LuminaTO

[jn_12]

Seemed to me Luminato had a pretty low profile this year. I don't pay attention, and seldom attend anything, but in previous years I've seen a lot of media coverage and was well aware it was on.

This year, I had no idea until I saw some tweets the day before.

Yep it was poorly promoted this year. The only event I heard of was Joel Plaskett playing. There certainly wasn't anything comparable to Cirque or the Waterfront Pulse lights

Luminato and Nuit Blanche are both sort of much ado about nothing.

I wouldn't go that far. Nuit Blanche has been very successful. Luminato just doesn't seem to be an event that appeals to the masses. Beisdes, a good number of 18-30 year olds are enjoying NXNE this week too.

 

[Urban Shocker]

Seemed to me Luminato had a pretty low profile this year. I don't pay attention, and seldom attend anything, but in previous years I've seen a lot of media coverage and was well aware it was on. This year, I had no idea until I saw some tweets the day before.

Well, if you don't pay attention and don't get out much you're bound to miss the reviews which have been in the media all week. I can't say that I've noticed a drop-off in attendance - both events I've been to have been almost sold out and there was limited seating to tonight's dance event that I'm seeing.

 

[gabe]

Luminato was good the first two years, It's been down hill ever since.

 

[Urban Shocker]

What have you seen this year, gabe?

Last night, to Confluence - and my faith in Luminato is restored. I can't imagine a closer or more productive and engaging collaboration than that between musician Nitin Sawhney ( hope to see him and his band tomorrow afternoon at the festival stage ... ) and dancer Akran Khan. Confluence is on a par with the best I've seen at the festival in previous years.

Afterwards, down to the Square to catch the last half hour of k.d. lang's set. Couldn't get near the stage for the crowd, though.

Earlier in the day, to OCAD and Habit; I stayed long enough to see the burly guy with the hairy back etc. take a shower, and listen to the other boy and girl mumble a bit while watching TV and snorting 'coke'. The 'Alice' dress by designer Denis Gagnon, on display at 225 King, bore no relation to the Lewis Carroll stories as far as I could see.

 

[typezed]

I quite liked Habit. I went in to watch a couple different days, to watch the play all the way through, and to see how it shifted over performances. Different actors appeared on different days, so it wouldn't always be a burly guy with the hairy back. The content of the play was silly and sensationalist, but maybe that was part of the point, to go over the top in portraying uncomfortable bad behaviour for an audience who are voyeurs watching through the windows. At one point the male actors were arguing about the bolder brother having anal sex with the girl the night before - discussing it in much more explicit language - while a younger woman (maybe 18, early 20s to judge from her stature) in a burka watched through the window across from me. Toronto is strange in its contrasts sometimes.

 

[nfitz]

Well, if you don't pay attention and don't get out much you're bound to miss the reviews which have been in the media all week.

That's perhaps the difference though ... there are reviews ... in the Arts section perhaps ... I seldom dig that far into the paper. In previous years there's been stuff mentioned in the news sections of the paper.

Is it still on? I thought it was last weekend.

Beisdes, a good number of 18-30 year olds are enjoying NXNE this week too.

I've seen a few references to NXNE; I have absolutely no clue what it is. I'm guessing it isn't a stock-exchange index?

 

[jn_12]

I've seen a few references to NXNE; I have absolutely no clue what it is. I'm guessing it isn't a stock-exchange index?

"North by Northeast". It's a music festival held annually in the city. 650 bands play at 50 different venues in the city. There's also a film festival and a conference that goes along with it. It's mostly up and coming bands or bands that are small but established in the indie world, but they get a few bigger names that will usually play secret shows or at Dundas Square. For example, they had Stars headline on Friday night and Devo/Men without Hats Saturday night (they were headliners in a bit of an ironic way). Most venues host 4-6 bands per night and there are "showcases" put on by various entities like CBC Radio or Sirius, or labels like Arts and Crafts.

It's a pretty interesting event though, and while not nearly as big as SXSW in Austin Texas (though it could be), it's still very successful, well run and well attended.

 

[Urban Shocker]

A gaygle of us from this forum ( interchange, BuildTO, corridor_dweller, jaborandi - who doesn't post here any more - and myself ), and a non-forum friend, none of whom are in the 18-30 year old demographic, saw Men Without Hats and Devo on Saturday night. Lots of fun. Afterwards, we walked up Victoria Street, admired the outrageously gay stone carving above the door at Heaslip House, past ( appropriately enough ) Lake Devo and on to Church Street for a drink and a bite to eat. Before the concert we met up at Salad King, on the second floor of the John Lyle designed former Thornton-Smith building.

typezed: I think you had the right approach to Habit. Me, I got bored after the guy put his clothes back on. As sometimes happens.

 

[nfitz]

"North by Northeast". It's a music festival held annually in the city. 650 bands play at 50 different venues in the city.

I'm amazed that I've been back here for 7 years now, and somehow I haven't heard about this. Though I'm guessing that's why kd lang was performing here the other day ... hmm, though I guessed wrong ... Google tells me that was part of Luminato.

Men without Hats ... wow, I'd have been there in the day.

 

[Urban Shocker]

I think there were more free concerts, located in the renamed Pecault Square, this year. Perhaps that emphasis will change in future. Next year there's a revival of Einstein On The Beach, another co-production.

 

[Tewder]

The tribute to Pecault in the naming of the square is admirable but what an awful name for a public space. How the hell do you pronounce it, the French way or the English way... and where do you put the accent?

 

[Urban Shocker]

Pecault Square

Ooops! Pecaut Square.

 

[JasonParis]

It's a pretty interesting event though, and while not nearly as big as SXSW in Austin Texas (though it could be), it's still very successful, well run and well attended.

It's also worth noting that it is officially affiliated on some level with SXSW which is at least partially why it is kept a distant second to their spotlight. My perception at least is that NXNE was a very big deal in the 1990s, but was petering-out a bit in the 2000s. It seems to be back with a vengeance though which is great!

 

[adma]

Ooops! Pecaut Square.

Would a Halloween event there be called "Pecaut BOO!", I wonder

 

[Urban Shocker]

Yeah, I could go dressed as a big, pumpkin-coloured teabag called ... "Orange Pecaut".