Verb Issue S237 (Apr. 26-May 2, 2013)

ISSUE #237 – APRIL 26 TO MAY 2

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ARTS

CULTURE

SHOTGUN JIMMIE EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING AND

MUSIC

SASKATOON

FURRY FASHION Gerry Armsworthy is a “roadkill specialist” WAIT WITH ME Q+A with 100 Mile House PAIN & GAIN + REBELLE Films reviewed­

PHOTO: COURTESY OF KEVIN BERTRAM

NEWS + OPINION

CONTENTS

FURRY FASHION Gerry Armsworthy is Saskatchewan’s “roadkill specialist.” 4 / LOCAL

CHANGING THE NEWS New online morning show combines traditional with cutting-edge. 6 / LOCAL

CHANGING PERCEPTION ON THE COVER:

SHOTGUN JIMMIE

On everything. 12 / COVER

Our thoughts on when bullying becomes something more. 8 / EDITORIAL

COMMENTS Here’s your say about governmentprepared tax returns. 10 / COMMENTS

PHOTO: COURTESY OF KEVIN BERTRAM

CULTURE

Q + A WITH 100 MILE HOUSE On their new album. 12 / Q + A

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Sexy Laundry a hilarious play about life and love. 13 / ARTS

This week we visit Saskatoon Asian Restaurant. 16 / FOOD + DRINK

SIMPLY SINATRA

MUSIC

Steve Lippia interprets American classics with the SSO. 13 / ARTS

The F-Holes, Skydiggers + Jason Aldean. 17 / MUSIC

ENTERTAINMENT

LISTINGS Local music listings for April 26 through May 4. 18 / LISTINGS

VERBNEWS.COM @VERBSASKATOON FACEBOOK.COM/VERBSASKATOON

EDITORIAL

BUSINESS & OPERATIONS

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

OFFICE MANAGER / STEPHANIE LIPSIT ACCOUNT MANAGER / NATHAN HOLOWATY SALES MANAGER / VOGESON PALEY FINANCIAL MANAGER / CODY LANG

PAIN & GAIN + REBELLE

ON THE BUS

The latest movie reviews. 20 / FILM

CONTACT

Weekly original comic illustrations

by Elaine M. Will. 26 / COMICS

NIGHTLIFE PHOTOS

GAMES + HOROSCOPES Canadian criss-cross puzzle, horoscopes, and Sudoku. 27 / TIMEOUT

ART & PRODUCTION

COMMENTS / FEEDBACK@VERBNEWS.COM / 306 881 8372

We visited The Odeon + The Colonial.

DESIGN LEAD / ROBERTA BARRINGTON

ADVERTISE / ADVERTISE@VERBNEWS.COM / 306 979 2253

22-25 / NIGHTLIFE

DESIGN & PRODUCTION / BRITTNEY GRAHAM CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS / PATRICK CARLEY, ADAM HAWBOLDT + ISHTIAQ OPAL

DESIGN / LAYOUT@VERBNEWS.COM / 306 979 8474 GENERAL / INFO@VERBNEWS.COM / 306 979 2253

2 APR 26 – MAY 2 VERB MAGAZINE

CONTENTS

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ARTS

COVER

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MUSIC

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LOCAL

FURRY FASHION

Saskatchewan roadkill specialist turns run-over animals into clothes BY ADAM HAWBOLDT

W

hen an animal gets hit by a car and dies, one of the first things that happens is the bowels evacuate, splattering s**t everywhere. The next thing that happens is the animal starts to decay under the skin and in the stomach area.

Now, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to realize how messy and putrid one of these animals must be when you get up close and personal. That’s why Gerry Armsworthy only collects roadkill in the winter months.

“When I first started picking the animals up I thought I could do it at any time of the year — bad idea,” says Armsworthy. “When they get

run over, if they split and it’s not freezing out, decomposition starts almost immediately.”

Armsworthy pauses, thinks about how to describe what it’s like when you pick up an animal

is run over and split open. The bowels break. It’s messy.”

And that’s why Armsworthy only picks up frozen roadkill these days.

And it doesn’t really matter what kind of animal it is: coyote, fox, badger —

It took a while to learn. Broke a lot of needles, made a lot of mistakes.

GERRY ARMSWORTHY

that isn’t frozen. “You know what it smells like when you go to the bathroom and defecate? That’s what it smells like when an animal

you name it. As long as the roadside critter hasn’t been mangled by a 16-wheeler, as long as the fur is intact and usable, Armsworthy will put the CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE »

4 APR 26 – MAY 2 NEWS + OPINION

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animal in a garbage bag, place it in the garbage-bag lined trunk of his Cadillac CTS and whisk it away.

Now you may be asking yourself: why is Armsworthy picking up all this roadkill? Is he a government worker assigned to the job?

Nah. Gerry Armsworthy is just a “roadkill specialist.”

The first time Armsworthy picked up a dead animal off the side of the highway was about 20 years ago.

At the time Armsworthy was on the Shriners’ board of directors, traveling around the province visiting various clubs. He had also recently taken up the hobby of sewing and was learning to make leather slippers.

“I needed fur to put around the top of the slippers, but I didn’t have any fur. Didn’t know where to get any, either,” says Armsworthy. “But as I was driving around the province I was seeing all this roadkill — coyotes, foxes, deer — and I thought to myself, ‘Jeez, all that stuff is going to waste, maybe I should start taking some of it home and use it.’”

And that’s precisely what he did.

But one doesn’t simply take roadkill home and use it to make slippers.

Things are a little more complicated than that. First you have to skin the animal, then you have to tan the hide, amongst other things. Armsworthy had no idea how to do any of this, so he checked out books from the library on

all the things he’d need to prepare the fur for sewing.

And in the beginning it wasn’t easy.

“Once I read up on some stuff I went to work on skinning,” says Armsworthy. “I quickly found out I wasn’t so good at that. But lucky for me there was a person who lives close by who skins and fleshes animals.”

Armsworthy chuckles and says, “Remember when I was talking about frozen animals? Well, by the time you go to skin them they’re thawed out and they don’t smell too nice. The guy who does my skinning has a constitution as tough as any you’ll see. None of it bothers him.”

With the skinning process outsourced, Armsworthy taught himself how to tan hides. But before he could get the fur on the slippers there was one last little thing that had to be done: he had to learn how to sew fur.

“I found an old fella at Bregg Cleaners Tailors & Furriers, and asked him if he’d mind if I hung around the shop and watched him sew fur,” says Armsworthy.

The old fella told him it was no problem, and Armsworthy’s armchair apprenticeship was underway. From there he bought a 50- or 60-year-old fur sewing machine and got to work on his slippers.

“It took a while to learn,” admits Armsworthy. “Broke a lot of needles, made a lot of mistakes. But if you do something wrong, you can just take it apart and start again. That’s the beauty

of fur, it’s hard to damage. I don’t damage too much these days, though. I can sew fur pretty good now.”

And it’s not just to slippers, either.

What started out as a passion for sewing has blossomed into a small business of sorts for Regina’s “roadkill specialist.”

These days, along with the seven sewing machines and a giant freezer he uses for storing carcasses, if you walk into Armsworthy’s workshop you’ll see things like slippers and mukluks, mitts and fur hats just like the ones the RCMP wear in the winter months. All of this he sells either at craft markets or through his made-toorder business.

But Armsworthy makes sure not to work too hard.

“I usually start in September and I’m finished by Christmas,” explains Armsworthy. “Then in January we go to Mexico for three months.”

After he returns to Saskatchewan, and once the warm weather hits, you’ll find Armsworthy out by his pool, cutting new patterns, and getting ready for the autumn — when the sewing and roadkill collecting begins again.

Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@AdamHawboldt ahawboldt@verbnews.com

5 APR 26 – MAY 2 @VERBSASKATOON

CONTENTS

LOCAL

EDITORIAL

COMMENTS

Q+A

ARTS

COVER

FOOD + DRINK

MUSIC

LISTINGS

FILM

NIGHTLIFE

COMICS

TIMEOUT

NEWS + OPINION

LOCAL

CHANGING THE NEWS CBC releases an innovative morning show in Saskatchewan

BY ADAM HAWBOLDT

F

or the longest time, media information has flowed one way — from the top down Think about it. The sharp-dressed television anchor with the perfectly coiffed hair telling you what happened in Saskatoon. The silver voiced radio host reporting the latest, breaking news from Regina. Newspapers and magazines writing stories full of quotes, telling the public what’s going on, and sometimes even what to think.

