09:00pm Finding Your Voice (and Earning a Buck) Through Genre Writing  FREE EVENT FOR ALL WRITERS AND THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEM! What do blog, mystery, crime, romance, historical, science fiction, young adult, script, journalistic, technical, copy, ghost and content writing all have in common? They are all genres of writing through which you can find your voice, and find new destinations for your written work.

Globe World Flavours 08:00pm - 10:30pm Charlottetown Jazz Ensemble

Trailside Café & Inn 08:00pm Dave Gunning

Old Belle River Church 08:00pm Ingrid Gatin (Wpg)

City Cinema OPENING-  The Deep Blue Sea

Rated 14 Accompaniment (Sexual Content, Language May Offend, Mature Theme) ~ Runs 98 minutes Dir.: Terence Davies, UK, 2011 
Rachel Weisz, Tom Hiddleston, Simon Russell Beale

“The opening text of Terence Davies’s The Deep Blue Sea tells us we’re in ‘London, Around 1950,’ but where else would we be? Davies lives to recreate that postwar era, with its pub singalongs and stiff-upper-lip endurance as the British people rebuild both literally and psychically after the Blitz. .. – Norman Wilner, Now Magazine


http://www.meninblack.com/

http://www.meninblack.com/

Empire Theatres Studio8 OPENING- Men In Black 3 

Agents J and K are back in time. J has seen some inexplicable things in his 15 years with the Men in Black, but nothing, not even aliens, perplexes him as much as his wry, reticent partner. But when K’s life and the fate of the planet are put at stake, Agent J will have to travel back in time to put things right. J discovers that there are secrets to the universe that K never told him secrets that will reveal themselves as he teams up with the young Agent K to save his partner, the agency and the future of humankind.

Brackley Drive-In Theatre OPENING – MIB3 & 21 Jump St. http://drivein.ca/

Saturday

Hunter’s Ale House Coyote | Colour Code  www.facebook.com/wearecoyote http://radio3.cbc.ca/#/bands/Coyote Coyote is from Charlottetown, PEI, and is made up of five friends that play uplifting rock together. They’ve played extensively over the past year, sharing stages with acts such as Rich Aucoin, Library Voices, Paper Lions, and The Junction. They have finished recording their debut EP entitled “Tracks”, to be released in early March.

www.myspace.com/wearecolourcode Colour Code is a 5 piece ensemble hailing from Charlottetown whose sound encompasses melodic harmonies backed by pop-laden hooks. At the forefront are the girl-guy vocals that are carried throughout the songs, effervescently telling stories as they float on top of string arrangement and driven drums. Their diverse folk-pop sound can be attributed to the ever-present violin, upright bass, and a collective of musical odds and ends ranging from glockenspiel to key-tar.

http://jordancameronmusic.com/index.php

http://jordancameronmusic.com/index.php

Harmony House 08:00pm Ten Strings and a Goat Skin | Jordan Cameron 

Charlottetown CBI Hustle for Hunger

Sports Page Club,  MDB (NS) | Busted Flow | Modern Day Poet

St. Mary’s Hall 02:00pm Fiddle Doo Down East: Ivan Hicks | The Chaisson Trio | The PEI Fiddlers | Kenny and Darla Chaisson | emcee Jenny McQuaid

Globe World Flavours 02:00pm - 04:30pm Moosehead Blues Matinee with Got Blues and guests Brian Langille (guitar), Mark Haines (vocals) & Remi Arsenault (bass)

Jack Blanchard Family Centre 06:00pm Asian Dinner and Concert

The Globe 11pm Nick Bike Going Away Party   That’s right boys and girls, Nick is leaving PEI in search for DJ supremacy and we’re going to have one final party with him! Come and rock up to and with Nick @ Globe on May 26 www.djnickbike.com

