Back in March I received a review copy of The Submarine‘s album Honeysuckle Weeks. I really enjoyed it and became a big fan although I was unable to attend their concert (though I was given some tickets to give away on my blog).
The Submarines, which remind me of another man/woman band pairing, Mates of State (whom John and I got to see at The Plaza Club in 2006), are John Dragonetti and Blake Hazard.
They recently hit it big (with Apple fanboys and girls at least) with their song You Me and the Bourgeoisie being featured and sampled in some of the latest iPhone commercials. They’ve also got a few of their tunes on prime time television shows such as Gossip Girl.
The Subs, who are on the Vancouver-based label Nettwerk, are also giving back, having recently launched a partnership with Toms Shoes (the online shoe company I wrote about in my Hanson interview that donates pairs of shoes to children in need across the globe).
They are also taking part in Just Like Heaven, a Cure tribute album that will be released in January 2009, by covering Boys Don’t Cry.
You can purchase The Submarines‘ music online and on iTunes. I don’t see any current tour plans to return to these parts although you can keep up to date on their globetrotting through their blog.
I’ve always enjoyed live shows, albeit of the rock and roll variety, however this year I’m expanding my arts and culture by attending more live theatre and as of last night, the opera.
To kick off its 49th season, the Vancouver Opera opened with Eugene Onegin last night. It’s a Russian tale, set in the late 1800’s and the music was masterfully crafted by Tchaikovsky. “Tatyana is a shy young country woman who soars when she meets the man of her romantic dreams. Eugene Onegin is the urban aristocrat who rejects her. But Onegin’s callousness twists on him, leaving him filled with regret and despair.”
Although the Queen Elizabeth Theatre itself is under renovations (and I heard many complain cheekily about the seats, which will hopefully be replaced in 2009) the look of the opera itself was dazzling.
The sets were simple yet the colours, angles, and use of space was brilliant. They brought the outdoors in for scenes in the forest and dreary snowy plains. There were dancers that pranced and glided across the stage in joyous settings and at parties with high society (along with gossip and scandal) in grand ballrooms. The only visual artistry that could top the sets was that of the costumes – from peasant garb to royal gowns, all were superb.
In Act I, Scene II we look into Tatyana’s bedroom, which is elevated and framed on stage. My mother said it was, “like a window into her soul.” Through Rhoslyn Jones‘ emotional and heartfelt delivery of this scene we could sense Tatyana’s anxious passion in a way that only an operatic aria could reach out to us. Along with Rhoslyn (who is a local talent) the rest of the cast was also in top form – as well as the orchestra and chorus.
The evening was also made possible by the Boxer family, who paid tribute to their late father and husband, Joe Boxer, long-time director of the Vancouver Opera Association (there is also the Joe Boxer Memorial Scholarship presented by the Vancouver Opera Foundation).
Performances are all in Russian (with English surtitles) and they run November 25th, 27th and 29th, 2008. Tickets start at $23.35 and there’s also an option to subscribe if you’d like to have priority seating for the season.
Heading to an opening night show (and the backstage party) was a treat, and I’m hoping to get out to more performances this year including a rumoured blogger night at Carmen that I might just help organize – especially since the opera already has its own blog.
My husband has a pretty interesting work environment, from mingling with rock stars and hockey players, to hanging out with the Stanley Cup like he did yesterday.
Lord Stanley’s cup has actually been won in our city before, in 1915 the Vancouver Millionaires captured the Challenge Cup at the Denman Arena. To celebrate this heritage, there was a special event at the Vancouver Giants game last night.
“The Giants had a season high crowd of 12, 262 take in a great pre-game ceremony featuring Stanley Cup Legends Yvon Cournoyer, Steve Shutt, Gerry Cheevers, Dave Schultz and Johnny Bower. The ceremony also had the Stanley Cup on display and the Giants players and coaching staff wore throwback jerseys and sweaters to recognize the Stanley Cup Champion 1915 Millionaires team.” [Vancouver Giants]
One thing I love more than local history is local hockey history, from towel power to the earlier years with Cyclone Taylor.
If you’re looking for some additional hockey reading check out my posts on HockeyStars. They’re for a younger audience (the heart of hockey in Canada) and feature a special “101” series along with some fun history tidbits.
Update: While cleaning the house today we collected some of our hockey memorabilia for a collage of sorts and I found my Bobby Hull autograph (Bobby, King Richard Brodeur and me in the photo above) along with my Bobby Baun photo, Babych photo and Gino shot (that was such an amazing day).
