arts // no. §

theotherpress.ca

A spooky concert fit for Halloween

» ‘A Musical Haunted House’ by Ecstatic Waves

Sonam Kaloti
Arts Editor

 

cstatic Waves presents A Musical

Haunted House—a Halloween-themed
concert perfect to set the mood for the
spooky holiday. The show is a 30-minute
mix of haunted house thrills and
soundscapes created solely for this event by
Ecstatic Waves, a community of local artists
who write and perform new compositions
for musical ensembles, dance, and other
artistic mediums. Their Haunted House
will be a themed adventure narrated by
live music, turning Halloween into sound.
It boasts landscapes of shadows, the
supernatural, and objects coming alive.

The Other Press conducted an

interview with Douglas alumnus and
Ecstatic Waves member Joel MacKenzie.
He went more into detail about the group
and this themed musical event. The group
was officially started by Chris Blaber with
just a few interested musicians with a
passion for performing. It quickly gained
momentum and became much bigger
than initially expected, and the movement
continues to grow rapidly. Ecstatic Waves
holds shows regularly thxat showcase
pieces written and performed by its
members.

   
   
     

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The group has been planning the
Musical Haunted House for months,
especially focusing on perfecting it
within the last two months. “We've been
rehearsing and writing music together

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Photo via Ecstatic Waves on Facebook

for over a year and a half, some of us

much longer,” said MacKenzie. “The goal
with this concert, as with all of ours, is to
connect Lower Mainlanders to the new
music and art music scene and show that it

One small step for man...

> ‘First Man’ film review

Jerrison Oracion
Senior Columnist

keen

Imost 50 years ago on July 20, 1969,

the entire world watched on their
television sets as history was being made
when Apollo n landed on the moon for the
first time. This was even a moment that
caused CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite
to cry. More history was made when Neil
Armstrong walked on the moon’s surface
and said the famous lines, “That’s one small
step for man, one giant leap for mankind”
Since John F. Kennedy announced that the
US was sending astronauts to the moon,
the entire journey to that point included
a lot of challenges and risks. We get to
experience these struggles thanks to the
film First Man and its unlikely director,
Damien Chazelle. He is the same person
who made musical films like Whiplash and
La La Land.

First Man begins with Neil
Armstrong’s daughter, Karen, passing away
from brain cancer. This impacts Armstrong
(Ryan Gosling) when he joins the Gemini
Program to develop technology, which is
used to send astronauts to the moon to
beat the Soviet Union in a race to get there
first. While they do make progress, it has a
lot of casualties. In the first mission in the
Apollo program one of Armstrong's closest
friends, Ed White (Jason Clarke), and two
other astronauts are burned in a fire during
pre-flight testing. This worries Armstrong's
wife, Janet (Claire Foy), who believes her
husband will not survive the mission. Many

 

   

people protest that the mission is a waste
of money during an important moment
in American history. However, everyone
changes their mind when the first images
of Armstrong walking on the moon are
shown to the world.

The movie was shot on film to reflect
the era in which it takes place. There are
a lot of handheld camera movements
that make it feel like you are part of the
mission, especially if you watch the film
in IMAX. During the scenes when they
test the capsules, the sound system is very
loud, and the heavy shaking might cause

you to be as dizzy as the astronauts. The
score of the film by is Chazelle’s frequent
collaborator, Justin Hurwitz, and makes me
think of Hurwitz doing his take on scores
by Hans Zimmer. Hurtwitz’s touches in

his scores remind me of the score in La La
Land. Also, the film shows the characters
liking songs in musicals which were very
big in the 1960s.

The scene when the crew lands on the
moon is as epic as every other grand scene
in space films. The only scene in the movie
that was filmed in IMAX, where Armstrong
walks on the moon, allows you to explore

can be fun and even exhilarating.”

MacKenzie said that his favourite
part of the show is what he has heard
composed. “There are no jump scares, but
spooky atmospheres [...] drawing from the
weather, to vaudeville, to current political
climates,” he said, and that the “sounds are
becoming unhuman, alien, and scary AF.”

Along with MacKenzie, several others
from Ecstatic Waves are also Douglas
alumni, including the director of the
production. Regarding his time Douglas,
MacKenzie said, “I studied English at
Douglas, and wrote for the Other Press
during my time!” He continued with
English at SFU, graduating with a major in
English and an extended minor in music
composition.

“Douglas was a fantastic place to
learn. Not too big and intimidating like
many schools, and with quality education.
My philosophy, humanities, and English
studies there formed my thinking into
much of what it is today,” he said.

Dates for the Musical Haunted
House—located at 207 West Hastings,
Vancouver, BC _—run from October 26
through October 28 (Friday to Sunday),
with 7, 8, and 9 pm shows. Ticket prices
range from $15 for students, seniors, and
those with low income, to $20 for general
admission.

‘First Man’ promotional image

the atmosphere with the same timing as it
was happening. The film also addresses the
US government’s privacy in not telling the
public details of a situation, which was also
a topic in last year’s film The Post.

You will love the movie if you are a
fan of Ryan Gosling. Corey Stoll’s portrayal
of Buzz Aldrin—the second person who
walked on the moon—shows that he was
very excited about the mission.

Getting to a historic moment must
include many failures on the ground
before it succeeds, as Armstrong’s mission
demonstrates.