The salon of soul

>> Poet Karen Stewart takes her Soul Shack for a wash and set

by SCOTT C

While poetry is certainly not dead in this city, it's always nice when someone decides to try something new on the spoken word front. You may remember Karen Stewart from the shadowy stage of Isart, where she and her Phenomenal Woman show amazed audiences with a soulful mix of spoken word, music and dance.

Stewart, who has opened for Mutabaruka and performs regularly at Jello's Coco Café, has been a little while in organizing her own events. "I miss Isart so much," she explains. "People just don't understand how much of a void there is without places like that in the city."

Maybe that's why Stewart's newest incarnation, Soul Shack, is scheduled to take place in a hair salon on St-Antoine. She plans to bring her show of talented spoken word artists and musicians to this funky little place that does hair by day. "A lot of businesses struggle when they first open," she says. "And the salon is a beautiful space just begging for something like this to come along. As soon as I walked in I knew that the show was going to work."

On the bill at Soul Shack are singers Galit and Michelle Adams, as well as Georgio and the clever verses of Manchilde. "Galit," she explains excitedly, "sings like Roberta Flack and Aretha combined! You can't miss her." Along with a performance by Karen herself, there's also a talented no-name jazz outfit that she's recruited for the night. "I met them at church," she laughs. "The sermon had just finished, and you know how people just kind of mull around talking and saying hello to each other? Well, that's when I heard these guys playing some serious stuff and approached them to play at the show. It's gonna be great."

With the unfortunate cancellation of Alexis O'Hara's Slam Shaker, there's a big space waiting to be filled by a regular spoken word event. Could Soul Shack be the next in line? "Well, first of all I'm not really into competitive poetry," she replies. "Who am I to say that your expression is better than another? Actually, I take that back, because I judge people all the time. There's so much untapped talent in this city and I just want to bring some of it to the people." So, while you're checking out the latest hair supplies or making an appointment to have your scalp oiled, you can check out some of this city's best kept secrets. The night is going to be hosted by radio personality Duke Eatman and I think somebody said something about chicken wings... :

You can check out Soul Shack on Wednesday, May 10 at 3296 St-Antoine W. Info 932-7708 Coco Café, Sunday, May 7 at Jello Bar, 151 Ontario E. Info 285-2621