Gracing The Stage

The best band in the world?

Die Roten Punkte (note that Berlin and Toronto have very similar phallic-shaped landmarks).

There’s a lot of bands who make that claim, some tongue in cheek, some – well, not. Die Roten Punkte (or, in English, “The Red Dots”) do so with a definite wink and a grin. In fact, this punk rock brother and sister duo aren’t quite what their videos, songs, and stage show might lead one to believe, really.

It’s certainly true that they’ve toured all over the world, having played festivals all over North America, Europe, and Australia. And the music is no joke, either; they’ve got some tight, rocking numbers, that plenty of bands would sell their axes and skins for (the only clue that something might be a little off is revealed when one closely examines the lyrics).

But Astrid’s substance abuse problems, Otto’s straight edge fanaticism and emotional vulnerability, and the sibling’s  slightly perverse love/hate relationship is definitely an act – and a very entertaining one at that.

Darlings of the Fringe Festival circuit the world over, the two are touring Canada and the States currently in support of the latest single “Ich Bin Nicht Ein Roboter (I Am A Lion)” from their 2008 release “Super Musikant” (a close listen to the title track yields some hilarious rewards to those with a slightly bent frame of mind).

Die Roten Punkte – Ich Bin Nicht Ein Roboter (I am a Lion)

(More about the Teutonic punk rock siblings after the jump.) Read more…

Tonight’s going to be a busy evening for Toronto’s theatre community. The Toronto Fringe Festival is holding its annual Lottery Party at The Tranzac Club, kicking off as of 7pm (the New Play Contest winners will be announced, too – I’m dying to find out if my favourites made the cut). Also, Theatre Passe Muraille’s FREE performance of “Them and Us” is this evening, too.

But later tonight, some theatre people might be looking to celebrate, or forget their disappointment, and my suggestion would be to head to a blues-y and burlesque-y (OK, that was clums-y) shindig happening at The Boat.

(The Emotionally Unavailable Mariners, a band with a definite bent towards the theatrical, headline tonight at Surface / Underground Theatre’s fundraiser. More details, and some saucy burlesque pics, after the jump.) Read more…

Marylou Flamingo.

So, I wrote a fair bit about Soundscapes in-stores last week. Since that post, they’ve announced three new dates: Feb. 4th – Bruce Peninsula (@ 7pm – These guys are terrific), Feb 10th – Hylozoists (@ 6pm – also a very highly rated band), and Feb 24th – Gentleman Reg (@ 6pm – I’ve been writing about Gentleman Reg for almost as long as I’ve been writing the Gracing the Stage updates – what I’ve heard of his new album is superb). Plus, Sonic Boom is doing an in-store with Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains on Jan. 29th @ 7pm.

Kristan Klimczak organizing yet another can't miss in-store performance and party for Marylou Flamingo

But record shops don’t have a moratorium on great FREE concerts. Enter Marylou Flamingo’s proprietor, Kristan Klimczak.

Voted Toronto’s best vintage clothing store this past November by Now Magazine, who also name checked the store in their style 2008 roundup, Marylou Flamingo has quickly established itself as a fixture for clothes horses looking to assemble fashionable vintage ensembles. Actress Christine Horne, so wonderful in the recent “Miss Julie: Sheh’Mah” at the Theatre Centre, was profiled at Marylou Flamingo when interviewed by eTalk Daily to promote her feature film debut in “The Stone Angel“.

(More about the Marylou Flamingo music series, including tonight’s guests Proof of Ghosts, after the jump.) Read more…

I plan on doing an in-depth profile of PROJECTProject some time in the weeks to come, as for such a new show, it’s done a remarkable job in bringing different segments of the comedy community together, serving as a fertile training ground for some of the best of the new generation of improvisers and sketch comics working in Toronto (like Cream of Comedy nominee Alana Johnston), and helping some veteran performers add improv to their repertoire (like sketch comic and stand-up Pat Thornton, whose show “The Hot Box” debuts next month on the Comedy Network).

