57 unnecessary (but fun) reasons to go out

...biking in the rain?...

* Tuesday April 17th: perhaps our strangest variety show, "57 Varieties",
celebrates a start to its 4th unplugged year by re-launching on a new date, the
third Tuesday evening of every month. Still at Spartacus Books, (319 W.
Hastings at Cambie). Will there be a bevy of special guests? Will Rowan bake
another birthday cake? You have to come out to know for sure.

* Wednesday April 18th: 8 pm the 3rd Wednesday of every month is ground zero
for a nostalgia bomb -- the '80s at 8 at the Cottage Bistro (4468 Main at
29th). Backtracking through the mire of the decade, we revisit 1988 in Doc
Brown's time machine.

** Also that night, Dianna David will be accompanying in her unique style
(which is to say, mime, freestyle dance, contact juggling) the Contemporary
Lovers Trio at the Railway Club (579 Dunsmuir at Seymour), 9 pm, $7. She's a
busy woman with a load of shows this month, so if you're intrigued, seek her
out for more.

* Saturday April 21st: the Guelph House is throwing a concert in honour of
their eviction; blocks away, at the Rhizome Cafe (317 E. Broadway), The Torch
-- an evening of cultural resistance to the 2010 Olympics -- will be underway
from 6:30 to 11:30 pm.

* Sunday, April 22nd, 2-3:30: Vancouver New Music presents the first of this
year's Soundwalks, a series of curated "active listening" urban hikes. Today's
will cover Stanley Park, meeting at the tennis courts by Beach Ave and Park
Lane. Mandatory RSVP at 604-633-0861!

* Sunday, April 29th, 2-3:30: Soundwalk again, this time through Mount
Pleasant. Gathers, again, at the tennis courts, this time near Prince Edward
and 8th.

** Later that night, the daytime people finally get a taste of Accordion Noir,
the late-night all-accordion radio show / podcast they've all been hearing so
much about. As part of the annual CO-OP membership drive, we'll be giving you
two hours of guest programming from 7 through 9 pm, holding to the theme of
squeezebox tunes in Latin American styles -- from cumbia and conjunto to tango,
hopefully with some special guests. 102.7 fm! (The show still runs regularly
weekly from 2-3 am Tuesday nights / Friday mornings 8)

* Thursday May 3rd: Ill-Esha and her krew will be laying the beats down at
Library Square as part of NewMusicWest! The library: not just a source of
cheap books and DVDs any longer!

* Friday May 4th: The ALF House will be playing host to a very special
Spartacus Books fundraiser. With a what and a where like that, more
information would simply be superfluous.

* Friday May 11th: Early poetry slam sensation and videopoet Alexandra
Oliver-Basekic launches her new book, Where the English Housewife Shines, at
the Forufera Centre (505 Hamilton Street) at 6 pm. Serial surrealist RC
Weslowski opens.

...

You've probably noticed that this is the first posting in years not to come
from the butchershop e-mail address, which has finally given up the ghost.
That may be the first step in spurring me to set this list up as an automated
process from which members can sign up and unsubscribe automatically... in the
meantime, you get to write in to me directly to make those adjustments. We bid
a fond farewell also to the Perpetual Motion Roadshow, exhausting the last of
its volunteers after some wild years on the highways and sofas of this great
continent. Thanks to everyone who performed and listened at their local tourstops!

~Rowan Lipkovits pseudo_intellectual@$@yahoo*com