C.R. Avery and Eliza Mary Doyle at the Legion

On October 22nd, C.R. Avery travelled through space and time to close out his West Coast tour at the Legion, branch 43.

Backed by four musicians who brought with them a tight understanding of tried and true folk tunes and original songs alike.

Each song, whether formerly heard or not, was brought into a new understanding of what it means to truly perform a song that has been kicking around the folk world for ages and to craft one’s own work into a composition that fits it like a well built cabin in the woods would a hermit.

Eliza Mary Doyle, a supreme Saskatchewan banjo picker also took the stage as the opening act. A three piece harmonious experience with a pumped up vibe that kicked off the night.

While talking with C.R. Avery between sets, he expressed that he aims to find a new home for a song by experimenting with genres and styles. In short, to not bore and not to be bored. The night was visually stimulating with various lights being consciously chosen for segments of songs and a theatrical demeanour that occurs when you’ve got a musician who is also a performer. Not to mention the fantastic pre-recorded samples being played alongside live performance and futuristic harmonica beat-boxing that sounds like ocean, trains and all of these other things you don’t always get to hear from the short harp.

So you missed out this last weekend but want to see what the Legion has to offer next? Don’t worry, Mad Loon Entertainment and CFUR have got you covered. On Friday, October 28th there’s a hallowe’en show featuring Blackberry Wood and High Society.

Adam Farnsworth who was on keys and Chelsea Johnson who played bass, tambo and sang with C.R. Avery are both in High Society. While speaking with Chelsea, I learned she has a background in theatre that manifests itself somehow in every band she’s in. This coupled with the infamous Blackberry Wood means you best put on some kind of costume and get out there!

UNBC's Anomaly of a Party: Backyard BBQ 2016

Last weekend, UNBC hosted its wildest party to date.  Backyard BBQ has been an annual going-on for the past handful of years.  It's NUGSS' way of saying "hey welcome back, here's some beer and music - enjoy yourselves before the academic year roundhouse kicks you in the heart!" This year's line-up was a pleasant and impressive surprise - The Zolas, Sleepy Tom, and LOUDPVCK (the V reads like an A, so Loud Pack). I only know as much about the EDM scene as anyone else who occasionally reads VICE, but I was told by friends that Sleepy Tom and LOUDPVCK are big names.  As for The Zolas, I think it's pretty cool that UNBC scored an indie act, even if that act is starting to sound more and more like The 1975 or some other alternative-but-not-really-alternative-anymore pop band.

I arrived at campus around 7pm and caught the tail end of the event's opening act.  Not much was happening, so I decided to start drinking.  It turns out the beer garden was where I would spent the majority of my night.  While there, I even made small talk with the drummer of The Zolas while he cooly smoked a cigarette (in a non-smoking zone).  By the time The Zolas took the stage, more people had arrived and it became evident that many UNBCers and townies had come to see this Vancouver band.  The songs they played were mostly from their newer EP.  People sang along.  Somebody waved a lighter in the air.  The band opened with Molotov Girls and later played You're Too Cool, which are two of my three favourite Zolas tracks, so I'd say it was a good set.

After The Zolas is when things got a bit crazy.  Even more people came for the DJs.  First and second years who pre-drank in their dorms were now drunk in public for the first time.  They made up the bulk of the front of the crowd, dancing and shoving and laughing and grinding.  Yes, they grinded.  I felt sorry for the middle-age security guards who had to stand around looking stoic and authoritative while 18 year olds awkwardly and excitedly rubbed their bodies together.  Sleepy Tom played a good set, with danceable beats that everyone (including myself) enjoyed gettin' jiggy to.  LOUDPVCK's DJ style was a bit more aggressive, as his all-caps stage name might suggest.  He dropped a lot of F-bombs, asking if we were F-ed up, etc. but at this point in the night people were really into that.  They yelled back and cheered and things were getting sloppy in the front rows.  My friends and I danced along until the buzz of our $4 drinks wore off, at which point we returned to the beer garden for our night cap(s).  Did I mention that it had been raining the entire time? A light consistent drizzle - enough to turn the field into mud, but not enough to deter everyone from dancing.  If anything, the images created by the rain (muddy shoes, wet hair, running mascara) made the night more memorable.