TheDunk,  07:30pm Lester Stubbert and Jolee PatkaiBeaconsfield Carriage House 07:30pm - 09:00pm Sorensen Duo (Jacqueline and Barrie)
Trailside Café & Inn 08:00pm Avonlea Show BandCorran Ban Hall 08:00pm Ceilidh with Milk and honey


www.facebook.com/djnickbike

Sunday

Albert & Crown Pub & Eatery, Ashley Condon  

Baba’s Lounge Dry River Caravan  

Murphy’s Community Centre 11:00am - 03:00pm  Queen Square Market

Centre Belle-Alliance 07:00pm International Children’s Memorial Place 10th Annual Concert: Barstool Conspiracy | Leon Gallant | emcee Don MacPherson

York Community Centre 07:00pm Sunday Night Shenanigans

The line-up has been announced for Ch’town SummerFest featuring Wintersleep, Hey Rosetta, Gloryhound & more. Visit http://seaandbescene.com/2012/05/2012-charlottetown-summerfest/ for details!

May 17, 2012

Top 20 Events May 17-20 & Homegrown Atlantic 5/13

Thursday

http://www.harbourfronttheatre.com/backtothe80%60s.html

http://www.harbourfronttheatre.com/backtothe80%60s.html

Harbourfront Theatre Back to the 80′s—A Totally Awesome Musical

Confederation Centre: Public Library 06:30pm  Book Launch: “Angels of the Maritimes, vol. 2″ by Karen Forrest

Friday

Charlottetown Legion Just Us  

Baba’s Lounge The Waking Night (NB) | Motherhood (NB) | The Socialites

City Cinema OPENINGBeing Flynn

Rated 14 Accompaniment 
Robert De Niro, Paul Dano, Olivia Thirlby

“A young writer, coping with addiction, finally meets the drunk, delusional father he never knew at the homeless shelter where the writer works. That’s the improbable truth at the core of Being Flynn, the uneven but undeniably powerful film from writer and director Paul Weitz… – Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

 Empire Theatres Studio8 OPENING- Battleship

Brackley Drive-In Theatre OPENINGBattleship, American Reunion, (& The Lorax on May 19 & 20) 

Saturday

Hunter’s Ale House - Paper Lions with Sandman Viper Command || Archie Powell & the Exports

 Hailing from the unlikely small community of Belfast, Prince Edward Island, brothers John and Rob MacPhee and neighbour Colin Buchanan began playing music together at a very young age in a variety of garage bands. After meeting in high school, David Cyrus MacDonald was recruited and Paper Lions cemented with John and Rob filling the positions of lead vocals and bass respectively, Colin on lead guitar and David on drums.

After the release of their critically acclaimed, three-time ECMA nominated 2010 EP, Trophies, Paper Lions has literally been around the world. They performed at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and Paralympics, the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, China, from Italy and Malta, to Nashville and New Orleans, as well as a series of shows that brought them from Goose Bay, Labrador, all the way to the most northern human settlement on Earth – Alert, Nunavut.

Confederation Centre: Homburg Theatre Island Dance Academy students: “An Evening at the Oscars”

Kensington Club (K-Club) Crazy Anne

Globe World Flavours 02:00pm - 04:30pm Moosehead Blues Matinee with Got Blues and guest Doug Burton (guitar & vocals)

Harmony House 08:00pm Pre-Funk the Dunk Show: David Celia | Meaghan Blanchard

Trailside Café & Inn 08:00pm Laura Smith & George Antoniak

Sunday

Montgomery Theatre Sears Atlantic Drama Festival  

Carrefour de l’Isle St. Jean Louis José Houde

Albert & Crown Pub & Eatery Laura Smith

Baba’s Lounge The Greys (Ontario) | Pilot Episode

Credit Union Place 02:00pm Charley Pride

Baba’s Lounge The Greys (Ontario) | Pilot Episode

Murphy’s Community Centre 11:00am - 03:00pm  Queen Square Market

The Dunk,  02:00pm - 01:00am Funk The Dunk!

