Blog
This Blog section is for the community. Feel free to submit your stories to Venews Entertainment Guide if we publish them your submission will be entered in a ballot draw for prizes. We would love to hear about your favourite artists and local bands, your favourite local establishments and your positive experiences and inspiring stories.
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What do 3 venues in Bolton have in common? U2 cover bands, yes it's like having 3 Sushi bars in town, they each add a different taste and flavour. Last year back in November 2013 before Baffos unfortunately closed it's doors (January 2014), the cover band Desire rocked the house. The crowd seemed to love them as the lead singer stood on chairs and wooed the crowd. Stewart Maguires brought in Acrobat a U2 Tribute band passionate about U2, they looked and played the part (with the exception of my Bro for obvious reasons could only play the part). Elevation known to be "THE U2 Tribute Band" to see, had the crowd dancing and singing their favourite U2 songs. Each Venue had a different energy and vibe happening. I can't really agree with the U2 song "Even Better Than the Real Thing" but I can assure you that if you can't afford to see the real thing, the next best is a U2 tribute band. You can take your pick!
Carmen Elliott
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Out with the old, in with this new weather system. Most people whom I speak to have not experienced weather this cold before. Remember the good old days when the temperatures hit just below freezing and we would say " Oh, it's cold"? The -25 degree temperatures that we've been experiencing lately make zero degrees Celsius seem like balmy weather.
Hopefully the weather hasn't kept you stuck inside. Why not venture out to experience what Caledon has to offer?Live Entertainment at The Consulate Dining Lounge Fridays and Saturday evenings and every Sunday morning Stephen Slutsky the accordianist plays World Music at Archtop Cafe. This Friday Stewart Maguires Landing the Nancy B Band and on Saturday it's Acrobat a U2 Tribute band. Live music at Toby Jug Friday and Saturday.
Weekend of January 10th, 11th & 12th
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The decision to start Venews ~ Entertainment Guide was a quick one. After going to a few of the venues that offer live entertainment, I thought to myself "this is really great!". To be able to get out any day of the week and experience some very talented musicians and performers in the Caledon area is wonderful. More people should know about this.
Now that it's December and Christmas parties are happening, friends are making plans to get together for the holidays and for New Year's Eve celebrations. If you haven't already decided what do or where to go, especially for New Year's Eve check out Venews event calendar for up coming events.
You can also pick up Venews ~ Entertainment Guide publication monthly at our Sponsors locations and friends of Venews ~ Entertainment Guide locations. If you are unable to get a publication you can have it emailed to you monthly if you subscribe. Subscriptions are free and all you need to do is register online at www.venews.ca. There will be special promotions and chances to win prizes for registered members.
Feel free to send your feedback, comments , inspiring stories and positive experiences about performances that you've seen in the area.
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Raining on Poor People’s Streets
On the abject homes, in narrow alleys.
And it rains too, in my heart.
A handsome man, seriously drunk and overwhelmed with inner pain, stumbles into the taverna. He empties his pockets to the musicians in the small Greek orchestra. The belly dancer seats him, treating him with respect and tenderness. The singer, the great Grigoris Bithikotsis, sings the song about heartbreak and poor people’s streets. It is not a song of shallow cheerfulness, but an acknowledgement that we live in this darkness together. And so they did: Greeks expelled from Turkey, around 1922, where they had lived for thousands of years. They settled in Piraeus, the port of Athens, where they lived as outcasts. Their variant Greek language was not accepted. Nor was their music, Rembetika, their prime instrument, the bouzouki, or their enjoyment of hashish. Now, wherever in the world there are tiny, upstairs cafes with older Greeks, Rembetika is beloved as a main stream in their national repertoire. As is drinking Ouzo and dancing Zeimbekiko.
Poor peoples’ music rises from every culture like the fragrance of earth. Drawn from the wellspring of poverty, oppression and the struggle to live, it transforms anguish to joy. Lullabies. Songs of lovers to each other alone. Dances on the farmhouse kitchen floor. Expressions of joy, sorrow, protest and the shared sense of what is sacred. The poor workers of Paris danced to Musette. Gypsies transcended poverty through intense musical expression in Hungary, Spain, Russia, and almost everywhere else. Like the Gypsies, poor Jews adapted their Klezmer and Sephardic music to the countries they lived in. Poor blacks in Cuba were a fountainhead of musical inventiveness. Like this Bolero, born from the dust of the street or descendants of slaves in Brazil and Peru.
I have played poor people’s music, for half a century, on my accordion, a poor people's instrument. I love being a vehicle for the emotion, meaning and energy in the music. And I am touched when people address me in the language of the song I have just played. I play it at the Archtop Café, in Bolton, every Sunday from 10 a.m. to early afternoon.
I invite you to join me, other musicians and lovers of poor peoples’ music, for good coffee, food, music and conversation.
Stephen Slutsky