WEIRD AND WIRED

LAWNYA VAWNYA 15 NEWSLETTER FRIDAY JUNE 6

HI! WELCOME TO DAY 3 OF LAWNYA VAWNYA. THE REVIEWS ARE GETTING LONGER, THE FONT IS GETTING SMALLER, OUR CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS ARE BECOMING MORE CONFUSED, OUR HEARTS ARE GROWING, AND THE SUN CONTINUES TO SHINE. XO

₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚

SASHA CAY/MARC MCLAUGHLIN/LIZ FAGAN BAND AT THE SHIP

The second show of the evening, seemingly themed around bands named after someone in the band, opened with Liz Fagan Band and Liz’s signature warmth, charm, and flawless vocals. New LFB songs got the whole room dancing and got me real excited for their new album to drop (in September!!!). Those of us at the Book Club show the night before got to experience Kendall Pittman’s synth magic again. The band closed their set with special guest Raine Miller, bedazzling the band’s last song with some spicy guitar.

Marc McLaughlin, a Newfoundlander based in New Brunswick, with his band of New Brunswickers, played second. Their moody rhythms and vocals gave me flashbacks of Darker My Love blended with a hint of Kelly McMichael energy. They fit in seamlessly with Pop’s basement set up on stage. I immediately bought their EP and can’t wait to listen to it over and over again.

Having been knocked o my feet several times by Thursday’s acts, I didn’t think it could happen again, but Sasha Cay did it. The Montreal-based band DROVE to St. John’s, slept on the floor of the ferry (we’ve all been there, right?!), accidentally stole an orange juice at 6am, and somehow still made it to the Ship to play their incredible set (I also immediatelybought their record). Sasha’s unique and dreamy vocals and

guitar paired with the instrumental stylings of Rhys Climenhage, Owen Saar, and Clay Middleton had the whole room vibrating. I was struck again by the love and support that radiates from Lawnya Vawnya, illustrated by Sasha Cay’s shoutout to the Absolute Losers set the night before and their brotherly blood harmony (which Sasha Cay tried to replicate by allegedly performing a blood ritual before the show) and the number of bands dancing front and centre in the crowd—LFB, Topanga, Absolute Losers, Book Club, Marc McLaughlin and band, etc. It’s no surprise that at the end of this set, the crowd packed into the Ship demanded “ONE MORE SONG,” which Sasha Cay was happy to deliver—but not before expelling all of their demons. - NICOLE HALDOUPIS

IWant2BeOnTV SCREENING

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you and a bunch of your queer friends made your own TV channel? One where you could create any show, segment, or advertisement you’d like. With whatever idea you want. Using just about anything you’ve got lying around, or anything within your disposal? Then look no further than the multimedia film and performance project IWant2BeOnTV, the unhinged queer nostalgic brainchild of director-actor Alex Apostolidis. Lawnya Vawnya was lucky enough to screen Apostolidis’ latest collection of films entitled “HOME TV I”: a combination of scripted spoofs of public access television, theatrical skits, and even liveswitch footage. The series features Alex, alongside a vast and diverse collective cast of performers from the director’s own personal group of friends and creative colleagues.

Inspired by the cultural iconography found on our parents’ televisions, the radically queer aesthetics of John Waters, and endless other referential touchstones, IWant2BeOnTV knows no bounds when it comes to unfiltered queer humor, ridiculousness, and commentary. Whether it’s on stage, on screen, or a combination of the two, Alex’s self described “utopic ideal” of a communal DIY TV station is brought to life through this project. It is within this creative world that queer joy, laughter, and parody are not just about community building, but also about disrupting dominant labor, gender, sexual, and cultural production narratives within mainstream media. To me, this project is nothing short of genius and I highly recommend anyone queer who enjoys film to engage with Apostolidis’ work however you can. -VIOLET DRAKE

₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚

OBSERVATIONAL COMICS WITH ELIJAH JANKA

Nestled in the sunny harbourside art space of Eastern Edge this afternoon was a lovely and silly workshop shared by queer comic artist Elijah Janka. Janka’s extensive comic practice is based mainly within observational humor, with form ranging from printmaking, textile, zines, and more recently event illustration. Janka shares that most of their work is about subjectivity, messiness, and imperfection through everyday experiences. Drawing, for them, is more about observing real people, objects, and experiences in expressive and interesting ways, and less about accuracy or perfection. Elijah explains: “capturing spontaneous happenings from life is crucial” to the creative freedom their practice focuses on, as well as towards the overall documentation style in their contemporary work.

It is clear to anyone that Janka loves comics. Moreover, it is also clear that they love to talk about comics, especially to the wider art community. Janka has a gift that few public artists and educators have, which is a natural charisma and effervescence that is both infectious and calming to participants. It is with ease they weave information about their current practice, personal stories of their drawing origins, and numerous workshop exercises fostering a communal sense of creativity within the room. If you love local comics, or want to share your own work with Elijah, they are more than willing to connect with anyone who shares a passion for comics. - VIOLET DRAKE

₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚

TOPANGA/BEVERLY AND ELIZABETH GLENN-COPELAND AT FIRST LIGHT

I don’t think I’ll ever be the same after this concert and honestly it’s really hard to write about. This was the single most moving show I’ve ever attended in my life. I cried 11 times. I’ve never seen an act receive a standing ovation before even playing a single note until tonight, and I also can’t with any confidence call what happened tonight an act, because to do so is to diminish the very pure energy that occurred over the course of the evening. Glenn spoke humbly of himself as a vessel for the songs that the band shared with us, noting how one in particular took him 30 years to write, because the wisdom took that long to come. To be a vessel in such a way requires patience, diligence, and faith - to witness the culmination of that devotion is a true gift.

What tangibly happened? Topanga started the night with soaring three-part harmonies, putting the room at ease by admitting nerves that you would never perceive listening to their pitch-perfect vocals or folksy instrumental mastery. Glenn and Elizabeth’s band performed vital songs about existence, sometimes in the face of pain, with tenderless and intuitive precise musicality, and what else? They discussed Glenn’s dementia in such a way as to destigmatize and rename the diagnosis, reinstating the power of love and community, a reminder to move through life’s challenges and joys rather than around them. My friend whispered to me “those guys are so in love” as they reached to one another again and again in song with expressions you might see on the faces of two people reunited after a long and harrowing journey. Pink light enshrouded the circular turn of the church ceiling, the room got up and sang in rounds of four at Elizabeth’s gentle, confident prompting. We stood again and again, guided by the singers or moved by the feeling, bookending the performance with ovations so bright and upright we may as well have all been floating. -ALEY WATERMAN

₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚₊✩‧₊˚౨ৎ˚