I should have danced with you at that party in Harlem

Yesterday evening, I saw one of the best shows in my life, starring two of my favourite celebrities, 

Ivan E. Coyote and Rae Spoon.

Because Canadians do it better.

Okay, so they're not exactly "celebrities" in the sense of the word "celebrities" - ie. everyone knows about them and PVRs their reality shows and writes reddit threads about them and watches their sex tapes. 

But regardless, they're celebrities in their own right in that they are actually talented (which is rare in the world of celebrity), and are known by people who actually matter - people like me. But this isn't a post about narcissistic, self-perceived sophistication, so I will leave the subject of myself for another time.


For those who do not know about them, here is a bit of background on these lovely artists.


IVAN E. COYOTE is a writer/performer from Whitehorse, Yukon who has thus far published seven books, recorded three albums, and collaborated with enough people to make you super jealous of her life. She has been a writer-in-residence in Ottawa, Vancouver and Winnipeg, and been a columnist for Xtra Magazine. She has been nominated for many prestigious awards, including the Lambda Literary. She is the unofficial wizard of Commercial Drive in Vancouver and most of her performances will make you cry, no matter how bad ass you may think you are. 


RAE SPOON is a folk musician from Calgary, Alberta who has thus far recorded and released nine albums and collaborated with enough people to make you super jealous of his life. He currently resides in Montréal, Québec but has lived in various parts of Europe as well, including Germany, which inspired his seventh album. He has been nominated for many awards, including the Polaris Prize (you know, the one Arcade Fire keeps winning). His voice is the kind that reminds you of all the things that make a sunrise beautiful. 


The performance that I went to was a collaboration between Ivan and Rae, a show that they wrote back in 2006 when they decided to travel and live together in Dawson City, Yukon. The adventure involves moving into a haunted house, cooking moose meat, purchasing a permafrost map of Canada, and eating Safeway chicken atop a white hearse. The show was driven by Coyote's stories of her family's initial settlement in Whitehorse, interspersed with the experience she had going back there with Rae, as well as the revealing of the character and spirit of the Yukon Territory itself. Her stories would be accompanied by Rae's electric guitar, and with the closing of each chapter, Rae would perform a song connected to Ivan's themes. As this all went on,  a screen behind the two performers would show video clips and photographs of the Yukon landscape as well as of Coyote's family.


The venue was the Studio Theatre at the Surrey Arts Centre, which houses 129 seats (yes, 129. They couldn't bother rounding it up to an even 130). So basically, it was like being in someone's larger than normal living room; only there is no television to distract you and no one's trying to serve you cold pizza bagels and stale donuts. It was perhaps the most personal "event" I had ever been to, especially with both storytellers on the verge of tears as they told their stories. I am a huge fan of both Ivan and Rae, not only for their queer activism but for their sheer skill at tapping into emotions you had that you never knew anyone could ever express, until they do. So to see them together, using their creativity to recount poignant and funny memories that are their own and yet are very universal, was quite simply magical.


Ivan E. Coyote and Rae Spoon may not be all that famous, but they're more beautiful than most of the people who end up on that stupid annual People's list, and I was more nervous meeting them than I ever was meeting David Hasselhoff in New York City (which I barely remember. No offense, David Hasselhoff).


I woke up the next morning with dreams of going up North in a white hearse. Hey, it's not my fault they made the idea of it quite romantic.