By Lawrence Powell
The Spectator
NovaNewsNow.com
It won’t just be music being served up by the folks at Evergreen Theatre Saturday evening. A 6 p.m. pre-show dinner at the nearby Margaretsville Community Hall offers a menu as delectable as the 8 p.m. musical set list by Sagapool on stage.
The food’s an enticement to join the Evergreen fold. The music is free.
“To kick off our new Evergreen membership drive the Evergreen and the Royal Bank in Middleton will partner in a special event on Saturday, April 21,” said theatre manager David O’Leary. “All members (existing and new) will be invited to partake of a special Mediterranean-themed dinner at the Margaretsville Community Hall at 6 p.m. Following this they will get free admission to the Evergreen presentation of Sagapool at 8 p.m.”
The $30 price tag gets you a year's membership, a unique dining experience, and an exciting multicultural music event, said O’Leary.
And membership does have its benefits, said O’Leary. Members get at least two offers of free shows a year and probably more – plus invitations to after-theatre gatherings with the artist for selected shows. And they have first chance to buy tickets for special shows and advance seat reservations if you wish.
The Menu
The Menu includes Rosemary Focaccia, a crusty Italian flatbread seasoned with rosemary and olive oil; Palestine Rice and Lentils, a very basic yet utterly delicious mixture of rice, lentils and caramelized onions scented with cumin; and Seafood Plaka, fresh haddock baked under a tomato sauce enriched with olives and feta cheese. A cash bar will be available.
O’Leary has been known to search high and low for just the right ingredients and past Evergreen feasts have received rave reviews, putting his culinary capabilities quite a few notches above your average ‘dinner.’
The Performance
Sagapool started with accordion and clarinet jamming. It was joined by a whole family of other instruments, And then Sagapool went from Balkan and Gypsy-inflected impromptu shows on the summer streets of Old Montreal to crafting acoustic original instrumentals as a six-piece band -- one so in synch that it’s no surprise when the guitarist jumps up to join the bassist for a thumping four-handed riff. It’s a gang of good friends and relatives sharing long, winding stories (the sagas in Sagapool) -- but with stunning chops.
Sagapool has grown up together, and gotten serious. And seriously melodic: thought rocking many a rollicking tune, it’s melodies -- not grooves or beats alone -- that truly guide the band. They spring sometimes from a single note, inspired as much by film scores and classical gems as Gypsy and Eastern European roots music.
The band knows exactly how to capture the spare outlines and rich textures of hyperboreal places and people. The pieces evolved into little stories of their own, telling tales from the cosmopolitan hub of Montreal and from the outer edges of northeastern Canada, with its still expanses punctuated with leaping, bubbling energy.
Cost to attend the Sagapool show only is $20.
Sagapool music and videos are at http://www.sagapool.com/en/nouvelles
Reservations
Online www.evergreentheatre.ca
Phone 902-825-6834
E-mail evergreentheatre@gmail.com
With information provided by Evergreen Theatre.
