chez le piment rouge

The Word Bookstore

2009-11-13T23:43:00.002-05:00

Honouring the Word

The Quebec Writers’ Federation tips its hat to the owners of the cramped, quirky McGill Ghetto bookstore

Stepping into the Word bookstore at 469 Milton is not like stepping into your average big chain bookstore. There’s no convenient Internet database, no oversized lattés, no mood music to lull you into a state of casual consumption and no perky staff in vests primed to sneak a copy of the DaVinci code onto your teetering pile of books. And unlike chain stores, with their mass quantities of bestsellers, pop psychology and yoga accessories, the Word prides itself on its meticulous collection of high quality books.

[read on...]

Eco justice

2009-09-17T12:32:00.002-04:00

Greenpeace Quebec’s director discusses the group’s small yet significant victories and ambitious yet attainable goals.

Melissa Filion is not worried about being bored on the job. Ever since she took over as Interim Director of Greenpeace Quebec last month, she’s divided her time between briefing gung-ho activists preparing to chain themselves to buildings and trying to calm down the inevitably flummoxed CEOs on the receiving end of the group’s sometimes forceful brand of eco-justice.

[read on...]

The Wrestler (review)

2009-08-14T16:24:00.002-04:00

The Wrestler (2008)

d. Darren Aronofsky

The Wrestler is Aronofsky’s most ambitious film to date, not because it induces squeamishness any more than his first two did, but because its ambiguous treatment of its subject is so unsettling.

Aronofsky gets much devilish glee out of showing us the decline of this wretched embodiment of lümpen American culture. Randy “The Ram” Robinson (wonderfully incarnated by Mickey Rooney) is everything intellectuals love to hate about the US. His arch-nemesis is The Ayatollah, a shaven-skulled black American who dons a turban and waves around a flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran until he gets some democratic sense knocked into him by the Ram while testosterone-high onlookers chant “USA! USA!” Robinson decorates his walls with playboy pinups, hangs out in strip joints drinking lite beer and listens to the kind of hair-rock power ballads that make you nostalgic for the days when heavy metal meant singing about Satan and narcotics.

“The Ram” represents the kind of America we love to caricature, and one that Aronofsky is only too happy to ridicule. But when we meet Robinson, this culture is already twenty years into its decline. Even today with the revival of Iron Maiden shirts, the (abortive) reappearance of Guns ’n’ Roses and the regrettable persistence of AC/DC, the culture of 80s hair metal is not likely to overcome the state of near-universal derision it finds itself in.

But Robinson’s lot is worse than that bad style. Unlike those of us who flirted with that culture as we hit the first pangs of adolescence, the victims of Robinson’s run are not just bad hair and bewildered parents.

He enters his autumn years unmarried, uneducated (when a fan asks for an autograph he asks how to spell “Evan”) and unqualified for anything but unskilled labour. He has sunk from superstar to underclass, abandoned by lovers, friends, even his daughter. As we watch him find solace in strip bars, or among the misfits of the wrestling community, or in the overzealous fist-in-the-air confidence of 80s pop-metal, we can’t help but feel something more than sympathy for Robinson. This ambiguity is what makes The Wrestler more unsettling than Requiem for a Dream. This man could not be entirely without value, you think. Perhaps there is something to that culture after all…

This is the film’s achievement, summed up in the final scene as The Ram prepares to pounce on the Ayatollah. At a time when Iran is once again sitting on the chopping block of imperial injustice, we would like nothing more than to revel in the humiliation of American arrogance. Yet somehow we need him to succeed. The Wrestler makes us feel that an ugly man in lycra underwear about to engage in an act of public racism to the soundtrack of the worst American cock rock might be human after all.

curtain call

2009-07-24T18:19:00.001-04:00

03.07.09.DM-5278, originally uploaded by theblacklistcommittee.

Renfield enthusiastic

2009-07-24T18:18:00.003-04:00

03.07.09.DM-5176, originally uploaded by theblacklistcommittee.

Mina reconsiders dating a vampire

2009-07-24T18:18:00.001-04:00

03.07.09.DM-5247, originally uploaded by theblacklistcommittee.

Flo returns

2009-07-24T18:17:00.005-04:00

03.07.09.DM-5236, originally uploaded by theblacklistcommittee.

backstage

2009-07-24T18:17:00.003-04:00

114, originally uploaded by theblacklistcommittee.

musicians

2009-07-24T18:17:00.001-04:00

03.07.09.DM-5216, originally uploaded by theblacklistcommittee.

cackling

2009-07-24T18:16:00.001-04:00

177, originally uploaded by theblacklistcommittee.

Dracula headed to Toronto

2009-06-24T18:03:00.008-04:00

SEX ° BLOOD ° EXISTENTIAL TORMENT ° VAMPIRE CRUNK

Dracula is headed to Toronto! July 3-12 at the Toronto Fringe Festival!

