The Pearl Company

JACKIE GLEASON AND FRIENDS: General Admission $25. “Jackie” has extended its run! Friday, Dec. 1 at 8:00 pm. Saturday, Dec 2 at 2:00 pm. Doors @ 7:30pm for shows starting @ 8:00.
Jackie Gleason and Friends is a two-act stage bio about the life of “The Great One,” Jackie Gleason. Born into poverty in Brooklyn and with little formal education, Gleason clawed his way to the top of the show-business world to become one of the most successful and wealthiest comedians of his time. Willard Boudreau plays Gleason with a magical touch that transports the complex entertainer’s life to the stage. Toots Shor, Gleason’s life-long best friend is played with comparable dexterity by Dan Penrose. Their outrageous relationship in the play lights up the theatre with laughter. Gleason’s close association with Audrey Meadows (Gail Edwards), Joyce Randolph (Elaine Hale), Art Carney (Dan Anderson), and June Taylor (Babe Schurter-Santi) is also presented with great sensitivity. Mike Durkacz (Gleason’s  manager) and Tom Mays (a CBS executive) help us to explore other important facets of Gleason’s life. Willard Boudreau directs Bob Knuckle’s script with remarkable imagination and sensitivity. This is a beautiful, serious drama about a complicated man that is presented with a lot of joy and laughter.
Tickets @ www.bruha.com

Lori Yates with Hey Stella: Saturday, November 11. Doors @ 7:30PM, Show Starts @ 8:30. Admission: $20. Alternative country “supergroup” Hey Stella formed in 1998, and quickly gained a reputation as one of the premiere “live” acts in the country. Thousands of patrons caught Hey Stella (David Baxter, Bazil Donovan, Michelle Josef, Lori Yates) in the cavernous back room of Ted’s Wrecking Yard and Ted’s Collision during their five year weekly residency. Their irreverent and charming approach to traditional country tunes and their originals included; humour, pathos, stellar musicianship. The night often ended with Lori standing on a table belting out Leonard Cohen’s “So Long Marianne” while everyone in the bar sang along with her, making them a crowd favourite.
The band took time off while babies were born, solo records made, careers were advanced. But when the call came for another weekly residency, this time at the venerable Cameron House, they jumped at the chance. So even in 2017, and from the opening note, it’s clear the Hey Stella mojo is still there, maybe even better, and indeed their sound has aged like a fine vintage wine or a smelly piece of cheese. With special guests: Melissa Marchese and Doug Smith.  Advance tickets available here:  https://www.ticketscene.ca/events/19537/

COLOUR FILM: New Songs + JUSTIN SAWICKI: Saturday, November 4, Doors: 7:30pm. Show: 8:00pm. $20 / $15 students/seniors/wage-challenged. Music for your mind’s eye. With songs that play like home movies rich in imagery and characters, Colour Film is the stage name of Hamilton’s Matthew de Zoete. This concert will be an intimate ensemble performance of new songs – the raw material for a future album. These songs continue the cinematic approach of Super 8, Colour Film’s 2016 release that blends pop and folk in an atmospheric soundscape conjured with producer Les Cooper (Jill Barber, Good Lovelies).  Imagine Nick Drake cheering up a bit and meeting Beck. Colour Film – www.colourfilm.ca
Justin Sawicki: Sawicki has been active in the Hamilton Music Scene since 2003. In that time he has shared the stage with such acts as Dave Bidini (Rheostatics), Selina Martin, Tomi Swick, Tom Wilson, and Max Kerman (Arkells).  His 2011 album Nothing for No One was nominated for Independant Album of the Year at the Hamilton Music Awards.  In 2015, he released a self-titled album described by Dusty Organ as being “rooted in storytelling and rustic Canadian musicianship, (the album) shifts from western-style blues riffs, to dense, foot-stomping folk melodies”.  In 2018 Sawicki is set to release a new collection of songs collaborating with long time friends and bandmates Dan Rodrgues and Andrew Barbisan for the project. www.justinsawickimusic.com
Cash Bar available.

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/