THE GAME CHANGER CHAD BROWNLEE
AND
COLD CASING A Saskatchewan psychic helps the police NUTCRACKER Making costumes for the Moscow Ballet SKYFALL + COLLABORATOR Films reviewed
LEST WE FORGET ISSUE #53 – NOVEMBER 9 TO NOVEMBER 15
PHOTO: COURTESY OF MARK MARYANOVICH
NEWS + OPINION
CONTENTS
CULTURE
ENTERTAINMENT
Q + A WITH TOM FUN ORCHESTRA
LIVE MUSIC LISTINGS
Talking Earthworm Heart. 8 / Q + A
Local music listings for November 9 through November 17. 14 / LISTINGS
COLD CASING
NUTCRACKER
NIGHTLIFE PHOTOS
How a psychic helps solve cold cases.
Arthur Oliver makes magic with costumes. 9 / ARTS
We visit The Owl.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN Julie Doiron just can’t stop touring.
SKYFALL + COLLABORATOR
9 / ARTS
We review the latest movies. 16 / FILM
3 / LOCAL
VERBNEWS.COM @VERBREGINA FACEBOOK.COM/VERBREGINA
15 / NIGHTLIFE
EDITORIAL
RELENTLESS PURSUIT
ART & PRODUCTION DESIGN LEAD / ROBERTA BARRINGTON DESIGN & PRODUCTION / BRITTNEY GRAHAM CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS / TAMARA KLEIN, DANIELLE TOCKER, ADAM HAWBOLDT + ALEX J MACPHERSON
A day in the life of a Canadian infantry soldier. 4 / LOCAL
ON THE COVER:
CHAD BROWNLEE
On making the jump to country music. 10 / COVER
PUBLISHER / PARITY PUBLISHING EDITOR IN CHIEF / RYAN ALLAN MANAGING EDITOR / JESSICA PATRUCCO STAFF WRITERS / ADAM HAWBOLDT + ALEX J MACPHERSON CONTRIBUTING WRITER / JESSICA BICKFORD
BUSINESS & OPERATIONS
PURE POPPYCOCK
DOWN THE CHIPPY
ON THE BUS
Our thoughts on the alternative poppy movement. 6 / EDITORIAL
We get a taste of all things British at Union Jack’s. 12 / FOOD + DRINK
Weekly original comic illustrations by Elaine M. Will. 18 / COMICS
COMMENTS
MUSIC
GAME + HOROSCOPES
Here’s what you had to say about transfer payments. 7 / COMMENTS
Nightrain, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings + Whitehorse. 13 / MUSIC
Canadian criss-cross puzzle, weekly horoscopes and Sudoku. 19 / TIMEOUT
OFFICE MANAGER / STEPHANIE LIPSIT MARKETING MANAGER / VOGESON PALEY FINANCIAL MANAGER / CODY LANG
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PLEASE RECYCLE AFTER READING & SHARING PHOTO: COURTESY OF PH
2 NOV 9 – NOV 15 VERB MAGAZINE
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LOCAL
COLD CASING
PHOTO: COURTESY OF GARY RIDSDALE
Saskatchewan psychic works with police on investigations… just not here in Saskatchewan. BY ADAM HAWBOLDT
I
magine you’re sitting on a bench in the middle of a crowded mall. It’s Christmas time. All around you people are milling about, doing some last minute shopping. Now imagine while you’re sitting there you close your eyes and you listen carefully to everything that’s going on around you. The voices intermingling, the cash registers beeping, footsteps, rustling bags, the hum
when she walks past a person Powell may sense that he or she is having a bad day or something, but that’s none of her business. She can’t concern herself with everyone she passes. “I just can’t get into that,” she says. “If I’m out with my kids, I can’t be working. But when I am in work mode, that’s when I go deeper than just skimming the surface. That’s when I have to connect.” And sometimes that means connecting with
I remember thinking [the body] was down this specific highway. BARB POWELL
of the escalators. Imagine all that, and you’ll begin to get an idea of what it’s like to be Barb Powell. You see, Powell is a psychic. And that whole shoppingat-the-mall scenario, well, that’s what she experiences every day in her head. “It’s constant,” says Powell of the din she encounters. “You have trouble sleeping. It’s hard to relax and just shut down. There’s a certain anxiety and it just kind of gets you going.” “You get used to ignoring it,” continues Powell. She pauses for a second, then chuckles and says, “I have three kids, a dog and a husband … I’ve gotten quite good at ignoring and blocking things out.” And most of the time, that’s how Powell moves through life. Sure,
people beyond the grave — especially when Powell is called in to help the police with cold cases.
The first time Barb Powell got involved with a cold case was because of a reading she’d done. That was over a decade ago, not long after Powell had begun doing psychic work for others. Relatively new to the industry, she was doing a reading and began talking about a person she sensed to be the customer's sister. Powell saw a detail of a rose tattoo on the sister’s back. Powell went on to tell her customer other things she assumed the woman already knew — that her sister had mental issues, that
she had disappeared. When it was over, the woman told Powell that her sister had never been found. Then she asked if Powell would be willing to talk to a detective. Powell said she would, never expecting that anything would come of it. But one day her phone started ringing. An official-sounding male voice came on the line. Sure enough, it was a detective from North Carolina. “I was like, ‘holy crap!’” remembers Powell. “Immediately, I pulled over to the side of the road and began explaining some things about the sister to the detective. Things I knew, things I could feel. Things, I hate to say, that I didn’t have the heart to tell [the customer].” And so marked Powell’s first step into the world of cold cases. Soon other law enforcement agents (mostly from the USA) were contacting her in search of her service. “I remember this one case I did where they were trying to locate a body,” says Powell. “I remember thinking it was down this specific highway. I don’t know why, I just got pulled there. I just felt it. But at the same time it felt like I was being pulled in a separate direction.” “Two days later they found a body at the exact location I was being pulled to,” she says. “And then they found another body in the other direction I’d been sensing.”
But don’t get things twisted. It’s not as though Powell is saying
she’s the one who solved any of the cold cases. Not at all. Unlike what TV shows like Medium or The Mentalist portray, the role a psychic plays in a cold case investigation is nowhere near the front and centre. “I certainly don’t think psychics solve crimes,” she explains. “That’s the police’s job. They obviously know more about the details of a crime and where to look for bodies than most other people. So for me it’s just saying names, dates, telling them about whatever details I come up with. They can take that, put it with what they have and hopefully it’ll open up some more doors or scenarios for them if they’re stuck.” And if that helps, great. If not, at least she tried. In fact, she only works
a case (pro bono, naturally) if the cops call her first. “I would never contact the police,” says Powell. “I’ve never wanted to be an ambulance chaser. Sitting there, watching the news for someone to go missing, then offering my help. That’s not me. We don’t subscribe to a newspaper, I don’t watch the news, I don’t do anything of the sort because, honestly, I don’t want to know. As bad as that sounds, I’m much happier letting people contact me if they need help.” Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
@AdamHawboldt ahawboldt@verbnews.com
3 NOV 9 – NOV 15 /VERBREGINA
CONTENTS
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ARTS
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FOOD + DRINK
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NEWS + OPINION
LOCAL
RELENTLESS PURSUIT A day in the life of a Canadian infantry soldier. BY ALEX J MACPHERSON
I
am standing in a minefield. Shells from a battery of howitzers whistle overhead. The gun pits are more than five kilometres away, but each report feels like a kick in the chest. I can’t hear small arms fire, but I know there is shooting in the distance. “Look at this,” says Warrant Officer Daniel Beason, a cheerful combat engineer from Newfoundland, running his hand along an all-but-invisible strand of wire cutting across our path. “This is a bounding fragmentation mine,” he adds, after unearthing what looked like a dull green coffee can. “It has two explosive charges. The first launches it out of the ground, the second explodes it. The kill radius? About 30 metres.” The scariest thing about standing in a minefield, even one sown with inert training mines, is that it looks like every other patch of prairie in sight. The only difference is that every inch of it is potentially lethal. “This is a liquid pressure actuated mine,” Beason says, gesturing toward a halfburied device no bigger than a pack of cigarettes, a “toepopper” designed to separate a person’s foot from his or her body. Moments earlier, I had walked right over it. Landmines come in all shapes and sizes. Some are powerful enough to knock the track off a main battle tank; others, packed with shrapnel, will
maim or kill anyone who treads on them. Mines are cheap to manufacture and deploy, difficult to neutralize, and extraordinarily effective against virtually all combatants — and civilians. Because of the long-term risk, Canada was one of the first countries to sign the Ottawa Treaty, which outlawed anti-personnel mines. But the Canadian Forces are sometimes asked to fight in areas littered with these devices. Beason’s minefield is benign, but the
Dundurn. The soldiers are expected to march 20 kilometres over uneven ground cloaked in rain and beaten by an icy October wind. At the command post, little more than a green tent and a truck packed with communications equipment, several officers and non-commissioned members are sipping coffee and trying to stay warm. Captain Mike Graver is leaning over a laminated map peppered with flag markers. A tall red-
[Soldiers] step out the door for the country, but they fight for each other. TONY ENGELBERTS
feeling of standing in it is sobering. “We train as we fight,” he says.
