My Apologies to Big Suit

I am sending my apologies to the members of Big Suit for the addition of their website to my links...I know the link does not work, but I added it so a not so geeky computer geek can investigate the strange behaviour of the link between my blog and your site. It will be removed Friday in order to give him enough time to figure things out.

Thank you for your patience and sorry for offending anyone...

A Funny Thing Happened on My Way to The Resistance...

So I had a crazy punk rock weekend...

It all started Saturday night at the Downbeat Lounge. The The Flatliners were playing. They are a young, loud ska-punk band and a lot of fun...I enjoyed them very much. Sweet young lads....they showered me with merch....

Sunday night, Rob, Beth and I ventured out to the Oddfellows Hall to see the punk show. First on the bill was the Sault's own "Soldiers of Misfortune". They did a punk version of "Hot For Teacher" and I love them because of it.

Next up was an out of town band called "The Resistance". While doing a google search for the bands website in order to include a link to it here, I came across some interesting sights....white power....Iraqi war stuff....WWII stuff...but the most interesting one was The Christmas Resistance Movement ....I says 'pardon?'.... their tag line is "End the compulsory Christmas gift-giving madness!"

While they plead and interesting case against the tradition of Christmas, citing consumer debt, corporate greed and excess waste, I still think these people may be one candle short of a menorah. Check out the crazy Russian propaganda style poster!

Needless to say, I never did find a website for the band "The Resistance" which is unfortunate....they were my favourite part of the evening....nasty Joan Jett-type female singer backed by Distilleresque punk rock. I highly recommend finding them if you can....very cool....

The abrasive thrash-metal-punk-whatever band "Protest the Hero" was the third act of the evening. Couldn't get into them so much...too heavy for my taste but good at what they do....I guess....

After a short toke and a munchie run to Dairy Queen, we got to hear Death By Stereo and I enjoyed them....louder and harder than I remembered, but I enjoyed them regardless....

So all in all, it was a fun evening. We all had a good time once we got past the fact that we were twice the age of 99.9% of the audience. Got to observe the local punk youth in their natural habitat....quite interesting, colourful and violent....I could write a thesis....

An Open Letter....

This is an open letter to the individual who messed with my blog...

You see, I like to support my friends and a lot of my friends have bands and I like to link to their websites from my blog in order to show them that I support them and to give them extra exposure. Now, to make my blog permanently link to a picture of a squirrel with giant nads when I want to link to the "Big Suit" website is annoying, immature and NOT FUCKING COOL!! Grow the fuck up....

Just because you're a computer geek, living in your parents basement, popping zits and praying for the day you finally get laid, that's no excuse for hacking into other people's blogs...don't hate me because I have a life.

To everyone else....

The Big Suit website is up and running and looks really good. I would link to it here, but I can't...I would fix it but I don't know how 'cuz I'm not a computer geek and I have a life... so here is the address....www.bigsuit.ca....go check it out. Nice job, Brian.

I know it's not even September yet, but October is gonna be great!

I'm excited for October and here's why;

1. October 29 is my birthday....no presents please....money will be fine, thank you...

2. I'm taking a road trip with Beth and Dan on which we will see Cuff the Duke in Sudbury at the Townehouse and then see....are you ready?....SOCIAL DISTORTION!!! again in Toronto at the Kool Haus. I'm VERY excited! I know I just saw Social D. not too long ago, but I can't wait to see them again....

3. Another road trip will be happening at the end of October on which a large group of us will be going to see U2 in Aubern Hills, MI. VERY cool....

4. Halloween is my favourite holiday and it so happens to be in October.

I love October....

Super Fun Guy Has a Blog

The ultimate source of ham from Buskerfest 2005 has a blog...I repeat, the Cow Guy has a blog...link to it by clicking
here, or go to the "Brainwave Overload" link under the "Blogs, Rants and Stuff" heading.

It's a fun blog with interesting busker tales, a photo of Schwing Action, a letter written to alcohol and a shout out to...ME!! He even published my review of his performance in the Soo. My lawyers will be in contact soon, Brian, but don't let one little law suit get between friends, K?

My Friends are Freaks...

I hang out with some interesting characters. They say a lot of strange things. They need to be documented.

You will notice under "Slackhopper's Stuff and Things" I have added the "Quote of the Week". If you see me suddenly laugh, pull out a pen and paper from my purse and start to write furiously, you'll know why.

Be warned....

Bouncing Native Cow Greets the Home Boy

I was honoured at the thought of Olympic athletes being in our fair city and I had sky high expectations of Spring Action. The champion trampoline troup, coached by Heather McManus who represented Canada at the 2004 Olympics, delivered stellar performances to very loud and awestruck audiences through out the weekend.

Sean McManus played the bumbling, idiot clown as he executed some the most impressive stunts I have ever seen. The incredible shape he must be in to not actually hurt himself as he flips and flails on and off of the trampoline is almost incomprehensable. I found myself holding my breath for most of the show. They were definitely the big crowd pleaser of Buskerfest 2005.

With the lack of a website, I had no idea what to expect from Ash and Ruben Fasthorse. The only information I had was they were native and they danced....that was it. After seeing their first show, I was pleasently surprized.

Ruben is a very funny fellow who warms up the crowd joking about modern natives and political correctness. With quick head-dress and costume changes,he juggles, dances and sings to his wife, Ash. Then Ash performs some beautiful dances as she spins poi (sp?); vibrant flowing fabric during the day, and fire at night.

The highlight for me is the crazy hoop dance that Ruben does, the name of which I have forgotten. It is beautiful, entertaining and requires a great deal of balance, endurance and skill. Out of breath, he jokes at the end of the dance, "Try doing that at 34 years old." I don't think I could do it at 14 years old.


