The Pearl Company

AHEAD OF THE HERD: An Investment Seminar with Anne Milne, CIM, CFP: Thursday, September 27, 7:00 p.m.
No Charge. Using aspects of sociological and economic theory, this seminar is a fascinating look at the market as a social phenomenon. It demonstrates how trends in fashion, movies, music, and the economy are all intertwined.  Investors, business people, and anyone interested in their financial health will benefit from learning how to observe herding behaviours everywhere. Limited Registration. Please call 905-524-0606Or email: info@thepearlcompany.ca .

For more information: AMilne@mgisecurities.com  See also “Read More” for how Barbara views her sister’s historical, and sometimes hysterical (in the sense of entertaining …) approach to financial planning!

The Quarterly: A Night of Live Performance: Saturday, September 22. 8:00pm. Tickets:$15. An amazing night of performance from some of the finest in Theatre, Dance, Comedy and Music! Curated and hosted by Lisa Pijuan-Nomura, The Quarterly is a celebration of artists taking chances with their art, and looking to share with others!

The September edition features the talent of:
Jeremy Freiburger – Theatre
Caroline Niklas Gordon – Dance
Mimi Shaw – Song
Colette Kendall – Comedy
Ann McDougall – Story
Join us for the second edition of The Quarterly at the Pearl Company!

For more information see www.girlcancreate.blogspot.com

Annabelle Chvostek: Friday, September 21. Showtime: 8:00 PM: Door: $15.00/$10 All Artists. Chvostek is a versatile, fearlessly innovative multi-instrumentalist who has composed for dance and film, been a member of the ‘Wailin’ Jennies’ and performed across North America with artists like Po’Girl. Her latest album, Rise is joyful, anthemic, and unabashedly political, revealing Chvostek’s passion for social justice work and musical activism.  Call it protest music for the indie generation or a soundtrack for the Maple Spring. It features guest vocals by Bruce Cockburn and Oh Susanna, and Chvostek herself plays drawing, driving mandolin and fiddle on the album, a pulsating backdrop from these frequently-sweet-sounding strings.
“…her original compositions are full of aching desire dressed in poetry and rendered with a musical imagination that seems to know no bounds”. Saskatoon Star Phoenix.  http://www.annabellemusic.com

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Catherine MacLellan: Friday September 14. 8:00pm. $15 adv/$20 door. Catherine’s latest album, Silhouette, effortlessly captures her best qualities—stitching together elegantly woven songs with her memorable blend of heartfelt and powerfully introspective lyrics and catchy melodies. The subtle yet steadfast strength of the album is in the understated power of MacLellan’s songwriting and performance and the pensive and internalized lyrics that ponder, with poise the most personal of internal conflicts. She even sings “Snowbird”, a stripped down cover version of the most lauded song ever written by her father Gene MacLellan.

“[MacLellan] probes matters of the heart with a poetic scalpel, always avoiding self-pity. Her voice is similarly pure and honest, managing to simultaneously sound fragile yet strong.” – Exclaim! Magazine

Bill Bourne Solo: Friday, September 7. 8:00pm. $20/$15 Students/All Artists at the door. Multiple Canadian Juno Award winner, Bill Bourne has received international acclaim for his recordings and live performances. A mainstay on the international roots scene, life on the road is reflected in Bill’s music – powerful rhythms and soulful songs, steeped in World Beat, Blues, Cajun, Celtic, Folk, Flamenco, Funk, Poetry and more… His latest release, Bluesland, is an intense collection of rock, folk and country, soaked with an electric blues sound that gets deep into your pores.
“Bourne flows with this almost indescribable soul infused with a lonesome strain of blues… This man was put on this earth to play music.” Crossroads Magazine. “Canadian Folk Shaman – Magical Mystery Bourne’ – Kitchener/Waterloo Echo. More Reviews: …’stellar’…’ravaged poetry’…’mesmerizing’…’scat-charged’…’gritty’…’a veteran storyteller’…’performance art’… ‘inimitable’… – various sources. www.billbourne.com

