By Nathan Whitlock | Photography by Joseph Hartman

Neil Young Gothic, if such a thing exists, eschews flash and cleverness in favour of lumber-jacketed authenticity and a wistful, even sentimental yearning for lost homes, places and childhoods. Joseph Hartman taps into that plaintive mode with a new series of photographs created partly as a psychological investigation. Hartman spent his earliest years in First Nations communities on the north shore of Lake Superior, where his mother worked as a teacher. Decades later, he began to wonder if his memories of the area were fabrications based on stories he’d been told by his parents. So, in 2010, at the age of 32, he drove north to find out. Some of the resulting photos, which make up his third solo exhibition, betray the influence of Edward Burtynsky, for whom Hartman works as an archivist. Hartman’s images (like “Boat and Shed, Heron Bay” above), however, are much more intimate than Burtynsky’s, and less journalistic. He is not documenting industry run amok or epic shifts in how we live, but bringing to light seemingly unremarkable places that had, for him, previously existed only in his head. Part of the inspiration for the project, according to Hartman? Young’s aching-for-Ontario tune “Helpless.”

PHOTOGRAPHY
Joseph Hartman
Nov. 3 to 26
Stephen Bulger Gallery

Canadians took the Bridge School Benefit at Shoreline Amphitheatre in San Francisco by storm, as Neil Young performed alongside Arcade Fire in a rendition of “Helpless” to celebrate the school’s 25th anniversary. Young founded the Bridge School in 1986 with wife Pegi to help children with physical and speech-related handicaps. Young also performed “Pocahontas” with Beck and “Dance, Dance, Dance” with Mumford and Sons.

• Watch Neil Young perform with Beck, Arcade Fire, More [Paste Magazine]

Every weekend we round up the highlights from the other websites in the St. Joseph Media family (that’s the company that owns us, by the by). Check them out, after the jump.

• As Fashion Week incessantly hops from place to place, Fashion Magazine has everything conveniently located in one location. See the list [Fashion Magazine] »

• We all know how heavily fridge magnets can weigh on a family budget. Thankfully Canadian Family has a do-it-yourself guide for glass pebble and tile magnets to spruce up your home on the cheap. Read the entire story [Canadian Family] »

• It sounds like an oxymoron, but Ottawa Magazine has the story on ethical oil and its hostile clashes with Saudi Arabia. Read the entire story [Ottawa Magazine] »

• For those who love the crisp red and gold of autumn, Where has 10 premiere leaf-watching destinations. We recommend going early while it’s still possible to appreciate them—that is, before the endless raking makes us bitter. See the list [Where] »

• The culinary minds over at 20 Minute Supper Club have six tasty apple recipes for fall: apple soup, apple French Toast, apple chicken, apple salad, apple toss and apple cheese toast. What, no apple pie? See the list [20 Minute Supper Club] »

• For those planning a rustic ceremony, Wedding Bells has eight essential elements to think about. Personally, we’d go one step further: denim wedding dress. See the list [Wedding Bells] »

• Neil Young is writing a memoir for 2012, according to Quill and Quire. We can only hope he’ll lend his distinctive, weathered voice to an audiobook version. Read the entire story [Quill and Quire] »

• The snoops at Torontoist have uncovered a leaked Blue Jays logo, which, if implemented, will be the one good thing about the team (we kid, we kid). Read the entire story [Torontoist] »

Neil Young and Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder (Image: Peter Bregg/ Getty Images Entertainment/ Getty Images)

With his majestic sideburns on full display, Neil Young moseyed down the red carpet at the Princess of Wales Theatre yesterday for his film Neil Young Journeys. Director Jonathan Demme stuck close by and we’re gonna wager a guess that, like the rest of us, Demme is totally crushing on Young at this point. Journeys is Demme’s third doc on the artist, covering Young’s Massey Hall concert this past May and interspersed with scenes from a nostalgic road trip through Ontario. Other attendees included Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, manager Elliot Roberts and fellow Canadian music royalty Daniel Lanois, who produced the album Le Noise, which features in the film. See our photo gallery, after the jump.

