Verb Issue S214 (Nov.2-8, 2012)

ISSUE #214 – NOVEMBER 2 TO NOVEMBER 8

ARTS

DOUG CHISHOLM Documenting the SK GeoMemorial project KILL COUNT The Balconies knock ‘em dead FLIGHT + TRISHNA Films reviewed­

CULTURE

MUSIC

SASKATOON

AUTHENTIC OBSESSION METRIC

WITH

PHOTO: COURTESY OF BRANTLEY GUTIERREZ

CONTENTS

NEWS + OPINION

CULTURE

ENTERTAINMENT

Q + A WITH THE BALCONIES THEIR NAMES LIVE ON Doug Chisholm and the stories behind the GeoMemorials. 4 / LOCAL

LISTINGS

Talking Kill Count. 12 / Q + A

Local music listings for November 2 through November 10. 18 / LISTINGS

BACK ON THE ROAD AGAIN

FLIGHT + TRISHNA

Talking with Julie Doiron. 13 / ARTS

The latest movie reviews. 20 / FILM

PIANO MAN

NIGHTLIFE PHOTOS

Jeffery Straker hunts down Glenn Gould’s piano. 13 / ARTS

We visit 302 and Diva’s.

22-25 / NIGHTLIFE

DESIGN LEAD / ROBERTA BARRINGTON DESIGN & PRODUCTION / BRITTNEY GRAHAM CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS / PATRICK CARLEY, PATRICIO DEL RIO, ADAM HAWBOLDT + ALEX J MACPHERSON

Adventurer “Two-Gun” Cohen’s adventures started right here. 6 / LOCAL

METRIC

Metric searches for something real.

14 / COVER

EDITORIAL PUBLISHER / PARITY PUBLISHING EDITOR IN CHIEF / RYAN ALLAN MANAGING EDITOR / JESSICA PATRUCCO STAFF WRITERS / ADAM HAWBOLDT + ALEX J MACPHERSON

ART & PRODUCTION

GUNS A’ BLAZIN’

ON THE COVER:

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BUSINESS & OPERATIONS

PAY PALS

GOURMET PASSIONS

ON THE BUS

Equalization payments can only go so far. 8 / EDITORIAL

The Hollows serves up great sustainable food. 16 / FOOD + DRINK

Weekly original comic illustrations

by Elaine M. Will. 26 / COMICS

COMMENTS

MUSIC

GAMES + HOROSCOPES

Here’s your say on surviving a zombie apocalypse. 10 / COMMENTS

Neil Young, Leonard Cohen + Eric Church. 17 / MUSIC

Canadian criss-cross puzzle, horoscopes, and Sudoku. 27 / 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 ANDREW FERGUSON

2 NOV 2 – NOV 8 VERB MAGAZINE

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THEIR NAMES LIVE ON Doug Chisholm and the SK GeoMemorials. BY ALEX J MACPHERSON

O

n May 30, 2003, Doug Chisholm climbed into his floatplane, the same Cessna 180 he has been flying since 1978. After taking off from La Ronge he turned northeast and flew low over the sweeping expanse of Lac La Ronge. He was bound for MacPherson Bay, an inlet on Iskwatikan Lake, one of the countless bodies of water scattered across the northern landscape.

Chisholm has logged more than 5,000 hours behind the controls and never tires of watching the boreal forest pass beneath his wings.

Northern Saskatchewan is a place of limitless beauty. All the better for the task at hand, he thought.

After the Cessna touched down, Chisholm stepped out onto the shore.

He screwed a bronze plaque onto a rocky spur while his passenger for the day played a lament on the bagpipes.

After taking some pictures, shooting some video, and observing a moment of silence, the two men departed.

Chisholm has installed hundreds of similar plaques, observed hundreds of moments of silence. They are permanent reminders that initially commemorated only the men and women from Saskatchewan killed serving in the Second World War, though now the program has expanded to include individuals who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

No one asked Chisholm to devote his life to cataloguing and commemorating the thousands of GeoMemorials that litter northern Saskatch-

ewan. He does it because he thinks it is important. “It’s about honour,” he says simply.

Doug Chisholm was born in Scotland and came to Canada with his family a few years later. By 1975 he was living in La Ronge, chasing a career in aviation. Then as now, northern flying is tricky business. The hours are long and the pay insignificant, but Chisholm persevered. In 1978, he bought a floatplane, the silver 1954 Cessna he flies today. He couldn’t know it, but the purchase would have lasting ramifications. “I’d be flying around

recognizing a site as a GeoMemorial but rarely paying much attention to them. Then, in 1997, a cold call changed everything. “I was looking for something new to do, and I was interested in taking pictures from my airplane,” he explains. “I got a phone call from a fellow I knew asking if I’d take a picture of an island out on Lac La Ronge.” Chisholm agreed and soon learned the island in question was named for Pilot Officer James Soutar, an airman from Shaunavon killed when his Short Stirling plunged into the North Sea on August 18, 1942. Soutar’s sister was dying of cancer and yearning

Each site is different. They’re just like the individuals that once lived…all different…

DOUG CHISHOLM

the north and every once in awhile I’d come upon a plaque on a shoreline someplace that would explain the origin of the name,” he says. “It would be in memory of someone from the Second World War who had lost their life.

I always kind of knew about it, but it wasn’t real common knowledge.”

Chisholm had stumbled across the province’s GeoMemorials, geographic features that were named for Saskatchewan casualties killed during the Second World War. He flew like this for years, occasionally

for a glimpse of the island named for her brother. Too frail to travel, she arranged for Chisholm to make the trip.

“I went out and circled the island and I took these pictures,” he recalls.

“They weren’t sure if there was a plaque there or not, so when I circled the island that day I landed. There was a cabin there. I talked to the owner and he said, ‘I don’t know if there’s a plaque but we’ll go look.’

We got in the boat and went around the island. I got some sand from the shore, some leaves from the trees, CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE »

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF DOUG CHISHOLM

took some pictures, and sent this package.” His curiosity piqued, Chisholm began looking at the names covering his maps. He made phone calls and looked for information wherever he could find it. “It took me quite awhile, going from office to office,” he says. “People would go, ‘I don’t know, I don’t know,’ and transfer me to somebody else.” Eventually, a helpful bureaucrat agreed to give Chisholm a copy of the master list.

He was shocked when he opened the envelope: the list included more than 3,800 names. “When I looked at that and reflected on that, then I knew I had something to do,” Chisholm says simply. “Then I knew I wanted to pursue this.”

More than 45,000 Canadians perished during the Second World War. In 1947, the federal government elected to name geographic features for those killed overseas.

Responsibility for the program was transferred to the provinces in 1960; in Saskatchewan, it evolved under the leadership of Abraham Bereskin, provincial director of surveying. Today, there are 3,940 such sites across the province, each named for a resident killed while serving the Commonwealth.

Chisholm, of course, knew none of this. When he began his research, information was all but impossible to come by. Even the official list was vague. “All I had was the name of the individual, his rank, the casu-

alty date, and the location of the geographic feature,” he explains. “It didn’t say his hometown; it didn’t say how old he was; it didn’t say where he was buried — none of that stuff.” He began by writing to legion branches and anyone else he thought might know more about the individuals on the list. He even photographed cenotaphs to cross-reference them with the master list. People were eager to help and soon he had enough information to begin a card file, one card for each of the servicemen and women on the list.

At the same time, he began taking a camera with him whenever he went flying. “I’ve photographed just about all of them,” he says, adding that the project has consumed about 1,200 hours of flying time and countless thousands of dollars. Chisholm has never received a government grant; families sometimes support the project, but most of the funds are his own.

He is modest about this, although he recognizes the impact of his work. “I would meet men and women that had lost a brother in the Second World War, meet them and meet their kids, and they would say, “Dad would never talk about the war.” All of a sudden, they started to open up. The people would ask questions and they would reflect and tears would come to their eyes, but the stories would start to emerge. It became an opportunity to deal with it.”

