Verb Issue S238 (May 3-9, 2013)

ISSUE #238 – MAY 3 TO MAY 9

ARTS

CULTURE

MUSIC

SASKATOON

CHRIS HO SEARCHING FOR HOPE AND

FREE!

READ & SHARE

STARTING UP Stashbelts and the entrepreneurial revolution PRAIRIE WINDS Q+A with Theresa Sokyrka IRON MAN 3 + NO Films reviewed­

PHOTO: COURTESY OF BRETT REIDW

NEWS + OPINION

CONTENTS

LOVE AND ACTIVISM The Traveling World Community Film Festival finds its footing. 4 / LOCAL

STARTING UP Stashbelts, crowdfunding, and the entrepreneurial revolution. 6 / LOCAL

BRING THE UFC HERE ON THE COVER:

CHRIS HO

Searching for hope. 12 / COVER

Our thoughts on prize fighting sports in Saskatchewan. 8 / EDITORIAL

COMMENTS Here’s your say on changing perceptions on bullying. 10 / COMMENTS

PHOTO: COURTESY OF LISA WU

CULTURE

Q + A WITH THERESA SOKYRKA A global songstress. 12 / Q + A

THE HOME SHOW Populism and art at the Mendel Art Gallery. 13 / ARTS

CHINESE AMERICAN DONE RIGHT We visit Auntie Jane’s. 16 / FOOD + DRINK

THE LARAMIE PROJECT

MUSIC

Young actors tackle a heart-wrenching project. 13 / ARTS

Jesse and the Dandelions, This Hisses + Selena Gomez. 17 / MUSIC

ENTERTAINMENT

LISTINGS Local music listings for May 3 through May 11. 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

CONTACT

ART & PRODUCTION

COMMENTS / FEEDBACK@VERBNEWS.COM / 306 881 8372

DESIGN LEAD / ROBERTA BARRINGTON

ADVERTISE / ADVERTISE@VERBNEWS.COM / 306 979 2253

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

DESIGN / LAYOUT@VERBNEWS.COM / 306 979 8474

IRON MAN 3 + NO

ON THE BUS

The latest movie reviews. 20 / FILM

Weekly original comic illustrations

by Elaine M. Will. 26 / COMICS

NIGHTLIFE PHOTOS

GAMES + HOROSCOPES

We visited Outlaws + Vangelis Tavern. 22-25 / NIGHTLIFE

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

GENERAL / INFO@VERBNEWS.COM / 306 979 2253

2 MAY 3 – MAY 9 VERB MAGAZINE

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LOCAL

PHOTO: COURTESY OF LEILANI ROY-WRIGHT

LOVE AND ACTIVISM

Now in its third year, the Traveling World Community Film Festival finds its footing BY ADAM HAWBOLDT

I

t’s eight o’clock on Thursday night. A handful of people sit in the darkened auditorium at Dr. Martin LeBoldus High School, watching a movie.

On the screen in front of them is an image of a man holding a spraypaint canister. He’s crouched down, spraying a black number 99 on a white piece of Bristol board. And in the background a voice-over is saying, “this movement isn’t about 99% toppling the 1%. You know the next chapter of that story is that the 99% create a new 1%. That’s not what it’s about.”

The image on the screen cuts to a cluster of red balloons floating in contrast against a grey urban sky. It cuts to a man wearing a mustachioed Guy Fawkes mask. It cuts to another man bent down, using a sharpie to make a protest sign.

And the voice-over continues: “What we want to do is create a more beautiful world, a world that our hearts tell us is possible. A sacred

world. A world that is healing. A world of peace.”

The voice is telling the movie viewers that something significant

film like this you leave changed.

You want to make a change that helps inspire the feeling of love.

That feeling of connectedness.

…with a festival like this, you watch [a film], and it turns into what can ‘we’ do.

LEILANI ROY-WRIGHT

is taking place. A shift in consciousness “that inspires such things is awakening in different people in different ways.” It is telling them, “love is expansion of the self to include the other. There’s no one to fight. No evil.”

The name of the film is Occupy Love — a documentary by Velcrow Ripper that was chosen as one of the films kicking off the 2013 Traveling World Community Film Festival. “It’s a really exciting film,” says Jennifer Krall. “When you leave a

That’s what’s going to drive our next generation forward.”

And funny enough, it was a member of this next generation that started this film festival in the first place.

Rewind a few years, back to 2010.

It was the year Wikileaks dominated headlines. The year North Korea bombed the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong. It’s also the year a teenager named Leilani Roy-Wright put on her first film festival.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE »

4 MAY 3 – MAY 9 NEWS + OPINION

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“I was in Grade 11 and we had this project on something like globalization,” says Roy-Wright.

“It was supposed to be community focused, so I decided to put on a little film festival.”

And when Roy-Wright says “little,” she isn’t kidding. Her festival consisted of two films about poverty, and not too many people showing up to watch them.

And while most people highschool age would view that as a failure, Roy-Wright was hellbent on doing better. So when she was on a road trip with her aunt that summer and found out about the Traveling World Community Film Festival, a light bulb snapped on in her head.

“While we were driving my aunt would talk about the film festivals she’d put on in the past, and she mentioned she brought the Traveling World Community Film Festival to Peterborough,” says Roy-Wright. “And I thought, ‘Hmm, maybe I should start a festival like that in Regina.’”

And that’s exactly what she did.

The following year, during her first semester in the 12th grade, Roy-Wright made her move to bring the film festival to Saskatchewan. While other people her age were out running the roads, hanging out, partying and thinking about graduation, Roy-Wright was busy contacting the creators

of TWCFF in British Columbia and putting together a committee to oversee operations of the festival.

“One of my teachers in high school, who was fantastic, said they’d be on the committee and a couple of friends joined and some family friends,” says Roy-Wright.

“Then in February I went to B.C. to see how they ran things. I learned a lot there, then brought what I learned back and incorporated as much as I could.

And, presto! The Traveling World Community Film Festival was established in Regina.

Fast forward three years, to the present day.

The film festival — which shows documentaries dealing with topics like climate change, food insecurity, exploitation and a host of other issues facing the world today — is still going, stronger and smoother than ever.

“It’s a lot easier when you’re into the third year of something,” says Krall, who took over as festival chair this year. “You already have a base of volunteers, people know about it, stuff like that. It was much harder for Leilani. A lot more work.

It’s tough when you’re first starting something. You’re really passionate about it, but if people haven’t experienced it yet, it’s hard to get them excited.”

Slowly, though, this excitement has grown. Each year more people are attending the TWCFF. More students and teachers are paying attention to the documentaries and the issues they are bringing to the public’s consciousness.

“It’s really exciting to involve high school students,” explains Krall. “You want them to develop that passion, that excitement over issues and activism. Inspiring that can be kind of hard. But festivals like this can help.”

Roy-Wright wholeheartedly agrees. After all, that’s the reason she brought the TWCFF to Saskatchewan in the first place.

“Film is a really good medium in getting messages across,” she explains. “People can watch a film and discuss it. It builds a sense of community because people go to these events and they have discussions after. They meet other like-minded people. If you watch a documentary at home you may enjoy it, but be like ‘so what can I do about it?’ But with a festival like this, you watch it and it turns into what can ‘we’ do.”