TIFF announced its full programming schedule today, which means its time to start planning individual movie lineups. It also means a few more big names have been added to the festival through TIFF’s Mavericks program, which brings out celebrities and newsmakers to discuss their latest projects. Last year may have had Bruce Springsteen and Bill Gates, but this year’s slate is equally impressive: Christopher Plummer, Tilda Swinton, Neil Young, Deepa Mehta, Salman Rushdie, Jonathan Demme, Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed, Francis Ford Coppola and Sony Pictures Classics founders Michael Barker and Tom Bernard will be making presentations. The program also includes the world premieres of Barrymore, The Love We Can Make, Neil Young Life and The Island President, and the North American premiere of Tahrir 2011: The Good, the Bad and the Politician.

Check out more details about the Maverick program after the jump.

Barrymore
Sept. 10, 3:30 p.m., TIFF Bell Lightbox 2

What you’ll see: Christopher Plummer won a Tony Award for his 1996 portrayal of actor John Barrymore struggling with his inner demons. After a screening of the film, which is directed by Erik Canuel, Plummer will take the stage to discuss his decades-spanning career and how he brought Barrymore back to life.

Deepa Mehta and Salman Rushdie
Sept. 12, 2 p.m., TIFF Bell Lightbox 2

What you’ll see: Published in 1981, Rushdie’s novel Midnight’s Children won him the Booker Prize and solidified the author as a key figure in the post-colonial literary landscape. The book chronicles India’s transition from British colony to independent nation, reflecting on the issues that plagued the country, including ideas of statehood, clashing cultures, language, redrawn borders and socio-political difference. Rushdie has been working with Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta—director of Water and Heaven on Earth—to adapt his novel to film. Considering the magical content of the book (the protagonist is telepathic, after all), we can imagine it was a difficult task to adapt such a novel, and both Mehta and Rushdie will take the stage to discuss their working process with TIFF co-director Cameron Bailey. Having just finished shooting in Sri Lanka this past summer, Mehta will also preview a few scenes from the film.

In Conversation With… Francis Ford Coppola
Sept. 11, 12 p.m., TIFF Bell Lightbox 1

What you’ll see: The “In Conversation With” series are always some of our favourites—past editions have included discussions with Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Michael Caine—but this year’s guest puts the series at the top of our must-attend list. Moderated again by Cameron Bailey, the discussion will cover Coppola’s expansive career, from working under producer Roger Corman to screenwriting and eventually directing, which brought us some iconic masterpieces. Perhaps best known for The Godfather, The Conversation and Apocalypse Now, Coppola is screening Twixt at this year’s festival.

The Island President
Sept. 10, 6:30 p.m., TIFF Bell Lightbox 2

What you’ll see: TIFF presents the world premiere of The Island President, a political documentary that follows Mohamed Nasheed after winning the Maldivian presidential election as he fights climate change in New York, London, Delhi and, finally, at the Copenhagen Climate Conference. The film gives access to Nasheed’s first year in office, and is followed by a discussion with the president himself, joined by director Jon Shenk and moderator Thom Powers.

The Love We Make
Sept. 9, 9:30 p.m., AMC 7

What you’ll see: TIFF presents the world premiere of The Love We Make. Directed by Albert Maysles and Bradley Kaplan, the film follows Paul McCartney as he prepares for a 9/11 memorial concert in New York City in October 2001. The presentation includes a live discussion with Maysles and Kaplan, as well as a pre-recorded introduction by McCartney.

Neil Young Life
Sept. 12, 7 p.m., Princess of Wales Theatre

What you’ll see: Neil Young’s Massey Hall concert this past year marked a triumphant return to the world stage for the 65-year-old Canadian folk legend. Filmmaker Jonathan Demme captured that performance over two nights to create Neil Young Life. Following the world premiere of the film, Young and Demme will take part in a live conversation.

Sony Picture Classics: 20 Years in the Business
Sept. 11, 3 p.m., TIFF Bell Lightbox 3

What you’ll see: This may be the most lively Mavericks presentation yet—Sony Pictures Classic founders Michael Barker and Tom Bernard take the stage with moderator Jonathan Demme to discuss the making of some of the most successful films of all time (after all, Sony Pictures Classics boasts a roster of directors that includes Woody Allen, Pedro Almodóvar, David Cronenberg, Ang Lee and Errol Morris, to name a few). As studio founders, Barker and Bernard are certain to have their fair share of outrageous stories—from the Oscars to Cannes to behind the scenes at TIFF, we can’t wait for some juicy tales.