Chisholm receives far fewer requests for information these days, partly

because so much is now available online, and partly because he published a book, an attempt to share his research with the public.

In 2001, the Canadian Plains Research Center published Their Names Live On, a collection of 78 stories Chisholm unearthed. One of them is about Ian Edgar MacPherson, the same man named on the plaque Chisholm installed that day in 2003.

MacPherson, who was my greatuncle, was born in Regina. He graduated from the Royal Military College in 1940 and spent that summer enduring the Blitz in London. Attached to the Indian Army, MacPherson sailed for the east that autumn. His ship was torpedoed off the Irish coast and he narrowly escaped drowning.

He reached India in December, 1940, and spent almost two years training in Karachi with the 7th Gurkha Rifles and complaining in letters home about the lack of action and excitement.

After Pearl Harbour, MacPherson’s unit was dispatched to defend Rangoon against the Japanese invasion of Burma. He served during the long retreat out of Burma and spent much of 1942 in the jungle with a clandestine group known as V Force. Later, he was recruited for the Second Chindit Expedition by Orde Wingate, and spent the spring of 1944 embroiled in some of the war’s most bitter fighting.

He was killed in action near Mawlu on April 18, 1944. MacPherson was mentioned in dispatches

three times; he was only 23 years old when he died.

“Each site is different,” Chisholm says of the more than 2,000 GeoMemorials he has photographed and researched. “They’re just like the individuals that once lived and served our country. They were all individuals, they were all different, and each

site is different and unique.” Just like the individuals whose names will live on.

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5 NOV 2 – NOV 8 @VERBSASKATOON

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GUNS A’ BLAZIN’

PHOTO: COURTESY OF ADAM HAWBOLDT / VERB MAGAZINE

Adventurer Morris “Two-Gun” Cohen is remembered in Saskatchewan. BY ADAM HAWBOLDT

T

he Two Gun Quiche House is a gangsterthemed restaurant in Saskatoon’s Riversdale neighbourhood. Its colourful walls are adorned with black and white pictures of crooks and wiseguys from bygone eras — noteworthy individuals like Bugsy Siegel, Lucky Luciano and John Gotti.

And to people of a certain bent (those who dig true crime, watch gangster movies and/or read history), all of these names and photos should be vaguely familiar.

All except one.

At the far end of the restaurant, on a pillar facing the kitchen, there’s a picture, from the shoulders up, of a man. This photo is black and white and faded. And in it the man’s head is cocked slightly to the left.

“Who’s that?” I ask Bill Mathews, the owner establishment.

“That,” he answers me, looking up from where he’s sitting, “is TwoGun Cohen.”

According to Two-Gun Cohen by Daniel S. Levy, Cohen was born in

1887 to Orthodox Jewish parents in Poland. At a young age his family moved to London where he stayed until the age of 12, when he was pinched for pick pocketing and sent to reform school.

Five years later, after Cohen had graduated, his family — still wary of the lad’s troublesome ways — sent him across the Atlantic to work on a farm near Wapella, Saskatchewan.

grifter, pickpocket, pimp, card shark, real estate broker and barker for the Greater Norris & Rowe Circus. Eventually, Cohen’s travels brought him to Saskatoon. And it was there his life would forever be changed.

One evening in 1911, Cohen entered the Alberta Restaurant — a chop suey joint/gambling den on

[Cohen] trained Sun [Yat-sen’s] troops in boxing and shooting.

ADAM HAWBOLDT

His parents reckoned some good honest labour, clean living, and fresh prairie air might help set their son on the straight and narrow.

They reckoned wrong. Sure, Cohen worked the land for a while, but manual labour wasn’t for him. So, not long after arriving, Cohen took off to travel the Old West. He worked his way around, making a living as a

20th Street. Cohen was a regular there, so much so that the owner, Mah Sam, would often stake Cohen a meal if he was down on his luck.

From time to time, Mah Sam would even help Cohen out with a few dollars for gambling purposes.

But on that fateful night in 1911, it was Cohen who would be doing the helping.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE »

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PHOTO: COURTESY OF ST. MARTIN’S PRESS

The moment Cohen walked into the Alberta Restaurant he knew something was wrong. Up near the counter his friend Mah Sam had a scared look on his face and was frantically trying to pull his beloved diamond ring off his finger.

There was only one other person in the restaurant and Cohen recognized the situation for what it was — a robbery. Unarmed, he approached the robber slowly, being careful not to alarm him. Then, when Cohen was close enough to lay hands on him, he let loose a savage punch and socked the robber on the jaw.

Down the crook went. And out.

Cohen quickly took the robber’s gun and gave the stolen cash back to Mah Sam. Once the robber got to his feet, Cohen gave him a kick or two in the backside and threw him out of the restaurant.

“You have to realize this was a different time than now,” says Randy Pshebylo, executive director of Riversdale Business Improvement District. “You have to go back to a time when discrimination was blatant, some would even say harsh.

So for a white guy to stand up for a

Chinese fellow like that, it was simply unheard of.”

Indeed it was. It was also an act of kindness Mah Sam would never forget. Not long after that night, Mah Sam — a staunch supporter of the Chinese nationalist cause — introduced Cohen to nationalist leader Sun Yat-sen, a revolutionary who was part of the movement that overthrew China’s Qing Dynasty in 1911. Following a stint in World War I, Cohen moved to China in 1922.

There he became Sun Yat-sen’s main bodyguard, and trained Sun’s troops in boxing and shooting. He also smuggled weapons, hung out with some of China’s chief political figures of the time, became a general in the army, and was named Chief of Chinese Intelligence.

It was also in China he picked up the nickname “Two-Gun.” After being shot in the arm during battle, Cohen trained himself to fire proficiently with both hands, and started carrying around two guns — one for each hand.

“He was quite the colourful character,” continues Pshebylo. “And to think, no matter how you spin the

story, it all started here … down on the 100-block of 20th Street, that day he stood up for Mah Sam.”

Sitting in the Two Gun Quiche House, not far from where Cohen’s saga began, I’m still staring at his picture on the wall. In it, Cohen’s brow hangs low, eyes glaring off into the distant.

“What a crazy life he led,” I say, wondering how a juvenile delinquent from Poland could end up in China, by way of Saskatchewan, at the helm of the Chinese army.

That’s when Bill tells me he heard they’re making a movie about Two Gun Cohen. And he’s right. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Rob Reiner (of A Few Good Men fame) and Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity) are in the process of making a film about Morris Cohen’s curious life.

And to think … it all started here in Saskatchewan.

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PHOTO: COURTESY OF TEDDSON

PAY PALS

Quebec’s abuse of equalization payments needs to stop.

A

h, Quebec. La belle province. Our sister to the east has quite a bit going for it, not the least of which is a pretty sweet racket that involves the rest of the country funneling money into it so that it can keep providing free in vitro fertilization and cheap day care to those who live within its borders.

Yep, this is thanks to the equalization payments in Canada. And while we think the program is a good one (and helping out people with their children is great), we also believe that Quebec has been taking advantage for far too long.

Equalization has been around for quite a while, and in 1957 our first formal system was introduced, whereby provinces with more money (“have” provinces) would give money to provinces with less money (“have-not” provinces). This was intended to create relatively comparable levels of public services for everyone in Canada, regardless of where they lived.

But in 2011-12, Quebec received $7.639 billion in transfer payments, more than every other “have not” province put together. And we don’t have a problem with “have not” provinces receiving help — hey, until 2009 Saskatchewan was on the receiving end of that money train.

What goes around comes around, and all that jazz.