Come early, bring your friends, your tent, your picnic supplies and a contribution for the potluck dinner. The music will start promptly at 2:00pm, the sound system will be turned off at 1:00am. A requested
donation of $10 or more will be collected at the gate. The line-up:
2:00-2:40 The Stanley Bros
2:50-3:30 Steve Gates
3:40-4:20 Teresa Doyle
4:30-5:10 Trevor Alguire
5:20-6:00 Kirsten Scholte Band
6:10-7:00 Mitch Schurman Band
7:10-8:00 Rhythm Rules
8:10-9:00 Waterman Blues Band
9:10-10:00 Chas Guay Band
10:10-11:00 Jadea Kelly
11:10-Midnight Racoon Bandit
12:10-1:00 David Celia & his Band of Islanders

Old Triangle Pub 08:00pm Sprag Session CD Release

“Homegrown Atlantic 5/13″

A show dedicated to the musicians of Prince Edward Island & Atlantic Canada, hosted by East Coast Music Association member Blair Dewar. This podcast features the music of The Ellis Family Band, Eddy Quinn & Fiddler’s Sons, Catherine MacLellan, The Haunted Hearts, Shirley Eikhard, Ron Hynes, Luke Doucet, & Jason MacDonald.

Listen to Homegrown Atlantic

Listen to Homegrown Atlantic!!!

May 11, 2012

Annie Review “The Sun Will Come Out in Charlottetown” By Cindy Lapeña

The musical Annie might be a lot less famous than its signature song “Tomorrow,” but the play is not much less popular than the original syndicated comic strip, “Li’l Orphan Annie” that ran for several years in North American newspapers. The story of the spunky orphan Annie who finds her way into the home and heart of Daddy Warbucks is no less endearing than the local Island heroine, Anne of Green Gables. Makes me wonder if one was influenced by the other. Speculation aside, surely the story about a spirited and charming little orphan girl will find its way into the hearts of Islanders, so this is a really good choice for a high school musical. I believe these older musicals need to be staged just because classical musicals deserve to live on—not just as music or isolated songs, but as actual full stage performances. I would otherwise rue the day musical theatre dies (knocking very hard on wood!). That said, I was finally glad when the show began a little over 5 past 8, as the Lt. Governor Frank Lewis and his party filed into their seats and the Vice Regal Salute was played. I’m sure that was a great honor for the cast and if they were nervous, you would never have guessed it!

Enter overture. That band is GOOD. Yes, in capitals. I don’t think having a professional orchestra doing the score would have made it any better.
The opening scene was really promising and right away you could see that this was a pretty well-rehearsed play and it would turn out to be a fairly decent production, at the least. Once Emily Proude as Annie opened her mouth to sing the opening song, I knew this couldn’t get much better. I was wrong.
The cast was amazing. They clearly understood tension and extension and projecting character. They knew they were performing for an audience and at no point did the audience feel left out of the performance. They had internalized their characters and maintained them every single moment on stage. The blocking was excellent, the choreography was fun and clean, and 90% of the time the gestures and movements were definite, firm and deliberate. That is so much more than I can say of some more mature actors I have seen on PEI stages. The sets were just right—functional, effective, not overly done, and efficiently changed—except for Daddy Warbucks’s desk that came in a tad late at the start of Scene 4 in the second Act. In fact, I wouldn’t have noticed the desk creeping in had some of the audience not laughed. The other technical aspects were just perfect—lighting was just right, with the right mix of light and no distracting shadows; miking was well balanced and there were no overlaps even when characters came close to each other, costumes were really good with just one exception: one of the NYC homeless looked like she’d come out of the late 1800s. Was she in the right costume room? Another little quibble with the technicals…Bert Healy’s radio show…big oversight in the execution and use of scripts: radio scripts were always fastened at the bottom so that the order to “drop page” literally meant to drop it, not flip it over…this to prevent and rustling of sheets that might be picked up by the mikes…which happened over and over again. Even the painting reproductions were charming…the Mona Lisa, Starry Starry Night and The Old Guitar Player—the art class must have had a fun time doing those!

