The Pearl Company

Shari Vandermolen & David Brideau: Saturday May 5.  Doors: 7:30pm. Show: 8:00. Tickets: $20. Shari Vandermolen is a renowned vocalist and award-winning performer in Hamilton and the Greater Toronto Area who has been entertaining audiences for 15 years with her Quartet, Trio or 5-piece band Quarter to Nine.  She is also the lead vocalist for the 10-piece jazz combo SwingLine.  On May 5th Shari brings her powerful and impressive vocal stylings back to the Pearl Company for a more intimate evening of song with jazz guitarist David Brideau, James Gannett on bass and Vince Waters on drums.  “…hear Vandermolen make jelly of your emotions with her voice and her art… one example is Stormy Weather… I barely weathered that storm intact.”  – View Magazine
David Brideau is a Canadian jazz guitarist, composer, and teacher who has been an active musician for over 15 years. A Hamilton native, and honours graduate from the Mohawk Jazz program, David has played all around the GTA with his own group, the David Brideau Trio and Quartet, as well as being prominently featured in groups with Michael Morobito, Amber-Leigh Palka, and Lauren Perreira among others. He studied under jazz greats Bob Shields, Pat Collins, Kim Ratcliffe, and Mark Ucci and is currently continuing his studies at McMaster University. David often composes his own standards, and released the sold-out EP “Addicted To You” in 2016. He is a recipient of the Dave McMurdo Music Bursary, the Antony Roberts Music Bursary, and the Richard Newell Memorial Scholarship.
Ticets: https://www.ticketscene.ca/events/21098/

HELD OVER! Shelley Marshall Presents: The Award Winning Production “Hold Mommy’s Cigarette”: April 18 & 19. All One Woman’s story of an unfiltered life, written and performed by Shelley Marshall, directed by Linda Kash. It seems appropriate that world renowned Comedienne, Marshall would open her autobiographical One Woman Show in the city where the story and star were born. It took 10 years for Marshall to create this Play and it is the rewarding result of resilience, recovery, and reflection while exploring many genres of performance including elements of clown, stand up, improv, buffoon, and play. Shelley Marshall takes her audience many places; “I take them on an adventure, both emotionally and visually. There is no denying that my story is tragic, but it’s my story and time and writing without shame has been my comedic relief. ‘Hold Mommy’s Cigarette’ is not an exploitation of what has happened in my life, but rather, an acceptance of where it may lead. It is a dark comedy, a vulnerable piece about life, mental illness and survival.” Marshall reveals with a smile. She invites you to come to her show with an open mind and promises you’ll leave with a full heart. *Mature Content* http://www.holdmommyscigarette.com Tickets available at http://www.thepearlcompany.ca or 524-0606. Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1451939231706392/

(more…)

CHECK THE REVIEW FOR DEATH AND THE MAIDEN:
http://fringefestivalcommunityreviews.wordpress.com/2013/07/21/death-and-the-maiden/

Death and the Maiden: Written by Laurence Olivier Prize Winning playwright Ariel Dorfman. This is the fourth production that Nortesur has developed for the stage; chosen because it speaks passionately about current international events, it asks tough questions about forgiveness and the role of victims and perpetrators in transitory societies, and it is a local opportunity to see a truly amazing piece of theatre written by one of Latin America’s best contemporary playwrights.  It is raw, provocative, and driven by a cast of characters that are all-too-human. Performed, and designed by emerging professional artists from across the golden horseshoe and the GTA, it is an entertaining, insightful, and extraordinarily powerful piece that delivers an evening of truly engaging theatre.  Thurs.July 18@ 8:00pm, Fri.19@8:00pm, Sat.20@7:00pm, Tues.23@8:00pm, Wed.24@7:00pm, Thurs.25@8:00pm,  Fri.26@7:00pm, Sat.27@8:00pm

AND HERE’S  RIDERGIRL’S REVIEW :
http://fringefestivalcommunityreviews.wordpress.com/2013/07/22/ridergirl-second-review/

RiderGirl: Written and performed by Ottawa based actor and Saskatchewan native Colleen Sutton. Professional sports and
independent theatre meet head on in Tiger Town! This is the story of a young woman whose prairie roots and home team inspire her to get off the sidelines and get in the game of her life.  With the end zone in sight, she fights for every down, but fumbles when she tries to go it alone.  Her team is about to make it – can she do the same?  Come in your colours, GAME TIME is here!  Two?time Rideau award nominee Colleen Sutton will energize your inner fan!  “ **** ½ “The only reason I’ve withheld that last half?star is because I cannot in good conscience give 5 stars to a Rider fan. Other than that, the show was superb.” CBC Manitoba.   Note: Fri. 19 – 2 for 1.  Friday, July 19, 6:30; Saturday,  20, 9:00; Sunday,  21, 2:00; Tuesday,  6:30; Wednesday, 24, 9:00; Thursday,  25, 6:30; Friday,  26, 9:00; Saturday, 27, 2:00