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5 MAY 3 – MAY 9 @VERBSASKATOON

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LOCAL

STARTING UP

New Saskatchewan company uses crowd funding to join the entrepreneurial revolution BY ADAM HAWBOLDT

PHOTO: COURTESY OF JONATHAN KALAN

W

hen Jeff Davis was 16 his father gave him a gift.

Up to that point in Davis’ life, he’d never really been away from home.

Never really traveled. But when the Rotary Club chose him to be an exchange student in France all that changed. And as a going-away present, his father gave him a money belt.

“My dad had it tailor-made for him back in the ‘70s,” says Davis.

“It wasn’t really that great, but it had a pocket big enough to stash a couple hundred in there and a photocopy of your passport, health insurance, flight information … that kind of stuff.”

The belt came in handy more than once during the course of the next decade or so. But while Davis was in Kenya on a journalistic fellowship, the belt broke.

“It broke right where the hole is,” says Davis. “It was more than 30 years old, so that’s going to happen.

But it snapped right off. There was no way to fix it, so the first thing I said to myself was, ‘Where am I going to get a new one?’”

At first the answer was ‘nowhere‘ — at least not in any stores in Nairobi. But while on a tour of the Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute, Davis had an idea.

“There was a leather shop there, I talked to the leather master and he put me in touch with this artist named Jonnah Kandu,” says Davis. “He made

me a money belt to replace the one I had that broke.”

That’s when Davis started thinking: “wait a second, there’s some potential here.”

Potential for what? Creating a company that makes money belts, of course.

But how does a journalist with zero business experience go about creating a company from the ground up?

At this moment in history, we’re in the midst of an entrepreneurial revolution

cally a way for people to network and pool their money through websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. The money raised has been used to fund disaster relief, political campaigns, citizen journalism, and, in the case of Stashbelt, start-up companies.

“For us, it was basically a pre-sale,” explains Davis. “We were looking to get $10,000 to get things started.”

In the very first days their campaign was aimed solely at family and friends, who would pre-order products from Stashbelt.

I’m not going to lie to you, it seemed like a harebrained scheme…

JEFF DAVIS

of sorts. And it’s not just here in Saskatchewan. As economies around the world have faltered and declined, new small independent businesses have sprung up in cities and towns all over.

To get things up and running, some of these entrepreneurs turn to the banks for a start-up loan. Others opt for investment equity.

But to help launch Stashbelt — his new leather goods business — Jeff Davis turned to crowdfunding.

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of crowdfunding, it’s basi-

From there, Davis and his partners expanded their reach using social media, word of mouth and traditional media.

“People had the option to buy a bag, buy a belt or go with the stockthe-stash option,” says Davis. The stock-the-stash option — which was designed for businesses that wanted to carry the Stashbelt line in stores — led to a $2,500 boost from a waterfront business in Halifax, N.S. 35 days after the campaign began, Stashbelt had achieved its goal CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE »

6 MAY 3 – MAY 9 NEWS + OPINION

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PHOTOS: COURTESY OF JONATHAN KALAN

of $10,000. “Actually,” says Davis, “we ended up with a bit more. Our final total was $10,191.”

Of that money about a quarter million Kenyan shillings went to leather purchases. Stashbelt is also in the process of hiring three more full-time staff in Kenya — where all the products are made.

“The experience using Indiegogo has been awesome,” says Davis. “In starting or growing a small independent like this cash flow is king, so crowd funding was a really good option for us. It really worked.”

And that explains how a young journalist from Canada can create a new start-up company in Kenya.

Which now begs the question: why?

“I’m not going to lie to you, it seemed like a harebrained scheme when I first thought of it,” says Davis of his initial idea to start a company. “But there’s something very inspiring about the way Africans are. There’s no safety net there. It’s 2013 and people in Kenya are still starving to death. If you don’t hustle there, you don’t live.”

So all around the country people are running small businesses, doing what they can to get by.

Chatting over a pint the day after Stashbelt’s Indiegogo campaign hit their monetary goal, Davis talks about his time in Kenya, and the essence of African entrepreneurialism. “There’s got to be a million small businesses there,” he says. “And I’m not talking small business the way we think of it here. It can be as simple as the bus pulls up to the bus stop and a guy jumps on with a big bag of candy saying ‘three candy for five cents.’ It’s a simple little business, but that guy makes a living off it.”

And as this spirit of entrepreneurialism slowly seeped into Davis, he

decided to step out of his comfort zone into the world of business.

“A lot of people don’t get into business because they think ‘I’m not a businessman so I can’t do that,’” says Davis. “And that’s where I was, too. But after living in Africa, my thinking changed.”

Now Davis is hoping to change the way people carry their money when overseas.

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STASHBELTS Handcrafted by artists in Nairobi, Stashbelts are made of fine-quality Kenyan leather.

And while they look like a normal belt on the outside, the inside of a Stashbelt consists of an 18-inch zipper pocket in

which you can stash money, keys, jewelry, whatever. Oh, and there’s also a hidden $GB micro USB stick on which to store documents like a photocopy of your passport and insurance information.

7 MAY 3 – MAY 9 /VERBSASKATOON

CONTENTS

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FOOD + DRINK

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EDITORIAL

BRING THE UFC TO SASKATCHEWAN

It’s time to allow prize fighting events in our province

S

n June, Winnipeg will host Manitoba’s firstever UFC card. And while that’s great for our neighbours to the east, we think it would be even better if Saskatchewan could play host to a similar kind of event.

Too bad we can’t. You see, Saskatchewan doesn’t have a provincial athletic commission to regulate fighting sports, which means the UFC can’t come to Saskatoon. And we think it’s time to change that.

After all, the event Manitoba will be hosting sounds pretty great.

There’s a bantamweight title fight between champ Renan Barão and contender Eddie Wineland. UFC

legend Dan Henderson takes on Rashad Evans. And fan-favourite Maurício Rua does battle with Antônio Rogério Nogueira. It threatens to be a night full of fireworks that

benefits to permitting fighting sports in our city. First of all, mixed martial arts is wildly popular in this province. After all, all you have to do is head out to your local sports

…if a UFC card were to be held here a sell-out would be guaranteed to happen.

VERB MAGAZINE

will, in all likelihood, pack the MTS Centre to the rafters and bring in millions of dollars in revenue.

And we need to be doing that here, because there’s a ton of

bar the next time there’s a UFC payper-view card playing, and look at how many people went out with the express intention of watching the fights.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE »

8 MAY 3 – MAY 9 NEWS + OPINION

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PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE UFC

And the timing works out quite well. You see, there are proposed changes to Section 83 (2) of the Criminal Code of Canada, changes that aim to expand the definition of prize fighting. At the moment, boxing is considered the only legal prize fighting allowed in Canada. But should the changes to Section 83 (2) pass — as is expected — then mixed martial arts, jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai boxing and the like would become prize fighting sports under the law. And here’s the thing: if Saskatchewan doesn’t create an athletic commission, then any and all combat sporting events will constitute Criminal Code violations.

So we’ve got the desire, and we’ve (potentially) got an enormous variety of fighting sports we could be hosting. But this all doesn’t mean much, unless the UFC wants to come here.

Good thing they do.

