Strange dream: teaching money management to a developmentally disabled woman

 In the dream, I am recommended by a student of mine to teach basic money management skills to a developmentally disabled woman. I meet with the woman--a heavy-set blonde with Downs--and a nurse, also female, sitting with them in a restaurant, and watch the nurse explain to the woman about her income and the portion that has to go to her caregiver (or such; I forget the word used, but it was a paid position, with the caregiver apparently using some of this money to pay the woman's bills). She writes out other expenses, tries to show the woman how to add the figures together and subtract from the income and such; but the nurse (a social worker would make more sense but the dream was the dream, you know?) doesn't really explain to me what this person's difficulties are, what part is hard for her to understand, and presents the figures, when explaining them, as if the woman will understand already what they mean, without making sure I'm also following, so in fact, *I* don't entirely understand what they mean: for example, what does the portion of the income that goes to the caregiver actually cover? Does rent come out of that? Plus my own money management skills are lacking, so I'm not sure if there are things that this woman needs to understand that I myself do not understand; I am left with notes of figures on a page, entirely unclear how to proceed. 

That's the first meeting with them; for the second meeting, it's just the nurse and I, and she gets angry with me for clearly not understanding things, and storms away into the back of the restaurant. I begin to realize that she is also lacking the skills to do what needs to be done, that she has stresses on her back borne of not knowing, not understanding. I go over my notes and slowly start to piece together the job that I'm supposed to do: there are a few "aha" moments that make sense with what I witnessed, and I go into the back of the restaurant to find her and bring her back to the table, so I can show her that I get it. Or at least that I think I get it. I begin to formulate plans for lessons, exercises to teach the woman how to do what is needed. Sure, I can do this job! It just took me a little while to understand what the problem was...  

See The Rip, plus my fave Joe Carnahan movies ranked!

Joe Carnahan -- director of the new Netflix thriller The Rip, to which I will return -- makes great thrillers. The best of them are full of 1970s-style grit, stubble, and cynicism. I knew from seeing Narc theatrically, first-run back in 2002, and recognizing Jason Patric's moustache as a conscious nod to Elliott Gould's in Busting, that he was a filmmaker after my heart. Man that film came as a surprise... felt like it was straight out of 1973; he hasn't gone quite so "Full-70s" since, has blended in more contemporary elements, but the fact that he could and did make a film so steeped in the aesthetic of that time is something that I have not forgotten...

In fact, Carnahan reminds me a lot of (Busting director) Peter Hyams: a superb cinematic craftsman who takes pride in making crisp, smart, unpretentious genre cinema for grownups. It's still "just" genre cinema, mostly, but sometimes a great genre movie is like a really fantastic hamburger: it's exactly what you need in the moment, satisfying in a way that a fancier meal at a more expensive restaurant simply would not be. The comparison between Hyams and Carnahan is only superficial, since that I can detect, unlike Hyams, Carnahan lacks "signature moves" or specific visual/ stylistic flourishes: Hyams' films almost always have a gripping, protracted foot chase in them (Busting, The Star Chamber, The Presidio), and often have scenes where characters negotiate a dark area with the help of a single powerful light (Outland, The Relic). But at this point (sorry, Mr. Hyams) Carnahan has made more good movies than Hyams (and fewer bad ones). He's made more good ones/ fewer bad ones than Walter Hill, too! (though none quite as good as Southern Comfort).  

I have not seen everything that Joe Carnahan has done, but here are my very favourite of his films, pretty much in order, with the best at the top.

1. The Grey. An existentially-minded wilderness survival thriller about the confrontation with death and the refusal to give up that packs a potent punch. I hope it did Liam Neeson some good, acting in it, granted him some catharsis, bolstered his resolve to fight on, given the loss of his immensely talented and lovely wife shortly before the film was made; his character in The Grey also loses a wife, though I guess that's technically a bit of a spoiler, since you don't really figure that out until near the end (but we've all seen the film, haven't we?). Yes, I realize the wolves in the film -- about plane crash survivors fighting off a pack of them in the north -- don't act much like real wolves, but that's kind of how it goes for wolves, generally, in cinema. I still liked watching them, even if they were, uh, "fictionally portrayed." Plus, I mean, I don't turn to survival horror cinema to learn about real animal behaviour. Like, grizzlies aren't known for wrestling Lelsie Nielsen, either, but I still love The Day of the Animals. 