The #15 has never been as crowded as it was that night, probably around 1am.  The music had stopped, the field was pure mud, and the NUSC event spaced smelled mildly of cheap beer vomit.  Oh, to be young. So my first Backyard BBQ experience mostly consisted of dancing, people-watching, drinking, and catching up with friends I hadn't seen all summer.  But ask any 18 year-old who was there and I think their story would be a bit blurrier. All the same, I think NUGSS can pat itself on the back for this one.   Whether NUGSS continues to move the event in the direction of EDM or attempts to take on more indie bands, they've set a solid precedent for years of Backyard BBQ'ing to come.

Post and photography by Dara Campbell

50 SHADES OF AWESOME EP3

next week is the last show that I'll be doing for a while so make sure to check it out.  

[embed]https://www.mixcloud.com/50SoundsOfAwesome/50-shades-of-awesome-ep3/[/embed]

CFUR Presents: A Current Events Internship!

Need 3.0 credits?

Going into 4th year POLS or ENGL?

Have an interest in RADIO?

Check, Check, Check?

An internship is available:

-No matter what end of the political spectrum you align with, your efforts are valuable to us.

-get on-the-job media experience

-valuable expereince to a number of professions

-learn how journalists think, whether you become one or end up talking to one in your career path.

-Aids in presentation confidence. Practice makes perfect.

-Flexible schedule, don’t have to broadcast LIVE all the time, we have ability to record news

-focus on local, buffered by provincial, national, international events

-email your CV to programming@cfur.ca

-Volunteering, interning, puts you in line for employment

-professionals in CBC here in town, @ the Drive,

-Sports down south, it’s an open field up North

-Events Coordinators booking shows and making $ here in town

-You pay a student fee, take advantage of it

- + We have lots of fun parties. Work hard play hard

Peter Jackson talks air quality

Peter Jackson local professor of environmental studies talks air quality in prince George.

[embed]https://www.mixcloud.com/cfurvolunteer/due-north-peter-jackson-talks-air-quality/[/embed]

Student Needs Approved!

            Yesterday, the Students Needs Committee (through councillor Jillian Merrick) proposed 6 ideas to City Council regarding ideas that students from UNBC, CNC, and SD57 wanted to see implemented. The Committee itself is made up from leadership students selected from each institution, and they meet multiple times over the school year to discuss what they would like to see in their education systems. Some of the points they brought up to Council were; better housing for students along with the addition of student housing in the downtown area, an improved transit system, and an increase in student engagement in the community along with adding more services and accessible facilities through the U Pass. Transport was one of the biggest issues the student committee addressed and it came up more than once in the meeting. The council saw the amount of people pushing for a boost in the quality of the transit system and approved a proposal to increase bus service during evenings, weekends, and stat holidays. The proposal is still waiting approval from BC Transit, but it should be implemented in September, just in time for the school year. However, it's not just about students, as some of the councillors brought up, but for all those who rely on transit. The Council unanimously voted in favour of both the transit and the 3 of the points the student needs committees brought up (the ones mentioned in this article) in hopes to help out the community some more.

Merrick stressed to council the importance in a quick approval, so the committee may receive some budgeting for the upcoming school year. She stated that the students of the committee believed that their next goal should be to take a more active role in the community. They want to not only give ideas but as well put on events that may fundraise for students groups/activities/etc , or simply get students out into the community. Merrick as well said that she didn't know exactly what the future holds for the group, but knows it gives a important perspective to issues in PG and is excited to see what happens when the group reconvenes in the school year.

-Laura Smith, Twitter: @lasmith98

ArtsWells 2016 Ticket Giveaway!

