By Lukas Spencer
This Ain’t Hollywood (TAH), Hamilton’s home to rock ‘n roll and life-long angst, vibrated wildly last Saturday night on the corner of James North and Murray St. Raw musicality and aggressive power radiated from one man—B.A. Johnston.
Although not an official part of Supercrawl, TAH housed a “Supercrawl Cash Grab” showcasing a variety of Hamilton-bred acts at a price of $10 a head. The line up: the Crowleys (at the intersection of David Bowie and Pink Floyd), the ferocious and meaty Beef Boys, Flesh Rag—a trio of rock-demon summoners—and the Pucumber Sasssquatch Family Band.
The night ended with B.A. Johnston—the Steel City’s pride and joy.
Johnston kicked off his set with arcade music, sparklers and blasphemy. “Why was Jesus not born in Oakville?” asked the multi-sweatered Johnston. “He couldn’t find a virgin or three wise men.” Groans and giggles could be heard for miles around.
Johnston made sure that every throat was rinsed with alcohol. At one point, he ran behind the bar—microphone still in hand—to snatch a bottle of Jack Daniels, poured a generous amount into the bartender’s mouth, and emptied the bottle by walking aimlessly throughout the crowd and serving several audience members shots.
B.A. Johnston is short for Bryan Adams Johnston, with no relation to the Canadian singer song writer of course.
He is a devoted fan and student of ‘80s, ‘90s and millennium pop culture, and his March 2017 album does not retreat from that front. He described his attempt to keep the name of his newest album, “Gremlins 3,” in tact while music streaming sites could not decide whether they could legally allow that title in their catalogues. He ultimately changed the name online to “Grmlnz, Vol. 3: Donairs After Midnight” to avoid litigation.
For those of us who frequent McDonalds, that “temple of mediocrity” Tim Hortons and shawarma huts (who doesn’t, really?), tunes from his new album like “Drivethru Beef” and “I Need Donair Sauce” will speak directly to your budgeted foody soul.
B.A. and I exchanged thoughts on our mutual love for alley beers — those inelegant yet vital beverages one chugs outside a bar to avoid expensive draught prices.
In collaboration with Sawdust City Brewing Co. located in Gravenhurst Ontario, B.A. provides penniless students and forty-somethings still living in their mother’s basement with an affordable high-alcohol-level beverage, called “Olde B.A. Johnston’s Finest Malt Liquor”.
B.A.’s brew will soon be available at your local LCBO.
Despite the notoriety Johnston garnered from the Globe and Mail and Vice who compared him to Stompin’ Tom Connors and GG Allin remains humble.
“[The interviews and articles] are all the same. They all feel great. I’m just happy someone’s talking about my dumb show.”
Johnston, having never performed at Mac, looked palpably disappointed when the topic arose. He said he would love to play at Mac but they never call—the phone never rings.”
The city of Hamilton ought to be proud to have B.A. Johnston as one of its musical ambassadors. You can catch B.A. in Hamilton on December 23rd at This Ain’t Hollywood for a “Christmas-time, food-drive deal-y.”
As an event dedicated to creating opportunities for local artists, musicians and designers, Supercrawl serves not only as an integral promotional event for the city of Hamilton, but also as an opportunity for the tightly-knit community of Hamilton creatives to connect over their passions.
Hamilton’s fashion scene is one of the fastest growing art scenes within this city. With designers and purveyors specializing in streetwear, vintage clothing, lingerie and up-cycled materials, there is no question that the diversity within the scene is an important aspect of why it is thriving.
Aaron Duarte and Paul Heaton, the creatives behind the Eye of Faith, a multidisciplinary clothing brand striving to bring “the best of the past to the present to shape the future”, sat on the Supercrawl Fashion Committee. From curating the line-up for the fashion stage, to reaching out to new designers, the duo were ultimately able to see just how important events like Supercrawl can be for Hamilton’s fashion scene.
“Designers aren’t always looked at as artists, but when you break down everything from the intricacy of their patterns, the attention to detail and palette, to even the artistry behind their original graphic prints, fashion is as much an art form as any,” said Duarte. “Supercrawl has chosen to help give representation to the fine creatives that bring life to this industry in our city.”
In addition to creating an opportunity for community growth within Hamilton’s fashion scene, events like Supercrawl are essential for both new and seasoned designers within the city as a form of exposure and as a platform to reach a significantly larger audience than they normally could.
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id="64" gal_title="Super crawl Fashion Show"]
The steady stream of runway showcases that take place throughout Supercrawl at the Maker’s Market Fashion Stage typically hold the largest platform that many of Hamilton designers, brands and purveyors will have to demonstrate their work.
