Life in the Host City

Can't everyday be this good?

Well-deserved fun at the Cultural Olympiad! This time? A phenomenal Audio/Visual dance party.

 

Friday night's scene was CODE1, an A/V Gallery and Show Venue open specifically for the Games. Many of the exhibits were closed for the night and sadly the uber-chic lounge did not allow photography. I will go back to check it out, but I don't know what I can do about sharing pictures with you. I'll try my best.

 

 

Vancouver-based DJ K-Tel opened up the show. I quite enjoyed the set. I hope to be catching more of his sets around the city, now that I'm aware of the great show he puts on.

 

Now, I have yet to know much about this gentleman, so here is the description as provided on a Facebook event invite:

DJ K-Tel (aka Technomorph)

K-Tel has been developing mad skills in Vancouver’s film industry: Sound Designing animation projects for CN, MTV and FOX working with Danny Antonucci and Gary Larson, and picture Editing with local legends Richard Martin, Greg Middleton and Bob Aschman. All while still Djing on the side for the last 24 years. Then one day local filmmaker / VJ legend Tony Pantages approached K-Tel about joining the Morpheus Project visual team…and Vancouver hasn’t been the same since.

As the technology has grown, more pixels and sound samples are able to be processed and Technomorph has been able to venture further down that technological rabbit hole, morphing and weaving all of his skills as Sound Designer / Editor / VJ and DJ together.

All I can tell you is that he puts on a good show. It is a pity he was the opener, because many of the audience was either stuffed in the 19+ lounge (having a drink before going to the all ages stage area) or had yet to arrive. This song (post below) closed out K-Tel's set and is officially my song of the night.

The next crew, Addictive TV, had quite the following. Everyone was dancing and cheering and high-fiving...except for me. It was hard to love this set after seeing the work of DJ K-Tel. The set was by no means BAD, but apparently not what I was in the mood for. It is pretty neat how they put everything together, but I was getting restless to see the headliner. I watched the set to the end.

Then came the encore: a bastardization of Led Zeppelin's Black Dog and the Amen break. I was annoyed that such a classic beat was abused to ruin a great song. And then came the clincher: a second encore. That was a cue to leave. Credit where credit is due - Addictive TV was certainly talented and has great stage presence, but that set was not the highlight of the night at all.

AND THEN...the main event...the amazing Mike Relm. I adore Mike Relm and his work. He is one of my favourite people ever. And luckily, I had a chance to tell him that myself on Friday night. Ever so humble, he thanked me with a big smile. What a way to segue into the high point of a long week.

What can I say about Mike Relm? His work just makes me want to move. Playful and obviously enjoying himself on stage, he masterfully uses both popular and obscure songs of all genres mixed with movie clips or videos gone viral as massive memes. 

The bass shaking my core, I couldn't help but gravitate to front and centre of the stage, far enough back to see the screens and close enough to watch his lightning quick hands on the turntables. I danced the entire time and had such a fantastic time busy moving my attention between the visuals and music.

 Beyond being simply adorable, Mike talents cover his popular mashups with championship turntablism and beyond into the disciplines of Music and Video production. 

 

The entire crowd was into it and I am really happy someone made this night happen. These pioneering acts at such an exceptional venue with a group of varied people made me really feel like the best parts of Vancouver's arts and culture spirit was amalgamated under one roof. Vancouver loves hosting Mike, and we hope to see him again soon.

The show was closed out by Mike's classic crowd-included sing-along of "Imagine", a bit he started doing in Vancouver originally. Perfect way to end a night you wish could last forever.

 

I have to close out this post with a Canadian artist with rhythm enough to match the beats posted above. So, here's a 2 for 1 deal: first the remixed version and then the original album version of Jully Black's "Until I Stay".

Highway to H-E-Double-hockey-stick.

Thank goodness that the Sea-to-Sky highway is closed to most traffic over the Games.

I drove to Whistler on January 22 to visit my younger sister, who is up at Whistler Village working during the games. Undeterred by all the safety precautions in place, the trip up the Sea-to-Sky at dusk on a Friday night was as beautiful as ever. Even for a smart driver like me, however, one can be intimidated by the big pickup trucks rushing to the mountain for the weekend or the unnerving black ice keeping you in check anywhere north of Squamish.

 

The road between West Vancouver (part of the Greater Vancouver Regional District) and Whistler is a gorgeous drive. Ocean view on the west side and mountain waterfalls between forests on the east side, this picturesque setting is an attraction in itself. Forget Vancouver and Whistler, the drive between the two co-hosting cities alone is enough to stun vistors.

But the drive up is not for the faint of heart. This road, with the many twists and turns, is single-laned each way for a big portion of the stretch of road. Notwithstanding the phethora of new improvements in place to accommodate the high traffic volume of the Games, accidents have still happened due to a variety of reasons from people driving rushed or sleepy to unfavorable road conditions. According to out national broadcaster, 63 fatalities have occurred on this 115km/72mi stretch of highway in 9 years. Amongst restrictions and limitations preventing any tragic incidents in the busy time of transporting athletes and media to and from Whistler village, early this morning someone still managed to prove the Sea to Sky's reputation as lethal when abused. Granted, lying in the middle of a highway lane is unwise at the best of times, Games or no Games...but for a local like myself, I am shaking my head and hoping this isn't a sign of things to come.

