Issue #109 – December 20 to January 9
arts
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culture
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+ fugget about it Cartoon set in Regina brings the laughs the day is past and gone Q+A with Kacy and Clayton american hustle + anchorman 2: the legend continues Film reviews
Photo: courtesy of rob waymen
contents
On the cover:
catherine mclellan
A change of direction. 12
/ feature
Photo: courtesy of Patrick Nichols
culture
NEWs + Opinion
entertainment
Q + A with kacy and clayton On their sophomore album. 10 / Q + A
Live Music listings Local music listings for December 20 through January 11. 16 / listings
mobsters in regina
a modern classic
Nightlife Photos
Regina-based cartoon brings the laughs. 4 / Local
The RWB does Romeo + Juliet. 11 / Arts
We visit O’Hanlon’s Irish Pub + Tumblers. 18 / Nightlife
Drawing Our Communities Together
Anchorman 2: The legend continues + American hustle
Exhibit merges city + art. 11 / Arts
We review the latest movies. 20 / Film
laughing your ass off Demystifying laugh therapy. 6 / Local
streamlining the cbc Cutting CBC TV could save a
HAVE YOUR BEER AND EAT IT, TOO
sinking ship. 8 / Editorial
We visit Beer Bros. 14 / Food + Drink
on the bus Weekly original comic illustrations by Elaine M. Will. 22 / comics
comments
Music
Game + Horoscopes
Here’s what you had to say about giving boys the HPV vaccination. 9 / comments
Wide Mouth Mason, Marshall Burns + ZZ Top 15 / music
Canadian criss-cross puzzle, weekly horoscopes and Sudoku. 23 / timeout
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Publisher / Parity Publishing Editor in Chief / Ryan Allan Managing Editor / Jessica Patrucco staff Writers / Adam Hawboldt + Alex J MacPherson Contributing writer / MJ deschamps
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Photo: courtesy of 9 Story Entertainment
Mobsters in Regina
Fugget About It wraps up second season on Teletoon by ADAM HAWBOLDT
J
immy Falcone is standing under a bridge. It’s late at night. From the right of the screen, Special Agent Strait McCool comes darting towards him on horseback. Slides to a stop. Asks him what the problem is.
“Bare breasts and bums permitted,” says McCool, eyes closed, the index finger of his right pointing to the sky. “But no full frontal or related mons pubis if alcohol is served. Ladies may touch the man’s face, arms, chest and inner thigh, but remain five centimetres from his genitalic region. Men may not touch, fondle, grope or lick.” Pulling out a tape measure, McCool extends the yellow ruler and says, “And must be kept at least three centimetres away from her breasts.
Jimmy tells McCool he plans on opening a strip club called The Horny Bastard. The special agent gives him a pat on the shoulder, says he thinks it’s a brilliant idea — as long as he follows the provincial guidelines. And what, pray tell, are those provincial guidelines?
This to be measured from the tip of the nipple, and not the areola or breast major.” Anyone who lives in Saskatchewan might be able to guess this scenario is a tongue-in-cheek crack at the puritanical stripping laws in this province. But do you know what the scene is from? The answer is Teletoon’s series Fugget About It — an animated show about New York mobsters living in Regina. “The idea for that episode came from the season one showrunner [Jeff Abugov],” says Willem Wennekers, co-creator of the show. “When he pitched the idea of them opening a strip club, I thought it was great. When I lived in Regina, stripping was basically illegal. You couldn’t even hire a stripper for a bachelor party without having to hide in a basement. So when the showrunner brought up that idea, we thought it would be pretty funny.” So too were some of the other ideas the writing team came up with for the show’s first season. There was the episode where the Falcone family visits the Capone tunnels in Moose Jaw, the one where they go hunting with handguns, and the one titled “The Oracle of Vagina,” where Cookie,
the Falcone matriarch, sets up a fraudulent fortune telling business and Special Agent McCool informs her he believes in a long list of Canadian stereotypes (from the metric system to three-down football), but he doesn’t believe in the supernatural. And as with most inaugural seasons, though, Fugget About It wasn’t perfect. “I think, personally, on the first season with any show, you’re trying to discover what the voice of that show is,” says Wennekers. “So you try a lot of different thing throughout a lot of different episodes … We had to try a lot of different things to see where the heart of the show is.” And by the second season, they started to find it.
Fugget About It was spawned out of a mutual love of gangster shows. “About a dozen years ago, Will and I were doing some feature stuff together,” remembers Nicholas Tabarrok, the show’s other co-creator. “One day I called him into my office and we had a meeting. I said to him ‘I love The Simpsons, I love the Family Guy … can we come up with something like that?’ Sopranos was also new at the time, and we were both Continued on next page »
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huge fans of that show and mobster movies. So we came up with the idea of melding The Simpsons and The Sopranos, creating kind of a Frankenstein out of the two.”
ner [Abugov] — this Canadian guy who lives in Los Angeles — and it was actually his idea to se the show in Regina … and since I lived there for seven years, I was on board with that
…we came up with the idea of melding The Simpsons and The Sopranos … nicholas Tabarrok
The creation was an animated show starring Jimmy Falcone, a former member of the Gambini crime family. One day, Jimmy’s boss tells him he has to whack his Uncle Cheech. Jimmy isn’t a fan of the order. He arranges a meeting to plead for his uncle’s life. The meeting doesn’t go according to plan, and Jimmy ends up throwing the crime boss out a 19th-storey window. With the rest of his former associates looking for him (to whack him, naturally!), Jimmy turns informant and rats out his former friends. For his efforts, Jimmy is placed in the witness protection program and shipped off to Regina with his family. “When we created the show, I initially had it taking place in a nondescript Canadian town,” says Wennekers. “When we went into development, just before we went to series, Teletoon brought in a showrun-
idea. It seemed like a good fit to take our brash, mob-like, Italian, loud, New York family and drop them into the
middle of a very friendly, very kind place like Regina.” And what a family it is. There’s Jimmy and Cookie, the parents who were once deep into mob life. There’s the youngest daughter, Gina (a cute little girl on the outside, but a future mob boss on the inside), the son Petey (a scholarly, intellectual type who doesn’t fit in with the family), the eldest daughter Theresa (a mob princess with an eating disorder), and Uncle Cheech (the guy Jimmy was supposed to whack). These characters were created long before the show was ever aired. But as the episodes mounted, as the jokes got more clever and witty and
deep, something began happening to the Falcone family. “I think they’ve all definitely evolved over time,” says Wennekers, who became the showrunner in the second season. “Especially Theresa. Originally she was very shallow. She couldn’t decide whether she was anorexic or bulimic. She wasn’t very deep at all. But when we moved into season two, one of the things we wanted to do was make her a more rounded character rather than just a horrible stereotype. So in the second season she has main roles in two episodes. You think she’s just a mob princess, but there’s more to her than that. With all the characters, I think
they’ve all gone that way as the show has gone on. They’ve all grown.” And there’s no doubt, given a third season — which there’s still no word on — these characters will continue to evolve, getting deeper, more complex, and funnier. And Fugget About It will get another step closer to finding its voice, its heart. With a show like this, all it takes is a little time.
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Photo: courtesy of adam hawboldt
Laughing your Ass off
J
Helen Bzdel brings therapeutic laughter to Saskatchewan by ADAM HAWBOLDT
P
icture yourself on a boat, standing next to the side. You’re feeling a bit woozy. Seasick, even. Now cup your hands around your mouth. But instead of tossing your cookies over the side of this imaginary boat, let out one syllable of laughter. Ha!