The Grey is not only my favourite Carnahan movie (and at the time of the commentary, his own favourite of the films he's made), it's in my top five "wilderness survival"/ outdoor ordeal horror movies, in last place after Southern Comfort, Rituals, Clearcut, and Deliverance. (Don't make me explain putting Deliverance fourth; it's personal, not aesthetic, as Deliverance is clearly the most objectively important of those films). Those are four hard-to-beat films, so fifth place is still badge-of-honour territory in this corner of the cinematic universe. And The Grey is actually a notch above The Edge, though I'm fond of that one too; that's also one to see, if you've missed it.  

2. The A-Team. Disclaimer: I have no investment in the TV series that this film adapts; I don't think I ever saw a single episode as a kid (I just wasn't into that kind of TV show). But I loved this film; I don't remember much about it -- it passed through me like the popcorn I ate watching it, but that only means I can watch it again anytime and still be amused. It's maybe the most trivial confection imaginable, but... put it this way, the tank scene alone is more inventive, outlandish and hilarious than anything that occurs in 99% of all other action movies ever made (do yourself a favour and read no more about it, if you haven't seen it; just find the film and watch it). That counts for a lot of my love of the movie, in fact -- that one scene;  but the whole movie is also fast paced, funny, crisply edited, and witty. So it's a fucking A-Team movie, what of it? 

If anyone ever accuses me of being a film snob again -- it's been awhile, but still -- I will tell them I have seen The A-Team twice and plan to see it again someday (maybe soon!). That oughta shut'em up. 

3. Wheelman. Sure, Carnahan only co-produced it, unlike the previous two, which he wrote, directed, and in the case of The Grey, also produced, but this film is just great and I figure some of you won't have seen it, so I'm sticking it here nonetheless. It's a 70s-referencing car-chase film that takes a cue from Walter Hill's The Driver, but also has a bit of Richard Stark in it, given how stripped down and mean it is. Almost everything in it takes place in cars, and the "car stuff" is superbly photographed and edited. I liked this film way better than I did Drive (though I did LIKE Drive, don't get me wrong). And Frank Grillo is great in the lead, co-starring with two of the most talented supporting actors out there, Garret Dillahunt and Shea Wigham. I think of Grillo as Carnahan regular (he's great in The Grey, too), so his presence is another reason I think of this as kind of Carnahan baby. Think it's on Netflix or Prime or something. If you like car-centric crime movies, put it on the to-watch list immediately. 

4. Boss Level. The idea of a character having to repeat the same challenges over and over again until he solves a problem has been done several times in cinema at this point, probably starting with Groundhog Day, but it has been well exploited in action-oriented science fiction since then, too (Source Code is another good one, though I think there's a Tom Cruise film that predates it along the same lines -- Edge of Tomorrow, maybe? It wasn't terrible but I'm not going to bother looking it up). Even though Carnahan and company are obviously thinking more of video games than the Eternal Recurrence of the Same, Boss Level is still the most Nietzschean of these films, and made me laugh aloud at its protagonist's multiple deaths (Frank Grillo, again, by the way; he's kind of a budget Bradley Cooper, but I enjoy his work immensely). Plus I have a guilty fondness for Mel Gibson, always have. I don't want to socialize with him or be married to him or listen to his religious or political views; but I always enjoy watching him work.  Even though it made me think of Nietzsche, Boss Level is a very light film; but it is also a highly entertaining, energetically-crafted one. And it's just more fun to watch than another "popular favourite" pick for Carnahan's finest, which brings us around to...

5. Narc. I have only seen this twice and to be honest, don't TOTALLY love the film -- it ends just a little too abruptly, like it's impatient to wrap things up, so that like many crime films, I like the first half (the set up) better than the second (the resolution); but I love that it is the only 21st century film that really gets the vibe of 1970s American cop cinema right. Narc cranks the cynicism and despair to levels unseen in theatres since 1976 (has great dialogue, too, hardboiled, stylized, but totally realistic; Carnahan must have spent a lot of time with cops. People who enjoy The Friends of Eddie Coyle will appreciate it). I still like Busting, the film it reminds me of, more than I like Narc, but I'll take Narc over Training Day, or any other 70s-wannabe cop show out there, any day. And again, some critics say its his best film. I don't; maybe I'd rank it higher on third viewing, but I just remember feeling vaguely let down by the second half the first time through... It sure is my favourite Jason Patric film though... best 70s moustache in a 21st century film... even Ray Liotta's facial hair is pretty cool... 