Beason’s dummy minefield is part of Exercise Relentless Pursuit, a Canadian Forces Reserve training weekend. The exercise began at four in the morning, with small groups of soldiers shivering and stamping their feet to stay warm in the predawn gloom. Their task would not be easy. Framed as an infantry skills competition, Relentless Pursuit is actually a grueling trek through the training area at Canadian Forces Detachment
haired man attached to Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, Graver is the officer in charge. He explains that the exercise features a number of reserve units from across the province: the Royal Regina Rifles, the North Saskatchewan Regiment, and 38 Combat Engineer Regiment. Each team of four or five soldiers is expected to navigate the training area and stop at several different “stands,” where their performance in a specific activity will be graded. From instinctive shooting, armoured vehicle recognition, and combat first aid to minefield extraction, key leader engagement, and stalking, CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE »
4 NOV 9 – NOV 15 NEWS + OPINION
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VERBNEWS.COM
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF ALEX J MACPHERSON / VERB MAGAZINE
each section would face an array of challenges similar to what they might encounter on the battlefield. “When we’re developing training exercises for our soldiers, we have to design them in such a manner that the tasks we give them sometimes verge on the impossible, so that they know what their capabilities are.” explains Lieutenant Colonel Tony Engelberts, commanding officer of the North Saskatchewan Regiment and Royal Regina Rifles. “If we don’t push them … they are never going to really understand what they are capable of.” That edge was apparent when Corporal Mark Webb and his section of grinning soldiers jogged into the distance-judging stand. “We expected this to be tough for everyone,” Webb laughs, shrugging off his rucksack and C7A2 carbine. His section had jogged the last five kilometres to the stand, even though they had been marching for eight or nine hours. “We joke a lot, a lot of black humour. Plus, we encourage each other.” As a corporal, Webb was responsible for shepherding the private soldiers in his section through the course. Webb was clearly exhausted, making the tasks at the distance-judging stand that much more difficult. “We eat a lot of granola bars,” he laughs. “And beef jerky.”
In theory, taking part in a field exercise should be anything but fun.
The hours are long, the rucksacks back-breaking and the weather often miserable. Soldiers, however, are notorious for defying expectations. Virtually everyone in the field was grinning despite the wind and rain and crushing exhaustion. Engelberts thinks exercises are one of the reasons soldiers stick around. “If we just trained in the classroom and on the floor, I probably wouldn’t have anybody here within 18 months,” he says. “You put a bunch of guys together that have some shared experiences, and the first thing they will talk about usually is how they all barely survived something, whether it’s combat, whether it’s something that almost killed them weather-wise.” Exercises like Relentless Pursuit are extremely demanding. Soldiers must be much more than riflemen, and a well-designed exercise forces soldiers to perform a wide range of activities while thinking carefully about the consequences of their actions. “The situation a frontline combat arms soldier can find himself in can involve everything from doing support to the civilian possibility, dispensing aid, doing a medium-level conflict counterinsurgency, and doing high-intensity combat,” Engelberts says. “An infantry unit could be doing all of those simultaneously. You have to have a wide breadth of skills and knowledge in order to pull that off.”
That is not easy to accomplish for most reservists, who work between four and 10 days each month. Most have full-time civilian jobs and many have families, meaning their work with the military is a major commitment. Engelberts understands. “I have to give them a reason to want to be here, because I ask a lot from them and the Canadian Forces asks a lot from them,” he says. “I have to make sure I’m giving them something challenging and interesting, especially during a time of — I won’t call it peacetime right now, but we’re not actively in a shooting war. I’ve got to keep them engaged.” The war in Afghanistan has done much to bring the Canadian Forces into the public consciousness, but Engelberts knows sustaining that momentum will be difficult. Exercises go a long way to reinforcing the bonds that all soldiers share, the bonds Henry V spoke of on the battlefield at Agincourt. “The Canadian government might order a soldier to go to war, but when it comes down to the crunch, a soldier on the ground is fighting the war for the guy beside him and for his section, his platoon, his unit,” Engelberts says. “They step out the door for the country, but they fight for each other.”
As Relentless Pursuit drew to a close, Master Corporal Joel Sutherland was
finishing up the stalking challenge, an exercise focused on camouflage and stealth. His tactical vest was festooned with branches and twigs, homemade camouflage. “It’s been pretty good so far,” he says of the day’s field exercise. “A lot of walking, yeah, but that’s what we do. It’s a lot more fun than [civilians] think it is. But we take it very seriously, too. After all is said and done
we share our experiences and laugh. It’s an experience a lot of other people never get.”
Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
@MacPhersonA amacpherson@verbnews.com
5 NOV 9 – NOV 15 @VERBREGINA
CONTENTS
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COMMENTS
Q+A
ARTS
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FOOD + DRINK
MUSIC
LISTINGS
NIGHTLIFE
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TIMEOUT
NEWS + OPINION
EDITORIAL
PHOTO: COURTESY OF PH
PHOTO: COURTESY OF STEPHEN DYRGAS
PURE POPPYCOCK
Wearing a red poppy does not glorify war.