Tahrir 2011: The Good, the Bad and the Politician
Sept. 17, 3:15 p.m., TIFF Bell Lightbox 2

What you’ll see: Perhaps the most comprehensive Mavericks presentation, the Tahrir 2011 series was inspired by the 2011 Egyptian revolution that brought the end of Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year regime. Three directors tell the story from different points of view: The Good, directed by Tamer Ezzat, looks at the heroes from Tahrir square. The Bad, directed by Ayten Amin, is an account of four internal police officers assigned to crush the uprising. Finally, The Politician, directed by Amr Salama, is a satirical take on how to become a dictator, deconstructing Mubarek’s persona over the course of his rule. Following the screening, Ezzat and Amin will offer reflections on changes taking place in Egypt today.

Tilda Swinton
Sept. 11, 11:45 a.m., TIFF Bell Lightbox 3

What you’ll see: A glance at Tilda Swinton’s IMDb page reveals the memorable characters that Swinton has played: murderess Sal in The Beach, the White Witch in The Chronicles of Narnia, adulteress Katie Cox in Burn After Reading, Brad Pitt’s mistress, Elizabeth Abbott, in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Emma in I Am Love, to name a few. However, Swinton is perhaps best known for her Academy Award–winning role as Karen Crowder in 2007’s Michael Clayton and is at TIFF this year as the executive producer and star of We Need To Talk About Kevin. Swinton will discuss her career in this session moderated by Noah Cowan.

The crowd mingles in the Drake Sky Yard before the Polaris Prize long list is announced (Image: Caroline Aksich)

Yesterday at the Drake Hotel’s Sky Yard, the long list for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize was announced. The list, compiled by a 227-person jury composed of Canadian music media members, was a mash-up of new and familiar names, with more than a quarter of those nominated coming from Toronto. The prize, established in 2006 to recognize the best Canadian album of the year, is awarded purely on the basis of artistic merit. It now carries an impressive $30,000 purse, up from $20,000 (also new this year: all short-listed bands go home with $2,000 thanks to Slaight Music). We stopped by to watch the festivities unfold.

CBC Radio 3’s Grant Lawrence, mid-pun (Image: Caroline Aksich)

CBC Radio 3’s Grant Lawrence emceed the event, opening with a horrible pun we couldn’t help but love: “I’m from Vancouver, and I’m very happy to be here because yesterday there was an actual arcade fire…and I point my finger at the suburbs.” Brendan Canning (of Broken Social Scene fame) was the first of a quartet of ex–Polaris nominee announcers. Canning kicked off the list—to no one’s surprise—with Arcade Fire’s Grammy-winning The Suburbs.

Veteran Toronto groups on the list include Sloan, Neil Young, Buck 65, Ron Sexsmith and D-Sisive. Fresher-faced among the nominees were creepy neo-folk trio Timber Timbre, pop rock’s new glam boy John O’Regan, a.k.a. Diamond Rings (playing Yonge-Dundas Square on June 17, Wrongbar on June 18) and the band that stole its name from a children’s book, Hooded Fang (playing The Horseshoe on June 18).

In less than three weeks, this list will be hacked down to 10 albums as the jurors resubmit their top five picks from the long list. The short list will be announced July 6, and a winner will be declared September 19.

Nominated Toronto groups:

• Austra—Feel It Break
• Buck 65—20 Odd Years
• D-Sisive—Jonestown 2: Jimmy Go Bye Bye
• Diamond Rings—Special Affections
• Luke Doucet and The White Falcon—Steel City Trawler
• Hooded Fang—Album
• One Hundred Dollars—Songs Of Man
• Doug Paisley—Constant Companion
• Ron Sexsmith—Long Player Late Bloomer
• Sloan—The Double Cross
• Stars—The Five Ghosts
• Timber Timbre—Creep On Creepin’ On
• The Weeknd—House Of Balloons

The full list is available on the Polaris website.

UPDATE: Contrary to what was published on the Polaris Prize website, we have been informed that Stars is still a Montreal-based band. As a result, the long list is 30 per cent Torontonian, not 32.5 per cent as was originally stated. Torontolife.com regrets the error.

