Actually, Dan Mangan is in the kitchen. Not the Radio 2 kitchen, (which is, if truth be told, merely one small fridge and a microwave in a hallway, sigh) but the kitchen belonging to Vancouverites Ed Henderson and Jean Teillet. When they reno'd their house the kitchen acoustics turned out so well they started hosting kitchen parties with all kinds of musicians -- Paul Horn, Ann Mortifee, Leon Bibb, Miles Black (and of course Ed himself, who is a very fine guitarist).

Our CL concert-from-the-kitchen features one of this year's Polaris Prize nominees, Mr. Dan Mangan. He was invited into the kitchen for a concert called Kitchen Scratch. Also in the kitchen, a bunch of Hendersons (Ed, Bill, Saffron, and Camille) plus bassist Darren Parris and violinist Cam Wilson.

If you happen to be in San Francisco tonight you can catch Dan in a venue slightly bigger than a kitchen -- the Filmore. He got a terrific review for his latest CD in the San Fran (or should that be the "Dan Fran") Chronicle:

"It's probably a good thing that Vancouver's Dan Mangan busted his butt for all those years, accepting every gig he was offered and building a justly loyal fan base. Why? Because if you went by the album cover alone - a silhouette of Queen Elizabeth against a powder-blue background - you'd never know that Mangan is not only a superior songwriter, but also a poetically compelling singer....Mangan establishes himself as a ferociously savvy songwriter with intense musicality."

It really is the Dan Fran Chronicle -- they also did a feature interview with him, published earlier this week: Dan Mangan's unusual path to music success.