On with the show: What exactly is the point of the Cultural Olympiad?
One of the most infamous performances in Vancouver music history happened at Expo 86. The world’s fair featured a showcase of local music talent, and the first act onstage was the Vancouver punk group Slow, which had been labelled “brilliantly out of control” in Expo bumf. But the band’s performance evidently offended some fairgoers; management panicked and shut off the power on stage. Unable to play, Slow singer Dan Anselmi and bassist Stephen Hamm expressed their displeasure visually: by pulling down their pants.
With the 2010 Winter Olympics coming to the city, Slow’s onstage confrontation with Expo’s authorities serves as a reminder of the potentially volatile relationship between culture workers and the mega-funded global events that try to engage them.
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