The band’s history with the man dates back to 1992, when Pearl Jam played at Young’s exclusive annual Bridge School Benefit Concert (they’ve since played the show seven more times). The two musical powerhouses have been linked ever since, collaborating on albums like Young’s Mirror Ball and appearing on stage together numerous times. With Neil often referred to as the “Godfather of Grunge,” his effect on one of the most prolific exponents of the genre has resulted in a genuine bond.

Attend a Pearl Jam concert in Toronto and you’ll likely hear a story or two about a recent stay at the home of “Uncle Neil,” as was the case in 2009 when the band played a sold-out show at the Molson Amphitheatre. In fact, when the opening act for that night’s show was held up at the border, frontman Eddie Vedder took it upon himself to perform an impromptu acoustic set of Neil classics like “Sugar Mountain” and “The Needle and the Damage Done.” Pearl Jam ended their show that night the same way they close every so many Canadian dates—with a rendition of Young’s iconic anthem “Rockin’ in the Free World.”

Many bands have adopted Toronto as a sort of home away from home. Most famously, the Rolling Stones used take up residency at the El Mocambo, working out the kinks in their act in a series of secret concerts before taking their show on the road. We can only hope the same can one day be said of PJ. For now we’ll gladly settle for a yearly tour stop.

Pearl Jam play the ACC on September 11 and 12. Tickets are $69.59, on sale May 27.

UPDATED (May 18, 4.51 p.m.)

To everyone’s surprise, Toronto television is having a big moment. Shows like Flashpoint, Being Erica, Rookie Blue and Lost Girl are addictive appointment viewing. They get high ratings, ones that are competitive with their American counterparts. What’s most appealing about them is that they’re confident. They aren’t anxious about being Canadian products—they’re past that.

Which is why Ken Finkleman’s new show, Good Dog, feels like a throwback. As with his celebrated series The Newsroom, Finkleman seems preoccu­pied with how his work stacks up against innovative U.S. shows, particularly Larry David’s HBO juggernaut, Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Just as Larry David plays a barely fictionalized character named Larry David, a TV producer and writer in Los Angeles, Finkle­man plays a version of himself named George, a TV producer and writer in Toronto. It’s a variation on a character that Finkleman has revisited intermittently since introducing him on the show Married Life in 1995. George is now hooked up with Claire, a much younger model played by Lauren Lee Smith, for what he describes as the kind of “hot May–December relationship” that TV execs love. In a bid to get the green light for a reality show about his life, he asks Claire to move in—along with her two kids, their stern Austrian nanny and the family’s snarling Rottweiler (thus the show’s title).

This time, the show acknowledges, then dismisses, its debts outright. The proposed title for George’s reality show vanity pro­ject? Embrace Your Enthusiasm. “I’m going to scoop those asshole critics who are going to say that I’m ripping off Larry David,” snipes George before embarking on a trip to L.A. to secure David’s blessing. His pilgrimage is stymied, as these things tend to go on television, by airport security. George is approached on an escalator at the airport by a drivelling, lazy-eyed stranger who recognizes him. When George explains that his face is probably familiar from The Newsroom, the man insists that he never watched the show. An argument erupts and George, who simply wanted to catch his plane to meet David, is accused of harassment and tossed out.

The pre-emptive hat tip to Curb Your Enthusiasm is a canny manoeuvre. (Of course, Finkleman may also be flipping the bird to those “asshole critics” who raised their eyebrows at the similarities between his recent debut novel, Noah’s Turn, and British author Martin Amis’s The Information.) It’s clever, defensive and slightly hostile. In other words, textbook Finkleman.

Good Dog’s reality-show-within-the-show eventually recedes (the network passes on George’s idea), but only after its premise has taken root. Instead of watching a show about a guy making a show about a guy living with a woman half his age, we’re now watching a show about a guy living with a woman half his age. That matryoshka doll meta-ness is a hallmark of Finkleman’s work—it instantly recalls The Newsroom, which for three seasons between 1996 and 2005 mapped out the machinations of an evening news show modelled after and shot at the CBC.

