Jay Schreiber
arts editor

Tuesday, March 30

It’s been a long time since this act has rolled through town.
Distractions with side projects have made Soulfly a phantom group
with their absence from Vancouver in recent years, until they finally
return on Tuesday, playing the Venue on Granville.

Thursday, April 1

Muse are pleasing the all ages crowd tonight with their special
guests Silversun Pickups at the Pacific Coliseum. Up and coming
Surrey group His Hot Wife are doing a show at the Princeton Pub
tonight, while John Mayer gets featured at GM Place.

Saturday, April 3

Barely legal and shredding since 13, Protest The Hero are going to
be at the Rickshaw Theatre with guests Hawthorne Heights. Funky
ska experiment gone right Fuzzeat are doing a set at the Railway
that shouldn’t be missed.

Monday, April 5

Bend your ears and expand your brains with one of the great masters
of sound Phillip Glass. Performing some of the most original
compositions of the 20" century, this solo piano concert is not one to
be missed. Tickets are kind of pricy but it’s worth it; a show like this
doesn’t come around very often.

Phillip Glass

 

 

 

 

What time is it? Adventure Time

   

By Cody Klyne

© truly appreciate the
significance of the material

discussed in this article, put
down your briefcase or business
handbag and take a step into the
way-back-when machine and ask
your childhood self one question:
what’s your favourite cartoon?

If you’re anything like me
you had many preferred shows,
and probably went through your
toddler-years in a slapstick-filled
haze glued to the television
watching old reruns of golden age
Hanna-Barbera; Scooby-Doo, The
Flintstones, and The Jetsons. As
you grew older, you either stopped
watching cartoons all together
because you suddenly became “too
mature” to have fun, or—again
like me—you were drawn to more
refined fare like... Ren and Stimpy.

After taking a look at the
imaginary cartoon time line, it’s
clear that over the last 20 years
animation studios have evolved,
but their motivations have more
or less stayed the same. The goal:
throw out as much as possible in
search of something that will stick
within the minds and hearts of our
young. Stick like taffy.

Days long since passed spent
watching the action-packed Fox
Kids line-up of the ‘90s. Weeks
lost giggling along with Sponge
Bob and friends. Nine solid
seasons of The Simpsons. But those
days are gone. There’s a new kid
on the block. He’s 12 years old,
he wears an awesome hat, and his
best friend is a dog voiced by John
DiMaggio (Bender). It’s Adventure
Time!

With the series premier taking
place on Monday, April 5, on
Cartoon Network, the Frederator
Studios’ (Fairly Odd Parents, My
Life as a Teenage Robot) Adventure
Time originally gained its audience
on NickToons back when it was
pitched as an eight-minute short
as part of their Random! Cartoons
segment.

Following the antics and
misadventures of a 12-year-old
boy, Finn, and a 28-year-old shape-
changing dog, Jake, this zany and
light-hearted character-driven
cartoon remains grounded in rules.
Rules that creator Pendleton Ward
describes as being inspired by
Dungeons and Dragons, saying in
an interview for frederator.com,
“character’s can’t pull anvils out
of the back of their backpacks...
unless they’ re carrying anvils.” A
lifelong animator, Ward’s genuine
excitement for the medium shines
through in the charm of the art he
produces. From the characters and
fantastical world of Ooo, to the
character of Ward himself, there’s
a sense of goodwill and childish
whimsy that permeates Adventure
Time as a project that harkens back
to the root of what makes any
cartoon worth its weight in gold:
fun.

So, if you somehow haven’t
already seen it and are in the
mood for some craziness—or have
a deep-seated thing for shape-
changing dogs—hit up the original
Adventure Time short on YouTube.
Otherwise, keep your eyes peeled
for more adventures with Finn
and Jake on Adventure Time airing
Mondays on Cartoon Network.