“[Supercrawl] is a great chance for new designers to get their name out there, and let the general public see all the hard work they have put into their passion,” said Duarte. “Even the regular art crawls that happen every month generate impressive traffic that give shop owners on James Street a steady flow of new and returning clients that keep [Hamilton’s fashion] industry alive.”
From Aug. 24 to Sept. 2, Supercrawl paired with CF Limeridge Mall to host a Supercrawl Fashion Pop-up store that put Hamilton designers on display. The event created an opportunity whereby Hamilton independent designers and purveyors were able to generate sales and promote their brands within the city’s largest shopping mall.
It also served as a way to promote Supercrawl to individuals in the area who may not be familiar with the downtown arts and culture scene.
Kadeem Jarrett and Michael St. Jean of Foreign Waves International, a streetwear and lifestyle brand based in downtown Hamilton, participated in the Limeridge Pop-Up this summer, generating interest in their brand from a different audience.
“[The Supercrawl Fashion Pop-Up] was a really great experience because our brand is very well known in the downtown area of Hamilton, so being able to gain some exposure on the mountain really increased our following,” said Jarrett. St. Jean echoed the sentiment.
As fashion, especially in Hamilton, is often seen as a form of business rather than an art form, Supercrawl serves as an important opportunity for independent designers to demonstrate how unique and community-focused Hamilton’s local fashion industry really is.
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Emerging Hamilton-based pop rock band, The Medicine Hat, is no stranger to Supercrawl, but last weekend’s performance was a special milestone marked with an energetic performance of brand new songs.
Over the weekend two members of the five-piece band, frontwoman Nabi Sue Bersche and guitarist Tyler Bersche, shared about their experience in Hamilton’s music scene, their new sound and the strange festival experiences from long ago.
It all started while Nabi and Tyler Bersche were in high school in their hometown of Guelph, Ontario. They were sort of dating and definitely writing songs together. Nabi Bersche was pursuing a solo career. Tyler Bersche was in a band with bassist Elliott Gwynne called The Canned Goods, while Mike Boyd played the drums for another band, Dance All Free For All.
“This really changed our music and what it sounded like because we all bring equal parts to the table.”
Tyler Bersche
The Medicine Hat
While growing up in a small town that lacked a supportive music scene, the four friends naturally came together after their individual projects fizzled out in 2010. They wrote songs together, jammed out and even produced their first EP in a weekend.
Since that epic weekend, the band has evolved to include a rotating fifth member, with the throne currently being held by Thomas Hammerton on the keyboards and the synthesizer, an instrument that played a significant role in finding their new sound.
“In 2010, every band in Ontario wanted to be like the Wooden Sky and that’s what we were doing, playing kind of okay indie folk rock. Since then… and mostly in the past two years, we’ve [started taking the band more seriously and we’ve] been writing all our songs together,” explained Tyler. “This really changed our music and what it sounded like because we all bring equal parts to the table.”
After moving to Hamilton four years ago, the band is humbled by the legacy of their city, and thrives off of its iconic rock scene and electronic music scene.
“I like drawing from both of those influences and I find it very cool and inspiring to be in a town where both of those scenes are very rich… I would say that we aspire to straddle that line between dance music and rock music,” said Tyler.
Lyrically, the band draws on personal experiences and more recently, about the experiences of others for inspiration.
“‘St. Cecilia’ was written about moving to Hamilton. That was a little bit hard for me, moving to a new city… I had a great time in the country… it was challenging for me specifically with men catcalling and all the unwanted attention,” explained Nabi.
They performed their released singles St. Cecilia and New Survival at Supercrawl, along with their new unreleased work.
“My favourite song to perform is ‘Scars’, which is one of the newer songs we [performed], I feel like an 80s diva when I sing it, and that makes me feel happy,” said Nabi.
The Medicine Hat has had many memorable performances over the years since their first sold out show at the E Club. They’ve also had crazy experiences.
“One [experience] that stands out, is a now defunct music festival in Northern Ontario… We arrive at the festival grounds and it’s empty. There’s space for five thousand people, but there’s like thirty people. Nobody knew what was going on… someone had stolen sound equipment because there was no security, and there was even a fire on stage,” explained Tyler.
“And then torrential downpour,” added Nabi. “[All of the musicians] wound up under a 10 by 10 tent, passing around some whisky and laughed at how ridiculous it all was… and we never even played.”
Luckily, the weather was great during their Supercrawl performance, and their music is even better. The Medicine Hat’s strong showing at the crawl and in the greater Hamilton music scene definitely makes them an act worth watching.
The first night of Supercrawl marked the beginning of the Factory Media Centre’s new exhibit, Fractalize 1: I’ve Loved You From Afar. The exhibit is the first of its kind in Hamilton and challenges how art can create an immersive experience for the audience.
The Fractalize series is an ongoing collaborative multimedia arts project created by artist and cinematographer Lesley Loksi Chan, composer and digital media artist Tony Vieira and musician Arthur Yeung.
