McSweeney’s List (11 October, 2023)
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My family didn't do Thanksgiving when I was growing up, though I didn't catch on at first. Familial structures define normal, so I didn't notice the missing holiday for years (much like I didn't realize we were apparently the only family in Canada that never watched hockey). When I clued in, I wondered if we were skipping it because it was religious somehow (turkey day, not hockey). Learning it was a secular holiday unmarred by the false narratives that accompany American Thanksgiving, it seemed to be a genuine gratitude-based harvest festival, and ain't that grand? I never found out why my family skipped it. They themselves didn't seem to know, shrugging when I asked for clarity. With no tangible opposition, I demanded Thanksgiving. (Editor’s Note: lol) (Later when extended family relations cooled and Passover Seders ended, I would also demand pared down versions hosted at home. [Editor’s Note: Next she’s going to demand a Denny’s Grand Slam once a month.] One memorable evening culminated in Moxy Früvous songs sung around the table while my gentile teen friends and myself got accidentally / not accidentally drunk on Manischewitz.)
My mother was a terrible cook with no inclination to improve or read recipes, and maybe that's why we skipped Thanksgiving. My earliest memories of Christmas dinner are buffet style spreads from the local deli at my Bubby's house. Meats, onion rolls, knishes, and black forest cake for dessert. Sure, we were rolling fast and loose with tradition, but food was paramount in my extended family. When I convinced my parents to have Thanksgiving (Editor’s Note: demanded, I believe…), I learned that a lot of things can go wrong with a turkey, but even my mom could make a killer stove top stuffing. (Editor’s Note: I contemplated correcting this, but I realized it’s an economic thing.) I also learned that TV, as is so often the case, had set an unrealistic expectation of what a day dedicated to gratitude was all about. It was as though my parents had never experienced a Thanksgiving or even watched a sitcom holiday special. We sat around the undecorated table with no swelling music, no extreme closeups of teary eyed breakthroughs of the heart. I insisted we go around and give thanks, and I remember vague looks and basic answers. It was disappointing, but the stuffing was so good we kept the tradition up for a few years, ironically skipping the actual giving of thanks. (Editor’s Note: You can buy it all year.)
These days gratitude keeps me going. In the analogy of life, lemons, and lemonade, that lemonade is my lifeblood. (Editor’s Note: Bloodsugar.) I think about this often because I have to. Because I know there are a million things that make me tick, and painfully few that can make the ticking stop long enough to catch my breath. Because our animal brains are built to spot the things we're looking for, and if I don't stay focused, the shadows creep in fast. Of course, no one's perfect, and I'm adamantly far from it. (Editor’s Note: I don’t even know what to say.) Even though gratitude holds me together, it doesn't make me watertight (someone help me out of these metaphors). (Editor’s Note: I’m not even reading.) The cool thing about holidays is that they wait for no one. It doesn't matter if you don't feel up to it or if the turkey burns, it's still Thanksgiving. In fact, to me the lesson of Thanksgiving is to stop, drop, and accept the cards in your hand right here, right now.
This year I didn't celebrate in any outward way. I'd spent the week leading up to the long weekend focused on rest and recharging. The changing weather and waning light fed into flannel pants and binge watching (shout out Claws). I easily could have ignored the holiday entirely, but that would've defeated the purpose. In spite of my mood and current atmosphere of uncertainty, I took a quiet moment to give thanks. Thanks for how far I've come since this time last year, for the potential of where I might be when the leaves change next year. I'm grateful to be both the youngest I'll ever be again, and the wisest I have been thus far. I'm thankful that I generally know better, and can also suspend that knowledge so that I may believe in dreams and horoscopes, chasing disco ball rainbows like a kid in a candy shop. I'm grateful that I am weird enough to keep the wrong people away while magically calling a bunch of quality quirky folks into my sphere.
While I have yet to experience the kind of round-table hand holding humble listing of blessings showcased on the network TV of my childhood, that's ok. It set an unattainable standard, but it's a goal I can always aim for: a feast with loved ones basking in the lightness of bright sides. And even if I never get it picture perfect, I pray I will remember to give thanks for every step along my path.
Double Local
Chris Oliveros founded Drawn & Quarterly in 1989, and was the publisher for the following 25 years. He stepped down from his position in 2015 to work on Are You Willing to Die For The Cause?, and that project has finally come to fruition. The book is a deep dive into the rise of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) terrorist group. This week he's at La Petite Librairie D&Q, in conversation with Arizona O'Neill.
Arizona is a Montreal based illustrator and author. She has created original videos for CBC’s Creator Network, and artists such as Laurence Philomène and Patrick Watson. Her monthly painted illustrations fill the window of the Drawn & Quarterly bookstore in Mile End. Her book of illustrated graphic interviews with celebrated and controversial Quebec artists called Est-ce qu’un artiste peut être heureux? was just released last year.
Join the authors for their discussion, buy their books, and get them signed too! This event is free and open to all. Please note that we are encouraging all guests to wear masks at this event. Masks will be available free of charge upon entry.