Yes, you read that right. This isn’t some Field of Dreams, “build

it and they will come” scenario we’re talking about here. Tom Wright, director of operations for UFC Canada, has gone on record publicly saying the organization wants to put a show on in Saskatchewan, but simply can’t do it until the sport is properly regulated here.

And how do you “properly regulate” it? You create a provincial athletic commission, of course.

In Ontario, back in 2010, they decided to properly regulate mixed martial arts and do you know what happened? The first UFC event they put on in Toronto following the decision packed the Rogers Centre to the tune of 55,724 fans paying a live gate of over $12 million. In case you’re wondering, that’s a record showing for a UFC card. It’s also part of the reason why UFC boss Dana White refers to Canada as the mecca of mixed martial arts.

See, whenever there’s a show in this country people go out to

see it. How many people? Well, let’s just say that the least amount of people to ever attend a UFC card in our country was 14,685.

To put that number into perspective, the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon holds about 15,000 people. Needless to say, given the popularity of mixed martial arts in this province, not to mention the enthusiasm our neighbours to the east and west have for the sport, if a UFC card were to be held here a sell-out would be guaranteed to happen. A live gate worth millions of dollars would also happen. Then there’s the economic spin-off for local business that an event like

this would generate — restaurants, hotels, pubs, bars, and more.

So that raises the question: what in the heck are we waiting for?

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

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9 MAY 3 – MAY 9 @VERBSASKATOON

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FOOD + DRINK

MUSIC

LISTINGS

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NIGHTLIFE

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NEWS + OPINION

COMMENTS

ON TOPIC: Last week we asked what you thought about changing the way we perceive bullying. Here's what you had to say: – http://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=sJo366tlDu4&feature=you tube_gdata_player: “Feedback” ; YouTube clip of Mark Wills anti-bullying country song “Don’t Laugh At Me” with lyrics. Everyone should have a listen to that song since it pretty well sums everything up about bullying!! 0:-)

– Heads up to Mr. Harper if you think bullying has the connotation of kid’s misbehaving it’s easy to see which end of the stick you were on back in the day..

– I completely disagree with your editorial on bullying. I am not sayin that bullies shouldn’t be punished at all, but i think just puttin them in jail or whatever perpetuates and cements the behaviour that got them in trouble in the first place. There needs to be something in place to help them transition back into society after their time.

After all, these are teens. Yeah they did something bad to get in trouble but strict punishment is not the only answer.

– I agree that if an adult was hostile to another adult then we wouldn’t stand for it. And I know that what those kids did in NS was horrifying and adult-like in behaviour (allegedly did). But teens still don’t have a sense of things being bigger than themselves. How many kids would drink and drive as a teen and not worry about it, behaviour that would horrify us as adults knowing the tragic outcomes. This obviously doesn’t excuse the behaviour, but I just think it’s not as cut and dry as you presented. Interesting read though.

Text yo thoughtsur to 881 VE R B 8372

– Spare the rod spoil the child. Cyber bullying and what happened to that poor girl illustrates how out of control kids are these days.

OFF TOPIC – That was a great feature on Gerry Armsworthy. Kinda reminded me of my old friend Dave who would always pick up porcupine roadkill so he could sell them to First Nation artisans.

In response to “Furry Fashion,” Local, #237 (April 26, 2013)

– I agree with the government doing takes its a lot faster and convenient at least we get too look over them to see if we agree or not.

Mich* In response to “It’s Too Taxing,” Editorial, #236 (April 19, 2013)

SOUND OFF – I can’t believe the city spends over $318,000 on a study to predict traffic flow. A growing city means that the traffic will only get worse. You do the math. We need a circle drive without lights and bridges to move traffic.

– If your checking the highway hotline before leaving toonerville on your trip to yorkton and its may 1, you don’t need a weatherman too tell you its an unusual spring.

– To the authorities organizing flood fighting. Its gonna be bad so try not to waste resources on lost causes. Focus on the critical infrastructure and where you know for sure resources won’t be wasted.

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10 MAY 3 – MAY 9 NEWS + OPINION

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POWERED BY THE CREW AT MOGA MOBILE

– Well peeps Unfortunately we have “perfect storm” conditions like nothing in 50 yrs. Its gonna be at least 1 in 50 to 100 yr flood. Its gonna be bad! To those in the flood zone May God Bless and watch over your home and livliehood. To the rest do your best to help out or at least stay out of the way. People before property or money!

– I just read an article stating that Bonnie McLachlan, a teacher, is guilty of sexual exploitation of a 15 year old child student. I am angry and sick she only gets conditional sentence and community service. It is a serious breach of trust towards a child. She sexually exploited a child and that is being a pedophile. Did she not get jail time because she is a woman?

A male would definitely be off to federal penitentiary. Seriously hard jail time warranted for ALL people who are sexual predators.

Bonnie McLachlan is a sexual predator who is selfish and wants to dominate and control children in a sexual way. Call your MP and your MLA tell them we won’t put up with light sentences for sexual predators.It disgusts me Bonnie got away with serious crime.

– Why does Safeway play “Rock the Casbah” over the sound system but not “Lost in the Supermart”??

NEXT WEEK: What do you think about bringing the UFC to Saskatchewan?

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 MAY 3 – MAY 9 /VERBSASKATOON

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PRAIRIE WINDS

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF ANTHONY HEYWOOD / JEAN-HUGO ORD

World traveler Theresa Sokyrka can’t stop writing about Saskatchewan BY ALEX J MACPHERSON

I

n the years since Theresa Sokyrka finished second on the second series of Canadian Idol, behind Kalan Porter, the Saskatchewan singer-songwriter has pushed back at the pop idiom.

Prairie Winds, which will drop in June, is her first release of original material in more than six years.

Written over a series of long trips, including a period spent working on cruise ships, and recorded in Madrid, Prairie Winds is softer and more thoughtful than anything the 32-year-old has done to date.

I caught up with Sokyrka, who spends much of her time traveling and writing about her experiences, to talk about the new record, working overseas, and the 10 years since her Canadian Idol debut.

Alex J MacPherson: It’s been a long time, almost seven years, since you released a record of original material.

What has the lead-up to Prairie Winds been like?

Theresa Sokyrka: It was a long planning period, for sure.

Some of these songs I wrote about three or four years ago. You just have to trust yourself after awhile, but it’s definitely a fearful thing. Definitely.

AJM: Does taking that long make it any easier?

TS: I think so. I think what I’ve really learned from being in the studio is to give it time. For the last albums of my career, the last four I’ve done, I’ve always kind of rushed into the studio

and realized that there’s so much to be said for doing preproduction. It’s so important to take that time to really concentrate on where you want the songs to go. I’ve figured out that the process that works best for me is to really just take my time.

was nice to play with people that didn’t play folk music — the musicians are all jazz musicians. It was nice to give them a new type of music to play, and use their musicality to bring a new flavour.

AJM: Your introduction to the music business was unconventional. Does your career today match up with what you were thinking back in 2004?

AJM: The strange thing about Prairie Winds, an album about leaving and coming back to the prairies, is that you cut it in Spain.

TS: I think I’ve realized how difficult it really is. I really had a lot of help from Idol, and when I think back 10 years ago I always knew I was going to be a

TS: I did, yeah! I found some really great musicians just by going to jams

…when I think back … I always knew I was going to be a musician…

THERESA SOKYRKA

every day, pretty much. Everything just started coming together. Once you really fall in love with the way somebody plays, you realize that nothing can possibly go wrong. Once I picked my players and I picked my engineer, and made all those decisions, that’s when I sort of realized this album’s really going to be great, and I’m really excited.

musician and I didn’t really think that Idol was something I needed in order to do that. But it definitely did help me make some investments in my career.