Technicalities done.

While not every member of the cast had a voice made in heaven, the leads certainly could sing, and sing they did, with feeling and gusto. The choruses were clean and well executed. The acting was, well, acting! Even if they hammed it up a bit and there was some cheesiness, it was just perfect for the script and definitely elicited laughs whenever there should have been some. Besides Emily Proude’s spunky and winsome Annie, there are a few other roles deserving special mention. Daddy Warbucks—Colby Currie wasn’t your balding, stocky Warbucks, being tall and quite svelte instead, and while he wasn’t Josh Groban, his speaking voice was deep but clear and his singing was filled with fervor. The way he carried on with his serious, perpetually frowning, businesslike brusqueness was so convincing.
By Cindy Lapeña

By Cindy Lapeña

Rooster, played by Ben MacDonald, and his girl Lily, played by Marisa Boudreault, were a perfect pair. MacDonald had the perfect sleazy look and tone, and all the right moves. Boudreault wasn’t a bad floozy, but you could see she was a bit inhibited at the start, although she warmed up to her character by the second act. Lindsay Gillis as Grace Farrell was perfectly efficient, bustling, and in control of her character. Drake, played by Aaron Rainnie, was the perfect combination of laconic and poker faced efficiency even as they were celebrating on Christmas Eve. As FDR, Colin Power had some really good moments and got all his laugh lines right. My friend Tristan Lewis once again proved his growing talent with his multiple roles that he slipped into and out of with ease—and his Bert Healy was hilarious. And no, I’m not biased just because I know him! The Warbucks house staff was a great chorus, as were the orphan children. Of course, one musn’t overlook the amazing Mrs. Hannigan, emoted so very well by Jennipher Doyle. Her voice was perfect for the role and the songs. I loved her rendition of Little Girls, and her Easy Street with MacDonald and Boudreault was totally entertaining. What else can I say about Emily Proude’s Annie? The role suited her to a T. Even if she might have been a bit tall for an 11 year old orphan, one quickly overlooks that when she turns her wide eyed winsome smile on.

Have I mentioned that this is a high school musical? I have to say this is THE high school musical of the year, so far. That the Charlottetown Rural High School fosters theatre development is highly commendable, as this musical shows. That a whole town collaborated to bring this together is even more wonderful. All the effort put into this production by the producers Edwin Hughes and Marla Haines, the director Richard Haines, the choreographer Julia Sauve, Vocal Coach Julain Molnar, Vocal Captain Lindsay Gillis, and the rest of the cast, crew and sponsors is a wonderful testimonial to the province’s strong support for the arts. I wouldn’t miss watching this if I were you.
May 9, 2012

The Island Media Arts Festival Opening Night Screening By Cindy Lapeña & Top18 Events This Weekend

Eleven short films and a bellyache from laughter. Well, half the time, at least. The screening opened and closed with music videos, certainly both unique and the second one, in particular, with a distinctly PEI flavour and spirits (pun intended)! 

There was such a wide range of subjects covered by each film it’s hard to put them together with any sort of blanket comments, but we’ll try to keep this short and sweet, just like the films themselves.

Warning: Spoiler Alert!!!