That’s just the way things work.

The media provides the news and the public consumes it. It’s a timehonoured tradition.

It’s also a tradition that a new online radio show in Saskatchewan is looking to change.

The show is called Saskatoon Morning, and it’s not your typical morning show. Sure, there will be the traditional top-down flow of information from on-air host Leisha Grebinski. Every weekday morning at 6 a.m. Grebinski will be hosting an on-line radio show at www. cbc.ca/saskatoon, giving all the up-to-date local news, traffic, and weather reports.

Now, you may be thinking, “what’s so special about that, outside of the fact it’s online?”

Well, that’s easy. You see, the program isn’t simply news and banter. There’s also an interactive component to it.

This interactive portion is hosted by Matt Kruchak, and how it works is like this: say, for instance, a local or provincial politician was scheduled to appear on the show. First that politician does the interview bit, bantering with Grebinski and answering questions. Then, when that segment is

the guest, talk with other people on the live chat, post pictures.

This live chat is something really innovative.”

So innovative that no other station around is doing it. This change excites both hosts, but it’s not the only thing.

“Another exciting thing about this is we’re trying to create a brand new habit for people,” says Kruchak. “What you’ll do is wake up in the morning … turn on your

The days of an anchor in a power suit delivering the news are on their way out.

LEISHA GREBINSKI

over, the guest switches to the interactive portion to field questions from the audience, who would use their phones, iPads or computers to submit queries through the show’s new website.

“The website uses a program called Cover It Live — it’s a live software,” explains Kruchak. “And what you’ll do is log in, using Facebook or Twitter or whatever, then you can ask questions of

laptop or press the power button on your mobile or some other device, and start chatting with us. You can be lying in bed, eating breakfast or having coffee, and chat with us.

Engage in the news.”

The key word here is engagement. That’s really what this new morning program is trying to harness — public participation.

“The days of an anchor in a power suit delivering the news are CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE »

6 APR 26 – MAY 2 NEWS + OPINION

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COMMENTS

Q+A

ARTS

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FOOD + DRINK

MUSIC

LISTINGS

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NIGHTLIFE

COMICS

TIMEOUT

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PHOTOS: COURTESY OF ADAM HAWBOLDT / VERB MAGAZINE

on their way out,” says Grebinski.

“What we’re creating is very much a two-way, three-way, four-way conversation. It’s not just about putting together a show reading the news and telling people what’s important. With the [interactive] portion people can tell us the news, tell us what’s important.”

Thus, adding a different direction in which the news can now flow.

And that begs the question: what goes into making a potentially game-changing online morning program like Saskatoon Morning?

“A lot of work,” says Grebinski with a smile. And she should know.

For five years Grebinski, who is from Regina, was an associate producer of CBC Radio One’s The Morning Edition in Saskatchewan, with host Sheila Coles. After that

she spent some time co-hosting CBC Radio’s Daybreak in Prince Rupert, B.C. So yeah, Grebinski knows a thing or two about what it takes to run a show like this.

“I’ve been a radio girl, through and through. And putting this show together has been a lot of work,” says Grebinksi, her voice stopping and stressing the word ‘a lot.’

See, contrary to what some people think, morning hosts don’t simply go to work earlier than most of us, turn on the microphone, put on the headphones, read the news, banter amongst themselves, then call it a day. “That’s not the case at all,” explains Grebinski. “There’s a lot of preparation that goes into it.

The day before you are trying to figure out what the big story is that people want to hear. From there you have to find guests to come on your show and talk. You have to do a lot of research, make a lot

of phone calls, do a lot of writing.

There are a lot of hours involved.”

And sometimes all that beforehand preparation can be for naught if news breaks suddenly. “The thing about live radio is, things can change on a dime,” says Grebinski. “If we hear about those two explosions at the Boston Marathon, obviously we have to change the content.”

That makes developing a program like Saskatoon Morning a tricky task. Not only do you have to prepare diligently, even though that preparation may end up getting cut, but at the same time Grebinski and Kruchak are wading into uncharted waters with their new show.

“It’s unknown territory we’re in,” says Grebinski. “It’s not like we’re taking over an established show, which presents its own special challenges. But we’re starting with a blank slate here, and in a way that’s both a blessing and a curse. There are a fair amount of challenges ahead of us, but it’s all incredibly exciting.”

So exciting, in fact, that when Kruchak speaks about airing the first show, his voice rises and quickens in anticipation.

“The real challenge is the wait,” he admits. “We’ve been working so hard preparing this show and developing it, we just want to get in there and get going.”

He won’t have to wait long.

The first online broadcast of Saskatoon Morning airs on Monday, April 29th on www.cbc.ca/saskatoon, so tune in and help change the way news flows in this province.

Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@AdamHawboldt ahawboldt@verbnews.com

7 APR 26 – MAY 2 /VERBSASKATOON

CONTENTS

LOCAL

EDITORIAL

COMMENTS

Q+A

ARTS

COVER

FOOD + DRINK

MUSIC

LISTINGS

FILM

NIGHTLIFE

COMICS

TIMEOUT

NEWS + OPINION

EDITORIAL

CHANGING PERCEPTIONS We need to conceive of bullying in a different manner

I

think we’ve got to stop using the term bullying to describe some of these things. Bullying to me has a kind of connotation … of kids misbehaving. What we are dealing with in some of these circumstances is simply criminal activity.”

Those are Steven Harper’s words following the tragic death of young teen Rehtaeh Parsons in Nova Scotia, spoken in Calgary a few weeks ago,. And like or loath the guy, you have to admit — he has a point.

To be frank, labelling the kinds of activities alleged to have occurred in the Parsons case or other similar cases as “bullying” cloaks the hostility of those kinds of acts, dressing them up, as Harper noted, as simply “kids misbehaving.” And we think that’s wrong.

Generally speaking, we believe that any youths that are old enough to be prosecuted, whose bullying constitutes violent criminal activity, sexual criminal activity, or criminal harassment shouldn’t be treated as bullies. They should be treated as criminals.

The term “bullying,” frequently trotted out to identify any number of behaviours, conjures up a rather benign, perhaps even nostalgic image of kids in a schoolyard teasing one another, blowing spitballs, pushing each other into puddles. You know — the kind

together to reduce it as much as possible.

And in fact, at the moment, we are. Saskatchewan’s provincial anti-bullying strategy includes: a) “new policy directives that require all school divisions to ensure that every school in every community

At the teen level the effects of what is often called severe bullying can be literally life or death…

VERB MAGAZINE

of behaviour anyone would witness on the average elementary school playground. And we agree: that is, absolutely, bullying. Is it shameful, and should efforts be made to reduce it as much as possible? Well, yeah. Though to some extent this kind of bullying — the “kids misbehaving” type — seems to be a part of the human condition, educators, parents and the community should continue to work

has a program in place to address bullying,” b) “develop enhanced anti-bullying and suicide prevention and intervention services for our province’s young people by working with mental health service providers.” and c) “seeking changes to the Criminal Code of Canada and the Youth Criminal Justice Act to specifically deal with systemic bullying.”

And that’s all well and good, but that “kids misbehaving” behaviour CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE »

8 APR 26 – MAY 2 NEWS + OPINION

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isn’t what we’re talking about here.

Occasionally, there comes a point when bullying becomes something more, when it becomes criminal activity. And it is at this point that we believe the full weight of the law should be brought to bear.

Now look. We aren’t advocating that some eight-year-old gets life in jail for threatening a friend, or anything like that. We understand children aren’t born with a perfect knowledge of what is and is not appropriate, and of course elementary school aged students still have plenty to learn on that front. But teens are a different story. At the teen level the effects of what is often called severe bullying can be literally life or death, and we think the legal consequences of such behaviour, proven in a court of law, should reflect that reality.