Bend over a bit at the hips and do it again — one more syllable. Ha! Now, bend over farther and let it all out. Let out as much laughter as you can, as deep and as forceful as you can. Ahahhahahahahahahahahaha! This is called upchuckle laughter, a technique used in laughter
therapy. When Helen Bzdel tells me it’s my turn to join her in an upchuckle laughter exercise, after demonstrating how it’s done, let’s just say I’m a tad skeptical. The idea of laughing for the sake of laughing, pretending to laugh, is still foreign to me — as it is to most. And just before I’m about to start the exercise, I feel ridiculous. Continued on next page »
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“That’s the point,” says Helen. “It’s okay to get up and act silly.” Shoving my inhibitions aside, I put my hands to my mouth and let out a solitary laugh. Ha! Then another. And another. Next thing I know, I’m doubled
named Steve Wilson, and brought to North America. These days there are more than 6,000 laughter clubs in 60 countries around the world. What happens in these clubs is people get together and learn systematic methods of chortles, chuckles, giggling and guffawing,
depressed and stay in bed all day, but if I have a laugh session scheduled I’m not one to cancel.” And when she gets there, Helen tries not to let her depression affect her job. “I can’t be like ‘Hi, I’m Helen. We’re going to laugh tonight,”
Next thing I know, I’m doubled over at the hips, laughing my ass off. Big, deep belly laughs, straight from the diaphragm. Adam Hawboldt
over at the hips, laughing my ass off. Big, deep belly laughs, straight from the diaphragm. I can’t help it. The stimulated laughter has morphed into simulated laughter and there we are, me and Helen, standing in the middle of her living room, doubled over, laughing so much it’s hard to breath. “I learned that exercise in Ohio at an advanced laughter leader workshop,” gasps Helen as she stands up straight, both of us trying to catch our breath. “There was a group of us, and we did it on the second floor of a mall in Columbus … I love that exercise.” But make no mistake, the upchuckle laughter technique isn’t the only one Helen knows. As a certified laughter yoga leader, a World Laughter Tour trainer, and an expert level laughter leader, Helen’s laugh bag is full. A bag she dips into whenever she teaches people how to laugh.
Laughter clubs were the brainchild of Dr. Madan Kataria, a physician form Mumbai, India. On March 13th, 1995, Kataria woke up and thought, “maybe I’ll start a laugh club.” So at seven in the morning, he went to a local park and convinced a group of five people to laugh with him. At first they told jokes, but it didn’t work as well. So they came at it from a different angle and that number soon grew to 50 people within a week. A few years later, the idea of laughter clubs was picked up by an American psychologist
methods and routines that are designed to make them feel better. “A lot of times people come in and say, ‘Oh, you’re going to make me laugh?’” says Helen of the people who attend her Laffing Out Loud club in Saskatoon. “But I tell them, ‘No. I’m going to help you laugh!’ We don’t tell jokes. They’re too subjective. What you find funny, I might not. So instead of telling jokes, which might offend some people, I encourage them to laugh in a healthy way.” Which includes techniques like cellphone laughter (where people pretend they’re on cellphones, wave and starting laughing at each other), the snowblower exercise (where you pretend you’re gripping a pull cord, give it a yank, then laugh in the place of the sound the snowblower would make), and gradient laughter (where you smile, giggle, then laugh slowly — gradually increasing in tempo and volume). These exercises lead to a roomful of laugher. Booming, rhythmic reps of “Ho ho ho! Ha ha ha!” Some of it scripted, some of it spontaneous. All of it is aimed at improving your health.
There are days when Helen Bzdel doesn’t feel like laughing. Days when all she wants to do is stay in bed and hide from the world. “I have bipolar disorder, was diagnosed years ago,” says Helen.“I’ve kind of had to learn how it works, but I find the laughter keeps me going when I’m depressed. Sometimes I want to be
she says, talking in a slow, depressed voice. “So I put on my smile, and we do the session. And do you know what? By the end of it I always walk out grinning ear to ear, thinking, ‘This is the best thing I could’ve done to beat my depression.’” And Helen is not alone in her thinking. She’s certainly not the only one who reaps benefits from laughter therapy. According to a report from the Mayo Clinic, laughter really is one heckuva medicine. According to the medical research group, laughter helps stimulate your organs, activates and relieves your stress response, soothes tension, improves your immune system, relieves pain, increases personal satisfaction and improves your mood. That’s why, when she’s not running sessions at her Laffing Out Loud club, Helen is on the road, providing laughter therapy to people with mood disorders, doing laugh sessions at different agencies and corporations and First Nations’ reserves around the province. She also brings laughter to the YWCA women’s shelter once a month, and works with people with brain injuries. She’s forever dipping into her bag of laughs, forever trying to help people feel better.
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Streamlining the CBC Photo: courtesy of pshanks
Our national broadcast corporation needs to cut the dead weight if it wants to survive
A
ttention: the CBC is in serious trouble. Now, that’s not news to anyone who has been paying attention to current affairs lately. Sure, there have been massive budget cuts, and sure, the CBC pulled out of a proposed Halifax expansion. But the real trouble came when Rogers stepped in and stole Hockey Night in Canada from our national broadcasting corporation. It was a serious power move and nobody will really know what it all means until the dust settles, but for the time being the situation looks dire for CBC TV. And yes, we fully realize that CBC will keep HNIC for four more years on a sub-contract from Rogers — a sub-contract that will amount to about 320 hours of hockey a year. But they don’t own the content anymore. And what’s worse, the CBC won’t be getting any of the advertising revenue from HNIC. Oh, and it will also lose revenue from selling the rights to air hockey to TSN and Sportsnet. Basically, the best thing to do is think of this new deal as a stick of dynamite being thrown into a room, a stick of dynamite with a slow-burning wick. Sure, it’s not going to explode yet, but when it does it’s going to blow that room to smithereens and leave a gaping hole in CBC TV.
And with the loss of Hockey Night in Canada, CBC TV will barely be keeping its head above water. Now, the CBC has traditionally been a tad cagey when it comes to how much it spends on hockey and how much revenue it generates. But reports by Friends of Canadian Broadcasting — a nation-wide volunteer organization whose goal is to defend and enhance the quality and quantity of Canadian programming — states that HNIC “delivers more than 50% of the ad revenue earned by CBC’s English TV Network. And because hockey sales are linked to sales elsewhere on the schedule, hockey drives additional ad sales (as much as $10 million) earned by local stations.” The report goes on to state that hockey accounts for a little more than one-third of the total CBC TV audience and that “after expenses of approximately $115 million, hockey clears $15 million for the CBC.” The loss of hockey should be a serious wake-up call for CBC. And while some people are suggesting to eliminate the CBC or to privatize it, we feel the broadcasting corporation still has value beyond blowing it up or selling it off. Which is why we are proposing a reboot, a change
in how and what the CBC provides. Starting with CBC TV. Recently Ron Devion, the former head of CBC Sports, has stated that “if the next four years are not dedicated to this challenge, CBC TV will disappear.” To which we say: let’s cut our losses. Now before you get all up-in-arms at this proposal, please know we want the CBC to survive and flourish, to serve Canadians better. After all, it is our broadcasting corporation. We all pay around $34 a year to support their programming, so maybe the CBC should try this: take the money that was allotted to their television programming and put it into enhancing their radio and Internet presence. In particular when considering their online workings, the CBC has a real opportunity to make their presence one of the best around. Rather than competing with private networks, which showcase news along with a variety of great and not-sogreat TV shows, CBC should improve what it does well on the world wide web. Let’s bring on a 24-hour news stream. Documentaries and investigative reporting are another one of the CBC’s strengths, so we’d love to see more of those. In short, take the money from TV, put it towards creating new online news shows, producing better online documentaries, and creating slicker, more interactive news feeds with more in-depth coverage. Essentially, what we are proposing is that the CBC play to its strengths (the radio and online portions of their programming are already good), and get rid of the weakest link. Which, after losing HNIC, is undoubtedly television. Do that and maybe, just maybe, when that slow-burning dynamite finally explodes, the damage won’t be nearly as cataclysmic as it could have been. These editorials are left unsigned because they represent the opinions of Verb magazine, not those of the individual writers.
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On Topic: Last week we asked what you thought about vaccinating boys against HPV. Here's what you had to say:
– I also agree that the HPV vaccine should be given to boys also Truth Is Power-Try It
– I’m all for boys getting vaccinating for HPV, if it means it’ll prevent it from spreading then it’s a great idea!
– I don’t think it’s appropriate to give children in Grade 6 vaccinations against HPV. Why wouldn’t we do that when they’re in high school and better able to understand the implications of the shot?
– I can’t believe we aren’t vaccinating boys against STDs already! Seems counterintuitive to try and protect only 50 percent of the population.
– Hello, I am emailing about your HPV vaccine for boys article. I work in public health, and this is an initiative that many of us have been advocating for. However, it has been difficult to get the powers that be on our side because the impact on boys (excluding men who only have sex with men) is relatively minor. Hopefully with Alberta and PEI leading the way we can reframe this as an issue everyone should be concerned about.
OFF TOPIC – The Hobbit sucks why are 3 movies being made out of this book? Also Martin Freeman is terrible. Waste of 15 bucks.
text yo thoughtsur to 881 ve r b 8372
SOUND OFF – Have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukka, Krazy Kwanza, a tip-top Tet and a dignified Ramadan!
