Category: Arts

Ever since its conception in January 2000, “Odeh” has been striving to push the envelope, transcending the boarders between musical genres.
Not your typical alternative band, their style is a raw blend of several musical genres. “We don’t really adhere to any particular sound, but our music can be described, varying from song to song, as a mixture of techno, hip- hop, hard rock, alternative, and punk” says frontman Sam Odeh.
Some songs even have a bluesy feel to them, and on one song an Arabic acoustic guitar is even added to the mix.
This diverse sound easily sets the band apart from others playing, and has earned them a considerable following, in Montreal.
“We have a group of about two hundred people who follow us from show to show, and help spread the word. Without them we definitely would not be enjoying the degree of success to which we have gained recently,” said Odeh.
Originally the lead guitarist for another local band, “Mold”, Sam Odeh, a Concordia psychology student, grew tired of not being able to express himself creatively. After a chance encounter with Issak, the band’s drummer, the decision was made to form their own band, resulting in the birth of “Odeh”. The other two members rounding out this quartet are Naji (back up vocalist and lead guitar), and Danny (a new addition to the group on bass).
The group, which is named after their frontman, initially had trouble securing gigs for bureaucratic reasons. “Most places were only looking for cover bands, and as a general principal, we will only do one cover a show.
Usually their one cover is a tribute to bands such as “Therapy,” “Bad Religion,” well old “Bad Religion” anyway, and others. It’s a way to pay our respects to bands which have inspired us, or that we grew up listening to.”
This method of tribute may well have paid off. ” We were approached by a company from the states who are doing a tribute album to the “Smashing Pumpkins”. They asked us to do a demo, so we took the song “Quiet”, completely flipped it around and submitted it. Whether or not it makes the cut, we’ll find out soon,” said Odeh.
Last year, the band organized and headlined a battle of the bands called “Battlefest”, the result of which led to the winners “Purusha” being signed with Virgin Records. “Battlefest 2” will be held once again this November (no firm date yet available). However, this time it will not be a battle, but rather more of a showcase. Industry reps will once again be present.
Recently the band completed their first CD, “Sight”, much of which is available in Mp3 format on the web at mp3.com/odeh, or can be picked at shows. In between gigs the band devotes itself to playing for worthy causes, such as a benefit performance for RAINN (Rape Abuse and Incest National Network). “We’ve also played at Concordia, and try to play for as many charities as possible. If someone is organizing a charity, and is looking for a good band, Odeh will come, and bring its fans with them”.
Indeed, the band seems to be riding a wave of success, with a dramatic increase of both fans and gigs. With many shows yet to come, the sky is the limit.
Upcoming shows for the band include Oct. 13 at “The Basement” on the corner of Ste. Catherine street and Bishops, 28th of October, and the 30th of November at “Club Zone”, and sometime in mid-November at either Club Soda or the Spectrum for Battlefest.

In answer to the question why their album was called “The Invisible Band,” lead man Francis Healy, of Travis responded by saying it was because everything they love is invisible, love is invisible and music is invisible, you can’t see it but you can feel it.
This was exactly the case last Saturday night as the Scottish quartet played to a packed crowd at the Metropolis.
Spectators saw a great show and felt a true energetic vibe bouncing from wall to wall the whole night.
To open the show was Alabama’s Remy Zero. The fivesome has been touring and recording with Travis for the past three years.
The band came out and played a 10 song set in what they call their favorite North American city to support their new album “The Golden Hum”.
The lead singer guzzled his champagne in between songs while trying to get the crowd to scream as loud as they could on the count of three. They performed their job perfectly getting the crowd right into the mood with their traditional rock style and Bono-like vocals.
Once Remy Zero left the stage the crowd started chanting “Travis” in eager anticipation of what was to come.
When Travis finally took the stage the room was filled with electricity as they broke out their hit single “Sing.” The group continued the set playing all their greatest hits off their three albums.
They even got the crowd to sing-along to “Why Does It Always Rain On Me.” Healy introduced the song “Side” with a little speech about what’s currently going on in the world between Afghanistan and The U.S. by asking why everyone can’t just get along.
“Everyone is alike, we all shit, we all eat, we all love, we all die, and we all love music. It’s too bad that it’s a human trait to have differences.”
Before the encore, the band came out stating that their tour manger loved the crowd.
They then finished off with three more songs including a beautiful cover of David Bowie’s “All The Young Dudes.”
The band thought it was a shame to leave the stage at the end of the show as they didn’t want to abandon such a great crowd. We can all look forward to seeing Travis live in concert next Spring.