I
f you’ve been paying close attention to the news lately, chances are you ran into a story or two about alternative poppies. Maybe it was the uproar Quebec Premier Pauline Marois caused when she pinned a poppy with a fleurde-lis centre to her lapel last week. Or perhaps it was the purple poppy campaign that was launched in Eastbourne, England. You know, the one to help remember all the forgotten animal victims of war. Or maybe, just maybe, you stumbled across an article about white poppies. You see, since 1933 a select group of peaceniks from England to Canada and beyond have been pushing the white poppy as a symbol
of peace, which they imply is in stark contrast to the meaning behind the traditional red poppy, in the days leading up to Remembrance Day. And we think that’s pure poppycock. Don’t get us wrong. We’re all for peace and animals. We think the fleur-delis is a meaningful symbol, and we are most certainly in favour of personal expression. But trying to convince others that your poppy is somehow morally or ethically superior to the red poppy is wrong. Consider the reader who wrote in to the National Post, stating “the red Legion poppy, in my
opinion, represents the nostalgia and romanticizing of war … We should remember that we don’t have to go to war to get peace.” Now, without getting too philosophical or technical here, that kind of thinking, while shiny and optimistic, shows an absolute disregard for history. Since 1921, the red poppy has stood as a symbol of remembrance and respect for all the men and women who have fallen in war and military service. It’s a visual pledge to never forget what these people did for us, our country and the world. Inspired by the poem “In Flanders Fields,” the red
poppy was first used by the American Legion to commemorate their soldiers who died in the First World War. Since then it has been adopted by military veterans’ groups in the Commonwealth and has never — in any way, shape, or form — represented a nostalgic or a historical longing for battle. In fact, in essence the red poppy is a symbol of peace, in that through remembering the horrific realities of war, we are spurred onwards in our work towards preventing conflict. So we wear red poppies in the days and weeks leading up to Remembrance Day to commemorate the sacrifice of soldiers, to keep their deeds and memories alive. And it’s important to note that we’re not saying everybody should wear a poppy. Do it or don’t,
that’s your prerogative. But suggesting that embracing the red poppy is a glorification of conflict is simply wrong. It would be in better taste, and would show a tad more respect for the fallen, if those proponents of the white poppy didn’t try to hijack Remembrance Day to advance their own personal and/or political agenda. These editorials are left unsigned because they represent the opinions of Verb magazine, not those of the individual writers. Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
@VerbRegina feedback@verbnews.com
6 NOV 9 – NOV 15 NEWS + OPINION
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VERBNEWS.COM
COMMENTS
ON TOPIC: Last week we asked what you thought about transfer payments. Here's what you had to say:
– Quebec use of transfer payments it their business. Much greater concern should be focused on the use of saskatchewan taxes by the Saskparty and NDP to run an illegal immigrant sponsorship program that illegally sponsored more than one immigrant at a time. You’ll recall the Federal Government recently told the Saskparty to cease and desist offering immigrant sponsorships.
– Transfer payments artical way off base and fuelling anti-French sentiment. It’s terrible. You forgot to mention we were receiving payments why crap on someone getting the same deal as us? Seems dumb 2 me
– Your editorial raised some interesting points, though I don’t necessarily agree with all of it. However, I like how the Quebec provincial government supports social programs/families. Just shows what they value. Way better than Wall and the SaskParty.
– Quebec use of transfer payments is none of Saskatchewan’s concern. It’s their region and they are entitled to do what they want there and if we go there it’s up to us to follow their rules. Of appropriate concern, however, is that Brad Wall, the Saskparty & NDP used our Sask tax dollars recently to send Canadians to a foreign country for medical experiments that are illegal in Canada (lib. therapy) and that were well documented as being SnakeOil in two international medical studies.
– The model the Maritimes used sounds quite smart actually might
Text yo thoughtsur to 881 VE 83
be a good thing for Quebec to look into as they move to become more financially independent.
– Live and let live. Who cares what quebec does with their transfer payments? The program works for every Canadian; how the money gets spent is not up to us. It sounds like Quebec takes quite good care of its citizens, actually. I wouldn’t mind if the SaskParty wanted to subsidize my childrens’ daycare.
– What the snack is quebec doin im shock n i want some1 to SAY N DO sumthing.stand up to those who CAN CHANGE IT.I hope dis gets2rite peps
– Quebec and transfer payments opinion was abysmal and twisted. Promoting an anti-French sentiment is wildly dangerous and irresponsible. You should be ashamed.
they should make amovie of this guy for real In response to “Guns A’ Blazin’,” Local page,
Take a look at the statistics. DUI’s will more than likely increase if lowering the legal drinking age is approved.
#214 (November 2, 2012)
OFF TOPIC – Bring on the zombies! Ha ha zombies are not really silly !
SOUND OFF
In response to “The Zombies Are Coming,” Editorial page, #51 (October 26, 2012)
– WoW just read about two gun thas amazing.u really do learn new things each day: )i love hear learning about back in tha day. BayBeDoll =87 In response to “Guns A’ Blazin’,” Local page, #52 (November 2, 2012)
– 2 gun cohen badass muthaf**ka never heard of the man before so this is pretty wild mean streets of london to leading chinese army,
– If there were endless amounts of money to go around, I’m sure the food bank could give the food that people need and want. However, that is not the case. Food banks assist people by providing food hampers. It’s not the be all and end all. You need to be thankful for whatever is part of that food hamper. If you’re not happy with the hamper, give it to someone that can use it.
– Whoever had the bright idea of lowering the legal drinking age needs their head examined.
– Sound off-how come some people put recyclable material in recycle bins but wrap them in no recyclable plastic bags?
– We have freedom in Canada because of those who have given their lives and because of those that continue to serve. Wear your poppy with pride.
– Seen many people around not wearing poppies as we approach Remembrance Day. I think that’s disgraceful. I know it can be hard to conceive of a world where your safety and basic rights are chal lenged (we’re so desensitized to
everything, watch it on the news every night but can’t empathize). Many people sacrificed everything to work towards a great common good, and wearing poppies is one way of remembering how horrible it all was. Working for peace is the most important thing we as a global community can do. And remembering where we came from helps in that. So wear those poppies, and think of who came before you. With respect, DJM
NEXT WEEK: Alternative poppies. Pick up a copy of Verb to get in on the conversation: We print your texts verbatim each week. Text in your thoughts and reactions to our stories and content, or anything else on your mind.
7 NOV 9 – NOV 15 /VERBREGINA
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Q+A
EARTHWORM HEART
PHOTO COURTESY OF NATHAN M. BOONE
The Tom Fun Orchestra takes their show on the road. BY ALEX J MACPHERSON
E
arthworm Heart is a rock record like no other. Which is probably not surprising, considering that its creator, the Tom Fun Orchestra, is a band like no other. The brainchild of singersongwriter Ian MacDougall, the Tom Fun Orchestra is a sprawling collective featuring a wide array of instruments, both acoustic and electric, modern and traditional. The Cape Breton-based band’s latest effort, Earthworm Heart, sounds like what you might expect from a band featuring Tom Waits, Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy, Ken Casey, and half of Arcade Fire. Coming more than four years after their last album, Earthworm Heart is a record meant to be played loud in a pub or at a party. Which is pretty much what a Tom Fun Orchestra show feels like — the most fun you can have with pants on. I caught up with MacDougall to chat about making a new record, fusing traditional and contemporary sounds, and wreaking havoc on the road. Alex J MacPherson: It’s been four years since your last record. What went into making this one? Ian MacDougall: I don’t know if we planned to make anything in particular. It’s been a long time and the songs on the first record were the first songs that we ever wrote. They were just there
and it was time to make a record, they just happened without a lot of thought or consideration. This time around we’d been playing for a long time and it’s just the direction we wanted to take the band. It’s more representative of how we think of ourselves probably.
To me, it’s sometimes a surprise that we get that association, I think partly because in Cape Breton the people that listen to traditional music are so hardcore about it that we would never be lumped in with that group. At the same time, it’s certainly not something we set out to do. I would think of us more as a rock band with folk instruments than a band that tries to mesh sounds or traditions.
AJM: Making second records is notoriously hard. Did you worry about departing too much from what you did last time?
AJM: Does being from Cape Breton change the way you approach music?