Idol definitely made it so I could do it, so I could fathom the idea of having a career for sure. But if I think back before Idol? This was my only option in life. I really do believe it’s the only thing that makes me happy, the only thing I could see myself doing.

AJM: So I assume being away sharpened your thoughts on home, but was making it so far away a struggle?

Theresa Sokyrka May 12 @ Amigos Cantina Tickets available at the door

TS: No! I think what the record is about is leaving the prairies. There was that yearning to be back, but it was a good thing to cut the record while I was away because it gave me that yearning for the prairies, and it really

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ARTS

THE HOME SHOW

Populism and art at the Mendel

BY ALEX J MACPHERSON

T

he Home Show is an exhibition of works from the Mendel Art Gallery’s extensive permanent collection. But unlike most permanent collection shows, which are curated by one person and developed around a single idea, the works in The Home Show were selected by a large group of people and limited by nothing except the word “home.”

“I was surprised by the diversity of choices and some of the more abstract work,” says Sandra Fraser, the Mendel Art Gallery associate curator who organized the crowdsourced exhibition, explaining that she conducted interviews with gallery staff members and helped them select works to fill out the show. “I did encourage people to think broadly, but I wasn’t convinced they would take me up on it, so it’s really gratifying.”

Broad is an understatement. The Home Show contains a dizzying array of works, from paintings and photographs to sculptures and installations. Some highlights include A. Y. Jackson’s magnificent “Farm at Ripon, Quebec” (selected by museum technician Dave Duchscher) and a black and

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF THE MENDEL ART GALLERY

white photograph of a woman peering out of a car window by Gaston Vermosen (chosen by registrar Donald Roach). Program assistant Wendy Paterson chose Gordon Smith’s concentric colour field “V A,” and accounting coordinator Dean Summach picked an enormous streetscape by James Graham, “Visit Woolworth’s.”

Fraser chose John Boyle’s “RL207” for the exhibition, an arresting serigraph featuring images of an Avro Arrow and an aboriginal woman in front of the Barrie, Ontario skyline — her hometown. “I live here, but Saskatoon is not home,” she says. “It’s not a negative thing, because I love Saskatoon, but it’s not home.”

Each work in the show was chosen because it reflects one person’s

interpretation of home. And like the people who chose them, the works in The Home Show are extraordinarily diverse. But they are also broadly similar. Each piece is part of the same collection, a group of works that has been accumulating since 1965.

“Everybody thought that it was important,” Fraser says of the gallery’s collection. “One of the things I was interested in was, well, why is the permanent collection important? One of the things that came through most of the time is something I also agree with: a collection is a place where the story of this place is represented through these objects.”

The Home Show June 2 @ Mendel Art Gallery

THE LARAMIE PROJECT

Young actors tackle a modern classic

O

n October 7, 1998, Matthew Shepard was tied to a fence, beaten with the butt of a pistol, and abandoned on a desolate road near Laramie, Wyoming. He died five days later, a few months before his 22nd birthday.

Shepard’s murder became a watershed in the gay rights movement, his name synonymous with the fight to end violence against homosexuals. The story of his death, and the story of how a small town grappled with his killing, are at the heart of The Laramie Project.

Written by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project, the play consists entirely of transcribed interviews — real words spoken by

BY ALEX J MACPHERSON

real people in the wake of an event that became a national tragedy.

“The Laramie Project has been done quite a bit, certainly around North America, but the crazy thing is it’s still an incredibly important thing to say,” says Will Brooks, who is directing the play. “It’s not a problem that’s solved. When it comes down to it, the piece is really about hate, and what it does to people and what it does to communities.”

Brooks, a fixture of the Saskatchewan theatre community, is working with the Kinsmen Young Company, a group of young actors who earn the opportunity to taste life in a professional theatre. The Laramie Project

addresses complex ideas head-on, and promises to challenge its young cast in new ways, but Brooks thinks the investment is worth the reward.

“I think it raises the level of respect in the room for those words, and then subsequently for the people who spoke them,” Brooks says, explaining that while the people of Laramie expressed a wide range of opinions after Shepard’s death, some of which are contemptible, all of the characters in the play are real people. “When you have a piece like this, that is very moving and very powerful, you have to somehow find a way to appropriately, properly, and respectfully interpret those words — and that human being.”

The presence on stage of real characters speaking real words is more than a difficulty to be overcome in the name of entertainment, however. It is an exposure of the fault lines that continue to divide North America. But the young actors, devoid of cynicism and full of hope, hint at a future where the hatred and fury that animated Shepard’s killers can be eradicated forever.

The Laramie Project May 16-18 @ Remai Arts Centre $10 students, $15 adults@ the box office

Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@MacPhersonA amacpherson@verbnews.com

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CITY OF DUST

PHOTO: COURTESY OF LISA WU

Chris Ho’s search for hope in urban decay and environmental disaster BY ALEX J MACPHERSON

I

n 2010, Chris Ho traveled to Pennsylvania to work as a counsellor at a summer camp. He didn’t agree to spend the summer away from his home in Victoria because he wanted to reinvent himself; he accepted the job for the reasons most people accept jobs — because he needed the money, and because he thought it would be fun. It didn’t occur to him that two months in the woods would reshape the arc of his life, and compel him to chase a career in music. But that is exactly what happened.

“There’s a lake that’s the centrepiece of this camp,” the young musician recalls. “You could go out on the little dock there and sit on this bench.” Ho spent a lot of time sitting on that bench, watching the sun set and idly strumming his guitar. His thoughts often turned to a friend — “someone who was very close to me, who I loved very much” — who had committed suicide several months earlier. The wound was still raw and painful. As the sun plunged below the horizon, he found himself contemplating the delicate balance between existence and oblivion.

“There was this realization that life is too fragile to not be truthful to yourself, in what you actually love versus what you think you should do,” he

explains. “I had a few moments within that quietness, just this feeling that things were falling into place. That this was something I was meant to do.”

Ho was already an accomplished musician and songwriter. Although stage fright kept him away from the coffee houses where aspiring singersongwriters hone their craft, he had released a series of demos, gentle pop

stage and started playing shows. But music was never anything more than a sideline. He was determined to work as a high school teacher, and was completing a degree in English literature at the University of Victoria when two months away changed his life. In the fall of 2010, he returned home determined to cut a record, to carve out a career. “It’s that timeless universal story

It’s just looking past all the progress that we’ve made in society … and still finding something to hold on to…

CHRIS HO

and folk songs burned onto blank CDs and illustrated with hand-drawn covers. “I started developing my sound a little bit, and getting better about producing these demos in my bedroom,” he says. “And people were really relating to what I was going through: being out of university and entering a new world — and experiencing love or whatever in a more serious way for the first time.”

By the time he left for Pennsylvania, Ho had overcome his fear of the

where someone experiences some sort of hardship in their life, and it causes a lot of pain, but it also results in a realization,” he says. “A kind of rebirth coming out of the ashes of that pain.”