“THE BIG LEAP” is the catch phrase behind Denis Lamaree’s poster commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Montreal International Festival of New Cinema and New Media (FCMM).
Shown in that poster are four members of the film community leaping to the air, an image analogous to what this year’s festival is meant to represent.
Taking place from Oct. 11 to 21, the FCMM is celebrating its landmark birthday in grand form. The theme of leaping is an allusion to jumping for joy, soaring with enthusiasm for free and creative artistic expression.
But more than that, the leap is a symbol of progression, which organizers incorporated as one of the criterion when selecting the films, often opting for the eclectic rather than the classic.
This particular festival attempts to bring attention to contemporary filmmakers and performers who are using new, innovative techniques.
Many of the works being shown are by first time filmmakers.
Adrian Gonzalez, the event’s publicity director said, “We [festival organizers] appreciate the importance of classic cinema but we also give importance to filmmakers using new technologies of image and sound.”
Numerous films of different genres will be screened, including 77 features, 92 short films, and 13 documentaries.
In each of the categories there are monetary prizes to be won. Pre-selected juries of professionals in various artistic fields will award these prizes.
Particular to the festival this year is a selection of 17 Portuguese films, only two of which have ever before been seen in North America.
Other special events include a tribute to Steina and Woody Vasulka,
revolutionaries in the development of electronic arts in the last 40 years, as well as the launch of Les Nouveaux Cinemas, a photo exhibit which captures the greatest moments of the festival since its founding.
Organizers believe the big draws for students will be “S.P.I.T.,” Daniel Cross’s documentary on squeegee punks, and on the opposite side of the spectrum, the feature film “Kandahar” by Mohsen Makhmalbaf, which provides an amazing look at women in Afghanistan.
It is important to note that the FCMM is not only a celebration of new cinema, but as of the last five years, of new media as well. According to Gonzalez, that distinction is what makes this event different from any other.
The ingenuity of experimental musicians, disc jockeys, and storytellers, have come to be recognized as art in their own right and will be featured prominently at the festival.
In total, 200 works will be exhibited by representatives from 41 different
countries. Many Canadian artists will take center stage, including famous record spinner Ricky Hawtin, who got his start at the festival five years ago.
The venues are Ex-Centris, Cinema du Parc, the Musee d’art contemporain, and the Societe des arts technologiques. Advance tickets will be available on Oct.6 at Ex-Centris. More information can be found at www.FCMM.com.

The atmosphere was electric last Thursday when the theatre Les Porteuses d’Aromates opened its doors for the premiere of En vie de femmes by Marcelle Dubois.
The auditors were speaking loudly, sharing their excitement to be there as they sat down in front of the stage. However, as soon as the seven actresses made their appearance, their anxious chattering was transformed to silence.
While the overture of mysterious music played, a scream diverted spectators’ attention. From then on, not a single word uttered fell on deaf ears, as the audience carefully absorbed the actors’ dialogue attempting to comprehend the message these women wanted to transmit.
The story of this experimental play is based on pulling together the lives of six archetype women -the workaholic, the woman-child, the tomboy, the lonely, old woman, the sexy dancer, and the witch- linked by a scream.
The play progresses as they try to find out who screamed and why. This
investigation by L’Ombre-the anima (the seventh character), makes them reflect on their identities, the purpose for their actions and what society asks them, as women, to be.
By using masks with their costumes, the characters’ minds change from realism to surrealism during the play to let the audience know what women show to people, and what they hide.
This wonderful piece of work in a sense causes the viewer to face reality.
While, sometimes being funny, other times dramatic, En vie de femmes depicts the truth of women’s lives.
The actresses were so convincing in their portrayals that their projected
emotions managed to capture the hearts everyone in the room.
These talented women, accompanied by beautiful music that fits the mood, are a few of the main elements, combined with a strong script, that make this play credible.
The only problem was a lack of movement on stage. It was as if the characters had been assigned a fixed spot and were not supposed to move.
However, the lighting, a very important part of the show done by Anne-Catherine D. Simard, made you forget the actors’ sedentary roles. It was warm and just beautiful. As the author and producer Marcelle Dubois said, “Its (light) is eminently beautiful. There is like something sacred that comes from light…it is always a sacred symbol, an happy symbol.”
It took three years of hard work, eight different versions of the script, a
public lecture and a lot of finance work before Marcelle Dubois saw the debut of her first play.
At only 22 years old, with a diploma in theatre at Lionel-Groulx College and a certificate in creative writing at l’UQAM, Dubois is the artistic director and the co-founder of the theatre Les porteuses d’aromates.
Her goals are mainly to provide work for young actors beginning their careers, a voice to women and explore lighting.
When the curtains had closed and the audience had stopped cheering Dubois could not believe it was over, “three years of effort crystallized in an hour and fifteen minutes! Wow!”
Dubois stressed to women that, “we have to listen to ourselves, we have to love ourselves. The volcano that you are is strong. (But) hidden behind a mask, you are all life’s employees.”
This was the message the play delivered and it is still running in my head.
Women of the 21st century, you probably all understand.

