Verb Issue R72 (Apr. 5-11, 2013)

Issue #72 – April 5 to April 11

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making it medium

The Dudes

transgender equality TransSask raises awareness lovelessness Q+A with Bison B.C. jurassic park 3d + wake in fright Films reviewed­

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NEWs + Opinion

entertainment

Q + A with Bison B.C.

Live Music listings

On the metal community, and Lovelessness. 8 / Q + A

Local music listings for April 5 through April 13. 14 / listings

not as seen on tv

Men who paint

Nightlife Photos

TransSask raises awareness. 3 / Local

Local landscape painters on their passion. 9 / Arts

We visit the Whiskey Saloon .

The german requiem Meara Conway’s RSO debut.

jurassic park 3D + wake in fright

9 / Arts

We review the latest movies. 16 / Film

verbnews.com @verbregina facebook.com/verbregina

15 / Nightlife

Editorial

transgender equality

Publisher / Parity Publishing Editor in Chief / Ryan Allan Managing Editor / Jessica Patrucco staff Writers / Adam Hawboldt + Alex J MacPherson Contributing writer / jessica Bickford

ART & Production Design Lead / Roberta Barrington Design & Production / Brittney Graham Contributing Photographers / Baily eberle, danielle tocker, Adam Hawboldt + Alex J MacPherson

TransSask raises awareness. 4 / Local

Business & Operations

The right tools

Grandma’s kitchen

on the bus

Here’s our thoughts on bringing tool libraries to the province. 6 / Editorial

This week we visit Daisy’s Pantry.

Weekly original comic illustrations

by Elaine M. Will. 18 / comics

12 / Food + Drink

Office Manager / Stephanie Lipsit Marketing Manager / Vogeson Paley Financial Manager / Cody Lang

contact Comments / feedback@verbnews.com / 306 881 8372

On the cover:

The Dudes

On making it medium. 10 / cover

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Music

Game + Horoscopes

advertise / advertise@verbnews.com / 306 979 2253

Here’s your say on installing more highway cameras. 7 / comments

Carrie Kaldor, Serena Ryder + Silverstein. 13 / music

Canadian criss-cross puzzle, weekly horoscopes and Sudoku. 19 / timeout

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not as seen on tv Photos: courtesy of Kent Stewart

The life and times of Saskatchewan coroners by adam Hawboldt

I

f only Maureen Stinnen had brought a flashlight.

Creeping through a dark, fetid basement on a warm summer night in 1996, Stinnen really could have used one. Because somewhere out there in front of her, hiding in the darkness, was a dead body. “Every step I took, I didn’t know where I was going,” remembers Stinnen. “I didn’t know if I’d get there or not.”

But the closer she inched towards the body — a suicide that had been in the basement for weeks — the stronger the smell became. The stench of decomposing human flesh is an aroma you can’t really ignore. “Oh, the smell was just terrible,” says Stinnen. “And it was so dark down there. At that moment a lot of things were running through my mind.”

One of which, no doubt, was “what the heck was I thinking becoming a coroner?”

See, in the years before that day, Stinnen was a nurse in critical care and emergency at hospitals in Regina. She was used to seeing people injured and in critical condition. But being in a basement, fumbling around in the dark for a couple-weeksold dead body was new to her. You see, that suicide call was her very

first as a coroner. That’s why she was unprepared, without a flashlight. “This is definitely not a glamorous job,” chuckles Stinnen. “The suicide was my first call of three that day. It certainly was a rude awakening.”

Rude, perhaps. But by no means the toughest call Stinnen has faced.

Stop for a moment and ask yourself something: what does a coroner do?

What does their job entail?

If you’re anything like me or any number of other television/movie

tions, the detectives thank the coroner and go out to catch the bad guy.

And though that sounds cool, that kind of scenario is wrong.

“Television doesn’t give you the sounds, the smells, the emotions that come with the job,” says Kent Stewart, Saskatchewan’s Chief Coroner. “It also doesn’t give you a time frame. Most people, when they think of coroners and, for example, DNA, they think we can do that stuff in five minutes during a commercial break. That’s what we call CSI Syndrome … that’s the type of perspective television gives you, even though it isn’t the proper perspective.”

So if television is — gasp! — painting an erroneous picture of coroners, what’s the proper one?

“We investigate any sudden and unnatural deaths, whether it be homicide, suicide or undetermined,” explains Stinnen. “It doesn’t matter. The initial call comes in through a 911 call.

The police arrive at the scene. Once death is established, they call for us.”

And that’s when coroners spring into action. After arriving at a death scene coroners first talk to the police.

If there are family of the deceased around, they’ll talk to them. The coroners will examine the history of the deceased, including past medical problems or conditions, and survey the death scene, all before they look at the body.

“The body tells you a lot,” Stinnen says simply.

Indeed it does. Say, for example, the body has a bullet wound through the chest, there are bullet casings strewn about the scene, and an eyewitness they interview said

You’re the one they’re looking to for the facts of their beloved’s death. maureen Stinnen

watchers out there, chances are your thoughts immediately jumped to a scene we’ve all seen a thousand times.

In it, two detectives are standing in the city morgue, looking down at a dead body on a table. Across from them is a coroner with a clipboard or something, telling them the cause and time and circumstances of the victim’s death. There are some quick revela-

they saw shots being fired. In that case, chances are the person on the ground was shot.

Sometimes, though, it’s just not that easy.

“In those cases, if we feel the body needs an autopsy, it goes to the pathologist,” explains Stinnen.

“They do the autopsy and report back to us.”

Once the true cause of death is determined, the coroner’s job is over, right?

Wrong. Another thing television never shows you is the behind-thescenes work coroners do with the family of the deceased.

“It can be a real privilege to be with these families at a difficult time like that,” says Stinnen. “You may be a perfect stranger, but you’re the one they’re looking to for guidance. You’re the one they’re looking to for the facts of their beloved’s death.”

And while providing families with these facts is a part of the job, it’s not always the easiest thing to do. But much like the suicide Stinnen investigated on her first day as a coroner, it’s not

the most difficult thing she’s ever dealt with. “We’re all human beings,” says Stinnen, “so if you investigate a child or a teenager and you have a child that age, it brings a certain perspective and gravity to the situation.”

Stinnen pauses, thinks for a moment and continues, “But it’s the young child deaths, they’re the hardest.

Especially if it’s not related to a disease process, if it’s something untoward that happened to them for no reason … that’s hard to swallow.”

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Transgender Equality

Photo: Courtesy of torbakhopper

TransSask aims to raise awareness, change perceptions

by ADAM HAWBOLDT

M

ikayla Schultz was at a crossroads in her life.

Years of confusion and shame and depression had worn her out.

The pain she felt inside couldn’t be numbed, no matter how many drugs she took or how much booze she imbibed.

So when she found herself standing in the basement of her house, staring up at a noose dangling from the rafters, Schultz knew she had a decision to make — to kill herself or to show the world who she really was. You see, in the decades preceding that pivotal day Mikayla wasn’t always known as Mikayla. She used to be a man.

“I knew I wanted to be a girl ever since I was five or six years old,” says Schultz, “but our society didn’t allow me to be what I wanted.