Chris Ho released his first album, a five-track EP called Answers, in early 2011. Although it hinted at Ho’s untapped potential, Answers suffered from a lack of direction. Instead of presenting Ho’s musical vision, a desire to move beyond the limits imposed by his voice and his guitar, the album meCONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE »

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andered across the landscape of folk and pop, going nowhere in particular.

“I was trying to create something that was radio-friendly, almost more on the side of folk-pop,” Ho admits, alluding to the loud drum tracks that ovewhelm the delicate guitar lines and thoughtful lyrics that give the songs their shape.

“I was getting so caught up in creating something that sounded accessible that I was selling the songs short, almost, by not really adding more to it. It seems to me that an album makes more of an impact when it’s accessible, but has a certain amount of musical depth.”

Ho was determined to do better.

City Of Dust, which he released in January, is everything its predecessor was not. Produced by Sam Weber, a close friend, the album dulls the jagged edges that made Answers hard to handle without flattening out the peaks and valleys that create resonance and tension. “It was such a contrast from before, where it felt like there was someone hovering over me, saying we shouldn’t get too carried away,” Ho says of his newfound creative freedom and Weber’s expansive approach to production. “It clicked right away.

He understood that it’s okay to spend an hour on the introduction and on blending a harmonica with a trumpet and making a trumpet sound like it’s not even a trumpet. To challenge the listener to listen even more closely, because if they’ll listen more closely

PHOTO: COURTESY OF LISA WU

then maybe they’ll listen more closely to the lyrics — and understand it on a thematic level.”

The songs on City Of Dust benefited from a long incubation period.

Ho spent a lot of time dreaming up the rich textures and complicated arrangements that give the songs their shape, and he made sure each track fit into the framework of his musical vision. Many singer-songwriters flounder with a band behind them, the emotional weight of their songs

eroded by wave after wave of sound.

Ho skirted this problem by working backward. Instead of building outward from a central riff or idea, he envisioned the whole before writing a note.

City Of Dust embraces a wide variety of sounds, from sweeping indie rock to gentle acoustic pop, but the songs are linked together by the depth and openness of the music.

Although his acoustic guitar plays a pivotal role, each sound on the palette is structural: take one away and the song will collapse. “Trouble,” which opens the record, accentuates a sparse guitar chord with a wavering trumpet line. The title track features an angular guitar lick and the gentle swell of a synthesizer that contrast sharply with Ho’s liquid vocal line.

“Doesn’t Make Sense” moves into rock and roll territory, with a pair of electric guitars weaving back and forth on top of a snappy drum beat and a series of joyous handclaps. But City Of Dust is much more than an exercise in blurring genres.

The record is a meditation on the human condition in the 21st century.

“Because it was so broad on an instrumental level, inevitably the themes had to also be broad,” Ho explains. “It’s by no means a concept album. It’s an album that ties together these themes of modernity and our impact on the environment, and what that means.

And also how we respond to the world around us, and consequently how we respond in relationships we have with people and with nature.”

City Of Dust envisions a postapocalyptic world where harmony has been washed away by the rise of technology and the weight of loneliness.

“With all the progress we’re pushing toward technologically, it’s simultaneously making us more connected than ever and somehow more alienated than ever,” he says, pointing out that he is a member of the last generation that will remember life before the internet.

“But this isn’t new; this is since the start of the 20th century. T.S. Eliot talks about it, all those modern poets do.”

But City Of Dust is not without hope. Although the album sprawls across urban wastelands and receding icecaps, Ho finds redemption in the most uninviting places: “One day I’ll look up above the surface, see the simple notes dancing on the sea crest / Oh I’ll learn to live outside my head

and see what I’ve been missing out on,” he sings on “Simple Notes,” which closes out the album. And while it is never made clear whether hope and joy emerge from decay or in spite of it, the focus of City Of Dust meshes perfectly with the impulse that drove Ho to make music in the first place. “In those moments when I feel like others are going through similar obstacles, it’s such a good moment, you feel so connected at that moment,” he says. “The album is searching for it, I’m searching for it. It’s just looking past all the progress that we’ve made in society, and the implications in how we live, and still finding something to hold on to.”

Chris Ho May 15 @ Spadina Freehouse No cover Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@MacPhersonA amacpherson@verbnews.com

15 MAY 3 – MAY 9 /VERBSASKATOON

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CHINESE AMERICAN DONE RIGHT

Photos courtesy of Adam Hawboldt

Auntie Jane’s has been serving Saskatoon well for 20 years

BY ADAM HAWBOLDT

O

ne of the most popular cuisines in North America is Chinese food. And we’re not talking authentic, recipes-from-the-old -world Chinese food, either. We’re talking about the cuisine better known as Chinese American.

You know the dishes: sweet and sour chicken balls, chop suey, chicken chow mein — that kind of stuff. Eat in or take out, chances are you’ve tried this cuisine a time or two. But while you were cracking

open a fortune cookie, did you ever stop to wonder where American

century, in a hilly little city called San Francisco, when a group of people

The wontons were big and meaty [and] the broth was good…

ADAM HAWBOLDT

Chinese cuisine originated from?

Well, I’ll tell you.

It all started back in the 19th

emigrated from the countryside outside Canton. Many of these people opened restaurants. Some were large and opulent, others were smaller.

And it’s in these smaller ones that American Chinese cuisine was born.

See, without access to certain foods and spices native to their homeland, and with a foreign palate to please, these restaurateurs began adapting local ingredients in order to cater to customers’ tastes. And tada! American Chinese food was born.

Now in nearly every city and town across the country you can find a “Chinese” restaurant. And no matter where it is, the menus are fairly similar.

There’s always chow mein, there’s always chop suey, there’s always wonton soup, chicken fried rice, and more.

The Chinese restaurant nearest my house is called Auntie Jane’s. It’s

LET’S GO DRINKIN’ VERB’S MIXOLOGY GUIDE SAN FRANCISCO COCKTAIL

INGREDIENTS

The Golden Gate city is not only the birthplace of American Chinese food, it’s also one of the hippest cities on the continent, with more than its fair share of eating and drinking establishments. Here’s a cocktail bearing the city’s name.

3/4 oz sweet vermouth 3/4 oz dry vermouth 3/4 oz sloe gin 1 dash orange bitters 1 dash bitters 1 cherry

DIRECTIONS

Fill a tumbler with ice. Place all ingredients in tumbler, except for the cherry. Shake well. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with cherry and serve.

been in the Lakewood neighbourhood for two decades now, and I may be a tad biased but the food there is pretty darn good. With the origins of American Chinese cuisine on my mind, I ordered a feast of new-world Chinese food when I was there the other day.

First up was the wonton soup, which was excellent. The wontons were big and meaty, the broth was good, and there was a surprise piece of salty pork hidden underneath everything — yum. After that came the Szechuan chow mein. With its thick noodles, delicious BBQ pork and a slight spice, this dish was, I think, my favourite of the feast. I also sampled some almond chicken and vegetable

chop suey (tasty! and best of all, the vegetables were cooked to crisp perfection), and ginger chicken. Sweet and spicy, the ginger chicken was a refreshing take on the ginger beef you get everywhere.

When the feast was over, I waddled around the corner to my house, wondering why I hadn’t ordered the Moo Goo Gai Pan, too.

