McSweeney’s List (5 July, 2023)
Accessible Audio for McSweeney’s List will be available soon!
This week’s McSweeney’s (Play)List is a mix of the bands appearing at Diving Bell on Friday!
Man, do I enjoy a good abstract, philosophical conversation. Just the other night I was genuinely discussing Plato's Symposium with friends over drinks and under stars. It was one of those moments that, as it was happening, my inside voice was bouncy and giddy as I thought to myself "Wow. This is one of those things I always wanted." So small, so elusive, such an inconsequential moment in the grand scheme, but it was poignant. It was a signpost moment, one that told me I was in the right place, thus confirming that I am on the right path.
Does that mean it's fate? Is it just a coincidence that I took all the steps necessary over the course of my decades to find myself in the heart of the Plateau, collecting the breadcrumbs to my goals that my brain had told me seek out?
Because we were in the mood, we slipped easily into a conversation of destiny and coincidence, my contribution being a catch-all, that everything is so very improbable that everything is practically a miracle. Of all the people, past, present, and future, we are here at this time with a relatively select few. Then we live in our cities with even fewer…encounter less than that…befriend and bond with a truly infinitesimal proportion of humanity. Does that mean it's some divine plan? Not necessarily, but it certainly makes each of our treasured relationships unique living miracles. But couldn't we also say that every step has led us to the people we have found? My dearest friends have been discovered in some random (or fateful) places. (Hi, Shannon!)
When I think about time travel, the rom-com kind where you go back knowing what you know now and get to do it all over -- there are certain things I would have to make sure happened just to ensure the outcome (time to rewatch Back to the Future if you don't follow). For instance, I would have to date my daughter's dad to ensure I make the same human. Right? My philosophical friend argued that some things might be so big that they happen regardless of our choices, and maybe her soul would've come through me anyway. That's one I need to consider further, as it involves a bigger picture destiny, but it sure improves my time travel story.
A couple of years ago, I realized that I needed more from my life, creatively, socially, spiritually, if you will. I decided to go with the Theory of Yes, saying yes to opportunities that came up, even if I was unsure about them. Sure, it's an old trope, but it sticks around because it's true. And, it was working, though at a snail's pace…not a lot of questions were presenting themselves during that time. Still, I was getting closer to what I envisioned for myself. So, last year when I was presented with the opportunity to meet a creative dude with a wacky idea he wanted to try, I said yes. I remember getting in my head, and wondering what I'd agreed to, making myself needlessly nervous about what first impression I wanted to make, until I decided to just walk up the street in whatever shit I was wearing. Thus I met Andrew Jamieson. I left myself a note about that day, how the meeting "recharged my creativity, and my faith in creativity. Grateful to collab. This will be fun, and maybe big as well."
I knew that I was going in the right direction, even if I didn't know where that would take me, and I kept saying yes. Do you want to do this script workshop? "What's a -- I mean, Yes!" Want to meet these artists, want to go to this event? Do you want to interview these people? And with every Yes, the next question was cooler. In fact, sometime during the drawn out snowy months, I remember Andrew telling me about Tina Fey telling him the power of Yes, and that was another signpost. So I kept going.
With every Yes, I have grown taller. Literally: the confidence I'm gaining everytime I accomplish something I wasn't sure I could pull off (or get away with, if we're letting the Inner Imposter get a word in) gives me better posture. I'm quicker with an introduction these days: full name, hand ready for shaking, handshake better than ever (and it was pretty solid to begin with). In some ways, it's indiscernible from Fate. Things I've always wanted have begun to come to fruition. The life I foresaw is showing itself in tiny clues and fleeting moments slowly growing longer. But even if fate doesn't sit right with your sense of things, it's certainly not a coincidence. I have consciously taken some weird and wandering roads to get here. Some were less travelled for good reason, (I read the signs better these days). Some people along my journey told me to turn back to the safety of the expressway, well defined and over populated, and sometimes that seems like it might've been the easiest way. At those times my body has acted as my compass, quick to react badly to the things I inherently wasn't built for. And while some blessed people have encouraged me over years from their places on other paths, some close to me seem generally neutral about my artistic life. (That's weird to me. If you don't love me for my artistic side on some level, you don't actually love me.) My very belief in that creates a signpost, a sign that I am in the right place, at the right time learning the right lessons and standing firmly in my truth. "That's faith," Andrew said that night as we discussed long-dead thinkers and neighborhood gossip. "You are a faithful person."
So remember Kids, you don't need a religion to have faith and there doesn't have to be a God for there to be divine timing. You are the Narrator and the Star. Soul mates don't have to be destined, nor do they have to be romantic. Not everything is a sign, but some things really are, and ignoring them is to your detriment. If every action has a reaction, then the signs we find on our paths that confirm or disprove our location are just that: giant YOU ARE HEREs to help us measure our distance from where we want to be. And that makes them no less miraculous, like notes from our previous self trying to whisper keep going, or shouting to turn back. That's some real life time travel shit. That's some lucid living.