– December 16th,2013 Chinese Lunar landing on a four month mission It may prove that the USA Didn’t in 1969
– Dec 16th’/13 Snow dropping in Vietnam! That’s better than bombs dropped daily more bombs than world war two it was operation Rolling Thunder
– Merry Christmas everyone! Remember the true reason of Christmas, it’s not about gifts or Santa Clause, it’s about the birth of Jesus Christ.
– Hey pick-up truck drivers- you should drive more carefuly or you could lose your truck in an “accident”
– Icy roads out there today. Everyone be careful and give yourself enough time to get where you need to be!
– Bringing more people here means duh! a smaller share for everyone of whats here. Greed is always kinda loopy like this.
– You! You’re my mask, you’re my shelter, my cover! You! You’re my mask and you’re the one who’s blamed!
– Merry Christmas everyone!
– It is impossible to defend someone that refuses to obey the rules that are already in place Truth Is Power-Try It
– When you say cold as hell, that makes no sense. Are you saying it’s hotter than any human being can handle?
– Just ate a McDonald’s poutine! It’s alright but would be smarter to use it as a promotion rather then a menu item......Kinda like a mcrib! epic beard guy
In response to “On the Road Again,” Film #108 (December 13, 2013)
like such a waste. Real trees serve a purpose. They help to clear the carbon dioxide out of the air. Cutting them down so we can have them in our living rooms is doing nothing to help our environment. Artificial trees can look just as nice. If you want the real tree scent, maybe spray it with a pine scent. Let’s leave the real trees to grow outside where they belong.
– I don’t think people need to have real Christmas trees just to throw them out after Christmas. It seems
– You should put out a list of things to do for New Years eve! Wheres the party at verb :D
– Happy Holidays, Happy Hannukah Merry Christmas whatever appreciate the sentiment behind the greeting and don’t act like every time someone says something to you that’s slightly tinged with religion or whatever that they’re personally recruiting you. This is a time for compassion and understanding and kindness. Wishing everyone peace this season, however you want to celebrate.
– Remember to bring your pets in from the cold.If you’re freezing they are to!
– People are total a-holes driving Everyone is trying to get somewhere but tailgating in slipper weather and crappy roads is not safe. Back off we all could suffer from this.
– It’s almost winter solstice, so happy celebrations to everyone who doesn’t partake in this season for whatever reason :D
– Harry J Anslinger sucks then. If it wasn’t for him weed would be legal right? Why are we still listening to this guy?
– Happy birthday, Keith!
– It’s sad to think of people without a home enduring the extreme weather conditions here. If you’re able take some time and give to your local community shelters. Everyone asks for stuff at this time
of year I know but anything you can do or give is so appreciated. Donate toys your time etc.
– It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmassss!
– BACON!!!!!!!!!!!! That is all! - epic beard guy
Next week: What do you think about streamlining the CBC? Text in your thoughts to 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.
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The Day Is Past And Gone Photos: courtesy of Nyla Anderson
Kacy and Clayton resurrect the past and point to the present on their sophomore album by Alex J MacPherson
K
acy Anderson and Clayton Linthicum know how to make a lot with a little. Their new sophomore album, The Day Is Past And Gone, folds the history of English folk music and oral tradition into the sound of the American blues. The record is a bridge over the Atlantic, an exploration of how sounds grow and then evolve. It is also a link between the past and the present. Songs like “The CherryTree Carol” are among the oldest in the English language, yet in the hands of Kacy and Clayton they feel immediate and urgent — as potent today as they were in the late middle ages. The two young musicians from southern Saskatchewan have spent the best part of their lives delving into the deepest recesses of traditional music and infusing their discoveries with the sense of timelessness found in the works of Robert Johnson and Mississippi John Hurt. And while The Day Is Past And Gone includes several original songs, the quality of the arrangements and the tone of the record give little indication as to where ancient ends and modern begins. With little more than a guitar and a couple of voices, Kacy and Clayton have transformed a disparate collection of songs into a testament to the power of folk music.
Kacy Anderson: The beauty of folk music is that there’s a generational filter. People would take a song and play what they loved about it and change the parts they didn’t like. This is the process Clayton and I go through.
Alex J MacPherson: The Day Is Past And Gone is quite a bit different from your last album. Why move away from the blues and go deeper into musical history? Clayton Linthicum: With our first album, we hadn’t discovered a lot of the music that we are listening to now. At the time of recording our first album, our most prominent influences were country blues musicians like Mississippi John Hurt and Lightnin’ Hopkins. Naturally, we became more interested in the origin of folk music and that led us to finding more specific influences. With The Day Is Past And Gone, our concept was to blend country blues, spirituals, and other rural forms of music with the ballads and songs of English folk music.
Alex J MacPherson: Why is it important to build on musical traditions, rather than simply keep them alive? KA: Folk music is all about keeping alive music from the past but also creating something new. Clayton and I don’t want to just copy what’s already done. I think that is important to adapt the song and not just try to recreate the exact way we heard it. CL: I think people are more interested to hear how you interpret the song, as opposed to how well you replicate a song. If you want to keep the traditions alive, it’s important to keep the music interesting.
AJM: Given how much traditional music exists, what’s your process like for choosing which songs to rehearse, perform, and record?
AJM: The Day Is Past And Gone includes traditional songs as well as some originals, but the vibe is so consistent that it’s hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. What about your musical collaboration allows you to move seamlessly from one to the other?
CL: I guess we look for a particular subject matter when choosing songs. An example of one of our go-to subjects is old-time religion. Another subject we like is the story song. Whether the story is about a great city burning down or about an illegitimate pregnancy, folk music is loaded with tales.
CL: We both love old languages. One thing that is a common goal in our collaboration is writing lyrics
that seem like the they’ve been around for a while. AJM: On this record you worked with Ryan Boldt of the Deep Dark Woods and Jody Weger. What was the recording experience like this time around, and how did your collaborators contribute to the overall sound of the record? KA: Going in to record, Clayton and I already had a pretty strong idea of what we wanted the album to sound like. Our first album was recorded by Jody, so he new what we were all about. We were lucky to have Ryan there for some wisdom and to keep everyone in line. It was real fun. Basically, we just lived all together in Jody’s house in Swift Current for a week, ate too many potatoes, and recorded. Sometimes Clayton and I would get into tiffs and Ryan was a good mediator. He’s got good dad qualities. AJM: The sounds you make are endearingly simple.. Have you ever been tempted to expand into something larger, or is that simplicity an integral part of how you think about music? CL: We have often been tempted to form a rock and roll band. And we intend to do so in the near future. We have a lot of ideas for full band arrangements of songs. I think Kacy and I will always try to keep our sound simple, even if we add a rhythm section.