WHAT: Chris Oliveros' Are You Willing To Die For The Cause?
WHERE: La Petite Librairie Drawn & Quarterly, 176 Bernard St. W., Montreal, H2T 2K2
WHEN: Thursday, October 12, 7 PM
METRO: Rosemont (Orange)
DETAILS: Drawn & Quarterly
SMOOTH, like…
Avery Jane's new single Butter is out now, and you'll want to listen on repeat. This is the first single from her upcoming EP Hey You, dropping this month. Whet your appetite for that with this, and by the time the album hits you'll already be a fan. I was lucky enough to hear the whole thing early, and I'm super stoked for it to be released so that everyone can enjoy it with me! Check out my interview with Avery Jane here, and find Butter wherever you stream music.
SPOOKY SZN'S GETTING SEXY
Some of Montreal's most macabre, talented, and bizarre burlesque performers will be putting on an unforgettable show this Friday. Murder Ballads is a curated selection of retellings of the popular (and not-so-popular) traditional death songs you know and love.
The show is produced by Bad Things, the brainchild of Jimmy Phule, a veteran of the Montreal theatre and burlesque scenes, along with Michael Treder, a former filmmaker and playwright.
In Michael's own words:
“There's a fantastic quote attributed to Tom Waits that goes, 'I like beautiful melodies telling me terrible things.' And I believe that in part was the catalyst for Murder Ballads Burlesque. To me, the idea that traditionally tragic songs about death, dying, decapitation, and murder could be re-envisioned and reexamined through the beauty, sensuality, and creativity of burlesque and, ultimately dance, is hugely appealing. The selection process for the evening was pretty unique in the sense that all the musical selections, the murder ballads if you will, were carefully curated in advance, and then the dancers / performers were brought on board and, in a way, challenged to reinterpret and reinvent the pieces with their own creative stamp and styling.”
Note that while the performers are compensated, tipping is highly encouraged.
WHAT: Murder Ballads Burlesque
WHERE: The Diving Bell Social Club, 3956 St. Laurent Blvd., 3rd Floor, Montreal, H2W 1Y3
WHEN: Friday, October 13, 8 PM
METRO: St. Laurent (Green)
TICKETS: PlainStage
WITCH, PLEASE
If your Halloween shopping list goes beyond fake blood and fun sized candy, this one's for you. Witchy workshops, dark arts, and magical goodies kick the season into gear, and over 40 artists will be there with their wares.
This event is FREE to attend!
From the organizers:
While this event is open to all, please note that we don't censor artists. If you choose to come with your children, we are not responsible for educating them about the things they might see (Queer Art, Witchcraft, Gothic, Vampires, Occult, etc.).
WHAT: Maleficarum MTL - A Very Vamp Halloween
WHERE: Inchoo Bijoux, 4000 St. Ambroise St., Suite 278, Montreal, H4C 2C7
WHEN: Workshops on Friday, October 13, 6 PM - 10 PM, Market on Saturday, October 14 & Sunday, October 15, 11 AM - 6 PM
METRO: Place St. Henri (Orange)
DETAILS: Facebook
GOTTA SEE IT TO BELIEVE IT
Montreal-based indie-rock band The Painters share The Painters Visual Album, a 40-minute film consisting of 10 new works of video art by a variety of artists, animators, and experimental filmmakers. The film will be released for free on YouTube on October 20 the same day as their anticipated debut album is released via their own label EEL RECORDS.
The result of five years spent writing, rehearsing and recording, The Painters LP is a self-produced opus. Having taken a hiatus from live performance to hermetically write, record, mix, and master the album in their shared DIY-studio, the band sought to expand the horizons of the project beyond the confines of a traditional album release. During the final stages of the album's production, the band began work on the ambitious task of self-producing a film to accompany their new music.
To make the film, The Painters collaborated with 10 different artists including members of their own community such as award-winning visual artist Marlon Kroll, who designed their new album cover, as well as international artists including the Spanish animation studio RAPAPAWN. The contributing works represent a wide array of video mediums including traditional hand-drawn animation, dance choreography, claymation, circuit-bent VHS, digital animation, and live action cinema.
The Painters offered each contributing artist total freedom to create a video work that reflected their own interpretation of a song - an inversion of the band's thorough, hands-on approach to making music. Having relinquished all control, the resulting film expresses the antithesis to the music's relentless DIY perfectionism.
The Painters Visual Album is a genre-bending multimedia kaleidoscope; disparate mediums combine and patterns emerge, culminating in one remarkably cohesive work.
True to the ethos of community spirit and collective imagination, The Painters will make the visual album available everywhere for free on YouTube.
Catch it first and get the full effect on the big screen at the premiere!
WHAT: The Painters Full-Length Visual Album
WHERE: Cinema Moderne, 5150 St Laurent Blvd., Montreal, H2T 1R8
WHEN: Tuesday, October 17, 730 PM & 9 PM
METRO: Laurier (Orange)
DETAILS: Facebook
McSweeney’s List drops every Wednesday with the best events, workshops, and more, each week in Montreal!
