DEMO Reviews

The writers at DEMO have posted their reviews of various shows around Toronto.
Click on the links to check them out!

- In Hindsight: Reviews -

Braids at the Horseshoe Tavern

Joel Plaskett's Summer Concert

Jeff Magnum in Concert

The Home County Folk Festival

Born Gold at the Drake Underground

The Great American Trailer Park Musical

Part 9

Kashtin Fitzsimons, 2nd Year, Political Science

Song Title: Rolling Stone

Artist: The Weeknd

Album: Thursday

It would be an exaggeration of mythical proportions to suggest that this song is an accurate reflection of my summer. As far as the lyrics are concerned, I do not share any of the concerns The Weeknd voices on this haunting ballad. Barring unforeseen circumstances, I likely not smoke until I can't hit another note (I haven't started smoking, Mom. Don't worry).

My inability to relate to the content aside, The Weeknd's "Rolling Stone" was undoubtedly the musical backdrop to my summer. It was with me on my excruciatingly long bus ride from Brno, Czech Republic to Krakow, Poland. It gave me comfort as I tried to find my way back to my boat-el in Budapest, Hungary.

The Weeknd played his debut concert at the Mod Club on July 24. Accompanied by a single guitarist, he made me understand - for at least a moment - what it is like to run these streets for too long. It was at that moment that I forgot about the air conditioner unit above me dripping (hopefully) water on my head and the math class I should have been studying for that night. Nothing else mattered. At the end of the day, isn't that what summer is all about?

Part 8

Justin Lee, 1st Year, Humanities

Artist: Animal Collective

Song Title: My Girls

Album: Merriweather Post Pavillion

Filled with different sounds, layers of voices and various percussion, this is the song where Animal Collective's creativity can be shown fully and completely. The synthesizers are blasted, creating a colorful sound. The loud bass beats excite the senses and Panda Bear's hazy voice sings psychedelic lyrics. It is the perfect summer song to chill out to, laying in the grass under a blue sky.

Part 7

Mahmoud Bitar, 1st year, Life Sciences

Artist: Dark Tranquillity

Song Title: Lethe

Album: The Gallery

This song is my favourite song off my favourite album by my favourite band. I spent much of my summer discovering music and appreciating its beauty, trying to find my roots and construct a solid soul that is true to itself. Although my summer was full of laughs with great friends, I was constantly trying to "fix" my life: get a sense of purpose, start over, and forget the past with its good AND bad memories – which is the idea behind my chosen song, Lethe being the river of forgetfulness in Greek mythology.

Part 6

Evangeline Fitz, 1^st year, English

Song: Lose Your Soul

Band: Dead Man’s Bones

Album: Dead Man’s Bones (feat. The Silverlake Conservatory of Music Children’s Choir)

Dead Man’s Bones, the name says it all: music and looks are raw and eerie, featuring Ryan Gosling’s deep vocals backed by ethereal notes of a children’s choir. Though these attributes may be more associated with Halloween, this was my band of the summer. I played Lose Your Soul over and over again as I sat in the car with the windows down, passing by rural and urban landscapes. They issued from my iPod as I rode the subway, walked down the street, and went to the beach. I carried them with me everywhere.

"Lose Your Soul" is my favourite song on the album. It speaks of routine, of sacrificing desires for obligations. In other words, the lyrics show the complete opposite of my work-free, lie-on-the-roof summer. Perhaps it was this interesting juxtaposition that had me pressing repeat so often. Or perhaps it was simply because the song is so hauntingly beautiful, just like those stormy summer nights.

In Hindsight... The Great American Trailer Park Musical

Review:
The Great American Trailer Park Musical

"It's like an all-you-can-eat waffle bar. You just have to know when to stop," laments Pippi, the new girl in the trailer park in Hart House's 2011 fall play The Great American Trailer Park Musical. Betty, Lin and Donna "Pickles" act as the Greek chorus in this raunchy comedy, carrying audiences through the story of a torrid affair in Armadillo Acres, their Florida trailer park community. Stopping is far from what this musical does - the play first opened in New York and made it to off-Broadway in 2005, touring from there to Florida, the UK, Arizona and Australia. Now, Hart House welcomes the Great American Trailer Park Musical for its Toronto premiere.

The upset of the marriage between high school sweethearts Jeannie and Norbert Garstecki is at the center of the drama, exacerbated by the new girl in town, exotic dancer Pippi. To Pippi’s dismay her crazy boyfriend Duke - played with amazing comedic timing by Justin Bott – makes an appearance, after she tried to escape him by leaving town. The highlight of the show is a scene in which the trailer park girls play the parts of Pippi's fellow exotic dancers, and Duke storms into their dressing room after a manic car trip (whilst sniffing markers the whole way) to come steal her back. In a moment that felt as fresh as the old skits on Saturday Night Live, Lin lurks behind Duke, sniffing him and speaking in the deep voice of a cross-dresser. Moments like these left audiences hysterical long after the scene had ended. Jennifer Morris, a native of - as she puts it - a small "hick" town in New Brunswick, proved superb comic timing as Lin, and it left me wondering if she had come up with the idea to speak in a manly voice herself. Not holding back in the slightest, it was a joy to see these three young women flaunt it on stage. Their costumes were especially well done: most notably during the song "Storm's A-Brewin”, in which they were ordained with skin tight disco-era silver costumes.

Propped with kitschy details such as a pink flamingo and chains of rainbow lights, the set with its three mobile homes captured the essence of stereotypical trailer trash. Let it be noted that the "for mature audiences" warning should be heeded - frequent swearing and a very risqué pole dance come with this tour through the Great American Trailer Park. For those who appreciate the John Waters "Crybaby" and "Hairspray" version of the 50's and beyond, this will hit the spot. It is no doubt Betsy Kelso`s purposefully cheesy and overdone script was written with a nod to camp heroes like Waters. Although the story feels a bit thin at times, this musical offers a perfect escape from back to school blues, providing great comic relief and an exploding level of enthusiasm on the part of its actors. - By Shauna C. Keddy

(Photos by Daniel Di Marco)

The musical plays at Hart House Theatre (www.harthouse.ca) until October 8.

-Written by Shauna Keddy