IM: I don’t think so. I don’t even know that they were written with a record in mind. I think it was
IM: There’s such an abundance of music in Cape Breton — and in the
Pretty much everybody in the band comes from a really good punk rock scene… IAN MACDOUGALL
all pretty organic, just the type of songs we wanted to write. Some are very old, and some are very new. It was a really gradual progression. We didn’t do it in the same way most bands would record a second record. I don’t think any of that pressure was paramount when we were approaching it.
Maritimes. Everybody plays music. Pretty much everybody in the band comes from a really good punk rock scene here, and we all kind of stem from that. It’s such a weird thing. I don’t think we’re trying to put anything on the map; we’re just surrounded by all of this all at once. It’s a nice thing to be a part of. We just like to play music, in whatever way it comes out.
AJM: To me, Earthworm Heart has traditional sounds but is also a rock record. Is it difficult to balance those poles?
AJM: What’s life like on the road for the Tom Fun Orchestra?
IM: I don’t think so, no. We don’t ever really set out to try and capture any sort of Celtic sound or influence.
IM: I think it’s an organic thing. I think it’s kind of the nature of what
we are. We certainly aren’t in this for the money. We’re generally a seven or eight-piece band, and from what I’ve observed over the years with other bands on the road, I don’t think a lot of bands get along the way we do. We’re all best friends; we have a ridiculous amount of fun wherever we go, and it’s not something we set out to do — it just happens, an extension of our character as a traveling unit.
The Tom Fun Orchestra November 18 @ The Artful Dodger $10 (advance); $12 at the door Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
@MacPhersonA amacpherson@verbnews.com
8 NOV 9 – NOV 15 CULTURE
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NUTCRACKER
Arthur Oliver’s remarkable career as a costume designer.
A
rthur Oliver has always been a designer. “I knew I wanted to do this when I was 16,” he says. “I’ve had a pencil or pen to paper since I was three, drawing clothes. I don’t think I could do anything else.” Unlike many designers, Oliver was never seduced by the world of high fashion. He prefers the land of make-believe, where fantasy becomes reality and costumes can push the boundaries of the imagination. Oliver has been designing costumes for years. His portfolio is heavy on Shakespeare — he apprenticed at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival — but also includes theatre productions, operas, and ballets. His latest project is Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker. Scored by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker is perhaps the most famous of ballets. It has been performed thousands of times and is adored by millions; the story is as timeless today as it was at the 1892 premier. Originally choreographed by Stanislov Vlasov, the Moscow Ballet’s production has been running for 20 years. And this year the costumes
BY ALEX J MACPHERSON
are getting an overhaul from Oliver, whose designs are as sumptuous as they are innovative. “I’m known for having a distinct look and flavour to my costumes,” he says. “I try to make an Arthur Oliver show look like an Arthur Oliver show. And that means sometimes the costumes will not be what you expect. They may be based on a traditional look but they will have broader colours, bigger patterns — almost larger than life, but not distractingly so.” For Nutcracker, Oliver worked to make the costumes as dynamic as possible, so they echo the movements of the dancers and support the performance. “Basically, the first rule is to help tell the story,” he says, explaining that costumes are a crucial part of a ballet, where there are no spoken lines. “What they are wearing informs everything: what our memory recalls about status, what the weather is like, financial position, everything.” In certain cases, costumes can actually shape the way an actor or dancer portrays his or her character. And while the story of Clara — known as Masha in the Moscow production — and her adventures with the
PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE MOSCOW BALLET
Nutcracker and the evil Mouse King is steeped in tradition, Oliver found the experience freeing. His Mouse King is scarier, his snowflakes more dazzling, his Grand divertissement characters more dynamic than anything audiences have seen before. “I’m sure I will have a few things in there that will surprise some audience members,” he laughs. Great Russian Nutcracker November 19 @ Conexus Arts Centre $56.25 @ admission.com
BACK ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Julie Doiron can’t stop touring. BY ALEX J MACPHERSON
PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE MOSCOW BALLET
D
on’t let the number fool you. Julie Doiron hasn’t released a record in more than three years, but that doesn’t mean she has been in hiding. Since I
Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day came out in 2009, Doiron toured the album relentlessly before spending time on the road with her second project, the folk collaboration Daniel, Fred & Julie. She also played guitar in The Country of Miracles, Gord Downie’s band. Now, though, Doiron is back with a record of her own. “Basically I was on the road for almost two years,” Doiron laughs. “When that was done I knew I had all these songs but I didn’t want to rush into recording them. Then I would have to go back on the road. It was a conscious decision, actually, to not make a record.”
Although So Many Days is ostensibly a showcase for Doiron’s stripped-down singer-songwriter aesthetic, the sonics also reflect her rock and roll experiences. “I really love the way it turned out,” she says. “A lot of that is to do with working with Rick [White]. He made the other two records with me … He knew I wanted to take the songs in that direction.” Threaded together by Doiron’s smoky voice, the songs on So Many Days cover a lot of territory. “Another Second Chance” is a simple ballad; “Our Love” is a fully-realized rock song. But while the record may contain some of Doiron’s best songs to date, she’s just excited to hit the road.
“I think it feels good,” she laughs. “I’m really excited to start moving forward and actually playing shows and promoting this particular record. Some of these songs I started writing quite awhile ago, and I started playing them a little while ago, but it’s going to be way more fun to play them … It feels really good.”
Julie Doiron November 20 @ The Artful Dodger $TBD Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
@MacPhersonA amacpherson@verbnews.com
9 NOV 9 – NOV 15 @VERBREGINA
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LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME
Chad Brownlee turns his back on hockey and makes the album of his life. BY ALEX J MACPHERSON
C
had Brownlee prepares for a concert the same way he prepares for a hockey game. “The feeling is actually strikingly similar,” the rangy
country singer says. “I got nervous before every single hockey game, from when I started playing the game until I retired. I get those same butterflies, that same excite-
ment, before I go onstage. It’s just an indicator that you’re ready and that you’re doing the right thing. If I went on before a show and I wasn’t nervous, I’d be worried.” Brownlee was born in Kelowna and spent his childhood splitting time between school and the hockey rink. He was a solid defenceman. After two seasons with the Vernon Vipers, he was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks before spending four years playing for the Minnesota State Mavericks. During his senior year at Minnesota State, Brownlee was nominated for the NCAA Hockey Humanitarian Award after writing “The Hero I See” to raise money for a charity. Brownlee’s musical ability was no secret. He began playing piano as a child and later took up the tenor saxophone. Guitar soon followed, and Brownlee found himself hooked by the rush of writing and playing songs. In 2007, Brownlee played his first game with the Idaho Steelheads, an
ECHL team based in Boise. Although he was playing hockey for a living, a series of shoulder injuries threatened his career. Eventually it became too much and, tired of surgery and rehab, Brownlee reluctantly abandoned his dream of getting paid to play the sport he loved. But rather than sink into obscurity or get a conventional job, he simply changed direction. “I think there was a little voice inside my head that always believed I could make a career out of it,” Brownlee says of swapping his hockey stick for a guitar. “I think if you really put your mind to something, if you have the motivation and the passion for something, you will achieve it. It’s just a matter of putting in the time.” The transition went smoothly.