And we’re not the only ones who think this way. Apparently Darrell Dexter, Nova Scotia’s premier, feels the same — after all, he is meeting with Harper in light of the Parsons case to discuss possible changes to the Criminal Code of Canada. Look, we have enough existing laws to

address cyberbullying, which Media Smarts identifies as having six key features: insulting, targeting, identity theft, uploading, excluding and harassment. What’s needed is for a shift in mindsets, a change in perception rather than a change to laws.

Think about it: what if an adult was to threaten another adult with bodily harm? Seek them out and torment them mercilessly at their home or place of business? Well, the situation would be treated as a serious legal offence and prosecuted accordingly, and rightly so. You simply can’t act in such a manner in the real world and not expect repercussions.

So why the heck should it be any different amongst teens?

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

Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@VerbSaskatoon feedback@verbnews.com

9 APR 26 – MAY 2 @VERBSASKATOON

CONTENTS

LOCAL

EDITORIAL

COMMENTS

Q+A

ARTS

COVER

FOOD + DRINK

MUSIC

LISTINGS

FILM

NIGHTLIFE

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TIMEOUT

NEWS + OPINION

COMMENTS

ON TOPIC: Last week we asked what you thought about governmentprepared tax returns. Here's Text yo thoughtsur to what you had 881 VE R B to say: 8372

– Keep the government out of my taxes don’t trust them to do them properly. It doesn’t take that much to have an accountant do it for you stop vein so lazy!

– Haveing the gov’t prep tax returns makes sense but how will they pay for this it’ll mean hiring a bunch more people no?

– Prepared tax returns sound incredibly convenient, though cue the conspiracy theorists who will assume that this means they somehow will be losing out more money.

– How easy! You wait for the document and then basically click “i agree” and they send you your return. Netherlands has got it right with most things, and this especially.

– What happened to the good old days when people would prepare their tax returns themselves? It seems like people want everything done for them these days

– I don’t think getting your taxes done is as tiring a task as you described in your editorial, but the idea of having the government prep the returns for us and the ease of convenience of this method is appealing. So why not??

– Wait: there’s a better, more common sense and more efficient

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE »

10 APR 26 – MAY 2 NEWS + OPINION

CONTENTS

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ARTS

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means of doing our taxes and Harperites haven’t yet? Wonder if they’ve been paid off by lobby groups....

OFF TOPIC – I just read your review on 42… kinda disappointed you don’t have “Field of Dreams” Shoeless Joe as an honourable mention…oh well! good review none the less will probably check it out this weekend Darcy

POWERED BY THE CREW AT MOGA MOBILE

– Chechnya! The Boston bombers were Balkan terrorists. WTF! Up tip now they’ve only hit Russia. I thought this week anniversary of Waco and the Oklahoma bombing was American Fremen. Maybe Waco this week was an accident?

Strange days Strange times! Violent times!

In response to “Remembering Robinson,” Film, #235 (April 12, 2013)

SOUND OFF – A few weeks ago open line discussion for the morning was drivers who plod along in the left lane and block traffic flow for those going faster. The big question for Toonerville this spring - does a left lane exist if you can’t see any painted lines

– Atch __ “living proof you can get more with honey than with vinegar”.

– Ears are very simple things 2 microphones. The brain does something extraordinary to this simple input to create hearing.

It can create a model of space around us. Most of the time we listen to speech other sounds but we can also feel the sonic in a fingertip or skin like way with music and noises like nails on chalkboard styrofoam squeaks. Some you felt even that mention. Its all in your mind, hearing.

– Bombings in Boston, Ricin poison letter sent to Pres Obama, massive explosion in Waco, Texas today. April 19, 1993 the Waco siege ended with the deaths of 76 men women and children of the Branch Davidian cult. Good chance the topper, something bigger, tomorrow.

– My heart breaks for Boston and the victims, but so impressed by the people that did whatever they could to help. Lived there for a couple years back in the 90s so hits close to home. Boston spirit is unquenchable, and I’ve no doubt they’ll pick right up.

– In the ancient relationship plants giving their seed speaders Diabetes would be dysfunctional. If you have a sweet tooth do your best to satisfy it with fruit.

– When a funny smell from your sofa thats been haunting you for months turns out to be one of your regular guests thats DOWNtown.

– Clean the city sidewalk in front of your house?? Why stop there??

Paint the traffic lanes on the road you might take downtown to drop your taxes for 2013.

NEXT WEEK: What do you think about changing the way we perceive of bullying? 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 APR 26 – MAY 2 /VERBSASKATOON

CONTENTS

LOCAL

EDITORIAL

COMMENTS

Q+A

ARTS

COVER

FOOD + DRINK

MUSIC

LISTINGS

FILM

NIGHTLIFE

COMICS

TIMEOUT

NEWS + OPINION

Q+A

WAIT WITH ME

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF DETOUR PHOTOGRAPHY / KERBY DESIGN

100 Mile House deliver their fourth record of infectious folk rock

BY ALEX J MACPHERSON

P

eter Stone met Denise MacKay at a bar in Toronto. He was playing a show; she thought it was an open mic night. They played music together, got married, moved to Edmonton, and started a band.

Since 2008, 100 Mile House has released four albums of transatlantic folk — music that invests the ancient traditions of folk with a perspective that stretches to the horizon. The band’s latest record, Wait With Me, is about leaving and about coming home — the most emotional moments in our lives. Fusing simple song structures with heartfelt lyrics, Wait With Me is the purest expression of what 100 Mile House can achieve. I caught up with Stone to talk about the band, the record, and growing up in England.

Alex J MacPherson: The story of you and Denise meeting and getting married is, I think, integral to the band. You write about home a lot, but in a sense home is wherever you are. At the same time, is that dynamic difficult to manage?

Peter Stone: It came pretty naturally. We sang together before we’d even spoken. It’s always been there.

We’ve always sung together. And we can take home with us, because we’re together all the time. I definitely think of it as an advantage. There’s a lot more fun to it than sort of bad moments.

AJM: And Wait With Me deals with the big themes: home, time, distance.

Did you intend to make a record that covered those themes, or was it a slow realization? w PS: It was kind of a weird one, this record, because we normally have a backlog of songs when we come to record a new record. At the beginning of 2012, we had pretty much the whole album written. And then 2012 was the hardest year we’d had as a couple, me and Denise, in the nine years we’ve been together. Just throughout that year a lot more songs came from the experiences we and

to tell. It doesn’t get in the way of the words or the lyrics.

AJM: Your band is in the midst of this resurgence of folk music. Why do you think that’s happening right now?

PS: Folk music is almost becoming pop music again, if that makes sense. I think it’s just folk music’s turn, in the way that things go through waves. It could just be a cyclical thing, or it could be the fact that people are fed up with being fed generic, sort of plastic-sounding music. They’re looking for something

[People] want to connect with music a little more.

PETER STONE

our friends and family were having.

When we recorded the album, we had a whole new album. And by the end of that I did look back and go, ‘Yeah, there’s definitely a theme here.’

that’s a little more raw. They want to connect with music a little more. You see the Lumineers on Saturday Night Live, and it’s a world away from seeing Justin Timberlake on Saturday Night Live – which is still a great thing, ‘cause he’s great, but maybe they are yearning for something a little more true.

AJM: Why do you think this form, fairly well structured folk music, works so well with big themes and ideas?

AJM: The transatlantic dynamic seems integral to this band, but other than pure distance, what does your experience growing up contribute to the band?

PS: I’m not sure. I guess it doesn’t get in the way of the lyrics sometimes. A lot of folk music, and a lot of our songs, are very simple. Just like three, four chords. And maybe it suits this kind of music because the instruments behind the lyrics are doing something nice, but they’re not getting in the way of the message or the story you’re trying

PS: I think more than anything lyrics, because you always think about places where you’re not. And I find myself singing about London and England and home a lot, especially on

our last album, Hollow Ponds. But also I didn’t grow up around a lot of folk music, so I guess the music growing up would have shaped my composing in some way: not necessarily a direct way that I can sort of draw a line between the two, but I’m sure the music I grew up listening to shaped my songwriting in some way.