Everyone around me was always telling me I was a boy. So I spent the first 35 years or so of my life trying to conform to our culture’s expectations of my genitals.”

“Try” being the operative word here. Sure, Shultz grew up doing what is considered stereotypical “boy” things, trying to project a masculine persona to the world. But inside, everyday was a constant struggle.

“I played hockey for a total of two months before I quit,” she recalls. “I’d bear it through practice and then, when it was over, I’d stick around and watch figure skating practice from the sidelines, wishing I could do that.”

The struggle remained through her teen years and into adulthood until Schultz couldn’t hide who she really was anymore.

“I was a student at SIAST when, socially, I made the decision to just do it,” she says. “One day friends

rassed and discriminated against, life can be tough. So tough, in fact, that sometimes it seems pointless to go on.

“A lot of transpeople will tell you, once you get to know them, that they came to a point in their lives where they didn’t want to do it anymore,” explains Schultz. “They just want it to be over.”

That’s one of the main reasons the rate of suicide and attempted suicide are astronomically high in the trans-community. In fact, ac-

For too long, we’ve gone unrecognized because we conformed to the ideal of the gender binary. But not any more. mikayla schultz

of mine and I went out shopping. I bought a new outfit and showed up at school and said, ‘I’m Mikayla now,’ and that was it.”

She’s been known as Mikayla ever since. But it hasn’t been easy.

In a society where people like Schultz — along with many others in the trans-community — are ostracized, marginalized, ha-

cording to an ongoing health study in Ontario, 43% of all transgender people in that province had attempted suicide at one point in their lives. In America, the national rate of attempted suicide in the trans-community is 41%.

Compare that to Canada’s national suicide rate of under 1%, and obviously there are some serious Continued on next page »

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Photo: Courtesy of mikayla schultz

issues facing members of the transcommunity. Issues Schultz knows all too well.

International Transgender Day of Visibility typically falls on the last day of March. But because this year the end of March just so happened to be a holiday, TransSask — a provincewide support and resource network for trans-identified and sex or gender diverse people — decided to start its Transgender Awareness Week a day early this year.

“Because the 31st is Easter Sunday, we organized our annual rally in Regina for Saturday the 30th,” says Schultz, who is director of TransSask Support Services.

The rally is designed to call attention to the existence of, and problems facing, the trans-community here in Saskatchewan. “The community is not just about transsexuals like myself,” says Schultz.

“It also includes transgender people, cross dressers, genderqueer, intersex individuals and more … We want to bring recognition to something that’s already here, that’s always been here. For too long, we’ve gone unrecognized because we conformed to the ideal of the gender binary. But not any more.”

So to help get the trans-community and its issues out there, TransSask has decided to do a bit more than just hold a rally. On April 5th, they’re putting on Gender Failure. Featuring writer/storyteller Ivan Coyote and musician Rae Spoon, the show explores failed attempts at fitting into the gender binary.

Then, on the following day, there will be a series of talks and performances illuminating personal stories from the trans-community.

“The concept behind these talks is the Vagina Monologues,” says Schultz.

“So we’re calling it the Trans Monologues. What will happen is transpeople will get up and give a four or five minute anecdote about their experience with gender.”

There are seven people in all performing these monologues, but they all have the same goal — to tell their stories and raise awareness so that, one day down the road, life will become easier for people in the trans-community.

Mikayla Schultz knows that day isn’t going to be tomorrow. Or the next day.

You see, at the moment she is going to through a medical transition to become female, and it’s been an uphill battle the entire way.

Contrary to what some people may think, transitioning isn’t as simple as booking an appointment with a surgeon and going under the knife.

Nope: there’s protocol, standards of care that have been established by the World Professional Association of Transgender Health. The first thing you have to do is visit a psychiatrist and be diagnosed with gender identity disorder.

“You can’t get medical treatment unless you have a medical condition,” says Schultz. “So you have to be diagnosed. But it took me two years to find a psychiatrist who would support my transition.”

Next comes the procedure to start changing hormones.

“I looked everywhere to find an endocrinologist who would do hormone therapy for me,” says Schultz.

“We face a lot of discrimination, and many people in the health care industry aren’t knowledgeable enough or simply aren’t willing to help.”

Eventually, though, Schultz found a doctor in Saskatoon who would give her hormone treatments.

And finally, after all the hormone therapy, comes surgery.

“One of the biggest concerns of the trans-community in Saskatchewan is the lack of health care,” admits Schultz. “We have to go out of province just to get operated on.

It could take years and years for my transition to be complete.”

For Schultz, or anyone else following in her footsteps, this is simply unacceptable.

And that’s why Transgender Awareness Week is so important — it’s time for all people in Saskatchewan to affect change.

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The right tools for the job

Tool libraries are good for the community

H

ave you ever been midway through working on a project, elbows-deep fixing something or other, when you suddenly realized you didn’t have the proper tools for the job?

Say you’re fixing up the backyard after the snow melts and you realize you need a chainsaw to get rid of an old, dead tree that has succumbed to our beautiful prairie winters. Or imagine that you’re doing some electrical work and need a soldering gun, but you don’t have one.

This is a common enough scenario that has happened to all of us at one time or another. And while you have a few immediate options you can entertain — drop some coin to buy a new tool that you may not use on a regular basis, pay premium dollars to rent, or call around to see if anyone you know has the elusive machine you’re looking for — we have a better idea.

We think it’s time to take a cue from some of our country’s larger cities, and build a tool library.

Now, stick with us, here — we know this might sound a little out there. But tool libraries, which have been popping up in the States for around 20 years, and are starting to take off in Canada, offer a great service

And yeah: people can be stupid. But don’t worry — the tool library has got you covered. In the beginning (because these things take time to get off the ground), the tool libraries are run by volunteers who are capable of teaching you how to get your angle grind on before heading out the door (after you sign a waiver, of course).

Inexpensive tools, and a lesson to boot — sounds pretty good to us!

And if this thing really takes off, why not hire a staff of knowledgable, handy people, and train them on how to teach members how to use the tools? This opens the door to eventually operating workshops and classes for people who want to channel their inner Bob Vila.

Oh, and allocating an indoor work space for people in the community is something else the tool library could eventually provide. You know how terrible it is changing a headlight on your car in minus-40 degree weather — in your driveway? Yeah, so do we.

So that’s why we propose that the tool library also offers shop space for rent.

Nothing long term, but for smaller projects where you just need a little larger area to get your handyman — or handywoman — action on.

Look, tool libraries will do wonders for Regina — they’ll pro-

to our communities. Operating in a similar manner to a regular library, they would give residents of Regina the opportunity to get their hands on, say, a belt sander, borrow it for a short period of time, and return it, for almost no cost whatsoever.

Here’s how it works: people who have tools just laying around, tools they never use that are just collecting dust down in the basement, can donate these items to the library. This is good on two fronts: one, it will help people (karma!), and two, it’s a tax credit for you. So that’s a win-win situation for those in a charitable mood.

What’s more, Canada’s newest tool library (the country’s fourth, located in Toronto’s Parkdale district) is offering a $5 discount on fees to people who donate tools, so why not implement that here as well?