Brownlee released his first album, Chad Brownlee, in 2010. He was subsequently nominated for the
Canadian Country Music Association Rising Star award, a nod to the strength of his debut. Brownlee’s sophomore effort, which was released in February, has fared even better. Love Me or Leave Me captured the hearts and minds of country fans across Canada, and earned Brownlee a nomination for the Male Artist of the Year CCMA Award. “We’re really proud of the way that album turned out, from the writing process to the recording process, and everything in between,” Brownlee says. “It took me to a new place as an artist and as a songwriter.” If Chad Brownlee was an able debut, a demonstration of Brownlee’s ability and a promise of what was to come, Love Me or Leave Me is a reflection of just how good he can be, offering a pleasing blend of radiofriendly hooks and earnest songwriting. It is everything a popular country record should be: catchy, fun, and fundamentally upbeat. Brownlee’s approach to songwriting is more CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE »
10 NOV 9 – NOV 15 CULTURE
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PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE ARTIST
conventional than some of his contemporaries — Aaron Pritchett, say, or Eric Church — but he skirts the mimicry trap by writing better songs than many of them. “Love Me or Leave Me,” the best song on the record, is a fine example. He has a wide range, and he uses every inch of it, occasionally threatening to overpower the ubiquitous crunchy guitar licks layered underneath. “Listen,” on the other hand, hints at Brownlee’s crossover potential. He appears to have a taste for flashy acoustic guitars, but leaves the impression that he would be just as comfortable fronting a rock band with a battered old Stratocaster. Love Me or Leave Me is everything it purports to be and nothing that it doesn’t. Heavy on singles and light on kitsch, the record is sure to garner more acclaim as Brownlee tours the country. When asked, Brownlee says something magical happened while he was recording it. “During the creative process, during the writing and recording, there’s an element you just
can’t explain,” he says. “Anybody in the creative world will tell you that they just don’t know when it’s going to hit. They don’t know when they’re going to have a great idea or write a
needs no explanation. Brownlee may struggle to describe how he wrote and recorded Love Me or Leave Me, but he is completely forthright about how his hockey background has af-
tice hard and learn to roll with the punches, real and metaphorical. His ability to weather criticism and his commitment to the craft have laid the groundwork for a long and promising
And, at least onstage I’m not worried about someone taking my head off like I did in hockey. CHAD BROWNLEE PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARTIST
great song or paint their best painting: it just happens and sometimes you don’t know why. I think there were a lot of those moments throughout this process — it turned out great, but I can’t explain why or how.”
As it turned out, whatever mystical alchemy went on in the studio
fected — and enhanced — his career in music. “I’ve learned a lot from hockey that I’ve applied to music,” he explains. “Without that time, I wouldn’t be the artist I am today and the person I am today. Hockey has really given me that ability to find that concert — and to stick with it.” Hockey rewards players who prac-
career in an industry where volatility is the norm and the average lifespan of an artist is measured in weeks on the chart. Naturally, Brownlee shrugs this off and turns the conversation toward his fans, the people who buy his music. “I love inspiring other people and seeing the impact of the songs I write in a positive way,” he
says. The best way to do that, he thinks, is to play as many concerts as possible. Like many musicians, Brownlee frames the allure of the stage in junkie terms. “There’s a ton of adrenaline,” he says. “That’s the drug and that’s the addiction, just feeling the intense power of adrenaline and the emotion.” “And,” he laughs, “at least onstage I’m not worried about someone taking my head off like I did in hockey. I don’t worry about that unless someone starts throwing tomatoes at me — and that hasn’t happened yet.” Chad Brownlee November 20 @ The Pump Roadhouse Sold out
Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
@MacPhersonA amacpherson@verbnews.com
11 NOV 9 – NOV 15 /VERBREGINA
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DOWN THE CHIPPY
Photography courtesy of Danielle Tocker
Authentic British fish ‘n chips at Union Jack’s. BY JESSICA BICKFORD
I
’ve been suffering from a serious case of missing England lately, but Union Jack’s is certainly helping on the food front — being the only authentic chippy (that’s fish and chip shop) in town. And wow, are they ever doing things right. Their clean, bright storefront is immaculate, and covered in a tiled mural of the London skyline with Union Jack accents. Right now Union Jack’s is take away only, but they are looking into other options, like delivery, to make sure that everyone in Regina can get their fishy fix even if they can’t make it out to their little shop. I started things off with a classic Scotch egg. This little morsel features a hard boiled egg wrapped in homemade pork sausage, lightly breaded, and then deep fried. It sounds a bit odd, I know, but Scotch eggs are seriously delicious and a great protein-heavy snack. The crisp coating and intensely flavourful, peppery sausage hid the moist
and hearty egg, making a wonderfully textured snack. Next up were some little battered shrimp. The crunchy batter was perfectly seasoned and surrounded the hot and juicy shrimp, making a
This fish was very good, perfectly authentic, and fantastic with just a little squeeze of lemon. You know what I say about a meal and dessert, and Union Jack’s doesn’t disappoint. Deep fried
The thick cut chips were very British, fresh and hot out of the fryer.
and they are doing it with an eye towards the traditional. All of their sauces, batters, and sides are homemade, and everything is made to order. In fact, their only non-traditional offering is their gluten-free batter which means even more people can enjoy their deliciously British menu.
Union Jack’s Authentic British Fish and Chips 363 Broad St. | 206 3474
Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
@TheGeekCooks jbickford@verbnews.com
LET’S GO DRINKIN’ VERB’S MIXOLOGY GUIDE JESSICA BICKFORD
delectable bite-sized snack that would be wonderful to share as an appetizer. On to the main event — haddock and chips! The thick cut chips were very British, fresh and hot out of the fryer. The fish came coated in a very well-seasoned batter that was crisp, peppery, and not at all greasy. The haddock itself was incredibly flaky and moist, with a wonderfully delicate flavour that wasn’t overwhelmed by the batter.
Oreos, anyone? The cookies were dunked in a sweet batter before being fried and then sprinkled with icing sugar while still hot. The Oreo turned soft, almost cake-like when cooked, but the batter provided a good crunch. This was certainly an indulgently different treat, and one you may want to share because you get five whole cookies to an order! Union Jack’s is absolutely filling a hole in Regina’s food culture,
SHANDY
INGREDIENTS
In the U.K. where light beers are basically non-existent, the shandy takes their place. Light, bubbly, and refreshing, a shandy is a cool take on the classic pint.
½ pint beer (lighter beers such as lager or pilsner work best) ½ pint carbonated lemonade or lemon-lime soda
DIRECTIONS
Pass the lemonade or soda back and forth between two pint glasses to dissipate some of the carbonation. This looks more impressive the farther apart you can have the two glasses. Keep the pint glass with the lemonade at a 45 degree angle while you top up with beer, slowly straightening the glass as you go to prevent too much head from forming. Enjoy!
12 NOV 9 – NOV 15 CULTURE
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MUSIC
NEXT WEEK
COMING UP
NIGHTRAIN
BLACKIE AND THE RODEO KINGS
WHITEHORSE
@ THE GASLIGHT SALOON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16 – $10
@ CASINO REGINA SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17 – $25+
@ THE EXCHANGE THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7 – $TBD
Remember the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, when Guns N’ Roses stomped like giants across the rock and roll terra? When songs like “Paradise City,” “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “Patience” were on nearly everybody’s lips? Do you miss those days? Well “don’t cry.” All you have to do is venture out into the cold “November rain” (or perhaps snow), have a bit of “patience” (if there’s a line-up) and check out this “one in a million” GNR tribute band. With a spot-on GNR wardrobe, a bonafide stage presence and a sound that’s eerily similar to Axl, Slash, Duff, et al, “anything goes” for these rockers. So come out and see what Nightrain is all about. “You’re crazy” if you don’t embrace the “reckless life” — even if it’s just for one night.