 Sweethearts by Jenna MacMillan, PEI, was a cute take on romance. Woman works in a store, has bum boyfriend who cooks for her (if only more men would do this!), is wooed by a young Romeo who is clearly new at the courtship game and who’s a bit awkward as well. She succumbs to the temptation to see if a new relationship will work out but finds that her Romeo is a no-way-o and she ends up trudging back home in high heels in the snow to her boyfriend who, incidentally, has also gone to the trouble of trying to bring her supper when she uses working late as a pretext for her failed date. How sweet is that. The approach tries to be original, the acting decent, the script has its funny and witty moments, but the plot is just old.
Along the exact same theme of courtship and romance is The Dance by Pardis Parker, NS. Without any dialogue, this short film uses an extremely expressive actor and great visual imagery. Smitten young man can’t find a way to invite the girl of his dreams to a dance just a week away and each day passes with him trying out a different strategy to get the attention of his Jenny, all, of course, attempts to show how he can dress up in matching outfits because that’s what she likes. On the last day, which is the day of the dance, he gives up and discards his colorful matching outfits in favor of a tee shirt with a single puzzle piece in blue, without noticing that Jenny is also wearing a tee shirt with a matching puzzle piece in red. A match is made, their dance takes place, and he never notices that she has also been waiting for this night, which she has likewise marked on her calendar. This was really cute, acting was really good, the music soundtrack was just perfect…and did I mention the colours and visual imagery?
Meters by Darcy Fitzpatrick, NL, showed how a recently widowed man has a hard time coping with his wife’s death, but eventually finds a way to amuse himself and do something productive—while driving the meter man batty—everyone knows how we all hate that meter man! He begins by feeding expired meters with quarters, then feeding all the expired meters with quarters and advertising free parking with bright yellow smiley face balloons and gay bunting around the parking meters. When threatened by the meter man with serious consequences, he takes it one step further and steals the meters! He is expecting the next move—arrest and an overnight stay in the hotel-behind-bars, but the exertion of stealing those meters has its toll on him and just when he is to be released we find him peacefully resting on a jailhouse bunk. Excellent acting, great humour, original story line, nice cinematography.
How does Rhonda face death in Rhonda’s Party? Ashley McKenzie, NS, has senior home resident Rhonda making final preparations for Margaret’s 100th birthday, but the celebrant dies in the night and someone has to break the news to Rhonda. Meanwhile, the residents are waiting in the community room, the banner is up, the samba band arrives and starts playing to everyone’s delight and the cake is crowding the reception desk. It’s left to a young nurse to break the bad news to Rhonda who, at first, is in denial, but when she sees Margaret’s room  being packed up in boxes, she realizes it’s true. In the end, she takes one balloon to Margaret’s room. I’d like to think the party went on. Margaret would have liked being sent off with a party. I know I would.
Boxface by Joel Thompson, NB, was a painful foray into the very touchy subject of mental health and depression in children and adults alike. The box over the head of the main character was symbolic as well as a very literal depiction of how mental illnesses are generally ignored, and if not, how the people themselves are ignored. What is more sad is that there are really a lot of people out there who have boxes, partial boxes, or some bits and pieces of things to cover their faces or hearts or other vulnerable parts and nobody really pays attention to them. Thompson uses a lot of mixed metaphors and very loud symbolisms to convey his message.
Angora Napkin by Troy Little & Nick Cross, PEI, is a cartoon—animation for grown-ups, if you will, with a grown-up version of The POWERpuff Girls—Beatrice, Molly and Mallory—who still have the bubble gum voices, play a mean band—but are definitely rated PG-14 because of vulgar language, partial nudity, scenes of violence–some of it senseless, insensitivity and sex. The cartoon spoofs and ridicules everything it can, from cult classic Night of the Living Dead to sea monkeys and features vacuous anti-heroines who are either eternally bubbly (Beatrice and Molly) or morbidly morose (Mallory). This garnered so many laughs it deserves mention.
By Cindy Lapeña

By Cindy Lapeña

On the other end of the anime spectrum is the stop-motion animation The Nightly News by the Multimedia Class of Col. Grey Senior High, PEI. They must have had a lot of fun doing this, but the film was spotty and editing was very rough. But it was funny. Great start!

