Top 5 things to do in Winnipeg this week

1. Watch out for this one.

Jill Barber is not yet a household name on the Canadian music scene.

But she will be soon. Already she’s been named best musician in Halifax by The Coast magazine and, now that she’s finally completed her first full-length CD, she’s set to blaze a trail across the country.

First up is a cross-Canada jaunt opening for singer/songwriter Ron Sexsmith, a seasoned, Juno-winning performer whose audience should love Barber’s engaging blend of jazz, folk and pop. The pair play at the Burton Cummings Theatre on Dec. 8.

“I’m still very much working to build an audience west of Ontario,” Barber says. “So this is a nice tour for me to be on. I’m trying to be a working musician and I love touring, so I think you’re going to see me a lot.”

Winnipeggers may see even more of Barber than other westerners, as her grandparents live here. About 50 members of the extended Barber family will be in attendance at her show at the Cummings.

“It’s their 60th anniversary,” she says. “So I’ll have my own section.”

— Jen Zoratti

2. No hidden agendas

Talking to Joel Gibb is a lot like listening to his band: ethereal, thought-provoking and a bit off-kilter.

This could be why Mississauga, Ont. group The Hidden Cameras — which plays here Dec. 8 at the Collective — has earned itself a bit of a rep as eccentric. Read any article from any country on the indie collective, and the copy will be undoubtedly riddled with titillating phrases such as “homo-erotic undertones,” “half-naked go-go dancers” and “Canada’s kinkiest band.”

While all statements are certainly fair (I can attest to the go-go dancers from experience), they are only half-truths about the sprawling 13-member pop band. Despite the façade, the Cameras aren’t aiming to shock--well, at least not on purpose.

“I’m not trying to be shocking at all,” Gibb says from San Francisco. “If you really read the lyrics, you’ll see that they aren’t shocking at all.

“Each song is its own thing,” he continues, getting a bit fired up. “I’m not trying to be more this or more that. Each song is different.”

— Jen Zoratti

3. The truths we don’t see

Jennifer Baichwal’s Manufactured Landscapes, which opens Dec. 8 at the Globe Cinemas, begins with one of the most astonishing, unbroken shots you’re going to see in a film all year.

Her camera slowly pans across a manufacturing plant in China, where what looks like thousands of assembly line workers stand at various stations working on various parts of some end product. We have no idea how large the plant actually is, but the shot goes on beyond all reason, hypnotically tracking past row upon row upon row upon row of workers at their stations.

Not until she cuts to an overhead shot do we really get a feel for the enormity of the building. That’s the spirit of photographer Edward Burtynsky’s work, which inspired this film. Baichwal follows Burtynsky as he travels China, Bangladesh and America showing the devastating side of a global economy, but never gets preachy about it.

We’re simply shown the facts, in vivid, beautiful pictures, and left to draw our own conclusions.

This is a documentary very much about the condition of the human species, and it may be one of the most important of the year.

— Peter Vesuwalla

4. Icelandic art astounds

The nuances and mores of Icelandic culture are approached in the pieces in Crumpled Darkness at aceartinc.

Contemporary works from Iceland — such as those shown at the amazing Volcana exhibit at Plug In ICA in 2005 –— show that Icelanders have a different way of not only working, but seeing the evolution of contemporary art. The work of Steingrímur Eyfjör and Haraldur Jónsson — now showing at an aceartinc. exhibition called Crumpled Darkness — is no exception.

Jónsson’s makes one think of the power of emotions honestly. Echoing in the space is the soft voice of a young Icelandic boy who is learning English for the first time. He carefully reads out a list of emotions, without giving any notice to what these words truly signify.

It is a pleasant surprise to see work by Eyfjör – who will be representing Iceland in the upcoming Venice Biennale – at a local artist-run centre such as aceartinc. It’s been a big year for him, as he was also nominated for the 2006 Carnegie Art Award — an important Nordic nod to contemporary artist like himself.

—Stacey Abramson

5. A book a week

A few decades ago, the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, the party of J.S. Woodsworth and David Lewis, was the most popular political party in Canada. Formed during the Depression, the CCF promoted a compassionate vision that included things such as universal healthcare.

In 1943, Tommy Douglas became the first social democratic leader in North America when he was elected premier of Saskatchewan. The CCF seemed poised for power on the federal level.

It didn’t happen. By 1961, what was left of the party had combined with the Canadian Labour Congress to form the NDP. In large part, argues John Boyko in his new book Into the Hurricane (J. Gordon Shillingford), the CCF was done in by hostility from all sides, a

perfect storm of political dirty tricks.