Hey, We Know These Guys!
This Friday night, catch The Flamingos PInk with Les Sarcastiques, and BLACKMAGIC! The Flamingos PInk have great surfer-rock vibes, Les Sarcastiques are reinventing early 2000s pop-punk, and BLACKMAGIC will keep your head boppin' even when the lyrics get dark.
WHAT: Les Sarcastiques, with BLACKMAGIC and The Flamingos Pink
WHERE: The Diving Bell Social Club, 3956 St. Laurent Blvd., 3rd Floor, Montreal, H2W 1Y3
WHEN: Friday, July 7, Doors @ 8 PM, Show @ 9 PM
METRO: Mont Royal (Orange)
DETAILS: Facebook
Calling Creatives
Have a creative project in the works, or want to build your skills as an emerging artist or cultural creator? This Sunday marks the first of four sessions of the Montreal Jewish Arts Collaborative!
With “pick your own learning” workshops. You're welcome to sign up for two workshops, or just one – whatever works best for you! The sessions are free, and include coffee, snacks, and some mingling time. Workshops include handy things like
The Disorganized’s Guide to Getting Organized, and The Art of Getting Out There.
All you have to do is pre-register. Capacity is limited so, get going.
WHAT: Montreal Jewish Arts Collaborative: Learn Session
WHERE: Museum of Jewish Montreal, 5220 St. Laurent Blvd., Montreal, H2T 1S1
WHEN: Sunday, July 9, from 1 PM - 5 PM
METRO: St. Laurent (Green)
DETAILS: Jive
With My Actual Ankle Bells On
What's crazy is that the Montreal Ratha-Yatra Festival of India is having its 42nd edition, and I've never been before! I'll skip the whole story (deep divers, here's the Wiki), and cut straight to the party. A parade starts off the weekend, making it's way to Jeanne Mance Park for a South Asian market with non-stop yoga, dance workshops, music, chanting, face painting, henna, and food! Explore transcendental books, take part in a free vegetarian feast, there will be something for everyone of all ages! Find me there having a grand ole time.
WHAT: Ratha-Yatra Festival of India
WHERE: Jeanne Mance Park
WHEN: Saturday, July 8 & Sunday, July 9, from 12 PM - 8 PM
METRO: Mont Royal (Orange)
DETAILS: Festival de l'Inde
Final Stretch!
The Forget The Box Indigogo fundraiser is still going, but not for long! If you dig what we do, toss a few bucks in the pot. If you believe in local art but have been procrastinating, now is actually factually the time. Click, give, share. A little goes a long way so we can keep bringing you the goods, and even up our game.
Got More Passion Than Cash?
FTB is looking for contributors, Y'All! Got talent for writing that doesn't get enough play? Does your heart keep leading you back to Art? We want to hear from you! Connect with me, (you know, The McSweeney), at dawn@forgetthebox.ca. We're looking to boost local artists, and we believe that good artists have good artist friends who also deserve coverage. Prove us right.
Get 'Em While They're Hot
(Yeah, I know this one is NEXT week, but I’m still gonna plug it.) Just Fucking Local is a defiant showcase of LOCAL Montreal comedic talents. Hosted by Andrew Jamieson and Abby Stonehouse, the event features comedians Ilana Belfer, Amer Rez, Nazeer Khan, and Michelle Dominique, with special guests Walter Lyng, Morgan O'Shea, and Joanna Selvarajah.
Produced by Forget The Box, the tickets are going fast, so grab yours now!
WHAT: Just Fucking Local
WHERE: Bar Le Ritz PBD, 179 Jean-Talon St. W., Montreal, H2R 2X2
WHEN: Thursday, July 13, 9 PM
METRO: Jean-Talon (Orange)
TICKETS: Universe
It's My Go-To Monday Spot
Lying on my blanket under the trees at the Jeanne-Mance Open Mic the other night, I wondered what other people do on Mondays. Personally, this 5 à 7-Picnic-Concert-MeetUp is the best of all the world's imho, so come say hi. Special shout out to Dirty Eddy, who gets me giggling every time.
WHAT: Open Mic in Parc Jeanne Mance
WHERE: Parc Jeanne Mance, near Duluth and Esplanade
WHEN: Every Monday at 6PM
METRO: Sherbrooke (Orange)
DETAILS: Facebook
McSweeney’s List drops every Wednesday with the best events to catch each week in Montreal. Don’t forget to SUBMIT YOUR EVENT to be listed!