I am going to skip #6 for a second, since I'm going in order, to quickly mention 7, 8, 9, and 10, which are -- maybe not totally in order, but roughly speaking -- Pride and Glory (written but not directed by), Smokin' Aces, Cop Shop, and (again, production-only, but still) the remake of Point Blank, which deserved a lot more love than it got. I confess that this is also (besides #6) also now a near complete list of Carnahan films I've seen; I never got around to Stretch, haven't seen Not Without Hope yet, am not remotely interested in Shadow Force (which sounds like a real stinker; even the title is terrible). And, sorry, I didn't care much about the Death Wish remake, which I am tempted not to lay at Carnahan's door, anyhow, since, one gathers sizeable changes were made to his script; watch Kevin Bacon in Death Sentence, instead (or, like, the original Charles Bronson film, though that's a pretty ugly, crude piece of filmmaking). Interviews with Carnahan suggest that a lot of potential got wasted with Death Wish, that his screenplay was a lot more interesting than what Eli Roth ultimately ended up doing with it. It was the last film Bruce Willis acted in that I saw theatrically, though he did do a couple of other high-profile things before he disappeared into low-budget direct-to-video crap, as his health began to decline.

 It's not every day that an actor's performance in a film makes you think, "I preferred Charles Bronson's," y'know?

But enough: let's get back to #6, which I just watched on Netflix: 

#6: The Rip. I don't want to say that much about The Rip. It's a clever, tense, unique film that reminds me enough of the "serious" crime movies that Ben Affleck makes (The Town, but better yet, Gone Baby Gone) that it makes perfect sense that, hey look, Ben Affleck is actually in it! Matt Damon too. But are they going to shoot each other? 

I am not going to tell you if they do, but you will be wondering about exactly that question at a couple of junctures in the film, which means this is an interesting, unexpected use of these two actors (I am a fan of neither but nor do I hate them; I just kind of accept that they're out there). Again, there's a lot of 70s cop movie grit and cynicism here, though nowhere near the level you see in Narc. The plot involves a group of cops who get tipped off to a stash house where a cartel has a vast amount of money hidden in the walls. But can all of them be trusted? Can their bosses be trusted? Will they all kill each other fighting over the money, or will the Cartel take care of that? And what's their leader, Matt Damon, up to, exactly? Why is he telling everyone a different story? Why does he seem to want to draw suspicion on himself?  

I don't want to give away much more -- again, I liked the first half more than the second, but as I say, I almost always do with these kinds of films. Climactic action scenes usually bore me a bit, y'know? And the chase scenes are on the generic side, with this one, especially compared to Wheelman (my late friend Thomas Ziorjen once observed that he hated car chases in movies in much the same way that he hated drum solos in music). Plus I also had made some pretty good guesses as to how the plot would play out... 

But -- hey, you want a decent cop thriller? It's my sixth favourite Carnahan, nowhere near the top of the list, but even with a few quibbles, I enjoyed it immensely, as did Erika. I won't be THINKING about it much, think it may even cheat a bit at times, and I sure don't plan to buy it, should it get a physical media release, but it was thoroughly enjoyable in a low-expectation, "what's-on-Netflix" way, which I guess I'm now ruining by praising it. It's also the second-highest rated original film in Netflix history, after Jeremy Saulnier's Rebel Ridge. (Which is even better; note that Saulnier just finished shooting his newest feature in Vancouver).   

And here's a fun reason to watch the film: there's a smart, unique deal that has been struck that will actually reward the makers if it does well. From the Wiki on the movie: "The contract between Artists Equity and Netflix is notable because the streaming service agreed to pay a one-time bonus to the 1,200 people who worked on the film if the movie meets certain performance benchmarks within its first 90 days. This is a departure from Netflix's usual approach of paying a single, upfront fee to talent."