What we do have a problem with, though, is Quebec’s steadfast abuse of the system. For lack of a better

word, it’s downright scandalous. See, whereas most provinces try to get into the black, Quebec doesn’t give a hot damn if it ever becomes a “have” province.

You see, Quebec provides a lot of great services to its citizen, such as the lowest university tuition in all of Canada, publicly funded day cares, subsidized private secondary school and free IVF (a treatment that can cost as much as $15,000 a round). That’s nice, but the fact is Quebec is a “have not” province. And as Policy Options editor L. Ian MacDonald notes, these are services that even the “have” provinces can’t afford to provide.

Since the formal system of equalizations was introduced in the ‘50s, Quebec hasn’t even come close to wading into “have” waters, mostly because government after Quebecois government would rather let our tax dollars bail them out than improve their own economy. Sacre bleu! That is pure federalist crazy talk! In fact, within 24 hours of taking office, Quebec’s recently elected Marois government announced that they have no intentions of developing the province’s shale-gas industry.

Hold on a second. Quebec has natural gas they can tap into and, perhaps, one day become a “have” province? It sure does.

But because Quebec stands to lose about 50 cents in equalization payments for every dollar it makes in resource revenue, they’ve decided improving their economy isn’t worth

the effort. The Quebec government should have the common decency not to take advantage of our tax dollars. And if they absolutely must have an extra incentive to do so, perhaps they should look to the Maritimes provinces for inspiration.

Newfoundland and Labrador found itself in a similar situation not so long ago, where their economy was in shambles yet the cost of developing their offshore oil reserves would mean plenty of work without much gain. But instead of just giving up, like Quebec, they negotiated a special deal with the federal government to continue to receive full equalization payments while they built up their oil industry. It may seem at first like they’re doubledipping (and they basically were), but in just three years they had oil rigs up and running and became a “have” province for the first time in Canadian history.

We think something similar should happen in Quebec. But for now, if you need to park your kids in day care, you know where to go.

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

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COMMENTS

ON TOPIC: Last week we asked how you would survive a zombie apocalypse on the prairies. Here's what you had to say:

Text yo thoughtsur to 881 VE R B 8372

– Very good zombie article. What a fad craze phenomenon. I have an idea I feel could capitalize. Expect an email on the subject shortly.

– I’d get a small group of people and take over cabela for gears and weapon and Walmart beside it for food and necessity

– The zombies brought Sandy

– Hi there just wanted to say for the zombie apocalypse as good of a plan as an island is... Zombies can walk underwater.... Maybe not to that depth though

– Zombie apocalypse! I thought I was supposed to be freaking out about the mayan calendar ending or something.

– I don’t think leaving a populated area is a good idea. Then if you’re surrounded there’s no one to show up at the last minute and save you!

– Island to survive zombies attack is stupid they can walk under water dumbass. And if the cold wont kill em they can walk over ice and eat ur brains in the winter

– I’m more scared of Brad Wall than the zombie apocalypse

– Halloween SH*t see Zombies all the F**kn time! After hours on Broadway

OFF TOPIC – Shame on Kelly Block for wanting to cut health care for imigrants these people come to our country with very little money in hopes for a better life!

In response to “The Unwelcome Wagon,” Editorial page, #212 (October 19, 2012)

– So stockpile old people for bait.

Got it.

– Love Plants and Animals! Muah can’t wait !!!! XD – I bet the cold here breeds hardier, fast-moving, super smart zombies.

We’re F**ked. Just give up now

– Can zombies smell cuz if they can theyl just track u like a dog no mater where ur hidin

In response to “The End of That,” Cover story, #213 (October 26, 2012)

SOUND OFF – Alot of negitive feedback on Don Atchison winning the election shame on you! Mr Atchison has done more for our city than any other mayor!

– Now is about the time when the food bank starts hoarding food for the Xmas hampers. Hoarding food! while children are hungry just so everyone can play themselves for a few days at Xmas time thats it not like that here.

– 100 yrs ago the buffalo exterminated Indians were starving on Reserves. The Indian agents handed out flour with maggots and rancid lard. Good enough for starving Indians they thought. The food bank is just the same Indian agent thinking in a wealthier soci

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE »

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ety. “Start seeing the hampers as half full” Yeah the Indian agents said sh*t like that too.

– The food bank is not about enough to address the need. The food bank is about just enough to address the guilt. Does a truly charitable society need Charities?

– If your landlord is a little “unusual” you’re living DOWNtown!

– Loved the downtown shoutout for the comic! Sweet. Look forward to that thing every week!

– Oh! That family that got ripped off 2 mnths rent by a phony landlord! We need landlord school and a landlord registry people can check.

– With the damage and intensity from hurricane sandy we are reminded that God is still in charge.

– Thinking of friends and fam in southern Ontario/eastern seaboard and especially in NYC. Thoughts and prayers go out to those experiencing Sandy firsthand especially the first responders who are on the scene in the heart of the mess. God bless

– Sandy out east, earthquakes in BC. Pretty glad to live in the middle of the country right now!

NEXT WEEK: What do you think about Quebec’s use of transfer payments?

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.

11 NOV 2 – NOV 8 /VERBSASKATOON

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PHOTOS: COURTESY OF COURTNEY LEE LIP

KILL COUNT

The Balconies knock ‘em dead with their new EP.

BY ALEX J MACPHERSON

I

magine three classicallytrained musicians. Now imagine a dirty, sweaty indie rock band fond of smashed guitars and bloody fingertips. Mash the two together and you have the Balconies, one of Ottawa’s most promising exports. Made up of siblings Jacquie and Stephen Neville and drummer Liam Jaeger, the Balconies are a force to be reckoned with. I caught up with Neville to talk about, well, plenty of stuff.

Alex J MacPherson: This is the inevitable question, so let’s get it out of the way. How does the classical angle figure in to your music?

Stephen Neville : Stylistically, I don’t think it has a huge impression on our music, but it certainly has an effect on the way we interact as a group, which really affects how we write together. Because we have the same education background, when we aren’t writing and starting to brainstorm, we use the same musical language to communicate ideas. It puts us on the same footing.

AJM: Which leads into Kill Count.

It sort of feels less like a collection of songs than it does one piece of music with different movements.

SN: We think about that idea, but I’ve never put it so eloquently. We definitely think about having smooth

transitions and making sure that, tonally, the keys lead into each other properly … That is something a classical artist would think about.

some of our live shows. His impression of how it should sound was as we were onstage … He’s not trying to change the sound of the band; he was enhancing the sound of the band.

AJM: What’s the appeal of playing as a three-piece?

AJM: You are renowned for your live show. You even called it a freakshow. What can people expect from the Balconies?

SN: We’ve always been fascinated with three-piece outfits. It’s a chal-

Not only is it a freakshow onstage, it’s also really concise musical songs.

STEPHEN NEVILLE

SN: I think the song itself, when we’re doing live shows, the structure is still there. We’re not deviating from anything integral, but at the same time we’re very active onstage. There is lots of movement and we try to keep it fresh — nothing scripted or rehearsed onstage. We’re not changing things on a massive level live, but we’re definitely thinking about that.

lenge, everyone having complete output in order to fill up the sound.

We’ve really been drawn to the classic three-piece outfits, like Cream, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, the Police, and newer groups such as Nirvana and Green Day. All those groups, it’s always really been about the song — that’s something we really care about. Not only is it a freakshow onstage, it’s also really concise musical songs.

The Balconies November 8 @ The Odeon $24.50 @ The Odeon Box Office

AJM: With some bands, the idea of the song gets lost behind the veneer of production. How did you skirt that trap?

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SN: I think it has a lot to do with how we worked with Jon Drew, who produced the record. He heard us hashing out the new songs, came to

@MacPhersonA amacpherson@verbnews.com

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BACK ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Julie Doiron can’t stop touring.

