Shows at 8 pm

“When I was thirteen, I stared into the night sky long enough to grasp the notion of infinity. Even since, I’ve been orbiting around the themes of time travel and duality. Contemplating, exploring the dual realities of earth and outer space, masculine and feminine, inner and outer worlds, heart and mind… My concert at La Tulipe, in honor of the Festival Voix d’Amériques 10th anniversary, is an extension of this exploration. An intimate show, created exclusively for this event, it will be stripped down to bass, synthesizers, minimal guitar and visuals. I will experiment with my current repertoire and play tribute to the influential work of others.” — Melissa Auf der Maur.

Musical Opening Act

Andrew Whiteman (Broken Social Scene) and Ariel Engle (Land of Kush) presents In the Pines, a tribute to Alice Notley.

Le conte me sort par les oreilles

He got the message: let loose and go wild. It was friend Langevin who talked about the encounter between the space-metal-fiction universe of Voivod and the fantastical-retro-futurist world of Faubert the storyteller. Tonight, the planets are aligned, the earth trembles, the Mayan calendar splits down the middle, the old-time cracker barrel rolls away, and black holes open up over the Sala Rossa.

There will be Voivod-style metal and visionary tales à la Faubert. There will be poetry and the electronic tricks of Ramachandra Borcar (aka DJ RAM). There will be a chair and even something traditional, and they’ll hear it in St-Raphaël-de-Bellechasse.

Presented in cooperation with Et Marianne et Simon. Artistic Directors: Catherine Tardif & Michel F Côté.

Maison close presents eight of its prettiest filles (Catherine, Éric, Normand, Lyne, Martin, Guy, Lucie and Luciane—you decide) directed by the meticulous Madame en chef (Catherine Tardif). The lavish opening and closing numbers, as well as solos by our demure strippers, will be accompanied by a Maître queux beyond the pale (Michel F Côté). It’s a choreography you can join: $2 a dance. Maison close is the FVA daring to display the mute and the ecstatic, bodies drifting in pleasure. Ages 18 and over.

Founded in 2001 by choreographer Catherine Tardif, the company Et Marianne et Simon is now co-directed by Tardif and musician-composer Michel F Côté. To celebrate the company’s tenth anniversary, they created a series of migratory, recurring, associative events titled Salle de Montre.

In partnership with Le Printemps des Poètes.

Director of the Maison de la poésie in Paris, Claude Guerre is both a poet and monologist. Dans le jardin de mon père, which he has performed across France, is a grieving poem that is also a return to his native Provence, the land of the troubadours. It is tale of recollection, a rap performed as ceremony, written in poetic meter and delivered in a lilting tongue. With a rare intensity, Claude Guerre sits alone in the midst of the audience, attempting to halt the march of time and remember.

One hour, no intermission, no bar service. An evening of listening.

Dans le jardin de mon père will be performed in Quebec City on March 17 at the Théâtre de la Bordée and in Chicoutimi on March 19 at the Bibliothèque publique in Chicoutimi, Salle Marguerite-Tellier.

quand je mourrai, mes fils chéris
diront un poème de moi
ils ont mon nez devant leur reste
c’est ma mort, enfin, c’est mon tour
ils sont vaillants et forts me portent
aux bras, en chemise tous trois
tendres pensées qu’un fil relie
mes chers amis, au cimetière!

One thing D. Kimm brought back from her six-month stay in New York is this line-up of fervent, provocative, avant-garde artists. Poet, performer and consummate showman Bob Holman is the founder and artistic director of the Bowery Poetry Club in New York. He will be joined by the Brahja Waldman’s Quartet. Anne Waldman, who fell in love with us at the 2004 FVA, is a monument. A poet, performer, and cultural and political activist, she co-founded with Allen Ginsberg the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at the Naropa Institute (now Naropa University) in Colorado. She will be joined by her son, musician Ambrose Bye. The legendary Penny Arcade is known for her experimental theatre and disorderly performances. A teen superstar at the Andy Warhol Factory, she toured the world before returning to New York to live.

Inaugurated last year with two all-girl shows, Dans la Forêt is back for a new deep-woods adventure, this time with guys. Some very special guys, each with his own particular style. And frankly, bringing these four creatures together for such an unlikely encounter is something of a miracle given the context (a performance hall, an audience). Poetry, straight talk, silence, severity. Theirs, the traps and secrets of the forest; theirs, the risk and the danger. Ours, just to listen. An intimate, mysterious show at the redesigned Sala Rossa. With poetic projections by two new partners, Joseph Lefèvre and Martine Koutnouyan, and the ever faithful Michel F Côté to instill some forest spirit.

One hour, no intermission, no bar service. Because in the forest, poetry is a murmur and a rustle.

One of the FVA’s fail-safe shows is our infamous French-only soapbox contest, Combat contre la langue de bois (often imitated, never equalled!) To celebrate this 7th round event, we present a mega-combat with fifteen speakers in a room that will actually hold the audience for once. All of it handled with an iron glove by Stéphane Crête, who never tiptoes when he can charge. The Combat is a platform for free expression in a world where public space is increasingly given over to those with nothing to say. The combatants are artists and engaged citizens, each with 5 minutes to erase the inept. No discussion, no right of reply, the real deal. Take note: the indefatigable Fred Fortin will be back at his musical post, still at it seven years on.

For four years, the DADA Cabaret has brought the FVA to a delirious close. This year, we’re exploring a Freak Show theme with a show certified 100% authentic since we’re working with a master. Born into a circus family in his native Hungary, Laszlo Kolozsy performed mainly in the U.S. for more than forty years. Discovered in New York performing in an Italian fiesta with two over-sized snakes, he was recruited by D. Kimm to share his skills with artists in Montreal. Besides the usual bearded ladies, giants and Siamese twins, expect to see more prestigious acts, including The Sarcophagus of Doom, The Human Pin Cushion, The Escape King, Miss Twisto, Zoltan le Magnifique and Mademoiselle Voltara

All under the firm hand of Mami Wata — host, siren, tyrant. A one-of-a-kind show, length unknown.