If you like good concerts comprised of excellent music and sweet stage performances, then get online or make your way to Casino Regina and pick up tickets for Blackie and the Rodeo Kings. Do not hesitate because this, good reader, is a concert you shouldn’t miss. Why? Well, for starters, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings is an all-star band of Canadian musicians. There’s incendiary guitarist Colin Linden (who has played with Emmylou Harris, Robert Plant and Alison Kraus), there’s Junowinning frontman Stephen Fearing (former lead singer of Junkhouse), and last but not least there’s Lee Harvey Osmond (aka Tom Wilson, also of Junkhouse). Together this trio puts out roots/rock music that is, simply put, awesome.
What do you get when you take two of the most acclaimed folk-oriented singer-songwriters in Canada and put them together in the same band? Well, if those two musicians just so happen to be the husband and wife team of Melissa McClelland and Luke Doucet, then you get the passionate and electric sound of Whitehorse. With sublime country-rock harmonies accompanied by gritty guitar and pitch-perfect lyrics, Whitehorse has a sound that’s fluid, smooth and as captivating as hell. But here’s the thing: if you’re familiar with either McClelland or Doucet’s solo career, you best not show up expecting to hear their signature sounds. As Whitehorse, they’ve embarked on a new indie/country sound that is, quite honestly, hypnotic. – By Adam Hawboldt
PHOTOS COURTESY OF: THE ARTIST / THE ARTIST / THE ARTIST
SASK MUSIC PREVIEW
PHOTO: COURTESY OF CHRISTIAN BERTRAND / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
The Brighter Futures for Children fundraiser is seeking volunteer artists to perform at their benefit on March 28, 2013, in support of early childhood programming. Volunteer artists will receive publicity on the event posters and website, as well as the opportunity to sell music and merchandise at the event. The deadline to apply is November 30th; if you think you might be interested, please contact Lona Gervais @ gervaisla@saskatel.net. Keep up with Saskatchewan music. saskmusic.org
13 NOV 9 – NOV 15 @VERBREGINA
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LISTINGS
NOVEMBER 9 » NOVEMBER 17 The most complete live music listings for Regina. S
M
T
W
T
9
10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
FRIDAY 9 RYAN BOLDT / Artful Dodger — Folk/ roots music from a member of Deep Dark Wood. Also appearing Kacy + Clayton. 7:30pm / $10 in advance (www.ticketedge.ca) or $15 at the door. DJ JUAN LOPEZ / Envy Nightclub — This DJ loves requests. 10pm / $5 MONKEY JUNK / The Exchange — Juno award-winning blues band from Ottawa. 8pm / Tickets TBD THE ROWSERS / Gaslight Saloon — A hard-rocking night. 9pm / Cover TBD DJ PAT & DJ KIM / Habano’s Martini & Cocktail Club — Local DJs spin top 40 hits every Friday night. 9pm / $5 cover ALAIN LALONDE / The Hookah Lounge — Come check out this dope local DJ/ producer as he does his thing. 7pm / The Hookah Lounge ABSOFUNKINLUTELY / McNally’s Tavern — A night of stubble funk meets disco, reggae and rock. 10pm / $5 SWEATSHOP UNION / O’Hanlon’s — A hip-hop collective from Vancouver. 9pm / No cover
WYATT / Pump Roadhouse — Come for some rockin’ country music. 10pm / Cover TBD ALBERT / Pure — Appearing every Friday night. 10pm / $5 cover CROSS TOWN / The Sip Nightclub — A night of classic covers. 10pm / No cover if in attendance by 6pm SHANE CHISHOLM / Whiskey Saloon — A musician from Alberta who plays country the way it should be. 8pm / $10 DJ LONGHORN / Whiskey Saloon — Come check out one of Regina’s most interactive DJs. 8pm / Cover $10
DREWSKI / Pure Ultra Lounge — Doing what he does best. 10pm / $5 cover CROSS TOWN / The Sip Nightclub — A night of classic covers. 10pm / No cover if in attendance by 6pm OPEN JAM SESSIONS / Smokin’ Okies BBQ — If you play an instrument, drop by for a jam. If not, stop by and just listen. 3pm / No cover SHANE CHISHOLM / Whiskey Saloon — A musician from Alberta who plays country the way it should be. 8pm / $10
SATURDAY 10
ANDY SHAUF, JULIA MCDOUGALL / The Artful Dodger — Come and check out this double CD release party. 7:30pm / $10 advance (Ticketedge); $15 door OFF WITH THEIR HEADS, THE ISOTOPES, ROBIN AND THE HAIRY BATS, SEPTIC PASTE / The Exchange — Come get your punk on. 7:30pm / $10
SUNDAY 11
RSO POPS: WORLD ON A STRING / Conexus Arts Centre — Classical music from around the world. 8pm / $39+ (www. admission.com) DJ JUAN LOPEZ / Envy Nightclub — This DJ loves requests. 10pm / Cover $5 GREAT ROOMS / The Exchange — CD release party for this rock/alt-country group. 8pm / Tickets TBD THE EMPIRE ASSOCIATES / The Fainting Goat — Come check out this rad indie band. 9pm / Cover TBD CELESTIAL MACHINE, DEAD RIOT + AUTARIC / Gaslight Saloon — Come rock the night away. 9pm / Cover TBD DJ NOOR / The Hookah Lounge — This talented DJ knows how to rock a crowd. 7pm / $5 cover THE PROJECT, MORGAN MAYER / Lancaster Taphouse — Spend a night listening to two talented local acts. 9pm / Cover TBD ABSOFUNKINLUTELY / McNally’s Tavern — A night of stubble funk meets disco, reggae and rock. 10pm / $5
MONDAY 12
MONDAY NIGHT JAZZ AND BLUES / Bushwakker — Featuring ‘Round Midnight. 8pm / No cover SAWYER BROWN / Casino Regina — An award-winning country band. 8pm / $60-65 (www.casinoregina.com)
TUESDAY 13
TROUBADOUR TUESDAYS / Bocados — Come check out some live tunes from local talents every week, then bring an instrument and partake in the open mic/ jam night. 8pm / No cover THE BODY POLITIC, GHOST OF A GHOST, THE FAPS / The Club — A rocking night of hot tunes. 7:30pm / Cover TBD
KARAOKE TUESDAY / McNally’s — Famous live music venue offers its patrons a chance at the stage. 8pm / No cover
WEDNESDAY 14
WEDNESDAY NIGHT FOLK / Bushwakker — Featuring Glen Chatten. 9pm / No cover GORD ARNOLD / The King’s Head Tavern — Live blues and rock music. 9pm / Cover TBD JAM NIGHT AND OPEN STAGE / McNally’s Tavern — Come on down and enjoy some local talent. 9pm / No cover
THURSDAY 15
DECIBEL FREQUENCY / Gabbo’s Nightclub — A night of hot electro tunes. 10pm / Cover $5 PS FRESH / The Hookah Lounge — Featuring DJ Ageless and DJ Drewski. 7pm / No cover OPEN MIC NIGHT / King’s Head Tavern — Come out and show Regina what you got. 8pm / No cover CROSS TOWN / McNally’s Tavern — Come out and support this fun, entertaining act. 8:30pm / $5 ROB MUNRO / The Pump — Some sweet country tunes. 9pm /Cover TBD CHRIS HENDERSON / Whiskey Saloon — A local country musician who plays the kind of music you want to hear. 8pm / $5 DJ LONGHORN / Whiskey Saloon — Come check out one of Regina’s most interactive DJs. 8pm / Cover $5
FRIDAY 16
COAL CREEK BOYS / Artful Dodger — Hit these dudes up during their whirlwind tour! 8pm / $10 advance, $15 door METRIC / Brandt Centre — An indie/New Wave band that has taken the industry by storm. 8pm / $42.50+ (Ticketmaster) ANDRE PHILLIPE GAGNON / Casino Regina — Part musician, part comedian, all talent. 8pm / $40+ (casinoregina.com) DJ JUAN LOPEZ / Envy Nightclub — This DJ loves requests. 10pm / Cover $5 THREE FISH, FOUR FISH / The Exchange — Featuring iONik, Demian, Chris Knorr and 7 Deadly Sins. 8pm / Tickets TBD NIGHTTRAIN / Gaslight Saloon — A Guns ‘N Roses tribute band. 9pm / $10 DJ PAT & DJ KIM / Habano’s Martini & Cocktail Club — Local DJs spin top 40 hits. 9pm / $5 cover ALAIN LALONDE / The Hookah Lounge — Come check out this dope local DJ/producer as he does his thing and spins the kind of sound that’ll make you wanna dance. 7pm / Cover TBD
