Sitting in with Hurtin' for Certain

May's been a good month for shows and collaborations. Last night's reading with Marguerite Pigeon felt great, and on Friday, May 31, I'll be sitting in with Hurtin' for Certain. The band is an old-time and McGarrigle-influenced project of Julia Fenn and Megan Kendrick; I'll be adding a little banjo to back up their lovely harmonies. I'm even going to play the hulusi, a Chinese gourd instrument, on one song. This will be the first time, to my knowledge, the instrument has been used in the service of hurtin' country music, so come out to the show and witness history in the making.

Showtime at 10:00 at the Rock and Roll Underground (189 Hunter Street West). We'll be followed by the always-excellent Sean Conway Band.

Reading with Marguerite Pigeon at the Spill, May 28

I don't give a shit about James Bond. That philandering monarchist can stockpile as many gadgets he likes, I will still root for the one-eyed freaks and diminutive hitmen out to kill the queen. My friends have stopped asking me to movies, because I always bellyache about the miserable politics that drive most blockbusters. Don't get me started on the libertarian wet dream that is Batman.

That's why I think the concept of a lefty mining thriller set in El Salvador is so intriguing. Marguerite Pigeon's new book Open Pit has earned comparisons to John LeCarre's The Constant Gardner and promises complex characters and an elaborate plot. It concerns a group of Canadian human-rights activists held hostage by a revolutionary leader, who demands the closure of a new gold mine. Marguerite will be reading excerpts from her book at the Spill (414 George North, Peterborough) on May 28, and at the risk of alienating my far-right mining tycoon readership, I'll be joining her to read some of my own prose work.

In a lucky coincidence, Marguerite's brother is my bandmate JC Pigeon, so there'll be music too. Marguerite is the evening's feature, but the Real Coyotes have been playing up a storm lately, so expect a lively time all round.

Here's Marguerite's website: http://margueritepigeon.wordpress.com/. Notice she's a UBC alumni, and I'm in the second year of my MFA. Cozy connections all round.