In a conversation with Uptown, Boyko provides a catalogue of underhanded dealings, designed to destroy the party.

“I was intrigued by the deception and the lies,” Boyko says. “So much of the dealing was behind the scenes. It’s like a detective story.”

— Quentin Mills-Fenn

Concerts & Events

TOM WAITS’ BIRTHDAY PARTY • Times Change(d) High & Lonesome Club • Dec 7, 9 pm – Feat. Mayor Matt Allen, Scott Nolan, The Disappointers, Jackie Walker Trio, American Flamewhip; Tix $8 @ door

WINNIPEG FOLK FESTIVAL WINTER WASSAIL • Winnipeg Convention Centre • Dec 7, 5:30 pm – Feat. dinner, music, silent auction, presentation of Winnipeg Folk Festival Achievement Award to Odetta; Tix $125 @ 231-0096

WINNIPEG SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA • Centennial Concert Hall • Musically Speaking, Dec 7, 7:30 pm – Music & Devils feat. works by Franz Liszt, Niccole Paganini performed by Nikki Chooi & Scott Meek; Tix $43/$38/$33 adults, $39/$35/$29 students/seniors @ WSO box office, 949-3999, boxoffice@wso.mb.ca

BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA • Royal Albert Arms • Dec 8, 10:30 pm – w/ The Ruffnecks, Velodrome; Tix $5 @ door

HIDDEN CAMERAS • Collective Cabaret • Dec 8, 9 pm – w/ The Born Ruffians; Tix $12 @ Music Trader, Into the Music

MOMENTS OF BRILLIANCE CD RELEASE • West End Cultural Centre • Dec 8, 8 pm – w/ The Alibi, Fame; Tix $7 @ door or $10 w/ CD

STONY POINT • The Folk Exchange • Dec 8, 8 pm; Tix $10 @ Winnipeg Folk Festival Music Store or $12 @ door

TRIBUTE TO ROD STEWART • Club Regent Casino • Dec 8, 10 pm; – Feat. Dameon Styles; Tix $18.02 @ Ticketmaster

WINNIPEG’S CONTEMPORARY DANCERS • WCD Studio Theatre, 211 Bannatyne • Dec 8-9, 8 pm – Brent Lott & Davida Monk present a work in progress; Tix $10 @ 452-0229

WINNIPEG SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA • Centennial Concert Hall • Pops, Dec 8-9, 8 pm; Dec 10, 2 pm – Holiday Express, conducted by Jeff Tyzik, w/ guests; Tix $65/$53/$42/$29 adults, $58/$47/$38/$26 students/seniors @ WSO box office, 949-3999, boxoffice@wso.mb.ca

RENAISSANCE VOICES • Young United Church, Furby & Broadway • Dec 8-9, 8 pm – The Wonders of Mary, conducted by Derek Morphy; Tix $20 adults, $10 students @ McNally Robinson Booksellers

WINNIPEG FOLK FESTIVAL WINTER CRAFT SALES • Folk Festival Music Store, 103-211 Bannatyne • Dec 9, 16, 11 am-5 pm; Free admission

MANITOBA CHAMBER ORCHESTRA VINYL VAULT OPEN HOUSE • Power Building Basement, 428 Portage • Dec 9, 10 am-5pm – Thousands of records for sale; Free admission

RON SEXSMITH • Burton Cummings Theatre • Dec 9, 8 pm – w/ Jill Barber; Tix $27.50 @ Ticketmaster, WECC

VIRTUOSI CONCERTS • Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall, U of W • Dec 9, 8 pm – Classical & Latin, feat. Papa Mambo w/ pianist Alma Petchersky; Tix $29 adults, $27 seniors, $17 students @ 786-9000, www.virtuosi.mb.ca

THE NYLONS • Club Regent Casino • Dec 10, 10 pm; Tix $21.20 @ Ticketmaster

BATTLE OF THE BANDS • Grant Park High School • Dec 12, 7 pm – Feat. Highway 66, Retribution, Krull, Neanderthal, Flatlines and Racing Hearts, Radiation; Tix $5 @ School’s Main Office, door

BABY YU • The Vibe Niteclub, 330 York • Dec 15, 10 pm; Tix $10 @ door

JACOB & LILY • Ellice Theatre • Dec 15, 8 pm – w/ Blue Sky Addicts; Tix $10 @ door

THE JP HOE HOE HOE HOLIDAY SHOW • King’s Head Pub • Dec 15, 9 pm – JD Edwards Band; Tix $5 (King’s Head membership)