In his capacity as the writer, director and star, Finkleman alternately skewered and sent up sensationalist, pandering newscasts. As George, he’d spin stories about piranha-infested waters, suicidal writers and, in the first season’s three-part finale, a potential Chernobyl at a nuclear plant in Pickering that mushroomed into a spot-on parody of Fellini’s 8 1/2. He’d also chastise a put-upon intern for fetching him the wrong kind of muffin.

If one criticism dogged The Newsroom—and defined Finkle­man’s complicated relationship with creative influence—it was that it cribbed its backdoor look from the brilliant Larry Sanders Show, right down to the title card. Lifting a few elements from HBO had a good chance of going undetected in the mid-’90s, when fewer Canadians had access to American premium cable channels. Not so today.

Like the caricatured version of David in Curb, Finkleman’s George squeezes every possible drop of absurdity out of his role as comic victim. David courts big blowouts that render his character both pathetic and despicable (at one point, he refuses to hand out candy to uncostumed teenagers on Halloween, only to have them vandalize his house and spray-paint the words “bald asshole” on his front door). Finkleman’s schlemiel-against-the-world shtick is of a different stripe. Instead of playing the martyr, he actively attempts to deflect cosmic cruelty. When George finds out late in Good Dog’s first episode that the network has turned down his reality show idea, he begins to resent Claire, who has just moved in. While he’s contemplating a way out, she’s contemplating a religious conversion to Judaism, in a bid to get closer to him. “Mine is not the kind of Jewishness that you convert to,” grumbles George. “It’s more the kind you do an impression of or you get therapy for.” Eager to avoid any firm commitments, George hatches a plan to expose his girlfriend to unappealing Jews, like his wheezing, whiny butcher. The plan backfires when the butcher suddenly becomes a philosophy-spouting, chin-stroking rabbi figure in Claire’s presence, as opposed to the nasal-voiced neurotic who paid $100 to see Susan Boyle. But the premise remains: Finkleman makes every attempt to get the upper hand on a world out to screw him, and at least tries to screw it first.

If it wasn’t already clear by now, Finkle­man’s alter ego is one bitter guy. He’s ambitious, narcissistic, arrogant and generally disgusted by the universe (and his girlfriend’s beloved five-by-six-foot painting of Neil Young). And he’s not afraid to show it. That’s what makes him so watchable. Ultimately, Good Dog proves that it doesn’t really matter who did what first. A second season of the show is already in the works. Maybe as the series moves forward, Finkleman’s myriad anxieties—about influence, inadequacy and the world at large—will recede. But probably not. They’re what make him George.

TV
Good Dog
Premiered March 6, HBO Canada

(Image: Andrew Zbihlyj)

Chilly Gonzales, Juno nominee for best electronic album of the year (Image: Dennis Yang)

Earlier today, the 40^th annual Juno nominations were announced with host Drake earning a whopping six nods. The Justin Bieber and Johnny Reid tied for a close second, raking in four nominations each. Held at the Air Canada Centre on March 27, this year’s ceremony features diverse nominees, ensuring there is something for everyone to enjoy: Canadian staples Sarah McLachlan, Great Big Sea and Neil Young were nominated, as were Polaris Prize winners Karkwa, newcomers Hollerado and Said the Whale, along with Owen Pallett and Tokyo Police Club. Set to perform are big names like Broken Social Scene and Arcade Fire as well as Johnny Reid, Hedley and Down With Webster.

The Junos added a new category this year—best electronic album of the year—whose nominees include Caribou, Chilly Gonzales, Crystal Castles, Poirier and the ever-contentious group Holy Fuck. The most entertaining moment of the announcement (sadly, there’s no video on-line yet) came from Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew who poked fun at Justin Bieber’s cracking voice and threw Holy Fuck’s nomination in Stephen Harper’s face (Harper’s government named the band as an example of misplaced arts funding for fringe or offensive groups).

• Justin Bieber and Drake win Grammy nods [Toronto Star]

1. Interactive Landscape Dune
Usually off-limits, Lower Bay Station has been the site of some of Nuit Blanche’s most eerie work. This year, Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde turns the subway station into a spooky interactive light sculpture that alters dramatically in shape according to the behaviour of the audience. Screaming encouraged. Lower Bay Station.

