See the list of coverage from 2009

Take Note. As always, "News" includes internet only and people's individual commentary but they have to say something significant. "I'm going to the Fringe later" doesn't qualify as a Fringe reference. The more an individual tries to emulate Old Media, the less I'll be inclined to include it here.

One thing to watch for, last year I noted that a show on Concordia's radio station, CJLO (it's actually been transmitting to the world on 1690KHz since the fall of 2008) devoted itself to Fringe artists on the Monday during the Fringe from 2 to 4pm. I didn't get the title of the show, so I don't even know if it's still on or at that time, but maybe it's something to watch for. Later: Amy emails me to say the name of the show is Watercooler Talk and a check says the show is on Tuesday mornings from 8:00 to 10:00.

Another thing to note: A search discovered some reviews on a site I'd never heard of, and then discover they are bootlegged off other websites, not giving credit, just stealing the articles and stripping off references to the original source. So not only should nobody be linking to those bootleg articles (that means the Fringe, that in the past has linked to things without giving it thought), but the robbed websites should be complaining. I think the site is obvious, I'd rather not list it here. It needs to be shut down. The whois gives the registrant's email as bettyjoe@mail2karate.com

There are some other agregators, at least not pretending to be originating the posts, that show up and it is far better to link to the original source; after all, Midnight Poutine is a little more familiar and thus "authoratative" than some agregator.

Note: Keir Cutler did get his obligatory article in The Westmount Examiner, but I've yet to find it online, and at the moment I can't find the paper copy. It was earlier rather than later.

Byron's article in The Senior Times ends with a pointer to where he (actually, I bumped into him and he says not him, so others at the paper?) will be reviewing the Fringe shows this year, actually getting content up while the Fringe is running. Shades of when Byron did the Daily Playlette (a daily single sheet review "paper" done for a few years during the Fringe). There's no content up when I put this up, but the URL is stfringe.blogspot.com. (As of Saturday June 19th, nothing has appeared there. It's not a matter of creating space, it's a matter of creating content, or if you want people to use a space, you have to seed it rather than just make the space.)

I think there will be something Fringe-related on my friend Leslie Lutsky's Jewish Digest on Radio Centreville on Saturday morning at 8:30am, 102.3MHz. The show is supposed to be archived at the station's website for a week. Apparently the station is not having a raffle this year, some internal problems. Not that I've ever won anything, though I have bought tickets for years.

June 20

Nothing in The Gazette, as expected.

MontrealImprov has up Montreal Fringe Review: Esther Goes Pro. What a contrast from some previous review/comment about the show, which one is right and which is wrong? And Montreal Fringe Review: There Will Be Lasers.

Matt Jones, apparently of The Mirror, has a personal blog and an entry, Fringe thoughts about Wide Load, Miss Sugarpuss must Die!, Wolf Me Talk, Shades of Grey and 7 (x1) Samurai.

June 19
Pat Donnelly has what is probably her last piece about the Fringe, rarely is there something in the last Sunday's Gazette. I think it's on page E6, it's The Jazz Singer hits many right notes. Yes, another article where she starts with something non-Fringe. They are putting random words into the online versions of the stories. It's not new reviews, it's just a summation, her top ten to see after actually seeing them. Pretty dismal coverage in the Gazette this year, one wonders if they got tired or if they felt Hour was too integrated into the Fringe. A weekly doesn't provide much coverage, putting stuff online only works if you've got the readers going there. If I was the Gazette, I wouldn't want to waste much space on a festival that gives favoritism to another newspaper, that favoritism taking the form of posts by Fringe staff, be it Jeremy and his stalled history posts, Patrick and his reviews of old shows, or the other staff members writing about the Beer Tent and such. ALl of that belongs on the Fringe's website, and then there is no favoritism towards any media outlet.

And the dance coverage at the Gazette was the worst it's been in years, and that's saying a lot. One article, I guess it was Tuesday, covering three dance shows, including one that left prematurely. No preview, no ongoing reviews, just that one article. Yes, the dance seemed less interesting this year than some, it seemed like a fairly generic lineup this year, but arts coverage isn't just about filling seats, it's about telling us about art in general, and the Gazette failed in that way this year, certainly towards dance, but I suspect towards the Fringe in general. If the Fringe doesn't care, then they are overlooking the growth market, since the kids they think the Festival is aimed at always grow up, while the older people keep coming back. We aren't jumping from trend to trend, so coverage was really lousy this year in that respect. I'm not thinking very highly of Hour after their brain-dead coverage last year on the website, too much about what the reviewers were going to see, not enough actual reviews, too much of Laura Roberts orgasming about getting to review "sex at the Fringe", and a complete ignorance of the history of what Hour did over a decade ago online. They don't get my respect this year, because they've let the Fringe in, instead of keeping some distance, which the Press should always do. And there is something terribly wrong when most of the blog searches show up old media related blog posts.