Reservations: 416-966-1062, www.fringetoronto.com

SHOWTIMES
Fri July 3 – 10pm
Sun July 5 – 6:30pm
Mon July 6 – 2pm
Tue July 7 – 4pm
Wed July 8 – 8pm
Fri July 10 – 12pm
Sat July 11 – 9:30pm

Glenn Morris Theatre (4 Glenn Morris Street – just east of Spadina, 3 streets south of Bloor)

Tickets: $10

Please note that latecomers are not permitted

Dracula in Gazette Top 10

2009-06-05T16:09:00.000-04:00

Dracula gets a mention in Montreal Gazette theatre critic Pat Donnelly's Top 10 shows to see at the Fringe.

Sleaze on St-Laurent

2009-06-04T13:21:00.001-04:00

Save our sin

Most of us know the lower Main as a good spot to grab a cheap poutine and take in a transvestite cabaret show. But the city’s plan to revitalize the area threatens to wipe away the neighbourhood’s reputable sleaze along with the buildings it intends to raze.

[read on...]

Dracula at Fringe For All

2009-06-03T23:46:00.003-04:00

This is our 2 min stunt at the Fringe For All last Monday June 1st at Café Campus. Too bad they mic it from the back 'cause some (lots) of the sound gets lost.

Fringe For All stunt

In the video: Sibel A., Scott Kettles, Caroline Fournier, Susanna Jones, Elana Gale, Cassandra Witteman, Chastity Castro. The voice that says "Go" when the music starts is played by me.

Dracula trailer

2009-05-29T20:51:00.005-04:00

Trailer credits:

Directed by Arshad Khan
Written by Matt Jones
Starring: Sibel A., Scott Kettles, Susanna Jones
Music & Sound Effects: David Jones, Robin Jones
Captions: David Jones
Make-up: Elana Dunkelman
Director's Assistant: Adam David
Editor: Arshad Khan

www.arshadfilms.com
blacklistcommittee.wordpress.com

cast pictures

2009-05-29T19:04:00.004-04:00

all photos by Susanna Jones

interview on CKUT

2009-05-28T13:54:00.004-04:00

Me talking in broken French with Sabine Friesinger for Le Lendemain de la veille (CKUT: 90.3 FM), May 28, 2009. Starts at 33:45, ends at 41.45.

Dracula

2009-05-20T19:01:00.010-04:00

FRINGE FESTIVAL 2009

With rivers rising, ice caps melting and blood becoming ever more toxic, Dracula is faced with a dilemma: if the humans he feeds on go extinct, what happens to vampires? A play about love, bloodsucking, the perils of activism and the end of the world.

A play by Matt Jones
Co-directed by Matt Jones and Scott Kettles
Live music by the Transylvanian Blooddrinking Orchestra
Videography by Arshad Khan
Photography by Susanna Jones

Featuring the Dead Doll Dancers!

Staring -
Scott Kettles
Chastity Castro
Elana Gale
Caroline Fournier
Sibel A.
Susanna Jones
Cassandra Witteman

MONTREAL SHOWTIMES
Fri June 12 - 11pm
Sun June 14 - 11:15pm
Mon June 15 - 9:30pm
Wed June 17 - 11:15pm
Fri June 19 - 8pm
Sun June 21 - 3:45pm
www.montrealfringe.ca

TORONTO SHOWTIMES
Fri July 3 - 10pm
Sun July 5 - 6:30
Mon July 6 - 2pm
Tue July 7 - 4pm
Wed July 8 - 8pm
Fri July 10 - 12pm
Sat July 11 - 9:30pm
www.fringetoronto.com

Reservations: 514.849.FEST and 416.966.1062
www.blacklistcommittee.wordpress.com
blacklistcommittee(at)gmail(dot)com

Dracula: full cast

2009-04-29T16:37:00.014-04:00

Announcing... the full cast of Dracula in a Time of Climate Change:

Chastity Castro
Elana Gale
Caroline Fournier
Sibel A.
Susanna Jones
Scott Kettles
Cassandra Witteman

co-directed by Matt Jones & Scott Kettles
publicity & random errands: Corinna Howard & Susanna Jones
drawings by: David Jones
live music by: Can't Get Enough of Your Blood
videography by: Arshad Khan

Showtimes:

FRINGE TOUR 2009:

Montreal June 11-21

MainLine Theatre (3997 St-Laurent)

FRI June 12, 23:00

SUN June 14, 23:15

MON June 15, 21:30

WED June 17, 23:15

FRI June 19, 20:00

SUN June 21, 15:45

Toronto July 1-12

Glenn Morris Theatre (4 Glen Morris St - one street east of Spadina, 3 streets south of Bloor)

showtimes TBA

Dracula in a Time of Climate Change: Fringe Tour 2009

2009-03-24T20:08:00.006-04:00

The Blacklist Committee for Unsafe Theatre presents:

a play by Matt Jones

directed by Scott Kettles

FRINGE TOUR 2009:

Montreal June 11-21
Wakefield June 28-30
Toronto July 1-12

blacklistcommittee(at)gmail.com
blacklistcommittee.wordpress.com

(art by David Jones)

A 'green fairy' tale

2009-02-20T16:12:00.001-05:00

A 'green fairy' tale

After a long absence from the legitimate market, absinthe - the "green fairy," once thought to be the cause of violent outbursts, temporary insanity and Romantic Poetry - has been making a comeback in recent years.

