SEE Magazine
Copyright © 1998. All Rights Reserved.
MN BITES DOG
BY SEE STAFFHarp Dog Brown is accustomed to making decisions about which songs to put on the set list and which route to take from one to another of North America's many blues clubs. But he's not so accustomed to making decisions about whether to use two-ply or one-ply toilet paper in the bathroom of a club, or what type of air freshener to use in the men's and women's cans.
Harp Dog, a local blues musician known for his relentless touring, is the driving force behind a new downtown club called The Dog House. Located downstairs at 10018-105 St., the club celebrates its opening Friday, July 10 and promises a healthy dose of the blues every weekend from there on in.
Not surprisingly, the house band is Harp Dog and the Bloodhounds. They'll play Friday, Saturday and Sunday this weekend, as well as back up any big-name blues acts that may hit the club's stage. When the Bloodhounds are touring, other blues bands will perform, such as July 17, 18 and 19 when Hot Cottage takes the stage.
"I've had this dream for 100 years," exaggerated Harp Dog, "probably because I've worked in some great clubs and some not-so-great clubs and some piss-poor clubs and everything in between."
The Dog House hopes to cater to an older, more upscale blues aficionado than cross-town blues staple Blues on Whyte, located in the Commercial Hotel on Whyte Avenue.
"I'm not trying to compete with the Commercial per se, I'm trying to add to what's available for blues fans in Edmonton," Harp Dog said. "There are some blues fans whose kids go to the Commercial. Y'know, they're 45 but their kids are 23 and going to college. And they don't want to drink with their kids' friends."
Indeed, Harp Dog met his financial backers at the Commercial several months ago.
Oh, and by the way: it's two-ply all the way, with Sea Mist in the women's john and Mountain Spray in the men's.
Grounds for a Stance
Last Friday, July 3, the work of a group of inner-city youth was proudly put forward for all to see on the wall of Grounds For Coffee and Antiques (10247-97 St.). Over the past couple of weeks, the group created a large outdoor mural as part of an ongoing exhibition at the Edmonton Art Gallery called Stance.
First Nations artist Kim McLain led the young artists in creating the mural. And while the primary object of the project has now moved beyond the EAG's walls, Stance remains on display at the downtown gallery until July 26. The exhibit includes a collection of McLain's works, as well as works done by the young artists in preparation for the creation of the mural.
EAG communications director Barbara Bruce also noted the generosity of William Huff Advertising in the unveiling of the mural.
Glee at SEE
Montreal dance music ensemble Bran Van 3000 was probably one of the biggest surprises in the Canadian music industry last year, scoring international success with its début album Glee. The album was recently re-released in Canada in its international format.
SEE Magazine has 10 copies of the new and improved Glee. All you have to do to win one is call SEE after 4 p.m. Thursday, July 9 and tell us the name of the single off Glee which is most widely known around the world.
French Kitsch
Break out that beret and striped shirt and light one of those nauseating French cigarettes that smell like the tailpipe of an oil-burning Peugeot. Leave it to Jane Theatre is hosting a fund-raising cabaret that coincides with Bastille Day and evokes the spirits of French vocalists Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel, Charles Aznavour and Yves Montand. Entitled Birds of a Feather, the cabaret will feature local actors warbling café-tested favorites under the direction of Timothy Ryan. Bar service is offered, but no word on the availability of baguettes or la fromage, unless you count a guy in a neck-kerchief singing La Vie En Rose.
Tickets for the event, which takes place July 10, 11, 12 and 14 (Bastille Day) at the Catalyst Theatre (8529-103 St.), are available by calling 497-4395. To miss it would be, how you say, in-Seine.
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