This Post Rated 'R' for Language.

Fucked up. That's who won the Polaris Music Prize this year. A Toronto-based punk band, whose lead singer 'Pink Eyes' stripped down during their awards-show performance and tightened a belt around his neck.

You'll get 'em next time Joel...perhaps you were simply too clothed for the jury this year.

Ahem. In the words of Thumper: "if you can't say something nice..."

I will say that presenting 'Fucked Up' presents too much of a marketing challenge for the Classic Theatre at this time.

Meanwhile, tickets are selling quickly for The Trews Acoustic Show at the Classic Theatre on November 5th...which is, well, encouraging. Tickets are also selling at a reasonable rate for the Arrogant Worms on October 2.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with the Arrogant Worms, let me give you a brief description of their last show at the Classic Theatre. It went like this: patron's arrived, chatted in the lobby, looked through the program, the Worms hit the stage, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha,

patrons left.

In all seriousness, the Worms are fantastically fun! If what you're looking for is a show that will entertain you, take you away from it all and leave you with that annoying cramp in your side you get from laughing too hard...then the Arrogant Worms is the show for you!

That's right...I said that the Worms will give you cramps. Now THAT'S a party!

Check them out here: http://www.arrogantworms.com/

Rock and Roll's Last Stand

Tomorrow we release tickets for the November 5 Trews Acoustic show. Trepidatious is me.

Why you ask? Truthfully, we haven't had a ton of luck presenting rock acts at the Classic Theatre. Sure, Hedley was a resounding success in 2008, but short of that we've struggled to sell Sloan, David Usher, Joel Plaskett, Suzie McNeil and even Serena Ryder. They say that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. So we're either nuts, or hyper-intuitive. Time will tell.

True, The Trews are not an act out of the annals of the 1990's...they are current and fresh and are dropping a new album on October 6th (this tour is in support of the relase), so hopefully the idea that not all rock acts are created equal will prevail, and tickets will fly out the door for this rare opportunity to see The Trews Unplugged with 249 of your closest friends.

Fans of the group are anxious about the new concept album and tour...seeing one of Canada's best rock acts pull the cords out of the wall is always a little frightening...but anyone who came to our Serena Ryder Show (which eventually did sell out at the 11th hour) knows how amazing it is to listen to your favorite music 'turned down and pure sound.' Listen to it here, for yourself....

www.thetrewsmusic.com

Frankly, we are the perfect venue for this show.

So, long live Rock and Roll, and get your (really reasonable) $25 tickets to The Trews Acoustic live at the Classic Theatre on November 5th!

Joel Plaskett...A Fashionable Person

So, currently I am listening to five albums to the point of driving everyone in my life crazy. Revolver (The Beatles), Armistace (Mutemath), Baroness (Sarah Slean), Fantasies (Metric) and Three (Joel Plaskett).

The thing about Joel Plaskett is that he played the Classic Theatre in May and I fell in love. He might be my boyfriend, I'm just saying.

Joel Plaskett's 'Three' is simply a work of art, and along with Metric's 'Fantasies' is competing for the prestigious Polaris Music Prize.

The Polaris is given based souly on artistic merit and is an award that comes with a $20,000 gift card to everywhere. Past winners include Final Fantasy, Andorra and Patrick Watson (who shut out Plaskett's 'Ashtray Rock' in 2007). These artists and albums are not for the music-meek...they are chewier, more challenging, creative and of course, Canadian.

This year, other albums on the short-list of nominees include Mountain Meadows (Elliott Brood), The Chemistry of Common Life (Fucked Up), Lost Channels (Great Lake Swimmers), Into Your Lungs (Hey Rosetta), Labyrinths (Malajube), Soft Airplane (Chad Van Gaalen) and Wooden Arms (Patrick Watson)...but I'm still backing Plaskett...because as I mentioned, we date.

The Polaris is being awarded Monday night by the Grand Jury. I'll be watching for Classic Theatre alum Plaskett, in his fashionable sweater-vest...wishful thinking, or not.

And they're even GOOD LOOKING!

Why so many seats available for Doc Walker?

Is it possible that we've all forgotten the outstanding show we had here last February with the 2009 Juno Award Winners for Country Recording of the Year? Or maybe we just haven't been able to get the word out that they are coming back to play their favorite venue in Northern Ontario? Either way...you're foolish if you don't come out to see the 2009 CCMA Country Group of the Year, live on stage in the smallest venue in the universe (that may be an exaggeration). Follow the link to the Open Road website to see their new video 'Coming Home' and a great acoustic version of an Abba favorite...is there such thing as an Abba favorite? I don't know...

Open Road Playlist

Open Road Playlist

Shared via AddThis

The Nutcracker - Ontario Ballet Theatre

Yesterday, I started follow-up work on a couple of things that we've got going on in the Fall. First, I've contacted the local school boards about the Ontario Ballet Theatre's presentation of The Nutcracker. OBT is coming up in mid-December to present two school shows to area students. Now the challenge is how to sell it to Principals and Teachers so that they will see a live arts experience as a worthwhile class outing. Dance is one of those areas of the arts that is currently struggling. Particularly in rural communities across Canada. Professional dance is not something that everyone views as being in their comfort zone. The Classic Theatre hopes that by presenting professional dance that is FAMILIAR, we will be able to expose area students to the artform so that they will develop a better understanding of it. Once we have developed an audience for dance, we will be able to offer professional dance more regularly. Especially once we bring in our new sprung flooring, courtesy of the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

The adventures of...well...me.

The Classic Theatre's amazing web designer/web master Paul McLaren of Chat Noir Books suggested that I start blogging about my life as General Manager of the Classic Theatre. This is not so much because I have a particularly exciting life, but because this might be the easiest way to keep people up to date on the things happening at the Classic from day to day.

So without further ado...here it is - The Classic Theatre Buzz.