METHOD 2 MADNESS / McNally’s — Playing great rock and roll classics. 10pm / $5 TINSEL TREES / O’Hanlon’s — Down-tempo tunes from a chill act. 9pm / No cover WYATT / Pump Roadhouse — Some rockin’ country music. 10pm / Cover TBD ALBERT / Pure — Appearing every Friday night. 10pm / $5 cover FLICKERS / The Sip Nightclub — A night of good tunes. 10pm / No cover charge if in attendance by 6pm CHRIS HENDERSON / Whiskey Saloon — A local musician. 8pm / $10 DJ LONGHORN / Whiskey Saloon — Come check out one of Regina’s most interactive DJs. 8pm / Cover $10
SATURDAY 17
BLACKIE AND THE RODEO KINGS / Casino Regina — A Canadian all-star band playing country/roots/rock. 8pm / $25-30 (www.casinoregina.com) DJ JUAN LOPEZ / Envy Nightclub — This DJ loves requests. 10pm / Cover $5 GALLOWS, BARN BURNER / The Exchange — One is a punk band from England, the others are rockers from Montreal. 7pm / $15 in advance (www.ticketedge.ca), $20 at the door AMAZE / The Gaslight Saloon — A night of awesome music! 9pm / $5 DJ NOOR / The Hookah Lounge — This talented DJ knows how to rock a crowd. 7pm / $5 HOPE ETERNAL / Knox Metropolitan United Church — Featuring the Regina Philharmonic Chorus and the RSO. 8pm / Tickets at Bach and Beyond, Golden Mile and Cobb Swanson Music JJ VOSS / Lancaster — An acoustic/ Americana musician. 9pm / Cover TBD METHOD 2 MADNESS / McNally’s — Playing great rock and roll classics. 10pm / $5 DREWSKI / Pure — Doing what he does best, every Saturday night. 10pm / $5 FLICKERS / The Sip Nightclub — A night of good tunes. 10pm / No cover charge if in attendance by 6pm OPEN JAM SESSIONS / Smokin’ Okies BBQ — If you play an instrument, drop by for a jam. If not, stop by and just listen. 3pm / No cover CHRIS HENDERSON / Whiskey Saloon — A country musician who plays the kind of music you want to hear. 8pm / $10
GET LISTED Have a live show you'd like to promote? Let us know! layout@verbnews.com
14 NOV 9 – NOV 15 ENTERTAINMENT
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NIGHTLIFE
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2 @
THE OWL
The Owl 3737 Wascana Parkway MUSIC VIBE / ‘90s music FEATURED DEAL / Molson beers
for $4 DRINK OF CHOICE / Bête Noir, by
Paddock Wood Brewing TOP EATS / Beer + cheese soup COMING UP / Shooting the Sh*t talk show on November 13th
Photography by Klein Photography – feedback@verbnews.com
15 NOV 9 – NOV 15 /VERBREGINA
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PHOTO: COURTESY OF METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER
SKY’S THE LIMIT
Latest Bond installment one of the best in franchise history. BY ADAM HAWBOLDT
A
sk people to rate their top five favourite James Bond movies and two things will invariably occur. One, nobody in their right mind will include Moonraker. And two, no one will list the exact same movies in the exact same order. Don’t believe me? Okay. When asked this question a few days ago, the list I gave ran as follows: 1) Goldfinger, 2) Dr. No, 3)
to have to revisit the top-five rankings fairly soon. So what, you may ask, makes Skyfall so good? Well, in a word — everything. But since this is a movie review let’s see if I can’t break it down. First, it’s directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition) and shot by crackerjack cinematographer Roger Deakins (No Country For Old Men, The Big Lebowski). The
SKYFALL Sam Mendes Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem + Ralph Fiennes DIRECTED BY STARRING
143 MINUTES | PG
moving train, where he is struggling with a bad guy when disaster strikes. James Bond (Daniel Craig) is accidentally shot by a fellow agent and dies. Okay, who am I kidding? Bond doesn’t die. But for a while his agency assumes he’s dead, before he reemerges from a vacation of sorts and begins to track the missing hard drive again. This brings him in contact with a creepy, sexually ambiguous, eerily psychotic super-villain named Silva. Played by a blonde and bewigged Javier Bardem, Silva is one of the best Bond villains in some time — mostly because Bardem breathes so much life into the character. Which brings us to another reason why Skyfall is so good: character development. It’s almost as though, after 50 years of Bond, the powers that be have decided to take a long look into 007’s inner turmoil and show fans what truly motivates him. What’s more, for the first time in the franchise’s history, the character of M (Judi Dench) is explored and we’re given some keen insight into what makes the spymaster tick.
Silva is one of the best Bond villains … mostly because Bardem breathes so much life into the character. ADAM HAWBOLDT
From Russia With Love, 4) GoldenEye and 5) The Spy Who Loved Me. And I’m willing to bet that your list is different from that. Hell, now that I’ve seen Skyfall, the 23rd installment of the Bond franchise, my list is different than that. Because I can say, in all honesty, Skyfall is one of the best Bond flicks I’ve seen. Like, ever. Where it falls on my list, I don’t know right now. All I know is The Spy Who Loved Me is getting the boot, and I’m going
result is a visually stunning film that delves deep into the essence of 007 while unfolding at a wicked pace that yanks the viewer in from the very first scene. And speaking of Skyfall’s opening sequence, all I can say is “Yowzers!” When the film starts we see Bond racing across rooftops on a motorcycle, trying to retrieve a hard drive containing the identity of every undercover NATO agent on the planet. The chase takes him to the top of a
Roll all this into one big ball and you have a Bond flick that’s stripped down, grittier and more revelatory than most installments in the franchise’s history. And if you don’t leave the theatre wanting to see what happens to 007 next, then I feel kind of bad for you.
Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
@AdamHawboldt ahawboldt@verbnews.com
16 NOV 9 – NOV 15 ENTERTAINMENT
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PHOTO: COURTESY OF TRIBECA FILM
NOT YOUR AVERAGE HOSTAGE SCENARIO
Martin Donovan’s new film Collaborator puts a spin on its genre. BY ADAM HAWBOLDT
C
’mon admit it: you like hostage movies. The action, the tension, the bargaining, the heroic acts that usually lead to the hostage’s freedom. Think Die Hard or Air Force One or Speed or The Negotiator. Now think about a movie that takes all the standard tropes associated with the hostage genre and poopoos them. Sweeps them clear under the rug. Gone are the one-a-minute thrills, the high-energy chase scenes, the constant threat of a SWAT team kicking down the door. And instead, replace all of that with a deep human drama driven by emotion and internal conflict and alcohol. Do that, and you’ll begin to get an idea what the film Collaborator is about. Directed, written by and starring Martin Donovan (Insomnia, The Opposite of Sex), Collaborator is unlike any hostage movie you’ve seen before.