Read more...

Reclaiming reality: Oil sands reclamation projects are more talk than action

2009-01-16T15:46:00.003-05:00

Reclaiming reality

Oil sands reclamation projects are more talk than action

Matt Jones
Photography by Robin Jones

Amid the rampant industrial upheaval that surrounds Fort McMurray lies a slice of serenity where a young forest grows and wood bison frolic. Located just off Highway 63 are the Wood Bison Viewpoint and the Wood Bison Trails. The Viewpoint is home to 300 wood bison, the descendants of 32 animals initially brought there in 1993 by oil giant Syncrude. Across the street are the Trails. Also known as Gateway Hill, this is the 104-hectare former dumping site for excavated land that last March earned Syncrude Alberta’s first ever oil sands land reclamation certificate...

[continue reading...]

Vote Québec solidaire!

2008-12-06T13:06:00.003-05:00

25 reasons to vote for Québec Solidaire on Monday:

http://www.quebecsolidaire.net/files/QS-Commitments-2008.pdf

People’s present: an interview with Howard Zinn

2008-11-13T19:09:00.002-05:00

>>American historian and activist
Howard Zinn ponders President-Elect
Obama’s positions on peace and imperial power

CAUTIOUSLY HOPEFUL: Zinn

by MATT JONES

Few people are as unimpressed with the Bush presidency and the war in Iraq as American social historian, playwright and anti-war activist Howard Zinn. An opponent of U.S. military interventions since Vietnam, Zinn got his distaste for war after running high altitude bombing raids over Europe in World War II. Meeting survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki later convinced him that the disconnect between military decisions and their consequences on the ground inevitably brought with it massive, unnecessary suffering and devastation. He would spend the ’60s and ’70s forging his academic career and agitating against the Vietnam War.

[continue reading]

I'm From Barcelona review

2008-10-28T19:52:00.003-04:00

A review of the new I'm From Barcelona CD on Amplifier Magazine:

I'M FROM BARCELONA

WHO KILLED HARRY HOUDINI?

MUTE (2008)

I'm From Barcelona's songs range in mood from sugar giddy to cherry-coke drunk. If their first full-length and E.P. sometimes overindulged in bouts of ironic cuteness, it's a relief to see that with Who Killed Harry Houdini the 29-piece band seem to have, well, not exactly grown up, but at least reached pre-adolescence. Remember when you got your first two pubic hairs but still wanted to watch cartoons and eat marshmallow cereal? This is the soundtrack to when the sugar wore off and you had to face the inevitable trudge towards adulthood. Good times.

chez le piment rouge

The Word Bookstore

Eco justice

The Wrestler (review)

curtain call

Renfield enthusiastic

Mina reconsiders dating a vampire

Flo returns

backstage

musicians

cackling

Dracula headed to Toronto

SHOWTIMESFri July 3 – 10pmSun July 5 – 6:30pmMon July 6 – 2pmTue July 7 – 4pmWed July 8 – 8pmFri July 10 – 12pmSat July 11 – 9:30pm

Glenn Morris Theatre (4 Glenn Morris Street – just east of Spadina, 3 streets south of Bloor)

Tickets: $10

Please note that latecomers are not permitted

Dracula in Gazette Top 10

Sleaze on St-Laurent

Save our sin

Dracula at Fringe For All

Dracula trailer

cast pictures

interview on CKUT

Dracula

Dracula: full cast

Dracula in a Time of Climate Change: Fringe Tour 2009

A 'green fairy' tale

A 'green fairy' tale

Reclaiming reality: Oil sands reclamation projects are more talk than action

Reclaiming reality

Oil sands reclamation projects are more talk than action

Matt Jones Photography by Robin Jones

Vote Québec solidaire!

People’s present: an interview with Howard Zinn

>>American historian and activistHoward Zinn ponders President-ElectObama’s positions on peace and imperial power

I'm From Barcelona review

I'M FROM BARCELONA

WHO KILLED HARRY HOUDINI?

MUTE (2008)

SHOWTIMES
Fri July 3 – 10pm
Sun July 5 – 6:30pm
Mon July 6 – 2pm
Tue July 7 – 4pm
Wed July 8 – 8pm
Fri July 10 – 12pm
Sat July 11 – 9:30pm

Matt Jones
Photography by Robin Jones

>>American historian and activist
Howard Zinn ponders President-Elect
Obama’s positions on peace and imperial power