KA: I think we’ll always play acoustic folk music but there will definitely be some straying in the future. Hopefully we’ll get playing some rock and roll while we’re still young. AJM: On the other hand, why do you think just a few simple elements — a melody, a guitar lick, a groove — are so enduringly powerful? CL: The elements you mentioned are the elements that make a song memorable. If you don’t have at least one of those elements, it doesn’t matter how well you can arrange a song, it’s not going to be as memorable. KA: Growing up in a rural area, Clayton and I didn’t really have an option of starting a big band. Nobody really had the interest in music like the two of us did. We had to create the sound we wanted with two people. Clayton and I learned that a melody, a guitar lick and a groove are what all we really have to work with to make a song stand out. Kacy & Clayton January 11 @ The Club @ The Exchange $10 at the door
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A Modern Classic
André Lewis on the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s stunning production of Romeo + Juliet
Photo: courtesy oF Réjean Brandt Photography
T
he Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s production of Romeo and Juliet is a relatively new interpretation of what is arguably the most famous love story ever told. It transforms Shakespeare’s play into a monumental display of raw emotion condensed into pure kinetic energy. Casting visceral and emotive choreography by Rudi van Dantzig against the sensuous backdrop of 16th century Verona and a luscious score by Sergei Prokofiev, Romeo
and Juliet has become a modern classic. André Lewis has seen the ballet more than a thousand times, in countries all over the world, but he never tires of watching the classic tragedy unfold — and finding new moments of joy and sorrow in its epic proportions. “The freshness comes from the interpreters,” says Lewis, who joined Canada’s oldest ballet company as a dancer in 1979 and was appointed artistic director in 1996. Lewis is prob-
by alex J MacPherson
ably best-known for driving some of the most innovative ballet productions in the country, particularly Marc Godden’s Dracula, and his fondness for Romeo and Juliet speaks to the strength of the production. “If you start with a work that has quality, then what keeps it alive and going is ultimately the interpreters,” he continues. “Whenever someone says, ‘I’ve seen Romeo and Juliet,’ I say, ‘Well, it’s a bit like saying I’ve drank a bottle of wine so I’ll never drink again.’ It’s the same kind of logic. Every bottle of wine has its own flavour, every dancer has his own flavour, his own interpretation within the framework of the choreography. And that’s what makes it wonderful to watch, and always surprising to me.” Romeo and Juliet was premiered by the Kirov Ballet in 1938. Van Dantzig, one of the first westerners to choreograph the ballet, developed his production for the Dutch National Ballet in 1967, which was acquired by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in 1981. According to Lewis, what sets this version of the classic ballet apart is the degree to which each detail has been infused
with meaning. He cites the third act bedroom scenes as an example, explaining how Juliet’s movements around her bedroom represent her mixed emotions, how she feels torn between her love for Romeo (the balcony), the weight of tradition (the door), her faith in God (a prie-dieu), and her childlike urge to make the world go away (her bed). “There was an interesting comment that was made to me by the designer, Toer van Schayk, who said they put the doorknob slightly higher than normal to give a sense that she is dominated or pressured down by family and tradition,” Lewis says of the attention to detail in the production. “It’s a beautiful picture when you think about it, because of course her family says that’s the way we’re going to do things here and you don’t have a say in this. It makes her feel small and unable to defend herself. But there she goes, and she takes control.” This is echoed in van Dantzig’s choreography, which reveals the turmoil within the characters. Juliet flutters between moments of confidence and uncertainty, her love
for Romeo balanced by the demands of her family. In other words, van Dantzig has mined the gulf between innocence and experience, the place where growing up happens. But the real beauty of Romeo and Juliet is the balance between familiarity and innovation. Shakespeare’s play is known to almost everybody, but the choreography allows dancers to make the characters their own. And for that reason, Lewis says, it is possible to watch the ballet over and over again, regardless of experience. “Sit back and relax and enjoy what comes in front of you — beautiful music, beautiful scenery, costumes, and lighting,” he says. “It really immerses you in the moment and it is very powerful that way. You don’t need to be an expert to enjoy it. Often people will say, ‘I know nothing about ballet but I’m not going to it.’ Well, I know nothing about hockey but I can still go watch a game of hockey and enjoy it.” Romeo + Juliet January 13 @ Conexus Arts Centre $32.50+ @ ConexusTicket.com
Drawing Our Communities Together
MacKenzie exhibition brings art into the city and the city into art
T
he rise of technology has made fine art more accessible than ever before. What was once the province of social and cultural elites has become an egalitarian pursuit, something everybody can learn from and enjoy. But this new populism is not uncontroversial. Most art practices are founded on long histories, ideas that have been carefully cultivated for decades, or even centuries. Some artists and critics worry that an influx of untrained artists will inevitably destroy what generations have worked so hard to preserve. But exhibitions like Drawing Our Communities Together are about proving that the benefits of accessibility far outweigh the potential costs of engagement.
“People now, they don’t want to just see art on a wall,” says Jeremy Morgan, executive director at the MacKenzie Art Gallery. “They want to engage with it in some way, and possibly they want to be part of a creative experience.” The MacKenzie Art Gallery has hosted several exhibitions that blur the line between established artists and the communities they represent. The most recent featured works from the gallery’s permanent collection that had been selected and curated by popular Canadian musicians: The Juno Tour of Canadian Art drew parallels between pop music and fine art, between musicians and the artists whose work they admire and enjoy. Drawing Our Communities Together, which paired established artists with children from a number of schools in
by alex J MacPherson
and near Regina, operates in much the same way. It explores the relationships between art and the wider community, fostered by working artists and fleshed out by schoolchildren. The works are responses to other exhibitions at the MacKenzie, including collections by Edward Poitras, Natalka Husar, John Noestheden, Shuvinai Ashoona, and Carl Beam. “What it does do is it encourages a sense of individual achievement and individual voice, which is what artists strive for,” Morgan says of the exhibition, which was organized by Wendy Winter as part of the MacKenzie Art Gallery’s urban outreach program. “I think true artists, each of them are of their own kind — sui generis. They may borrow, steal, imitate, and so on, but in the end their work is their own
and it’s distinctive. I would say that’s probably the same experience for these young people.” In other words, Drawing Our Communities Together is a recognition that art exists within a community, but that each person has a distinctive voice. This is as true for young children as it is for educated adults. And the works in the show reflect just how much people have to say. Some address stereotypes and racism, others the twin notions of individual identity and community growth. But what makes the exhibition important is not the strength of the works, but the recognition that all voices are valuable. “What we’re seeing now, which is a challenge to the disciplines, the professionalism of practice, is that people are saying, ‘Well, I’m an artist, too,’” Mor-
gan says. “There’s lots of issues about that, it’s not a simple change. But it does, I think, speak to people wanting to be involved somehow in engagement with art — an engagement that for many years just wasn’t possible. I think what you’re seeing in Drawing Our Communities Together is the gallery fostering that kind of engagement and recognizing that young people have something to say through art.” Drawing Our Communities Together Through January 5 @ MacKenzie Art Gallery
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@VerbRegina amacpherson@verbnews.com
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Feature
A Change of Direction Photo: courtesy of Patrick Nichols
Catherine MacLellan makes a change on her new studio record by Alex J MacPherson
T
his year Catherine MacLellan decided to do something different. Since she released her solo debut in 2004, the east coast songwriter has been steadily expanding her range. This is not uncommon for singer-songwriters who, fuelled by success and ambition, strive to make bigger and more expansive records. Her most recent release, 2011’s Silhouette, featured the most elaborate arrangements of any album in her catalogue. But when it came time to write and record her fifth studio album, MacLellan elected
to return to basics. “I think what really changed with the new record that I’m working on now is that people have been asking for a record that sounds like our stage shows,” MacLellan says. “Most often I tour as a duo with Chris Gauthier. He’s a guitar player. So that’s what this record is all about: it’s about our guitars and our voices mingling together, doing what we do onstage but in a recorded version. I’m really excited about that because it’s going to be a more strippeddown album.” In other words, MacLellan’s new record will be
a return to the folk tradition in which her family has been embedded for two generations — and which she has spent the bulk of her career building on. Catherine MacLellan grew up surrounded by folk music. Her father, Gene, wrote some of the most iconic songs ever to emerge from this country. He is best known for penning “Snowbird,” which Anne Murray transformed into an international hit in 1970, but his songs have been performed by dozens of major artists, including Elvis Presley, Joan Baez, and Bing Crosby. Although he died when Continued on next page »
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his daughter was a teenager, it is impossible to overstate his influence on her career. MacLellan spent countless hours watching her father play guitar and scribble lyrics; he encouraged her to listen to
over nearly an hour, Silhouette punctuates her usual arsenal of contemplative piano-and-guitar folk songs with a handful of uptempo, alt-country arrangements. “Stealin’,” the opening track, ranks
or just kind of come from nowhere. It’s afterwards that I look back. I don’t always know what a record’s going to sound like before I make it. And then when it’s out there I realize, oh, that’s that record.”