Sarah Burton: Thursday, September 6. Doors: 7:30, Showtime: 8:00 PM: Admission: $15.00/$10 All Artists/Students. She’s a rambler, a gambler, a lover and a fighter; Sarah Burton’s steady and soulful voice tells the tales of life with beauty, strength and weariness, and an ever-present sense of excitement. Her sound rocks and rolls with just the right amount of country and pop influence. Sarah has been spreading this excitement throughout North America since 2006, having her music featured in movies, and raved about in the media.  She is introducing Hamilton to her new album ‘Fire Breathers’: “Here is acoustic, rock, bluesy, torch, indie jive, country psychedelic, soul-baring beautiful music that those with a need to hear a new point of view ought to get off their butts and obtain. This album matters.” John McClure, Victory Music Review Read the rest of this entry »

The Pearl Company & Northern Lights Theatre Company Present: The Pearl Company Canadian Theatre Festival: Aug 16-18, 23-25. Theatre That Will Astound You! Buy Your Tickets Now – $15.  Pay cash at door or use Paypal on the Buy Tickets tab above.
Shows: Love, Loss & Leonard (Fevergraph); Romeo & Juliet: An Escapist Comedy (make.art.theatre); Different Every Time (Canadian Improv Showcase).
The Pearl Company Canadian Theatre Festival Has Something for Everyone: Take a dose of Shakespeare, twisted by Woody Allen (aka Ryan Sero); add a shaker of Leonard Cohen, danced, sung, spoken and imaged; toss in two hilarious west indian women fresh from a “Best of Toronto Fringe” award; mix with whatever crazy idea you can come up with for Canada’s best short-form improv group; and finally top off with the blockbuster musical talents of Shari Vandermolen and the Quarter to Nine Band and you have this year’s Pearl Company Canadian Theatre Festival.
The Festival runs two shows per night and Saturday matinees, Aug 16-18 and 23-25.  Here’s the schedule!

Week One:
Thursday, Aug 16 – 7:30 pm – Romeo and Juliet: An Escapist Comedy. make.art.theatre
Thursday, Aug 16 – 9:00 pm – Love, Loss & Leonard. Fevergraph
Friday, Aug 17 – 7:30 pm – pomme is french for apple. liza paul & bahia watson
Friday, Aug 17 – 9:00 pm – Different Every Time. Canadian Improv Showcase
Saturday, Aug 18 – 1:30 pm – Different Every Time. Canadian Improv Showcase
Saturday, Aug 18 – 3:00 pm – pomme is french for apple. liza paul & bahia watson
Saturday, Aug 18 – 7:30 pm – Love, Loss & Leonard. Fevergraph
Saturday, Aug 18 – 9:00 pm – Romeo and Juliet: An Escapist Comedy. make.art.theatre

Week Two
Thursday, Aug 23 – 7:30 pm – Different Every Time. Canadian Improv Showcase
Thursday, Aug 23 – 9:00 pm – pomme is french for apple. liza paul & bahia watson
Friday, Aug 24 – 7:30 pm – Romeo and Juliet: An Escapist Comedy. make.art.theatre
Friday, Aug 24 – 9:00 pm – Love, Loss & Leonard. Fevergraph
Saturday, Aug 25 – 1:30 pm – Love, Loss & Leonard. Fevergraph
Saturday, Aug 25 – 3:00 pm – Romeo and Juliet: An Escapist Comedy. make.art.theatre
Saturday, Aug 25 – 7:30 pm – Different Every Time. Canadian Improv Showcase
Saturday, Aug 25 – 9:00 pm – My Funny Valentine. Quarter to Nine Productions

The Canadian Improv Showcase (CIS): Their 700th live performance!