Our song to close the post "Road Regrets" by Vancouver singer/songwriter Dan Mangan. Not only that, but the video was produced by the talented folks at Vancouver's Blatant Studios. No embedded video, but the clip is great enough to open another window to see. ENJOY!

Pre-lympic Mind Games

I have not been posting as often as I hoped to. The Games have certainly been much more of a factor in my life than I ever expected. 

Personally, there is still a lot of apprehension on my part. I am ridiculously sensitive to some of the media reports and articles floating around the internet. I am proud being Canadian. Feel free to visit and even criticize, but insults will only wear our city down faster. We are generous hosts and hope only for some respect. Many of us are bracing to welcome the world with a forced smile.

Professionally, my workload has doubled. I am putting in solid hours and when I finally make it home, I am mentally and emotionally exhausted. Let it also be known that I am taking a lot of abuse from our normally fantastic client base for the changes in our operations. I work in a sector that is largely compromised due to the enhanced security of the Olympic Games and am one of the lucky people who gets to tell our patrons that they must jump through hoops to use our normally flexible services.

Hang tight. I hope to catch up on a few topics of discussion here in the next day or two.

Laugh it out, indeed.

I have officially had my first full day of Olympic craziness. I had some work to do created based on the Olympic security changing around our city. I also did a little shopping at the Official Vancouver Olympics Store in The Bay at Pacific Centre. (I'll tell you about my shopping experience another time.)

The best part was attending Laugh It Out, a comedy event held as part of the Cultural Olympiad. Hosted at the gorgeous Orpheum Theatre in the heart of Vancouver's Entertainment district, this line up of 3 hilarious Canadians was hosted by two other talented Canadians: Ed Robertson and Tyler Stewart of the Barenaked Ladies. The combination of a couple of good acoustic songs, hours of laughs, amazing seats and good friends made for a phenomenal night.

The first act, Nikki Payne, was the opener. And what a way to set the tone. She was so funny, I spent her whole set clutching at my stomach and wiping away tears from laughing so hard. I am not even embellishing. I literally had tears streaming down my face. Here's a cleaned up bit to check out. It is the only one I could find. She's a vulgar one, which is fantastically right down my alley.

Next came on Seán Cullen. Much cleaner comedy. Lots of improv, interaction with the audience and comedic songs. I laughed all the way through.

The final comedic act was Shaun Majumder, a Canadian export to the US. Formally of This Hour has 22 Minutes fame, Shaun closed the night with the longest set. 

Now don't get me wrong, I certainly enjoyed his set. But, admittedly, I am a bigger fan of his character work over the stand up shtick he does. But, that said, his time on stage was still funny times. Towards the end, there was some audience interaction that validated the whole bit. I'll let you judge for yourself. The following bit was a part of CBC Sport's coverage of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games as his character Raj Binder.

One criticism of the line up was that there was not any representation of Western Canada in the line up. We've got Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Ontario throughout the show. Now, I love everyone across our fine nation...but where my Left Coast Canucks at? Please don't take this as a complaint. I truly had a blast. I just hope everyone knows that the four provinces west of Ontario is full of hilarious people.

 

For our Canadian musical selection, I'm going with one of the songs that was performed by Ed and Tyler of BNL with nothing but an acoustic guitar and a snare drum. I had chills.

After a day like this, I am even more ramped up for all the fun that is waiting ahead...

 

Let the (2010) games begin...

In two weeks, my hometown will play host to a major event.

I truly cannot find just one word to describe how I feel as we get closer to the start of the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. My emotions go from one extreme to another so quickly these days that I can hardly keep track anymore.

Excited. Overwhelmed. Nervous. Apprehensive. Frustrated. Proud. Indifferent. Excited again...

This massive undertaking by my beloved city has been long in the making. Now that we are just about ready to see it unfold, I am not entirely sure of what to expect. 

Will we be ready? Will we be safe? Will I get to work on time? Will I be able to find parking in front of my house? Will we win at least one Gold Medal? Will we be humiliated on the world stage? Will the protesters make us look like an angry city?

Despite rumblings in the media and around the city, we are not all cynics. Sure, I was not included in the plebiscite to decide if our city would bid for the games. (I grew up in the suburbs of the Greater Vancouver Regional District, although I now live in Vancouver city proper.) But in the end, and I have maintained this since we were granted the games in July of 2003, the Olympic Games will be here regardless of whether I like it or not. Being pessimistic will not prevent this from taking place. On the other hand, being ignorantly blissful will not help me survive what is just about to happen.

The last time Vancouver hosted something even close to this magnitude, I was 3 years old. All I can remember from Expo '86 is something to do with a statue of a bicycle that I sat on to have my picture taken. 

This time, I'll be old enough to document my experience. I hope to record here what I see, hear and feel over the next two months. I will share stories, pictures, rants, links to articles, options, views and general knowledge. Each day I post, I will also feature a song by a Canadian band or musical artist to provide the soundtrack to my adventures.

To start us off, here is Matthew Good with his appropriately titled "The Vancouver National Anthem":