Tag Archives: Music

Nerdy Picks of the 2019 Vancouver Fringe Theatre Festival

3 Sep

VanFringeFest_2019.jpgSome of the performers who appeared at the Victoria Fringe Festival do not have long to relax with the Vancouver celebration coming up days after. It’s a bigger event allowing for more venues and less walking to get around. In the works I have missed, I’m glad I have the option to do a day-trip over (weekend is better) to catch up on those that I missed due to overlap or some other reason.

When more space is available, this event held on Granville Island (and a few other areas nearby) allows for more acts to be pulled from the hat. In addition to those shows in my picks of the Victoria Fringe Theatre event that are travelling over, my choices of this year include:

Carey-OK!: Timeless Timely Tunes

Carey-OK!:
Timeless Timely Tunes

Chip Pop Productions
Victoria, Canada
Playwright: Carey Wass
A mix of Robin Williams and Reggie Watts, Fringe fave Wass (Ride the Cyclone, **** —Globe & Mail) unleashes a one-man a cappella musical that blends singing, beatboxing, rapping, and dance into a series of uplifting song-o-logues about anxiety, social media, and his journey living in Vietnam.

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This Little Light of Mine is on a Free Trip to Egypt

29 Jul

Playing at The Vic Theatre
808 Douglas St,
Victoria, BC 

Runs till Aug 1st, 2019

For showtimes and online ticket purchases, please click here.
Please check local listings for a screening near you.

I will gladly accept a Free Trip to Egypt. Had I learned about Tarek Mounib‘s mission to reverse the xenophobia and reveal the true side of this country, I’ll be there in an instant! I want to take in the ancient wonders of the world and experience the culture as it is now. People forget that the Egypt we know of today differs from the one from the antiquities. They were occupied by at least five other nations when the pharaonic world was fading. My assumption is that some stayed and became citizens. The creative mind behind this project comes from a blended society. Given how old this country is, the mix of Greco, French, Roman, Nubian, Ottoman, and Arab in some bloodlines is no surprise.

Mounib is a Canadian-Egyptian entrepreneur living in Switzerland. In response to increasing levels of xenophobia and portrayal of the predominately Arab world on broadcast media, he reached out to people who fear his culture. Some reactions are straight out of what one would expect in buying into the (sic WW2 era) propaganda and others with trepidation. With those that he found, five people in total, they got an eye-opening trip.

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Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo 2019 Report

25 Jun

20190622_111629By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

It’s very rare that I get to ply my video game handle at a show. When the days of Golden (and Silver Age) gaming meets modern arts at the Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo, I’m in the zone. This event was held on June 22, 2019. It’s now in its eighth year. Tournaments, music performances, and panels make up most of this one-day show. and its present location includes a New Media Gallery.

To have this exhibition in the middle of a sprawling metropolis, the municipality of New Westminster is the right spot to locate this show. The Anvil Center is the center of a nice hub where the Fraser River cuts through. Food and the arts are nearby. On a beautiful sunny day, this neighbourhood is a nice place to explore. Those wanting a history lesson of the area will get more than one since the area includes three nearby museums.

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[From the Archives] From Baseline to Big in Japan – Tennis Pro, The Interview

17 Jun

VOD (Amazon link)

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Originally published in 2015 on Vivascene
This interview I conducted has since disappeared.
Revised edition June 2019

Ask any musician, and you will hear that breaking into the music scene is tough. To get the recognition that matters is even harder. Seattle-based band, Tennis Pro, found that they had to take their act to another country because in the good ol’ United States of America, their local music scene was quite stagnant.

“I think that Seattle, after the 90’s explosion [with grunge music], has struggled to find its identity musically,” said drummer Sean Lowry. In his opinion, the city had fallen into a melancholy folk-rock wasteland.

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