by JACK OATMON

My first inkling of the escapist joys of club culture (whether nightlife deserves such weighty trappings as the word “culture” is up to the reader) came at 19, freshly relocated to England in search of adventure, identity and the international experience. Like many things in life, it came in the form of a lady. Having discovered a few late-night jazz clubs that didn’t charge cover, I began to get interested in the thriving jazz scene in my new city. Unable to afford the seemingly outrageous exchange on rock shows at the Pound, jazz gigs were the way to go and, as it turned out, saturated with just the sort of scheming, ambitious anarchists that I was (am?).

A mutual friend briefly introduced her to me during the daytime, but we’d already seen each other, even in the short weeks I’d been in town. We had our first real conversation over lattes and red wine to the sounds of Miles Davis and Charlie Parker coming from the resident trio at Tantric Jazz, one of the hottest spots in the city for young music enthusiasts. Her smiling eyes, new-wave haircut and unreal, homemade, gothic-looking wardrobe were plusses, but it was her inability to be outsmarted, incredible British wit and Earth-shattering, original compositions that were the cake under her exquisite icing.

The following time was a torrent of discovery for me, as she led me down the dark alleyways of music I’d never braved, introducing me to everything from Debussy to New Order, Charles Mingus and Jaco Pastorius to the emerging grime sound (we didn’t call it that at the time, but that seems to have become the fixed pop-culture term) and beyond. Meanwhile, we were immersed in the chaotic activist scene that is intertwined with musical minds in the U.K. (an unfortunate truant here in Canada). You’re starting to wonder why I’m rattling on about this. My point is that nothing can be more satisfying and artistically enlightening than a chance encounter with a stranger out of the context of your domestic routine. So let’s get out this week and kiss some strangers, shall we? It might do us a bit of good in the long run.

Noteworthy places to meet that special someone according to Jack Oatmon:

-Eclectic German producers and Get Physical label masterminds M.A.N.D.Y. appear with Philgood at Tribe Hyperclub tonight, Thursday, Nov. 23. I haven’t yet been to the place, but I’ll give it a shot to see what punch M.A.N.D.Y. pack.

-Chic Miniature play live at Academy on Friday, Nov. 24 in anticipation of an upcoming album. Ernesto and Vincent Lemieux swab the decks.

-Pheek launches his album En légère suspension on Friday at SIM Bistro with Butane, Tim Xavier, Kasteniede and Baya.

-Members of Think About Life, Telefauna, Dorian Hatchet and Say It Stranger will rock their solo projects early on Tuesday evening at the Divan Orange. Watch out for Miracle Fortress.

OUT, OUT, BRIEF CANDLE… jack.oatmon@gmail.com

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