So if enough people watch this film ASAP, 1200 workers will get bonuses! If it were a bad movie, that wouldn't matter much and I wouldn't be recommending it, but it's a well-crafted little thriller. If you like the idea for people getting a nice bit of extra cash for having made it, check out The Rip, now streaming on Netflix, while it is still within the 90-day window. Oh, and besides Affleck and Damon, Stephen Yeun (Glen from The Walking Dead) is in it, as are Kyle Chandler, Scott Adkins, and the lead actress from One Battle After Another, Teyana Taylor, who has a very interesting charisma. There's also a small role for an actor named Sal Lopez, who looked somewhat familiar; turns out he's done a couple of John Sayles films (I don't remember Go For Sisters much but I liked him in Silver City). I don't recognize much else in his long filmography, but one other film leaps out: back in 1987, Lopez appeared in Full Metal Jacket!

I wonder what that must be like for an actor, to have worked with a director like Kubrick: does everyone else on the shoot want to ask questions about that? "What was he like?" Does it get tiresome? (It must at least look great on a CV!). 

Anyhow, The Rip... check it out... and if you've somehow missed The Grey (or The A-Team), trust me!

This is your brain on Exu

Highly unlikely that any publication I write for is going to touch these images.

So I'm just putting them here, hoping I don't get in trouble for it. 

This is Exu Nazares (Windwalker, Technicians of the Sacred, Les Barons, Silent Gathering, House of Exu, Ashe Gallery. Previous key figure in this story). 

And that's his brain. 

Crushed Velvet do Bowie Ball "Part 3" (unofficially): the Terminal Sunglasses connection (at the Princeton TONIGHT)

I never set out to interview Michael Blanchard per se; I just wrote who I could find on Facebook connected with Crushed Velvet. I had seen the band twice, and was thinking of seeing them again at the Princeton this evening -- the last slot on the bill, going on about midnight (Cold Lake goes on at 9 and Silent Martin at 1030, roughly). With two recent performances at the Bowie Ball and the Bowie Ball Pit, I figured a fast Straight feature was all they would need to guarantee them a full house; plus I had enjoyed them, so I just went a head and wrote who I could find. Blanchard wrote back. 

Crushed Velvet at LanaLou's, Michael Blanchard in the foreground 

It is somewhat of an irony then, that I have a record that he is on: the first It Came from Canada compilation I only figured this out as I was nearing the final draft of my Straight piece. He'd mentioned Terminal Sunglasses as a Montreal garage band he was in, and I quickly put it together where to look to see if I had any around. Indeed I do. And even more amusingly, one of the two songs on the LP has a rock video for it. 

Almost everything on the album -- the first in a series, which began in 1985 on a Montreal label, OG Music -- is garage-infused, with traces of rockabilly and punk, and it's all generally all kind of goofy, giving a showcase to bands from all over the country, some of which remain pretty obscure... but not all. It's one of the rare rock compilations that benefits from the listener having a sense of humour. It is also not all that uncommon, if people want to acquire a copy; the first two frequently turn up (the last few less so).  

This makes the third band on the comp (tracklist here) who I've met members of, since I did in fact chat in person with Blanchard at LanaLou's last Sunday.  I've seen the Enigmas, of course, with Paul McKenzie of the Real McKenzies on lead vocals, in a couple of their late-phase incarnations. And I recently interviewed the drummer of My Dog Popper, Steve Kravac, about his new life as a record label owner. I've met members of Ray Condo's band (albeit not from the incarnation on the comp), and interacted on Facebook with Chris Houston (whose acoustic "Surfin' on Heroin" is an album standout; it later got adapted by the Forgotten Rebels. He has a new album out btw). Same goes with members of Jerry Jerry and the Sons of Rhythm Orchestra (Jerry is retired from music; I have four of their albums, the most valuable of which I happily rescued from a Salvation Army bin) and Deja Voodoo (Gerard is touring again, no Vancouver date yet; I have three Deja Voodoos and have plans to collect'em all, though I'm mostly a Swamp of Love guy). 

I've slowly begun bugging people who are on these comps for their signatures (Tim Chan, Dale Wiese, and Mike Van Eyes have signed volume 2; someday after I am gone someone will be tickled to have this, since a signature on a record never dies). 

More good news for record geeks; the Terminal Sunglasses Wrap Around Cool LP got a reissue about ten years ago, including 200 copies on pink vinyl. It's possibly findable, probably already a collectible, and as usually happens, probably of the most value to people who were there at the time (I do think I remember seeing this at Collectors RPM or such back in the day). The 80s were just a goofier time in Canadian music...