BY ALEX J MACPHERSON

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

PHOTO: COURTESY OF PETER CUNNINGHAM

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 9 @ Amigos Cantina $10 (ticketedge.ca)

PIANO MAN

Jeffery Straker, Glenn Gould, and a very special instrument.

BY ALEX J MACPHERSON

J

effery Michael Straker is excited about Glenn Gould’s piano. Which is strange, considering that Gould was renowned for his Bach interpretations, while Straker’s rollicking piano stomps bear little resemblance to anything Johann Sebastian could have imagined. Nevertheless, Straker couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make Gould’s piano the heart of his latest record, Vagabond.

“It was flukey and lucky, yet easy,” Straker says, adding that Danny Michel, who produced the record, had

a contact at the CBC where Gould’s piano is stored. “Gould practiced on it, he performed a bit on it, and it’s not like Toronto is littered with his pianos — he didn’t have a lot of them and they’re not easy to find. It’s not really advertised that it’s there…but Danny really enabled this.”

Instrument choice is extraordinarily important in the recording studio. In Straker’s case, Gould’s piano set the tone for what became Vagabond, his most contemplative record to date. “To me this was the ultimate piano-playing experience,”

he says. “It laid this magical foundation for the rest of what we were trying to do.”

Straker’s sound is difficult to pin down. He had dabbled everything from cabaret and pop to piano-driven rock. But Vagabond surprised everyone, including Straker. “I knew with this effort I wanted things to sound different than they had before, because to me that’s a big reason why I keep making these things,” he says. “That said, having a different approach to capturing the piano sounds was great.

When I sat back at the end I thought, ‘Wow, this is different for me.’”

From “Birchbark Canoe,” the delicate ballad that opens the record, to “Myopia,” a perfect combination of cagey orchestration and pop

aesthetics, Vagabond highlights Straker’s commitment to making fully-realized tunes. It is his strongest and most introspective batch of songs to date, an apt demonstration of how experience and confidence combine to create something greater than the sum of its parts. “My record Step Right Up in 2008 was very much outward-looking,” he says. “The last one turned the lens inward a bit, but this one really turned it in. There’s a lot of honesty in it. That’s what I hoped people would hear, anyway.”

And even though Straker, a man of apparently limitless ambition, has plans to tour Vagabond extensively before writing another record, he will always remember the time Glenn Gould’s piano came into his life.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF CALVIN FEHR

Jeffery Straker November 10 @ The Refinery $15/20 @ http://ontheboards.ca

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SYNTHETICA Metric’s relentless search for something real. BY ALEX J MACPHERSON

M

etric have always looked to the horizon. They have been cited as champions of the DIY ethic, a band unafraid of charting a course around crumbling record labels and outdated expectations.

Some see Emily Haines, Jimmy Shaw, Joules Scott-Key, and Joshua Winstead as the vanguards of a new form of music, others see them as the voice of a generation.

But if their earlier efforts pushed the envelope of what rock music can be, their latest album, Synthetica, turns the lens inward. It feels like looking into a mirror.

“I know that was a real personal thing for [Emily],” guitarist and producer Jimmy Shaw says of the mirror analogy. “A lot of what she wrote about in the past, I think, was about external observation. It was about looking at the world and examining the world and looking at it with a critical eye and trying to piece together what she’s seeing, trying to interpret what’s going on around her.” This is the essence of Fantasies, which was released in 2009. But unlike Fantasies, which took Metric into new territory both musically and intellectually, Synthetica rarely leaves Haines’ darkened bedroom. “I think this time around something happened for her where she realized that the internal is actually the same as the external,” Shaw says. “What you see externally is basically just a reflection of what’s going on internally.”

Shaw describes Synthetica as a record about the time we live in, a

little slice of history. It covers a lot of territory — some of it familiar, some of it not — but it always returns to the malaise, the alienation and the isolation, spawned by the rising tide of technology, the terrifying speed of information, and our feeble attempts to understand what it all means. “It’s a part of everyone’s daily consciousness,” Shaw says. “Like, what the f*ck is Facebook, exactly?” Haines addresses the same idea on “Breathing

for music fans across the country; well before Arcade Fire catapulted Canadian indie rock into the spotlight, Metric were converting people with their cagey rock sensibilities and unwavering love of questioning the status quo. Since Old World Underground, they have expanded the scope of their ideas, as well as their reputation as a first-rate rock band.

Synthetica is their most consistent, cohesive, and coherent record to date.

[Y]ou can talk about why something works or doesn’t work forever, but ultimately music is like its own language…

JIMMY SHAW

Underwater”: “They were right when they said / We were breathing underwater / Out of place all the time.”

At its core, Metric is the creative partnership of Emily Haines and Jimmy Shaw. Haines was born in New Delhi and grew up in northeastern Ontario.

Shaw was born in England and grew up in Bellevue before decamping to New York for three years to attend the Juilliard School. The pair met in the late 1990s; by 2003, they had recruited Joules Scott-Key and Joshua Winstead and released Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? The record became a rallying point

But Shaw says it began life as little more than a desire to experiment.

“The thing I really loved about the process of making this record as opposed to other ones is that I knew I was looking for something that I really hadn’t heard before,” he says.

“I didn’t know what it was but I knew that something was going to happen.” Metric decided to work from the outside in. They built a wall of analog synthesizers — Shaw dislikes working with computers — and began to make noise. “There was a moment when what happened sonically just sort of congealed and locked together,” Shaw recalls. “I remember looking at Liam [O’Neil, who engiCONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE »

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PHOTO: COURTESY OF JUSTIN BROADBENT

neered the record] and saying, ‘That’s the sound, that’s the sound of this record, that’s what’s going to happen, and we need to follow this.’ That was really cool — and we did.”

Synthetica emerged as a vaguely apocalyptic view of the world today.

Packed with recurring themes (“I’m just as f*cked up as they say / I can’t fake the daytime”), and tinged with

PHOTO: COURTESY OF JUSTIN BROADBENT

a sense of foreboding (“Hangman / We played double dutch with a hand grenade”), it feels like an attempt to counter the rise of the cheap and the disposable, to make something permanent and lasting. This, Shaw points out, is easy to say. “I remember driving back from a show [one night],” he says, laughing. “We were listening to the radio and a song came on, a song from the late ‘70s or something like that. The lyrics were hilarious. It was like, light, laser, disco show, trying to be futuristic. At the time, those words referenced something that was so futuristic. Now it’s so incredibly dated and hilarious. I wondered at that moment whether

all the concepts and the sort of malaise and confusion that is portrayed in Synthetica [might], in fifteen years, be the most ridiculously passé thing to think about.”

Whether or not Synthetica can capture the feelings of a generation remains to be seen. What isn’t in question is the band’s mastery of the rock song. The first single, “Youth Without Youth,” is classic Metric: spiky guitars, a pulsating, hypnotic synthesizer, and Haines’ voice. “Breathing Underwater,” on the other hand, casts one of Haines’ best vocals against a repetitive indiepop guitar lick. When asked about writing Synthetica, Shaw struggles to frame his response. “I try not to think about it a lot,” he admits. “When my ears tell me that the song needs work, the song needs work. When my ears tell me the song is done, the song is done. I feel like there are a lot of conversations that happen about why, and I tend to try and stay as far away from those conversations as possible. I feel like you can conceptualize, you can rationalize, you can talk about why something works or doesn’t work forever, but ultimately music is like its own language and it’s about music.”

Ultimately, Synthetica is a record about fighting dehumanization. “The thing I’m actually most proud of is that what it does is it inspires people to live the life they want,” Shaw says of the band he built. “It inspires people to move and take action and not be lazy and not

be passive. Emily and I have actually done that with this band.”

The last track on Synthetica is called “Nothing But Time.” It is the redemptive closer. Over a long coda of pulsating guitars and kaleidoscopic synthesizers, Haines sings: “I wanted to be part of something / I’ve got nothing but time / So the future is mine.”