100 Mile House May 4 @ Vangelis $5

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@MacPhersonA amacpherson@verbnews.com

12 APR 26 – MAY 2 CULTURE

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ARTS

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

Sexy Laundry explores one couple’s attempts to get reacquainted

T

here is an old adage that politics, sex, and religion have no place in polite conversation. This is nonsense. Arguments about politics and religion are arguments about ideas, and ideas are what define us. But sex is different. Everybody agrees that sex is important, but nobody wants to talk about it. Or even admit that it happens. Which is where Sexy Laundry comes in.

“It’s one of those things that people think belongs behind closed doors,” says Kent Allen, the Saskatchewan actor who plays Henry in the upcoming production of Michele Riml’s acclaimed comedy. “But the challenge of theatre is to bring the stories of human beings to the fore, this being one of them.”

Everybody knows what happens at the start of a romance. Sexy Laundry explores the end of the journey, when complacency has driven away

excitement and enthusiasm. The play unfolds over a weekend in the life of Henry and Alice, a couple whose relationship has deteriorated over 25 years of marriage. Convinced that resuscitating their sex life will improve their life together, Alice buys a copy of Sex For Dummies and reserves a swanky hotel room. Sexy Laundry chronicles their attempt to get reacquainted. ““It’s about at what point, and to what degree, people make adjustments in their lives,” Allen says. “A two-degree tack doesn’t seem like much, but over a long period of time two people can end up very far apart.

This is about a couple trying to get that ship back on true — and how complicated that can be.”

Unlike most dramas, which make no apologies for uncovering the uncomfortable and the taboo, Sexy Laundry uses humour and warmth to ease audiences into the realization

BY ALEX J MACPHERSON

that communication is the essence of any relationship. “It’s gently handled,” Allen says. “Nobody’s going to be hit over the head with a stick in this play.

And it’s not lesson-oriented. It’s a slice of life, it’s experiential, and it is about problems.”

More importantly, Sexy Laundry is a play about problems few people are willing to admit even exist. But with the guidance of two deeply relatable characters and one excellent script, the play reminds audiences that asking honest questions is the key to understanding our lives.

“Theatre takes life and looks at it,” Allen says. “As Shakespeare said, it’s the mirror to life. What we need is to find out the purposefulness of it all, and what do we learn when we get a chance to look at ourselves.”

Sexy Laundry Now through May 5 @ Remai Arts Centre $25+ @ Persephone Box Office

SIMPLY SINATRA

Steve Lippia on interpreting American classics with the SSO

PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

M

any people think Steve Lippia is an impersonator, a celebrity lookalike with a voice like a cannon. This is a misconception. Lippia is an interpreter, and the fact that his voice sounds similar to Sinatra’s sonorous baritone is nothing more than a happy coincidence.

“These songs are like treasures, and they should be well taken care

BY ALEX J MACPHERSON

of,” Lippia says of the Sinatra tunes he is preparing to perform alongside the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra. “My approach to the music, for the most part, is to treat it authentically.” Unlike jazz interpreters, who often make only passing reference to the original, Lippia thinks it is vital to preserve and protect the songs he cherishes.

Lippia has been performing pop standards for years. Although he often sings with a 10-piece band, he enjoys doing so with the weight of a full orchestra behind him. “It brings with it certain very different energies,” he says, pointing to the immense sound of a symphony orchestra. “The classical players have a slightly different interpretation of the music, because they really haven’t inhabited pop music as much. They both offer something very interesting in their own right.”

Lippia’s performance, which features songs from every period of

Sinatra’s storied career, from harddriving, edgy big band numbers to elaborate ballads that show off every section of the orchestra, couldn’t come at a better time. “I’m so happy that it is flourishing,” Lippia says of the music, which has been embraced by a new generation of artists led

by Michael Bublé. “It seems to find a rebirth being introduced to younger generations by artists who put their own twist on the music.”

Lippia thinks pop standards are resurgent because they wrap timeless stories and well-crafted lyrics in moving music. “Who ever gets tired of falling in love?” Lippia says. “Or lamenting the loss of love? I think that kind of thing will always sustain this music, even though more modern generations have a tendency to eschew anything that came before us.”

But people will always be drawn to compelling stories, even if they

have been told and re-told for 50 years. “Because my voice is naturally very similar to Sinatra’s, it might confuse people,” he says.

“They might think I’m trying to be him or imitate him. Couldn’t be further from the truth. To quote a line from Linda Ronstadt: ‘You don’t have to be original. You just need to be authentic.’”

SSO Simply Sinatra May 4 @ TCU Place $35+ @ tcutickets.ca, SSO Box Office

Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@MacPhersonA amacpherson@verbnews.com

13 APR 26 – MAY 2 @VERBSASKATOON

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ARTS

COVER

FOOD + DRINK

MUSIC

LISTINGS

FILM

NIGHTLIFE

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TIMEOUT

CULTURE

COVER

EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING

PHOTO: COURTESY OF KEVIN BERTRAM

Shotgun Jimmie, a cabin in the woods, and a stunning portrait of life BY ALEX J MACPHERSON

O

ne of the most durable clichés in popular music is the story of the guy who recorded an album in the wilderness. These stories exist because they are compelling. People want to escape their lives; they want to cut off the static, the relentless flow of information. Artists who retreat to the woods in search of truth and authenticity are regarded as saviours: bearded and flanneled messiahs whose commitment to honest creation is a counterpoint to the dissonance of the twenty-first century.

The latest incarnation of this story is Everything, Everything, an album

by Jim Kilpatrick, a songwriter from New Brunswick who performs as Shotgun Jimmie.

“I think it’s a natural instinct of the musician to want to be focused and put yourself in a situation where there’s less distractions,” Kilpatrick says from Sackville, New Brunswick, where he is taking a break after a string of successful shows in Ontario. “You have the freedom to just work on whatever it is — making paintings or making rock albums or whatever.” Last winter

Kilpatrick retreated to a cabin in Manitoba. He brought a bunch of instruments, a batch of inveterately upbeat pop songs, and his favourite four-track recorder. “I knew that it was a cliché.

But I also knew that it would be really,

the sound of the album before the tape began to roll. “I had to pick the colours to put on the palette,” he says. “I had to decide what ingredients I was going to put in the soup before I knew what kind of soup I was going to make.”

I knew that it was a cliché. But I also knew that it would be really, really rewarding — and really fun.

JIM KILPATRICK

really rewarding — and really fun. And maybe the experience of a lifetime.”

He also knew that the wake left by cliché leads inevitably to truth.

Kilpatrick recorded virtually every sound on Everything, Everything himself. Most recording studios are in cities, or close to them, and extra instruments can be acquired on short notice. Kilpatrick did not have this luxury in rural Manitoba; he had to bring everything with him, to map out

Besides his usual arsenal of guitars, one of the most important ingredients was a Korg synthesizer. Kilpatrick rented it because he knew synthesizers can produce a wide variety of sounds.

The fact that he had no idea how to play it was not a problem. “I brought it with me to the cabin in the woods because I wanted to learn how to use one of those things,” he says with a laugh.

“And I ended up using it quite a bit.”

Unusual as it may be for Kilpatrick to CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE »

14 APR 26 – MAY 2 CULTURE

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use a synthesizer — his records tend to feature strong guitars and percussion wrapped up in tight pop structures — the Korg is far from the strangest instrument on Everything, Everything.

The guitar solo that opens “I Will Climb Mountains,” the only song on the album that sprawls past the five-minute mark, features more than just an overdriven tube amp. Half the sound is a dumpster lid, played by Kilpatrick’s brother. “I took a break from the recording to go do some flooring at my parents’ house, and we rented this dumpster to throw all the old carpet and stuff in,” he says. “My brother noticed that this door was really musical.

He got me out there and we recorded it.” Kilpatrick was surprised by how well the frequencies produced by the dumpster lid meshed with the frequencies produced by a screaming electric guitar. “It might sound like two guitars, or one guitar really going wild, but there’s actually quite a bit of dumpster in there,” he says. “They get all mixed up together, but you can hear the low sounds of the door. And the chains that were hanging on the door.”

Kilpatrick also spent hours trying to record the sound of the ice on a nearby lake. “It was freezing and cracking and making these strange martian sounds,” he says. “I’d hear it in the middle of the night, drag myself out of bed, and put a microphone in the window. I tried putting a microphone outside. I tried everything to capture this sound of ice

PHOTO: COURTESY OF KEVIN BERTRAM

making this alien whale music, and I just couldn’t get it.”

