Heeere’s Annie!
Alternative talk show ‘more DIY than David Letterman’
by Christopher Olson
GRAPHIC CHRISTOPHER CURTIS
It may not be live, or even on TV, but Montreal artists are finally getting their own talk show.
Late Night in the Loft is an emerging-artist showcase that will be filmed at the Coeur de Jeanne Mance this week. Hosted by Concordia grad Annie Briard, Late Night will turn the spotlight on a variety of acts and performances from Montreal.
“The idea is that it’s completely focused on indie arts and emerging artists, so it’s definitely more DIY than David Letterman,” said Briard.
Late Night in the Loft is a sort of sister show to Toronto’s Late Night in the Bedroom, which was founded by Concordia grad Joshua Barndt last year. Like its Toronto equivalent, Late Night’s Montreal edition is filmed in front of a live audience and then screened online via podcast.
“I’ve done a lot of curating of shows in the past, but nothing like a webcast,” said producer Shereen Soliman, who graduated last year from Concordia’s new media program.
The goal of the show is to showcase works that are hidden from the mainstream media, she explained. “I think it lowers barriers, to allow some artists who are doing some cool stuff to show their work.”
If the pilot gets picked up for a series—a decision determined by funding and audience response, rather than a network executive—Late Night in the Loft could become, at the very least, a seasonal occurrence.
“We’re kind of debating whether to bring it to TV or to keep it online,” said Briard. “What’s great with online is that we have complete freedom of exactly when and where we do it and who the guests are.”
Local experimentalists Dynamo Coleoptera will be the musical guest during Late Night’s premiere episode Friday, their last gig before kicking off their national tour.
“It’s unfair to call them a band, because they’re really a multi-disciplinary act,” said Briard, explaining that Dynamo incorporates handmade instruments and video projections into their act.
Other guests during the show will include Montreal’s Throw! Poetry Collective, actor and playwright Joseph Bembridge and a discussion with artist Frédéric Loury about Art Souterrain, which for the second year has converted Montreal’s metro, as well as the Palais de congrès, into a public art gallery for
all night culture fest Nuit Blanche.
“[Late Night] is really about making art accessible and giving young artists a kind of platform to showcase their works,” said Briard. “That’s what it’s about, and then the show or the TV or the web, that just becomes the kind of support medium.”
The pilot episode of Late Night in the Loft will be filmed at Coeur de Jeanne Mance, (6585 Jeanne-Mance St., loft #301) on Feb. 19 from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Admission is free. Visit latenightintheloft.com for more information or to watch the podcast.
The Link Volume 31 Issue 01