This, more than anything, is what Metric is. And it’s what they hope everyone can be. “You know,” Shaw says. “I feel that people are actually inspired by that — and that changes the way people approach their own lives.”

Metric November 26 @ Brandt Centre (the only tour stop in Saskatchewan) 42.50+ @ Ticketmaster Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

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Photography courtesy of Adam Hawboldt.

GOURMET PASSIONS The Hollows prides itself on sustainability and great food.

BY ADAM HAWBOLDT

P

assion,” said Oprah Winfrey, “is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.”

And yes, I just quoted Oprah. I know, that’s terrible. But I have good reason. See, when you sit down to talk to Kyle Michael — the chef who co-owns The Hollows along with fellow chef Christie Peters — the first thing you’ll notice is the passion he exudes. Not manic-Oprah passion, but genuine, honest passion and interest.

And not just for food, but for the restaurant and the environment and life in general. And to be honest, in this pre-packaged world it’s refreshing to see a bit of free-range attitude.

Sitting with Kyle one afternoon in the restaurant, he and I get to talking.

And the first topic that comes up is the building The Hollows is in.

Located on the corner of 19th Street West and Avenue C South, The Hollows resides where the old Golden Dragon once was. Christie and Kyle didn’t bother changing the décor when they opened, which has

resulted in a ‘50s chop-suey-joint vibe, and a very hip, retro-chic atmosphere.

I mention this to Kyle, who contains a wealth of information about the history of the building, and he tells me about things like why there’s a bandsaw in the kitchen, a drain in the floor in the basement, the numbered rooms

really, when’s the last time you saw an olive grow in Saskatchewan, or a wheel of parmesan cheese produced in the city? And for Kyle and Christie, it’s all about sustainability.

Currently the pair are working with a farm that grows a lot of their vegetables, and rears pigs and chickens for them. But this is a getand-give relationship. For example, when it comes time, they’ll go get the pig, butcher it with the bandsaw, and use every possible part of that animal in their food. Any leftovers are given back to the farm to be used as fertilizer, which will help grow food they’ll be using down the road.

Oh, and speaking of their food, the good chefs at The Hollows do a bang-up job! I had dropped by the night before to take advantage of their Thursday special: poutine and a pint for $10. Now, poutine is pretty standard restaurant fare these days, but The Hollows’ version was incredible. Featuring chicken gravy and Quebec cheese curds, I didn’t think this could get any better. Until I tried the truffle-infused mayo. Which I could easily have eaten with a spoon.

The Hollows features a delectable menu with an array of tantalizing options (and a breakfast poutine to boot), so head on down for some chill atmosphere and great food.

[The poutine featured] chicken gravy and Quebec cheese curds…

ADAM HAWBOLDT

upstairs, and the wooden crates strewn around the place.

From there the conversation veered to the environment, buying local, and sustainability. Sustainability: that’s what The Hollows are after. Sure, they buy local as much as possible. But

LET’S GO DRINKIN’ VERB’S MIXOLOGY GUIDE GIN TODDY

INGREDIENTS

With the cold months settling in, why not try a hot cocktail to take the edge off your winter blues? This is a new spin on an old classic.

A shot of dry gin 1/2 shot of lemon juice boiling water 1 tsp sugar cinnamon stick

The Hollows 334 Avenue C South | 652 1505

DIRECTIONS

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Bring water to a boil. Mix the gin, lemon juice and sugar in a brandy snifter (a wine glass also does the trick). Add the boiling water, then stir the mixture.

Garnish with a cinnamon stick.

@AdamHawboldt ahawboldt@verbnews.com

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MUSIC

NEXT WEEK

COMING UP

NEIL YOUNG

LEONARD COHEN

ERIC CHURCH

@ CREDIT UNION CENTRE WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14 – $84.75+

@ CREDIT UNION CENTRE TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20 – $36.50+

@ CREDIT UNION CENTRE THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2013 – $46.25+

Ask most people who the greatest Canadian musician is, and chances are they’ll say Neil Young. And can you blame them? From his early days as a folk rocker, to his electric guitar days or his experiments in synthrock and country, “The Godfather of Grunge” has been nothing short of brilliant. As the website for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame puts it: Neil Young is “one of rock and roll’s greatest songwriters and performers” — ever. Whether he’s playing with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Buffalo Springfield, or doing his solo thing, this music icon has been entertaining crowds and garnering critical acclaim since the ‘60s. Don’t miss your chance to see a Canadian music legend when he comes to Saskatoon.

Tickets available at Ticketmaster.

Singer, songwriter, poet, novelist, Companion of the Order of Canada, member of the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, ordained Rinzai Zen Buddhist monk — and that’s just the tip of the Leonard Cohen iceberg. He’s the original Canadian Renaissance Man. The lyrical ladies’ man. The guy who Lou Reed once said belongs to the “highest and most influential echelon of songwriters.” And now this Montreal artist is coming to Saskatoon and bringing his deep, crackling bass voice and a catalogue of classic songs with him. So here’s your chance to see the songwriter who created such exquisite songs as “Suzanne,” “Hallelujah” and “Famous Blue Raincoat.” Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.

The year 2011 was a coming-out party of sorts for Eric Church. Sure, his previous two albums had gone gold in the U.S., and sure, he’d toured with the likes of Rascal Flatts, Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert. But when the country artist from North Carolina released his album, Chief, in July of 2011 his rising star skyrocketed into the spotlight. On the strength of songs like “Drink In My Hand,” “Homeboy” and “Springsteen,” the album went platinum. Any way you slice it, Chief was a game changer for Church, and he set out on tour late last month to show North America just how much game he has. So if you like your country with a splash of attitude, this is a concert you might not want to miss. Tickets available through Ticketmaster.

– By Adam Hawboldt

PHOTOS COURTESY OF: THE ARTIST / THE ARTIST / THE ARTIST

SASK MUSIC PREVIEW The JUNOs are coming to Saskatchewan, and the Awards Host Committee is looking for volunteers to help support the events of the 2013 JUNO Awards. And as a little thank you, you’ll be invited to a volunteer appreciation event! Interested? See junoawards.ca to see if you qualify, and how to sign up.

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NOVEMBER 2 » NOVEMBER 10 The most complete live music listings for Saskatoon.

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FRIDAY 2

HOUSE DJS / 6Twelve Lounge — DJs liven it up. 9pm / No cover THE CREEPSHOW / Amigos — This band from Ontario plays a unique brand of psychobilly and horror punk. 10pm / $12 (ticketedge.ca) SHELDON CORBETT / The Bassment — Come check out Corbett tickle the ivories. 4:30pm / No cover COLIN LINDEN / The Bassment — A Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter plays roots. 9pm / Cover $17/22 AUDIO/ROCKETRY, MILES AND THE BLANKS, BRITTANY BOOM, LITTLE CRIMINALS / Beaumont Film and Record — A stellar line up in a hot venue. 8pm / $5 AUSTEN ROADZ / Béily’s — It’s a highenergy dance party. 9pm / $5 RIPPERTRAIN / Buds — A local band playing southern metal. 9pm / $6 CAUGHT IN A DREAM / Crown and Rok — A Alice Cooper cover band. 8pm Halloween Bash / The Fez — Featuring Three Simple Words, Silo, Wild Uprising and Reynauld Nighthawks. 9pm / $10 DJ ECLECTIC / The Hose — DJ Eclectic pumps snappy beats. 8pm / No cover DJ SUGAR DADDY / Jax Niteclub — This crowd favourite breaks the latest and greatest tracks. 9pm / $5 cover ALEXIS NORMAND, ZOE FORTIER / Le Troupe du Jour Production Centre — Normand makes the music, Fortier supplies the art. 8pm / $15+ (306.565.8916) CO-OP FEST / The Odeon — Featuring The Seahags, Kirby Criddle, Slow Down, Molasses and Library Voices. 8pm / $18 (theodeon.ca) DJ BIG AYYY & DJ HENCHMAN / Outlaws — There’s no better party around. 8pm / $5; ladies in free before 11pm DOUG BOOMHOWER / Prairie Ink — Live jazz tunes. 8pm / No cover BUDDY HOLLY SHOW / Royal Canadian Legion Nutana Branch — A tribute to Buddy Holly. 8pm / $10 advance (McNally Robinson, the Legion); $15 door.

