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Monday, June 30, 2014
Art A Metal "Dancer" Poses on the Winooski River
Posted
By Xian Chiang-Waren
on Mon, Jun 30, 2014 at 9:47 PM
The banks of the Winooski River are scattered with reminders of the area's industrial past. Recent municipal efforts to beautify downtown Winooski and the northernmost tip of Burlington have incorporated, rather than eliminated, the concrete foundations and abutments of old mill structures. Some of the mills themselves, notably the Chace Mill on the Burlington side and the Woolen and Champlain mills on the Winooski side, were privately purchased, renovated and converted into apartments, studios and business spaces.
On Sunday, an artist and a local business owner made another contribution to the revitalized riverfront: a metal sculpture of a life-size figure balanced in the yoga pose natarajasana (or "dancer"). She's installed on a slab of concrete that juts into the rushing water.
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Film / Movies / What I'm Watching What I'm Watching: World War Z
Posted
By Ethan de Seife
on Sat, Jun 28, 2014 at 9:00 AM
I visited my old friend Dan this past weekend and we got to talking about the films we’d seen recently, as he and I often do. As it happened, we’d both seen World War Z, a movie we’d missed in the theaters, within the previous week. “So you saw it listed in the ‘New on Netflix’ list, too, huh?” he asked. Indeed I had.
There’s plenty to say about the myriad ways Netflix has insinuated itself into the lives of cinephiles everywhere: how it breaks the longstanding distribution model, how it pushes back against the nasty cable companies, how its archives of old films runs a lot deeper than you might think. Personally, I’m pulling for Netflix to slay a few Goliaths in a rise to even greater prominence. I’m not usually on the side of corporations, but I like this one’s scrappiness (as well as its extensive archive of 1950s Westerns). But I’ll save all that for another column.
I’d heard that World War Z was a somewhat grim, uninteresting affair, but I found it to be precisely the opposite. Despite the fact that I’ve gone on record many times saying it was a fool’s errand to make a zombie film in the wake of Shaun of the Dead — since that masterpiece is basically the last word on this overdone subgenre — I enjoyed World War Z quite a bit. It’s solid, smart genre filmmaking with a decent degree of visual sophistication.
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Music Blue Paddle Bistro, Tammy Fletcher Team Up to Benefit VCH Pediatric Oncology
Posted
By Dan Bolles
on Thu, Jun 26, 2014 at 2:40 PM
The Blue Paddle Bistro turns 10 this year. But don't get them anything for that big birthday. Instead, the owners of the South Hero eatery are asking customers to help them give back to the community.
Over the next nine months, the restaurant will host a series of benefit events in an attempt to raise $100,000 for the Vermont Children's Hospital's Pediatric Oncology Infusion Bay. The first one is an outdoor concert at the restaurant this Sunday, June 29, featuring beloved local gospel and Green Mountain soul diva Tammy Fletcher. Future bennies will include private dinner and wine parties, silent auctions and a tennis tournament, among other events.
Art Island Arts Gets a Home in a Restored Barn
Posted
By Xian Chiang-Waren
on Thu, Jun 26, 2014 at 8:22 AM
For more than three decades, an all-volunteer group of Grand Isle County residents has taken it upon themselves to infuse the islands with art events, performances, classes for adults and kids, visual-arts exhibits and other activities. Since 1988, when it first incorporated as a nonprofit organization, that group has been known as Island Arts. Next week, it's getting a permanent home.
In a deeding ceremony on Tuesday, July 1, an elderly benefactor will present Island Arts with a new home in a beautiful old barn. That is, it will be home once further renovations are complete.
In a deeding ceremony on Tuesday, July 1, an elderly benefactor will present Island Arts with a new home in a beautiful old barn. That is, it will be home once further renovations are complete.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Montréal / Music Festival International de Jazz de Montréal Begins!
Posted
By Dan Bolles
on Wed, Jun 25, 2014 at 6:44 PM
Bonjour, hepcats!
Have you noticed that your jazz hands are especially shaky of late? That's a sure sign of jazz festival withdrawal, likely a lingering aftereffect of the recent Burlington Discover Jazz Festival. Other symptoms may include restless foot tapping — often in odd meters like 7/8 and 15/4 — spontaneous be- and/or post-bopping and sudden, loud outbursts of public scatting. But take heart, jazz junkies. Our friendly neighbors to the north have your fix.
On Thursday, June 26, the 35th Festival International de Jazz de Montréal gets under way. (For anglophones, that's the Montréal International Jazz Festival — See? French ain't so hard.) For the unfamiliar, the 11-day jazzenanny is among the most famous jazz festivals in the world. It is also the largest, and by a fair margin. So, as you might imagine, a lot of marquee names appear among the festival's hundreds of performers. Like who, you ask?
How about Andrew Bird, Aretha Franklin, Beck, Ben Harper, B.B. King, Diana Ross, Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Gary Clark Clark Jr., Maxwell, Michael Bublé and Snoop Dogg(?!) to name a few.
And do you know what else the Montréal International Jazz Festival has? Jazz!
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Film Beyond the Hills Nestles in the Green Mountains
Posted
By Ethan de Seife
on Tue, Jun 24, 2014 at 3:21 PM
One of the biggest surprises in recent international cinema has been the critical and commercial success of the Romanian New Wave. The cinematic history of the small, mountainous country is not particularly rich, largely due to the fact that so much of its modern culture had been squelched by the 25-year totalitarian regime of Nicolae Ceausescu. Indeed, many of the films of the Romanian New Wave refer, directly or indirectly, to the effects of or fallout from Ceausescu’s rule.
