BIG SUGAR
Where: Wicket Hall, 919 Douglas St.
When: Wednesday, April 12, 8 p.m. (doors at 7)
Tickets: $40.37 from
Why: It has been said that Big Sugar concerts during the late 1990s and early 2000s were among the loudest in history, thanks to frontman Gordie Johnson, his arsenal of guitars, and his desire to blow the doors off every venue with four walls and a roof. While I imagine things have been turned down a decibel or two, don’t expect Johnson and his new bandmates to pull back on the riffs: Big Sugar is touring to support the 25th anniversary of 1998’s Heated, and will play the band’s reggae-accented commercial breakthrough in its entirety at each gig. Following its Wicket Hall kick-off on Wednesday, the tour marches on with stops in Cumberland (at the Waverly Hotel on April 13) and Nanaimo (at The Queen’s on April 14), so paint will be peeled from the walls in several cities.
CHIARO:SCURO
Where: Metro Theatre, 1411 Quadra St.
When: Friday, April 7 and Saturday, April 8, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $35 from
Why: If you’re a fan of cinematic classics like Double Indemnity (1944) and Sunset Blvd. (1950) — which each add some high tension to their drama — a new production from the Broken Rhythms Dance Company will move the needle in your favour. Chiaro:Scuro offers a deft re-imagining of film noir, using two of the genre’s staples — the interplay between light and dark and the presence of the femme fatale — to add to its eeriness. Music also played a big role in the creation of the piece, from John Cage and Philip Glass to Henry Mancini and Duke Ellington, masters who were experts at setting a mood.
REUBEN AND THE DARK
Where: Capital Ballroom, 858 Yates St.
When: Wednesday, April 12, 8 p.m.
Tickets: $24.98 (including taxes and fees) from
Why: This Calgary-bred indie folk quartet led by Reuben Bullock has several interesting angles to it, which all appear to be part of the recipe on the band’s new album, In Lieu of Light. Bullock is now based in Joshua Tree, California, a city steeped in rock n’ roll lore; it seems like the perfect place for a serious skateboarder whose father was a preacher to inhabit, all things considered. The band’s penultimate show on its 15-date tour goes down at the Capital Ballroom on Wednesday, so don’t surprised is more chapters have been added to Bullock’s story by that point.