KELLY READ, WE’RE THORRY / Somewhere Else Pub — A night of hot tunes. 9pm / No cover JONES BOYS / Stan’s Place — A local act you won’t want to miss. 9pm / No cover DUELING PIANOS / Staqatto Piano Lounge — Featuring Terry Hoknes, Neil Currie and Brad King. 10pm / Cover $5 HALLOWEEN PART 3 / Tequila — Featuring DJs Mern, Kidalgo and Von Howard.

9pm RODNEY CARRINGTON / TCU Place — Part musician, part comedian. 8pm / $47.50 (www.tcutickets.ca) FISH AND BIRD / Vangelis — A folky fivepiece from B.C. 10pm / $5

SATURDAY 3

HOUSE DJS / 6Twelve — Resident DJs spin all night. 9pm / No cover A.C. NEWMAN / Amigos — This singersongwriter plays rocking power-pop music. 10pm / $15 (ticketedge.ca) AUSTEN ROADZ / Béily’s UltraLounge — Featuring Austen Roadz and DJ CTRL. 9pm / $5 THE THREE TROMBONES / The Bassment — Featuring Sarah Anderson, Colin Neufeld and Ross Ulmer. 9pm / $12/16 RIPPERTRAIN / Buds — A local band playing southern metal. 9pm / $6 CAUGHT IN A DREAM / Crown and Rok — An Alice Cooper cover band. 8pm HALLOWEEN BASH / The Fez — Featuring Three Simple Words, Silo and Six Blocks.

9pm / $10 DJ KADE / The Hose & Hydrant — Saskatoon’s own DJ lights it up. 8pm / No cover DJ SUGAR DADDY / Jax — This favourite breaks the latest tracks. 9pm / $5 ALEXIS NORMAND, ZOE FORTIER / Le Troupe du Jour Production Centre — Normand makes the music, Fortier supplies the art. 8pm / $15+ (306.565.8916) DAN MANGAN / The Odeon — He’s a Juno-awarding winning singer/songwriter. 6pm / $34.75 (www.ticketmaster.ca) DJ BIG AYYY & DJ HENCHMAN / Outlaws — There’s no better country rock party around. 8pm / $5 NO HURRY TRIO / Prairie Ink — Blending acoustic guitars and tight harmonies in this live musical event. 8pm / No cover KELLY READ, WE’RE THORRY / Somewhere Else Pub — A night of hot tunes. 9pm / No cover JONES BOYS / Stan’s Place — This is one local act you definitely won’t want to miss. 9pm / No cover DUELING PIANOS / Staqatto Piano Lounge — Terry Hoknes, Neil Currie and Brad King belt it out tunes. 10pm / $5

SASKATOON SYMPHONY MASTER SERIES / TCU Place — Featuring music inspired

by Shakespeare. 7:30pm / $18+ MODUS + DUBZ / Tequila — A night of hot tunes. 9pm / Cover TBD DEPARTURES, UNCLE BAD TOUCH, CANNON BROS / Vangelis — Three hot acts in one night! 10pm / $5

SUNDAY 4

A TRIBE CALLED RED / Amigos Cantina — Creators of “Pow Wow Step.” 10pm / Tickets $15 (www.ticketedge.ca) INDUSTRY NIGHT / Béily’s UltraLounge — Hosted by DJ Sugar Daddy, come down and party the night away. 9pm / $4; no cover for industry staff DJ KADE / The Hose & Hydrant — Saskatoon DJ lights it up with hot tunes. 8pm / No cover SUNDAY JAM / Vangelis Tavern — The Vangelis Sunday Jam offers great tunes from blues to rock and beyond. 7:30pm / No cover

MONDAY 5

METAL MONDAYS / Lydia’s Pub — If hard, heavy awesomeness is your thing, swing by, listen to some killer music and get in on some concert giveaways. 9pm HELLYEAH / The Odeon Events Centre / A heavy metal band from Texas. 7pm / $29.50+ (www.theodeon.ca) NIKOLAI CHOUBINE / U of S, Convocation Hall — Playing the works of Bach, Scriabin, Puccini and Rachmaninoff.

12:30pm / Admission by donation

TUESDAY 6

DIABLO / Buds — Come rock the night away. 9pm / $6 DJ SUGAR DADDY / The Double Deuce — Sugar Daddy is able to rock any party, so come on down and enjoy the night.

9:30pm / $4 cover VERB PRESENTS OPEN STAGE / Lydia’s Pub — The open stage at Lydia’s is a chance for bands, solo artists and even comedians to showcase original material.

9pm / No cover OPEN MIC / The Somewhere Else Pub — Come out to show your talent. 7pm / No cover

WEDNESDAY 7

HUMP WEDNESDAYS / 302 Lounge & Discotheque — Resident DJ Chris Knorr will be spinning. 9pm / No cover until 10pm; $3 thereafter PLANTS AND ANIMALS / Amigos Cantina — An indie rock band from Montreal.

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ROOTS SERIES: JAMES KEELAGHAN TRIO / The Bassment — Music from an awardwinning folk musician. 8pm / $20/25 DIABLO / Buds — Come rock the night away. 9pm / $6 THE AVENUE RECORDING COMPANY PRESENTS OPEN MIC / The Fez on Broadway — Hosted by Chad Reynolds. Sign up and play at this weekly event. 10pm / No cover DJ KADE / the Hose & Hydrant — Saskatoon DJ lights it up with hot tunes. 8pm / No cover WINTERSLEEP, ELLIOT BROOD / Louis’ Pub — Two amazing acts in one great venue. Don’t miss it. 8pm / $23.25 (www. ticketmaster.ca) DR. J ‘SOULED OUT’ / Lydia’s Pub — Dr. J spins hot funk and soul every Wednesday night. 9pm / No cover WILD WEST WEDNESDAY / Outlaws Country Rock Bar — Hosted by DJ Big Ayyy & DJ Henchman. 9pm / $4; no cover for industry staff DUELING PIANOS / Staqatto Piano Lounge — Terry Hoknes, Neil Currie and Brad King belt out classic tunes and audience requests, from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga. 10pm / No cover OWLS BY NATURE / Vangelis — An Edmonton band playing kick ass folk rock.

10pm / $5

THURSDAY 8

DELHI 2 DUBLIN / Amigos Cantina — A mash up of Celtic, Bhrangra, reggae and electronica you won’t want to miss.