Multi-talented, super fun guy, Brian Wilson (AKA the Cow Guy) was our second repeat peformer at Buskerfest 2005. This time he arrived sans partner and still managed to have the impact of two performers.

Utilizing the skills he acquired through professional clown and circus training, he juggles, balances, spins, manipulates fire, jokes, makes balloon creations, plays with yo-yos, lassoo's young children and entertains like no other. He even poses for the camera at just the right moments...and he's just a really nice dude.

But I think his underwear is the real star of the Cow Guy show....if you caught his performance, you know what I am talking about.

Aside from what some in the community may think, Buskerfest does support our local talent. This year the Sault's supreme illusionist, Ryan McFarling, had the opportunity to demonstrate his freaky slight-of-hand skills.

During his Friday night performance in which he did a "Penn and Teller" type "this is how all magic is done" walk-through of a trick, he turned it around and tricked us anyway...a master of re-direction, he is. This kid is gonna go places.

Well, there it is....my performer reviews for Buskerfest 2005. Now, you may be thinking, "She HAS to say good things about everyone because she was one of the organizers." While that may be true, I truly did thoroughly enjoy every performance at this year's festival. And I am pleased as punch that I could be a part of bring such world-class entertainment to Sault Ste. Marie. I plan on doing it all again next year.

A Man with Hats, A Slack Rope (not the Rob Slack kind) and Some Junk

So I may or may not have mentioned to all of you, but Buskerfest was this past weekend.......and it was AWESOME!!!........and the fact that at this moment I feel as though I've been training for a marathon, does not deminish my over all feeling of accomplishment and glee at a job well done. The 2005 festival was, without a doubt, a smashing success.

This blog entry will highlight the talents and antics of three of our seven ubber talented performers.

Dan the One Man Band, a crowd favourite from Buskerfest 2004, returned to once again share his charm, slightly bent humour, amazing music and a couple of shots of "Janis".

As a big supporter of original music, I was happy to see Dan perform some of his own material this year...I bought his C.D....and a t-shirt.....and the crowd loved it as well. He signed some autographs, sang some Britney Spears, recited a portion of "Shrek" and had kids (and one crazed fan) in tow during every performance.

I would love to break the Busker Festival unwritten rule and have Dan back for our third year. The crowds love him, the Buskerfest organizers love him, he has a lot of funky hats and he made no children cry.

A velvet-voiced camel and a lap-dancing temptress were Mr. Bunk's travelling companions during his first appearance in Sault Ste. Marie. When I met him at the airport, his first question to me was, "So what's the big industry in Sault Ste. Marie?" to which I responded, "Drinking" much to the dismay of a certain Buskerfest Committee member....oh well....

The first half of Mr. Bunk's show is completely silent, during which he pranks on unsuspecting audience members with water pistols, lolly pops (he's a genius with a lolly pop) and maybe a mouse trap or two.....an hillarious example of improv at its best.

With a change of his shirt, he finds his voice and thus begins the audience participation portion of the Mr. Bunk show. Offering a variety of dance lessons, the chance to showcase limbo abilities and the opportunity to be a part of the sexiest lap dance-card trick combo I have ever witnessed, his show demands attention.

The audience is then privy to an amazing display of Mr. Bunks stunt-comedy genius as he fumbles and bumbles his way onto the slack rope to take a stroll and juggle some fire....an awesome show full of variety, laughs and the unexpected....and he....well...he did make one child cry.....damn lolly pops.....

The second musical act of Buskerfest 2005, Junkyard Symphony are captivating in more ways than one. Every female within sight of the stage is immediately entranced by their dashing good looks and infectious drum grooves created on kits made entirely out of recycled materials. They even come supplied with their own "applause" sign....an old "Cheer" laundry detergent box....brilliant.

Trashcan Tony and Junkyard Jonny start the show by demonstrating their percussion skills as they play junk together. A short pause is taken to educate the audience about the hand signals that will be used during their performance so that spectators may participate with out verbal instruction....and the drumming continues.

Tony beats a constant rythum as Jonny (with some help from the audience) performs a series of balancing stunts, tricks, dancing, juggling and the chugging of some strange pink liquid. I later found out it is a combination of water and fruit juice.

They are talented, earth-friendly, handsome, funny and they drive a crazy "Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine" like van. Junkyard Symphony made no children cry....maybe a few ladies, though.....

Stay tuned, folks, for my continuing coverage of Buskerfest 2005. Four more acts will be profiled as well as some behind the scenes stories and out takes......

My "Freaks" Reference...

"Gooble-gobble-gooble-gobble, one of us...one of us..."

Yes, anyone who has seen Tod Brownings 1932 horror classic, "Freaks" will either laugh uncontrollably or shiver with the heebie-jeebies at hearing the haunting phrase.

For those of you who did not understand the title of my previous post, this is it's origin, chanted as the evil-temptress-villain-slut gets her just desserts.

Whether or not you are a fan of b-grade films, this movie is a must see just for all the authentic, truly unbelievable, honest to goodness, real freaks in the film. Ever seen a man with no arms and no legs light a cigarette? I have.......it's cool.......

Just trust me and see the damn movie...

Gooble, Gobble, One of us, One of us...

It is my pleasure to announce Robert Slack has joined the land of Blog. You may visit his site by clicking the link to the right of the page. It's called "Flinging Pooh"... don't ask me...he's gone a little soft in the brain the past few years...I had nothing to do with it, I swear!

Photo Blog Launched

Well, my pretties... I have started my photo Blog, to which you may find a link to just under my profile... be patient... there is only one picture there as of yet, but rest assured, more are to come soon... I have a whole stock pile of fun pix to show the world...

This may just give me the kick in the butt I needed to go out and buy a digital camera... but SLR is so much fun! I'll just have to go to Craig's house and use his scanner...?...right, bro?