And speaking of money, tool libraries are aimed at helping those who have less. Typically, annual memberships fall in the neighbourhood of $50 a year. If 50 bucks is a little too steep, then membership is calculated to be commensurate with people’s incomes.

Once you have a membership you’re free to borrow as many tools as you like, as often as you like.

Now, we know that tools, in the wrongs hands, can be dangerous.

mote a sharing economy amongst our city’s residents, offer a place to grab those tools you need without spending a ton of money doing so, and offer those who might be a little more strapped for cash access to a wealth of knowledge and supplies.

What’s not to love?

These editorials are left unsigned because they represent the opinions of Verb magazine, not those of the individual writers.

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On Topic: Last week we asked what you thought about adding more highway cameras to Saskatchewan’s roadways. Here's what you had to say:

– Would of been good idea if the story about highway cameras included the locations of the 200 in BC. Are they monitoring mountain passes or the highway the premier takes to the legislature???

– If they are gonna put up more cameras on highways that’s a great idea but I don’t think they need to tax it because I think we all know Im sure the government can afford to do it with the money they all rob us blindly for as it is

– Re highway cameras,all winter I saw drivers out in vehicles that had no business being on the road in bad weather. Until people start driving have duty 4x4s with traction control, the crappy little cars will keep sliding off the road,causing havoc.

– Definitely a good idea to get more weather cameras on the road. So many miles of desolate highway that its a good idea to know what you’re getting into.

Come on Sask Party!!

OFF TOPIC – Blame the overcrowding in jails on the Conservative Gov’t’s “tough-on-crime” laws. More people are being sent to prison now since judges don’t have as much discretion to give probation & suspended sentences because of more mandatory jail sentences.

Canadian courts always had higher conviction but lower incarceration rates than American courts.

Now that might change!! :0 In response to “Prison Break,” Editorial page, #70 (March 22, 2013)

text yo thoughtsur to 881 vE R B 8372

SOUND OFF – Shoot a family dog for no good reason other than cowardice Punk Ass! Then hide from the due judgment and backlash Double Punk Ass! Children not men!

Wireless Age

– There needs to be some legislation for a law that has drivers yield to bus drivers when the bus driver needs to change lanes.

Some people are courteous which is great but others are just plain ignorant towards bus drivers. Let’s help out our transit drivers! We all have places to be and we can all share the road.

– No excuse for road rage on our streets! We ALL need to share the road. Be kind to others on the roads. Don’t try to weasel in and out of traffic. That’s not respectful.

Let’s all try to get along and drive with courtesy.

– The fact that we get blizzard like conditions during spring tells me that we revolve around God’s schedule. Not the other way around.

– Thinking “I worked hard today.

I deserve a good meal.” and going to a restaurant is making you fat.

Restaurants don’t care about your health. All they care about making you come back. They do it with flavor, sugar salt and grease. If you deserve a good meal go home and cook a healthy one.

– i see a problem with the way our mayor thinks hes saving money by not removing snow. its all going to melt and we’ll have major water problems. not to mention flooded basements. good job. WH

– Too many grasslands and natural wildlife habitats are being redeveloped and we call this progress?

– I did a lot of trapping with my dad in the 1960s. Extreme exposure to climate physically demanding sucks in a lot of ways.

But it is something to do in winter.

– Into The Night Ah those night moves Night Moves!

– YA Jonny Cash was 0k But Stompin Tom Conners IS CANADIAN RIGHT 0N T0M Right on MBC

– Sask scientist reveals she was muzzled by federal employers Good job

Harper let’s silence academics and experts so you can keep your fingers in your ears and blindly push on with your anti environment agenda Cant wait to watch ur government fail good riddance

Next week: What do you think of tool libraries?

Pick up a copy of Verb to get in on the conversation:

– Don’t text and walk. You might fall into a pothole.

We print your texts verbatim each week. Text in your thoughts and reactions to our stories and content, or anything else on your mind.

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Lovelessness

Photos: courtesy of bubba hamilton

Bison B.C. at a pivotal moment by Alex J MacPherson

L

ovelessness, the fourth album by Vancouverbased Bison B.C., is everything a metal record ought to be: an assault on the senses, a repository of punishing guitar riffs, and a manifesto of anger and righteous frustration. It is also a bridge between the metal community and more mainstream listeners, an album that threatens to change the way people consider guitar music. A seemingly endless supply of titanic riffs propels the album forward, and while the songs are long — “Blood Music” clocks in at just under 11 minutes — it never crosses into the realm of endless jams or wasteful noise rock. Bison B.C. — James Farwell, Dan And, Masa Anzai, and Matt Wood — were recently dropped from their record label, Metalblade, which casts Lovelessness in the role of middleman: a long look back and a roadmap for the future. I caught up with Farwell to talk about what he calls his “big, dumb, loud rock band.”

Alex J MacPherson: Lovelessness has attracted attention from people outside the metal community. That seems like a really positive result for Bison B.C. James Farwell: It’s a very positive thing.

I welcome that, absolutely welcome that,

sence into a piece of art, and you really put your soul into it — to risk sounding corny and self-inflating — but if you really put your soul into a piece of art, I think people can see that. And I think people, especially nowadays, are attracted to that. They want substance. They want something that’s honest. And they don’t want something that’s mass produced and they don’t want something that’s maybe easy. You can chal-

because I think the metal community these days is very insular and short-sighted and narrow-minded, and it’s becoming the new pop music: people go and play music for car companies. People still expect to become rock stars and get magazine covers. The metal community is getting a little disappointing.

AJM: The first thing that stands out on Lovelessness is the length of the songs.

That can be pretty intimidating.

I aim to intimidate, I aim to alienate myself and alienate the listener… learned about them. But my anger is still there. It’s just more educated.

james farwell

JF: I know. I aim to intimidate, I aim to alienate myself and alienate the listener, and I’m not here to make friends or fans. It’s an album that I wrote for myself and for my dog and that’s it [laughs], to be honest with you.

lenge people, and people want to be challenged.

AJM: At the same time, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that Lovelessness is an angry record. Has that anger changed over the years? Is it going away?

AJM: I get that. But what is it that has attracted so many people to it, particularly people who don’t have a strong background in metal music?

JF: No. If anything it’s becoming more pointed and focused the older I get. There are certain things I’ve become fascinated with, and my hatred of it. Understanding it better doesn’t make it go away; I just understand it better. I think it’s something like that: my attitudes have become, uh, I’ve

JF: That’s a hard question, man. I think there’s something to be said that if you really put your es-

AJM: It seems like the band is in a good place, even though you were dropped by Metalblade. Did you ever think you’d get to this point?

JF: I picked up a guitar and it never occurred to me that anyone would ever give a sh*t about anything I did. I’ve never had aspirations for stardom; I want to play music, and I want people to get excited. The ride that I’ve been on has given me the opportunity to meet like-minded people, and that’s the fantastic story. It’s also given me the opportunity to have a glimpse of how the entertainment

business works. And it’s disgusting and I want nothing to do with that.

It’s hard to balance the two: your business in your music, it’s disgusting, but unfortunately there has to be a little bit in there. The opportunity to see that and exist with a clear conscience is the challenge that I love. It’s a great challenge.