“The Showcase have a long list (15 years) of honours, including representing Canada in a cultural exchange with Singapore, performing at the prestigious Bar None Club. “They are the only improv group to be invited to perform at venues as diverse as the St. Lawrence Centre, and  the infamous Kingston Penitentiary. They have won numerous improv competitions and were voted “Best of the Fest” two years in a row at both the London and Toronto Fringe Festivals. It’s a ‘can’t miss’ show for people who like improv.” www.canadianimprovshowcase.com

The Fevergraph production of “Love, Loss & Leonard”

Whose not a fan of Leonard Cohen? This show promises to be a favorite with his wealth of fantastic material to build a show around!
Fevergraph is the work of Tosha Doiron of Vancouver and Hamilton’s Paula Grove. Both women have impressive bios; Dorion reaped the 2012 Toronto Best of Fringe and the Patron’s Pick award for “Help Yourself”. She has performed professionally with Vancouver’s Carousel Theatre, and Thunder Bay’s Magnus Theatre. Her TV & film credits include Supernatural, Psych, Smallville, Zoe Busiek Wildcard, Storm Seekers and Blonde and Blonder.
Grove has performed at The Shaw Festival, CanStage and the legendary Caravan Stage Company, a traveling ensemble that lives and works on a 30-meter tallship. She has performed numerous times at The Pearl with the Artword Ensemble. www.fevergraph.com

“pomme is french for apple”

Liza Paul and Bahia Watson describe their show “pomme is french for apple” as “a fresh, funny, irreverent and distinctly west indian look at womanhood in all its glory: its perils, its pleasures and all kinda madness in between,” and critics hailed it as “a real gem…an honest, intelligent and wildly funny play” –THEATROMANIA.
Paul and Watson are stopping in to Hamilton on their way to New York, to perform “pomme” in the Big Apple! www.pommeisfrenchforapple.com

Ryan Sero’s “Romeo and Juliet: An Escapist Comedy”

Local playwright and actor Ryan Sero follows up an impressive list of recent successes with a project that he has been working on for some time, a retelling of a classic love story.
“Romeo and Juliet: An Escapist Comedy” promises only the barest of homage to the Bard. Sero, has become known for his snappy wit and unpredictable plotlines; he previously scored with A Modicum of Freedom (Pick of the Fringe, 2009), and won the audience choice award at the HamilTEN Festival (also at the Pearl Company) for his hysterical and beautifully acted “The Cheese”.

Shari Vandermolen with “My Funny Valentine”.

One of Canada’s finest voices, Vandermolen promises to both break and meld hearts with her musical tribute to love, “My Funny Valentine”. Vandermolen has won two Best of Fringe Awards, plus two Western Ontario Drama League “Best Actress” awards, and has twice been the feature performer on stage at Theatre Aquarius.
My Funny Valentine will close the Festival August 25 at 9 pm, for one show only.  www.quarter2nineproductions.com

Tickets are $15 per show, available in advance by Paypal, by email, or by phone. Contact The Pearl Company at 905.524.0606 and www.thepearlcompany.ca

The River Street Band: Friday, August 10. Doors: 7:30, Showtime: 8:00 PM: Admission: $12.00. The River Street Band is celebrating their 30^th Anniversary by bringing their critically acclaimed Bruce Springsteen tribute show to The Pearl Company!  Experience the power, the fun and the exhilaration of a Springsteen concert in the superb acoustics of The Pearl Company’s intimate theatre.
Since the ‘80s, in sell-out shows from coast to coast, The River Street Band has performed the explosive, high-energy, classic songs that have made Bruce Springsteen one of the most loved and revered Rock artists of all time.
Experience an extraordinary evening at The Pearl as The River Street Band brings you the “heart-stopping, pants-dropping, house-rocking” concert experience of Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band . . . all night long.

Lost Identities: BECAUSE OF ILLNESS, THE SHOW HAS HAD TO BE CANCELLED. See schedule below. $9 at the door. This astonishing and relevant story needs to be told and in order to get their hair-raising tale out there, the playwrights have BYOV  (brought their own venue, obviously to The Pearl Company) to Hamilton’s Fringe Festival. Lost Identities is a life drama– a true story: One man is challenged to do the right thing – keep silent or report an extortion to the authorities. He calls them, and his life goes from a semi-conventional existence to an inconceivably aberrant reality where nothing normal can be taken for granted ever again. Not even now. Playwright/Author: Mr. X, AJ Hodges. Featuring: Philip Zelazny, Robbie Brewer. Memories Productions.