I feel like I am part of [Canada’s folk scene]. I feel really blessed that I get to be part of such a great history. catherine maclellan Photo: courtesy of Rob Waymen
music by the Band and the Beatles. Before long she was writing songs of her own. “That’s what I thought you were supposed to do,” she once said, “and eventually I started doing it.” And while her connection with her father and his roots in the Canadian folk community are as strong as ever, MacLellan has spent the last decade establishing herself as a talented songwriter in her own right, first as a member of the New Drifts and later as a solo performer. “I feel like I am part of it,” she says of the folk music tradition. “We have a longstanding folk scene in Canada. It’s pretty amazing what has come out of Canada, from Joni Mitchell to Gordon Lightfoot. And even my dad’s stuff, which has reached further than he thought it would. Ever since then there’s always been a tradition of folk music and singer-songwriters, and I feel that I do want to be a part of that — and that I am. I feel really blessed that I get to be part of such a great history.” But MacLellan, like all good songwriters, is not merely a part of history; she is adding to it with each song that she writes. Folk music has never been about replicating the past; the best artists are innovators as well as entertainers. And since she released Dark Dream Midnight, MacLellan has worked hard to expand on what she calls “the greater songbook.” The most recent peak in her career occurred in 2011, when she released Silhouette. It is the biggest and most ambitious project she had ever tackled, as well as the clearest articulation of her musical vision. A sprawling record that unfolds
among the most powerful songs she has ever recorded, a punchy rock song that evokes the sound of Ryan Adams’ “New York, New York.” The album also includes her cover of her father’s famous song “Snowbird,” presented as a stripped-down acoustic duet with Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy, whose rich, warm voice is a perfect match for MacLellan’s airy vocal part. “It’s a way for me to keep my dad’s music alive,” she says, “and to feel a connection with him. That song never gets old for me. I thought it would pretty quickly, but it didn’t. I mean, I have a lot more of my dad’s songs than just that one, but it’s nice to be able to play it and share it with people.” Silhouette is also the most diverse record MacLellan has ever recorded, which she attributes to the twin experiences of growing older and having a daughter. The songs draw on a range of themes, including failed relationships and a need to evaluate past successes and failures, regrets and hopes for the future. They are powerful and emotional yet never self-pitying. One of the most prominent themes cutting across the album is flight, which emerges again and again in MacLellan’s references to birds. Three songs — “Black Crow,” a soaring ballad titled “Sparrows,” and her father’s song “Snowbird” — are named for birds and several others refer to them. “I didn’t notice that every second song has birds in it,” she says with a laugh. “It’s a pretty organic thing that happens when I write songs. They just kind of fall out. They can be influenced by what I’m listening to at the time
The songs that form the heart of her forthcoming record, which she expects to release in the spring, have yet to fully reveal themselves, but MacLellan is already sensing another change of direction. “I think there’s a lot more story songs happening, which is something I never felt I was very good at,” she says. “But it’s just been happening naturally, writing these almost Gordon Lightfoot story songs.” After a pause she laughs and says, “Not quite as epic, though.” MacLellan maintains that her favourite songs have always been those that tell real stories belonging to real people, stories that belong to someone and to everyone. But this is only part of the reason why her new record will represent a dramatic shift from the laid-back country vibe of Silhouette. MacLellan has spent the best part of the last two years on the road with Gauthier, and they have been collaborating on and off for almost a decade. The decision to record as a duo reflects her love of playing as a duo. “I’ve played in lots of different arrangements,” she says. “I’ve played a lot of solo shows and I’ve played a lot of band shows and trios and now duos. Everything that we do together, it feels so comfortable. And I feel like we really bring out the best in each other. It’s possibly the most satisfying way for me to play, because there’s so much room for change and making things better all the time. Sometimes it happens spontaneously onstage, where we’ll do something different and then go back and talk about it, say that was
great, let’s do it again. It’s an evertransforming thing.” The ease with which a song can grow and change and evolve in the hands of a talented duo is really a microcosm of MacLellan’s career, which embodies the fundamental nature of folk music. Albums are like photographs; they capture a specific moment in time. By arranging MacLellan’s records on a continuum it is possible to see not only her growth, both as a songwriter and a person, but also her desire to build on the legacy left by generations of folk musicians. And by choosing to do something different with her next album instead of simply trying to recapture the spirit and success of Silhouette, she has made yet another contribution
to the music she grew up on and remains committed to today. “If you get too worried about what people think you’re not going to really be able to make art,” she muses. “I am a little interested — not scared, but interested — to see what people are going to think of the next record because it is really folky. I’m really excited about that but we’ll see if other people are too.” Catherine MacLellan January 15 @ Creative City Centre $17 (advance), $20 (door Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
@VerbRegina amacpherson@verbnews.com
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Photos: courtesy of Maxton Priebe
HAVE YOUR BEER AND EAT IT, TOO
Beer Bros.’ menu shows off the depth and breadth of an unexpected food group by mj deschamps
N
o, beer cuisine is not that pizza you had delivered at 1 a.m. after stumbling home from the local pub. While everyone has ordered the occasional beer-battered menu item while out for dinner, one group of local restaurateurs knew the potential existed for some of their favourite brews to become focal ingredients in dishes — rather than merely the drink you wash your meal down with. Since its taps began flowing in 2008, Beer Bros. Gastropub & Deli has been giving Regina an introduction to ‘beer cuisine’ at its finest —
“Every beer has different flavour profiles and different tastes,” said Malcolm Craig, executive chef and co-owner. “It’s very much like wine in the sense that there are often subtle differences in tastes — but there are also extreme flavour differences between many beers as well.” He said that when the Beer Bros. team plans new menu items, inspiration comes from both ends: “sometimes, we’ll sit down and taste different beers, and potential dishes will just leap out at us … and sometimes, with certain dishes, we’ll just say ‘oh my god, we need to find a beer to go with this.’” In terms of the actual beers served, the options are vast and ever changing — and according to Craig, about 80-90% of those brews cannot be found elsewhere in Saskatchewan — Beer Bros. brings them in exclusively from all over North America, Europe, and Asia. Lots of research and legwork goes into choosing the beers that end up in customers’ hot little hands, too — and Beer Bros’ partners and staff are always on the lookout for great local beers whenever they are travelling. Although the idea of beer cuisine might sound like a bit of a novelty — albeit a great idea — for those who haven’t been acquainted with it yet, what Beer Bros has brewing in their kitchen is just plain good food.
using the unique tastes and characteristics of different ales, lagers, stouts and more to transform and elevate dishes, and open up diners’ eyes to how complex and multifaceted beer really can be. From the more classic items, like cheddar ale soup and haddock and chips, to innovative and unexpected offerings, such as its Innis & Gunn ‘beerogies,’ hard cider barbecued pork sandwich and pulled cherry braised beef, Beer Bros’ menu options have a distinct beer element to them, along with a suggested beer pairing to help enhance the flavours in both dish and drink.
let’s go drinkin’ Verb’s mixology guide BLACK AND TAN
Ingredients
In making the perfect beer ‘cocktail,’ there is no need for fruity garnishes or margarita shakers – all you need is beer. If you pour your black and tan just right, you’ll get two distinct layers of beer in your glass.
1 bottle of lager beer 1 bottle of Irish stout beer
directions
Gently pour half the lager into a tall beer glass. Place a tablespoon (dome side up) about an inch above the lager beer, with the tip of the spoon angled slightly down. Then, slowly pour half the stout beer over the tablespoon. Allow to stand a few seconds, and two distinct layers of beer should form.
I sat down in one of the restaurant’s many dining areas with a triple-smoked, spice-rubbed beef brisket, accompanied by a hearty helping of creamy macaroni and cheese and honey-jalapeño cornbread. The tender brisket is full of rich, smoky flavours and is almost melt-in-your-mouth, while the beer in this scenario is a Mill Street Tankhouse Ale — which gets incorporated into the brine. I love a good cornbread, and this is hands down the best one I’ve had in Regina. The generous wedge is buttery and crispy on the outside, and perfectly moist and sweet at its centre. Next came the beer-infused pork belly, which uses Quebec’s Unibroue Éphémère (Apple) brew. Again, the meat is extremely tender, and the hints of sweetness from the apple flavour in the beer have really made their way deep down into the unctuous pork. I’m not sure how it’s occurred that I have a mother from Glasgow and have never tried a Scotch egg (a British classic, consisting of a hard-boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat, coated in breadcrumbs and baked), but I managed to finally get my hands on one at Beer Bros. Theirs is deep fried and crispy on the outside, and served with an excellent beer bacon jam made up of a thick blend of rich pork belly
and sweet, acidic Apple Éphémère beer, which lends itself well to the savoury, herb-infused sausage. Cannery Brewing Company’s Blackberry Porter is the star of dessert: a creamy cheesecake with bright, tart blackberry and bitter chocolate notes. Featuring fresh blackberry compote oozing downwards to the cake’s crispy graham base, this was a great way to end the meal. I’m mostly a wine drinker, but I have to say, my visit to Beer Bros has really made me curious about what I’ve been missing out on in the world of beer — which, of course, is the whole point. For those wanting to expand their beer expertise but are unsure of where to start, Craig and his team are here to help. After all, education around food and beer is at the forefront of what Beer Bros is all about. “And if that means we need to sit down and drink some beer along the way, then so be it,” laughed Craig. Beer Bros. 1821 Scarth St. | (306) 586 2337
Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
@VerbRegina mdeschamps@verbnews.com
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music
Next Week
coming up
Wide Mouth Mason
Marshall Burns
ZZ Top
@ Casino Regina Tuesday, December 31 – $55+
@ The Exchange Saturday, January 11 – $10
@ Mosaic Place Friday, March 14 – $70.48+
When Saskatoon’s Wide Mouth Mason released their first album with a major label in 1997 they made quite a splash in the Canadian music scene. Their hit single “My Old Self” appeared on frosh mixes across the country and, along with other hit songs “Midnight Rain” and “This Mourning,” helped their pop/rock/blues-infused self-titled album go gold here in Canada. In 1999 they changed up their sound a bit — adding jazz and world music elements — and released their second album, Where I Started. It too went gold. Since then, Wide Mouth Mason has released four more records, tweaking their sound ever so slightly with each one yet still retaining the loyalty of their fans and the core sound that made them so popular. Tickets available at ticketbreak.com/casinoregina.