2. Monument to Smile
First displayed at the Rockefeller Center, Agnès Winter’s massive video projection finds a somewhat more prosaic home on the façade of Holts. At the Paris-based artist’s request, OCAD students took 250 photos of beaming Torontonians, and the results form a shifting mosaic, accompanied by the Charlie Chaplin song “Smile.” It puts even the most elaborate Christmas window display to shame. Holt Renfrew Centre.

(Top: Endgame By Max Streicher; bottom: Auto Lamp by Kim H. Adams)

3. Later That Night at the Drive-In
When Kiss sang “I wanna rock and roll all night,” they definitely didn’t have Daniel Lanois in mind. But that’s exactly what the art rocker is doing in this multimedia, multi-channel sound-and-light extravaganza. CanCon bonus: at midnight, Neil Young nuts get the chance to hear four new songs from his latest album, which Lanois is producing. Nathan Phillips Square.

4. Nuit Market Starring the Toronto Weston Flea Market
Mammalian Diving Reflex was behind one of the most beloved performances—an all-ages dance party in a gym full of rubber balls—at the inaugural Nuit Blanche in 2006. This time around, the avant-garde performance company (joined by vendors from the Toronto Weston Flea Market) transforms an alley near Ryerson into a bustling night market replete with bargains, services (on-the-spot teeth whitening) and cheap food. Victoria Street lane.

5. Reunion
In 1968, Ryerson and the Isaacs Gallery teamed up for a night of exceptional art and chess—games were played on a wired-up board that switched eight compositions on and off, depending on a participant’s move—starring John Cage and Marcel Duchamp, among others. Now, on the same stage, a dozen artists who knew or were influenced by those two titans (including original attendees Gordon Mumma and David Behr­man) gather for a redo. Ryerson Theatre.

6. Performance Café with Perforated Sides
For decades, conceptual artist Dan Graham has been building playful architectural environments composed of semi-reflective glass, stainless steel and mirrors. There are about 50 of his public pavilions around the world, and this newest one, with its two-way mirrored glass and moiré patterns, gives visitors to city hall’s green roof a trippy, vertiginous experience. City Hall.

7. Dance With Me
L.A. artist Kianga Ford encourages Toronto to shake its collective booty in a piece that both highlights the diversity of the city (a salsa can segue into a waltz into a reel into a tarantella, depending on the partner) and the ever-complicated jig between strangers. And you thought Step Up 3D was interactive. The Atrium on Bay.

8. Erik Satie’s Vexations
Experimental composer Martin Arnold takes Satie’s brief, notoriously difficult composition and performs it with an accompanist on two separate pianos 840 times. In turn, the compulsively prolific Micah Lexier transforms 840 copies of the score into paper sculptures. Brookfield Place.

9. Auto Lamp
Playfully deconstructed vehicles of all kinds feature prominently in Kim Adams’ work. In this rotating sculpture, a white Dodge Ram van is shot through with holes—a sort of vehicular doily—through which light pours out. Stare at it long enough and it becomes a lighthouse, a  mobile, and an oversized Christmas ornament. Yonge south of Queen Street.

10. Endgame (Coulrophobia)
You think one clown is scary? How about two enormous inflatable clown heads stuck between two buildings? This Max Streicher installation consists of vinyl recycled from billboards and transformed into balloon-like noggins whose expressions, thanks to varying air pressure, shift from the ghoulish to the (sort of) delightful. Alleyway between 67 and 69 Yonge Street.

Hitchhiker will be released in October (Image: 6tee-zeven)

If, as the song goes, Neil Young is getting old, he’s not showing signs of slowing down. A year and a half after the release of his last studio album, Fork in the Road, the nearly 65-year-old Can-rock icon is coming out with a new solo effort: according to Warner Music Canada, it’s called Hitchhiker and is due on October 5. The record is being produced by Daniel Lanois, a Canadian producer-singer-songwriter known for working with the likes of Bob Dylan and U2. The pair have been getting along famously; Lanois told the CBC last month, “There’s an automatic communication system that exists between two Canadian dogs.” Not even a nasty motorcycle accident could keep Lanois away from the project, which he calls “some of [Young’s] best work in some time. We’ve really hit the motherlode.”  You just keep right on rockin’, Neil.

(Photo-illustration: Neil Young by Steve Jurvetson, Justin Bieber by Kerosene Photography, TV by William Hook)