As an experiment into filling a whole night at Cafe Montmartre (4362 Main Street at 28th Avenue) with varied textures of performance from members of our multifarious crew and extended family, the Creaking Planks celebrate Blackbox Squeezebeard entering into his fourth decade with the April (Ship of) Fools Variety Show from 8 pm through “late” (past midnight!) Saturday, April 4th. Performances will include magic from Travis, interstitial improvisation and ukulele from Ehren Salazar and John Barbour, new music from familiar faces Paul Hendriks (aka the Rev. Lucian Rumblebucket), possibly demonstrating his banjo aptitude, and Eryn Holbrook (aka Daisy Jones-Locher — who worked a wonderful whimsical adaptation of Hieronymus Bosch’s “Ship of Fools” into the show’s poster!) contributing a solo set a couple of months earlier than usual, sharing her voice-and-keys songwriting not much heard since the days of her Perpetual Dream Theory project. Also joining us will be a very special set from washtub bass outsider Al Mader, the Minimalist Jug Band, and of course a couple of sets of Creaking Planks creaking and planking.
At Montmartre we play for tips, but we anticipate your generosity in support of this jam-packed night and its auspicious occasion.
Licking its hard-earned wounds from the recent critical success at the Waterfront Theatre, the series resumes at the Little Mountain Studios (195 E. 26th at Main) presenting its varied music and comedy variety show, now on a monthly basis.
Acts this time around include the Planks, Stick Twigs, the unique improvised musical stylings of host EC Salazar, & more acts to be announced…
Salazar intones fatefully: “there may very well be multi colored balloons.”
Last month we bore witness to a surprising revival of a long-dormant variety show series, Ehren Salazar’s HIDDEN AGENDA, resurrected on three days’ notice as a benefit for our old pal Becky of Sweetie Pie Press. Formerly the series largely took place at Wink, with sporadic upswellings at the Butchershop Floor and, later, its scion the Little Mountain Studios. Not this time, though. We’ve decided to shoot for the stars and take advantage of a good price on one of Vancouver’s classic rooms, booting the event right out of the LMS backroom and booking the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island (1412 Cartwright Street).
And what will we be presenting at that theatre, well you might ask? Not only is Aaron Read joined by the Sunday Service’s genuises of comic improv, not only will Anna Vandas be making sweet music, NOT ONLY are the Creaking Planks also on board… but the event will also be featuring screenings from 2008’s Animatron festival of animation. All that plus handy hosting by Ehren “Monster Dinosaur” Salazar and, who knows, perhaps some special guests.
Doors are at 7:30, with the show beginning promptly at 8 pm; admission is $12 at the door or $10 with a food bank donation.
We haven’t played a show with our Victorian friend Natasha Enquist since the Accordion Noir festival four months ago, but her luscious leiderhosen made a compelling case for welcoming her back to town. Besides, she sat in the front row when we played the Solstice, so we owe it to her to make her feel welcome. Similarly, with some false alarms accounted for it’s been a while since we last played the Little Mountain Studios (almost seven months! can it truly be? unprecedented!), but perhaps the absence will make our return to our first “house band” assignment all the sweeter. And how better to cinch the deal than draw on our renaissance man of the arts, Ehren Salazar, improvisatory master of every medium he sets himself to. (Need we remind you of the thrilling account of the reverse zamboni?) All that plus we hope to fool Dr. Steelhand into bringing out the cards and coins again for some legerdemain and fine trickery, and it can be yours for a suggested five dollar donation to help us float Natasha out with her squeezebox. (For a sneak preview, catch her the night of Friday the 2nd from 9:30-10:30 pm on Accordion Noir at CFRO 102.7 fm!)
Nice photo, eh? It’s by Samantha King!
Edit: arguably our best LMS performance ever, despite virtually no PA and the bitter end of Vancouver’s surprise winter weather (the LMS formerly being a butcher’s shop, the back area is actually designed precisely for making meat cold; in any case, the hoary frost kept Daisy Jones-Locher away, but otherwise it was a nice Planks reunion to get the year off to a good start) — we filled every chair in the place and all the acts were well-received, with special audience guests the Mezamazing crew who we hope to join us on stage there in a few months.
Calgary visitor Sean handily took a photo of the proceedings, the space still decked up for the holidays. Can you spot the new member?
Sean took a photo of the Planks in full array
What’s more, Cap’n Jack Spareribs posted a live video from the concert of Natasha playing the old Russian standard “Dark Eyes” or Ochi chyornye … and Planks Lee Shoal and Wyoming Johnny cutting a rug to it!
We played tag for a year and a half trying to get Eryn Holbrook (occasionally aka Daisy Jones-Locher) a gig at the Butchershop Floor, and then when we finally had it clinched, the space closed down. But because it is the only way for us to get a chance to hear her compositions on voice and keyboard, we put together another show for her (and us) at the Annex for last year’s Music Waste festival — also the first Plankian appearance of (ir)regular Peg-Leg Right-Eye Ryan! A year later we had a hankering to hear her stuff again, and so we bring it full circle back to the Little Mountain Studios, on the site of the old Butchershop, at 195 E. 26th (at Main), for a night of musical numbers. Hosting the proceedings is LMS proprietor Ehren “Monsterdinosaur” Salazar, doubtlessly regaling us with tales and tunes of ages so bygone they haven’t happened yet. Also on deck is a magic show from our own Dr. Steelhand of the slide guitar! Doors at 8, $3 cover. Sure to be one of our most charming summer evenings yet!