Since forming in 2005, it’s no secret Rah Rah has been turning heads and winning legions of fans. Founded by Erin Passmore, Kyrie Kristmanson and Marshall Burns, Regina’s indie-rock super group has been pumping out albums on a bi-annual basis, swapping instruments on stage and wowing nearly everybody who attends their shows. But as good a band as they are, their members aren’t shy about striking out on their own. Case in point: Marshall Burns. Not only is he a founding member of The Lonesome Weekends, he’s also been known to play solo shows of his own. And he’ll be doing just that in the new year when he shares a billing with Kacy and Clayton at the Exchange. Come hear one of Canada’s favourite indie-rock voices. You won’t be disappointed.
Beards. Epic Beards. That’s the first thing you notice about ZZ Top. Heck, even the guy in the band without one, his last name is Beard. Yet for all their distinguished facial hair, Texas’ ZZ Top are about more than just appearances. Ever since they released their debut album (simply called ZZ Top’s First Album) back in 1971, Billy Gibbons (vocals/guitar), Dusty Hill (bass) and drummer Frank Beard have been pumping out rockin’ songs full of bluesy roots, funny motifs and innuendo. And while their sound has changed over the years — from bluesy rock to tunes that incorporated New Wave, punk and dance-rock — one thing is certain: songs like “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Gimme All Your Lovin’” and “La Grange” are classics. No doubt. Tickets through tickets.mosaicplace.ca. – By Adam Hawboldt
Photos courtesy of: the artist/ truncata/ amanda ash
15 Dec 20 – jan 9 /verbregina
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December 20 » january 11 The most complete live music listings for Regina.
Friday 20
Rory Allen / Casino Regina — An Elvis Christmas spectacular. 8pm / $20+ (www. ticketbreak.com) Library Voices, Close Talker, Soundtracks to Sad Movies / The Exchange — A night of indie rock. 8pm / $12 (ticketedge.ca) DJ Pat & DJ Kim / Habano’s Martini & Cocktail Club — Local DJs spin top 40 hits
DJ Longhorn / Whiskey Saloon — Come check out one of Regina’s most interactive DJs as he drops some of the best country beats around. 8pm / Cover TBD Tim Romanson / Whiskey Saloon — Playing Top-40 and outlaw country. 9pm / $10
every Friday night that are sure to get you on the dance floor. 9pm / $5 cover Project Jazz / Lancaster Taphouse — Featuring Brandy Moore. 9pm / Cover TBD Method 2 Madness / McNally’s Tavern — Playing rock and roll classics. 10pm / $5 Holiday To Do / O’Hanlon’s — With special guests. 9pm / No cover Wonderland / Pump Roadhouse — Pumping out steady one-hit wonders. 10pm / Cover TBD Albert / Pure Ultra Lounge — Appearing every Friday night, come listen to Albert as he does his spinning thing. 10pm / $5 cover Whatever / Sip Nightclub — A local band that’ll keep you rocking all night long. 10pm / Cover TBD
Saturday 21
Rory Allen / Casino Regina — An Elvis Christmas spectacular. 8pm / $20+ (www. ticketbreak.com) Extreme Gold / The Exchange — Featuring DJs B-Rad, the Duchess and Hardtoe. 9pm / $12(adults)/$10(students) Brenda lee Cottrell Band / Lancaster Taphouse — A dynamic vocalist. 9pm / No cover Method 2 Madness / McNally’s — Playing rock and roll classics. 10pm / $5 Wonderland / Pump Roadhouse — Pumping out steady one-hit wonders. 10pm / Cover TBD Drewski / Pure Ultra Lounge — Doing what he does best, every Saturday night. Come on down and dance the night away with this local DJ. 10pm / $5 cover Whatever / Sip Nightclub — A local band that’ll keep you rocking all night long. 10pm / Cover TBD Tim Romanson / Whiskey Saloon — Playing Top-40 and outlaw country. 9pm / $10
Sunday 22
A Holiday Miracle / German Club — With Carl Johnson, Jeff Moser + more. 11am / Free with donation to Food Bank
Monday 23
Open Mic Night / The Artful Dodger — Come down and jam! 8pm / No cover Monday Night Jazz / Bushwakker Brewpub — Featuring Whiteboy Slim. 8pm / No cover
Thursday 26
Home for the Holi “DAZE” / Bushwakker Brewpub — Featuring Keiffer and The Curiosity Band + more. 8:30pm / No cover Decibel Frequency / Gabbo’s Nightclub — A night of electronic fun. 10pm / Cover $5 PS Fresh / The Hookah Lounge — DJ Ageless started spinning in Montreal, DJ Drewski started in Saskatoon. They both landed in Regina and have come together to sling some bomb beats. 7pm / No cover Open Mic Night / King’s Head Tavern — Come out, play some tunes, sing some songs, and show Regina what you got. 8pm / No cover Wonderland / McNally’s Tavern — One hit wonders and classic rock. 5pm / $5 Coldest Night of the Year / O’Hanlon’s — With Wildmen. 9pm / No cover Wildfire / Pump Roadhouse — A versatile country-rock band that brings the party. 10pm / Cover TBD DJ Longhorn / Whiskey Saloon — Come check out one of Regina’s most interactive DJs as he drops some of the best country beats around. 8pm / Cover TBD Cory Brown / Whiskey Saloon — Country musician from Manitoba. 9pm / $5
Friday 27
Band Swap / The Exchange — Thirtyfive local musicians randomly put into seven bands. 8pm / $15/$20 DJ Pat & DJ Kim / Habano’s Martini & Cocktail Club — Local DJs spin top 40 hits every Friday night that are sure to get you on the dance floor. 9pm / $5 cover Big Chill Fridays / Lancaster Taphouse — Come out and get your weekend started with DJ Fatbot, who’ll be doing his spinning thing every Friday night. 10pm / Cover TBD Wonderland / McNally’s Tavern — One hit wonders and classic rock. 5pm / $5 Wildfire / Pump Roadhouse — A versatile country-rock band that brings the party. 10pm / Cover TBD
Albert / Pure Ultra Lounge — Appearing every Friday night, come listen to Albert as he does his spinning thing. 10pm / $5 cover DJ Longhorn / Whiskey Saloon — Come check out one of Regina’s most interactive DJs as he drops some of the best country beats around. 8pm / Cover TBD Cory Brown / Whiskey Saloon — Country musician from Manitoba. 9pm / $10
Saturday 28
Salt and Pepper DJ Night / Artful Dodger — Come dance your night away. 8pm / Cover TBD Harvest King Xmas Party / The Club + The Exchange — Featuring Black Thunder, Royal Red Brigade + more. 7pm / $10/$20 Wonderland / McNally’s Tavern — One hit wonders and classic rock. 5pm / $5 Wildfire / Pump Roadhouse — A versatile country-rock band that brings the party. 10pm / Cover TBD Drewski / Pure Ultra Lounge — Doing what he does best, every Saturday night. Come on down and dance the night away with this local DJ. 10pm / $5 cover Cory Brown / Whiskey Saloon — Country musician from Manitoba. 9pm / $10
Sunday 29
Kelevra / The Exchange — With Planet Eater, Memorial, the Mike Thieven Project. 7:30pm / $10/$15 Sonic Orchid / Sip Nightclub — From hard rock to power pop. 10pm / Cover TBD
Monday 30
Open Mic Night / The Artful Dodger — Come down and jam! 8pm / No cover Monday Night Jazz / Bushwakker Brewpub — Featuring Uptown Jazz. 8pm / No cover Rocapulco / Casino Regina — Monthly Old Time Dance Party. 7pm / $10 (www. ticketbreak.com/casinoregina) Corey Ruecker and Daniel Besuijen / The Club — Laid back indie music with a psychedelic vibe. 7:30pm / Cover TBD Sonic Orchid / Sip Nightclub — From hard rock to power pop. 10pm / Cover TBD
Tuesday 31
Big Sugar / Casino Regina — Appearing with Wide Mouth Mason. 8:30pm / SOLD OUT The Montagues / McNally’s Tavern — A New Year’s bash with a killer band. 10pm / $10/$15