Auntie Janes 1945 McKercher Dr. | 306 373 3955 Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@AdamHawboldt ahawboldt@verbnews.com

16 MAY 3 – MAY 9 CULTURE

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MUSIC

NEXT WEEK

COMING UP

JESSE AND THE THIS HISSES DANDELIONS

SELENA GOMEZ

@ LYDIA’S PUB FRIDAY, MAY 10 – $5

@ AMIGOS CANTINA SATURDAY, MAY 11 – TICKETS AT THE DOOR

@ CREDIT UNION CENTRE SUNDAY AUGUST 18 – $50+

Intimate. That’s the best way to describe the music of Jesse and the Dandelions. With sweeping, low-key vocals and songs that deal with everything from heartbreak to friendship to coming home again, this Lethbridge trio puts on a performance that is at once heartfelt, hip and cozy.

Think John K Samson meets the Strokes with a bit of something else tossed in the mix. Their first album, The Lion’s Tooth, dropped in 2010, and since then the guys have honed their skills at venues across Western Canada, tightening their sound and developing a stage performance that is nothing if not engaging. The band — which consists of Jesse Northey, Tyler Stewart and Nick Vedres — will be in town next week to do their thing at Lydia’s. Don’t miss it.

There’s something dark and beautiful about This Hisses’ latest album, Anhedonia. The music is haunting, full of dark themes and ghostly harmonies that will stick with you long after you hear them. But at the same time there’s also something light about it. Maybe that comes from the ethereal voice of frontwoman Julia Ryckman, who has the kind of pipes that can shatter glass. Whatever it is, this post-punk trio from Winnipeg is the kind of band that captures audiences’ attention. Consisting of Ryckman, Jean-Paul Perron and Patrick Short, This Hisses released their debut album, Surf Noir, in 2011, and are now out on the road promoting their sophomore effort. Head to Amigos Cantina next week to see what they’re all about.

Selena Gomez seems to be everywhere these days. On the big screen in her new movie Spring Breakers, on entertainment websites, and splashed all over the news because of her are-they-or-aren’t-they relationship with Justin Bieber. Oh yeah, and her new song “Come & Get It” broke into the top-5 on Billboard charts after she performed it on Dancing With the Stars a few weeks ago. Since 2009, Selena Gomez and the Scene (the group that she fronts) have put out three albums full of bright, fun pop songs that have garnered all kinds of awards. No doubt about it, Gomez has certainly come a long way since getting her big break on Barney & Friends in the early 2000s. She’ll be in Saskatoon in August.

– By Adam Hawboldt

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

SASK MUSIC PREVIEW The Next Big Thing: entry deadline reminder! All emerging country artists serious about a career in music are encouraged to enter Big Dog 92-7’s Next Big Thing contest. The prize package, valued at over $15,000, includes cash, mentorship, and career-building opportunities. The deadline to enter is May 9 — see www.thenextbigthing2013.ca for more details.

Keep up with Saskatchewan music. saskmusic.org

17 MAY 3 – MAY 9 @VERBSASKATOON

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LISTINGS

MAY 3 » MAY 11 The most complete live music listings for Saskatoon.

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FRIDAY 3 HOUSE DJS / 6Twelve Lounge — Funk, soul & lounge DJs liven up the atmosphere at 6Twelve. 9pm / No cover KEITH HARKIN / Amigos — A talented singer/songwriter from Ireland. 10pm

PIANO FRIDAYS: BRETT BALON, DAVID FONG / The Bassment — Feel like taking in some smooth jazz stylings? Come check out Balon and Fong tickle the ivories of the Kinsman Yamaha S6 grand piano. 4:30pm / No cover 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 SCREAMLYNE / Buds on Broadway — A local rock quintet. 9pm / $6 DJ ECLECTIC / The Hose & Hydrant — Local turntable whiz DJ Eclectic pumps snappy electronic beats. 8pm / No cover DJ SUGAR DADDY / Jax Niteclub — This local crowd favourite has always been known to break the latest and greatest tracks in multiple genres. 9pm / $5 cover

GRAHAM TILSLEY / Lydia’s Pub — Time to get jazzed up and rock out. 10pm / $5 DJ BIG AYYY & DJ HENCHMAN / Outlaws — There’s no better country rock party around.

8pm / $5; ladies in free before 11pm IT’S TOO LATE, BABY / Prairie Ink — Covers of James Taylor and Carole King. 8pm / No cover DEAD CITY DOLLS, BYE BYE BABY / Rock Bottom Sports Bar — Unfiltered rock n’ roll.

9pm / No cover before 9pm THE REBELS / Stan’s Place — Come rock the night away with with this local band. 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 AEROSOL CONSTELLATIONS / Vangelis — Also appearing will be Caves, Surely I Come Quickly, Greemist and VYXSYMS. 9pm / $8

SATURDAY 4

HOUSE DJS / 6Twelve — Resident DJs spin deep and soulful tunes. 9pm / No cover SHOOTING GUNS / Amigos — 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 DJ AASH MONEY + DJ CTRL / Béily’s — Every Saturday night. 9pm / $5 cover SCREAMLYNE / Buds on Broadway — A local rock quintet. 9pm / $6

DJ KADE / The Hose & Hydrant — Saskatoon’s own DJ lights it up. 8pm / No cover DJ SUGAR DADDY / Jax Niteclub — He is sure to have you on the dance floor in no time. 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 JOHNNY DON’T / Rock Bottom Sports Bar — Also appearing will be Eli, for short, and All Mighty Voice. 9pm / Cover TBD THE REBELS / Stan’s Place — Come rock the night away. 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) JP HOE / Vangelis — Also appearing will be 100 Mile House and Six Moons Later.

10pm / $7

SUNDAY 5

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 IMAGINATION MOVERS / TCU Place — A high-octane rock act from the Disney Channel. 1pm / $29.50+ BLUES JAM / Vangelis Tavern — The Vangelis Sunday Jam offers great tunes from blues to rock and beyond. 7:30pm / No cover

MONDAY 6

THREE STRING FRETLESS / Buds — Come rock the night away. 10pm / $6 METAL MONDAYS / Lydia’s Pub — If hard, heavy awesomeness is your thing, swing by. 9pm THE BODY POLITIC / Rock Bottom Sports Bar — Prog rock/metal from Nanaimo. 10pm SYNAPTIC / Vangelis — A great night of electronic fun. 10pm / No cover

TUESDAY 7

JOHNNY DON’T / Buds on Broadway — A local band you DO have to see. 10pm / $6 THE TENNESSEE THREE / Dakota Dunes — Johnny Cash’s old band are out on their own. 6:30pm / $40 DJ SUGAR DADDY / The Double Deuce — This crowd favourite has always been known to break the latest and greatest tracks in multiple genres. 9:30pm / $4

18 MAY 3 – MAY 9 ENTERTAINMENT

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VERB PRESENTS OPEN STAGE / Lydia’s Pub — The open stage is a chance for bands, solo artists and even comedians to showcase original material. 9pm / No cover OPEN MIC / Somewhere Else Pub — Come out to show your talent. 7pm / No cover

WEDNESDAY 8

HUMP WEDNESDAYS / 302 Lounge & Discotheque — Featuring DJ Chris Knorr. 9pm / No cover until 10pm; $3 thereafter JOHNNY DON’T / Buds on Broadway — A local band you DO have to see. 10pm / $6 DJ KADE / Hose & Hydrant — Saskatoon DJ lights it up with hot tunes. 8pm / No cover DR. J ‘SOULED OUT’ / Lydia’s Pub — Dr. J spins hot funk and soul. 9pm / No cover WILD WEST WEDNESDAY / Outlaws Country Rock Bar — Hosted by DJ Big Ayyy & DJ Henchman. Come out and ride the mechanical bull! 9pm / $4; no cover for industry staff.