Times, dates, and tickets are  on the Fringe website – www.hamiltonfringe.ca 

The Art Bus is Sponsored by Judy Marsales Real Estate Brokerage:

Last Art Bus for the Summer! Check out Hamilton’s unique and constantly evolving art scene! Call Barbara (905.524.0606) or email (info@thepearlcompany.ca) to reserve your seat. Next dates: Sept 6 & 20. Cost: $15/$10 students/artists. Group rates available.  Start: 6:30 from The Pearl.

• July 5: (L’Arche Gallery, Workers Arts & Heritage, Nathaniel Hughson, Book Club Gallery, Manta Gallery) This will be another varied and interesting trip with specially-opened galleries, and tours of places you have never been before!

Graydon James & The Young Novelists w Ben Somer: How To Combine An Evening Of Original Music With A Book Launch For A Debut Novel: Thursday April 18. 8:00. $15 / $10 students/all artists.  Singer and songwriter Graydon James called his band The Young Novelists when he started it four years ago. And now he’s launching his first novel, a darkly comic satire titled ‘The Mall of Small Frustrations’. The show will be a celebration of songwriting of course, but yes, I think we can expect that Graydon James will read a passage from the new book…  Here’s a musical opinion from the silver (and usually accurate) tongue of Richard Flohil:  “Apart from having one of the best band names at CMW (Canadian Music Week) this time around, this band has a super singer (Laura Spink, aka Mrs. Graydon James) and the band sounds like a rootsier version of Arcade Fire. They knows how to rock, they do…” http://www.theyoungnovelists.com/ Ben Somer is a gifted songwriter, who shares his tales of love and faith with soulful charm and despair. Although his songs have various angles and attitudes, storytelling is always their essence and their aim – particularly on The Last One, Ben’s new sophomore release. His writing blends a heart-wrenching earnestness with his tongue-in-cheek wit, evoking comparisons to Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen. www.myspace.com/bensomer

The HamilTEN Festival: April 12 & 13, 14.  $15 / $10 students/all artists.  HamilTEN is a festival of ten minute plays by playwrights from Hamilton and surrounding areas. A ten minute play is a streak of theatrical lightning. It doesn’t last long but it should hit its mark! The festival is now in its second year and they are back at The Pearl Company with something for everyone; a little drama, some comedy, with a bit of improv to spice things up. Tickets can be ordered at 416-524-0606 or info@thepearlcompany.ca (or you can show up and pay cash at the door…). See Gary Smith’s write-up in the Spec: http://www.thespec.com/whatson/article/915250–hamilten-play-festival-explores-10-minute-genre-in-second-season Questions? Email,  hamiltenfestival@gmail.com hamiltenfestival.blogspot.ca

Show times:
Friday, April 12 @ 8pm
Saturday, April 13 @ 8pm
Sunday, April 14 @ 2pm

Jesse Winchester: Thursday, April 11. 8:00pm. $32 advance / $35 door. CONCERT PROCEEDING AS PLANNED! A magnetic performer with a powerful tenor voice, Jesse Winchester may be the most self-effacing songwriter on the planet. His homespun arrangements and performances are ethereal to the point of being otherworldly. His songs of distance, and longing for his homeland move us to tears; his songs of home and hearth warm our souls. With his laid-back vocals, gorgeous melodies, and insightful lyrics, his low-key style of blended soul, rockabilly, gospel, folk, R&B, and a hint of Latin music, he remains entrenched as an oft-covered, bonafide songwriter’s songwriter. His creations will be forever sought out by artists (from Joan Baez to Elvis Costello) seeking to add something of depth and insight to their repertoires, especially when it comes to love songs; the classic and majestic “Brand New Tennessee Waltz,” is as wrenchingly beautiful a work of art as ever.
Come absorb, be moved by, and even cry to the songs; songs of beauty and wry humor, songs of startling intimacy and searing poignancy, songs of sepia-tinted nostalgia, rooted both in a time long past and right here and now.  http://www.jessewinchester.com
Jesse Winchester can disarm the most casual listener with his understated grace and virtuosity as evidenced in this video of his “Sham-A-Ling-Dong-Ding” sung on Elvis Costello’s “Spectacle.”  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uKGWpqnS8E
“Have you talked to Jesse Winchester? You can’t talk about the best songwriters and not include him.” ~ Bob Dylan

Frank Rocchi, Investment Advisor at BMO Nesbitt Burns and Freewheelin’ Concerts are sponsors for this event.