Beyond the Hills, the most recent film from acclaimed director Cristian Mungiu, is no exception. Though it makes no explicit reference to Ceausescu, its themes concern the effects of the loss of free will. Set in an isolated Romanian convent, Beyond the Hills is a starkly beautiful film about the consequences of religious extremism and isolation. The film won the Best Screenplay award at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival; that same year, its two leads, Cosmina Stratan and Cristina Flutur, shared that festival’s Best Actress Prize.
On Thursday, June 26, at Burlington’s Main Street Landing, the Burlington Film Society and Vermont International Film Foundation will present this most recent and highly acclaimed entry into this surprising juggernaut of international festival cinema. The screening is significant not only because the film has not screened in the area before, nor because of the film’s awards, but because a Vermont resident played a key role in its creation.
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Film / Movies / What I'm Watching What I'm Watching: Man Hunt
Posted
By Ethan de Seife
on Sat, Jun 21, 2014 at 8:34 AM
You may not have given it much thought, but the majority of mainstream American films are astonishingly similar from a structural perspective. Not that the stories are the same, of course, but most Hollywood films have the same “skeleton.”
I’m not talking about the three-act structure (or two- or four-act, depending on which screenwriting guru you prefer) that governs story development. Rather, this level of structure runs even deeper: the intertwining of the “Action” and the “Romance” storylines.
The heroes in most Hollywood films have two goals: to defeat the Bad Guy (or destroy the microfilm, save the world, etc.) and to achieve love — what used to be called “getting the girl.” Typically, the achievement of one of these goals is accompanied by the achievement of the other; they reinforce one another.
One of the clearest examples is that of The Matrix. The central question of the Action storyline is: “Is Neo truly ‘the One’ who will deliver humankind from the clutches of the Matrix?” And the central question of the Romance storyline is: “Will Neo and Trinity fall in love?”
The answer to both questions is yes. In fact, the story of The Matrix is set up in such a way that a single gesture — a kiss — simultaneously confirms both affirmative answers.
Friday, June 20, 2014
Film / Movies / Movies You Missed Movies You Missed & More: Stranger by the Lake
Posted
By Margot Harrison
on Fri, Jun 20, 2014 at 3:36 PM
This week in movies you missed: Let's take a break in the south of France, where a three-week summer vacation is considered "short." Let's soak up the sun glinting from the waters of a gorgeous lake and — wait, why is everybody on this beach a naked dude? What's that sound coming from the bushes? And what's that happening out there in the water — could it be a murder?
What You Missed
Franck (Pierre Deladonchamps) is a young vegetable seller who frequents a beach known as a cruising spot. He has his eye on Michel (Christophe Paou), a handsome bruiser with facial hair, but Michel's possessive boyfriend makes sure he keeps his distance.
So, instead, Franck finds himself spending his time by the lake with Henri (Patrick d'Assumçao), a pudgy, middle-aged logger who just ended a relationship with a woman. Henri declares himself interested only in friendship, saying he's weary of letting sexual desire consume his life.
One day, as Franck watches from the woods, Michel drowns his lover in the lake. There are no other witnesses. He doesn't go to the police.
And the next day, when Michel approaches him with an invitation, Franck says yes.
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Music / Art NYIKO Officially Releases New Album Tonight at BCA Center
Posted
By Dan Bolles
on Thu, Jun 19, 2014 at 12:53 PM
Always Always, the latest, mixed media release from local songwriter NYIKO, has been out for a few months now. But the indie pop auteur has yet to properly celebrate the birth of that project, which includes a five-song EP and accompanying 40-page art book featuring works inspired by the music from artists around the country. He'll take care of that tonight, Thursday, June 19, with a release party at the BCA Center in Burlington that also features tooth ache. and Sasquatch BTV. The show's $5 cover also nets you a download card for the EP.
Always Always is an ambitious, genre-mashing work, more than 18 months in the making. And, as Seven Days reviewer Mitch Manacek noted in his review of the record in April, it's really good. Mitchell?
Always Always is an ambitious, genre-mashing work, more than 18 months in the making. And, as Seven Days reviewer Mitch Manacek noted in his review of the record in April, it's really good. Mitchell?
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Art / Music Montpelier Parking Spaces Become Artful Micro-Parks
Posted
By Xian Chiang-Waren
on Tue, Jun 17, 2014 at 2:46 PM
A new event in Montpelier offers a twist on "parking in the street." This Saturday, June 21, State Street will close to make way for an innovative outdoor festival that's designed to showcase wares from local artists, businesses and restaurants. Participants will transform those downtown parking spots into "micro-parks," or artful gathering spaces for customers and passersby.
"It's a concept that fuses a traditional market with something a lot of people have heard of called PARK(ing) Day, where you feed the meter and you can turn the space into anything you want," says Meg Schultz, the event's coordinator, who also organizes the annual Waterbury Arts Fest.
While planning Montpelier's Park in the Street, though, Schultz took the PARK(ing) Day concept and ran with it, adding new flourishes and tweaking the idea to fit the event's purposes. One big difference: Park in the Street is specifically meant to promote downtown businesses — it's funded in part through a Downtown Improvement District grant — whereas PARK(ing) Day doesn't allow shops to participate.
And what's a micro-park, you may wonder? That depends on who makes it. Those parking spaces can be just about anything, Schultz says, as long as they encourages people to gather in and enjoy downtown Montpelier.
Here's a taste of what will be happening on State Street from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday:
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