I accidentally stumbled upon the surreal film set-like performance, La Marea, on Water Street Thursday night. As explained by the Georgia Straight:
PuSh International Performing Arts Festival presents nine stories imagined through pictures of the inhabitants of Water Street. The show is called La Marea, and along the street, in the trendy heritage storefronts and upstairs windows, a series of vignettes plays out, with live actors and surtitle screens that reveal their stories and innermost thoughts.
On November 27th, I played flaneuse to the real deal.
I was invited by friend and local photographer, Jason Statler, to the Dark Room Gallery on Kingsway for ROCK 'n SHOTS - a show of concert photography. It featured the works of famed Vancouver concert photographers such as Rebecca Blissett, Bev Davies, Tamara Lee, Adam PW Smith, Spout, and Femke Van Delft. Those in attendance were your expected mix of current-and-former Georgia Straight journalists and music geeks. Icing on the cake was the performance by local band We Found A Lovebird. Oh, and the wine.
I naturally took photos:
Upon leaving the event, we stumbled upon a bricklayer oblivious that it was 9pm.
"It was small, intimate, and Atom Egoyan was wandering around."
I was at a party with a mouth full of eggnog, describing how the Whistler Film Fest compared to Vancouver's. Having only participated in the latter, and casually at that, I had zero expectations before arriving in Whistler on the 3rd of December.
Whistler Film Festival Awards Brunch - December 5, 2010
Being a Vancouverite of the non-skiing variety, half the novelty of the film fest was simply being in Whistler in the snow and -10 Celsius temperatures, drinking rum & eggnog lattes, cozying up next to fireplaces, and enjoying the Christmasy atmosphere of it all. Not that seeing Die Mannequin for the Hard Core Logo II afterparty was anybody's idea of Christmas, but hey, I'm not complaining.
We only managed to see three films: the hard-to-swallow-but-you-have-to-see-it The Whistleblower; the light-hearted geek-fest of The People vs. George Lucas; and the heart-breaking beauty that is Marwencol. They were all excellent for completely different reasons.
Marwencol, for me, was the most memorable and perhaps even left the bigger emotional impact:
Following Marwencol and before driving home, we bit the bullet and splurged on an incredible meal at Araxi Restaurant. It seemed such a fitting end to the weekend. For those who were following Hell's Kitchen last year, Araxi Restaurant was where the winning chef would work. I don't think he's there anymore, but it didn't matter. The food, service, and atmosphere confirmed to me why they're consistently rated amongst the top restaurants in BC.
Seared Albacore Tuna
A variety of BC oysters
Sunday evening is apparently a quiet time for Araxi!
Baby gem and romaine lettuce salad
Local onion veloute with tapenade and a crispy oyster
Fraser Valley free range chicken
Buffalo ricotta and truffle gnocchi... I even got an extra gram of fresh black truffle!
If you're looking for a memorable evening in Vancouver tonight, go to the Penthouse to see White Cowbell Oklahoma - a party-rock band from Toronto. You have to see them at least once in your life. They were by far the most memorable act at NxNE that I saw this past June. I had no idea what to expect, and, well... debaucherous is putting it lightly. Just when you think it can't get any crazier, it does. And it's at the Penthouse, no less.
Seriously, the entertainment value's insane.
More photos of White Cowbell Oklahoma at NxNE on my Flickr account, here.