16 Dec 20 – jan 9 entertainment
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NYE Howl / Pump Roadhouse — Featuring Wildfire, a versatile country-rock band that brings the party. 10pm / Cover TBD Dangerous Cheese — Regina’s newest party band playing cheesy songs you’ll love. 10pm / Cover TBD
Wednesday 1
Jam Night and Open Stage / McNally’s Tavern — Come on down and enjoy some local talent. 9pm / No cover Big Chill Night / Lancaster Taphouse — With DJ Fatbot. 8pm / Cover TBD
Thursday 2
Decibel Frequency / Gabbo’s Nightclub — A night of electronic fun. 10pm / Cover $5 PS Fresh / The Hookah Lounge — DJ Ageless started spinning in Montreal, DJ Drewski started in Saskatoon. They both landed in Regina and have come together to sling some bomb beats. 7pm / No cover Open Mic Night / King’s Head Tavern — Come out, play some tunes, sing some songs, and show Regina what you got. 8pm / No cover DJ Longhorn / Whiskey Saloon — Come check out one of Regina’s most interactive DJs as he drops some of the best country beats around. 8pm / Cover TBD
Friday 3
DJ Pat & DJ Kim / Habano’s Martini & Cocktail Club — Local DJs spin top 40 hits every Friday night that are sure to get you on the dance floor. 9pm / $5 cover Big Chill Fridays / Lancaster Taphouse — Come out and get your weekend started with DJ Fatbot, who’ll be doing his spinning thing every Friday night. 10pm / Cover TBD Ralph Eli and the Hardcore Troubadours / McNally’s Tavern — A rockin’ band you’re gonna love. 10pm / $5 Albert / Pure Ultra Lounge — Appearing every Friday night, come listen to Albert as he does his spinning thing. 10pm / $5 cover Dangerous Cheese — Regina’s newest party band playing cheesy songs you’ll love. 10pm / Cover TBD DJ Longhorn / Whiskey Saloon — Come check out one of Regina’s most interactive DJs as he drops some of the best country beats around. 8pm / Cover TBD
Saturday 4 Usurper / The Club — With Low Level, Elder Abuse, Castaway, and Undertaker. 6pm / $7 Ralph Eli and the Hardcore Troubadours / McNally’s Tavern — A rockin’ band you’re gonna love. 10pm / $5 Drewski / Pure Ultra Lounge — Doing what he does best, every Saturday night. Come on down and dance the night away with this local DJ. 10pm / $5 cover Dangerous Cheese — Regina’s newest party band playing cheesy songs you’ll love. 10pm / Cover TBD
DJ Longhorn / Whiskey Saloon — Come check out one of Regina’s most interactive DJs. 8pm / Cover TBD
Saturday 11
Peanut Butter Genocide / Artful Dodger — It’s a CD release party for this great band! 8pm / Cover TBD
Kacy and Clayton, Marshall Burns / The Club — A night of folk and indie tunes. 8:30pm / $10 Dangerous Cheese / McNally’s Tavern — Regina’s newest party band. 10pm / $5 Drewski / Pure Ultra Lounge — Doing what he does best, every Saturday night. 10pm / $5 cover
Get listed Have a live show you'd like to promote? Let us know! layout@verbnews.com
Monday 6
Open Mic Night / The Artful Dodger — Come down and jam! 8pm / No cover
Wednesday 8
Jam Night and Open Stage / McNally’s Tavern — Come on down and enjoy some local talent. 9pm / No cover
Thursday 9
Decibel Frequency / Gabbo’s Nightclub — A night of electronic fun. 10pm / Cover $5 PS Fresh / The Hookah Lounge — DJ Ageless started spinning in Montreal, DJ Drewski started in Saskatoon. They both landed in Regina and have come together to sling some bomb beats. 7pm / No cover Open Mic Night / King’s Head Tavern — Come out, play some tunes, sing some songs, and show Regina what you got. 8pm / No cover DJ Longhorn / Whiskey Saloon — Come check out one of Regina’s most interactive DJs as he drops some of the best country beats around. 8pm / Cover TBD
Friday 10
Williams and Ree / Casino Regina — An American music/comedy duo. 8pm / $25+ (www.ticketbreak.com/casinoregina) DJ Pat & DJ Kim / Habano’s Martini & Cocktail Club — Local DJs spin top 40 hits every Friday night that are sure to get you on the dance floor. 9pm / $5 cover Big Chill Fridays / Lancaster Taphouse — Come out and get your weekend started with DJ Fatbot, who’ll be doing his spinning thing every Friday night. 8pm / Cover TBD Alley 14 / McNally’s Tavern — A classic rock and blues party band. 10pm / $5 Albert / Pure Ultra Lounge — Appearing every Friday night, come listen to Albert as he does his spinning thing. 10pm / $5 cover
17 Dec 20 – jan 9 @verbregina
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Nightlife
monday, december 16 @
O’Hanlon’s irish pub
O’Hanlon’s Irish Pub 1947 Scarth Street (306) 566 4094
Check out our Facebook page! These photos will be uploaded to Facebook on Friday, January 10. facebook.com/verbregina
Photography by Marc Messett
18 Dec 20 – jan 9 entertainment
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tuesday, December 17 @
Tumblers
Tumblers Pizza 2104 Grant Road (306) 586 1920
Check out our Facebook page! These photos will be uploaded to Facebook on Friday, January 10. facebook.com/verbregina
Photography by Marc Messett
19 Dec 20 – jan 9 /verbregina
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“If it’s crap, they’ll watch it!” Photo: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Fortunately, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues isn’t crap. And you should definitely watch it by adam hawboldt
I
n case you haven’t noticed, Ron Burgundy has been everywhere lately. He’s on TSN doing stories on curling, interviewing Peyton Manning on ESPN, pimping Dodge Durangos (while berating a horse), chatting with Conan on late-night TV, giving advice at journalism schools and appearing on a handful of evening TV news shows. Burgundy is everywhere you turn, and for good reason. In a marketing blitz unlike any you’ve seen before, Ron Burgundy (aka Will Ferrell) has been popping up to promote his new film, Anchor Man 2: The Legend Continues. The first Anchorman film, released back in 2004, was a sleeper hit that developed into a cult classic with more quotable lines than any comedy in recent memory. So, needless to say, Will Ferrell and writing/ directing buddy Adam McKay had big shoes to fill in their second goround of the Burgundy saga.
Things are looking grim for our hero. He loathes his job and claims “I would eat dolphin if it was legal.” Then, one day, he’s approached by a station called GNN that’s trying to do something new in the news world. It’s trying to launch the 24-hour news cycle. Looking to resurrect his career, Burgundy signs on and goes about
Did they succeed in filling them? Depends who you ask. The story picks up a few years after the first Anchorman left off. Ron Burgundy is married with child to Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate). They are living in New York, co-hosting a morning show together and everything is
If it’s subtle, nuanced humour you’re looking for, it’s best to look somewhere else. Adam Hawboldt
tracking down his old team to help — sexy reporter Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), loud and dopey sportscaster Champ Kind (David Koechner) and the not-quite-allthere weather man Brick Tamland (Steve Carell.) Together they move to New
swell … until the head honcho at the network (Harrison Ford) gives Veronica a promotion and fires Burgundy. His marriage in ruins, career on the rocks, Burgundy returns to San Diego where he gets a job emceeing the dolphin show at SeaWorld.
