Reviews
’d never heard of Five Man Electrical Band before moving to Ottawa, but its legendary reputation intrigued me and Its impending performance at Super Ex would be a rare opportunity to catch them live. So there I was, surrounded by the neon lights of carnival rides, the microphone feedback of chatty prize tents and all the fenced-off alleyways of the parking lot sprawl. And I was lost.
They All Do It, running until August 29 at Strathcona Park, is Odyssey Theatre’s first outdoor performance in two years. Irwin’s story is familiar: that the passion of youth is fickle and easy to manipulate, and we’re all young at heart and therefore susceptible to deception. But in a modern Ottawa setting, her task is to draw compassion out of misinterpretation. Not an easy job for such a literary theme.
Having never visited Strathcona Park before, it was easy to attribute the touch of magic in the air to its gothic lamp posts or elderly trees. The anticipation abuzz was contagious among couples and families, many who’ve no doubt witnessed A Company Of Fools in action before, and I now understand their cravings for an encore. No two shows will ever be the same, in small part because this communal crowd helps shape the tale.
I arrived early to the Shenkman Arts Centre, an impressive glass-fronted construct next to Orleans’ shopping district, and found an ottoman-sized rock to settle on. Staring vacantly out over its neighbouring grassland, marred by fence-lines and some paved parking, I breathed deep its flat horizon with an appreciation that would’ve gone unnoticed a few years ago. That’s what living amid the concrete towers of Toronto can do to you; with all its flashing billboards and commuter stampedes, your eyes never need to look further than an outstretched arm.
At the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, Bob Dylan left the stage in a huff when part of the audience booed his performance, which for the first time included an electric guitar. Just offstage, Pete Seeger said he would have cut the wires with an axe if he’d had one because the sound distorted Dylan’s lyrics. This was one of the first mainstream-music examples of new-media art (NMA).