These experiments with kitchen wares, industrial containers, and frozen lakes illustrate Kilpatrick’s commitment to sonic exploration, but they only tell half the story. Most people expect albums recorded on the fringes of society to be ruminative, if not downright gloomy. Everything, Everything is the exact opposite. Its 16 tracks, only three of which run past

three minutes, are short and intense and chronically cheerful. “I think this record is not the sad guy going into the woods,” Kilpatrick says. “This album ended up being extremely positive in nature.”

The songs on Everything, Everything cover a lot of territory, from rolling acoustic pop to ‘50s-vintage rock and roll to lo-fi proto-punk. But they all follow a similar pattern. Rather than develop a riff over the course of several minutes, Kilpatrick leaves audiences wanting more. His songs present an infectious idea once, or maybe twice, before crashing to a halt.

“I wanted to have short musical ideas and hooks that don’t necessarily reoccur, but maybe just happen once,” he says, adding that he considered titling the album Verse Chorus Verse Chorus Peace. “I really enjoy that on other people’s albums: when they have an incredible hook and you wait for it to come around again in the song cycle, and it just isn’t there.”

Besides keeping audiences interested, the songs on Everything, Everything — like the songs on its critically acclaimed predecessor, Transistor Sister — reflect Kilpatrick’s reality, the bulk of which is spent on the road. “I went into writing the songs realizing that regardless of how they were recorded I was going to have to perform them,” he says, referring to the fact that most of his shows are solo, with little more than a guitar, a suitcase kick drum, and some effects for support. “And I know from performing that short songs suit people’s fancy. It’s easier to hit an audience with a bunch of short songs, and have all of them have a quick story or some sort of lyrical hook or melodic hook. I don’t want people to get bored.” After a brief pause he adds, “I would get bored.”

What separates Everything, Everything from the pop albums it borrows ideas from is Kilpatrick’s songwriting.

Rather than write about big ideas like love and loss, he sings about the things we take for granted. The songs on Everything, Everything chronicle the minutiae of everyday life: the ordinary, the uninteresting, and the banal. What makes the record so strong is how it unfolds much like the moments that make up our own lives — sometimes pleasing, sometimes infuriating, always chaotic, always engaging. The

theme of the record is captured on “Growing Like A Garden,” which is reminiscent of the Shins: “An excellent example / Of the things you just can’t plan for / That just turned out to be true.”

Most people listen to music to forget their reality, if only for a few minutes. This is why stories about guys who record albums in the woods are so popular. But instead of producing a record that fuses big ideas to an expansive musical vision, Kilpatrick’s wilderness retreat spawned a picture of the life he sought to escape. There are stories about waiting in line, getting day drunk, going to Sappyfest, worrying about Skype dates — stories about the things we never think of presented in wrenching detail. In the same way John K. Samson’s “Sun In An Empty Room” devastates with its simple description of sunbeams arcing across the floor of an empty apartment, the songs on Everything, Everything cast new light on the most

mundane moments. Our lives do not follow a continuous arc. They are confused and messy, agglomerations of thousands of disparate events and interactions. Everything, Everything attempts to find order in chaos, to extract meaning from the shards of memory and experience. By drawing on all of his own recollections and memories, in music and in life, Kilpatrick created a mirror — a reflection of himself and of everybody else. Escaping the city to record an album in the woods might be a cliché, but finding art that casts new light on our own lives is not — and never will be.

Shotgun Jimmie May 10 @ Amigos Tickets at the door Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@MacPhersonA amacpherson@verbnews.com

15 APR 26 – MAY 2 /VERBSASKATOON

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ARTS

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FOOD + DRINK

MUSIC

LISTINGS

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NIGHTLIFE

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TIMEOUT

CULTURE

FOOD + DRINK

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Photo courtesy of Adam Hawboldt

Saskatoon Asian Restaurant serves up scrumptious laksa

BY ADAM HAWBOLDT

T

he other evening, sitting in a dimly-lit coffee shop downtown, I turned to my friend and said, “Guess what? I’m going to get some laksa tomorrow.”

“You’re going get what?”

“Laksa.”

“Uh,” he said, “how long have you been constipated for?”

Once I finished laughing (and cleaning up spilled coffee), I explained to him that I wasn’t talking about laxatives. What I was talking about was laksa — a spicy noodle soup that is wildly popular in both Malaysia and Singapore.

“Oh,” he said, still confused. “Is it any good?”

“Good? It’s better than good. It’s rich and hearty, sweet and spicy.

Hands down one of the tastiest dishes I had when I was in Singapore.”

And that’s no lie.

Anyone who has ever eaten laksa knows just how good it is.

Whether you’re enjoying the sweetness of curry laksa or the tamarind-tinged sourness of Asam laksa, the soup (which you’ll find at street vendors pretty much anywhere in Singapore and Malaysia) is unique and scrumptious and almost always amazing.

Problem is, since moving to Saskatoon I haven’t been able to find laksa. Like, anywhere.

But all that changed when I found out about the Saskatoon Asian Restaurant on 2nd Ave. Word on the street was that they make a pretty mean laksa.

And here’s the thing about the word on the street — more often than not, it’s usually right.

So the day after having coffee with my pal, I hit up the Saskatoon Asian Restaurant for a bowl of that mouthwatering Malaysian mainstay.

It didn’t disappoint.

In fact, the curry laksa at the Saskatoon Asian Restaurant was as good or better than any I ate overseas. I kid you not. The broth was rich and sweet and spiced to perfection. There was an ample amount of vermicelli noodles and bean sprouts for filler. What’s more, the dish — garnished with sliced chicken breast, deep-fried tofu, half a hard-boiled egg and some laksa leaves — was authentic as all-getout-of-here.

Needless to say, I was more than pleased with it.

The same goes for the spring rolls that I snacked on as a side dish. Light and crispy, these savoury bites offered a nice contrast the sweetness and spice of the

LET’S GO DRINKIN’ VERB’S MIXOLOGY GUIDE SINGAPORE SLING

INGREDIENTS

What’s the first drink that comes mind when you think of Singapore? The Singapore Sling, of course. So here’s a recipe for this smooth, sweet cocktail that was invented in the Raffles Hotel in Singapore during the early 1900s.

1 1/2 oz gin 1 oz lemon juice 1/4 oz sugar syrup 1 1/2 tsp powdered sugar 2 oz club soda 1/2 oz cherry brandy lemon slice + maraschino cherry for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Pour gin, lemon juice, sugar syrup and powdered sugar into shaker with ice cubes. Shake well. Drain into a highball glass filled with ice, then add the club soda. Float the brandy on top by pouring it over the back of a bar spoon. Garnish with cherry and lemon.

laksa — which, in case you’re wondering, also come in vegetarian.

So the next time you feel like eating a rather unique dish, why not give the laksa at Saskatoon Asian Restaurant a try? Oh, and keep your eyes open for some other Malaysian dishes they’ll be adding to their menu. They’ll be coming soon.

Saskatoon Asian Restaurant 136 2nd Ave. S | 306 665 5959

Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@AdamHawboldt ahawboldt@verbnews.com

16 APR 26 – MAY 2 CULTURE

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MUSIC

NEXT WEEK

COMING UP

THE F-HOLES

SKYDIGGERS

JASON ALDEAN

@ VANGELIS WEDNESDAY, MAY 8 – $5

@ AMIGOS CANTINA THURSDAY, MAY 9 – $20

@ CREDIT UNION CENTRE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3 – $49.75+

No matter how the name of this band may sound to you, it’s probably not what you think. See, not so long ago, members of this five-piece from Winnipeg were playing instruments with a lot of f-holes in them, thought it would make a cool band name, and The F-Holes was borne.

Oh, and speaking of cool, these guys — James Mckee (trumpet/ cornet, vocals), Patrick Alexandre Leclerc (vocals, upright bass), Eric Lemoine (banjo, pedal steel, electric bass, vocals), Blake Thompson (guitar, sax, vocals) and Evan Friesen (drums) — combine rockabilly, country and Dixieland into a highenergy roots-type sound that’s sure to get you out of your seat and moving your feet. What better way to spend a spring evening?