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 F-HOLES, CLASSY CHASSYS / Vangelis — Two excellent bands. 9pm / $5

THURSDAY 9

’25 LIVE’ CONCERT SERIES / Amigos Cantina — Featuring the Skydiggers. 10pm / $20 (ticketedge.ca) THE WEBER BROTHERS / Buds — A badass rock band from the U.S. 10pm / $6 BOB SEGER / Credit Union Centre — Come show off your night moves. 8pm / $66.50+ (ticketmaster.ca) THROWBACK THURSDAYS / Earls — Come experience the best in retro funk and soulprovided by Dr. J. 8pm / No cover DJ KADE / The Hose & Hydrant — Saskatoon DJ lights it up. 8pm / No cover DJ SUGAR DADDY / Jax Niteclub — Local DJ Sugar Daddy will be rocking! 8pm / $5; free cover with student ID before 11pm MGMT / Odeon Events Centre — A psychrock band from the U.S. 7pm / SOLD OUT

TRIPLE UP THURSDAYS / Tequila Nightclub — Featuring DJ Stikman. 9pm / Cover TBD ULTRA MEGA / Vangelis — Blending indie rock, dark psychedelia, dreamy pop and more. 9:30pm / $7

FRIDAY 10

HOUSE DJS / 6Twelve Lounge — Funk, soul & lounge DJs liven it up. 9pm / No cover SHOTGUN JIMMIE / Amigos Cantina — A talented singer/songwriter from New Brunswick. 10pm / Cover TBD PIANO FRIDAYS: JESSE BROWN / The Bassment — Come check out Brown tickle the ivories of the Kinsman Yamaha S6 grand piano. 4:30pm / No cover THE FOGGY HOGTOWN BOYS / The Bassment — Bluegrass the way it’s meant to be played. 9pm / $15/20 DJ AASH MONEY / Béily’s — DJ Aash Money throws down a high-energy top 40 dance party. 9pm / $5 cover 7 STRAIGHT / Buds on Broadway — A night of good ol’ rock and roll. 10pm / $6 DJ ECLECTIC / The Hose & Hydrant — Local turntable whiz DJ Eclectic pumps snappy electronic beats. 8pm / No cover DJ SUGAR DADDY / Jax Niteclub — This local crowd favourite rocks. 9pm / $5 cover PANDACORN, JESSE AND THE DANDELIONS / Lydia’s Pub — A night of sweet indie rock.

10pm / $5 BOONSTOCK BANDWARZ / Odeon Events Centre — Forty bands, five shows, one winner per show. 7pm / $10 DJ BIG AYYY & DJ HENCHMAN / Outlaws Country Rock Bar — There’s no better country rock party around. 8pm / $5; ladies in free before 11pm WAYNE BARGEN / Prairie Ink — Finger style acoustic guitar. 8pm / No cover URBAN OUTLAWS / Stan’s Place — Rock music 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

LORDS KITCHNER / Vangelis — A four-piece rock band from Moose Jaw. 10pm / $5

SATURDAY 11

HOUSE DJS / 6Twelve — Resident DJs spin deep and soulful tunes. 9pm / No cover JAWN RAW + DJ TORPEDO / Adobe Inn — Rocking the hottest urban beats in Martensville. 10pm / Cover TBD THIS HISSES / Amigos — Dark post punk music with sweeping vocals. 10pm PIANO SERIES: RON PALEY / The Bassment — A pianist and jazz legend from the Winnipeg scene. 9pm / $17/22 DJ AASH MONEY + DJ CTRL / Béily’s UltraLounge — AAsH Money + CTRL throw down a high-energy top 40 dance party.

9pm / $5 cover OCD VARIETY SHOW / Broadway Theatre — Featuring music from Brian Byrne, Nightrain, The Seahags and The Expressions. 7pm / $20 (advance), $25 (at the door) GONG SHOW / Buds on Broadway — A band that gets the party started.10pm / $6 DJ KADE / The Hose & Hydrant — Saskatoon’s own DJ lights it up. 8pm / No cover DJ SUGAR DADDY / Jax Niteclub — This local crowd favourite rocks. 9pm / $5 cover SHORT OF ABLE, JUMBO / Lydia’s Pub — Modern indie rock out of Edmonton.

10pm / $5 BAY CITY ROLLERS / Odeon Events Centre — Scottish pop group led by lead singer Les McKeown. 7pm / $34.50-54.50 (theodeon. ca) DJ BIG AYYY & DJ HENCHMAN / Outlaws Country Rock Bar — Round up your friends ‘cause there’s no better country rock party around. 8pm / $5 JAMES STEELE TRIO / Prairie Ink — Fiddle music you’ll love. 8pm / No cover BABYSITTER / Rock Bottom Sports Bar — Also appearing will be The Faps, Bastard Poetry, + more. 9pm / Cover TBD URBAN OUTLAWS / Stan’s Place — Rock to get your weekend started right. 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 MAY 3 – MAY 9 /VERBSASKATOON

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SHANE BLACK TO THE RESCUE PHOTO: COURTESY OF WALT DISNEY STUDIOS MOTION PICTURES

Super screenwriter breathes new life into Iron Man franchise

BY ADAM HAWBOLDT

A

s far as screenwriters in Hollywood go, they don’t get much better than Shane Black. Seriously.

Anyone who has seen The Long Kiss Goodnight, Lethal Weapon or Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang knows exactly what I’m talking about.

Especially Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang.

That was a hellfire, kingfish of a movie. Fast and funny, with razor-sharp dialogue and wit for days, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is easily one of the coolest movies made in the past decade.

So when I heard that Marvel Studios hired Shane Black as the screenwriter and director for Iron Man 3, I was excited. I mean, I figured that he’d come in, stick to the Marvel-moviemaking blueprint while splashing a bit of his own style and panache subtly throughout the film.

Man, was I wrong.

From top to bottom, beginning to end, this is unquestionably a Shane Black movie. And personally, I loved it. Thought it was the best Iron Man movie to date.

Thing is: many comic purists out there will disagree.

But let’s come back to this in a minute. For now, let’s look at the plot of Iron Man 3.

The story picks up where The Avengers left off. After nearly dying during the alien invasion, we find Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) living as a recluse. Prone to panic attacks and suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress

Disorder, the eccentric billionaire has holed himself away from the world — so much so that he has even handed the reins of his beloved Stark Industries over to long-time confidant and lover, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow).

Things go on like this for awhile, until an old friend comes back into Stark’s life. Okay, so it’s not really a friend. The guy’s name is Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), a scientist with a

IRON MAN 3 Directed by Shane Black Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Kingsley + Guy Pearce 109 minutes | PG

this part of the flick, it was the first act that really shone. The character study Shane Black does of Tony Stark in the film’s beginning brings the

[I] thought it was the best Iron Man movie to date.