Bison B.C. April 18 @ The Exchange $13+ @ Vintage Vinyl, Ticketedge

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Men Who paint

From fast friends to fine artists

by alex J MacPherson

Photo: courtesy of Greg Hargarten

1. Greg Hargarten, Shekinah Birch,18 x 24, Acrylic on canvas.

G

reg Hargarten’s return to painting was unexpected.

And unexpectedly rewarding. “I hadn’t painted in a lot of years, since I was in high school,” he says.

“My wife is a creative person, so we would occasionally do something. I

brought out my paints one day, and we painted. I was hooked.”

Hargarten was smitten by the notion of having an art he could keep for himself, away from the pressures imposed by his job as a graphic designer. In 2007, his wife sent him to a painting retreat at the now-defunct University of Saskatchewan Kenderdine Campus, at Emma Lake.

“The Kenderdine Campus used

to offer week-long clinics during the summertime,” Hargarten recalls.

“You would go up, stay, paint. It was an awesome thing to do.”

Assuming few men were interested in landscape painting, Hargarten was surprised when he met several who shared his love of the form. “We just naturally grouped together and started hanging out,” he says, “getting up at four in the morning, getting out in the boat to paint the sunrise. We were fanatics about it.”

Men Who Paint was born when one of the artists, Paul Trottier, suggested they form a collective. It was conceived as a way to share their love of seminal Canadian landscape artists –—chief among them Tom Thomson, A.Y. Jackson, and the rest of the Group of Seven — and plein air painting, the art of working outside.

“I think art is really an interpretation of the subject, and I think you’re not immersed in the subject unless you’re actually out there,” says Hargarten, whose works recall paintings

by Thomson and Lawren Harris. “And until I started really getting into this, I thought of manicured spaces as beautiful. Then I started getting out into the wild.”

Although the Men Who Paint was at first little more than a group of friends

who liked to paint landscapes, a show was inevitable. When Cam Forrester sold more than two dozen paintings, the other members took notice. Several shows and many trips later, including a memorable jaunt into Yukon’s Ivvavik National Park, where the five men produced over 100 works, the Men Who Paint has developed from a loose coalition of friends into a productive art collective and an important promoter

of landscape painting.

Landscape paintings go in and out of vogue, but Hargarten understands that making art with friends is far more important than selling paintings. And that is what the Men Who Paint do best.

a very emotional experience,” she says. “It’s a piece I have quite an affinity for, and I feel that the message is very universal.”

Performing the German Requiem is not easy. Because only the fifth movement is scored for soprano, Conway will have to hit her first note after more than half an hour on stage. “Well, I’ll warm up,” she says with a laugh. “You have to put yourself at ease and get pumped up. With singing, you have to always know your knowables. There are so many unknowns in performance preparation.”

And once she hits that note, Conway expects the rest will be easy. “It’s so universal,” she says. “It’s so brilliant, it kind of picks you up and takes you away on this amazing journey.”

Men Who Paint April 12 @ Chapters @ Southland Mall

The German Requiem

Meara Conway’s heady debut with the RSO by alex J MacPherson

J

ohannes Brahms’s German Requiem is rarely performed. Few singers encounter it more than once, and many perform for years without ever tackling the massive choral work. Meara Conway is singing it in her debut with the Regina Symphony Orchestra.

“It’s a wonderful piece,” says Conway, who grew up in Regina and played cello with the RSO before reinventing herself as a soprano. “It’s very dense, it’s very lush, it’s going to be quite a treat, I think.”

Brahms, who died in 1897, is best known for his piano compositions. His large-scale works are often overshadowed by those of his German contemporaries: Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Mahler. But the German Requiem, which he wrote after his mother’s death, remains one of the most moving pieces ever composed.

“I know that it was written in the wake of Brahms losing his mother, and I know there were some efforts after its debut to add in some more sacred elements,” Conway says, explaining that the German Requiem is humanistic

rather than liturgical. “I think Brahms resisted that: it’s very much a piece we can all relate to.”

This might seem counterintuitive, since requiems have featured prominently in religious practice and Brahms’ text was drawn from the Luther Bible. But Conway is referring to the fact that the best music transcends language. The German Requiem, which consists of seven distinct movements, traces the arc of human grief from stormy anger to profound sadness to the faintest glimmer of hope. “I think it’s

The German Requiem April 13 @ Conexus Arts Centre $33+ @ RSO Box Office, www.reginasymphony.com Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

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making it medium

Danny Vacon and the Dudes play rock music for the right reason

D

anny Vacon started playing rock and roll for the right reasons.

“I only wanted free beer,” the frontman of the Dudes laughs, his voice fuzzy after a long night of partying. “And, hopefully, a twopoint better girlfriend. That’s all I wanted, man. Free beer and girls.”

Vacon formed the Dudes in the late 1990s. The band, which consists of Vacon, Bob Quaschnick, Brock Geiger, and Scott Ross, spent the next ten years loitering around the Calgary independent music scene.

They released lo-fi recordings of soulful rock music, played hundreds of sweaty shows, and conducted plenty of research — Vacon’s term for drinking and having sex and basically having a good time.

In 2009, the Dudes released Blood Guts Bruises Cuts, an energetic romp through the annals of guitar rock overlaid with Vacon’s raw and emotionally charged vocals. It was an immediate success. Blood Guts Bruises Cuts catapulted the Dudes from dank rock clubs onto the brightly lit national stage, where their blithe irreverence and experiments with facial hair clashed magnificently with the sparkling indie rock that was flourishing at the time.

The Dudes have always been difficult to pigeonhole. Blood Guts Bruises Cuts, which drew on influences as diverse as Al Green and the Flaming Lips, only deepened the

mystery. Vacon and company present as a bunch of skinny rebels from the seamy underbelly of Calgary’s music scene (“We’re all just regular poor motherf**kers trying to string three chords together to make something happen,” he deadpans.)

But their ability to weave elements of pop and soul into the fabric of rock

down, do-it-yourself approach. It means he can keep having fun.

“I think that’s how you make it medium, which is where I’m most happy,” he explains. “We’re not the most talented of fellas, and it took us quite awhile to even learn our instruments. But time after time we keep getting on stage — and we’ve

You don’t need anyone for anything, which to me is so amazing. You don’t need s**t anymore. You just need that song…

Danny Vacon

and roll positions them as a sophisticated and progressive rock band, a group more interested in making interesting music than conforming to prevailing trends.

“The idea of making it big is just totally not on our radar,” Vacon laughs. “I sometimes think about [what would happen] if we got a ton of money thrown at as, and were on a worldwide stadium tour. That sounds dreadful to me, to be honest.” The Dudes have played stadium shows, and Vacon knows a big stage and a big audience won’t corrupt the music he loves; he struggles to imagine the Dudes as a serious commercial enterprise because he likes the stripped-

gotten pretty decent. We’ve done our time in the van and it’s paid off, man. I love that people have recognized it. People give a s**t in a lot of places.” After a short pause he concedes, “In a lot of places they’re still idiots.”

Vacon, who cheerfully admits that he never thinks about business, is also extremely distrustful of the music industry. “The whole industry is f**ked,” he says while attempting to justify the Dudes’ independent approach to making music.