The 1980s was a special time for music in Toronto. With bands like Blue Rodeo and The Cowboy Junkies cutting their teeth on the city’s music scene, the singer-songwriter tradition was alive and well in the Big Smoke. This is also when the band that would eventually become Skydiggers began to form. It started with singer Andy Maize and guitarist Josh Finlayson, performing as a duo called West Montrose.

They soon added guitarist Peter Cash, drummer Wayne Stokes and bassist Ron Macey, and the Skydiggers started to record albums. Now 12 records and a new line-up later, they’re still going strong. Skydiggers will be hitting up Amigos Cantina next week; tickets available at www.ticketedge.ca

What do song like “Why,” “She’s Country,” “Big Green Tractor,” “Dirt Road Anthem” and “Take a Little Ride” all have in common — other than all being Jason Aldean songs?

The answer is they are five of the 10 Aldean songs that have hit #1 on the Hot Country charts. Not too shabby for a guy who has released just five albums. Born in Macon, Georgia, Aldean has tasted success since his first, self-titled record dropped in 2005. Since then he’s won Country Music Awards, American Country Awards, Billboard Music Awards, you name it. And with the release of his new album, Night Train, Aldean is at it again — making hits and winning accolades. Don’t miss the Night Train tour as it rumbles through Saskatoon.

Tickets through Ticketmaster.

– By Adam Hawboldt

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

SASK MUSIC PREVIEW SaskMusic is excited to launch Music2Media, an innovative pilot project that allows Saskatchewan artists to upload their releases, high quality photos, bios and more, and choose which user groups they wish to allow access.

Media and industry professionals, including community radio, provincial and national print media, major music bloggers and more will be able to login as needed to download or preview material. Further details will be posted on www.saskmusic.org > How To. Keep up with Saskatchewan music. saskmusic.org

17 APR 26 – MAY 2 @VERBSASKATOON

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FOOD + DRINK

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LISTINGS

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LISTINGS

APRIL 26 » MAY 4 The most complete live music listings for Saskatoon.

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26 27 3

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FRIDAY 26 HOUSE DJS / 6Twelve Lounge — Funk, soul & lounge DJs. 9pm / No cover JEANS BOOTS, PANDAS IN JAPAN, MEHTA / Amigos Cantina — Get ready for a pop explosion. 10pm / Cover TBD

FRED BALLANTYNE / The Bassment — Ballantyne will tickle the ivories. 4:30pm ROMI MAYES / The Bassment — Sweet blues rock. 9pm / $15/20 DJ AASH MONEY / Béily’s — Every Friday night. 9pm / $5 cover HARRY MANX / Broadway Theatre — One of the best bluesmen working. 8pm / For tickets call (306) 652-6556 KASHMIR / Buds — Western Canada’s premier tribute to Led Zeppelin. 10pm / $6 CHUBBY CHECKER / Dakota Dunes Casino — This music mainstay wants you to come out and do the twist. 8pm BAND WARS IX / Fez on Broadway — Feat.

Evening Armistice, Six Blocks, Mostly Wanted, Jumbo, Hollow Between the Hills, and Wrathed. 9:30pm / No cover before 9pm DJ ECLECTIC / The Hose — Featuring local turntable whiz DJ Eclectic. 8pm / No cover

DJ SUGAR DADDY / Jax Niteclub — He’ll have you on the dance floor. 9pm / $5 cover SCMA SONGWRITERS’ SPOTLIGHT / Longbranch — A night of country songs and storytelling. 8pm / $25 THE REBELLION, SHOELESS JOES / Lydia’s — Rock and soul. 10pm / $5 DJ BIG AYYY & DJ HENCHMAN / Outlaws — Round up your friends. 8pm / $5 CAILA ELLERMAN / Prairie Ink — A local folk/roots artist. 8pm / No cover THUNDER ROSE / Somewhere Else Pub and Grill — Things are going to be a rockin’. 9pm THE PLAN / Spadina Freehouse — Smooth beats from a talented DJ. 9pm / No cover REZ BOYS / Stan’s Place — Rock to get your weekend started. 9pm / No cover DUELING PIANOS / Staqatto Piano Lounge — Featuring Terry Hoknes, Neil Currie and Brad King. 10pm / $5

PARTY ROCK FRIDAYS / Tequila Nightclub — Featuring DJ Dislexik. 9pm / Cover TBD GUNNER AND SMITH / Vangelis — Let’s rock the night away. 10pm / $5

SATURDAY 27

HOUSE DJS / 6Twelve — Resident DJs spin soulful tunes all night. 9pm / No cover ROYAL CANOE + MORE / Amigos — This place will be jumpin’! 10pm / Cover TBD SOLSTICE / The Bassment — Singing jazz standards from the ‘20s on. 9pm / $15/20 AUSTEN ROADZ + DJ CTRL / Béily’s — Every Saturday night. 9pm / $5 SASKATOON FIDDLE ORCHESTRA / Broadway Theatre — With special guest Kim de Laforest. 7:30pm / $17 (advance), $20 (day of) KASHMIR / Buds — Western Canada’s premier tribute to Led Zeppelin. 10pm / $6

SCMA ROOTS CAFE / Dakota Dunes — The best country music. 12:15pm / $10 NEW ARTIST CABARET / Dakota Dunes — Featuring Aaron Pritchett. 10pm / $20 THE S.I.N. / Fez — A rockin’ band from Edmonton. 9pm / Cover TBD COLLECTIVELY GREEN / Grace Westminster Church — An eco-friendly concert with loads of musical guests. 10am DJ KADE / The Hose — Saskatoon’s own DJ lights it up with hot tunes. 8pm / No cover DJ SUGAR DADDY / Jax Niteclub — He’s able to rock any party. 9pm / $5 cover COAL CREEK BOYS, BANJO VAN / Lydia’s — Come out for a folkin’ good time. 10pm / $5 DJ BIG AYYY & DJ HENCHMAN / Outlaws — Round up your friends. 8pm / $5 DOUG BOOMHOWER TRIO / Prairie Ink — Smooth jazz music. 8pm / No cover THUNDER ROSE / Somewhere Else Pub and Grill — Things are going to be rockin’. 9pm DJ ALBERT / Spadina Freehouse — A DJ who gets the party started. 9pm / No cover REZ BOYS / Stan’s Place — Rock to get your weekend started. 9pm / No cover DUELING PIANOS / Staqatto Piano Lounge — Featuring Terry Hoknes, Neil Currie and Brad King. 10pm / $5 SEXY SATURDAYS / Tequila Nightclub — Featuring DJ Dislexik. 9pm / Cover TBD RANDI NELSON AND THE AMATI QUARTET / Third Ave. United Church — Works by Mozetich, Foote, and more. 2pm and 7pm / $15 (www.persephonetheatre.org)

SUNDAY 28

VERONIQUE EBERHART TRIO / The Bassment — Eberhart will mesmerize. 2:30pm / $15/20 INDUSTRY NIGHT / Béily’s — Hosted by DJ Sugar Daddy. 9pm / $4; no cover for industry staff DJ KADE / The Hose — Saskatoon DJ lights it up with hot tunes. 8pm / No cover BEMUSED / The Refinery — A concert for young kids. 2:30pm / Tickets at McNally Robinson SCMA COUNTRY GOSPEL SHOW / Third Avenue Church — Some country gospel for the soul. 1pm / $15 BLUES JAM / Vangelis Tavern — Offering blues to rock and more. 7:30pm / No cover

MONDAY 29

THE FAPS / Amigos Cantina — Also appearing is Caves. 10pm / Cover TBD JESSE ROADS BAND / Buds — High-energy blues/rock from Alberta. 10pm / $6 METAL MONDAYS / Lydia’s Pub — Hard, heavy awesomeness. 9pm SYNAPTIC / Vangelis — A great night of electronic fun. 10pm / No cover

