Love is in the air, or maybe it’s all the pollution. Kinda depends on your perspective, I guess.

I’m not much one for the mushy stuff, but either way you look at it, Valentine’s Day is upon us, or VD, as I like to sarcastically refer. I’m more of a Victorian kinda girl. That intriguing era from which came all those really ridiculously insulting cards that come with a shot of vinegar in your Valentine. Never seen ‘em? You’re missing out. I really wish they’d make a comeback so I could stop making my own. They were known as Penny Dreadfuls, and I dug up a great example, dedicated to Pitch Black’s photographers. Of course, we mean nothing by it except, of course, to be rude and slightly disagreeable in an endearing sort of way. But only because we appreciate their hard work month after month, especially when they trek out in the freezing cold so we don’t have to . We can just stay at home, nice and warm and view their snaps at our convenience. How’s that!

But there are a couple of shows coming up this month that we will have to venture to regardless. Arch Enemy has two shows in Alberta in the first week of February, and they’ve brought Exodus, Arsis and Mutiny Within along for the Tyrants of Evil tour. Read what Arch Enemy vocalist Angela Gossow has to say about the North American tour and their forthcoming studio album. Yup, that’s right. They’re writing again, and we can expect to hear new and incredibly wicked things from them in 2011.

And, naturally, what would February be without a Valentine’s show? Though not on the day itself, but on the 13th, My Metal Valentine was originally slated for The Warehouse. Due to unexpected changes in Calgary’s venue landscape, the show found a new home at the Blind Beggar Pub on McLeod.

Change can be good, and I suppose with the start of every new year comes some transitions. Individuals adjust to their new resolutions – or fail epically, depending on their state of mind and actual desire to accomplish what are usually pretty radical attempts at altering one’s behaviour and most likely even more unhealthy stress-wise than the thing they’re trying to kick in the first place. In the case of The Warehouse, a venue that has been a staple venue in Calgary for more than 20 years, the transition involves finding new homes for booked shows, new social habits for those who attended and counted on those shows month after month, and what was undoubtedly a very difficult decision for those who worked hard to keep it going as long as it did in a city where venues can open and close within the same week. We wish you luck with your future ventures!

But the saddest thing of all is the transition of learning to live without a loved one, and we would like to set all sarcasm aside and take this opportunity to express our sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Marsha Meidow, who passed away suddenly on Jan. 6 at just 34 years old.

As a counselor and advocate for young women and girls at risk of sexual exploitation, Marsha made an incredible difference in the lives of many through her incredible strength and determination. She was an active member of the arts, and human rights activist communities, and was honoured in 2007 with the YWCA’s Humanitarian of the Year Award. She was also the director of the Vagina Monologues for over a decade, and was a familiar face at many local concerts.

To help cover funeral costs, donations are being accepted until the end of March on behalf of Meidow’s partner Tank Standing Buffalo and family. Donations can be made through the Facebook event page: In Memory of Marsha Ellen Meidow.

And on that note, we encourage you, no matter what your feelings about the over-commercialization of February may be, to give someone a hug today and everyday for the rest of the month. Or maybe it’s a dare for some of you. But seriously. It’ll hurt more if you don’t.

Mistress Morwyn
The Keeper of the Lair