10pm / $12 (www.ticketedge.ca) ROOTS SERIES: ROSE COUSINS / The Bassment — An east-coast folk singer/ songwriter. 8pm / Cover $12/16 THE GUTTERDOGS / Buds — No nonsense, good ol’ fashioned rock and roll. 9pm / $6 C-WEED / Dakota Dunes Casino — Award winning songwriter Errol Ranville and his band take to the stage for an unforgettable night of great music. 8pm / $15 (www.tickets.siga.sk.ca) THROWBACK THURSDAYS / Earls — Come experience the best in retro funk, soul, reggae and rock. 8pm / No cover THUNDER RIOT W/CONKY SHOWPONY / The Fez on Broadway — Come dance the night away with this great local DJ. 9pm / $5 DJ KADE / The Hose & Hydrant — Saskatoon DJ lights it up with hot tunes. 8pm / No cover DJ SUGAR DADDY / Jax Niteclub — Local DJ Sugar Daddy will be rocking the turntables! 8pm / $5; free cover with student ID before 11pm

BIG SUGAR / The Odeon Events Centre — Bluesy, reggae-tinged rock at its finest — come on down and see what’s up. 8pm / $24.50+ (www.theodeon.ca) ALICE COOPER / TCU Place — An iconic hard rocker who puts on one heckuva show. 8pm / Tickets $64.50 (www. tcutickets.ca) ANDY SHAUF / Vangelis — The acoustic/ folk musician from Regina is all kinds of good. 10pm / Cover $8

FRIDAY 9

HOUSE DJS / 6Twelve Lounge — Funk, soul & lounge DJs liven up the atmosphere at 6Twelve. 9pm / No cover JULIE DOIROIN / Amigos Cantina — An award-winning indie singer/songwriter will be taking over Amigos for a night of haunting tunes. 10pm / $10 (www. ticketedge.ca) PIANO FRIDAYS: TROY MCGILLVRAY / The Bassment — Feel like taking in some smooth jazz stylings? Look no further 4:30pm / No cover BLUES & ROCK SERIES: TEE VEXATIONS / The Bassment — Playing R&B and soul hits for your listening enjoyment. 9pm / Cover $12/16 AUSTEN ROADZ / Béily’s UltraLounge — Austen Roadz throws down a high-energy top 40 dance party every Friday night.

9pm / $5 cover RIFF RAFF / Buds on Broadway — Classic 80’s rock covers. 9pm / $6 RAVEWIND DANCE PARTY / The Fez on Broadway — Dust off your dancing shoes and get down here. 9pm / Cover $10 DJ ECLECTIC / The Hose & Hydrant — Local turntable whiz DJ Eclectic pumps snappy electronic beats all night long.

8pm / No cover DJ SUGAR DADDY / Jax Niteclub — This local crowd favourite is sure to have you on the dance floor in no time. 9pm / $5 cover BASS INVADERS / Lydia’s Pub — A local alt-rock band. 10pm / $5 DJ BIG AYYY & DJ HENCHMAN / Outlaws — There’s no better country rock party around. 8pm / $5; ladies in free before 11pm JAMES STEELE TRIO / Prairie Ink — A night of great fiddle tunes. 8pm / No cover BUDDY HOLLY SHOW / Royal Canadian Legion Nutana Branch — Come out and relive the past with this tribute show to Buddy Holly. 8pm / $10 advance (McNally Robinson, the Legion); $15 door LOOSE STONES / Stan’s Place — Come out for a rockin’ good time. 9pm / No cove

DUELING PIANOS / Staqatto Piano Lounge — Terry Hoknes, Neil Currie and Brad King belt out classic tunes and audience requests, from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga. 10pm / Cover $5 BC READ / Somewhere Else Pub — Come down and check out this consummate musician. 9pm / No cover

SATURDAY 10

DRAMA AT THE DISCOTHEQUE / 302 Lounge and Discotheque — A drag show with stellar DJs. 9pm / Cover TBD HOUSE DJS / 6Twelve — Resident DJs spin deep and soulful tunes all night.

9pm / No cover LOCALS ONLY 5 / Amigos Cantina — Featuring Killa1nce, MH + AB, Fabric, Frank Rizzo + Heywood. 10pm / Tickets at the door PIANO SERIES: CHRIS DONNELLY AND MYRIAD / The Bassment — Think jazz meets classical meets pop on the piano.

9pm / $15/20 AUSTEN ROADZ / Béily’s UltraLounge — Featuring Austen Roadz + DJ CTRL. 9pm / $5 cover RIFF RAFF / Buds — Classic 80’s rock covers. 9pm / $6 WHOLE LOTTA ANGUS / The Fez — Classic AC/DC covers. 9pm / Cover TBD MAGIC CITY CHORUS: THOSE WERE THE DAYS! / Forest Grove Community Church — A musical flashback to the 60’s. 7pm / $22 (call 956-7357)

DJ KADE / The Hose & Hydrant — Saskatoon’s own DJ lights it up with hot tunes.

8pm / No cover DJ SUGAR DADDY / Jax Niteclub — This local crowd favourite is sure to have you rocking on the dance floor in no time.

9pm / $5 cover LIFTED / Lydia’s Upstairs Loft — Come dance your heart out in Lydia’s loft, and enjoy what Saskatoon’s electronica scene has to offer. 10pm / $5 DJ BIG AYYY & DJ HENCHMAN / Outlaws Country Rock Bar — Round up your friends ‘cause there’s no better country rock party around. 8pm / $5 JON BAILEY / Prairie Ink — Come on down and enjoy some rock/folk tunes.

8pm / No cover LOOSE STONES / Stan’s Place — Come out for a rockin’ good time. 9pm / No cover

DUELING PIANOS / Staqatto Piano Lounge — Terry Hoknes, Neil Currie and Brad King belt out classic tunes and audience requests, from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga. 10pm / $5 BC READ / Somewhere Else Pub — Come down and check out this consummate musician. 9pm / No cover MODUS + CHAN L / Tequila — A night of phat beats awaits — you won’t want to miss. 9pm / Cover TBD EVENING HYMNS / Vangelis — Indie folk rock hot out of the Big Smoke. 10pm / $5

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A MAJESTIC FLIGHT

PHOTO: COURTESY OF PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Denzel Washington shines in his latest movie. BY ADAM HAWBOLDT

I

n writing classes you are taught that you must hook readers early.

Grab them by the lapels, shake them, don’t let them go. The same principles apply to movie making.

You want to come in strong, take hold of your audience and lead them on a journey. And boy oh boy does Robert Zemeckis’ new film, Flight, do that!

Hands down, this action thriller has the best opening few scenes I’ve seen in quite some time.

It all starts with a shot of full frontal nudity, followed by Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington) fix-

along the lines of “holy sh*t balls, that was intense and Denzel is the damn man!” then you probably don’t have a pulse.

And here’s the best thing about Flight: what starts out as a thrill-asecond nail-biter soon changes tack and become a deep, dark study of a man embroiled in alcoholism. Think Nicolas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas, only better.

Yeah, I said it. And the thing is, I loved Cage in that flick. But here’s the rub … this is Denzel’s best performance. Like, ever.

Sure, he was stellar in Training Day, amazing in The Hurricane and

FLIGHT Robert Zemeckis Denzel Washington, John Goodman, Don Cheadle + Melissa Leo DIRECTED BY STARRING

139 MINUTES | 14A

named Nicole (Kelly Reilly), whom he befriends. He’s also visited by his best friend Harling Mays (the always awesome John Goodman), who enters with the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil” playing in the background and a bag full of booze and dope.

Once he’s released from the hospital, Denzel goes to his grandfather’s farm, pours all the liquor down the drain and tries to dry out.

Which might’ve worked well if he hadn’t been brought under investigation because liquor and drugs were detected in his blood when the plane crashed. And that, good reader, is all I’ll say about the plot.

And I’m sure it’s pretty clear what my thoughts are on the acting.

Here’s hoping you trust me when I say that Flight is a movie that works on so many levels — from suspense to acting to script to cinematography — that you’ll kick yourself if you don’t see it.

Denzel, to put it simply, kicks … copious amounts of ass…

ADAM HAWBOLDT

ing a hangover with a couple bumps of cocaine. Cut to Whitaker at work, piloting a flight through heavy turbulence. Once they’re in the air things go sideways in a hurry: the plane experiences serious mechanical failure and begins a long nosedive towards imminent destruction.

And for the next few minutes you witness one of the most fantastic and exhilarating film scenes I’ve ever seen.