18 APR 26 – MAY 2 ENTERTAINMENT

CONTENTS

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EDITORIAL

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ARTS

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FOOD + DRINK

MUSIC

LISTINGS

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NIGHTLIFE

COMICS

TIMEOUT

VERBNEWS.COM

TUESDAY 30 THE STORY OF JAZZ / The Bassment — Celebrate International Jazz Day. 8pm JESSE ROADS BAND / Buds — High-energy blues/rock from Alberta. 10pm / $6 DJ SUGAR DADDY / The Double Deuce — He rocks any party. 9:30pm / $4 cover OPEN STAGE / Lydia’s — Check out Saskatoon’s finest performers. 9pm / No cover OPEN MIC / Somewhere Else Pub — Come out to show your talent. 7pm / No cover

WEDNESDAY 1

HUMP WEDNESDAYS / 302 Lounge — Featuring DJ Chris Knorr. 9pm / $3 after 10pm OPEN MIC / The Fez — Hosted by Chad Reynolds. 10pm / No cover DJ KADE / The Hose — Saskatoon DJ lights it up with hot tunes. 8pm / No cover DR. J ‘SOULED OUT’ / Lydia’s — Hot funk and soul. 9pm / No cover WILD WEST WEDNESDAY / Outlaws — Come ride the mechanical bull! 9pm / $4 CJWW KARAOKE / Stan’s Place — Your talent, aired on the radio! 9pm / No cover DUELING PIANOS / Staqatto Piano Lounge — Featuring Terry Hoknes, Neil Currie and Brad King. 10pm / No cover RALEIGH + MORE / Vangelis — A night of folk and indie.10pm / $5

THURSDAY 2

IVAN AND ALYOSHA / Amigos — Folk-pop/ indie rock. 10pm / $11 (ticketedge.ca) MOTLEY CRUE / CUC — The bad boys of rock. 7:30pm / $29.25-116 (ticketmaster.ca) THROWBACK THURSDAYS / Earls — Featuring Dr. J. 8pm / No cover THUNDER RIOT / The Fez — Come dance the night away. 9pm / $5 DJ KADE / The Hose — Saskatoon DJ lights it up with hot tunes. 8pm / No cover DJ SUGAR DADDY / Jax — It will be rocking!

8pm / $5 CHARLEY PRIDE / TCU Place — He’s a legend. 7:30pm / $62.50-71.50 (tcutickets.ca) TRIPLE UP THURSDAYS / Tequila — Featuring DJ Stikman. 9pm / Cover TBD NUELA CHARLES / Vangelis — Retro-fitted jazz, soul, hip hop and R&B. 10pm / $5

FRIDAY 3

HOUSE DJS / 6Twelve Lounge — Funk, soul & lounge DJs liven it up. 9pm / No cover KEITH HARKIN / Amigos — A talented singer from Ireland. 10pm / Cover TBD BRETT BALON, DAVID FONG / The Bassment — Some smooth jazz stylings. 4:30pm ROOTS SERIES: EILEEN LAVERTY / The Bassment — One of the most beautiful voices on the prairies. 9pm / $18/23

GONG SHOW / Béily’s UltraLounge — The first Friday of every month! 9pm / $5 cover DEAD CITY DOLLS + MORE / The Fez — Unfiltered rock. 9pm / No cover before 9pm DJ ECLECTIC / The Hose — Some snappy electronic beats. 8pm / No cover DJ SUGAR DADDY / Jax Niteclub — This local crowd favourite rocks. 9pm / $5 cover GRAHAM TILSLEY / Lydia’s Pub — Time to get jazzed up and rock out. 10pm / $5 DJ BIG AYYY & DJ HENCHMAN / Outlaws — Round up your friends . 8pm / $5 IT’S TOO LATE, BABY / Prairie Ink — Covers of James Taylor and Carole King. 8pm THE REBELS / Stan’s Place — Come rock the night away with this local band. 9pm DUELING PIANOS / Staqatto — Featuring Terry Hoknes, Neil Currie and Brad King playing all your requests, from Sinatra to Lady Gaga. 10pm / $5

PARTY ROCK FRIDAYS / Tequila Nightclub — Featuring DJ Dislexik. 9pm / Cover TBD

SATURDAY 4

HOUSE DJS / 6Twelve — Resident DJs spin deep and soulful tunes all night. 9pm / No cover SHOOTING GUNS / Amigos Cantina — It’s dark, it’s loud, it’s oh so good.10pm / Cover TBD CAIN/ANDREW DUO / The Bassment — A piano duo that will make your jaw drop.

9pm / $15/20 AUSTEN ROADZ + DJ CTRL / Béily’s — With over 25 years of DJ experience, Austen Roadz throws down a high-energy top 40 dance party. 9pm / $5 cover JOHNNY DON’T / Fez on Broadway — Also appearing will be Eli, for short, and All Mighty Voice. 9pm / Cover TBD

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

8pm / No cover DJ SUGAR DADDY / Jax Niteclub — Able to rock any party, this local crowd favourite has always been known to break the latest and greatest tracks in multiple genres. . 9pm / $5 cover SKYLAB / Le Relais — Featuring DJ Czech, Moodfood and Klen. 9pm / $10 SOLID COLLEGE, FORTUNATE ISLES, GO FOR THE EYES / Lydia’s Pub — Three talented bands, one low price. 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 TWO TALL DUDES / Prairie Ink — Acoustic versions of ‘70s and ‘80s music. 8pm / No cover

THE REBELS / Stan’s Place — Come rock the night away with with this local band. 9pm / No cover DUELING PIANOS / Staqatto Piano Lounge — Terry Hoknes, Neil Currie and Brad King belt out classic tunes and audience requests, from Sinatra to Lady Gaga. 10pm / $5 SEXY SATURDAYS / Tequila Nightclub — Featuring DJ Dislexik. 9pm / Cover TBD (ladies get free cover before 11pm)

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

19 APR 26 – MAY 2 /VERBSASKATOON

CONTENTS

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EDITORIAL

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ARTS

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FOOD + DRINK

MUSIC

LISTINGS

FILM

NIGHTLIFE

COMICS

TIMEOUT

ENTERTAINMENT

FILM

PHOTO: COURTESY OF PARAMOUNT PICTURES

THIS AIN’T NO TRANSFORMERS

Uber-action director Michael Bay tries his hand at something different, and succeeds with Pain & Gain BY ADAM HAWBOLDT

W

hat’s your favourite Michael Bay movie?

Seriously. Even if you loathe the guy and think he’s responsible for everything wrong and rotten in Hollywood these days, there must be one of his movies that you like — at least a little.

Is it The Rock? Bad Boys? Transformers? Pearl Harbour?

Whatever it is, it’s not as good as Pain & Gain, Bay’s new low-budget (well, low-budget for Bay —$25 million) caper movie.

Based on a series of articles that ran in the Miami New Times in the

bodybuilders from Florida who stop pumping iron long enough to hatch

[Pain & Gain has] suspense, comedy, and decently realized characters.

ADAM HAWBOLDT

late ‘90s, Pain & Gain is the strangerthan-fiction story of three dimwitted

a birdbrained plot that involves kidnapping, torture and extortion.

The ringleader of the group is this guy named Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg), a muscle-bound, fast-talking gym manager who wants to live the American Dream. He wants to be rich. He wants to be famous. He wants power.

Problem is, Daniel doesn’t really want to work for it.

So he comes up with a scheme to kidnap a wealthy client of his (the terrific Tony Shalhoub) and convince him by hook or by crook (by that, I totally mean torture) to give him everything he has.

To do this he enlists the help of fellow dumbbells Adrian (Anthony Mackie), who isn’t exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer, and Paul (Dwayne Johnson) an ex-con with a newfound love of God and a serious coke addiction.

As you’d expect, their plan has a few holes in it and things go wildly awry. Hilarity ensues.

Well, maybe not “hilarity,” but Pain & Gain is a pretty damn funny movie. Surprising, right? I mean, the words Michael Bay and funny aren’t what you’d call synonymous. But the overblown, blundering nature of the characters, the inclusion of funny folk Ken Jeong, Rob Corddry and Rebel Wilson in the film, and the circular bickering between Daniel, Adrian and Paul all add up to a movie that’ll make you laugh.

At least until the final act, when Michael Bay suddenly realizes, “Oh crap, this is a real story about violent dudes who torture people,”

PAIN & GAIN Michael Bay STARRING Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson + Anthony Mackie DIRECTED BY

130 MINUTES | 14A

and decides to take the movie to darker, more serious areas.

