Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings are playing Malkin Bowl May 27th. I admit, I had not heard anything from Sharon Jones before so I looked up the following video on YouTube:
And then I wanted to hear more:
Here you have amazingly solid vocals, deep soul, hip shaking funk, and to top it all off, the concert will take place in one of our city’s most beautiful venues in the heart of Stanley Park. Known for their incredible live shows, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings are a part of a revivalist movement for their genre (they even recorded their 2010 album on an eight-track tape machine).
Tickets for this concert are currently on sale and they’re all general admission, all ages, lawn seating. It’s an early show, starting around 5:30pm on the 27th and guests Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears will be opening the show.
I have two tickets up for grabs if you would like to win your way in, here’s how to enter:
While on a photowalk through Stanley Park recently I grabbed a few shots of the site of the Cathedral trees. New evergreens reaching up to the sky from their oversized stumps just off the Cathedral trail, I realized that I haven’t yet shared the tale of the Seven Sisters.
The group of majestic trees was axed decades ago as they were getting too big, too old, and could have been a hazard for park visitors. As the plaque above states, in 1986 they were replaced with a newly-planted batch of evergreens. However, if you’re into local folklore, there’s another part of the story about the Seven Sisters that is a bit more… spiritual.
1905 – [Woman among the Seven Sisters. Archives Item# LP 253.
“There is a well-known trail in Stanley Park that leads to what the white man calls the “Seven Sisters”, and I always love to call the “Cathedral Trees” – that group of some half-dozen forest giants that arch overhead with such superb loftiness.” Pauline Johnson (Legends of Vancouver) wrote of the Seven Sisters in “The Lure in Stanley Park” – a legend told to her by local First Nations. It’s a bit of a scary story, as the “lure” is described as a “witch-woman” that haunted the park (and other parts of Vancouver along Burrard Inlet). She was punished and turned to stone, however the stone was still cursed by her power.
“The lure in Stanley Park is that most dreaded of things, an evil soul. It is embodied in a bare, white stone, which is shunned by moss and vine and lichen, but over which are splashed innumerable jet-black spots that have eaten into the surface like an acid.” When coming near it “…your will-power is dwarfed, your intelligence blighted, your feet will refuse to lead you out by a straight trail, you will circle, circle for evermore about this magnet…” wrote Johnson.
It’s not all doom and gloom though. To protect those who ventured into the park from the lure, seven of the kindest souls were turned into trees, lined up to protect park visitors. “At the end of the trail we must place so good and great a thing that it will be mightier, stronger, more powerful than this evil. So they chose from the nations the kindliest, most benevolent men, men whose hearts were filled with the love of their fellow-beings, and transformed these merciful souls into the stately group of “Cathedral Trees”. Johnson wrote that the trees are protectors. Regardless of belief in legends or lore, I for one am just happy the trees were replanted.
Pauline Johnson began writing her Legends of Vancouver based on her encounters and time spent with her good friend Chief Joseph Capilano. He’s the one who told her of Salish culture and local legends which she then wrote published in the Vancouver Daily Province from 1910 until 1911. Her book is actually in the Public Domain and you can pick it up at bookstores, on Amazon, or download for free using the iBook app on your iPhone.
One of the most influential bands of the 1990s, Pearl Jam is celebrating its 20th anniversary by (among other things) heading out on a Canadian tour this summer. If that’s not enough to get Pearl Jam fanatics and grunge lovers excited, they will also be touring with special guests (and musical pioneers), Mudhoney.
Source: Pearl Jam on Flickr
Montreal, September 7th
Toronto, September 11th and 12th
Ottawa, September 14th
Hamilton, September 15th
Winnipeg, September 17th
Saskataoon, September 19th
Calgary, September 21st
Edmonton, September 23rd Vancouver, September 25th
Bob Mackin from the 24 Hours tweeted this morning that September 25th is two years to the day of Pearl Jam’s last show in Vancouver.
You can secure your seat for $69.50 plus applicable service charges, with $2 from every ticket sold to be donated to the Vitalogy Foundation, which grants funds to non-profit organizations chosen personally by the members of Pearl Jam. According to the tour press release, Pearl Jam’s 20th anniversary will tour will be followed by the debut of Cameron Crowe’s film, Pearl Jam Twenty, accompanied by the release of a book and soundtrack album.
Tickets go on sale May 27th at 10:00am local time and you’ll be able to find more information on the Pearl Jam website.
Some people have rules about the playoffs around here. If the Canucks are out, they cheer for the next Canadian team left in the running (although usually there’s an exception for the Maple Leafs). With the Canucks representing Canada’s teams in the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff run, will the rest of the country sport blue, green, and white?
Globe and Mail columnist Stephen Brunt created a video essay at the tail end of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics that burst with emotion and pride for our nation. Recently, he’s done another for Sportsnet called: “Canada’s Team?”
Read more opinions about being “Canada’s Team” in this article, “Dear Canada“, published in the Vancouver Sun last week.
To us, a stroll in Stanley Park isn’t just for exploring or venturing down familiar paths. It’s a chance to unwind among the falling raindrops and breathe in the fresh evergreen air.
Taking the Bridle, Tatlow, Lake, and Cathedral trails, we wandered around for hours hoping that the stresses of the week would crumble away like the bark mulch under our feet.
I’ve been going on walks in Stanley Park my entire life and when John moved here in 2005, we created a bit of a tradition. Sometimes we bring friends along, but more often than not, it’s just the two of us on the path (occasionally with a camera).
I didn’t take many photos but I wanted to capture how green everything was. With the windstorm a few years ago toppling hundreds of trees, there’s been much more light shed on the forest floor allowing the underbrush to flourish. We may curse rainy days in Vancouver but it’s because of them our sunny days are so glorious.
