SLY BLUE
Sly Blue! Sly Blue!!!!! I LOVE YOU! Oh. OHOHOH. Yesssssssssssss. The New York swing band swung into TO’s Dovercourt House recently and I WAS THERE!
All I could say to them was “This is a Good Day To Die!” And mean it.
A Thrill of TALENT!
Affirmation of Life.
Slams the Uber into Exuberance.
Chris Norton, a Picasso of madness on trumpet, vocals and stardom.
Bandleader BINGOyoualwayswonderedWHYBANJOnowyouKnow! Marko Gazic.
Trombone Sweetheart James Zeller.
Accompanied by our very own TO swoon talent:
Brandi Disterheft upright.
Glen Anderson skins.
Denis Keldie accordion.
Jim Heineman sax
Witnessing our hometowners step humbly onto a stage with visiting musicians and collectively bust open a vein in the universe … makes me ache with the beauty.
Here’s a vid that Jaymz Bee shot of Sly Blue on a previous night at the very same Dovercourt House – where live swing sings every Saturday night. It’ll give you the kick in the heartcoxic I had on January 21st 2012. Imagine three full sets of this snap! And they’re comin’ back in the Fall!
watch: SLY BLUE at Dovercourt House October 2011
As the legendary Jim Heineman said to me that night, “Live music is the Final Frontier.”
Amen brother.
CRUEL AND TENDER
Still playing at Canadian Stage. I’d love to see it again. Not everyone was elevated by this production. It excited me. Adam Egoyan’s direction whorls like a precisely administered hallucinogenic. Martin Crimp’s play stacks the personal on top of the political like a circus act on a high wire. Set and lighting are exquisite compositions of fine-tuning. There are enough examples of excellent acting onstage to satisfy. For me, the play implodes and explodes in equal balance. I wanted to talk about it for hours.
“Cruel and Tender” info at Canadian Stage