He’s been called a hip-hop violinist, the future of classical music and “about as omnivorous as a contemporary artist gets.” The Florida-born DBR (as he’s widely known) has collaborated with the likes of composer Phillip Glass, jazz singer Cassandra Wilson and recently, on American Idol, pop diva Lady Gaga. Here DBR performs his Voodoo Violin Concerto No. 1 with the VSO, featuring a typically eclectic mix of styles and sounds (blues, jazz, hip-hop, classical). Also on tap for the VSO’s Voodoo Valentine concert: Winter Poems by Glenn Buhr, Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet and a “Love Is All You Need” Beatles medley. Feb. 14, Orpheum Theatre.
Opening up the oft-cloistered art world to the masses, Irish artist Theo Sims brings his pub-house installation The Candahar (modelled after a now-defunct Belfast bar) to the Emily Carr University Sculpture Courtyard on Granville Island. The functioning bar (open daily between noon and 4 p.m., and 6 p.m. and 1 a.m.) features two Belfast bartenders acting as unscripted performers – which includes, yes, serving drinks. Part sculpture and part theatre, The Candahar is curated by Winnipeg artist Paul Butler and Vancouver author Michael Turner. Feb. 12 to 18, Emily Carr University.
In something of a coup, Vancouver gets the world premiere of performance artist Laurie Anderson’s new work, Delusion. Anderson is one of the leading performance artists of the past four decades, though equally well known in non-art circles for her 1981 single “O Superman” and a longstanding relationship with Velvet Underground singer Lou Reed. Anderson’s calling card is her intricate use of recorded sound as well as her creation of various devices to replicate sound. In Delusion she employs a series of altered voices and imaginary guests to tell a story about longing, memory and identity. Feb. 16 to 21, Vancouver Playhouse.