Fittingly, there is indeed a reference to the Velvet Underground -- who will be heavily represented in Crushed Velvets site -- in a writeup on Terminal Sunglasses, which Blanchard pointed out to me:

The psychedelic garage band Terminal Sunglasses were part of the Montreal punk and new wave scene from 1983 to 1985. Labelled an "avant-garage" band, they updated 60s influences with the Velvet Underground's sound, and filtered it all through 1980s punk sensibilities and a wonderful sense of humour. In 1985, they released their only LP, Wrap Around Cool, on the amazing OG Music label. The record immediately shot to the top of the college and community radio charts, remaining at the #1 position for many weeks.

Anyhow, that's all value-added stuff for me, though I'd be less keen if I didn't genuinely enjoy their Velvets covers (which, no foolin', brought the Scenics to mind, who have a great album of Velvets covers, How Does It Feel to Be Loved; I'll be writing about them in the coming year, as well).  

One outtake from the Straight piece on Crushed Velvet: Wayne Pattern, the singer, had commented about his eyepatch at the Bowie Ball, saying he really was missing an eye, but didn't have his patch on at the Rickshaw. So I asked the band if that was a Bowie reference I wasn't getting? 

Blanchard's answer: "Bowie wore an eyepatch for a photoshoot back in early ‘74. Wayne lost his eyesight [in one eye only I assume!] in a climbing accident. The patch keeps out useless glare which distorts vision." It's seen in the "Rebel Rebel" video, as well, and apparently was worn for real purposes: Bowie had pinkeye! (It wasn't in fact a reference to Bowie's damaged eye and enlarged pupil, which is what I thought it might be). 

There'll be more Bowie tonight, too -- see the Straight article for more on this, but tonight, Crushed Velvet is going to do "Queen Bitch," as well as recapping its Bowie Ball set. So consider it Bowie Ball Sub-Pit? Bowie Ball 2026 Part 3? Where else are you gonna hear a cover of "Liza Jane" tonight? (Or for that matter, "What Goes On?"). 

Truth is, I'm more of a "What Goes On" man myself, but "Queen Bitch" is a pretty great Bowie tune, in fact. 

Seeya at the Princeton!

From the Bowie Ball to the Bowling Ball: Bowie Ball Pit notes, pics, and video links, 2026

 

I hope you will have questions about some of the images I am sharing from today's excursion to LanaLou's. Like, why is Kent Lindsay examining a Taylor Swift colouring book (above)? And why is he holding a bowling ball (below)? Who brings bowling balls to LanaLou's? And more importantly: why? 

To understand the answer to the latter question, I recommend reading this report from my 20th anniversary celebration of my blog, last year, also at LanaLou's. The Minimalist Jug Band, AKA Al Mader, who performed at that gig, had somehow grooved on the symbolism of carrying a found bowling ball with him to the venue for his performance there, where David M., pictured above with Kent, played. Al gifted me the ball, passing its symbolic and literal weight onto me. If I had done something to deserve this gift, I am unclear, but I have had the ball in my apartment since, occasionally rolling it about on the floor when it got in the way of things. 

Kent and M. go way back: in fact, M. was best man at Kent's wedding, just like he was best man at mine. And Kent is part of the small team at Atomic Werewolf, the label that is releasing the NO FUN back catalogue (and more!). You can read more about Kent's history with M. here. 

You might guess where this is going: having put out the call to find a suitable home for the bowling ball -- taking it as a thing to be passed on with some gravitas, as Al Mader's comment on the Sisyphean nature of creation, or something -- I discovered that, in fact, Kent Lindsay bowls. And I also learned, thanks to the research of my friend Judith, that this is a pretty good bowling ball: nothing to sneeze at! 

Photo by Erika Lax

Tony Lee, getting onstage with the Moonlighters, graciously took a minute to snap the photos below, of the rite of passage, my ball becoming Kent's, fulfilling the trajectory the Minimalist Jug Band set in motion last year. Even though my wife in fact ended up joining us later in the night, I packed the bowling ball in my backpack, since Al had himself carried it to LanaLou's that fateful day. 

That's just how I roll. 

Photos of Allan and Kent by Tony Lee (thanks!)