ArtsWells 2016 Ticket Giveaway!

visit out facebook page to enter

Building Bridges at the Pride Parade

Prince George will soon be seeing a lot of colour, support, and love in its streets; because this weekend is pride weekend. The PG Pride society has been planning all year for their annual pride parade, and it's expected to be bigger than ever. This year marks it as its 19th annual,and  as PG pride president, Stacey Hewlett says, they have faced a lot of challenges over the years, but the support they have had from the community has been enormous. This year the parade is proud to be called the biggest parade in PG, and the weekend includes many other great activities. To start off the festivities, there will  be a 19 + drag show on july 8th at the Coast Inn of the North. The next day, on the Saturday, is when the festival and parade happens. It all starts at 10am with the parade at 11am.  The festival includes   food and item vendors, bouncy castles, a performance by the actors of Judy Russell's Mary Poppins,  a comedian, and more! The festival will be a great event for everyone and anyone. It will go until 4pm, but the entertainment, for those over 19, doesn't stop there. At 8pm you can head over to the Civic Center for the pride dance. It lasts all night, so prepare to party! If you are still awake enough for breakfast the next day, head down to the final event of the weekend, the Phoenix Breakfast,  happening at 11am in the Coast Inn of the North. It is the last event of the weekend but certainly not the least (A cliche , but in this case definitely true) . It is to honour the recipient of the Phoenix award, one who truly embodies the idea of ‘rising from the ashes’. The beautiful award was made by the  talented local artist Wendy Young.

President of PG Pride, Stacey Hewlett, says she is overwhelmed by the support the group has received around the entire event. She states that over the years her favourite part has always been the parade. She says that it is just amazing to see the way the community gets together and helps each other. She was born and raised in PG and says that not just the parade, but the whole city has grown. This year more than ever there has been an tremendous outreach from all parts of PG. City council is putting a float in the parade, Unions have been giving support, not  to  mention the police and ambulances that are going to help supervise the proceedings. It will be a truly spectacular weekend, and I am sure many will leave it feeling touched by the outpouring of love and support PG is able to offer. The theme of the weekend is building bridges and that will be very easy witness that first hand throughout the whole weekend. To get tickets for any of these events, excluding the festival which is free, head over to https://pgpride.tickit.ca/ , and for more info check out Pg Pride's Facebook page https://goo.gl/9598fS or their website http://prideprincegeorge.wildapricot.org/

-Laura Smith

Get to know Prince George

You may know that Prince George is hailed as BC's Northern capital or that a big part of its success came from the fact that its in the intersection of the Fraser and Nechako. However, I doubt that many know that the original owners of the building JJ Springers used to be in ,got the job of being the towns undertakers after the Spanish flu hit and used their Ford Model T as an ambulance to deal with the sick. Not exactly the cute cozy building we now know... PG is the town we live in and for a majority of us, grew up in, yet somehow, a lot of it's citizens don't know much about its history,especially when it comes to our downtown. This is what the Prince George Public Library strives to change with its Downtown Walking Tours. Every summer since 2006 the Bob Harkins branch of the Library has been hosting the absolutely free walking tours. They happen every Tuesday and Thursday, and each year they are hosted by someone else. This year, recent high school graduate Paige Malmgren is leading the walks, and she thinks its an awesome way for PG citizens to get to know their town a little bit more. She state that you "get to learn a bunch of PG's history and see how much its changed over the years". The walk starts off at Bob Harkins branch and leads you around different historic sites in the downtown area. Malmgrens favourite spot is the building that held the original Post office building, since its the same building that stood there in 1939. Many of the historic buildings in PG have been destroyed through the numerous devastating fires downtown has faced over the years, so buildings such as that one are even more interesting.  The walk also takes you to other sites such as the courthouse, the building where the Strand theatre used to stand,and WD west studios; along with newer sites like Milan Basic's unique and colourful murals. If this interests you head over to the Library on a Tuesday or Thursday at 11am. The tours are an hour long, so get ready to learn ALOT about your city.

For more info on the tours or anything else library related head over to www.pgpl.ca

-Laura Smith