“Everyone’s got complete control of their lives now. You don’t need anyone for anything, which to me is so amazing. You don’t need s**t anyContinued on next page »

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Photo: courtesy of clea foofat

ns by Alex J MacPherson more. You just need that song, man, you need that album.”

That album is Barbers, Thieves, and Barbershops. Recorded and released last year, it picks up where its predecessor left off. Barbers, Thieves, and Barbershops recalls the history of loud guitar music while etching each song with Vacon’s

Photo: courtesy of dellosa photography

unmistakably soulful vocals. If you hear the Dudes on the radio, you will probably be listening to “American Girls,” which shows off the band’s ability to play infectious pop punk and write cheeky songs about delicate ideas — in this case, the vortex between infatuation and repulsion.

But “American Girl,” which collects several stories from time spent south of the 49th parallel, is not Vacon’s favourite song on the album, and he was surprised when radio stations started playing it.

Vacon’s favourite song on the record is “Tear It Up,” which pairs a slithering guitar riff with the strongest vocal performance he has ever

delivered. It is also a good representation of the band’s sound. “But,” he reconsiders, “it’s hard to say: every song’s just a tiny little part of you.”

Like “Saturday Night,” the band’s raucous ode to long nights spent watching hockey. “If you fact check all the hockey references in the song, the purists will be pleased to know that each of those moments actually happened on Saturdays,” he writes in an e-mail. “I’m proud of that.”

The strongest song on Barbers, Thieves, and Bartenders is “Good Times,” Vacon’s homage to Calgary and the “crazy life we get to lead.”

Landing somewhere between a loose Rolling Stones ballad and something the Counting Crows might write, the song captures the mixed emotions that creep to the surface as Saturday night fades into Sunday morning.

“Good Times” also features a piano solo by Dan Moxon, who fronts Vancouver-based rock outfit Bend Sinister. A refreshing break from the rock instrumentation that has for years shaped the Dudes’ sound, the collaboration with Moxon reflects Vacon’s desire to surround himself with like-minded people.

“Canada’s a giant country, but the music scene is relatively small,” he says. “You hit the road for long enough and you’re going to meet so many talented musicians.” Vacon had his first “serious bro-down” with Moxon, whom he describes as “one of the most talented MFs in the whole

country,” at a festival in the Yukon.

When the Dudes traveled to Vancouver to cut Barbers, Thieves, and Bartenders, Vacon didn’t hesitate to make the call. “I just hit him up one day: ‘Dan, we need you in the studio for a thing,’” he recalls. “Without having heard any of the songs he just came in and threw down. Some guys are actually that amazing; I don’t know if I could do that.”

Recording in Vancouver offered the Dudes more than a Moxon-led breakdown, however. It gave them a chance to focus. “I don’t want to speak for the other boys, but my life is amazing,” Vacon muses.

“There’s so many damn [highs] in Calgary, and when you record in town you can get easily distracted, you know? When you don’t have your awesome woman to come home to and you don’t have the opportunity to go for beers with your favourite people, you have to buckle down. You develop a tight-

knit thing with your band: you’re away from home, sleeping in s**tty circumstances and it’s all about making some rad tunes. And then getting back to what you love.”

Which means research. Vacon loves documenting it almost as much as he loves living it. The cover of Barbers, Thieves, and Bartenders is a collage of party photos. One shows a man painted bright blue, another a terrible abdominal bruise. There are photos of people passed out in hotel rooms and photos of people urinating outside. The best one features drummer Scott Ross wearing a leather jacket, pink briefs, and a big smile. “First of all,” Vacon points out, “that is a cheap-ass way of making a cover. And it tells such a great story. Honestly, I could sit down for hours and tell you the story behind every single picture.” When I ask about Ross’ hotel hallway escapades, Vacon laughs. “I don’t even remember what town we were in.

We woke up in the morning and he’s like, ‘Alright guys, see you in a bit.’ He just grabbed his suitcase and walked down the hall of whatever hotel we were in. I was laughing my head off. You have to keep it light on the road.”

Plus, he adds, “Life is serious and if you live that way you’re not going to have s**t to write about. Or if you do, it’s going to be something that no one wants to hear.” This is the beauty of what Vacon calls “making it medium.” He and the Dudes started playing music for the right reasons.

And they still are.

The Dudes w/ the Zolas April 11 @ Artful Dodger $10 @ ticketedge.ca Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

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Grandma’s Kitchen

Comfort food from scratch at Daisy’s Pantry by jessica bickford

Photos courtesy of Danielle Tocker

T

ucked away on 15th Avenue, in a cute little spot with sunshine yellow walls and mismatched chairs and tables, is the homey-feeling Daisy’s Pantry. Darla Saunderson started the business because she was “horrified at all the processed food” out there and wanted to do her Grandma proud with a namesake restaurant serving only homemade food.

The menu at Daisy’s Pantry offers simple, hearty breakfasts, and a daily soup and sandwich special along with selections of desserts and sweets. When I dropped by the special of the day was a BLT sandwich and Saskatchewan wild rice soup. Talk about classically delicious! The soup had tons of hearty wild rice, chicken, celery, carrots and onions in a slightly creamy and peppery broth.

This was served with a variety of homemade crackers on the side.

The BLT came on toasted grain bread with thick, crisp and smokey bacon, fresh tomatoes, lettuce, and just the right amount of mayo.

This was a perfect sandwich with great flavour and textures, and coupled with the bowl of soup made for a very filling lunch. These soup and sandwich specials change every day, but Monday is always a

Darla’s grandma and my own grandma were on the same page with these buttery, caramelly buns. The rich white bread was fluffy and yeasty, and featured gooey caramel running all throughout with just the right amount of cinnamon. This was so delicious and sticky with an enticing cinnamon aroma — it was just a sensory explosion of indulgent goodness. Yum! Daisy’s Pantry makes everything from scratch, including baking their own breads, and they have a to-go case of items if you want to take something tasty home with you. A

vegetarian option and Thursdays offer chicken noodle soup.

A slice of lemon poppyseed cake was the first of a few sweets I tried. The dense and delectable cake had a bit of a seedy crunch with a super tart slash of lemon curd in between the layers. It was frosted with a generous amount of sweet buttercream icing that mellowed out the in-your-face tartness of the lemon. All together it was a great mix of flavours, and a dessert option that wasn’t overwhelmingly sweet.

[The] sweet buttercream icing … mellowed out … the tartness of the lemon. jessica Bickford

cute little spot that is well worth a visit for both their sweets and their great soups and sandwiches.

Next up was a homemade oreo cookie sandwich. Two dense and chewy chocolate cookies with a great bittersweet flavour held a thick vanilla cream between them.

The cream gushed out as I bit into this decadent treat, and I couldn’t help but think that a cold glass of milk would have made this perfect.

Lastly I had a fresh, warm cinnamon bun that Darla makes using her grandma’s recipe. I must say that

Daisy’s Pantry 1217 15th Ave. | 306 352 4797

let’s go drinkin’ Verb’s mixology guide Oreo Mudslide

Ingredients

Drinking your dessert is made even better when that drink is in the form of a creamy chocolate, cookie, and coffee flavoured grown-up milkshake. Great for girls’ night or for giving in to those cookie cravings.