Tony Vieira, who is also a McMaster graduate & senior researcher at York University’s Augmented Reality Lab, took the time to provide an insider’s perspective on the exhibit, whilst being careful not to reveal its secrets.
Vieira met Chan and Yeung through the Factory Media Centre, a resource centre that supports community based and artists’ projects. His idea was to create a fractal exhibit, where the art is delivered through a series of pieces and mediums over time.
I’ve Loved You From Afar follows the story of two characters, Richard and Elizabeth, and explores the themes of human behaviour, desire and distance.
Visitors at the Factory Media Centre can experience I’ve Loved You From Afar through virtual reality, but the exhibit is meant to be experienced beyond the gallery space, through nine other elements including a web app, video installations and even by following Richard and Elizabeth’s social media accounts.
“I always think of the tone of the story in a way that is similar to the way I experience dreams and memory, which is a little strange, not always linear, not always making sense.”
Tony Vlera
Artist
“It’s really an experiment in e-literacy. [We are] experimenting with the different ways a story can be told [while using] as many media as possible to engage the end user. I don’t think of [the audience solely] as a viewer, reader or a listener, because [the audience] is all of them, an end user, sort of like a video game,” said Vieira.
Each end user’s experience with I’ve Loved You From Afar is unique. The story is non-linear, there is no start or end. The story is also delivered with intentional gaps that are open to interpretation.
“I always think of the tone of the story in a way that is similar to the way I experience dreams and memory, which is a little strange, not always linear, not always making sense… that’s how memories and dreams work, we only remember certain bits of it, and our experiences [and desires] create the filler for the gaps or our brain fabricates what it needs to fill in the gaps,” explained Vieira.
For seven days, a new piece of I’ve Loved You From Afar is revealed to the end users, and each piece will lead up to the unveiling of the exhibit’s secrets at the closing reception on Oct. 18 at the Art Gallery of Hamilton Annex.
After all the pieces are revealed, end users will put the pieces together, and their desires and contexts will shape the narrative of the exhibit. Each individual will have their own story and unique takeaway from the experience.
I’ve Loved You From Afar can be experienced after Supercrawl by visiting the Fractalize web app.
The artists will also be holding workshops at the Factory Media Centre, a non-profit and artist- run resource centre on 228 James Street North that aims to advance the discourse of contemporary media through exhibitions, screenings and community programming.
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Supercrawl 2017 was the first time in five years that I felt that the event wasn’t for me.
This came with the fairly obvious, but important realization that the festival is not for people like me — those who live, work and spend their free time in the downtown core.
Supercrawl 2017 did a lot of things really well this year.
There was a good balance of big Canadian acts while still emphasizing local performers. The event introduced live theatre performers for the first time. Local vendors were of even better quality and diversity this year. Circus Orange may have put on one of their best Saturday performances to date. But I still left the event with mixed feelings.
I’ve always enjoyed Supercrawl. I’ve been going to the festival since I was in Grade 11, back when journeys to Mulberry Street Café and Pho Dui Bo were still novelties tied into some newfound independence. Supercrawl was a fun way to finally explore a central part of my own city and to get away from the monotony of the West Mountain.
I’m 21 now. Supercrawl has lost some of that novelty, but it has always been an event that I consistently recommend to locals who have never been and McMaster first year students who are looking for an introduction to the city that they will call home for the next few years. But in 2017, Supercrawl has a rightfully harsher crowd.
Even those who wildly supported the city’s “revitalization” are now increasingly wary about their new neighbours. Toronto is moving in.
Although it has been happening for some time now, the sudden sight of many downtown buildings being torn down for condos was finally making an impression.
Stuart Berman’s now infamous Toronto Life article “The New Hamiltonians” was published in June, openly bashing the city’s working-class heritage while selling as a land of opportunity for young families who can’t afford Toronto anymore.
Toronto real estate agent Brad J. Lamb stated that Hamilton was a “dying city” unless it accepted its fate as the next Toronto suburb.
A two-day event in Toronto called the Hamilton Consulate featuring Mayor Fred Eisenberger himself tried to sell our “ambitious city” as the next big market for tech, fashion and real estate. The Hamilton Economic Development office was selling the success stories of James Street fashion boutiques and restaurateurs to Torontonians.
Then to end the consulate’s pitch, Supercrawl announced their music line up on Queen Street West.
While locals were a bit miffed by the mostly symbolic reinforcement of Hamilton’s subservience to a potentially larger Toronto audience, some sobering reminders are important.
Supercrawl has always been a festival that aims to attract outsiders. It is a tourist-oriented festival first, and growing the audience and the amount of sponsors is a necessary part of that expansion, especially if it is to continue as a free festival. And Supercrawl was selling itself to Toronto and other cities long before Hamilton got its problematic rebranding of “Toronto’s Brooklyn”.