And that’s a guarantee. The film begins with Robert Longfellow (Donovan), a depressed playwright. Once upon a long time ago, Longfellow was the talk of the off-Broadway community, a dar-
Longfellow leaves his wife and kids behind in New York and heads to Los Angeles. While there, Longfellow does three important things: he looks for a writing gig in Hollywood, he gets in contact with Emma Stiles
And even though the plot unfolds at a snail’s pace, the performance of Morse … fuels the entire film. ADAM HAWBOLDT
ing and visionary artist whose plays launched careers and were met with critical acclaim. But when we first meet Longfellow, those days are far behind him. His life and career are spiraling into the swirling part of the whiz palace. Down on his luck, out of inspiration,
(Olivia Williams), a old flame and a movie star, and he goes to stay at his mom’s house. It’s this last thing that, ultimately, is the most important of all the things he does upon arrival, because it’s at his mom’s house that Longfellow runs into childhood acquaintance Gus
Williams (David Morse). And from the get-go, there’s an uneasy feeling between the two. Gus is a hardscrabble ex-con, a man stuck in the past and still living at his parents’ house, while Longfellow has become an east coast artist/pseudo-intellectual. On the surface they have nothing in common. But Gus keeps showing up at Longfellow’s house, pressuring him to have a beer and a chat about the old times. And eventually, Longfellow agrees. So one evening, while Longfellow’s mother is out, Gus stops by. They drink some beers, smoke some weed, engage in some nostalgic chit chat. Then Gus pulls out a gun and takes Longfellow hostage. So does it work? Does Donovan pull off his high-minded and artistic approach to the hostage genre? If pushed to answer honestly, I’d say yes. There’s an underlying, uneasy tension in the movie that you can’t
COLLABORATOR Martin Donovan STARRING Martin Donovan, David Morse + Olivia Williams DIRECTED BY
87 MINUTES | 14A
ignore. And even though the plot unfolds at a snail’s pace, the performance of Morse (The Green Mile) as Gus is so multi-layered, creepy, engaging and oddly likable that it fuels the entire film. Collaborator will be playing at the Regina Public Library starting November 15th; see reginalibrary.ca for showtimes.
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17 NOV 9 – NOV 15 @VERBREGINA
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© Elaine M. Will | blog.E2W-Illustration.com | Check onthebus.webcomic.ws/ for previous editions!
18 NOV 9 – NOV 15 ENTERTAINMENT
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CROSSWORD CANADIAN CRISS-CROSS DOWN 1. Unit of time 2. Took advantage of 3. Moldovan monetary unit 4. Mouthy 5. Reduce its worth 6. You have to make it while the sun shines 7. Higher than 8. Make smooth and shiny 9. Opposite of everybody 11. Kind of engineer 12. Be out of breath 14. Refuse to acknowledge 17. Past middle age 20. Church council 21. Done too soon
24. Orchestra’s place 26. Curling target 28. It’s white with no number 29. Arrive at 30. Part of the pistil 31. Of small width 33. Become stuck to 34. Jacket material 35. Circular movement of water 38. Nest built on a cliff 41. Take on cargo 43. Self-righteously complacent 45. ___ Aviv, Israel 47. Bring to a conclusion
SUDOKU ANSWER KEY
A
B
8 1 5 9 2 4 7 3 6 3 4 7 5 8 6 1 9 2 6 2 9 1 3 7 8 5 4 9 6 1 8 7 5 4 2 3 7 5 2 4 6 3 9 8 1 4 8 3 2 1 9 6 7 5 2 3 4 7 9 1 5 6 8 5 9 6 3 4 8 2 1 7 1 7 8 6 5 2 3 4 9
___ Hallows” 27. Arouse the wrath of 29. Outline 32. Comb backwards 36. Eggs 37. Problem at the airport 39. Faulty firecracker 40. Earthy deposit 42. “See you later” 43. Lose hair, like a dog 44. List of printing mistakes 46. A way out of a problem 48. Sing in Switzerland 49. Become hardened to 50. Satisfactorily 51. Cutting side of a blade
4 5 2 8 6 7 3 1 9 6 3 8 2 1 9 4 5 7 9 1 7 4 5 3 2 6 8 3 8 9 5 7 1 6 4 2 5 2 4 3 8 6 9 7 1 7 6 1 9 4 2 8 3 5 1 4 3 7 9 8 5 2 6 2 9 6 1 3 5 7 8 4 8 7 5 6 2 4 1 9 3
ACROSS 1. Think over 5. Slice of lamb 9. Canadian whose parents were Japanese immigrants 10. Ruinous damage 12. Cram for an exam 13. Site for curved hairs 15. Unpleasantly patterned 16. Rattler in a whistle 18. Tear apart 19. Manitoba’s neighbour: abbr. 20. Slender, graceful girl 22. Break a Commandment 23. Tearful 25. “Harry Potter and the © WALTER D. FEENER 2012
HOROSCOPES NOVEMBER 9 – NOVEMBER 15 ARIES March 21–April 19
LEO July 23–August 22
SAGITTARIUS November 23–December 21
The key to all effective communication is listening, so keep your damn ears open this week, Aries. Otherwise, you might get things twisted.
Your mind may feel like a bird bouncing around a small cage this week, Leo, and it might be hard to find peace or clarity of thought. Good luck.
This is an excellent time to start something new, Sagittarius. What that something is is entirely up to you. But get out there and expand your horizons.
TAURUS April 20–May 20
VIRGO August 23–September 22
CAPRICORN December 22–January 19
Sometimes it feels like life is squeezing so hard you can’t breathe and at other times like it’s pulling you apart. Get ready to experience both.
Oh Virgo, your powers of persuasion are going to be running high this week. Don’t neglect them. Use them if necessary, but only for evil.
You know Eminem’s song, “Cleanin’ Out My Closet?” Well, maybe you should give that a try this week — both literally and figuratively.
GEMINI May 21–June 20
LIBRA September 23–October 23
AQUARIUS January 20–February 19
Get ready for a blast from the past this week, Gemini. It could be a person, a song, a movie or something else, but nostalgia is on its way.
You may receive a lot of information you disagree with this week, Libra. That’s fine, but don’t outright dismiss the news. That’d be a sad mistake.
Have you felt that lately you’re on the edge of something? Either something awesome or something dangerous? If so, get ready to take the leap.
CANCER June 21–July 22
SCORPIO October 24–November 22
PISCES February 20–March 20
You may feel the urge to tell someone to shut up this week, Cancer. Don’t say it. Or at least not in those words — it could come back to bite you.
You may have a lot of cool and wonderful ideas this week, Scorpio. Good for you. The key, however, is to figure out which ones are the good ones.
Chaos: that’s going to be the keyword for the next week or so, Pisces. So strap on a helmet, bite down on your mouthguard and brace yourself.
SUDOKU 4 1 3 8 9 5 1 4 5 3 2 8 8 9 7 2 4 3 8 6 9 1 6 3 1 7 2 6 9 5 7 4 7 5 6 2
CROSSWORD ANSWER KEY
A
8 9 4 6 3 4 2 6 1 3 5 4 9 5 3 7 5 2 6 3 8 9 7 5 1 8 9 4 2 1 7 1 7 8 6 2
B
19 NOV 9 – NOV 15 /VERBREGINA
CONTENTS
LOCAL
EDITORIAL
COMMENTS
Q+A
ARTS
COVER
FOOD + DRINK
MUSIC
LISTINGS
NIGHTLIFE
FILM
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TIMEOUT
ENTERTAINMENT
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