Presented at l’Espace Geordie, 4001, Berri Street, Montreal, Sherbrooke Metro
September 20-October 7th 2001
Thursday to Sunday at 8p.m.
Tickets: 14$ students, 16$ adults
Reservations: ticketart
(514) 844-2172

All eyes were on her. All talk was about her. She, for a dollar, would bare her soul and her backside.
At the Players’ Theatre on McTavish, a student group called the Alternate
Theatre is presenting “Venus”.
This is the first play put on by a group of students from McGill, Concordia and other schools around Montreal. Their aim was to produce theatre that is “daring, original, and controversial.” And they have certainly succeeded in that measure.
Venus is a play about an African girl named Saartjie with an extremely large buttocks who is put on display as the Venus Hottentot in a freak show and flaunted all over the world.
Eventually though, a doctor becomes fascinated with her, and buys her from the show. Shortly thereafter, he falls in love with her, which distracts him from his original plan of dissecting her oddly-shaped corpse for the medical academy.
Throughout the entire production, a “Negro-resurrectionist” provides the
audience with footnotes and titles to each different scene.
Unfortunately, despite his efforts, the ins and outs of the plot confused the audience to an extent where several spectators did not return after the intermission.
There is a difference between “daring” and out of place. The actors may have understood what they were attempting to do but they did a poor job of interpreting it to the audience.
When six actors, for example, snap from reciting normal lines to screaming in imagined ecstasy and back again in a matter of seconds, the audience tends to wonder, “What’s going on?” A question that never got answered.
No one can deny, however, the stunning performances by two of the main cast members.
Yetide Badaki, a 19-year-old McGill student, was indeed the Venus Hottentot.
While being dragged around the globe and gawked at, the Venus’ emotional state
evolves from excited to scared to happy to puzzled.
Yetide’s portrayal was intensely authentic; the changing faces of the audience members were proof enough that they were convinced of what the Venus felt.
Third year McGill psychology student Rachel Horton’s lively spirit exuded from each of her three different roles. “Step in, step in, step in, step in!” she cried to the make-believe gawkers as the Mother-Showman.
The set consisted simply of red, yellow, and green fabric on the walls, and a small square platform in the centre of the floor. Instead of props, the imaginative lighting was used to get points across.
In addition, there was a screen on the back wall which every so often projected computer-enhanced images that described the inner thoughts of the characters.
Using this effective tool was a wise decision on director Kareem Fahmy’s part, who is also the founder of the non-profit organization.
So, if theater whose plot baffles but whose characters enchat sounds appealing, this is a play to take in.
Taking place at the Players’ Theatre, Venus will be running from Sept. 25-29.
There will also be a matinee performance on Sept. 29. Ticket prices are $10 and $6 for students.
For information call (514) 398-6813.

The J-Lo beauty will play opposite Jackson in “Tick Tock” that starts filming in December.
While he plays a bomb-planter who wakes up in jail with amnesia, she is the FBI agent who helps him try to find the last bomb he set in order to prevent it from going off.
Madonna will star in hubby Guy Ritchie’s upcoming film “Swept Away,” which is an updated version of Lina Wertmuller’s 1975 Italian-language saga.
Also rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg has an upcoming role in “Training Day,” due out Oct. 6.
The Material Girl plays Raffaella, a rich woman who goes on a yachting vacation on the Mediterranean and becomes romantically involved with a communist sailor after the two are shipwrecked. The movie may begin shooting this fall.

Toni Braxton and hubby Keri Lewis of Mint Condition are expecting a child before the end of this year.

Nearly six months after the formation of the all-female rock group Bastard, the once quartet has been reduced to a duet. Only originator Courtney Love and former Hole drummer Patty Schemel remain.
When they started out in March, Bastard consisted of Love, Schemel, Veruca Salt guitarist Louise Post and former Rockit bassist Gina Crosley. However, personalities clashed and by the time the foursome began recording a demo this summer, Post and Crosley bailed to work on the forthcoming Veruca Salt album (they hope to release it next summer).
“I had some problems with some of the ladies and I don’t want to talk about it,” said Love. Post left due to “unhealthy and unprofessional working conditions.”
Regardless, Love and Schemel have finished the demo, which Love describes as combining Led Zeppelin and the Velvet Underground.
However, finding the right musicians for her group is tough for Love who
admitted: “I have really high standards and it’s not a joke anymore.”
Although she is thrilled to be teamed up with Schemel, she said that if she can’t form an all-female Bastard, she might pursue a solo career. This, however, is not the path she originally wanted to take.

Patience is a virtue Weezer fans: the band is planning to release their fourth album next May.
Meanwhile, Sarah McLachlan is in studios working on a new album as is Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
Carlos Santana has begun writing songs for a new album expected out sometime next year. It will be his follow-up to his smash hit “Supernatural” (1999) which cleaned house with nine Grammy awards.

While Shaggy is at the Molson Center on Sept 21, Sarah Harmer is at the
Spectrum. Following David Usher at Club Soda on Sept 28 are Cowboy Junkies on
Sept 30.