1/2 cup ice 1/4 cup chocolate ice cream 1 oz. vodka 1 oz. coffee liqueur 1 oz. Irish cream liqueur 2 Oreo cookies, crumbled whipped cream and chocolate sauce for garnish

Directions

Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@TheGeekCooks jbickford@verbnews.com

Add everything except the garnishes into the blender and pulse until everything evens out. After this, turn the blender up to high and whizz until smooth. Pour into a martini glass drizzled with chocolate sauce, and top with whipped cream.

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Next Week

coming up

Connie Kaldor

Serena Ryder

Silverstein

@ Artesian on 13th Tuesday, April 16 – $30

@ Casino Regina Wednesday, April 17 – Sold Out

@ The Exchange SUNDAY, June 9 – $TBD

Connie Kaldor has made quite a name for herself since graduating from Campbell Collegiate in 1972. She has won Junos for best children’s album three times. She also co-wrote a song for the animated series For Better or For Worse. But make no mistakes about it, this singer/songwriter is by no means just a children’s singer. In fact, most of her albums are folk records aimed at adults. She has performed alongside the likes of Stan Rogers and has toured the world, bringing her folk music to fans in India, China, Europe and all over North America. For her musical contributions to our country’s culture, Kaldor was awarded the Order of Canada in 2007. Not too shabby for a former child choir singer from the Queen City. Tickets available at www.picatic.com

There’s no doubt that Serena Ryder is musically talented. She has a voice that grabs you and doesn’t let go. She makes country songs, ballads, rock songs, roots, folk and adult contemporary. Oh, and she plays guitar, piano, mandolin, ukulele, harmonica, banjo, clarinet, drums and bass. Yet for all her talent, it still took this singer/songwriter from Ontario almost a decade to get the recognition she deserves. Her first indie album was released in ‘99, but it wasn’t until ‘08, when Ryder won the Juno for Best New Artist of the Year, that the country truly stood up and took notice. She’s since won more awards and had her single “Stompa” certified platinum in January. Don’t miss her when she hits the Queen City this month.

Ever wonder about the etymology of band names? For instance, did you know Alexisonfire is named after a contortionist stripper? Or that Lynyrd Skynrd was named for a strict gym teacher in Jacksonville, Florida? How about Ontario post-hardcore band Silverstein — did you know they’re named after famed children’s author Shel Silverstein? True story. But there’s nothing childish about this band. Consisting of Josh Bradford, Billy Hamilton, Paul Koehler, Shane Told and Paul Marc Rousseau, Silverstein is at times both melodic and in your face.

It’s a strange balance, but it’s also the reason they’re one of the best-selling Canadian bands you’ve never heard of. They’re currently on the European leg of their world tour, but they’ll be in Regina in June.

– By Adam Hawboldt

Photos courtesy of: the artist / the artist / Hannah Tashkovich

Sask music Preview The Saskatchewan country Music Awards and Country Music Festival will be held on April 26-28, 2013 in Saskatoon. Events include the Songwriter’s Spotlight, Roots Cafe, Cabaret, and the Country Gospel Show and Brunch. For weekend passes or individual event tickets, please see http://www.picatic.com/scmaawaards2013; for more information please see http://www.scma.sk.ca

Keep up with Saskatchewan music. saskmusic.org

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April 5 » April 13 The most complete live music listings for Regina.

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Friday 5

Tim Vaughn / Artful Dodger — An inventive songwriter and talented guitarist from Saskatoon. 8pm / $10 DJ Juan Lopez / Envy Nightclub — This DJ loves requests, nothing is off limits.

10pm / $5 Coldest Night of the Year / The Exchange — Also appearing will be Gunner, Nick Faye and the Deputies. 8pm DJ Pat & DJ Kim / Habano’s — Local DJs spin top 40 hits, every Friday night. 9pm / $5 cover Big Chill Fridays / Lancaster Taphouse — Featuring DJ Fatbot, every Friday night.

10pm / Cover TBD Slow Motion Walter / McNally’s Tavern — A local party band. 10pm / $5 Leanne Pearson / Pump Roadhouse — A talented singer/songwriter. 9pm

Albert / Pure — Rocking it, every Friday night. 10pm / $5 Parlor Trixx / The Sip Nightclub — A night of soaring rock tunes. 10pm / Cover TBD Jess Moskaluke / Whiskey Saloon — A country artist to take note of. 9pm / $10 DJ Longhorn / Whiskey Saloon — One of Regina’s most interactive DJs. 8pm

Jam Sessions / Smokin’ Okies BBQ — Promoting blues. 2pm / No cover Random Groove / Smokin’ Okies BBQ — A local band playing blues/rock. 7:30pm / $5 Jess Moskaluke / Whiskey Saloon — An amazing country artist to take note of.

9pm / $10

Sunday 7

Saturday 6

Scott Holt / The Exchange — A virtuoso blues guitarist plays for your listening pleasure! 7pm / $20

Intergalactic Virgin / Artful Dodger — A CD release party. 9pm / $10 Queensryche / Casino Regina — A hard rock group. 8pm / $40+ DJ Juan Lopez / Envy Nightclub — This DJ loves requests. 10pm / $5 Room 333 / The Exchange — Also appearing will be Victory Kicks, ThunderHawk.

8pm / $5 Boomtown / King’s Head Tavern — Come out for a pint and some good tunes.

9pm / Cover TBD Slow Motion Walter / McNally’s Tavern — A local party band. 10pm / $5 Leanne Pearson / Pump Roadhouse — A talented singer/songwriter. 9pm / Cover TBD Drewski / Pure — Doing what he does best. 10pm / $5 cover Parlor Trixx / The Sip Nightclub — A night of soaring rock tunes. 10pm / Cover TBD

Monday 8

Open Mic Night / The Artful Dodger — Come down and jam! 8pm / No cover Monday Night Jazz / Bushwakker Brewpub — Featuring the Ministry of Groove, playing jazz and funk tunes from the ‘70s. 8pm / No cover

Tuesday 9

Troubadour Tuesdays / Bocados — Come check out some live tunes from local talents every week. 8pm / No cover In my Coma / Rocks — Alt rockers from Toronto! 8pm / $5

Wednesday 10

Belle Starr, Ink Road / Artful Dodger — Alt. country and then some.

