Notes from the (Volunteering) Underground: Mutton Busting

Notes from the (Volunteering) Underground: Mutton Busting Performance Festival, Calgary

A wacky and wonderful time was had by all at the Epcor Centre Saturday, where a new space was christened in the name of Bubonic Tourists-initiate: Motel. A smallish room that somehow gets bigger and bigger the more people you fit into it, it hosted physical theatre troupe RED2BLUE's Faire (1+1) Tu, a trance-inducing smorgasborg of lighted umbrellas, suitcases converted to mirrors and record players, and a love story both in shadow puppetry and person. A mobile of books became a library, a coloured-light disco ball, the night sky; a screen projected an artful film of the credits. This is theatre?

Next came local songwriter/playwright/multitasker extrodinaire, Ethan Cole, playing oddly chosen covers that worked so well in acoustic style it took awhile to recognize even the most popular (or least popular) of his choices: Beach Boys, Depeche Mode and (*gasp*) Milli Vanilli!

Mike Angus was a clear departure, all the way down the Yellowhead in fact as he played songs from his beautiful, nostalgic acoustic CD, The Yellowhead Diaries. This mystery man's CD notes won't tell you how to get your hands on the next album he puts out; one just has to keep one's ear to the ground to hear the train comin' in from Winnipeg.

Later, one of the RED2BLUE narrators lost his black suit for a flame pink cowboy shirt, taking up DJ duties for the Motel launch party while Mutton Busters sipped Warthog and cider and danced like maniac theatre students - this wasn't my usual literary crowd of calm hipsters happening, we're talking people dressed like animals and a naked Bubonic curator, in Equus head, chasing (or being chased by) a naked woman in loincloth and teased-up Blondie. Whoa! This is theatre? And in Calgary, too? Ought to have known these sorts of things were going on somewhere... it all felt oddly natural, dancing like an idiot with a couple of animations artists there in the Motel - was it my high school drama improv days calling me back, or the beer on tap?

Am now very excited about the High Performance Rodeo and it's affiliate festival, Mutton Busting, seeing that the curators of each, Michael Green and Eric Moschopedis respectively, have eclectic and phenomenal taste in performers! Next weekend I'll be taking in The Rheostatics, local bands Summerlad and Woodpigeon, and indie icon Calvin Johnson (when I'm not actually manning the door or doing something otherwise useful, that is :) )

Check out www.bubonictourist.ca and/or www.oyr.org for info before it's too late. Mutton Busting runs from Jan 3-14 and the High Performance Rodeo happens from Jan 3-29. Volunteers are also welcome to apply!