Ruth Moody: Wednesday, April 10. 8:00pm. Tickets $15/ $10 students/artists. Ruth is a Juno Award winning songwriter from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founding member of the internationally renowned, Billboard-charting trio The Wailin’ Jennys and former lead singer of the Canadian roots band Scruj MacDuhk.  She has performed in sold-out venues around the world, made numerous critically-acclaimed albums. Although best known for her work with The Wailin’ Jennys, Ruth is an artist of exceptional depth and grace in her own right. Critics have lauded her ethereal vocals, impressive multi-instrumentalism, and her masterful songwriting. Written with a maturity and wisdom that belies her age, her songs are timeless, universal, and exceptionally well-crafted, all sung with an intimacy and honesty that is unmistakably hers.  The discreet modulations in Moody’s silken vocals are seductive enough, but she also plays many of her own instruments, including guitar, piano and accordion.  Ruth has been recognized by the USA Songwriting Competition and the International Songwriting Competition for several of her compositions, including ‘One Voice,’ which has gone on to be a signature song for The Wailin’ Jennys. www.ruthmoody.com (more…)

BeetleBarrow’s Western Hardcover BookBinding Workshop: On Sunday April 7th, we have a different type of offering.  Dynamic bookbinding duo – Lindsay Slavin and Chandra Rice – will be teaching a workshop on how to bind a hardcover book, western style.  This type of bookbinding is the one we are most familiar with.  Find almost any hardcover book in your library and you are looking at a classic western hardcover.  It’s durable and a great traveler.  At this fun-filled workshop, learn how to fold and sew together a series of signatures to create your text block, then create a beautiful cover and spine to house your text block.  The end result is an elegant book that you’ve made from start to finish, ready for dazzling your friends. The workshop runs from 9:30-4:30, costs $90 and includes all materials and a delicious hot lunch!  Visit www.beetlebarrow.ca to see other classes available and to learn more. To register for this workshop, either use our Etsy Store – www.reversestitch.etsy.com (if you wish to pay with paypal) or email makers@beetlebarrow.ca (to pay by cash or cheque). Like BeetleBarrow on facebook www.facebook.com/BeetleBarrow to keep up with all the bookbinding news.

Mimi Shaw & the HIGHNOTE RAMBLERS/Jessica Blake & The Dinner Club : Saturday, April 6. 8:00 pm. $15 /$10 students/all artists: Mimi Shaw is a down-home, angel-voiced, crowd favorite. She sings with the HIGHNOTE RAMBLERS, a Hamilton-based quartet that pays tribute to the sounds of old school country and rock.  This alt-country band’s roots music ranges from slow-burning torch songs to train-chasing rockabilly. Mimi’s voice can be both intimate and raucous as she leads the band through numbers that mix up retro twang ‘n grit to create a sound all their own. The Highnote Ramblers dig into their vintage stylings to create songs that infuse the soul with elemental rhythms of a bygone era. They are currently hard at work on material for their first album to be released this fall. Members: Jeff Griffiths – drums, Brian Hay – keys, Jeff Rosnick – electric, Orange McFarland – upright bass, Mimi Shaw – vocals & acoustic. http://www.reverbnation.com/thehighnoteramblers

Jessica Blake is a breath of fresh air – an exceptional singer-songwriter who willingly opens her heart and bares her soul with tales of truth and beauty, travel, discovery, and her spiritual journey. Honing her songwriting and performing over many years, her songs have evolved into thought-provoking and evocative stories. She was recently a featured artist at the Roy Thomson Hall’s Brewer’s Plate Festival, the Roncy Rocks outdoor music festival, C’est What, and at Toronto’s prestigious TIFF Lightbox venue. http://www.jessicablakemusic.com

Now for something completely different:
Just About Us Girls….. From a Man’s Point Of View: At The Pearl Company, Saturday, April 06. 9:30am to 3:00pm. $18 for the day (includes lunch). Join Drew, hair stylist and designer extraordinaire, who has opened a salon in The Pearl’s King Street property. (We met him first as a playwright/actor and he has become a wonderfully creative addition to our community.)
Drew invites you to: Share his expertise for your Personal Hairstyling Needs; Take part in Open Consultations about presenting the True You; Spend time discovering your Personal Style; Enjoy Guest Speakers discussing a variety of relevant topics.
Learn To: Get the most expert consultation; Make sure you are a part of the decision-making in deciding your new look or, how to enhance and style the cut you have; Be assertive with your stylist in order to get what you pay for, – a professional consultation and a finished look.
About Drew: Owner/Training Director of Andrews Advanced Academy; Previous Director of Training for Brunos Advanced Academy; Previous Director of Training for Eatons’ Elizabeth Arden Red Door Salons; Sassoon Trained; Stage and Platform Artist.
Looking for models of varying ages and sizes who are willing and excited to make a change. Two Gift Draws. Contact Drew at 289 698 7919 to book your place.