Right. And remember when I said this is Michael Bay’s best movie? Well, I meant it. Sure, there are explosions and T&A (wouldn’t be a Bay film without those), but there is also a story, a plot, suspense, comedy, and decently realized characters.

There’s also a modicum of hipness to Pain & Gain. With its evershifting viewpoint and voice-over narration, the movie has a cool, kinetic energy that sucks you in. Then there’s the moment when the movie is reaching its apex of absurdity and the words “This is still a true story” flash on the screen.

Yet for all this you have to remember one thing: no matter how much this movie has going for it, it’s still unmistakably a Michael Bay film.

And that leaves you to wonder what a more subtle, nuanced director would’ve/could’ve done with this story.

A whole lot, I bet.

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THE WITCH OF WAR French film Rebelle lives up to its Oscar buzz

BY ADAM HAWBOLDT

L

et’s cut to the chase, shall we? No sprawling introduction, no detailed lede. Just an honest, no-nonsense proclamation: the Oscar-winning flick Rebelle is good. Damn good.

It’s one of those rare movies that has the ability to punch you in the gut with one hand while tugging at your heart strings with the other. The kind of movie that sticks with you long after the closing credits roll.

Written and directed by Canadian Kim Nguyen, Rebelle (or War Witch in English) tells the story of Komona, a young girl who was kidnapped from her village in sub-Sahara Africa and forced to be a child soldier.

When we first meet Komona (played by Rachel Mwanza) she is on a homemade teeter-totter, an innocent kid at ease with the world.

But her world changes when a rebel army led by Great Tiger (Mizinga Mwinga) storms her village. Then and there, Komona is given a choice: shoot her parents or watch them get hacked to death by a machete.

Not wanting her parents to suffer, Komona humanly shoots them, then is whisked off by the rebel army to become a child soldier. She and the other kidnapped kids are given AK-47s

PHOTO: COURTESY OF MÉTROPOLE FILMS DISTRIBUTION

Under the supervision of many directors, a gut-wrenching story like this could have easily become sentimental and overemotional. Luckily, Nguyen isn’t one of those directors. He simply tells Komona’s story (which is inspired by true events) from a detached, observational, even dispassionate viewpoint.

And therein lies one of the main reasons Rebelle is so damn good.

Instead of having music and scenes that “tell” you how to feel, Nguyen

Instead of having music and scenes that “tell” you how to feel, Nguyen simply “shows” you a story unfolding.

ADAM HAWBOLDT

and told to “respect your guns. They’re your new mother and father.”

From there, Komona descends further into hell. She is forced into months of vicious indoctrination, hard labour, and combat training, and that’s just the beginning.

Now stop for a minute. Let everything you just read sink it.

Pretty heavy stuff, right?

simply “shows” you a story unfolding.

The result is nothing short of a swift, breath-stealing shot to the jejunum.

Another thing that makes Rebelle remarkable is that Nguyen intimately understands a story like this needs balance: there has to be some light shining through all the darkness. So he makes sure there is much more to this movie than the aforementioned horrors.

REBELLE Kim Nguyen Rachel Mwanza, Mizinga Mwinga + Serge Kanyinda DIRECTED BY STARRING

93 MINUTES | N/A

For instance, the story line about how Komona becomes a “war witch” is crucial to the plot and, at times, even gives the audience a slight breather from her misery.

And then there’s the storyline about Komona’s relationship with a young albino soldier named Magician (Serge Kanyinda), a pairing that really gives the film its artistic balance. But to say anything more about it would be unfair to anyone who plans on seeing Rebelle. And see it you should.

Films like Rebelle don’t come along every day. Even if you aren’t a fan of foreign films (it’s French, with subtitles), you don’t want to miss this one. Trust me.

Rebelle will be playing at Broadway Theatre on May 2.

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SATURDAY, APRIL 20 @

THE ODEON

The Odeon Events Centre 241 2nd Avenue South (306) 651 1000 MUSIC VIBE / Changes all the time,

depending on the live act DRINK OF CHOICE / domestic beer or doubles SOMETHING NEW / Renovations to the bar, dance floor and stage COMING UP / MGMT with guests on May 9, and Bay City Rollers starring Les McKeown on May 11

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Photography by Ishtiaq Opal

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SATURDAY, APRIL 20 @

THE COLONIAL

The Colonial Pub & Grill 1301 8th Street East (306) 343 8881 MUSIC VIBE / Eclectic, thanks

to live karaoke performances FEATURED DEALS / Flavoured vodka for $4.50, and import beers for $5 DRINK OF CHOICE / Kokanee beer SOMETHING NEW / New kitchen opening soon; karaoke every night and DJs every weekend

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

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CROSSWORD CANADIAN CRISS-CROSS 25. Blissfully peaceful and happy 27. Disgrace 30. Slacken gradually 34. Toothpaste container 35. Summit 36. Adversary 37. Be inaccurate 38. Make a reference to 39. Very much 40. Showy feathers 42. Nullify 44. Say the letters of a word in order 45. Runs, but not fast 46. Narrative 47. Wise man

DOWN 1. It’s used on circuit boards 2. Signs a contract 3. Lawyer’s charge 4. Cruel use of power 5. Deliver a punch 6. Water falling from clouds 7. Assistance 8. Having existed from the beginning 9. Obsession 11. Tangle 12. Fuse metal together 14. Heavily overcast 17. Not care for properly 20. ___-de-camp 21. Contest between rivals 23. Calcium oxide

24. Get out of bed 26. Grieves over 27. Unit of movement SUDOKU ANSWER KEY in dancing A 28. Pitches a baseball 29. Sudden and unexpected 31. Recently 32. ___ the bill (pays) 33. Elaborate outdoor party 35. Passage between rows of shelves in a supermarket B 38. Honeycomb compartment 39. In excited eagerness 41. ___ culpa 43. Baseball abbreviation

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

ACROSS 1. Put through a sieve 5. Prevent from getting away 9. Medium of exchange 10. Split ___ (worry about minutiae) 12. Former right fielder for the Expos 13. Canadian constituency 15. A rope has two 16. In a short time 18. Impair the perfection of 19. Make up a story 20. Once again 21. Few and far between 22. Lovable person 24. Assemble in a mass meeting

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

TIMEOUT

© WALTER D. FEENER 2013

HOROSCOPES APRIL 26 – MAY 2 ARIES March 21–April 19

LEO July 23–August 22

SAGITTARIUS November 23–December 21

If you find yourself getting frustrated this week, Aries, don’t get bent out of shape. Don’t freak out. Just take a step back and chill the hell out.

Feeling creative lately, Leo? If so, focus all that energy on one project this week. The end result be better than you expect.

Have you been striving toward a goal, Sagittarius? If so, keep striving. Good things are just around the corner. If not, get your act together.

TAURUS April 20–May 20

VIRGO August 23–September 22

CAPRICORN December 22–January 19

Your energy is going to be low the next little while, Taurus. Try not to overexert yourself early in the week.

You’ll regret it later.

Has your perfectionism been getting the best of you, Virgo? Don’t let it. Remember: no one has all the answers.

Sometimes you are passive and let people walk over you, Capricorn.

Not anymore — something may be asked of you this week. Make your thoughts known.

GEMINI May 21–June 20

LIBRA September 23–October 23

AQUARIUS January 20–February 19

Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself. Push your boundaries this week, Gemini. You’ll be surprised what will come of it.

Whoa buddy! If you don’t watch what you say or do, this week is going to be full of conflict, Libra.

Tread carefully.

Your ethics and values will be put to the test this week, Aquarius.

Stand strong. Don’t change your beliefs in the face of adversity.

CANCER June 21–July 22

SCORPIO October 24–November 22

PISCES February 20–March 20

Romance is in the air this week, Cancer. Unfortunately, not for you.

Don’t worry, though. Your time will come soon enough.

Sometimes our self-confidence ebbs and wanes, Scorpio. It happens to the best of us. Be prepared for some fluctuation this week.

Try not to care if people judge you this week, Pisces. Sometimes a person just needs to be alone with their inner crawlspace.

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

CROSSWORD ANSWER KEY

A

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

B

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