By that point, Crushed Velvet  had already peformed, doing the same songs at they had done at the ball (see previous post for commentary on one of them, their Kingbees cover from Bowie's Davie Jones years; the link under their name, by the way, takes you to their cover of "White Light/ White Heat." They are in fact best known as a Lou Reed cover band, and will be performing at Scott Beadle's Lou Reed event in March at the Princeton. They also re-did their version of "Satellite of Love," which is again a Lou song, but with a Bowie connection, since Transformer was co-produced by Bowie; and Iggy's "Lust for Life," which seemed much more suited to the environs of LanaLou's and the couple of enthusiastic adult dancers (most of the dancers were children, but not for that song). They did a couple of other Lou songs as well, adding them to their set: "Take a Walk on the Wild Side" and "What Goes On" and... was there one other? 

My favourite thing they did was "What Goes On," especially because the little kids had started to dance by that point, but I didn't capture it on video. That "White Light/ White Heat" was nothing to sneeze at, though! Reminded me of the Scenics' album of Velvets covers, in fact. 

Next up came the Moonlighters, with Tony Lee, who, like me, was a bit under the weather, if I overheard correctly. He and Bob the bassist are the members I knew best. I did not establish the names of all the other members (I've seen Dimitri on trombone before, too). I  also didn't take notes of their songs, but they were all more "strictly Bowie," and the link under their name goes to their cover of "Ziggy Stardust." I believe they also did a "Rebel Rebel" and a few others...

...But mostly I remember that they did "Rebel Rebel" because Cora and the Moon commented on how several of the Bowie songs they'd picked had been done by other bands that night! Cora and the Moon is  fronted by the proprietor of the very fun Little Miss Vintage shop on the drive, which emcee Rebel Valentine pointed out to the audience, saying several of the Bowie Ball attendees had acquired their glammy garb there; I believe I saw them (and enjoyed them) at last year's Lou Reed tribute show, but they seemed quite a bit more confident at the Bowie Ball Pit. I enjoyed how passionately Cora belted out some of the songs but now I've completely forgotten what they did ("Five Years," maybe?). That's her son in the Melvins shirt; she told us so.

Oh, they mighta done "Moonage Daydream," too, or was that the Moonlighters? Someone did it! It was a very confident, enjoyable set, in any case!

Next came my friend David M. of NO FUN, who kicked things off with a stellar "Laughing Gnome," which got the kids dancing again, then an "Absolute Beginners" that he played (I think he said) at Kent's wedding (or at least that WAS played at Kent's wedding, which M. was at. He's told me the story more than once, but did I take notes? No!). I didn't catch that on video, but I did get his "Moonage Daydream" rewrite, "Elf Toymaker." I have heard that song many times, so much so that if ever hear someone sing, "I'm an alligator," the next line that inexorably comes to mind is, "I wear tiny curly pointy-toe shoes." 

Which alligators typically do not do. 

Anyhow, you can hear that song, and learn the story behind the Taylor Swift colouring book, by clicking the link with his name (the link with the song title takes you to the album it is on, which is a very fun listen, if you've missed it). 

Finally came the WTFs, which they say stands for a different thing depending on their audience: I think they called it  Wildeyed Teenage Fashion. I am sure there is much  mileage to be gotten from this: Widespread Touchable Fomites; Worried Testicular Frown; Wistful Termite Fantasies, etc. The Bowie Ball Pit listing had it as the What the Fudges. They were very inventive, playing kazoos and oddball instruments (Dave Bowes described one as a "homemade dijeridoo" in conversation with me) that I cannot confidently identify and did brilliantly wacky readings of classic Bowie, including "Space Oddity," previously linked. I hope Al Mader gets to see them some day. Maybe they'll play next year at the Bowie Ball Pit? 

I would suggest Al learn a couple of Bowie songs for next year, and agitate for his presence, but who knows what he might bring with him to LanaLou's? An anvil, maybe?

David M. commented that he's done both the Bowie Ball and the Bowie Ball Pit and said that the Pit show is more fun. He's done it three times now. I hope he does it again. (His take on "When I'm Five" is really lovely; I did not know that song until I heard him cover it. Here he is at the actual Bowie Ball, last year, doing it). And here is his "Laughing Gnome" there, though yesterday he prefaced it with a little reference to "Starman": "And all the children boogie."