But we all knew this was coming.
Yes, the Toyota product placement in front of the largest central street art installation titled “Sense First, Reflect Later” was unfortunate, but the arts community has always known that the commercialization of the original crawl event was going to lead to this.
For many that’s okay. They can tolerate the uncomfortable crowds and product placement in exchange for their largest audience of the year.
The festival has also never shut down dissonant voices that share the street. “Hamilton is Homeless” shirts drew lots of attention at this year’s crawl, and local concert venues proudly supported acts that didn’t make the big stages.
Supercrawl takes over one of Hamilton’s beloved neighbourhoods for a weekend. That is going to make James Street North residents critical about how the festival brands one street as a representation of the larger city.
I also know that as much as it is important to critique some of the unfortunate messaging of this year’s crawl, this is still how many first years and McMaster students get introduced to their new city. I still think the festival provides an exciting way to do that.
Our critique and disappointment with Supercrawl is another way we express our care for our city. And while Supercrawl may not be for me anymore, who am I to ruin others’ enjoyment of it?
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Friday | 11:00 PM | City of Music/Exclaim! Stage (James St. N. & West Harbour GO)
From Lollapalooza to Osheaga, PUP will now be hitting the Exclaim! Stage with a thrilling performance. The punk rock band has been performing shows across Canada, the States and the UK. Two years and 450 shows after the release of their self-titled debut, PUP is back with their latest album The Dream Is Over. Ironically, the band’s dream is very much not dead, and their music will be sure to make you feel alive.
Saturday | 11:45 PM | Mills Hardware (95 King East)
Tucked away in an improvised studio, Hamilton’s Aron D’Alesio spent many nights piecing together his recently released self-titled debut LP. D’Alesio has been a musician since his teenage years and has gone on tour with the band Young Rival before deciding to pursue his creative work independently. The indie-pop LP is the product of creative freedom, experimentation and influences from The Beach Boys and 50s surf-rock.
Saturday | 4 PM | Hamilton International Airport Stage (James St. N. & King St.)
Bulat is a Juno nominated folk and pop singer-songwriter with an energetic presence on stage. Her electrifying voice is often accompanied by her unique instruments, including the ukulele and autoharp, that leave her audiences’ hearts fluttering. Her latest pop album, Good Advice, was written during long drives to Kentucky exploring her own heartbreak.
Friday | 6:30 PM | Hamilton International Airport Stage (James St. N. & King St.)
Whether you are feeling some R&B or in a mood to dance and head bop with thousands of fans, Harrison’s performance is an opportunity to lose yourself in electronic music. The 22-year-old Toronto producer is getting ready to release his second full-length album which showcases his songwriting talents and diverse array of musical genres.
Extended Supercrawl Hours | Factory Media Centre (228 James St. N.)
Created by artists Lesley Loksi Chan, Tony Vieira and Arthur Yeung, I’ve Loved You From Afar is a multimedia art installation that utilizes virtual reality to explore human interaction through distance and desire.
Friday | 12:30 PM | Toyota Art Zone (James St. N. & Cannon St.)
The Take Company, created by Mooncalf Theater founder, Rose Hopkins, will be having hourly performances of a piece called The Distance Between Us and the Sun. Two audience members will be immersed in the intimate show as they follow the actors along James Street.
Saturday | 7 to 10 PM | Art Gallery of Hamilton (23 King St. W.)
AGH will be screening Canada’s top ten award winning shorts, including the 2015 drama, Overpass, which was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for the Best Live Action Short Drama.
All Weekend | James St. N. & Rebecca St.
Possibly the best savoury and sweet combination to ever be experienced by meat loving taste buds is chicken and waffles. #HamOnt’s The Dirty South delivers just that with their food truck classic, Dirty Southern Love, which is a triple decker of buttermilk waffles stuffed with Louisiana butter chicken, arugula, and maple syrup covered bacon.
All Weekend | James St. N. & Rebecca St.
Nothing like fresh, flavourful and Latin inspired tacos made from scratch. Not only does 50 Pesos value real food, but their diverse options cater to any appetite. Want to skip the meat and go for the seafood? Try the fish mango chipotle tacos. Vegetarian? Black bean tacos with guacamole or the poutine is for you. Vegan? Order the macho nachos made with delicious organic corn dip, fresh salsa and bean dip. Gluten-free? Many of the menu items will be!
All Weekend | James St. N. & Vine St.
You can try to resist the fluffy mini donuts as they move out of boiling oil onto a mini conveyor belt, but as soon as they are tossed into a bag, sprinkled with Tiny Tom flavours, your mouth will be watering. Chocolate, icing sugar, and cinnamon are just a few flavours to try this weekend.