James Hill with Anne Janelle: Friday, April 5. 8:00 pm. $15 at the door.  SOLD-OUT!  James Hill, who has earned a reputation as Canada’s foremost – indeed one of the world’s foremost – players of the often-underestimated ukulele, stands poised and ready to take his place in the ranks of today’s best young songwriters. Barely into his 30s, he has achieved his technical prowess on ukulele through attacking the lowly folk instrument with the seriousness and nuance of technique usually associated with the highest levels of virtuosity. His entertaining and unpredictable solo concerts and his inspirational music seminars have made him something of a ukulele-based motivational speaker. And now, Hill’s latest album introduces us to Hill as singer/songwriter, a choice which is growing to rival his prowess as an instrumentalist. Man With a Love Song, brings the rock-solid musicianship of Hill and his collaborators, the clear strength of Hill’s singing voice, the poetry of the lyrics, and a playful breadth of the styles (from soulful big-band jazz through barrel-house bluegrass to spoken-word-and-junkyard-percussion). www.jameshillmusic.com Cellist/singer Anne Janelle (formerly Anne Davison) moves gracefully between classical and contemporary styles, experimenting deeply with free improvisation in both music and dance. Her songs, teeming with complexity and candour, are a special blend of influences that range from Nick Drake and Feist to Mozart and Vivaldi. Her musical mélange swirls with emotion, compelling imagery, diverse orchestration and her captivatingly sweet voice. Since 2006 she has performed widely with James Hill; their acclaimed collaboration True Love Don’t Weep won Traditional Album of the Year at the 2009 Canadian Folk Music Awards. http://www.annejanelle.com
(more…)

Amanda McIntyre: From Abstract to Figurative. On the walls now! We will have a “Closing Party” for this show, May 23.  Amanda is an emerging Hamilton Artist. She has an Honours Bachelors Degree in Fine Art, Studio Visual Arts, from York University and has made it her goal to show the world her art. For the past two years she has been part of 11 group shows and 10 solo exhibits. She has curated several group exhibits, commissioned to complete over 30 commissions and sold another 80 pieces. Amanda tends to dabble in all types of mediums from intaglio and woodcut printing, to painting of all sorts, and photography as well. The themes of her work change as often as her choice of medium, ranging from social comments, to contrasting religion and society, to pure abstraction. This exhibit, at the Pearl Company, will be a display of paintings from abstract to figurative. www.amcintyreart.ca

The VOC Silent Film Harmonic:  Live Music Accompaniment  to 5 Classic Buster Keaton short films: Saturday, March 30, 8:00 pm. $15 /$10 students/all artists: The VOC Silent Film Harmonic, under the direction of Ted Harms, is a group dedicated to performing live soundtracks to silent movies. The group takes its inspiration from how many silent movies were originally presented, taking themes and using them as the basis for improvisation.  The music reflects, enhances, and supports the movie; it does not overtake or distract. And, of course, when it comes to comedies, Buster Keaton has few peers!  With his porkpie hat, floppy shoes, and stoic expression, Keaton consistently astounds with the pure physicality of his acting.  The five short films presented are classics and unforgettable comedies! VOC is: Ted Harms, bass; David Hunsberger, clarinets, Steve Lederman, percussion & brass: Bradford Nowak, drums; Wade Whittaker on guitar.

Oh Susanna: Saturday, March 23, 8:00 pm. $15 /$10 students/all artists: Oh Susanna has garnered critical acclaim and loyal audiences around the world. When she first dreamed of making music, she wanted to create songs that would stand the test of time. With the release of her sixth album, SOON THE BIRDS, she has again achieved this dream with a collection of enduring songs that resonate deeper and deeper upon each listen. Her voice, a breathtakingly effortless countrified alto, is a haunting, expressive instrument that she uses to stunning effect on SOON THE BIRDS, a beautifully rendered album by an artist who has realized the full power of her voice as a narrative songwriter.  “Whether it’s the large canvas or the tiniest but oh so important fragment of a life, every word is carefully chosen and delicately placed. The singing – it is like an angel when it needs to be, and sobs with pain when that is what the song requires. The playing throughout is uniformly excellent – whether it be all acoustic, or featuring some restrained electric guitar and drums. It’s a joy of an album.” AMERICANA UK  http://www.ohsusannamusic.com