Indeed they did! The kids were great.

And now the ball has passed.

Photo by Erika Lax

Bowie Ball 2026 - notes and photos!

 Group shot by Chris Crud: Christobel, Erika, Allan, and Spencer of the Vanrays, Rickshaw Jan 10 2026

My battery died. I got no photos of the Vanrays last night, but I got to dance to "Diamond Dogs" instead of trying to capture a perfect image; and then when my wife and her friend Christobel, AKA Wendy, wanted a group photo with me, Spencer and I were chatting about the Vanrays' powerhouse reading of Tin Machine's "Under the God." This is hiw he ended up un the photo! He was telling me he'd wanted to do a song with Nazis in it, he explained--a man who is sensitive to current events. Worth reading the lyrics! 

Under the God
Skin dance back-a-the condo
Skin heads getting to school

Beating on Blacks with a baseball bat
Racism back in rule
White trash picking up Nazi flags
While you was gone, there was war
This is the West, get used to it
They put a swastika over the door

Under the God
Under the God
One step over the red line
Under the God
Under the God
Ten steps into the crazy

Washington heads in the toilet bowl
Don't see supremacist hate
Right wing dicks in their boiler suits
Picking out who to annihilate

Toxic jungle of Uzi trails
Tribesmen just wouldn't live here
Fascist flare is fashion cool
Well, you're dead - you just ain't buried (yet)

Under the God
Under the God
One step over the red line
Under the God
Under the God
Ten steps into the crazy

As the walls came tumbling down
So, the secrets that we shared
I believed you by the palace gates
Now the savage days are here

Under the gods
Crazy eyed man with a shot gun
Hot headed creep with a knife
Love and peace and harmony
Love you could cut with a life

Under the God
Under the God
One step over the red line
Under the God
Under the God
Ten steps into the crazy

Bowie wrote that in the 1990s... what would he say about America today? 

Speaking of topical tunes, openers Disaster in a Dress did "I'm Afraid of Americans," too!

But back to the pic at the top, Chris Crud, in a glammy orange dress, obliged us and snapped the photo, but there were a bunch of other later bands besides the Vanrays that I didn't shoot -- I was saving battery to get a little Bombshells before it died altogether. Mission accomplished: 

All shots by me unless otherwise noted

Didn't get a good one of Siobhan, the guitarist -- there were just too many people to cross to the other side; and there was no shortage of photographers (I knew Bob and Gord but there were three other pros in the pit and lots of cellphone amateurs like me). I'm very glad Siobhan is back on the stage! Apparently she left Vancouver stages or 10 or more years after her husband died too young of cancer, which she mentioned in the course of dedicating the Bombshells' version of "Starman" -- which, sadly, I did not capture on video. They also did "Blue Jean" and "Suffragette City" and a song I didn't recognize. 

Erika and her friend Christobel got Face painted, too. 

(selfie by Erika)

By the way, here's my Straight feature with Mellow. Her Mom used to work for the Straight, apparently, and was tickled to get mentioned. I think Mellow told me her name was Zoe Friesen? She met her stepdad at the Straight; I think he was taking photographs for them... maybe his name was Ryan? It was hard to hear and there were lots of distractions; Mellow was popular last night! 

There were lots of costumes on display. Talesha was very diplomatic standing aside for the people in silver. I am glad not to have had to cheer her this time: my throat was ratched. The winner of the contest, I think, should be obvious. It's kinda nice that I have no idea whatsoever what their gender is:

But I think we need to do something to publicly acknowledge Talesha's presence -- her awesome care in costuming, her constant presence at shows, and the tirelessness of her dancing. Maybe if we're not going to give her a prize, we can actually name the prize after her or something? Definitely an MVP of the Vancouver scene: 

There were other MVPs present, often heavy hitters. Cass King did something odd with Bowie's "Lazarus," which people may or may not have understood, singing the song from offstage--I presume to mark Bowie's absence? People were confused, especially if they a) didn't know the song and its meaning or b) weren't in full view of the stage ("Is she up there, somewhere?" A lot of craning necks!). She also sung a reggae-fied version of "Rock'n Roll Suicide" with Roots Yard earlier in the night, while my wife and Christobel were getting their faces done, thereby missing Tania (Friends with Guests, Red Herring, Stone Cold Crazy) and Rachel Strobl (Coach StrobCam, also with Greg Kelly, who did double duty with Roots Yard and China Syndrome), also doing vocals, trading off with Cass. Rachel's look has changed a lot over the years; it took me a minute to recognize her. Check out her lead on "It Ain't Easy" on her Instagram.