Finally, the centrepiece of the evening and, I think the two best films of the night: The Clay Village of Transylvania by Mark Hemmings was made with sensitivity for the people of the village that brought out the best of the village without making it seem put on. Really well-made documentary! Like Father by Jesse Harley, NS, was easily my favourite. The narrated poem after the likes of “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (the rhyme scheme and the opening line brought this poem to mind) and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (with the deep narrator’s voice), the special storm and shadow effects, the sound effects and lighting, and the truly original story line with that really unexpected outcome. Reminds me of an updated version of Little Red Riding Hood that I once wrote for a Forensics guild many years ago.
If all the films are like this throughout the week, then there is a lot to look forward to—both for the week and for the future of the Atlantic independent film industry!
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Top 18 Events This Weekend

Friday

Transforming a Street – Richmond St. We need artists to create temporary public art. We have honorariums to cover material costs. We need volunteers of all ages to help with the transformation. We need musicians to bring some fun to the street. For more info email Christina MacLeod at christinamcld@gmail.com or David Sims at sims@cpei.ca
http://www.myspace.com/meaghanelizabethblanchard

http://www.myspace.com/meaghanelizabethblanchard

The Dunk - Meaghan Blanchard, with Nadine Pineau. Meaghan Blanchard, the Sweetheart of St Patricks Road, returns to The Dunk as a young but seasoned pro. Her 2011 was highlighted by an ECMA award for Country Album of The Year (for Chasin’ Lonely Again) and a brush with Royalty. This year she ‘knocked it out of the park’ with her performance at the Gene MacLellan tribute concert, and is preparing to record her 3rd album. She’ll be showcasing a number of new songs at this concert!
Nadine Pineau will open. A 15 year-old rising star from North Rustico, Nadine will be making her 2nd appearance at The Dunk to perform a few of her own songs and a few covers. This will be a special treat!

Haviland Club 07:30pm Ashley Condon
Harmony House 08:00pm Carleton Stone & Emma-Lee
Confederation Centre: Homburg Theatre 08:00pm Charlottetown Rural Production: “Annie”  Also plays on Saturday!

http://darkshadowsmovie.warnerbros.com/index.html

Opening @ Brackley Drive-In Dark Shadows (stars Johnny Depp http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1077368/) & The Lucky One (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1327194/)
Opening @ Studio 8 Dark Shadows http://darkshadowsmovie.warnerbros.com/index.html
Opening @ City Cinema La peur de l’eau (Fear of Water) 

Rated 14 Accompaniment Pierre-Francois Legendre, Normand D’Amour, Brigitte Pogonat In French with English subtitles

“A mystery thriller starring an unlikely hero. Sergeant André Surprenant of the Surete du Quebec is divorced, lives with a daughter who does not respect him, swallows pills to deal with panic attacks, and has a strong fear of water. Unfortunately, he lives in the Magdalen island town of Cap-aux-Meules…  
There are true moments of tension, such as during a search for clues on a docked ship in the middle of the night. Best of all, when the killer’s identity is revealed, it does make perfect sense.” – Simon Arseneau, Montreal Film Examiner

Saturday

http://dennisellsworth.com/Trailside Café & Inn 08:00pm Dennis Ellsworth CD Release—”Dusk Dreams”  On May 12, Dennis Ellsworth will release “Dusk Dreams”, his highly anticipated new album on Busted Flat Records at the Trailside Cafe & Inn. The album was recorded in Athens, GA with acclaimed producer, David Barbe (Drive-By Truckers, Cracker, Sugar). Even though, the real street date is May 15, the album will be on sale, so if you’d like to get your hands on an early copy, you best book your seat. There is limited seating and tickets are now on sale at: www.boxofficepei.com
Hunter’s Ale House Andy Brown
www.andybrown.ca
Maybe it’s the curly locks. Or those blue-green eyes. Maybe even that boyish charm. Or perhaps it’s the emotionally raw vocals, stellar guitar skills, and riveting performances that get us every time.
Andy Brown has emerged a must-see (and hear) performer on the Canadian music scene. Touted as a performer that ‘gets into your head and heart’, the Galaxie Rising Star winner has a contemporary folk-rock style all his own, taking you on a lyrical journey that transcends a realm torn between love, happiness, and sorrow.