Jeff Macklin’s “new work” and an opening night extravaganza at Gallery in the Attic

Jeff Macklin is well known to many. He’s the man behind Prevail Media + Design (prevailmedia.ca) and Jackson Creek Press (www.jacksoncreekpress.ca).

He is about as community as they come. In both his personal and professional life he is a constant presence and supporter of all things Peterborough, particularly in the realms of arts, culture, and music. His recent client list includes Peterborough Careers, The Sapphire Room, Jos. Fortin, and Wild Rock Outfitters.

I’ve seen Rocky Horror before. I’ve seen it on television, in midnight screenings with full audience participation, on the stage, at parties on every video format imaginable, and have done the Time Warp at every wedding I’ve been to over the past 20 years.

Once a cult phenomenon, it seems that Rocky Horror has become positively mainstream and, well, a bit boring. When it became a special Hallowe’en episode for Glee, to me Rocky Horror had officially “jumped the shark.”

So when Peterborough’s the motley collective decided to stage the original Rocky Horror Show for this Hallowe’en season, I wondered to myself, ‘do I really want to do the Time Warp again?’

Well, it seems that I did. The motley collective has made me fall in love with The Rocky Horror Show all over again, by presenting it in the way that Richard O’Brien intended. I haven’t been this excited about Rocky Horror since I first saw it when I was 15 years old.

It gets chilly in November as we head into winter, but it’s warm inside — especially in venues across Peterborough and the Kawarthas.

Take a peek at some of these upcoming live shows I’ve handpicked.

There are many other excellent shows listed in our Pubs & Clubs and Concerts & Live Music columns, but these are a few I highly recommend.

Space: the current frontier.

Science fiction is once again in vogue at the multiplexes. This is a welcome change from the usual pre-award season autumnal offerings of face-smashing buddy comedies and hackneyed stab-a-thons tailor-made to cash in on Hallowe’en hype.

The Ways of Cloud and Water, New Paintings by Janet Read at Christensen Fine Art

Still glowing from Peterborough Pathway of Fame honours this year, Peer and Lori Christensen continue their influential and consistent contributions to the local arts community.

Now I’m going to admit it: I don’t know much about dance. I’ve never studied it, and I can’t do it. Dance is, more or less, something I watch from the sidelines.

However, I do know a thing or two about mental illness, which is the subject of “Erasing the Stigma”, presented by Art for Awareness and the Peterborough Dance Collective.

Canadian band Lee Harvey Osmond (stylized as LeE HARVeY OsMOND) has been selling out across Canada during August and September.

Peterborough will have a rare chance to catch the band on November 14th at the Market Hall. Local duo Dylan Ireland and Melissa Payne will be opening the concert, which is presented by KawarthaNow.com.

Lee Harvey Osmond features Tom Wilson (of Junkhouse and Blackie and the Rodeo Kings fame) along with several stellar Canadian musicians — a posse that Tom refers to as his “fellow folk sinners”.

Although the band is Tom’s brain child and he’s front and centre on guitar and vocals, he insists that it’s not a solo act.