I loved Tania's dress. Here's Roots Yard:

As for Cass King and the Cassettes, their funniest bit involved fighting for the right to do "Heroes," one of those songs that everyone vies for, which they won by agreeing to do, as a "contractual obligation," David Bowie's "The Laughing Gnome," which was rehabilited and reintroduced into the Bowie Ball repertoire last year by my buddy David M., who will no doubt be performing it TODAY, SUNDAY JANUARY 11th at the Bowie Ball pit. 

Cass was somewhat derisive about "The Laughing Gnome," joking that she had realized that only ten years separated "The Laughing Gnome" and "Heroes," which -- I can only paraphrase -- meant to her that, if, in your writing practice, you wake up one morning to realize you have written "The Laughing Gnome" (or something equally trivial), don't let it stop you. I have come to quite adore "The Laughing Gnome," however. 

Anyhow, her mild derision for "The Laughing Gnome" did nothing to stop the band from doing a hilarious, bang-up cover version of it, a jubilant, swingin' arrangement. Bowie himself was on the way to re-embracing the song in the last years of his life. If there is one thing I wish he could have lived to see about the Bowie Ball, it is the re-emergence of "The Laughing Gnome." 

I am sure the gnome would get a kick out of it, too. I didn't really get good shots of Cass but here's video of the first two songs in their set!

I think the only other video I'll post is for China Syndrome's "Ashes to Ashes." I am going to have to replay it to see what Tim sings in place of "Jap girls;" last time I heard him do the song, at the Princeton, he very noticeably omitted the racial slur, for obvious reasons, but it produced an awkward line reading -- a gap in the vocal. I noticed no such gap last night! (I've actually replayed it since I wrote the above and still can't make it out -- but it sounds okay, which is what counts; if you're going to change the lyrics, at least do it in a way that doesn't make listeners do a double-take). 

Check out the wicked guitar solo at the end of that clip by Mark Anthony Richardson of Ophelia Falling, guesting with the band...  

"The Laughing Gnome" wasn't the only super-early rarity covered. Lou Reed cover band Crushed Velvet reached way back into the Bowie catalogue to do the Kingbee's "Liza Jane," from back when Bowie was still Davie Jones. Real fun -- I preferred the early deep cuts to the late ones (favoured later by Spacejunk, say). Tamla Mah, seen above, joined them for a song, too! 

Star Collector, too, did a pretty great early Bowie tune called "Let Me Sleep Beside You." I was wiped out at that point and only got a distant photo. I liked there "Hang On To Yourself," as well -- one of the punkiest songs of the evening, though no competition for the Vanrays' "Under the God."

There are other bands I did get photos of, however. Shag the Band, whose name really needs to be given with all three words for the joke to work, did a marvelous "Young Americans," for example. They  had the most sequins, between band members and the guitarist had the Best Hat of the Night. I did think (to be mildly critical) that they needed to work on the male harmony vocals, but the women were astounding, as were all the female singers last night. 

What else do I have? Mostly just photos. Rebel Valentine, the MC and one of the Vanrays singers, and Dave Bowes, the event organizer, are pictured below. 

But like I say, my camera died during the Bombshells' set. I hope someone posts their "Starman," because it was a highlight, as was the entire set by the Vanrays (I was right up front when Phil, on bass, fell over; he's fine!). Even though I was exhausted, I got up and danced, and we then stuck around for the Walk-Ins, who I don't really know, but who did a great job of, for instance, "I'm Waiting for the Man," one of two Velvets songs that got covered. I was unaware that Bowie and Reed had sung that together. 

It was the first time I made it all the way to the end of a Bowie Ball. 

Anyhow, it's a great night of community and creativity and cover tunes, and those hankering for more should come to the Bowie Ball Pit, the all-ages next-day afterparty today at LanaLou's starting at 4pm today (Sunday January 11th). I'll be there, and David M. will do "The Laughing Gnome." How can you resist? 

I might add a Bob Hanham or Gord McCaw photo or two later, maybe, so check back here for a bit more in a couple days?