Indie rock
What: Richard Reed Parry with Corwin Fox
Where: Capital Ballroom, 858 Yates St.
When: Friday, Oct. 19, 7 p.m.
Tickets: $22.50 at Lyle鈥檚 Place and ticketfly.com
Why: This show might be slipping under the radar for many who aren鈥檛 aware that Richard Reed Parry is a member of Arcade Fire 鈥� and a key one. Parry has collaborated with many musicians over the years (including Bell Orchestre, The Unicorns and The National), but it鈥檚 his work as a solo artist that鈥檚 bringing the Montrealer to the Capital Ballroom on Friday. Word on the street is that he will be making more than one Vancouver Island stop: Don鈥檛 be surprised if Parry shows up on stage Saturday when indie rockers (and former Arcade Fire tourmates) Wolf Parade play The Queens in Nanaimo.
Funk rock
What: Ghosty Boy鈥檚 Freaky Be Funky record release party with Spaceboots, Funk Vigilante, Sweet Leaf, Small Town Artillery and DJ Ness-T
Where: Capital Ballroom, 858 Yates St.
When: Saturday, Oct. 20, 9 p.m.
Tickets: $10 at Lyle鈥檚 Place and ticketzone.com; $15 at the door
Why: Ghosty Boy continues life after Current Swell with Freaky Be Funky, a solo project with more influences than pages in a dictionary. Fishbone and Rage Against the Machine are musical touchstones for the multi-instrumentalist and rapper, with politics playing a big role lyrically. He鈥檒l be in good company Saturday with a lineup of shapeshifting collaborators that includes Spaceboots, Funk Vigilante, Sweet Leaf, Small Town Artillery and Ness-T. Spaceboots will play its last show ever at this event, adding a go-for-broke element to what was already destined to be a ride-the-rails night of entertainment.
Theatre
What: Outside Mullingar
Where: Chemainus Theatre, 9737 Chemainus Rd.
When: Oct. 19 through Nov. 19
Tickets: $49 ($26 for students) through tickets.chemainustheatrefestival.ca or by phone at 250-246-9820
Why: This classic from Oscar-winning screenwriter and Tony Award-winning playwright John Patrick Shanley is set in an Irish farming community and tells the story of unrequited love between two longstanding neighbours. To say anything more would spoil the fun, because the beauty of Outside Mullingar is in the lilting language. Shanley, a Pulitzer Prize winner, is a master wordsmith, and the sing-songy cadence and homespun charm of Outside Mullingar puts the play near the top of his impressive r茅sum茅.