When all is said and done, when Denzel crash-lands the plane, if you don’t exhale and say something

uncannily tremendous as Malcolm X. But as Whip Whitaker, Denzel, to put it simply, kicks such copious amounts of ass that if he doesn’t get at least an Oscar nomination I will personally go to Hollywood, placard in hand, and protest against everything the Academy stands for.

But let me take my lips off Denzel’s sweet ass for a moment and tell you about the rest of the movie.

After Denzel plays hero and lands the plane with minimal casualties, he winds up in the hospital. There he meets a woman

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TRISHNA: NOT QUITE TESS Michael Winterbottom’s adaptation of the classic novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles comes up short. BY ADAM HAWBOLDT

A

nyone familiar with British director Michael Winterbottom knows he has an affinity for the novels of Thomas Hardy.

In 1996 he made Jude — a brilliant, straightforward adaptation of Hardy’s Jude the Obscure, starring Kate Winslet. In 2000, he directed The Claim, taking Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge and setting it in California during the Gold Rush of ’49.

Now Winterbottom is at it again, this time with a new film called Trishna, which is a loose adaptation of Hardy’s classic Tess of the d’Urbervilles. And to be honest, Trishna has a lot of things going for it.

For instance, instead of setting his flick in Victorian England, Winterbottom transplants the story into modern-day India. This works because, much like Hardy’s England, India is a place where issues about class, tradition, gender, social values and globalization are all being brought into question.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF MONGREL MEDIA

educated playboy named Jay (Riz Ahmed), who also just so happens to be an heir to a chain of Indian hotels.

Beguiled by Trishna’s beauty (and my word, is Pinto ravishing!), Jay offers her a well-paying job as a maid at one of his daddy’s upscale hotels. And because Trishna is a good-hearted woman trying to do right by her family, she accepts the offer.

[D]espite being a slick adaptation… something is lacking in Trishna.

ADAM HAWBOLDT

Another thing that works is the way Winterbottom spins parts of the novel. He has one lover instead of two, Hardy’s milkmaid Tess is replaced by Trishna, a hotel maid, the farm horse becomes a jeep, etc.

These updates are all clever and well presented.

Oh, and perhaps the brightest spot of all is Winterbottom’s terrific filmmaking. But more on that later.

For now, let’s look at the story.

It begins in Rajasthan when a poor village girl, Trishna (Freida Pinto), catches the eye of a British-

One thing leads to another, Jay and Trishna start to have feelings for each other, and eventually they end up moving to Bombay together.

From there things get more and more romantic until the story ends happily ever after.

Okay, that’s completely untrue.

Because if you’ve ever read Hardy you’d know that things tend to not end well for people in his books.

And true to the novel, when Trishna and Jay move to Bombay feces hits the ever-spinning fan as their relationship becomes darker.

TRISHNA Michael Winterbottom Freida Pinto, Riz Ahmed + Roshan Seth DIRECTED BY STARRING

117 MINUTES | 14A

However, despite being a slick adaptation and despite the fact that the film — from the rolling landscapes of Rajasthan to the steamy, hubbub of Bombay — is incredibly beautiful, Trishna is lacking something.

I’m not sure if it’s the plot or the acting, but there’s something Winterbottom is missing here. The story of Tess of the d’Urbervilles is one of dreams and defeat and the slow rot of a person’s soul. It’s the kind of story that, by the final scene, kicks you in the chest and makes you ache like hell for the main character.

And while Winterbottom’s Trishna tries to do the same, it ultimately falls short. Too bad.

Trishna is currently being screened at the Roxy Theatre.

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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27 @

302

302 Lounge + Discothèque 302 Pacific Avenue (306) 665 6863 FEATURED DEALS / $10.25 for mini

pitchers DRINK OF CHOICE / Jello shooters

(served in a syringe) COMING UP / Mr. Gay Saskatchewan on November 3rd, Drama at the Discothèque on November 10th, Babes on a Bull November 16th and the Moustache Party on November 23rd

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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27 @

DIVA’S

Diva’s Nightclub 110-220 3rd Avenue South (306) 665 0100 MUSIC VIBE / Dance EVENT / Danse Macabre — The

Asylum Ball, featuring DJs Aaron Paetsch, US Marshall, Nick James and Quadrant Khan COMING UP / Flashback Retro Party — Part 2 on November 17

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© Elaine M. Will | blog.E2W-Illustration.com | Check onthebus.webcomic.ws/ for previous editions!

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TIMEOUT

CROSSWORD CANADIAN CRISS-CROSS DOWN 1. Roof of the mouth 2. Unattractive 3. Sheltered side 4. Ancient Egyptian royal tomb 5. Walk with your chest thrown out 6. Fertile soil 7. Hill builder 8. Kind of firecracker 9. Crouch down in fear 11. Families once gathered around it 12. Football game division 14. Reminds a bit too much 17. Short rest

20. Old wedding vows word SUDOKU ANSWER KEY 21. Canadian who played Perry Mason A 23. Therefore 24. Finely sharpened 26. Easily understood 27. Play energetically 28. “Welcome to Waikiki!”

29. Music genre 31. Strongly disliking 32. Feudal lord B 33. Narrow road 35. First small bite 38. Set of words set to music 39. Manual labourer 41. Ruby colour 43. Barn sound

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

25. City in Alberta 27. Tall and slim 30. Taken as a whole 34. Margarine 35. Bed size 36. By way of 37. Cut the grass 38. Kind of dollar 39. Hammer part 40. Alexandria lighthouse 42. Come from concealment 44. Actor’s representative 45. Lasso loop 46. Competitive advantage 47. Quality of a musical sound

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

ACROSS 1. An orange, minus the juice 5. Response to an insult 9. Laser printer powder 12. Give a loud shout 13. Wickerwork material 15. Like about half of a team’s games 16. Class reunion attendee, for short 18. Computer language 19. Give the nod to 20. Skip over 21. Two-masted squarerigger 22. Something for nothing © WALTER D. FEENER 2012

HOROSCOPES NOVEMBER 2 – NOVEMBER 8 ARIES March 21–April 19

LEO July 23–August 22

SAGITTARIUS November 23–December 21

You may have a strong urge to be around others this week, Aries. If so, give in to your urges. Go hang out with friends or family.

Leo, you know your insecurities … yeah, those things you try to avoid? Well, you may be forced to confront them. Best you deal with them now.

If you’re invited to a special gathering this week, Sagittarius, run, do not walk, to it. You don’t want to miss the new doors that it may open.

TAURUS April 20–May 20

VIRGO August 23–September 22

CAPRICORN December 22–January 19

Things are going on behind the scenes that you may be unaware of, Taurus, but who gives a crap. Just live your life the way you have been.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help this week. Yeah, we know you’re strong and independent and all that jazz, but all of us need a hand at some time.

Expect visitors this week, Capricorn. Whether it will be from a friend or foe, I can’t say. But don’t be surprised when they show up at your door.

GEMINI May 21–June 20

LIBRA September 23–October 23

AQUARIUS January 20–February 19

Feeling confused lately, Gemini?

Like words the mouth in your work don’t? No worries. Things will become clearer for you in the near future.

Holy moly! Look whose fortune is going to shine this week. Yes, Libra.

I’m talking to you. If approached properly, the next few days could be awesome.

You know how they say we should march to the beat of our own drummer? Well, what if your drummer sucks? Resist, Aquarius, if you need to.

CANCER June 21–July 22

SCORPIO October 24–November 22

PISCES February 20–March 20

Wake up on the wrong side of the bed today? Get used to it, because this week is going to try your patience, I’m afraid. Grit your teeth and get through it.

Ever feel like your life is one long balancing act on a tight rope over the abyss, Scorpio? If so, suck it up and keep your balance. Falling will hurt.

Worry, worry everywhere … but why the hell should you care, Pisces? Just ignore the negative, embrace the positive. And brush your teeth.

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

CROSSWORD ANSWER KEY

A

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

B

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