ADAM HAWBOLDT

grudge who hooks up with a terrorist named Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) to attack the United States.

Because Stark is having a Raskolnikovian-style existential crisis, he isn’t too quick to don the Iron Man suit and fly to the rescue.

But eventually he does, and that’s when the action picks up. From there on out there are quick quips, exciting action sequences, and a surprise that you’ll never see coming. This part is what the comic-book faithful will really dig. It’s what, to many people, a superhero movie should be. The good guy, kicking ass and taking names, foiling bad-guy schemes.

And while, as a comic-book geek at heart, I enjoyed the heck out of

man to life in a way he never has been before. Much of the credit here goes to RDJ who, as always, plays the hell out of his role. But some of the credit has to go to Black, because his script makes for one of the most character-driven comic book movies ever made.

And trust me, that’s a good thing. A really good thing.

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JUST SAY NO!

New film about the ousting of Augusto Pinochet outstanding

BY ADAM HAWBOLDT

W

hen Augusto Pinochet died in December 2006, there were, oh, about 300 criminal charges still pending against him.

Why? Well, let’s just say he wasn’t what you’d call a paragon of virtue.

At various points in his life, Pinochet was a soldier, the Commanderin-Chief of the Chilean Army, and a despot who ruled his country with a heavy iron fist. During his 17-year reign, Pinochet brought that hand down hard on political opponents, so much so that thousands were killed, nearly 80,000 were interned, and around 30,000 were tortured for opposing him.

No is the story about how Pinochet’s reign of oppression came to an end.

Directed by Pablo Larrain, this Spanish-language docudrama begins in 1988 with a scene straight out of Mad Men. In it, René Saavedra — an adman so smooth he could sell religion to the Pope — is making a pitch. He’s talking about “truth” and “social context” and the future of Chile.

So what is he selling? Liberty to the oppressed people of Chile?

Nah. He’s introducing a commercial for a new soft drink called

PHOTO: COURTESY OF SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

he should remain in power. If the majority voted “Yes,” his government would gain legitimacy in the international community. A “No” vote would lead to his downfall and open the way for free, democratic elections.

Common knowledge was that the fix was in and Pinochet would

García Bernal … plays [Saavedra] with an understated charm and low-key humour…

ADAM HAWBOLDT

Free. It may seem like a hokey idea, but Saavedra (played by the everwatchable Gael García Bernal) is a master at what he does.

Such a master, in fact, that he’s soon asked to play a major role in a national plebiscite. In 1988, Pinochet agreed to have a referendum vote on whether or not

win a “Yes” vote easy. That’s where Saavedra enters the picture.

Anti-Pinochet forces ask for his help to sell the “No” vote to the general public. Naturally Saavedra agrees, but this is no easy sell.

How does a person sell something like “No,” a word with such negative connotations?

NO Pablo Larrain Gael García Bernal, Antonia Zegers, Alfredo Castro DIRECTED BY STARRING

115 MINUTES | 14A

What Saavedra does is turn into an urban guerrilla adman of sorts, using, ahem, interesting methods to turn a negative into a positive.

As Saavedra, García Bernal does a bang-up job. He plays him with an understated charm and low-key humour, and really brings the character to life. But what else did you expect?

After all, this is the same guy who blew audiences away in movies like Amores Perros, Y Tu Mamá También, and The Motorcycle Diaries.

But you want to know something else? García Bernal isn’t even the best part of No. That honour goes to director Pablo Larrain, who decided to shoot the film with vintage 1988 home camcorders. The result is a retro look that gives the movie

a very rough, nostalgic, VHS kind of feel.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, No isn’t just some bland, serious docudrama. It’s also sort of a quasi-comedy that pokes fun at the political process.

And did I mention it was also a nominee for Best Foreign Language Film at this year’s Oscars?

How could you say no to a movie like that?

No is currently being screened at the Roxy Theatre; see rainbowcinemas.ca for more information.

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CROSSWORD CANADIAN CRISS-CROSS

34. Pin worn for Remembrance Day 38. Be incorrect 39. They grow where they are not wanted 41. British washroom 42. Smell ___ 44. Jug handle 45. Mountain top 46. Make up for a loss 48. Simultaneously 50. On edge 51. Form words silently 52. Animal with antlers 53. Crooked

DOWN 1. Father of Confederation 2. Doing nothing 3. Self-esteem 4. Distance downwards 5. Pretentious people 6. Mixture of wonder and dread 7. Competes 8. Flag indicating nationality 9. Uses up all the credit on a credit card 11. Stared at stars 12. Utter breathlessly 14. Throws water on 17. Metal-bearing mineral 20. Mole relative 21. Handymen on movie sets

24. Mouse catcher SUDOKU ANSWER KEY 26. Before now 28. Plant that grows along A the ground 30. Carry the weight of 31. Word on a French stop sign 32. Drew an outline of 33. Ocean 35. All that a person needs 36. Hunt illegally B 37. Crosspiece fastened over the necks of oxen 40. Film genre 43. Sound quality 45. Rain heavily 47. Wear and tear 49. Pull behind

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

ACROSS 1. Going into overtime 5. Do some roadwork 9. Swarming fly 10. Due to be paid 12. Ride a horse fast 13. Playground toy 15. Wheel shaft 16. Place for a ring 18. Amount of space a thing takes up 19. Make sure 20. Gesture of doubt 22. Pick up 23. Mentally prepare 25. Some to-do list items 27. Circle segment 29. John Hancock: abbr.

30. Pounds repeatedly

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

TIMEOUT

© WALTER D. FEENER 2013

HOROSCOPES MAY 3 – MAY 9 ARIES March 21–April 19

LEO July 23–August 22

SAGITTARIUS November 23–December 21

You’re going to be smacked in the face by a sudden blast of inspiration this week, Aries. Be sure to make the most of it.

You’ve been striving towards a goal lately, Leo. Good news: some time in the next few days you’ll reach it.

Brace yourself.

Spring has sprung, Sagittarius. So get off your posterior and get out and do something. Active is the name of the game this week.

TAURUS April 20–May 20

VIRGO August 23–September 22

CAPRICORN December 22–January 19

You may have a bunch of different people vying for your attention this week, Taurus. Be sure to give as many as you can the time of day.

You’re overdue for a rewarding adventure, dear Virgo. Take a trip with a new friend or allow yourself that mini-vacation.

You may have a difficult time committing to things this week, Capricorn. And good for you. There’ll be plenty of time for that later.

GEMINI May 21–June 20

LIBRA September 23–October 23

AQUARIUS January 20–February 19

A long-lost friend may try to get in contact with you this week, Gemini. So be sure to keep avenues of communication open.

It may be hard, Libra, but try to be enthusiastic in everything you do this week. A little excitement goes a long way.

Stay close to home this week, Aquarius. Something that needs your urgent and utmost attention is bound to spring up.

CANCER June 21–July 22

SCORPIO October 24–November 22

PISCES February 20–March 20

A friend in need is a friend indeed. Remember that this week, Cancer. It may help you make an important decision.

Feeling pulled in a lot of different directions lately, Scorpio?

Rest easy. All the external pressure is about to subside.

It’s time to think outside the box this week, Pisces. A creative solution to a predicament you’re facing could reap untold benefits.

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

CROSSWORD ANSWER KEY

A

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

B

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