Seven things to do in Metro Vancouver Jan. 17-23: Sketch comedy from Winnipeg, punk doo-wop from Montreal and more
Credit to Author: Shawn Conner| Date: Wed, 15 Jan 2020 19:00:38 +0000
Whether you’re looking for date ideas, free things to do or just something fun to do in Downtown Vancouver, you can’t go wrong with our list of events happening around Metro Vancouver between Jan. 17 and 23.
Headlining this week’s picks is Winnipeg sketch comedy troupe HUNKS.
For more ideas, click HERE for our coverage of Vancouver’s arts scene, or HERE to search our entertainment listings database.
Here are seven things to do in Metro this week:
HUNKS
When: Jan. 23
Where: Havana Theatre, 1212 Commercial Dr.
Tickets: $12 at riotheatre.ca/$14 at the door
Winnipeg sketch comedy troupe HUNKS return to Vancouver as part of a Western mini-tour culminating in two appearances at the prestigious SF Sketchfest in San Francisco. Among other things, HUNKS is known for its videos, such as the Amazing Facts (Amazing Facts About Manitoba, Amazing Facts About Saskatchewan, etc.) Joining the quartet are local comic Graham Clark (Stop Podcasting Yourself, CBC’s The Debaters) and improv sketch comedy troupe Hip.Bang! (Just for Laughs, CBC).
Maki Yi’s Gramma runs at the Pacific Theatre from Jan. 17-Feb. 1.
Gramma
When: Jan. 17-Feb. 1
Where: Pacific Theatre, 1440 W. 12th Ave.
Tickets: $20-$36.50 at tickets.pacifictheatre.org
Maki Yi returns to Pacific Theatre with the world premiere of her new one-woman show. In Gramma, the Korean-born playwright and actor (2016’s Suitcase Stories) plays a version of herself as Yi comes to Canada, excited to begin her new life in a Regina basement suite. But her elderly landlady has some ideas of her own.
Montreal duo King Khan & BBQ Show play the Rickshaw Theatre on Jan. 17.
King Khan & BBQ Show
When: Jan. 17
Where: Rickshaw Theatre, 254 E. Hastings St.
Tickets: $20 at ticketweb.ca
The Montreal garage-rock duo is back after taking a lengthy hiatus (or following an acrimonious breakup, if you prefer). Known for their unconventional shows, Arish (King) Khan and BBQ (Mark Sultan) recently released Bad Boys, their fourth studio album and first since 2009’s Invisible Girl. The King Khan & BBQ Show Facebook page states: “This is rock ’n’ roll. This is punk. This is early R&B. This is psych. This is doo-wop. This is garage. It’s all this and more, without trying to be anything.”
Norwegian pianist Tord Gustavsen returns with his trio to BlueShore on Jan. 19.
Tord Gustavsen Trio
When: Jan. 19
Where: BlueShore at Capilano University, 2055 Purcell Wy., North Vancouver
Tickets: $30/$27 at capilanou.ca
After years of touring with a variety of lineups, pianist Tord Gustavsen returned to a trio format for his 2018 album, The Other Side. PopMatters.com says the album is “as minimal and as understated as the three trio albums that Gustavsen recorded in the previous decade.” Since the record’s release, Gustavsen’s new outfit has been touring Europe and North America. Fun fact: according to Wikipedia, the Norwegian musician once wrote a paper called The Dialectical Eroticism of Improvisation.
Victoria’s Mike Delamont comes to Vancouver with his show Mama’s Boy On Jan. 23 at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts and on Jan. 24 at the Studio Theatre in Burnaby.
Mama’s Boy
When: Jan. 23-24 at 8 p.m.
Where: Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, Studio Theatre, 6450 Deer Lake Ave., Burnaby
Tickets: $36-$40/$15 students at tickets.shadboltcentre.com and 604-205-3000
Best known for his Fringe Fest favourite God is a Scottish Drag Queen, Victoria’s Mike Delamont comes to Vancouver with his show Mama’s Boy. It’s an autobiographical story of growing up with a single mother struggling with alcoholism. “Delamont has an almost supernatural gift for storytelling,” said the CBC in a 2016 review of the show.
Scottish musician Midge Ure plays the Rickshaw on Jan. 21.
Midge Ure
When: Jan. 21
Where: Rickshaw Theatre, 254 E. Hastings St.
Tickets: $22 at eventbrite.ca, Highlife and Red Cat Records
The Grammy- and Brit Award-winning musician returns to the Rickshaw with his Songs, Questions and Answers Tour 2020. The former Ultravox chief and Do They Know it’s Christmas? co-writer/producer will perform acoustic versions of his catalogue alongside multi-instrumentalist Tony Solis. He’ll also take questions from the audience, and maybe the odd song request as well. His most recent release is Soundtrack 1978-2019, a 32-song collection encompassing Ultravox and Midge Ure solo tracks and collaborations (with Kate Bush and Moby among others).
Musician Paul Hyde presents an exhibit of his collage art at Chernoff Fine Art from Jan. 17-Feb. 15.
Paul Hyde: Souvenirs
When: Jan. 17-Feb. 15 (opening reception Jan. 17)
Where: Chernoff Fine Art, 265 E. 2nd Ave.
Info:chernofffineart.com
“The works in Souvenirs are an attempt to corner the market in collage with resin and foil-backed rhinestones — snow globes for the wall, if you will,” Paul Hyde says in his artist’s statement. Canadian music fans of a certain vintage will recognize the artist as the singer/frontman of the Payola$, a seminal Vancouver punk/new wave/rock band, and Rock & Hyde. The Yorkshire-born Hyde, who lives Vancouver, has had no formal artistic training but has spent his “whole life dabbling” in the visual arts.