THE MERCER SISTERS: Friday July 6 @ 12.30pm @ The Pearl. Free Classical Concert
Akemi Mercer (violin) & Rachel Mercer (cello) present a lunchtime concert in support of the “5 at the First” Chamber Music Series. Akemi is a member of the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra. This will be Rachel’s last Hamilton performance on the 1696 Bonjour Stradivarius cello.
Music by Handel-Halvorsen, Paganini, Haydn & Gliere.
FREE ADMISSION – donations accepted for “5 at the First” Chamber Music Series
Rachel:  www.rachelmercercellist.com

Kevin Morse: Saturday, June 30, at 8:00. Tickets: $15 / $10 students/all artists.  Kev Morse makes music. He has been making music for over twenty years. Now, finally, he is doing it on his own! Kev was a runner up in the prestigious Q107 Home Grown competition and in one of the first indie bands featured on Much Music.  Since 1998, he has performed at festivals, conferences, theatres, cafes, prisons, churches and pubs as singer/songwriter in The Great Wooden Trio. Kev writes from experience, sings from the heart, and plays guitar as though it was designed just for him.  An evening spent listening to Kevin play and sing his songs is an evening spent with an old friend; the songs reach out and grab you, they hold on tight and they stay with you. He has recently recorded a live solo album (Under The Broom Tree) and is in the process of writing and recording material for a follow up project. He’s bringing some great musicians with him: Sharon Tiessen on Cello and Sahra Featherstone (who is currently on tour with Nelly Furtado) on violin.   http://www.myspace.com/454591522

The Jazz Connection Big Band: Friday, June 29. Doors at 8:00, jazz at 8:30. $15 /$10 students/all artists: Catch the powerful sound of a big band in this relaxed, funky venue.  The JCBB is a well-established 17-piece jazz ensemble comprised of professional and semi-professional musicians from the Hamilton/Toronto area. They perform only the best modern big band charts from the books of Goodwin, Martin, Menza, Rich, Basie, and many other great contemporary composers. Jazz Connection delivers a high energy, uncompromising, straight ahead jazz performance combining the highest level of musicianship with these great charts in an entertaining show that engages both the jazz enthusiast and the casual listener equally. The incredible acoustics at The Pearl easily accommodate their very cool (but hot!) surround-sound. It is always a great evening!  http://www.jazzconnection.ca

Chloe Charles: Thursday, June 28 at 8:00. Tickets: $15 / $10 students/all artists.  Poised, charismatic and quirky, Chloe Charles’ limber vocal talents combine the depth and intellectual prowess of a beat poet and the sound of a modern day, folk-infused soul songstress; a sort of chamber-soul music, with jazzy detours. She’s been compared to everyone from Amy Winehouse, Feist and Bjork to Etta James and Nina Simone. Chloe’s new EP, Little Green Bud, is an intriguing fusion of old, new, sophistication and edge with large amounts of depth and warmth tossed in.  “She’s something onto herself, this one…”  THE GLOBE & MAIL
“Her voice is striking; beautiful and atypical, rich and lush while possessing the sort of vocal anomalies that create interest rather than discord. …. Chloe Charles has the pipes to go far, and the performances on Little Green Bud indicate an artist who is very comfortable in her own shoes. Be certain that we’ll be hearing more from Chloe Charles.” WILDY’S WORLD, USA  www.chloecharles.com

Light of the East Ensemble in Concert with Gary Santucci: DUE TO UNEXPECTED CIRCUMSTANCES, CANCELLED! Saturday, June 23 at 8:00. Tickets: $15 / $10 students/all artists. Based in London, Ontario, this exhilarating group performs music of the Near East and Middle East. With more than a bit of Flamenco thrown in this time! Their repertoire includes traditional, folk, classical Arabic, Greek Rembetika, and modern urban world music of the 20th century.  The rhythms and melodies are instantly captivating and listeners of all types are quickly drawn into the intensity of the music. For people of Near East and Middle East descent, the music becomes a vehicle for a nostalgic journey back to their home country as they experience melodies and rhythms they may not have heard in a live performance for many years. Every show finds such audience members expressing their delight in hearing the ensemble play popular pieces from their homeland. www.lightofeastensemble.com