I somehow missed it, but the woman doing Afternoon Tea With Jane Austen has made some comments about the Fringe on her blog, Austentatious Pursuits. A lot of the time, the companies start out with big plans, then just don't get around to blogging during the Fringe, or at best they post some comments about their show rather than what they saw.

I also suddenly find one blog, Stefan He has five entries about the Fringe, at least one covering more than one show, and I'm too lazy at this late a time to list what he's written about. He mentions being the only one in the audience for Three, so either I bumped into him or that happened more than once, since I was standing outside the venue when Three was about to be performed and there was only one audience member.

The blogger I've listed previously is back with More Fringe where he briefly comments on three more shows

Davyn had a review up yesterday about Blind To Happiness.

June 18
There's an article of reviews on page [whatever] in The Gazette, Bigger than Jesus is off the Fringe that covers the not quite Fringe show Bigger Than Jesus (apparently opening night was the only time it was considered part of the Fringe), Les quatre petites filles de Pablo Picasso, Shades of Grey, word that Fear Liath has left the Fringe, and Miss Sugarpuss Must Die!.

No reviews of dance at the Gazette, so their tally so far is the piece earlier in the week, that covered three dance shows.

One blogger returns with Fringe: two more shows with comments about Griffintown and How Coyote Was Swallowed By The Sandia Mountains.

June 17
Since it's Thursday, Upstage on CKUT is on today at 6pm. I don't know if they'll have more Fringe-related material this week, but if you're near a radio at that time, it's likely worth checking.

I don't see anything in The Gazette, it seems their reviews are way down, Pat Donnelly isn't even blogging that much (other than to say what shows she's seen). Maybe the FTA took its told. In the old days, freelancer Janet Coutts would be Fringing too, so it wasn't one person having to see lots of shows. In the Matt Radz era, I didn't think the number of reviews went down too much, but he didn't really seem to like the Fringe. Then Gaetan Charlebois took over during the Fringe for a few years, and he brought in people to cover more shows.

There's this, Award winning comedy show coming to Caledon Village about Chris Gibbs taking The Power of Ignorance to somewhere right after the Montreal Fringe, I'm assuming somewhere in Ontario. That's neat, assuming he is doing the Fringe tour, he's found a venue to perform at between Montreal and the next Fringe. There is a gap if you don't go to the Ottawa Fringe.

Hour is out, and all I see is Fringe Festival Final Week.

The Mirror is out too, always later than Hour, and has The best and the rest of the Fringe. Yes, I'm getting old, too tired to list who they reviewed, having done this since 1990 and it never did a thing, while finally the Fringe does it better than a decade ago.

There's a Fringe Festival in Wakefield? Yes, according to Piggyback Fringe Festival comes to Wakefield Quebec, some of the Montreal shows are going there, and there's even one show mentioned that's been to Montreal in the past. First I ever heard of it, even though this is supposed to be the third year.

Davyn has another slew of reviews up at Dee Arr has a point !, dealing with 7(x1) Samurai, Recess (though sadly the run finished Wednesday night), Heart-Strings, La Parade Cachee, Autant s'Emportent les Gens, Les Quatre Petites Filles and L'@mour2.com. Remember, Davyn likes to play the critique rather than everyman.

MontrealImprov has comments up about Fiasco Danse and The Further Adventures of Antoine Faval (that's a second bit about that show, they have different people posting) in Fringe Fringe Fringe.

Someone, I don't know how, has some comments up about some shows in miseri: The Fringe so far, covering Afternoon Tea With Jane Austen, The Further Adventures Of Antoine Feval, Fear Liath, 2 Man No Show, archy and mehitabel and Shades of Grey.

One blogger who has consistently posted about the Fringe shows for some years, however sparsely, has a review up, fringe review: Molly.

June 16
On Page C4 of The Gazette there is Fringe's must-see shows go on, covering 7(x1) Samurai, Poison the Well, Heart-Strings, Jem Rolls, Fruitcake, The Dirty Little Spoons, I Like Cowboys, Shavirez, Gypsy of the Sea, and Wide Load. She also includes an announcement that Unbearable Prospects has left the Fringe prematurely. Of course, before she gets to the Fringe, she spends time on the FTA. Surely each deserves a separate article? I find it interesting that I'm not sure the overlap of the two festivals is a real consideration, yet she has made it that, and indeed we see one result of the overlap, our coverage is smaller because she's writing about the other festival.

MontrealImprov has Montreal Improv Reccomends: The Further Adventures of Antoine Feval.

Davyn has a review up for Afternoon tea with Jane Austen - FRINGE XX.

June 15
On page C5 of The Gazette, there are actual reviews up for the first time, A duck on the loose, Jesus in the Jell-O, covering The Duck Wife, Archy & Mehitabel, The Further Adventures of Antoine Feval and Jesus Jello.