10pm / Cover TBD

Wednesday Night Folk / Bushwakker Brewpub — Featuring Winnipeg’s Hollerin’ Pines. 9pm / No cover Enisferum, Tyr, Heidevolk, Trollfest, Hellscott / The Exchange — Metal bands from Finland, Norway, the Netherlands and more. 6:30pm / $30 (ticketedge.ca) Jam Night and Open Stage / McNally’s Tavern — Come on down and enjoy some local talent. 9pm / No cover

Thursday 11

The Dudes + The Zolas / Artful Dodger — A night of awesome indie rock you won’t want to miss. 10pm / $10/15 Decibel Frequency / Gabbo’s Nightclub — A night of electronic fun. 10pm / Cover $5 PS Fresh / The Hookah Lounge — DJ Ageless started spinning in Montreal, DJ Drewski started in Saskatoon. They both landed in Regina and have come together to sling some bomb beats. 7pm / No cover Open Mic Night / King’s Head Tavern — Come out, play some tunes, sing some songs, and show Regina what you got. 8pm / No cover Redbeard’s Birthday Bash / McNally’s Tavern — Featuring Sonic Orchid, Dirty Feet, Cherry Bomb and more. 8:30pm / $5 Alex Runions / Whiskey Saloon — A talented rock/Americana artist from right here in Queen City. 8pm / $5 DJ Longhorn / Whiskey Saloon — Come check out one of Regina’s most interactive DJs as he drops some of the best country beats around. 8pm / $5 cover

Friday 12

Brandy Moore / Artful Dodger — A local singer/songwriter with a wonderful voice. 10pm / Cover TBD DJ Juan Lopez / Envy Nightclub — This DJ loves requests, nothing is off limits. 10pm / $5 Elevenn, Zanza, The Resistance / The Exchange — Break out your dancing shoes for this one. 9pm / Cover TBD DJ Pat & DJ Kim / Habano’s Martini & Cocktail Club — Local DJs spin top 40 hits every Friday night that are sure to get you on the dance floor. 9pm / $5 cover Big Chill Fridays / Lancaster Taphouse — Come out and get your weekend started with DJ Fatbot, who’ll be doing his spinning thing every Friday night.

10pm / Cover TBD

The Vats, Black Drink Crier / Lancaster Taphouse — Come celebrate Redbeard’s birthday. 9pm Bluessmyth / McNally’s Tavern — Blues music with metallic overtones.

10pm / $5 Trick Ryder / The Pump Roadhouse — Some good ol’ country music. 9pm / Cover TBD Albert / Pure Ultra Lounge — Appearing every Friday night, come listen to Albert as he does his spinning thing.

10pm / $5 cover Alex Runions / Whiskey Saloon — A talented rock/Americana artist from right here in Queen City. 8pm / $10 DJ Longhorn / Whiskey Saloon — Come check out one of Regina’s most interactive DJs as he drops some of the best country beats around. 8pm / $10 cover

Saturday 13

Jim Stafford / Casino Regina — A multi-intstrumentalist who satirizes the obvious with his music. 8pm / $42-47 (casinoregina.com) RSO Masterworks: A German Requiem / Conexus Arts Centre — Featuring the music of Brahms. 8pm / $33-63 (tickets.reginasymphony.com) DJ Juan Lopez / Envy Nightclub — This DJ loves requests, nothing is off limits. 10pm / $5 Jack Semple / McNally’s Tavern — A local guitar whiz. 10pm / $5 Trick Ryder / The Pump Roadhouse — Some good ol’ country music. 9pm / Cover TBD Drewski / Pure Ultra Lounge — Doing what he does best, every Saturday night. Come on down and dance the night away with this local DJ. 10pm / $5 cover Jam Sessions / Smokin’ Okies BBQ — Promoting blues and country blues, come in and play or listen and be entertained. 2pm / No cover Alex Runions / Whiskey Saloon — A talented rock/Americana artist from right here in Queen City. 8pm / $10

Get listed Have a live show you'd like to promote? Let us know! layout@verbnews.com

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thursday, march 28 @

whiskey saloon

The Whiskey Saloon 1047 Park Street (306) 779 1999

Music vibe / Country Featured deals / $3.50 highballs Drinks of Choice / Whiskey, vodka

with water or cranberry juice, and rye and Coke coming up / Hosting a party for the Junos in April

Check out our Facebook page!

These photos will be uploaded to Facebook on Friday, April 12. facebook.com/verbsaskatoon

Photography by Bebzphoto

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Photo: Courtesy of Universal Studios

It’s Baaack ...

Jurassic Park celebrates its 20th anniversary with a 3D edition by adam hawboldt

D

o you remember where you were the first time you saw Jurassic Park? Do you remember your reaction?

I do.

The year was 1993. Not yet a pimply teen, I convinced my friend Joke (that’s not his real name, but it’s what everyone — even his dad — called him) to abandon his Super NES long enough to come to the movies with me. There was a film about dinosaurs I wanted to see.

Joke hemmed and hawed, but he eventually relented and we went to see Jurassic Park at the theatre in Sydney, Nova Scotia.

The movie blew my mind. So much so, I remember at one point leaning over my popcorn and whispering to Joke, “This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen, b’y.”

Fast forward 20 years.

Joke is now known to all as Michael, my pimples have come and gone, and Jurassic Park is back on the big screen, this time in 3D.

Costa Rica. The theme park, full of dinosaurs cloned from strands of fossilized DNA, is the brainchild of billionaire John Hammond (Richard Attenborough).

But what good is an island of dinosaurs if nobody sees them? So Hammond invites a group of experts to witness and give scientific approval to his biological marvels.

I hadn’t watched Jurassic Park since that day in 1993, and to be completely honest, I’d forgotten exactly how the movie unfolds.

Yes, I remember the feeling I had the first time I saw it. Yes, I remember how all-out awesome the dinosaurs were. And yes, I remember thinking, “If they were still here, I’d totally like to ride a T-Rex.”

The dinosaurs are, dare I say, even better in 3D. Adam Hawboldt

There’s jabbering mathematician Ian (Goldblum), paleontologists Alan and Ellie (Sam Neill and Laura Dern), two of Hammond’s grandchildren, and a lawyer named Martin Ferrero (Donald Gennaro.)

The group takes a helicopter to the island and behold, firsthand, the wonders of the Brachiosaurus,

But as for the rest of the movie, all I really remember is an island, Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern.

And there’s a reason for that, but more on it in a minute. For now, let’s quickly refresh our memories of what happens in Jurassic Park.

Basically, it all takes place in an island theme park off the coast of

the Velociraptor, and the mighty T-Rex. Things are okay, until the dinosaurs start to run amok.

Then all hell breaks loose and people die. That’s the basic gist of the movie.

The dinosaurs are, dare I say, even better in 3D. Seriously, if you’re anything like me and forget a lot of the action in the movie, there are parts that will make you jump out of your seat. Literally. Just wait and see.

But remember when I told you I’d get back to the reason I forgot most of the movie? Well, here it is: the characters in it are terrible.

There’s no substance to them.

Ultimately, they serve no more of a purpose than all those teenagers

Jurassic park Steven Spielberg Starring Jeff Goldblum, Laura Dern, Sam Neill + Richard Attenborough Directed by

127 minutes | PG

who were murdered in the Halloween movies.

But the 3D is pretty cool.

Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@AdamHawboldt ahawboldt@verbnews.com

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The Great Lost Film

Wake in Fright: an Ozploitation movie that hits harder than a kangaroo kick by adam hawboldt

A

nyone who has seen Deliverance knows there are two scenes that stand out, creepy and stark, against the backdrop of that classic film.

The first is of the inbred boy and dueling banjos. The other is when Ned Beatty’s character is told he looks “just like a hawg” before being raped and forced to “squeal like a pig.”

If you found those scenes hard to watch you’re going to have to watch Wake in Fright through barely parted fingers, because Deliverance is tame and mild in comparison.