But I’m going to shine a little spotlight on two of the founding members of PROJECTProject, Julie Dumais & Mark Andrada, since tonight they’ll be doing a rare set as their improv duo, 10,000 to Flight.

To quote myself – here’s what I wrote about them in a review of their 2007 Fringe show:

“10K2F is the utter chaos and lunacy that occurs when a technically polished performer who has mastered (and utilizes) all the “rules” of improv ( Julie Dumais) shares a stage with a performer who knows, but disdains (and takes great delight in breaking) most of said rules (Mark Andrada). The result is a gut-bursting show that routinely breaks the fourth wall, and can result in almost anything happening on stage.”

Julie Dumais & Mark Andrada

10,000 to Flight shows are very very difficult to describe, as, even more so than usual improv shows, they are never the same twice. Common elements do occur: the pair enjoy feeding their audience; they encourage the audience to leave their cell phones turned on (Andrada loves chatting with random, confused callers); and the laissez-faire attitude they take towards the notion of a “scene” starting or stopping (particularly Andrada) can be found as charming, or infuriating. They had several walkouts during their 2007 Fringe show, and some truly negative reviews. But most people who see a 10,000 to Flight show find themselves unable to resist the pair’s charms (their exceedingly positive press outweighs the exceedingly negative stuff), and the random occurrences the pair invite and encourage at their performances can end up as memorable highlights; at one performance at the Helen Gardiner Theatre, a unsuspecting pizza deliveryman named Farouk walked in on a crowd cheering his name, and called after leaving to thank the pair and the audience for making him feel so appreciated (you can read Dumais’ Fringe diary post about the night here).

Andrada and Dumais plan to relaunch their curated Manifesto series again soon, but for now, 10,000 to Flight sets remain a rare treat; other PROJECTProject highlights will happen this evening, too, like Adam Cawley’s (Game)Show, so tonight would certainly be a good night to check out the weekly Comedy Bar Wednesday showcase, if you’re rather see some improv over music.

When the 2009 Next Stage Festival line-up was announced, the most pleasant surprise, for me, was the inclusion of “Take It Back“. Of the more than 50 Fringe shows I saw last summer, it stood out as the most unabashedly fun and enjoyable experience I had at the festival, and frankly, I’d felt it’d been one of the overlooked gems of the Fringe. Luckily for us all, there was at least one Next Stage juror who was a passionate advocate for the show…

(More on the flexible dynamos of Solid State Breakdance, and the linguistically agile actors in Kate Hewlett’s sparkling comedy “Humans Anonymous“, after the break). Read more…

In my first Next Stage Festival preview post, I mentioned how, while all of the companies have had great success with past productions at the Toronto Fringe Festival, not all of the shows on this year’s bill originated as Toronto Fringe shows. Some have played at other fringe festivals, some started out as Summerworks shows ; “Yichud/Seclusion“, however, started out as a short two-hander staged in a large closet.

Julie Tepperman & Aaron Willis in "Yichud/Seclusion"

(More about these nervous newlyweds, and some first rate frontier storytelling & music, after the jump). Read more…

Tonight, the Next Stage Festival launches at the Factory Theatre. The festival has already done a terrific job of getting the word out there about their hand picked slate of proven shows/companies (and their heated beer tent); both of Toronto’s weekly papers, and at least one reputable theatre blog, has already profiled the festival’s offerings. But let’s see if I can’t contribute a little something more to that coverage…

Daniel Sadavoy & Rebecca Applebaum in "Don't Look" (photo by Bryanna Reilly)

While the criteria for selection is open to productions created and produced outside of the Fringe Festival circuit, Next Stage originated primarily to give past standout Fringe shows another chance to flourish. The first play to open at the Factory Studio for this year’s Next Stage is “Don’t Look“, a comedic two hander about kissing cousins, that was a standout of the 20077 Toronto Fringe.

(Much more after the break – including a tasty MP3!)

Read more…