York. Laughs ensue. Like, a lot of laughs. It’s hard to explain where these laughs come from without ruining the movie for those of you who haven’t seen it, but rest assured Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is chock-full of quotable one-liners and set pieces that’ll make you cackle so hard soda may very well spray out your nose. But it’s not all just stupid laughs and ridiculous set pieces. No, at the heart of the movie is an in-yourface satire about the pathetic state of modern television news coverage. Whether demanding more graphics on screen, ordering programmers to stay on a high-speed car chase, listening to zealots rant away or appealing to the lowest common denominator with jingoist phrases, Ron Burgundy will make you wonder who the idiot was who came up with 24-hour news channels in the first place. If it’s subtle, nuanced humour you’re looking for, it’s best to look
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues Directed by Adam McKay Starring Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Steve Carrell, David Koechner 118 minutes | NR
somewhere else. But if it’s over-thetop antics and Will Ferrell in fine form (yet again) that tickle your fancy, then seeing Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues should be high on your priority list. And while it’s not the kind of movie that will lock you “in a glass case of emotion” (nor is it better than the original movie), Anchorman 2 is still wildly hilarious and well worth a watch.
Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
@VerbRegina ahawboldt@verbnews.com
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Hustlin’ ain’t easy American Hustle is cool, fun movie making at its finest
by adam hawboldt
Photo: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
E
lton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” “Live and Let Die” by Wings, Steely Dan’s “Dirty Work.” No, this isn’t a list of hit songs from the ‘70s. Well, yeah, I guess it kind of is. But the reason these songs are mentioned here is because they appear on the American Hustle soundtrack, along with a handful of other tunes from that era. They are songs that are not only catchy, but that help drive the narrative of David O. Russell’s new film, songs that create atmosphere and deepen the impact of the movie. Think of the way the music in Boogie Nights helped tell that story, helped put you in a specific time and place, and you’ll begin to get an idea
of just how heavy a load the music in American Hustle hauls. But don’t be mistaken. The soundtrack isn’t the only impressive thing about this film — far from it, in fact.
(both of whom he directed in The Fighter), as well as Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence (who starred in his film Silver Linings Playbook) to give American Hustle a first-rate cast of top-notch thespians.
[American Hustle] is the kind of movie that should be in serious contention for awards… Adam Hawboldt
There’s also the first-rate cast. For this film, David O. Russell went back to an old bag of tricks, enlisting the aid of Christian Bale and Amy Adams
Toss the always-excellent Jeremy Renner (The Town, The Hurt Locker) in the mix and an appearance by Robert De Niro (whom Russell also directed
in Silver Linings Playbook) and what you have is an all-star lineup. But unlike a few of the movies that have featured all-star casts and flopped in the last year or so, American Hustle delivers in a big way. Everyone is firing on all cylinders, and the result is the kind of movie that should be in serious contention for awards during Oscar season. Which brings us to another impressive thing about this film. It is being mentioned in the same breath as serious Oscar hopefuls, but it’s not the kind of movie that usually gets mentioned in that kind of talk. It’s too fun, too cool, yet there it is, smack dab in the middle of the conversation. A ‘70s crime drama with an off-beat pulse all its own, American Hustle opens with the quip “Some of this actually happened” before launching into a totally fictionalized account of the FBI’s Abscam sting of late ’70s. Without giving too much of the story away, let’s just say it’s about a conman named Irving Rosenfeld (Bale) and his lady friend Sydney Prosser (Adams), who swindle people out of money. All seems well, but there’s a bit of a problem: Irving’s loose-cannon wife Rosalyn
american hustle David O. Russell Starring Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence + Jeremy Renner Directed by
169 minutes | 14A
(Lawrence), who is full of unexpected surprises. Eventually Irving and Sydney get a bit too bit for their britches and attract the attention of FBI agent Rich DiMaso (Cooper), who is looking to make a name for himself at the bureau. So naturally he takes the con-couple down, right? Wrong. He uses them to entrap bigger game, like Newark mayor Carmine Polito (Renner). And, well … that’s all I’m saying. American Hustle is far too good of a film to reveal anything else. It’s going to be one of the best of the year, so, yeah, you should probably go see it. Like, statim.
Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
@VerbRegina ahawboldt@verbnews.com
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Š Elaine M. Will | blog.E2W-Illustration.com | Check onthebus.webcomic.ws/ for previous editions!
22 Dec 20 – jan 9 entertainment
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crossword canadian criss-cross DOWN
32. Fishing boat 36. ‘I beg your pardon?’ 37. Proven 39. Map abbreviation 40. Valuable rocks 42. Meat from a pig 43. March 15th in the ancient Roman calendar 44. Japanese condiment 46. Bless with oil 48. Compare to another 49. Carries 50. Location 51. Greek vowels
1. Candy on a stick 2. Card with three spots 3. Snake that killed Cleopatra 4. What’s more 5. Animal with grey skin 6. Excitement 7. Father a horse 8. Root vegetable 9. Small quantity of salt 11. Stun gun 12. Unfair preference 14. Rest against for support 17. Soldiers trained to fight in an emergency 20. Stop from happening 21. Light lunch
24. Plant that grows up walls sudoku answer key 26. Drops of water on grass A 28. Reduce to ashes 29. Put in sight 30. Having to do with hearing 31. Academic paper 33. Barenaked ___ (Canadian rock band) 34. Uses a plane B 35. Put your feet up 38. River that begins in the Swiss Alps 41. Rice wine 43. Letter after theta 45. Put money on 47. Negative response
4 7 5 9 6 8 3 1 2 6 8 9 3 1 2 7 4 5 1 3 2 4 7 5 9 8 6 2 1 3 6 4 9 8 5 7 7 4 6 5 8 3 2 9 1 5 9 8 1 2 7 6 3 4 3 6 4 7 9 1 5 2 8 8 5 7 2 3 4 1 6 9 9 2 1 8 5 6 4 7 3
1. Injure with a knife 5. Hinged metal fastener 9. Woman’s handbag 10. Blockhead 12. Arm muscle 13. Elaborate entrance 15. Pitch-black 16. Mischievous child 18. Move carefully 19. Hole in one 20. ‘So long’ 22. Hot drink 23. Dry up 25. Decorate 27. Air-filled swelling in a seaweed 29. Greek deity of the woods
6 2 9 8 5 1 3 4 7 4 8 1 2 7 3 9 5 6 5 7 3 9 4 6 8 2 1 2 1 6 3 8 7 5 9 4 7 4 5 6 2 9 1 8 3 9 3 8 4 1 5 6 7 2 8 5 7 1 6 4 2 3 9 1 9 4 5 3 2 7 6 8 3 6 2 7 9 8 4 1 5
ACROSS
© walter D. Feener 2013
Horoscopes December 20 - january 9 Aries March 21–April 19
Leo July 23–August 22
Sagittarius November 23–December 21
Something may worry you sick this week, Aries. Try to put it out of your mind, though. It’s not as bad as you think.
A clean break from something in your past will allow you to move confidently into the future, Leo. Now you just have to figure out what that is.
There’s a lot going on behind the scenes that may baffle you this week, Sagittarius. Don’t worry: the fog is only temporary.
Taurus April 20–May 20
Virgo August 23–September 22
Capricorn December 22–January 19
You may receive a call or a text or an email this week that will puzzle you, Taurus. Never fear: all will become clearer as the week goes on.
Have you been getting strange vibes from someone close to you lately, Virgo? Well, it’s only going to get stranger before too long.
You may find yourself feeling distracted at times in the coming week. Try to focus, Capricorn, or you risk missing an important event.
Gemini May 21–June 20
Libra September 23–October 23
Aquarius January 20–February 19
If something big (and potentially bad) happens this week, it’s important to remember not to panic. Approach it with a cool head, and all will be fine.
If you love something, you have to let it go, Libra. Sure, it’s cliché, but it’s a pretty apt adage for this week. If it’s meant to, it will return to you.
Something that has been troubling you will fall to the wayside today, Aquarius. The time to breathe easy again has arrived.
Cancer June 21–July 22
Scorpio October 24–November 22
Pisces February 20–March 20
Creativity will be oozing out of your every pore this week, Cancer. The imaginative juices don’t always flow, so make the most of it.
Try to better yourself this week, Scorpio. It doesn’t really matter how: sign up for a class, read a new book, whatever strikes your fancy.
You may experience a lack of communication with a loved one this week, Pisces. Do your best to fix this, as soon as possible.
sudoku 9 8 3 4 1 7 3 9 4 8 2 1 2 6 3 7 5 4 2 9 5 6 7 2 5 1 6 1 9 5 7 6 8 3 8 4
crossword answer key
A
4 7 5 9 6 1 2 6 1 2 4 8 2 1 4 9 7 8 3 9 5 9 3 4 3 6 7 2 8 5 7 1 8 5 6 3
B
23 Dec 20 – jan 9 /verbregina
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