Filmed in 1971, this art-house Ozploitation movie has quite the history. Upon being released, it was summarily bashed by Australian critics because of the savage, horrifying and vicious way it depicted life in the Outback. The movie had a short run in theatres and was forgotten by most. Eventually, however, as visceral movies of this ilk tend to do, Wake in Fright began to achieve a cult-like status.

Problem was, nobody knew where to get a copy. The film was so scarce that it became known as “Australia’s great lost film.” In 2004, after 10 years of searching, editor Anthony Buckley found the negatives of the film in Pittsburgh, in a shipping container labelled “For Destruction.”

Photo: Courtesy of Drafthouse Films

Directed by Canadian-born Ted Kotcheff (North Dallas Forty), Wake the Fright is about a Sydney-born school teacher named John Grant (Gary Bond). The film opens with a beautiful shot that shows us Grant’s situation. The camera focuses in on a one-room schoolhouse, then pans 360 degrees to show the chasm of desert nothingness surrounding the building.

Wake in Fright is one of those movies that sticks to you like a parasite long after the final credits have rolled.

Adam Hawboldt

The film was digitally restored and rereleased in 2009.

So why all the muss and fuss over a film that was universally panned upon its initial release? Because it’s an awesome movie, that’s why. A serious, unflinching look at existentialism, change and masculinity.

This is no place for a city slicker like John, so when the school year ends, he heads to see his girlfriend in Sydney.

Along the way he stops in a town called “the Yabba.” This is where the movie, and John’s life, go off the rails.

In the Yabba, he gets hooked into a gambling session and winds

Wake in fright Ted Kotcheff Starring Gary Bond, Jack Thompson, Donald Pleasence, Sylvia Kay + Al Thomas Directed by

114 minutes | TBA

up losing all his money. Stuck in this tough-as-boot-leather town, John makes friends with a local named Tim (Al Thomas), Tim’s promiscuous wife (Sylvia Kay), a couple of Tim’s wild drunken mates (Jack Thompson and Peter Whittle) and a drunken local doctor named Doc Tydon (Donald Pleasence.)

What happens after that, well, let’s just say there is a whole lot of drinking, brawling, rape and a midnight kangaroo hunt that is 100% fully and completely real. So if you’re an animal lover, rest assured you’ve been forewarned.

Actual animal slaughter aside, Wake in Fright is one of those movies that sticks to you like a parasite long after the final credits have rolled. The brutality, the honesty, the uncomfortable and aggressive

nature of the flick. The slow-burn of the story as John walks the dirty path that leads to himself.

They sure don’t make movies like Wake in Fright anymore.

Wake in Fright will open at the Regina Public Library on April 11; see reginalibrary.ca for show times.

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crossword canadian criss-cross 27. Wrath 28. Lens cover 29. Hush money 32. Showing favouritism 36. Nighttime, in poetry 37. Treat with contempt 39. Needing to be paid 40. Food 42. Fuss 43. Extremely urgent 44. Close acquaintance 46. Angry protest 48. Artist’s mishap 49. Tailors’ joints 50. Part farthest from the middle 51. Bacon’s partner

DOWN 1. Concealment 2. Units of a curling game 3. Hole in one 4. Dreamily thoughtful 5. Group of spectators 6. Light breeze 7. Slay 8. Brews tea 9. Like a candle 11. Animal trap 12. “For Heaven’s ___!”

14. Walked on 17. 1300 hours 20. Peddlers peddle them 21. Be filled with longing 24. Arched bone

26. Nearly certain sudoku answer key 28. Go on a drinking spree A 29. Hamburger meat 30. Raises children 31. Before it is too late 32. Jet engine housing 33. Everyday expressions 34. Subtle emanations 35. Suggestive look 38. Military training group B 41. Bit of bird food 43. Compete in cars 45. Remind constantly 47. Score points in cribbage

2 3 6 4 7 1 8 5 9 7 4 5 3 9 8 1 6 2 9 1 8 2 5 6 7 3 4 4 2 3 7 8 5 9 1 6 6 7 9 1 4 3 2 8 5 5 8 1 6 2 9 4 7 3 8 9 2 5 3 7 6 4 1 1 5 4 8 6 2 3 9 7 3 6 7 9 1 4 5 2 8

ACROSS 1. Fill to overflowing 5. They are not gentleman 9. Flinch slightly 10. Unruly demonstrations 12. Break one’s heart 13. Place in the right position 15. Neck bone 16. Female pig 18. A little way away 19. Range of vision 20. Forecast word 22. One who plays in the NHL 23. Carve letters on 25. Became less painful

3 9 4 6 1 7 8 2 5 7 1 8 5 2 4 3 9 6 5 6 2 9 8 3 4 7 1 8 3 7 2 4 6 5 1 9 9 2 1 7 3 5 6 4 8 6 4 5 8 9 1 7 3 2 4 8 9 3 5 2 1 6 7 2 7 3 1 6 8 9 5 4 1 5 6 4 7 9 2 8 3

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© walter D. Feener 2012

Horoscopes April 5 – April 11 Aries March 21–April 19

Leo July 23–August 22

Sagittarius November 23–December 21

Choices will confront you at every turn this week, Aries. Be very careful what you choose: some of these options could have negative ramifications.

Have you been feeling stressed lately, Leo? If so, let off some steam. Go out, have a few wobbly-pops, and have some fun — for now.

If you are single and see someone who catches your eye this week, be bold and say hello, Sagittarius. If you’re not single, beware of temptation.

Taurus April 20–May 20

Virgo August 23–September 22

Capricorn December 22–January 19

Gossiping busybodies will be swirling all around you this week, Taurus. Try your best to tune them out, or else prepare to be annoyed.

If you’re having a hard time following a path you’ve chosen, don’t quit, Virgo. Yes, it may be bumpy but the trip will be worthwhile.

You may be coming to a crossroads in your life, Capricorn. Don’t get bent out of shape trying to decide which road to take. Trust your gut.

Gemini May 21–June 20

Libra September 23–October 23

Aquarius January 20–February 19

Feeling confused lately, Gemini?

Been faced with a load of options — all unfamiliar? Don’t worry — things are going to clear up in the days ahead.

Is there an old friend you haven’t spoken to in a while, Libra? If so, make the time to get in touch this week.

There may be big news you need to hear.

Others’ attitudes towards you may be changing this week, Aquarius.

You may not know why, but here’s a hint: perhaps it isn’t them that’s different.

Cancer June 21–July 22

Scorpio October 24–November 22

Pisces February 20–March 20

You will form a new relationship this week. It may be romantic, it may be friendly, heck, it may even be professional. But whatever it is, embrace it.

Travel, travel, travel: that should be your mantra this week, Scorpio. Whether it’s the physical act or the planning, it doesn’t matter. Just do it.

Don’t get too handsy with people this week. Contrary to what your friend Tina may say, it’s not nice if it’s not asked for.

sudoku 3 4 6 1 5 7 8 3 6 9 3 4 8 7 5 1 2 7 5 4 6 9 1 2 4 8 3 5 2 7 9 1 6 9 2 8

crossword answer key

A

3 6 4 7 5 9 4 9 1 1 5 3 4 8 5 1 6 7 2 8 1 6 9 3 8 2 5 7 4 6 2 9 7 3 2 8

B

19 Apr 5 – Apr 11 /verbregina

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